Chapter 349 05.0348: "A vague worry"

Starting from early morning, the siege battle lasted for a whole day. With the joint attack of multiple forces, the mechanized troops of the British 20st Brigade finally successfully passed the pass defense line and advanced kilometers.

The stars and the moon alternated, and the sun set. Although sporadic gunfire could still be heard from Mount Montachia as the assault troops cleared the remaining rebels inside the mountain, the entire battle could almost be declared a victory for the Empire.

The Montachia Mountain defense line, which was originally expected to take three days to capture, was occupied within one day. The main British force even advanced 20 kilometers backwards. This was exciting news for the war situation in the south.

After the occupation, the trivial security battles will be left to the supply battalion and the reserve battalion in the rear, and the First Brigade will continue to advance as a heavy hammer to break the enemy.

That night, the troops that needed to rest set up camp around Highway 54 on Mount Montachia. The personnel officer counted the casualties based on the reported data forms. Approximately 600 British Astra Militarum soldiers were killed in this battle, and about 1300 were injured. Three-quarters of them would be able to return to the battlefield within the next month after recuperation.

Horatio rode along the bumpy Highway 54, passing by the wreckage of rebel vehicles on the roadside and the young men who had been recruited from the reserve battalion and were singing military songs in victory.

Led by their platoon leader, these still somewhat immature young men saluted the soldier in the distinctive uniform and the two accompanying officers behind him.

Their eyes were full of curiosity. I'm sure that after the three men left, there would be no end to the whispers about today's battle and the relationship between these three men.

"Line up! Turn left, shoulder your guns, and salute!"

A second lieutenant of the 88th Infantry Regiment, who had participated in the attack on the pass during the day, saw Horatio approaching, stood straight, drew his sword and saluted.

The entire platoon behind him also stood still, shouldered their guns, and saluted the three naval officers.

Half of the people in this platoon are new recruits wearing brand new uniforms, which shows that the platoon suffered heavy losses in the previous attack.

If it weren't for the timely airstrike support, it is possible that this platoon of 200 people would have been wiped out.

Amid the clatter of horse hooves, Horatio put his index and middle fingers together, pointed them at the brims of their bicorne hats, and silently responded to them with the navy's unique brim-nodding salute.

Sir Wellesley, dressed in a neat uniform, also rode on his horse and saluted the British officers passing by along the way.

The wounded were lying or sitting on stretchers, with bandages on their bodies and medicine bottles hanging from their bodies. Many of them just stared at the moon or the campfire in a daze, with a cigarette in their mouths. This was their only comfort after enduring the ravages of the battlefield.

Once the field hospital on the new front is set up nearby, they will be transferred to the hospital ward for recuperation, and will return to their original combat units when the medical officers assess that they can fight again.

When the wounded soldiers saw their superiors, those who could still salute saluted in all kinds of sad postures, crookedly to the superiors who were riding tall horses, looking heroic and dignified.

"Let's set up camp here tonight, right next to the field hospital construction site. There are several companies' camps surrounding us, and it's close to the transportation line.

Tomorrow morning we will hit the road and continue to move forward.

According to military intelligence analysis, there are no such permanent defensive positions in a large area behind. "Sir Arthur Wellesley raised his scepter and pointed to a flat terrain without craters.

"Yes, Brigadier General! I'll arrange it immediately." The captain of the service team saluted the knight, turned and ran away, calling his men to immediately command the arrangement of the camp.

"I think Mr. Cochrane, Mr. Collingwood and Ms. Louise must be very tired today." Sir Wellesley, wearing a scarlet uniform, rode to the three naval officers in dark blue uniforms with a smile:
"To celebrate this great victory and boost the morale of our troops, the entire First Brigade will have an extra meal tonight. Our mess staff will take out the best ingredients we have in Britain, have the best chefs cook them, and entertain you all."

"Really? I'm looking forward to it." Horatio replied, maintaining a decent smile.

[Eh! British 'delicious food'!] He sighed helplessly in his heart.

To be honest, he would rather go back to the Indefatigable and eat a plate of steaming hot, strong-tasting naval curry to warm up his body after being on the chilly surface of the planet for a long time. The headquarters camp was arranged between two companies, one of which was a grenadier company of the 88th Infantry Regiment and the other was the assault company of the 42nd Highland Guard Regiment that came to support from the rear.

They are all the "Guards" of Sir Arthur Wellesley, a prince and cousin of the Queen.

The two companies together have more than 2,000 people. The base was built by the soldiers of the two companies. Therefore, it is much larger than the small camp last night and the security is more strict.

Of course, this does not affect Horatio and Louise from living in a comfortable, quiet, soundproof RV with open-air stargazing glass.

Hopefully the maid had cleaned the place during the day and made the bed with dry bedding.

It will take some time for the brigade headquarters’ mess staff to prepare dinner.

During this time, Horatio took his secretary Louise to walk around the camp for inspection, while his deputy Archie went to write today's aviation service log.

The stars hung low on the horizon, the red glow sprinkled on the skyline, making the sky blood red, and occasionally the rumbling sound of cannons could be heard from the distant front.

Those companies that did not participate in the Montachia Mountain offensive during the day and were resting in the rear would carry out the task of marching at night.

The First Brigade will work in two shifts, regardless of day or night, and advance unswervingly towards the target of the central hive group 4000 kilometers away from the landing point on the southern front.

According to the brigade headquarters' estimate, the 1st Brigade's forward high-speed mechanized vanguard troops were separated from the low-speed armored forces.

每昼夜至少能推进60~80公里，在敌方阻力小的情况下甚至能沿54号公路每昼夜推进100~120公里。

As for whether the light infantry battalion maintaining the front line in the rear could keep up with the speed of the First Brigade, it was not considered by the brigade command.

Horatio gracefully held Louise's arm and strolled in the camp of thousands of people with a composure that made others envious. From time to time, he stopped to listen to the rumbling of cannons coming from dozens of kilometers away. It was a leisurely and contented scene of touring the battlefield with his beauty.

He looked at the trails of tracer bullets in the distant sky, the brilliant flames of rocket-assisted artillery shells, and then at the snow dripping from the ends of tree branches in the camp, and couldn't help but frowning slightly.

As the weather gradually warms up, the snow will inevitably melt in a few days, and the agricultural areas around the front line will become muddy, which will inevitably hinder the march of the light infantry battalion.

Although the armored units of the 1st British Brigade would not be greatly affected by the mud as they advanced on hardened ground along the main traffic lines, the efficiency of the advance on the rear front would be greatly reduced.

At that time, there is a high possibility that the front line will be disconnected - the 1st British Brigade will advance deeper and deeper, but the rear troops will not be able to follow up in time due to climate and road reasons, leaving them in a dangerous situation of being isolated and deep in the enemy's territory.

Thinking of this, he felt it necessary to plan the Valkyrie and Avis air transport reserve fleets, but doing so would inevitably weaken the aviation support for the 1st Brigade. Even he could not make up his mind for the time being and could only fight and see.

He let out a long sigh, hoping that the offensive would go smoothly so that he could return triumphantly to the void as soon as possible.

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(End of this chapter)