Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 36 One Night Battle Front

The war is about to begin.

The information spread throughout the entire front almost immediately.

Ryan didn't have the mind to think about where the message came from. He didn't have time to care about that.

But he knew very well that the Farnian offensive strategy was basically based on General Joffre, who was commanding the second phase in Lorraine. They would first launch a massive attack on the city of Saarbrücken in Lorraine. After capturing Saarbrücken, they would go south, cross the Vosges Mountains, and march down from the top of the mountain.

Mulhouse's location, just a stone's throw from Belfort, gave them an excellent opportunity to encircle the Imperial forces defending Mulhouse.

But this also illustrates one thing.

The Farlanes would certainly not deploy a large number of troops at once in their attack on Mulhouse.

But that's assuming they don't know Ryan is here.

"Your Excellency, Brigadier General, when did the news of my coming here get out?"

In the third row of trenches farthest from the front line, Ryan had just arrived at the command post with Brinkman and asked Brian who had arrived earlier than him.

The tight situation on the front line prevented Bryan from returning to the Fifth Army headquarters, so he chose to go directly to the front line.

However, Brian did not take over the command, but only temporarily assisted the seventh episode as a staff consultant.

He told Ryan: "We sent someone to deliver this message the day after you arrived in Strasbourg."

"Is there any information about mobilization on the northern front?"

Ryan demanded.

"Not at the moment," added a deputy staff officer. He noticed that Ryan was only a captain, but because he and the brigadier general could talk in an equal tone, he answered honestly.

Then he saw the Blue Star Max hanging on Ryan: "Are you Captain Ryan Flig?"

"it's me."

Ryan nodded and happened to see the defense map of the Alsace region hanging behind the other party.

Only then did he remember that he had a golden finger.

"Damn it, I totally forgot about this."

The entire Alsace war zone defense map immediately appeared before my eyes.

Although the complete picture of the Seventh Army was missing, Rennes could currently see the Rhine Valley, including the mountains on both sides, and part of the main force on the north side of the Vosges Mountains.

The first thing I noticed was the information from Mulhouse.

Unlike Strasbourg, Mulhouse cannot be considered a city in its own right at the foot of the Vosges Mountains.

It is more like the beginning of the map of the Alsace region, with its back to the Rhine Valley. As long as you stand on the southernmost side of the city, you can see Belfort in the west and Basel in the east at a glance.

The two places are connected by a road, but there is no road between Belfort and Basel.

Under General Hellingen's command, the Seventh Army did not deploy many troops in the Rhine Valley, at most only two infantry divisions.

Two infantry divisions may seem like a lot, but in reality they were responsible for the defensive operations of the entire distance from Mulhouse to Strasbourg.

Therefore, the actual defensive force that could be allocated to Mulhouse was only at the level of two regiments - almost a division.

This is not a very strong force, but the key to defensive combat is to exchange space for time, so this number of people is actually barely enough.

On the other hand, Belfort.

The troops deployed by the Farlans in Belfort were so dense that they almost painted the entire Belfort red.

Ryan didn't even bother to click on it and exaggerate the number - at least half an army's worth of troops. The only good thing was that this group of people wouldn't rush to the front line all at once.

Because Ryan could see a row of red dots leaving Belfort from time to time and heading towards Nanxi via the railway - the gathering point of the Farlanders in Lorraine.

This was consistent with his past understanding of the French.

"Someone to fight." Ryan thought to himself.

However, it is not the same as what I thought before, which is to urgently build positions on the front line.

He took one last look at the map, counting the enemy's organization and the troops that had already assembled, which appeared as clusters of red rectangular blocks on the map. Then he closed the map and returned to the command post.

The time spent looking at the map was not long, perhaps only a dozen seconds, and Ryan's movements of looking at the map were also reflected in his body, so others did not notice anything wrong.

As soon as his consciousness returned to reality, Ryan stood directly in front of a larger tactical map.

He first looked at the people in the command post, and after confirming that none of them had a higher rank than Brian, he pointed at the map and spoke.

"Your Excellency, Brigadier General, our army's progress in digging defensive trenches is still a bit too slow. Considering that the enemy already had access to the intelligence we spread a few days ago, I believe they may send at least two brigades in the first wave of the offensive."

"Currently, only one of the roads connecting the Empire to the Farlan border city of Belfort is suitable for heavy vehicles. Therefore, I believe the Farlans will inevitably adopt a field march, splitting their forces into three groups and advancing with a relatively conservative siege tactic."

Ryan pointed to several small roads on the left and right sides of Mulhouse on the map, as well as the road connecting Mulhouse and Belfort.

The warrant officer standing by immediately placed the red arrow at the corresponding position.

The map, which originally only had blue symbols representing friendly forces, immediately had a combat feel.

But at this moment, a captain spoke up: "I agree with Captain Flig, but if that's the case, then the fortifications built by our troops on the front line are useless, right?"

Ryan took a look at the other person and found that it was the commander of the troops stationed on the front line.

"That's right," Ryan nodded, "so we have to temporarily abandon the front line."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the command post held their breath.

More than twenty pairs of eyes were staring at Ryan, especially the captains and majors who were in charge of the defense of the front-line positions, their eyes almost spitting fire.

"We are the glorious soldiers of the Empire. We will never give up an inch of the Empire's territory!"

They all had black Iron Cross medals hanging on their chests, but for Ryan, this was not a big problem.

Because he was not talking to the people from the Seventh Army at all, nor was he considering their opinions.

The real target of Ryan's words was Brigadier General Bryan.

"Go on, Captain."

Brian didn't like Ryan's suggestion, but he let Ryan continue.

"Yes."

Without hesitation, Ryan took the wooden pole used to handle the sand table from the warrant officer beside him and pulled the captains and majors' troops into the city. "After we make contact with the enemy, we will retreat into the city under the cover of the artillery. This is the troops' job today."

Then he pushed several troops that were still on the rear front to both sides of the city of Mulhouse.

"As the Farlan army continues to advance, their troops will arrive outside Mulhouse before dusk, and our troops will cross the Rhine at night and bypass their rear."

As he said this, he glanced at Brian.

"This is my army. We will build a battle line overnight that is strong enough to block the retreat of all the Farlans."

(End of this chapter)