Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 66 It’s time to avenge our compatriots!
Belfort is barely a stone's throw from the Vosges Mountains.

The houses at the edge are even on the slopes of the Vosges Mountains.

And now Damon's Eighth Army's front-line headquarters is less than 400 meters away from the hillside.

Colonel Chuck looked at the Vosges Mountains shrouded in darkness with some confusion. He tried to block out the sounds of firefighting and continuous artillery fire from his ears as much as possible, and search for the whistle he had just heard.

"Did you hear that correctly?"

Major General Damon showed a surprised expression: "There's a fire department fighting a fire in the next block. Maybe it was their voice."

But before he could finish his words, a barely audible whistle was heard in the air mixed with a strong smell of burning.

The sound was like a teacher's cold snort when a student was in school, and it stopped Damon's voice the moment it was uttered.

He turned his head left and right to look around, and then he realized that the sound came from the direction of the Vosges Mountains.

"what happened?"

Damon also began to turn his head to look in the direction of the sound, just like Chuck did just now.

Immediately afterwards, several flashes of fire, followed by gunshots, rang out on the streets of Belfort.

That wasn't the sound a Farlan rifle was supposed to make.

Damon almost immediately recognized the source of the gunshot - Mauser Gw.98.

"Enemy attack!"

Without any hesitation, Damon, who was over 60 years old, seemed to have returned to years ago. He let out a strong roar, and a dozen guards and military police immediately appeared in front of him.

Damon immediately said:
"The Imperial Army just crossed the border and is already directly north of us! Immediately terminate all offensive operations and transfer forces to the north of Farran Avenue! We must not let the Imperial bastards enter the commercial district!"

Several guards immediately turned around and ran towards the nearby stable. The remaining gendarmes saluted Damon and then ran towards the east - that was the current front line, where two regiments of soldiers were stationed.

This made Damon calm down immediately.

At the same time, the two staff officers who had just been discussing combat strategies inside immediately dismissed all officers who were not from the general staff or headquarters, and took several civilian officials to pack up all important military documents.

This place is too close to the Imperial Army, so they have to move their headquarters to a further rear location.

Damon wanted to stop them, but he felt that he would have to get used to this kind of thing in the future, so he didn't say anything, but looked at Colonel Chuck who was still standing beside him.

"You should go back immediately and warn the commander to evacuate his men, at least out of Belfort."

"I understand, General Damon..." Colonel Chuck nodded deeply, but he actually knew that General Bono was a stubborn person and would never move the headquarters because of Major General Damon's suggestion.

Damon also understood the meaning behind his actions. He stood there, listening to the dense gunfire coming from behind him, and said, "I can go with you, but you still have to say it."

"That would be perfect."

Colonel Chuck, who had originally had a sad face, finally smiled. He quickly waved to his subordinates who were waiting on the roadside. Within a few breaths, a car from the headquarters stopped in front of the two of them.

Damon didn't hesitate. He immediately got into the car with Chuck and rushed to the headquarters in the rear.

At the same time, to the west of Belfort, there is a farm barn about 300 meters away from Belfort.

A few minutes ago, Ryan successfully led the soldiers of the assault company to this place where they could see Belfort just by looking up. At this moment, he was observing the direction of the Vosges Mountains through a telescope.

From time to time, dense flashes of light appeared on the hillside and foot of the Vosges Mountains, which clearly showed that the Second Battalion was fighting with the Farlanders in Belfort.

If nothing unexpected happens, the people in the second battalion should be able to evacuate the front line in a while.

This is Ryan's tactic.

The enemy has half an army stationed in Belfort, and a battalion of soldiers can no way compare to those Farlanes.

For this reason, a flexible combat plan becomes the only option.

Ryan would attack from the west of Belfort with the assault company, and the 2nd Battalion would need to give their attack enough time.

The specific method is that the Second Battalion launched a direct attack on Belfort in a short time and high frequency manner, inducing the enemy to transfer its troops to the east.

After the enemy mobilized a sufficient number of troops, the people of the second battalion immediately retreated to the mountain.

The Farlanes would be blocked at the foot of the mountain due to the terrain advantage occupied by the Second Battalion. At this time, Ryan could lead the assault company to carry out the assault mission against Belfort.

In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the plan, the two forces must not only coordinate in terms of time, but also attract a lot of attention to each other while attacking.

Simply put, whoever initiates the attack has to blow the whistle.

The purpose is to give the Farlans the illusion that the enemy is everywhere.

Therefore, this is also a combat plan that requires a high degree of tacit understanding between the commanders of the two forces.

Not only did they have to seize the opportunity to launch an attack, but they also had to ensure they could effectively draw away the enemy's firepower. Fortunately, Ryan had a map, which prevented him from launching a rash attack.

In the darkness of night, he lay on the roof of the farm barn, with his pointed leather helmet broken off. It was illuminated by the moonlight, but there was no obvious reflection.

He saw flashes of gun muzzle flashes on the distant hillside from time to time, indicating that the Second Battalion had successfully lured away a considerable number of Farlan troops.

Suddenly, McIver's voice sounded beside Ryan.

"Captain! The Second Battalion sent a messenger over, saying they are preparing to retreat."

"So fast?"

Ryan glanced at him, and then, in the moonlight, discovered a messenger from the Second Battalion standing on the ground in the distance.

He paused, glanced at McIver, and then quickly checked the map. After confirming that there were still a large number of red dots gathering at the foot of the Vosges Mountains, he asked, "When did you get here?"

"Twenty minutes ago, sir!" The messenger saluted Ryan.

Ryan immediately glanced in the direction of the Vosges Mountains. After confirming that the distance between the two sides was at least five kilometers, he said, "Go back and find your battalion commander now. Tell him not to send a messenger next time."

The messenger didn't understand what Ryan meant, but he immediately trotted away, as if the five kilometers he had run before were completely different.

McIver didn't understand what Ryan meant, so he continued to lie on the roof and looked at Ryan: "Captain, why did you let him go back?"

Ryan rolled his eyes at him and said, "You can still run the same as him after running five kilometers?"

"That's definitely not possible," McIver said immediately. "Given the weather and the location, it would take me at least half an hour."

"Ok?"

McIver frowned, realizing something was amiss. "Is that why you told Captain Cairns not to send anyone over next time?"

But Ryan didn't want to pay any attention to him.

He has turned his attention back to the map.

A few minutes later, half a regiment had gathered at the foot of the Vosges Mountains, and another half regiment was being urgently transferred from the front line, rushing towards the position of the Second Battalion under artillery fire.

But they were unable to break through the firepower network of the Second Battalion. The simply built defensive positions only needed simple camouflage to intimidate the Farlans at the foot of the mountain without exposing themselves.

But there were so many Farlanes that when Ryan felt that time was dragging on for too long, Captain Keynes of the Second Battalion finally led his men to evacuate.

The Farlanes took advantage of the situation and rushed up the hillside. The muzzle flash of Lebel 1886 was so bright that it almost lit up the entire hillside.

"it's time."

Ryan immediately exited the map and climbed down the ladder to the barn.

The soldiers who had been prepared stood up one after another. They looked at Ryan, their hands already on the bayonet sheaths.

Ryan drew his service pistol, checked it in the moonlight, and released the safety before looking at the soldiers of the assault company.

They were divided into four different combat groups.

Each group had an attack target, which was the location of the Farlan headquarters that Ryan had deduced based on the map.

Ryan coughed before speaking.

"Everyone!"

he said.

"The cunning Farlans used despicable means to wage war against the Empire."

"They thought a massive attack could break the Empire's will, but they were wrong!"

"The Empire will never surrender!"

"Now, it's time to avenge our compatriots!"

He took out the whistle from his pocket and put it to his lips.

Seeing this, all the commanders of the assault company—from the acting company commander Kayneth to the squad leaders of each squad—pulled out their whistles.

"Everyone has it!"

"Go on the bayonet!"

"Prepare for the assault!"

(End of this chapter)