Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 99 Mackensen's Offensive

"General, you have a good eye for people."

Crown Prince George said so.

"Alright, Morin, stop overthinking things."

Mackensen waved his hand dismissively. He had a bad feeling when Morin suddenly stood up.

"Have you studied magical technology research and development? You're just spouting nonsense and making assumptions."

Morin panicked: "I developed those armor-piercing rounds, General!"

Mackensen: "Oh~ why didn't you tell me last time that you discovered it by accident? How come it's now your doing?"

"."

The Crown Prince smiled and said, "Lieutenant Morin, don't get agitated. We just feel that you might be more suited to be a soldier charging into battle on the front lines than a researcher sitting in a laboratory."

"Now that we finally have a battle mage who can fight on the front lines and does so well, we hope you can accumulate more experience so that I can promote the development of the 'Assault Team' in the future."

"The establishment of the commando team... Your Highness, do you mean it's already decided?" Morin asked in a low voice.

"Hahaha, General Mackensen originally hoped I wouldn't tell you, fearing you'd become arrogant and complacent."

Upon hearing this, Morin immediately glanced at General Mackensen.

Then he was met with a sharp glare from the latter.

Crown Prince Georg laughed heartily and said, "But I always feel that if I don't give you some sweetness, you 'rising star' will be disheartened."

Morin: "Your Highness, I'm not actually that kind of person."

The Crown Prince laughed twice more, then stepped forward and patted Morin on the shoulder.

"I've made my decision. Once the situation in the Kingdom of Aragon becomes clearer, I will transfer you back home to form a training-oriented 'strike force'."

"A battalion-level unit, under the command of the Saxon Royal Guard. You can choose the key personnel yourself, and just ask for your equipment and supplies. As long as it's reasonable, I'll find a way to meet your needs. Oh, and by the way..."

The crown prince seemed to remember something, paused, and then continued:

"I already know about your 'shaped charge armor-piercing projectile' in Seville. When I get back, I will have the Imperial Patent Office take your invention seriously and ensure your rights are protected."

"Your Highness, do you mean I don't need to go to court with the Imperial Patent Office regarding the 'compensation amount for confidential patents'?"

Morin made a point of emphasizing the 'confidential patent compensation amount,' after all, he is a meticulous person.

"."

The crown prince paused for a moment, clearly not expecting Morin to describe it in such detail, but he still shook his head and said with a smile:

"General Mackensen is absolutely right. Don't worry, Lieutenant Morin, you'll definitely get a compensation amount that satisfies you."

Meanwhile, Mackensen couldn't help but speak up, fearing that Morin might say something even more outrageous.

"Morin, you're the kind of guy who only comes to life on the battlefield. I hope you don't resent me for leaving you on the front lines, because I know very well that if I let you go back to the rear and get the money, you'll book out all the taverns and theaters you frequent in Dresden within three days!"

The Crown Prince and Mackensen worked together so well that they left Morin speechless.

He finally understood: these two had called him here today for two reasons—first, to discuss new tactics, and second, to...
General Mackensen, in particular, wanted to completely extinguish any thought Mackensen might have of returning to the rear to "enjoy life."

Well, at least for now, don't even think about going back.

"Very well, Your Highness, General, I obey orders."

“Very good.” Mackensen nodded in satisfaction.

After the meeting, Morin planned to hitch a ride back to the town.

Before leaving, Mackensen called him back.

"Hey kid, is there anything else the army needs? Hurry up and ask while His Highness is here."

Morin's eyes lit up; his chance had come!

"Then I won't be polite!"

……

When a truck stopped at the 1st Company's temporary camp and the tarpaulin on the back of the truck was lifted, the surrounding soldiers gasped in surprise.

"My God! So many more P08 artillery variants!"

"And drum kits! So many!"

"Look! There's a heavy machine gun!"

The truck was piled high with weapons and equipment that Morin had brought back from command.

More than thirty artillery-type P08 pistols, their blued steel bodies shimmering with a captivating luster in the sunlight.

Next to it were several wooden crates filled to the brim, all containing 9mm pistol ammunition and a 32-round drum magazine to match the gun.

In addition, there were boxes of spherical grenades.

Of course, the most important items were the two MG08 heavy machine guns, along with their tripods, cooling tanks, and spare barrels.

The Crown Prince and General Mackensen did indeed show remarkable generosity in fulfilling his request.

Morin casually mentioned that he hoped to strengthen the assault team's close-combat firepower and add two heavy machine guns.

As a result, His Highness immediately ordered the quartermaster to send over all the weapons and equipment that Morin needed.

However, when Klaus found Maureen, who had returned with him, he discovered that the latter didn't seem very happy.

"Company Commander, what's wrong?"

"Oh, I'm being way too polite."

Molin suddenly started pounding his thigh, his face full of frustration.

Klaus: "Huh?"

"If I had known they were so easy to talk to, why the hell didn't I dare ask for more?"

"."

However, despite the regret, the arrival of this batch of supplies still raised the overall firepower level of the 1st Company to a new level.

Morin immediately instructed Klaus to organize manpower to allocate these weapons and equipment appropriately, and to store the excess in the supply train.

Those P08s and drum magazines can continue to be used to increase the number of assault troops.

The addition of two MG08 heavy machine guns brought the total number of heavy machine guns in the 1st Company to an astonishing four.

If we add the two Vickers with limited ammunition that were captured earlier, the number of heavy machine guns that the 1st Company now possesses has, frankly speaking, reached the level of the previous regimental level.

Although the conversation with the Crown Prince and Mackensen did not allow Morin to successfully "slip back to the rear," it did give him new ideas.

He discovered that the current situation in the Saxon Empire did not seem to support the deployment of a large number of valuable low-level mages to the front lines for attrition.

After all, you can't slow down the entire nation's technological advancement for short-term tactical gains. Therefore, it seems there are only two paths to perfectly combine magic and infantry tactics right now.

The first thing is to find a way to 'mass produce' low-level mages.

This would make spellcasters so numerous that they would no longer be so precious, and could be deployed to the battlefield like ordinary soldiers.

The second point is to find a way to enable ordinary people to use 'magic'.

For example, mass-producing items similar to spell scrolls or magical equipment would allow ordinary soldiers to unleash one or two low-level spells at crucial moments.

But neither of these problems can be solved by him on the battlefield in a short time.

Therefore, Mo Lin could only put these thoughts aside for the time being and study them slowly when he had the opportunity to return to China.

He found Klaus and confirmed some routine matters for the company, such as casualty statistics, ammunition resupply, and prisoner custody.

Afterwards, he held two brief battle debriefing meetings with the members of the assault team and his three platoon leaders respectively.

At the meeting, he praised everyone's bravery in the battle without reservation, while also pointing out some shortcomings in their tactical execution.

He especially pulled the three newly appointed platoon leaders aside and reviewed every command detail of the street fighting.

From the deployment of work teams to the allocation of firepower and coordination with neighboring units, Mo Lin provided them with detailed analysis and explanations.
"Barak, tell me why this road has been blocking your second platoon for so long?"

Morin pointed to a road seven or eight meters wide in the town and asked, "According to the post-war analysis, the 2nd Platoon was stuck in this position for a long time and suffered six casualties."

If the 3rd Platoon, as the company's reserve force, hadn't charged forward, the 2nd Platoon would likely have been surrounded by the retreating Kingdom troops from other directions.

"Company commander, there were many enemies on this road at the time. Later, they also copied us and set up a machine gun to block the intersection."

Barak explained somewhat dejectedly that their 2nd Platoon had made poor progress in the breakthrough during this battle, and also suffered the most casualties, with a total of 5 dead and 8 wounded.

"So you're just going to stand here and engage in a gunfight? Don't you know how to flank around from the side? I've told you so many times, infiltration and outflanking maneuvers are things you can use even in town."

After Morin finished speaking, he turned to look at Kahn and Ram, who were also reviewing the proceedings.

"Don't be so rigid when executing tactics. Think more. Don't do well in training but fail to adapt when you're in a different environment!"

After all matters related to today's battle were dealt with and the battle report was prepared with the assistance of the company clerk, it gradually got dark.

Molin dragged his tired body back to his makeshift tent.

He didn't light the oil lamp but lay down on the cot and opened the system map.

On the map, the blue arrow representing the Saxon Expeditionary Force 2nd Corps has gained a decisive advantage across the board in today's offensive.

Apart from the town of San Lorenzo de la Parilla where Morin was located, several other key strongholds on the front line were also captured by the troops of the 7th and 8th Divisions.

The first line of defense built by the Kingdom's army and the Britannians crumbled almost instantly under the Saxon army's fierce offensive.

Looking at the unstoppable offensive on the map, Morin had a premonition.

After completing his initial probing and troop buildup, the veteran general Mackensen, known as the 'Marshal of the Advance' in another world, seems ready to launch his fierce offensive.

It was as if to verify Maureen's premonition.

That evening, the regimental headquarters issued an order to the 1st Battalion.

The 32nd Tsvika Infantry Regiment will continue its advance toward Madrid.

The town they just captured will be defended by troops from the 9th Infantry Division that follow up from behind.

The next day, before setting off, Morin originally wanted to take the captured magic crystal cannon battalion with him.

After all, this thing, under his guidance, was quite buggy.

However, when he saw the 'mule-like' magic crystal cannon battalion starting to disassemble and pack up before departure early in the morning, he was so angry at the cumbersome weapon that he laughed.

Disassembling a cannon requires the use of a winch and a specialized crane.

The disassembly and loading alone took nearly three hours, from before dawn until the troops were about to depart.

Of the nine disassembled parts, the largest one—the cannon barrel—weighed a whopping twelve tons!

This directly resulted in the Magic Crystal Artillery Battalion, equipped with heavy-duty wagons, only being able to march a paltry seven kilometers per day.

"This speed isn't even as fast as my walking speed!"

Looking at the prisoners of the Magic Crystal Cannon Battalion, who were busy and sweating profusely, Morin completely lost hope.

Even now, he still doesn't understand why the Britannians carried such heavy artillery into battle, or why they didn't consider making it lighter.

Don't you want to?

While watching, Major Thomas learned that Morin's company actually wanted to reinforce an entire magic crystal cannon battalion, and couldn't help but laugh and scold:
"You've got quite the appetite! You want to reinforce a company with a whole magic crystal cannon battalion, so does that mean I need to reinforce a battalion with a whole magic crystal cannon regiment?"

Upon hearing this, Morin immediately grinned and leaned closer, saying, "With your brilliance and prowess as battalion commander, it wouldn't be excessive to reinforce an entire magic crystal artillery brigade!"

"Go, go, go! Let's get going!"

Ultimately, this slow-moving magic crystal cannon battalion was left in the town and taken over by the Ninth Division troops that arrived later.

Of course, the credit for capturing these six magic crystal cannons was firmly attributed to Morin and his 1st Company.

Although Morin was somewhat disappointed, he could only give up for the time being.

Fortunately, in the [Technology] page, the progress bar for unlocking the 'Griffin IV' Siege Crystal Cannon technology has reached 100%, so there will be an opportunity to conduct research later.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

The commanders of the Kingdom's army and the Britannians had not anticipated that the Saxons' advance would be so rapid once they stopped committing their precious mages and armored knights.

The first line of defense, including the town of San Lorenzo de la Parilla, was breached by the Saxon army in just one night.

The troops that were urgently deployed for the counterattack also suffered heavy losses.

Especially the two Britannian infantry battalions that counterattacked the town.

They thought they were going to bully the weak, but instead they ran into a brick wall and were instead hit by their own magic crystal cannon, resulting in more than half of them being injured or killed.

While the Britannians were in dire straits, they also belatedly realized that there might be a mage among the Saxon attacking forces in this direction.

Moreover, this mage also possessed the technique of guiding the magic crystal cannon for precise strikes.

Otherwise, those shells wouldn't have been as accurate as the ones they used, and a single salvo wouldn't have hit their attacking troops right on the head.

The news was immediately relayed to the Brittany Expeditionary Force headquarters in Madrid.

Commander Douglas Haig of the expeditionary force, unsurprisingly, turned pale after hearing the battle report from the front.

He immediately contacted the Highland Mage Corps accompanying the army and suggested that they send mages to the front lines again to counter the Saxon mages.

However, the reply he received almost made him so angry that he pulled out his Webley revolver on the spot.

"I'm sorry, Commander Hag, but until we receive definite news from the mainland, the Highland Mage Corps will only participate in the defensive operations of Madrid for the time being and will not launch any more offensive operations."

(End of this chapter)