Warhammer

So in order to maximize the combat effectiveness of the greenskins, it simply repeated the "mistake" it had made in Estalia.

That is to divide the troops.

Except for the decisive battle of Bilbarri, Al had never fought the main force of the greenskins, but by constantly devouring and attacking warbands ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands, he wiped out at least 100,000 greenskins in the south. If these greenskins had surrendered to Bilbarri, perhaps they could have taken down the city before the tribe went north...

But the situation was different, and who could have predicted that when Squig was preying on the goblins, there would be trolls standing behind them?

It separately selected the greenskins outside its own headquarters and chose capable warriors it favored as leaders of war gangs of varying sizes, leading their respective troops to attack in one direction.

Goblin riders and wyvern messengers will constantly transmit intelligence from the front lines back to the warlord, allowing him to make judgments on the front line situation in order to mobilize the army.

It formed dozens of warbands of varying sizes, each leading thousands to tens of thousands of greenskins to advance across the Black Bay Peninsula, while Gao Maoliang himself cunningly led his headquarters warband and part of the main force behind.

In the early stages of the formal war with the Myrmidons, the Myrmidons, who relied on temporary outposts and strongholds for defense, were not surprised. They only managed to hold out for a while under the fierce attack of the greenskins, and eventually lost part of their territory on the outskirts of the peninsula, and were forced to shrink their forces inward.

They sacrificed thousands of lives, but also inflicted several times more casualties on the greenskins.

However, this was only a negligible loss to the huge number of greenskins, and the Mirmidons never expected to stop the greenskins on the outskirts of the peninsula.

Neither the Black Bay Peninsula nor the entire Border Prince Territory has experienced a major war for many years. Even the defensive facilities that existed in the past have been abandoned because they were "meaningless" or have simply been converted into civilian and economic facilities.

From the time the greenskins attacked Matoka to the time they arrived at Vidanos, it was less than two months. The Myrmidons were very alert and began to prepare for war when the Sea Gate Pass was besieged, but only a little more than three or four months had passed, and they could only urgently reopen some of the fortresses and strongholds left over from the past and make them barely usable after some repairs.

The only truly defensible place is the main city of Mirmidon, which is itself an extremely solid fortress and is particularly good at dealing with greenskins.

169: Defense of Mirmidon (II)

But the people of Mirmidon would not think of relying solely on this city to resist the enemy. Once a siege is formed, who knows what tricks the greenskins will use.

This city has a large number of colonists, explorers, and mercenaries, including experienced veterans who have traveled all over the world, as well as aid and military advisers urgently sent by the dwarves of Haimen Pass.

Taking into account the special terrain of the Black Bay Peninsula, they adopted a trapezoidal defense strategy, arranging a large number of strongholds on the periphery to detect the combat effectiveness of the greenskins and at the same time delay the enemy's attack. They did not seek to kill or cause casualties, but only to achieve a certain degree of obstruction, relying on some remaining fortresses, strongholds and other defensive facilities as the center.

The Mirmidons deployed a number of mobile troops on the second line to facilitate the retreat of the defeated soldiers from the first line.

They also set up many ambushes in the fjords and near the beaches. Using their familiarity with the terrain and their mobility, they could attack small groups of greenskins and then quickly withdraw, either escaping to the sea by ship or hiding in the terrain until the next attack.

By resisting and retreating layer by layer, the enemy was constantly weakened in the "steady retreat".

The peninsula's terrain is narrow, which is not conducive to large-scale troop operations. The greenskins are surging in, and the battlefield is limited in width, which is not conducive to them taking advantage of their own numbers.

The focus is on the six fortresses that were deployed on the outskirts of Mirmiden through concentrated forces. They are located in a semi-arc in the north of Mirmiden. Some of them are located at dangerous mountain passes, and some are located on the cliffs of the fjord. They are easy to defend and difficult to attack, and they support each other.

Because the battlefield is small enough to facilitate retreat and support, although there are a large number of greenskins, they cannot easily smash through the enemy's defense line and then divide and devour them by brute force.

This has been a tactic they have often used in the past.

The pig rushed forward, relying on brute force, using pure brute force to break through the enemy's defenses and then kill everyone in sight.

But this hit a wall in Mirmidon.

The threat of the greenskins had already been known to the neighboring territories, such as Tyrell and the Border Princes, after Estalia. Moreover, the border was adjacent to the dwarves who were fighting the Reconquista. Even the most foolish and arrogant people would not think that they were absolutely safe. They still had to think about it:

If one day a large group of greenskins suddenly emerges from the badlands and heads towards me, should I take precautions in advance?

So if you say that Mirmidon's military strength has relaxed, then on average it is indeed a little looser than before when they were fighting every day, but it is not abandoned. Moreover, due to technological advancement, population increase, more new knowledge has been invented and spread, and its strength has actually increased more than before.

After all, humans are not like elves and dwarves, two glorious races with a long history and heritage, and cannot rely on digging graves and conducting archaeology to advance technology.

There is no such thing as the older the tradition, the more powerful it is. The present must be stronger than the past. No matter how corrupt and broken the empire's military system is, if you let the united army of the time of Karl the Savior and Magnus the Pious come over and clash with the current standing legions, which are corrupt, have lax military discipline and are even decadent, they may not be able to defeat the latter with battle mages, artillery regiments, musketeers and war machines.

The greenskins are still stuck in the past...

Upon learning that the progress was not smooth, although he was mentally prepared for this, Mao Liang still couldn't help feeling a little depressed.

If it were to break away from the greenskin group, it might really look like a human wise general just covered in "green skin".

If other greenskin warlords were in a bad mood, killing a few goblins, greenskins, etc. for fun could be considered "mercy". They might even think of taking their war gang out to Waaaagh and kill to vent their anger.

But Mao Liang just became more silent and his appetite became a little bigger.

It knows that if it cannot win on the battlefield, then no matter how well it does elsewhere, it will not be able to save the situation.

Even if Aiur has won the hearts of the people in southern Estalia, the Northern Expedition fails, and the greenskins make a comeback, as long as the warlord gives them a chance to ease the tension, the southern cities will still waver between massacre and surrender and turn to Golem, kneeling down and begging for forgiveness.

On the Black Bay Peninsula, although the greenskins had been advancing, they had not been able to launch a decisive battle against the enemy from beginning to end, causing heavy casualties - even if they could do this, they would first have to suffer far more casualties than the enemy.

The Mirmidons are experienced in dealing with greenskins.

In the past, in order to monitor the coast and to transform into guerrilla warfare if they were defeated on the frontal battlefield, the Mirmidons took advantage of the natural geography of the long fjords. With a little digging, those caves could be turned into strongholds that could accommodate several to hundreds of people.

Now these hiding places have also been utilized. There are at least hundreds of guerrilla teams with different personnel lurking along the long coastline of the peninsula. They set out under the cover of night to attack the green-skinned enemy forces attacking from the south.

They only need to lurk somewhere, and then shoot a shot or an arrow at the greenskins when they pass by, which will make the greenskins scream and run around looking for the enemy.

As long as it can delay it in this way, the interference effect will be sufficient.

The soil of the peninsula is soft and suitable for digging trenches. Although the Mirmidons have basically given up the idea of ​​fighting in the field against the greenskins, they still set up a large number of trench defenses outside important strongholds. With the protection of fortifications, they can block the greenskin attacks outside the city and then retreat into the city.

With all these measures, although the greenskins' offensive momentum on the Black Bay Peninsula seemed "rapid", in fact they did not achieve any results that could really shake the Mirmidons.

They retreated step by step, leaving their own blood and the bodies of the enemies on the battlefield.

Gao Maoliang felt that he had underestimated the fighting power of the Mirmidons, or that this was no longer an era where they could rely on simple barbarism to run rampant...

This in turn reassures it that its purpose is correct.

Greenskins can act as a natural disaster in the barbaric era and stir up the world, but with the development of civilization, their influence will be greatly reduced.

Solid houses can withstand storms, water conservancy facilities can prevent droughts and floods, a complete sewage system, healthy living habits and active doctors can prevent plagues...then more and more new weapons and advanced warfare skills will be enough to deal with the greenskins.

In their wars with barbarian enemies, the Dwarves have invented a "herbicide" that can kill spore mushrooms on a large scale by spraying, allowing them to clean up the battlefield much faster and prevent spores from growing.

Although it does not pose a threat to the already established greenskins, who knows what technology will be developed as time goes by?

By then, the greenskins will become a group of wild beasts...

As a rare "wise man" among the greenskins, a warlord who considers issues from the perspective of the entire "ethnic group", Mao Liang cannot allow such a situation to occur.

It is very smart and understands human knowledge. It can completely serve as a green-skinned mercenary, have its own place in the civilized world, and embark on a legendary journey without being cursed and hostile by hundreds of millions of people.

In order to deal with the threat from the greenskins, the Tyrells learned to fight green with green very early on, hiring one greenskin warband to fight another. They were also the first country to create "greenskin mercenaries".

In the New World colonies, there are also many such "greenskin mercenaries" who are a rare minority in the entire greenskin community. They may still be secretly hostile to humans, but as long as they do not break local laws, they can walk openly on the streets of the city-state, drink and eat meat, and accept commissions (usually to kill people).

Considering that someone in the south promoted the so-called "equality, unity and harmony among all races (under the self)", and actually did so, it can be said that it was the first country in the medieval world to initiate a "cultural diversity" policy. If we put aside the fact that it was the invasion of Estalia that directly led to the birth of the United Kingdom - the Alliance, Mao Liang would surely be able to achieve great things in the Alliance.

Maybe someone will value this special greenskin, and after conquering the badlands, give Gao Maoliang a title like "Green King" or "Returning Order King", and let it take in greenskins and make knives for the Alliance?

But Gao Maoliang did not devote himself to the civilized order that he "pursued" in a sense. Instead, he fought in the badlands, using his wisdom and hard power to carve out his own foundation one by one. When he was thinking about green life in Golden Oath City, the Skaven envoy came here and made a suggestion.

This immediately enlightened the warlord, clearing up his worries and confusion about the future. Inspiration and reality collided, and a great idea was born in an instant.

So it gathered a war gang, claiming to be the second [Big Belly King·Gulu], crossed the sea for an expedition, and launched a Waaaaagh that had never been seen since [Greenskin God's Choice·Gogo·Maogao]!!!

This is just so waaaagh!

Soon, the greenskins in the southern badlands "heard the news" and gathered under the command of the great warlord Gao Maoliang, eager to participate in this waaaagh. But in fact, Gao Maoliang's purpose was not simply to destroy, but to use this as a great attempt:

For the first time, the greenskins will try to rule with their butcher knives rather than destroy a nation of civilized people!

Initial results were achieved in Estalia. The southern people were afraid of the massacre by the warlords, so they chose surrender over death. They began to fulfill their duties as "vassals" to the greenskin army, providing food, weapons, and conscripting able-bodied men.

If it weren't for Al's sudden appearance, it can be said that Gao Maoliang's grand blueprint was close to success.

Having kidnapped a productive civilization and provided fuel for the greenskins' barbaric chariot, the armed country of Golem will be transformed into a madly operating war machine. Its next target will be Tyrell, whom it has sent a small army to harass. This is the same target that Aiur chose as the first expansion target after unifying Estalia.

When Gao Maoliang has occupied the entire Southern Kingdom, he will designate large areas as "spore fields" to carry out large-scale mushroom cultivation to provide a steady supply of manpower for his war gangs. Then, armed with the power of human productivity, he will move eastward, westward, southward, northward... an unprecedented green tide will rise from the south.

Although the first attempt failed, Gao Maoliang was sure that his goal was correct.

This is the only future the greenskins can strive for in this era of rapid progress and change.

As for getting involved in the war in Black Rock Castle, Mao Liang had no interest in doing so.

Even if the main force of the dwarves' southern expedition was defeated at Black Rock, what would it matter? The dwarves only had to retreat to the mountain fortress, and only a few hundred people would be enough to resist the siege of tens of thousands of troops. Even if they could take the opportunity to recapture fortresses such as Iron Rock and Thunder Fort, the greenskins had no ability to develop at all, let alone attack Eternal Peak.

By the time the dwarves have rested and recuperated and come back, the greenskins' power will definitely be weaker than after they won the Battle of Black Rock, because the territory controlled by the greenskins simply cannot support such a large army, and they will eventually fall apart and return to fighting each other.

The dwarves can still advance step by step by building strongholds and fighting stupid battles, slowly but steadily advancing and expanding their power. Facing the fully armed and steady dwarves, the greenskins have no advantage except for numbers.

In addition, the situation with the greenskins in Black Crag was complicated, and Gao Maoliang was not sure he could completely suppress them. Therefore, there was no point in going to Black Crag except perhaps being able to repel the dwarves and the Alliance forces and buy some time for the situation in the Endless Mountains.

And even this little bit of time, to be honest, is not very useful.

Chapter 170: Defense of Mirmidon (Part 3)

That's why Mao Liang chose to go directly north to attack Haimen Pass. If he could capture the city and loot it, the mountains would shake and the dwarves would have to send troops to rescue it. This would also ease the pressure on the Black Rock Castle front and allow the greenskins there to delay for some more time... Unfortunately, the long-lived dwarves are not like the short-sighted humans. They would abandon their military because of "only" a few dozen or a hundred years of peace.

The Battle of Haimen Pass ended with the defeat of the greenskins. Gao Maoliang made a decisive turn, bypassed Haimen Pass, and broke into the vast border prince's territory to the west.

This move successfully allowed the greenskins, whose morale had been crushed, to recover quickly. They ravaged large tracts of territory, gained the surrender of humans, and even acquired a decent army of human servants.

Gao Maoliang's grand plan seemed to have begun to show signs of success. In less than a month, it had conquered an area of ​​land nearly as large as the entire Alliance. In this vast territory of the Border Princes, the only thing standing in its way was the Black Bay Peninsula where Milmiden was located.

The unusual movements coming from the southwest made the warlord alert.

Although the cunning beastman boy is not in the country now, the warlord still has to be vigilant against the old rival who has grown to be extremely powerful.

alliance.

Misha sent troops to "assist in the defense" of Algaris and took over every aspect of the city. The action was very quick and covert, but Mao Liang was still able to know through certain channels that the alliance had already taken over this chessboard led by the Border Prince.

Its last conquest served as a dowry for Ai'er, allowing him to legitimately do what the warlord wanted to do.

If the old story of Estalia were to happen again...

In the future, a tablet for Mao Liang will have to be built in the Ai'erjian Temple.

In fact, Gao Maoliang did not have much "anger" about the fact that he was taken advantage of. After all, he lost and he did not beat Aiur. If Gao Ge Mao Ge had appeared at that time and smashed the Iron Throne that fell from the sky, perhaps the outcome would still be unknown.

But Mao Liang is different. He will review and think about the situation.

Even if it had won the Battle of Bilbarri, the Estalia would still have insisted on resisting after the South had been liberated, and would have moved the capital to Vizia if they failed. And Aiur would not be easily annihilated in the North if he was prepared, and he could have retreated to the South and made a comeback... But it would still not be a final victory for the greenskins.

Gao Maoliang reflected on his failure in Estalia. One of the important factors was that he did not "resolve the recent threat" and make a truce with the tribe and withdraw from the Pina Forest, allowing the latter to accumulate strength. While its main force was in the north, the army went out together and easily seized the empty south.

So this time, it has to make sure it completely eliminates the threat in front of it before opening up a new front.

Mirmiden is in a very critical position and cannot be let go at any cost.

It must take this place at all costs and seize the last bastion of the border people, just like it did with Bill Barry. Otherwise, it will never be possible to truly suppress the border people and make them serve the warlords.

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Located in the north of Mirmidon, Fort No. 1, located on the fjord, was once an outpost opened by Mirmidon on the coastline. Later, for the purpose of defending against greenskins, it continued to expand and eventually became a fortress capable of accommodating thousands of people.

When the greenskins moved south, the Mirmidons urgently re-used this abandoned facility which was only a step away from being abandoned. A large number of refugees were conscripted into the army, following the Alliance's "Construction Corps" system. They were both civilians, soldiers and workers, and received centralized management and militarized training. However, their main task was to carry out construction work as laborers, and they could be transferred to front-line military forces at any time.

They raced against time to dig trenches, build facilities, and strengthen Mirmidon's defenses to ensure they could cope with the upcoming green tide test.

Today, the "No. 1" fortress accommodates nearly 13,000 soldiers who are defending it. They have 32 artillery pieces. Although some of them are naval guns that were directly removed from ships and transported to land to provide support for city defense, and some are old antiques with dust in the barrels, they can still provide strong firepower for the defenders.

Fort No. 1 is located on a high ground, with only the east and south sides being attackable, while the other two sides are all facing the sea. It can be said that it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The militia dug a large number of trenches and laid traps on the outskirts of the castle to ensure that the enemy's attack could be hindered as much as possible.

For others

Mercenaries who participated in the Estalia Patriotic War put forward military suggestions based on the experience of the Southern War. They mobilized the people on a large scale to organize themselves and take up arms to defend their homes. They used village and neighborhood relationships as a bond and elected people with prestige and ability from within as leaders. Women also needed to be organized and, when necessary, they also needed to take up arms and go to the battlefield, because the greenskins' butcher knives would not show mercy because of gender, age and other factors.

Faced with the threat of greenskin massacre, the Mirmidons successfully mobilized all civilians. They formed a large number of militias to guard their positions. Their equipment was simple, with only a hastily made round shield and a barely usable spear. They were only weapons that could be used, but their morale was very high. They also imitated the Alliance's system in the "Patriotic War". The Mirmidons organized a large number of propaganda teams to preach to the people and the army day and night, and gave speeches on how cruel the greenskins were and how evil their methods and goals were:

They were designed not only to destroy our liberty, but to enslave the descendants of the borderers for generations to come;

The cunning and despicable greenskins may try to deceive us by saying "give up resistance and you can avoid death"! But when we lay down our weapons and give up resistance, freedom and glory will no longer exist, and even our lives will be in the hands of the enemy!

We are the free descendants! Proud and independent sons of the border! No force can take away our freedom! No barbarism can defeat civilization! Long live Mirmidon!

Temporary surrender may bring you survival, but in the end your bones will be buried in a foreign land along with the feces of wild beasts (referring to the greenskins forcibly conscripting able-bodied men in various places)!

Long live the sacred and independent freedom! The homeland needs you!

......

It's basically a move of what El did in Estalia.

But it must be said that the results are remarkable.

The changes that Eyre has brought to the world outside the South have begun to show as his "excellent" governance has been recognized and spread by more and more people.

For example, the "Returnists" priests in the Empire's state religion once imitated the Alliance's "Paradise" system and established the "Faith Academy" managed by devout and simple Returnists priests. They provided free education and upbringing to the children of poor farmers and laborers, and took in a large number of helpless orphans. While providing them with religious education, they also taught them more "advanced" knowledge. When these children grow up, no matter because of their own class or education, it is conceivable that they will become loyal supporters of the Returnists and provide them with fresh blood.

However, this system was later urgently stopped by the Ecumenical Council due to the conflict with the secular regime, and the orphans were dispersed and sent to churches and welfare institutions...

Although Mirmidon is a city controlled by merchants and military leaders (mainly mercenary groups with a large number of private soldiers or wealthy businessmen who covet the title of prince), this situation is very common in the border princes, but their rulers are more courageous than those in other places.