Chapter 160: All-Out Offensive

As the Meuse River Battle Group began its all-out offensive, Barchon, Évregnies, Fléron—fortress after fortress, once believed to require heavy artillery to breach, were effortlessly occupied by Saxon soldiers.

When the officers of the follow-up troops walked into the interior of these deserted forts, they were invariably shocked by the sight before them.

The facilities inside the forts were intact. Warehouses were stacked with ammunition and supplies, and uneaten dinners were even still sitting on the tables in the mess halls. Everything indicated that the Flanders garrison had chosen to abandon their positions in a state of extreme haste and disarray.

Soon, Ludendorff began to receive reports from all the attacking forces. A common detail caught his attention. In the three abandoned forts, all the Magic Guided Devices had completely ceased to function. The Magic Power supply from inside Liège City seemed to have been entirely cut off.

“Magic Power Hub…” Ludendorff subconsciously uttered the word.

He suddenly looked up in the direction of Liège City, his eyes bursting with astonishing light. Could it be… that the young Captain and his 20-man Assault Team, besides taking out the Command Post, had truly taken down the Magic Power Hub as well? Ludendorff’s heart began to pound violently and uncontrollably. He had originally thought that Morin and his Assault Team completing one or two of the three main objectives—creating enough chaos inside the fortress to facilitate the main force’s attack—would be considered an overachievement.

But now, it seemed the situation was even more insane than he had anticipated? After all, based on the sketches previously provided by the Military Intelligence Department, the location of the ‘Large Anti-Air Magic Guided Device’ was right next to the main building housing the Fortress Command Post. Taking out the Command Post essentially meant neutralizing the anti-air unit that threatened the Armored Airships.

Now, with the Magic Power Hub also suspected to be out of commission… This practically meant Morin and his Assault Team had achieved all three objectives in under three hours, completely destroying the central core of the Liège Fortress cluster!

“My God, is this a God of War?” Ludendorff couldn’t help but exclaim, feeling his breath quicken. This achievement was too magnificent, so magnificent that it felt somewhat unreal even to him.

“Quick! Get the radio station to try and contact our Armored Airships!” Ludendorff suddenly thought of something and immediately ordered the Communications Staff Officer beside him: “Tell them the threat over Liège may have been neutralized, and to return and rejoin the battle!”

“Yes, General!”

After issuing the orders, Ludendorff stood in place, letting the cold night wind blow across his slightly plump cheeks. The image of the young Captain kept flashing uncontrollably in his mind.

Although he and some of his colleagues at the General Staff had previously acknowledged the novel tactical concept of ‘Assault Operations’ and were curious about the real-world capabilities of the Instruction Assault Battalion, many conservative officers within the General Staff privately dismissed it as nothing more than the ‘Crown Prince’s expensive toy.’ Some even felt that the Crown Prince’s involvement in the Army was a slight overreach…

But tonight’s battle made Ludendorff understand completely. The Instruction Assault Battalion… and that Captain Morin, were definitely not a ‘toy unit.’ They were truly the sharp blade that could stab into the enemy’s heart and deliver a fatal blow!

Ludendorff felt that his mind, thanks to tonight’s unprecedented Air Drop operation, was suddenly brimming with countless new tactical ideas. He felt that this young Captain, through his daring and almost insane action, had opened a door to a new world for him and for the entire Saxon Army.

However, for now, he still had to focus on commanding the current battle. Using the three occupied forts as staging points, the various attacking forces of the Meuse River Battle Group had formed a single line and began launching a tidal wave of offense toward Liège City.

And in this wave of attack, the fastest moving was the Instruction Assault Battalion, led by Kleist.

Unbeknownst to them, the Instruction Assault Battalion, which had become the spearhead of the entire Battle Group, was now rushing toward the core area of Liège City with incredible speed, like a gust of wind sweeping across the land.

For nearly three months, the monotonous foundational training—day after day of 20-kilometer combat physical training, Armed Cross-Country, 400-meter Obstacle Course—training that could make one want to vomit, finally showed its true value. The soldiers of the Instruction Assault Battalion had long surpassed ordinary Imperial Soldiers in physical fitness. This powerful physical condition was the foundation that allowed them to launch continuous offensives, and charge forward tirelessly.

All the officers of the Assault Battalion, including Kleist, finally grasped the profound meaning of the phrase Morin constantly repeated—‘Physical fitness is the foundation of all tactics.’ This sentence might have sounded hollow on the training ground, but on the battlefield of blood and fire, it became an undeniable truth. This further solidified Kleist’s belief—the Battalion Commander was a God of War sent from heaven. Therefore, no matter the cost, they must charge into Liège City to support and retrieve the Commander and the Assault Troops!

The straight-line distance from Barchon Fortress to Liège City was about five to six kilometers.

Under Kleist’s leadership, the entire battalion’s attack formation was widely dispersed. Operating by company, they maintained a longitudinal distance of about five hundred meters, providing alternating cover and continuously advancing.

They encountered several groups of Grand Duchy of Flanders garrison troops who had retreated from the forts and attempted to organize resistance, but the fighting usually ended within minutes. Faced with the unreasonable automatic firepower of the Instruction Assault Battalion, these sporadic resistances could not cause any trouble. They were generally broken up shortly after engagement and then easily taken as prisoners by the friendly forces that followed.

Ultimately, fifty-two minutes after the general assault began, the main force of the Instruction Assault Battalion had already reached the edge of Liège City.

This speed even caused some concern among the friendly forces who had yet to catch up. Did these lunatics not fear being too aggressive and getting surrounded by the enemy?

At this point, the unit at the very front was once again the 1st Company.

Acting Company Commander Klaus, after linking up the company’s main force with the forward reconnaissance unit, immediately called several of the reconnaissance soldiers over.

“What is the situation inside the city?” Klaus asked in a low voice, his muscular body prone in a shell crater, observing the somewhat silent urban area ahead through his binoculars.

“Reporting, Acting Company Commander, the defense inside the city is very weak,” a young Corporal replied, breathing heavily.

“We crept closer and observed: there’s only about a platoon of troops on this street ahead… and only some simple sandbag barricades. They don’t seem to have any fighting spirit at all.”

“Only one platoon?” Klaus frowned. This was completely different from the fierce Street Fighting he had anticipated—he had initially prepared for a ‘Sevillian-style Street Fighting’ battle.

“Yes!” another scout added. “And we saw them moving ammunition crates and other supplies to the rear. It looks like they are preparing to retreat!”

Preparing to retreat? Klaus’s heart stirred. He immediately realized the unit couldn’t wait any longer! After a moment’s consideration, he decisively chose to launch an immediate attack with the 1st Company, without waiting for the friendly forces behind them to catch up. They needed to capture this urban area while the enemy was unsettled, opening the path into Liège for the follow-up troops!

“Dispatch Rider!” Klaus shouted to a soldier beside him: “Immediately notify Battalion Headquarters and the 2nd Company behind us! Tell them the 1st Company is launching the attack first! Request that they directly coordinate upon arrival!”

“Yes, Sir!” The Dispatch Rider acknowledged the order and turned to run toward the rear.

After issuing the orders, Klaus climbed out of the shell crater and made an offensive gesture to the three Platoon Leaders under his command.

“The 2nd Platoon will circle around to the left. The 3rd Platoon will hold position here for now. The 1st Platoon will attack with me from the front! All platoon Light Machine Gun Teams find high ground and prepare to provide fire support! Everyone creep forward, and wait for my command to open fire!”

“Yes!” The three Platoon Leaders immediately acknowledged the order and quietly led their respective soldiers toward the urban area ahead.

The veterans of the 1st Company moved with practiced ease, advancing into the city as if they were coming home. Using the buildings and ruins along the streets for cover, they quickly advanced to within less than a hundred meters of the enemy position spotted by the reconnaissance unit.

Several Machine Gun Teams quickly occupied the second floors and rooftops of the surrounding buildings, deployed their bipods, and aimed their muzzles at the completely unaware Liège Fortress garrison soldiers on the street.

On the street, the Liège Fortress garrison soldiers were indeed frantically preparing to retreat, just as the scouts had reported. Nearly all the soldiers were loading ammunition crates and supplies onto a horse-drawn cart. The Platoon Commander hadn’t even assigned anyone to watch for the enemy. Consequently, they were completely unaware that a large wave of death was upon them.

Klaus watched all this coldly from behind a low wall. He took a brass whistle from his pocket, inhaled deeply, and blew it hard!

“BEEP—!” The shrill whistle sliced through the quiet night. Almost simultaneously with the sound of the whistle, the waiting Light Machine Gun Teams pulled their triggers!

“Da-da-da-da-da!” The harsh sound of gunfire instantly ripped through the air, as several fiery whips lashed fiercely toward the center of the street from different directions.

The Flanders soldiers who were moving supplies were mowed down in droves before they even had time to react. The garrison troops who weren’t killed in the first burst were stunned by the sudden attack. They panicked, throwing themselves onto the ground or shrinking behind sandbag barricades, blindly firing their rifles over the cover toward the source of the fire. But their resistance was futile under the suppression of the 1st Company’s automatic firepower.

“Go, go, go! Quickly eliminate this enemy force!”

(End of this Chapter)

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