Chapter 178: Defensive Deployment for Street Fighting

The Instruction Assault Battalion had suffered over one hundred and ten casualties after the capture of Liège Fortress, the surprise attack on Charleroi, and the brief but fierce cavalry engagement. Excluding those with minor injuries who could still fight, the actual combat reduction was already close to one-tenth of the unit.

Morin knew clearly that compared to the bloody battle they were about to face, the previous engagements were, at best, mere ‘appetizers.’

General Ludendorff’s order was that they must hold Charleroi for three whole days. During this time, the Third Army Group’s Imperial Guards Cavalry Division might arrive early as reinforcement. A portion of the ‘Ludendorff Battle Group’s’ vanguard might also rush over in Military Trucks after completing their mission to interdict the Grand Duchy of Flanders’ Fifth Division.

But all of this was only a ‘possibility.’ Until reinforcements arrived, they had to face the wrath of a Gallic Army Group alone. Even though the confined space of Charleroi City could only accommodate one division of the enemy’s attack at a time, it still represented a force discrepancy of over ten to one.

What else could be said? With no option to desert, they could only resolutely prepare for Street Fighting.

Based on Manstein’s analysis of the Gallic army’s marching speed, he estimated that the enemy’s main infantry force would reach Charleroi at the earliest this afternoon or evening, arriving from Hirson. Theoretically, infantry require necessary rest after a long march, making a large-scale night assault unlikely. Therefore, the actual general assault would most likely commence tomorrow morning—August 10th.

This meant the Instruction Assault Battalion had most of the day plus an entire night to construct their urban defense line. This was an extremely valuable preparation period.

“Alright, gentlemen, time is pressing.” Morin clapped his hands, drawing the attention of Kleist and Manstein. “Since we are determined to fight Street Fighting, we need to thoroughly discuss how exactly we are going to fight it.”

When the specifics of Street Fighting preparation were mentioned, Kleist and Manstein unanimously looked to Morin. There was no helping it; Morin’s formidable reputation earned during the Sevillian Street Fighting had long spread through the officer circles of the Saxon Empire via various channels. The concrete battle results had cemented the label of ‘Street Fighting Master’ firmly onto Morin.

Facing the trusting gaze of his two subordinates, Morin had no reason to defer. He immediately picked up a piece of blank paper and, using the precise data from the system map in his mind, quickly sketched a simple draft of Charleroi’s South City, then began outlining the specific troop deployment.

“My plan is as follows…” He drew on the sketch with a pencil. “The overall deployment remains the same: the 2nd Company is responsible for defending the western sector of the city, and the 3rd Company for the eastern sector.”

“The 1st Company, our strongest fighting force, will be personally commanded by me and will be responsible for the most pressured area—the city’s front, where the enemy’s main attack is most likely to come from.”

“The 4th Company will temporarily serve as the general reserve, deployed on the main thoroughfare near the riverbank, ready to move through the streets to reinforce any direction at a moment’s notice.”

The deployment plan was clear: flank attacks, frontal resistance, and a central reserve for support. After this point, there weren’t many other tactics to arrange.

“Regarding firepower…” Morin continued: “The 12 MG08 Heavy Machine Guns from the Firepower Detachment will be immediately broken up and used to reinforce the front-line defensive units: the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Companies, with each company receiving four guns.”

“This way, these three companies, in addition to their own organic 12 Light Machine Guns and numerous submachine guns, will receive fire support from 4 Heavy Machine Guns…”

“This level of firepower density, in the confined space of Street Fighting, should be enough to make any Gallic infantry attempting a frontal assault drink heavily from the well of pain.”

“Furthermore, inform the Supply Train to immediately distribute all spare Light Machine Guns to the companies. Tell the Machine Gunners not to worry about barrel longevity during the fight. If a barrel gets red-hot, they are to immediately swap it for a spare gun to maintain sustained fire at all critical moments!”

In urban defense, mobility was no longer the primary concern. Morin’s idea now was simple: to turn every squad into a mobile fire fort, using a torrent of bullets to drown out any enemy daring to approach. Augmenting infantry firepower was the key!

“For the specific construction of the defense line, I plan to divide the entire South City of Charleroi into four defensive layers.” Morin’s finger traced four parallel lines from south to north on the sketch.

“The first is the City Edge Defense Line.” He pointed to the southernmost line and continued: “We will use the outermost buildings of the city as the anchor point to construct the first line of resistance.”

“The purpose of this line is mainly to delay and wear down the enemy, and to probe their main attack direction and fire intensity. There is no need for a defense to the death! If the pressure becomes too great, the units can retreat in alternating cover to the second defense line.”

“The second and third lines are South City Defense Line No. 1 and Defense Line No. 2.” Morin sketched two more areas within the urban area, separating them using two major thoroughfares that traversed South Charleroi. “These two lines will be the main battleground for Street Fighting… We must use the complex streets and buildings within the city to fight for every house and every street, maximizing the attrition of their effective forces and delaying their advance.”

“The final line is the Bridgehead Defense Line.” Morin heavily tapped the southern end of the three bridges, drawing three circles. “This is our last line of defense. We must establish the final defensive core by utilizing the buildings at the bridgeheads and the streets along the river! Regardless of the cost, we must hold these three bridges until reinforcements arrive.”

Four defense lines, layered deeply, each serving as a line of resistance. This created a deep and highly resilient defense system. The core principle was to trade space for time, using the complex urban terrain to offset the enemy’s numerical superiority.

Kleist and Manstein watched the defense plan on the sketch gradually become clear. Listening to Morin’s steady explanation, their anxiety was slowly replaced by a sense of confidence. The plan should work!

Morin seemed to recall something and added: “Before leaving the Liège Fortress cluster, I had a premonition that we might face a tough fight… so I specifically acquired a large number of canvas sacks from the ‘Ludendorff Battle Group’s’ quartermaster—enough to fill two Military Trucks.”

“I remember that incident,” Kleist nodded. “At the time, I wondered why you wanted so many empty sacks.”

“They are going to be put to good use now.” Morin smiled and continued: “Add the sacks we collected in Charleroi City to the supply, and immediately distribute them all. Order the companies to organize personnel to go to the riverbank and fill the sandbags!”

“Then, use these sandbags to erect sturdy barricades on the main thoroughfares, intersections, and all our planned defensive strongpoints within the city!”

“I will also draw up sketches detailing the specific deployment for each company’s reference.”

The other aspects of the deployment were essentially the usual drill. They planned to completely barricade the doors and windows of the ground floors of buildings lining the main thoroughfares, leaving only the second and third floors as firing ports. Internal walls between all key buildings would be breached wherever possible to create internal passages, facilitating troop movement between structures and avoiding exposure to enemy fire. Since the Instruction Assault Battalion had brought a large amount of explosives this time, this task would be completed much faster.

This series of deployments was all based on the valuable lessons Morin had learned during the Sevillian Street Fighting. Compared to the haste and desperation of the operation in Seville, the Instruction Assault Battalion’s current situation was far better. They had ample time for preparation, sufficient manpower to construct defenses, and the training and firepower of the personnel were incomparable to the past.

Therefore, Morin was not overly concerned about the brutal urban Street Fighting with the Gallic infantry that was about to unfold. He was confident that with the Instruction Assault Battalion’s powerful firepower and careful preparation, they would make the Gauls pay a heavy price for every step forward.

His true concerns lay with two other uncertain factors—the Gallic Armored Knights and the Gallic Spellcasters.

Thinking of this, Morin shed his relaxed expression, which was replaced by a look of gravity. The Gallic Armored Knights belong to the Templar Knights. Like the Armored Knights of Britannia and the Saxon Empire, they were the infantry’s most severe adversary. The weapons at the Instruction Assault Battalion’s disposal offered no good countermeasure against such targets. Even if they manufactured another batch of improvised HEAT charges, there would be no Teutonic Knights Armored Knights to carry them into the charge this time. Asking ordinary infantry to carry improvised HEAT charges and attempt to trade lives with Armored Knights was too low a probability of success, and the exchange would likely fail.

As for the Gallic Spellcasters, Morin had even less information. All he knew was that the Gallic Spellcaster community’s power and influence were roughly somewhere between Britannia and the Saxon Empire. Furthermore, the Gallic Army also seemed to maintain a tradition of having attached Spellcasters. The role these Spellcasters could play on the battlefield, and what kind of spells they specialized in, were all unknown variables.

The unknown is always the most frightening thing.

“It seems I need to find a way to take out a few Gallic Spellcasters first to gain more detailed information from the System…” This thought flashed through Morin’s mind.

Just as he was discussing the fine points of the defense deployment with Kleist and Manstein, a Dispatch Rider suddenly ran in.

“Reporting, Battalion Commander! 3rd Company Commander Jonas has returned!”

“That quickly?” Morin was surprised. It had been less than an hour since they left.

The three men immediately walked out of the command post onto the street. They saw two Military Trucks stopped nearby. A group of Instruction Assault Battalion soldiers were carefully unloading sets of Cuirasses stained with blood and mud from the truck beds.

“Clang, clang…” The heavy Cuirasses were piled on the ground, making a sound of metal colliding.

Jonas saw Morin and immediately ran over excitedly.

“Reporting, Battalion Commander! We collected a total of 46 sets of unbreached Cuirasses on the battlefield!” He pointed at the spoils on the ground, unable to conceal his joy. “The men wearing these Cuirasses were mostly hit by shots that killed their horses and were then finished off by follow-up shots to the thigh or other unprotected areas, bleeding to death… A few unlucky ones were directly shot in the head.”

Morin nodded and quickly walked over. He bent down and effortlessly picked up a Cuirass. It felt very heavy, likely weighing over ten kilograms. The polished armor was composed of front and back steel plates. Although stained with blood and dirt, the fine craftsmanship was evident.

The moment his hand touched the Cuirass, a new notification popped up in the System’s [Technology] tab.

[‘Model 1890’ Enchanted Cavalry Cuirass Technology Unlocked: 0%]

The System’s immense power had started working again…

(End of this Chapter)