Chapter 184: Stealth Conquers Steadiness, Recklessness Conquers Stealth

In South Charleroi, at the Temporary Command Post.

After the 1st Company repelled the Gauls’ first wave of assault and confirmed that the 1st Company’s defense line was temporarily stable, Morin immediately rushed back here by Military Truck.

Because all three companies were under heavy defensive pressure after the all-out attack began, calls for instruction were constantly flooding the Battalion Headquarters.

So Kleist and Manstein had called him back, hoping he could preside over the general situation.

Morin was now intently watching the gigantic system map in his vision.

The red unit tokens representing the Gallic Ninth Division, like a tide, surged into Charleroi City from all directions, attempting to forcibly drown the Instruction Assault Battalion.

Although countless red tokens flashed and extinguished the moment they touched the green line of the first defense line, the subsequent red tokens were continuously replenished, advancing slowly and resolutely forward.

“A mob with numbers truly is formidable,” Morin couldn’t help but complain in a low voice.

He now profoundly understood the wisdom in the saying, ‘Stealth conquers Steadiness, Recklessness conquers Stealth.’

Previously, at the Liège Fortress, the Grand Duchy of Flanders forces fought very ‘steadily.’ Their frontal defense was impenetrable, and their anti-air discipline was excellent. The result was that the Instruction Assault Battalion directly punched through their core using the very ‘stealthy’ tactic of an Armored Airship Airborne assault.

Next, the Instruction Assault Battalion, under the orders of Ludendorff—that typical ‘Sneak’—used an ‘Early Motorized Maneuver’ to seize the strategic position of Charleroi before the enemy could react.

And now, it was the turn of these Gallic ‘reckless fighters.’ They completely eschewed tactics, relying purely on their numbers, crashing in without regard for the consequences. This extremely simple and brutal ‘reckless’ tactic was indeed highly effective against the less numerous and very ‘stealthy’ Instruction Assault Battalion.

The enemy’s overwhelming numerical advantage also put unprecedented pressure on Morin. It was just like that classic movie line: “Even 50,000 pigs, you couldn’t catch them all in three days and three nights…”

Moreover, these Gallic soldiers before them were not pigs waiting to be slaughtered. Led by their officers, they launched wave after wave of fearless charges, like the Old Guard.

The potential unleashed by humans in desperate situations is astonishing. Many Gallic soldiers, under the suppression of machine gun fire, found ways to use their bodies to break open or use explosives to blast open the barricaded doors and windows, rushing into the buildings.

On the map, the small unit tokens representing both sides became entangled inside many building icons, with tokens constantly flashing and disappearing. Morin knew that brutal and bloody close-quarters combat was raging inside.

Submachine guns and hand grenades unleashed terrifying power in the narrow rooms and stairwells. Building after building was quickly filled with Gallic corpses. But they continued to rush in like madmen, stepping over the bodies of their comrades.

This suicidal fighting style caused continuous casualties for the Instruction Assault Battalion’s soldiers, and the defense line was compressed little by little backward. Some internal passages that had been specially opened now had to be blasted shut again with explosives to prevent the enemy from infiltrating.

“Battalion Commander, 3rd Company reporting! The pressure on their left flank is too great! The enemy has committed at least two battalions to assault their position! They can’t hold much longer!”

“Battalion Commander! 2nd Company reporting! Their ammunition consumption is over half! Requesting resupply!”

“Battalion Commander…”

In the Temporary Command Post, reports from the Signals Platoon soldiers came one after another, with bad news quickly piling up. Kleist and Manstein’s faces grew exceptionally grim. They were constantly marking the latest enemy and friendly positions on the map, fine beads of sweat breaking out on their foreheads.

Morin took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. The only good news since the battle began was that the Gallic Armored Knights of the Templar Knights, which he had worried about, had not appeared. This greatly reduced the defensive pressure.

But the bad news was that the Gauls, relying solely on conventional infantry human-wave tactics, were already close to overrunning the Instruction Assault Battalion’s first defense line.

“We can’t just keep holding like this.” Morin knew this clearly. The purpose of the first defense line was simply to delay and wear down the enemy; there was no need to fight to the death here. Fighting further would only push the unit’s casualties and ammunition consumption to an unbearable level.

Morin made a decisive call, ordering the Signals Platoon soldier:

“Order the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Companies to immediately abandon the first defense line! Retreat under alternating cover, and fall back to the second defense line across the entire front!”

“Yes!” The Signals Platoon soldier immediately relayed the command.

“Tell all Company Commanders not to panic during the retreat! Bring all wounded! Carry all usable heavy weapons with you! Reorganize the defense along the second defense line!” Morin added.

He walked to the map, heavily tapping the line representing the second defense line with his finger. That was the place where he had prepared the real main course for the Gauls. It had sturdier fortifications, a denser network of fire, and some ‘little surprises’ he had specially brought with him before departing.

“You want to fill this place with bodies?” Morin looked at the red unit tokens constantly surging forward on the map, his face becoming expressionless because of the battle.

“Then let me see just how tough your lives really are.”

The command was quickly relayed. The Instruction Assault Battalion soldiers, who had been fiercely holding the line at the first defense line, felt a wave of relief upon receiving the order.

They emptied their magazines, threw their last hand grenades, and then began to quickly disengage under the alternating cover of the Assault Squads, retreating toward the second defense line in the rear.

The withdrawal from the first defense line to the second defense line was a chaotic but orderly maneuver.

A soldier from the 1st Company leaped down from the second floor of a burning building and was immediately grabbed by a comrade behind him.

“Keep moving! Don’t stop!”

They crouched low, sprinting along the streets littered with shell craters and corpses. Bullets from the rear continuously whizzed past their heads and bodies, striking the walls and kicking up plumes of dust.

Behind them, an Assault Squad was using a broken wall for cover, unleashing fierce fire to suppress the pursuing Gallic soldiers, buying them precious retreat time.

When the retreating soldiers passed their position, the squad commander immediately gave the order and began retreating himself. The soldiers who had just retreated quickly found cover at the next street corner, set up their weapons, and provided cover for their comrades.

“It’s our turn! Cover them!”

“You retreat quickly!”

This skilled tactic of alternating cover was ingrained in the bones of every Instruction Assault Battalion soldier. It allowed the unit to maintain strong firepower and organization during the retreat, minimizing casualties.

The Gallic soldiers, although fierce in their attack, were unable to inflict a fatal blow on the Instruction Assault Battalion in the face of this hit-and-run tactic. They often captured a position only to be immediately pinned down by new fire points on the flanks and rear before they could consolidate their hold.

When all the Instruction Assault Battalion soldiers withdrew into the ‘South City Defense Line No. 1,’ they could finally catch their breath slightly.

Unlike the hastily constructed first defense line, this was the core of the Instruction Assault Battalion’s defense system. All the main thoroughfares and intersections leading into this line were now blocked by sturdy, waist-high barricades built from sandbags.

MG08 Heavy Machine Guns were set up behind the barricades, their dark muzzles watching the front like cold, probing eyes. Buildings on both sides of the streets had been converted into fire strongpoints. Light Machine Guns and submachine guns were mounted behind the windows of the second and third floors, forming a multi-layered fire network that combined long and short-range fire from different heights. Soldiers could maneuver quickly between the buildings, supporting any threatened position without being exposed to enemy fire.

And the most lethal element on this defense line were the ‘little surprises’ crisscrossing the roads—gleaming Barbed Wire.

These Barbed Wire rolls were also specially acquired by Morin from the ‘Ludendorff Battle Group’s’ quartermaster. While not numerous, every strand was put to use in this defensive operation. The Barbed Wire was tightly wound with sharp metal barbs, about 1-2 centimeters long, spaced every few inches. The barbs were configured in a double helix, ensuring that contact from any angle would result in severe cuts and snagging.

Under Morin’s personal command, this Barbed Wire was systematically deployed across the entire defense line. All secondary streets and alleys, which lacked cobblestone paving, used a ‘stake-and-post’ deployment method. Thick wooden stakes or sharpened metal poles were driven deep into the ground, and multiple strands of Barbed Wire were tightly wound between them, creating barriers that were virtually impossible to cross. This deployment acted like a gigantic funnel, forcing the attacking Gallic infantry to advance only along the few main thoroughfares predetermined by the Instruction Assault Battalion.

On these main thoroughfares, which served as the primary ‘killing zones,’ the arrangement of the Barbed Wire was even more insidious. They were not simply strung across the middle of the road but deployed in a ‘Z’ shape or diagonally. This deployment, which deliberately left a ‘path,’ forced the attacking soldiers to instinctively twist and turn through the narrow gaps. This significantly slowed their rate of advance and infinitely prolonged the time they were exposed to the defenders’ fire.

“Get your fighting spirit up, all of you!” 1st Company Commander Klaus shouted at the newly retreated soldiers from behind a sandbag barricade. “Check your ammo! Replenish your grenades! Catch your breath and drink some water! We have another fierce battle ahead!”

The soldiers quickly sprang into action. They leaned against the cover, silently gasping for breath while expertly loading bullets into their magazines and placing them into their chest harness pouches. Machine Gun Team soldiers moved boxes of ammunition next to the machine gun positions.

A young soldier looked at the street ahead, torn apart by the Barbed Wire, and swallowed hard. He turned to the veteran beside him and said: “Squad Leader, can this stuff really stop them?”

The veteran, who had fought in the Sevillian Street Fighting, was looking down, meticulously cleaning his beloved submachine gun. Hearing the question from the soldier under his command, he replied without looking up: “You’ll find out soon enough whether it can stop them… Just remember this: when they get into the wire, you fire at them with all you’ve got! Don’t save your bullets!”

The fully prepared soldiers re-entered their positions. They lay prone behind the sandbags or hid behind the windows, their muzzles aimed forward. The entire ‘South City Defense Line No. 1’ lay like a lurking behemoth, quietly awaiting its prey.

After a period of silence, the figures of the Gallic soldiers reappeared at the end of the street. And this time, the silhouette of the 75mm Magic Guided Cannon appeared behind them.

(End of this Chapter)

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