Although the soldiers in his platoon had only been under his command for less than 48 hours, Morin’s heart still bled upon hearing the casualty report.
But he knew this was no time for grief. After ordering the remaining squads to tend to the wounded, he rushed to the edge of the high ground and raised his binoculars again.
In the slightly blurred view through the binoculars, at least one enemy battalion of Royal Army soldiers was surging toward the high ground in a dense formation. He glanced at his own position. The 1st and 2nd Companies had already been heavily damaged two days prior, and the recent bombardment had only exacerbated their situation. Countless men were instantly killed by the Aetherium Crystal Cannon’s airburst shrapnel, and most of the survivors were wounded. The stretcher teams organized by the Company Medics were insufficient, and the morale of the entire battalion was at rock bottom.
Major Thomas and the three Company Commanders were loudly attempting to rally the men. At the urging of the officers, the soldiers slowly crawled to the edge of the high ground and raised their rifles.
But Morin knew clearly that in its current state, it was an almost impossible mission for the 1st Battalion to withstand a frontal assault by an entire enemy battalion. The only hope was to inflict massive casualties on the enemy, repelling their attack in the first wave. Otherwise, this high ground would surely be lost today.
His gaze swept back and forth across the enemy’s attack route, and a bold and crazy idea quickly formed in his mind.
“Klaus! Corporal Jonah!” Morin roared.
“Here!”
“You two, along with the Heavy Machine Gun team, and the rest of 1st and 4th Squads, follow me!” He pointed to the relatively complex slope on the left flank of the high ground. “We’re going to flank them and hit them hard!”
Platoon Sergeant Klaus and Corporal Jonah didn’t hesitate, immediately calling the designated soldiers to follow. The Vickers Machine Gun team currently consisted of five men. Three of them immediately lifted the assembled machine gun together and moved out. One man carried two ammunition boxes in both hands, and the last man carried the heavy water cooling tank.
When the machine gun was captured, Morin’s men had also scavenged less than 500 rounds of ammunition from the second floor of the farmhouse. This wasn’t much for a heavy machine gun that needed to provide sustained suppressing fire, and Morin had originally wanted to conserve it, as Vickers machine gun ammunition was hard to find. Although the caliber was the same as the Royal Army’s rifles (.303, commonly known as ‘British .303’), Morin and his men hadn’t been able to collect much in a short time. However, Morin could no longer worry about that now.
“Bowman, Fisher, Miller! The rest of you stay here! Help Captain Hauser hold the front! Stall the enemy as much as possible until we open fire!”
“Understood, Platoon Leader!”
After issuing orders to the other three Corporals, Morin wasted no time. He led the two squads and the Heavy Machine Gun team, quickly sliding down the left slope of the high ground. Their movement had to be fast and sufficiently concealed.
Fortunately, the undulating slopes and the terrain full of shell craters provided them with natural cover. Their field gray uniforms also provided adequate camouflage on the battlefield scarred by the autumn dust and smoke—at least better than the Gallic troops in their red trousers.
Morin ran at the front, his mind working at lightning speed. The system map in his vision constantly adjusted, charting the safest and quickest route for him.
This operation was extremely dangerous. If spotted by the enemy, the small detachment would be surrounded, and their fate was sealed.
Luckily, the Royal Army’s entire focus was on the frontal defense of the high ground, and no one noticed the small unit quietly maneuvering to their flank.
After about a minute of movement, Morin led his men to the designated location. It was a large hollow in the ground, likely blown out by a shell, forming a perfect natural machine gun emplacement. From this position, they had a clear, unimpeded view of the long, exposed flank of the Royal Army’s attacking force, which was struggling up the gentle slope.
As the saying goes, ‘high ground beats low ground, and flank beats front.’ It was unthinkable for an infantry unit to feign an attack on foot from this position. Under normal circumstances, a commander would think twice before issuing such an attack order. However, the Royal Army was desperate to reclaim these high grounds, so their commanders hadn’t thought much of it, simply ordering the Royal Army’s ‘black cattle’ to charge first.
“Quick! Set up the machine gun!” Morin ordered the machine gun team in a hushed voice. The soldiers quickly and skillfully set up the heavy Vickers machine gun. The loader, somewhat less experienced, loaded the canvas belt of ammunition.
“Everyone else! Establish a circular defense centered on the machine gun! Prepare for combat!”
The soldiers quickly dispersed and dropped prone, working their bolts. The dark muzzles of their rifles pointed toward the attacking Royal Army, vigilantly watching for any potential threats.
Morin lay next to the machine gunner, raising his binoculars. The Royal Army’s first wave of attack had already begun. Just like the Saxon soldiers’ attack Morin had witnessed earlier, the Royal Army soldiers were also advancing in three relatively dense horizontal lines, shouting as they charged toward the top of the high ground. Behind these three ranks were the soldiers of another company in a tight column formation.
The leading rank of Royal Army soldiers was now less than two hundred meters from the 1st Battalion’s frontal position. Sporadic gunfire began to ring out from the high ground, as the 1st Battalion soldiers used accurate rifle fire to try and slow the enemy’s momentum.
“Platoon Leader, can we open fire now?” The machine gunner licked his dry lips, his voice laced with excitement. Though it was his first time firing, he seemed to anticipate the devastating effect of an attack from this angle.
“Wait a little longer,” Morin’s voice remained steady. He placed his hand on the machine gunner’s shoulder. “Let them get closer. Hit them when they can’t easily retreat!”
Time seemed to stretch out endlessly. Every second felt like a century. Morin could hear the heavy breathing of himself and the soldiers around him.
One hundred fifty meters… One hundred twenty meters… One hundred meters!
Now!
“Fire!” Morin sharply slapped the shooter’s shoulder.
“Dakka-dakka-dakka-dakka-dakka—!”
The Vickers heavy machine gun roared, spitting out a long tongue of flame. The searing bullets, like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, violently swept across the Royal Army’s exposed flank.
The Royal Army soldiers, struggling up the slope, never dreamed a threat this lethal would suddenly appear on their flank. They were now caught in a position where they could neither advance nor retreat, and the incoming .303 caliber bullets easily tore through their dense formation.
Many soldiers were hit and fell to the ground before they even had time to react. Because the attack was launched from the flank, the enemy’s attacking line formation appeared to the machine gunner as a column formation. He didn’t need to adjust his aim much to bring an entire line of enemies into his field of fire.
The roar of the machine gun and the wails of the Royal Army soldiers instantly filled this part of the battlefield.
“Fire! Fire! Target their officers first!” After the machine gun opened fire, Morin shouted the attack command to the riflemen around him.
More than twenty rifles fired simultaneously. The accurate bullets from the Gew.98 rifles continuously picked off the Royal Army officers who were trying to find cover or organize a counterattack. Since Royal Army officers’ uniforms were distinctly different from the common soldiers’—adorned with silver threads on black fabric to highlight their status and make them easy for soldiers to spot in combat—they became the best targets for Morin and his men.
The entire Royal Army’s attack formation collapsed instantly.
(End of Chapter 31)