“Bang!”
Commander Haig furiously slammed his fist onto the map table, making the wooden unit markers jump.
“Cowards! A bunch of cowards!”
He roared in the operations room, the surrounding staff officers shrinking their heads.
“So what if a few Mages died? They’re so scared they’re hiding in the city, afraid to even show their faces!”
However, Haig’s complaints could not change anything.
Ultimately, he could only reluctantly accept the reality and solve the problem using the Army’s own methods.
Haig first urgently pulled more blocking forces from around Madrid and sent them to the southeastern front line.
At the same time, he ordered the units scattered in other areas to immediately converge on Madrid, attempting to form a counter-encirclement against the rapidly advancing Saxon Expeditionary Force’s 2nd Corps.
However, shortly after his orders were issued, bad news followed one after another.
The troops who had received the order and were converging on Madrid, attempting to outflank the Saxons, began sending back reports.
They claimed that a large number of National Army and International Brigade armed personnel had suddenly appeared along their line of march.
These people seemed to have sprouted from the ground. Although their weapons and equipment were rudimentary and they lacked artillery support, they fought with reckless bravery.
At the same time, they seemed to have no intention of engaging the Britannians in a frontal battle.
Instead, they split into countless small units, constantly harassing the Britannian supply lines and marching columns.
These small units absolutely avoided head-on clashes with the Britannian Expeditionary Force or the Kingdom Army.
They would hit and run, only to return again…
Like a swarm of annoying flies, they severely delayed the concentration speed of the Britannian forces.
As a veteran who had participated in the Second Boer War and served as Chief of Staff to Sir John French.
Douglas Haig, upon hearing these reports, suddenly felt a flood of long-dead memories violently assault him.
“Those damned guerrillas!” he cursed through gritted teeth.
Meanwhile, an even worse piece of news arrived.
The Saxon Expeditionary Force’s 1st Corps had successfully torn a huge gap in the center of the front line.
They were advancing rapidly from the center and converging on the 2nd Corps with astonishing speed.
If they could not be stopped soon, the two Saxon Corps would link up outside the city of Madrid…
Haig immediately realized that the Saxons might be attempting to concentrate their superior forces and launch an all-out assault on Madrid!
“Madmen! The Saxons are all madmen!”
Haig watched the two massive arrows closing in on Madrid, drawn by the staff officers on the map. Fine cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
But he had to admit that the Saxon Expeditionary Force had timed its move perfectly.
The Britannian home-based reinforcement units had only just been deployed to various fronts to stabilize the situation.
The second batch of reinforcements was still at sea, and the forward units had just disembarked at the port. It would take even longer for them to reach Madrid…
And even if they arrived, it might not change anything.
Because the Saxons could transport more troops into the Kingdom of Aragon via rail in a short period.
As long as the Saxons were willing to commit more troops, they could maintain a troop advantage indefinitely, thereby gaining the initiative…
Over the next few days, Morin, as a participant in the campaign, personally experienced the radical, aggressive, and even somewhat reckless command style of General Mackensen.
The entire Saxon Expeditionary Force, like a tightly wound war machine, advanced steadily toward Madrid at a speed of about ten kilometers per day.
The defensive units hastily organized by the Kingdom Army and the Britannians often only managed to reach their designated defensive sectors just before dawn, before they could even dig proper fortifications.
The next morning, they would immediately run into a crushing, fierce attack from the Saxons.
Under General Mackensen’s command, the entire front line came alive.
The previous static confrontation between large formations was replaced by large-scale maneuver and infiltration—just as the old General had done on the Eastern Front in another world.
The two main attacking Corps moved like giant pincers, closing tightly on Madrid.
And this high-intensity war of maneuver…
E-hey~ It landed right in Morin’s comfort zone.
The infantry tactics from the other timeline in his mind were finally utilized to their maximum potential.
Spearheaded by Morin, the 32nd Zwickau Infantry Regiment, especially the 1st Company he commanded, became the sharpest dagger tearing open the enemy lines.
The retreating Kingdom Army or Britannian soldiers, scrambling to fall back, would often run headlong into Morin and his 1st Company while ‘attacking rearward.’
They assumed the path behind them was a safe retreat route.
They didn’t expect that the soldiers of the 1st Company had already quickly constructed temporary blocking positions on their inevitable route, using entrenching tools and explosives Morin had acquired from the quartermaster.
The phrase ‘attacking rearward’ transformed from a sarcastic remark into reality…
However, when these retreating soldiers were forced to launch an attack, they found that the fire density of this single-company position far exceeded their imagination.
The four MG08s and two captured Vickers guns, which were horse-transported to keep up with the 1st Company’s infiltration speed, became their nightmare.
The soldiers charging at the front, urged on by their officers, immediately hit an invisible wall and were mown down in swathes.
The follow-up troops attempting to spread out and flank found that the 1st Company’s firing points were positioned with extreme cunning.
If they attempted to assault the position from any direction, they would be covered by at least two heavy machine guns…
Ultimately, these intercepted units would typically collapse after leaving behind a large number of corpses.
They would then be easily surrounded and disarmed by the main Saxon forces following behind.
Similar battles unfolded repeatedly over the next few days.
Morin’s 1st Company moved like a pack of tireless hunting dogs, always appearing where the enemy least expected them.
Crown Prince Georg and General Mackensen, witnessing the astonishing success of the 1st Company, realized they had underestimated Morin’s front-line command ability.
The Crown Prince further affirmed General Mackensen’s decision to keep Morin on the front line…
This boy is too effective.
He’s just a company commander now. What if he trains an entire battalion, or even more troops, in the future?
My Father focused his energy on the Navy, supporting Grand Admiral Tirpitz to build the High Seas Fleet.
Then should I focus on the Army?
The Crown Prince dared not continue the thought; he worried it would keep him awake at night.
Consequently, the supply support for this spearhead unit, under the Crown Prince’s explicit instruction, demonstrated unprecedented generosity from the quartermaster.
Casualties? Prioritize troop replenishment.
Ammunition consumption too fast? Send two more wagons of ammunition!
The overall goal was to use this one point to leverage the entire front line!
With this kind of support, which disregarded cost, the combat effectiveness of the 1st Company, and subsequently the 1st Battalion, and finally the entire 32nd Regiment, not only did not diminish due to continuous operations but became increasingly formidable.
The veterans were further refined by the combat, and the newly replenished soldiers grew rapidly in this environment.
Soon after, a combat merit application, drafted by the 32nd Regimental Headquarters and personally signed by the 8th Division Commander, was sent to the rear Command Post.
The protagonist of this report was naturally Morin and his 1st Company.
With this string of brilliant combat achievements, First Lieutenant Friedrich Morin became the soldier to receive the First Class Iron Cross in the Saxon Imperial Army with the fastest speed since the ‘Saxo-Gaulish War.’
His 1st Company, furthermore, began to wholesale Second Class Iron Crosses.
Although these medals would only be physically awarded after the battle ended, they were enough to keep the morale of the 1st Company soldiers soaring.
Apart from marching and commanding battles, Morin dedicated almost all his rest time to studying new spells.
To outsiders, the young Company Commander always sat blankly in his tent or slept soundly whenever he had free time, seemingly never getting enough sleep.
But in reality, his consciousness was confined to the ‘room where you can’t leave until you learn.’
On the seventh day after the ‘Mackensen Offensive’ began, Morin finally succeeded in recording two brand new spells into his ‘My Spellbook.’
【1st-Circle Spell – Sleep】 — Causes a number of creatures to fall into a magical slumber.
【2nd-Circle Spell – Invisibility】 — A creature you touch becomes invisible and remains so until the spell ends, or until the target attacks or casts a spell.
Looking at the two new icons on his spellbook, a bold idea immediately sparked in Morin’s mind.
He stood up, left his tent, and looked at the bright moon in the sky.
“Perhaps… I can try a night raid now.” he muttered to himself.
The night was deep, and everything was silent.
Behind a gentle slope covered with shrubs, Morin advanced alone, moving silently.
Less than three hundred meters from him was a temporary garrison of the Kingdom Army.
Morin and his men had been tracking this unit for a long time. They were retreating troops who had been pushed back and were utterly exhausted after marching for most of the day.
Morin lay prone in a depression, observing carefully for a moment. After confirming the positions and patrol routes of the sentries, he cast a spell.
【2nd-Circle Spell – Invisibility】
A strange sensation enveloped his entire body. He looked down and saw his body becoming transparent, eventually completely merging with the darkness.
The entire process lasted only a brief moment, making no sound or light.
One minute duration.
Morin silently recited the time limit, then, like a phantom, he quickly crept along the ground toward the enemy position.
The night wind blew, rustling the grass and shrubs. No one noticed an invisible figure rapidly approaching the position.
Soon, he reached a position less than five meters behind the nearest sentry.
The sentry was standing boredly above the trench, humming an unknown tune to keep himself awake.
Morin did not act immediately. Instead, he continued to creep forward, confirming the positions of the three nearby sentries.
He then slowly extended his hand, his palm pointed at the three unsuspecting sentries.
【1st-Circle Spell – Sleep】
An invisible wave of energy expanded outward from him.
The three sentries all yawned almost simultaneously, then seemed to forget their duties, found a comfortable spot on the ground, and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Their faces even looked somewhat serene.
Mission accomplished~
Morin glanced at the sentries on the other side of the camp. After confirming they were not looking in his direction, he silently retreated.
A short time later, he returned with his assault team.
“Proceed as planned. Keep the noise down.”
Morin ordered in a low voice.
The assault team members instantly understood. They simultaneously took down their entrenching tools, whose edges had been sharpened, from their backs.
Morin’s eyes widened.
Are you serious? Assassination with a shovel? Are we going full savage here…?
(End of this Chapter)