Chapter 73: The Battle of Pudding Highlands, Part 2
December 2, 305 Yamato Calendar.
“Phew, it’s quite chilly this morning, isn’t it? General Moriah, look at the fog. we can’t see anything.”
“Commander, please rest assured. We have carefully observed the enemy’s formation yesterday. Even if there is fog now, there is no problem.”
“Is that so, fufufu, then let us go and win an honorable victory.”
On the morning of this day, as is typical in this region in the winter, it was cold and shrouded in fog.
The fog is so thick that you can’t see the enemy formation very well, even when looking from high ground. On the morning of an important decisive battle, if the weather is like this, it’s only natural to feel a bit anxious…
The elf army who believes in their victory does not hesitate to attack.
Their right flank was the first to move.
The elves’ formation this time was 30,000 on the left flank, 20,000 in the center, and 40,000 on the right flank.
Their strategy is to position forces equivalent to the Albatross Liberation Army and then concentrate the excess forces on the right flank to break through the enemy’s less fortified left flank.
“General Moriah, the enemy’s left flank troops was 10,000, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“That incompetent enemy general would never learn to correct their weaknesses. All that remains is for us to crush the enemy’s left flank with our superior numbers and checkmate them.”
They were breaking through the enemy’s weaknesses.
The elf army aimed at that and began their assault. With their staff poised, they’re charging into the morning mist.
What awaited them was.
“Listen well. If the half-beastkin loses here we will never be recognized by the international community!”
Miike makes her inspiring speech…
“The 12th Regiment is on flank defense. The 3rd Regiment is a reserve force. What, we need more troops on the front line? It’s not a problem, they can withstand it.”
There are 20,000 half-beastkin troops under Marshal Davout’s command. In terms of numbers, the elves are almost twice as numerous, so they have an advantage.
However, the quality of their soldiers was inferior to that of the half-beastkin.
What met the advancing elf army was the sound of gunfire echoing from the fog.
The elf army already knew about the Type 4 Rifles that the Yamato Empire had sold to the allied countries in the previous Battle of Gahara Gate.
Ah, the new weapon of the human army, to counter that they begin to line up their staffs to counterattack with magic…
Wondering there was something amiss? They feel that something is different from the time they fought before.
One shot, two shots. At the moment the elves released their magic, they had already begun to notice something was wrong.
“Hey, isn’t their rate of fire oddly fast?”
“Ah, so you thought so too?”
The elf soldiers all voiced their doubts at the same time.
Indeed, it seems the enemy army’s rate of fire is unusually fast.
For the elf army, casting a spell every 30 seconds is sufficient. So far, the attack speed of the general muskets that the elf army has been fighting with is about the same.
But this time the half-beastkin army was firing their musket every 20 seconds, possibly every 10 seconds.
It’s almost double the firing rate.
It’s like being showered with a rain of bullets.
To be subject to gunfire of this magnitude, It’s not something that you want to face.
“A hundred people have already died… Our 3rd Company is at its limit. The enemy’s bullet barrage is too intense.”
“Neither can our company. Something is off, their firepower is too high.”
The damage is visibly increasing.
“Stop messing around! Why must we, who are a superior race, go through such an ordeal!”
“Retreat! We’re retreating.”
Their spirit is also broken.
They keep on firing at them before they have a chance to attack. It was unbearable for the elven army.
“Alright, they’re retreating! As expected of the Fuhrer’s weapon.”
Miike was delighted, but…
It wasn’t just because the musket’s performance was good.
This is also the result of training.
It was precisely because the half-beastkin had trained their soldiers well that they were able to hold their own against the elven army, even when they were outnumbered.
The geopolitical factors of their country, Elysium, the country of the half-beastkin, also play an important role.
Since its founding, the country has been surrounded by the hostile country the Beastvania, the country of the beastkin, which is nearly ten times larger in population.
If we were to compare this situation to something on Earth, it would be like Israel.
You need to have a strong army in order to survive in a situation where you are surrounded by enemies on all sides.
For this reason, the training of the commanders was not completed due to lack of time, but they were able to achieve a very high standard for their soldiers.
Furthermore, their morale is never low.
The amount of enthusiasm that they’ve put into this fight is pretty intense.
Although the half-beastkins were able to gain independence from the beastkin, they are still a small country under the Yamato Empire and are not recognized by the international community.
Since they could not participate in the Greater East Co-prosperity Sphere hosted by the Yamato Empire, one can understand how they are perceived by humans.
This battle is a perfect opportunity for them, who are not even allowed to enter the international community, to prove that, “the half-beastkin as a species are in no way inferior to humans.”
A well-trained soldier with high morale.
That alone is amazing enough, but…
Marshal Davout’s ability to command this is also considerable.
In the morning fog, when it’s hard to distinguish friend from foe, in such a situation, even with limited troops, he makes sure to have enough reserve forces, to be prepared for any situation, and to have the most optimal defense.
People refer to him as the Decaying Davout, because of his stench, but this is largely due to their jealousy of his abilities.
Because of his excellent abilities, he is sometimes referred to as the Undefeatable Davout behind the scenes.
……Well, that is true, but this ability is rarely used.
He’s fat, bald, and stinky.
His ugly appearance is much disliked by Queen Char, who appreciates beauty, as a result, he is not allowed to command the army properly.
A well-trained soldier and one of the best commanders in the world, except for his looks.
With the two of them together, the left flank of the Albatross Liberation Army was exceptionally strong.
The right flank of the elf army, which was desperately trying to break through with its 40,000 troops failed to break through the defense of an enemy force half of their size despite their overwhelming numbers.
“… it’s been an hour, an hour since the attack began, General Moriah. Why can’t we break through them?”
“Please wait a little longer… That’s strange, there should only be 10,000 enemy soldiers…”
“Alright, deploy the elite cavalry!”
Moreover, it was also significant that the elves had not yet noticed Davout’s reinforcements, who had covered 50km in just one day, yesterday.
There are huge differences between attacking 10,000 troops with 40,000 troops and attacking 20,000 troops with 40,000 troops.
The former has four times the military power surpasses the principle of three times the military power, while the latter is only twice as good.
Romusta became impatient, unable to break through as he wished.
About 1000 elite heavy cavalry are being deployed towards the right flank of the Davout Corps…
“So, the enemy’s cavalry is coming… What, it’s not a problem. There is a lake on the left flank of our army. The enemy forces cannot attack us. Use the 1st regiment as a countermeasure against the cavalry, and fill the gap with the 3rd regiment.”
Davout responds to this with precise instructions. Cavalry is a military unit that uses its mobility to launch flanking attacks.
If the defense is well solidified, you cannot utilize its breakthrough power.
Moreover, this is not the only thing.
“Eryu-san, it seems that the enemy army has deployed their cavalry.”
“I see, then please deploy the Führer’s Imperial Guard Cavalry… Also both the Cossacks and Dorcelli’s knights.”
Eryutheia, who is commanding at the center of the front line, quickly deploys forces. Deploying cavalry units they were prepared as reserve, are being sent out one after another.
By the way, the Führer’s Imperial Guard Cavalry refers to the Porlant Cavalry. It seems that they were so enthusiastic after the battle that they were promoted to the Imperial Guard Cavalry.
“Now it’s the Lusiya Cossack Cavalry’s turn to shine!”
“In the name of Dorcelli Knight Order, we will vanquish the elven cavalry.”
“We may suffered significant damage in previous battle, but… The winged cavalry of Porlant, to the battle!”
Each cavalry of the Albatross Liberation Army begins their assault simultaneously from the center of the battlefront.
Both Lusiya and Dorcelli are countries that excel in cavalry warfare.
Even though they are inferior in terms of overall military strength, they are not losing in terms of cavalry strength. About 800 cavalry in total will engage in battle with the elf army cavalry.
The battle is currently in favor of the Albatross Liberation Army. This is because they were able to launch an attack on the elven cavalry by sandwiching them with the Davout Corps.
A fierce battle.
Even now, the morning fog still hasn’t cleared.
In the midst of the fog, nearly 2,000 cavalry engaged in a chaotic battle… the elven cavalry deemed a breakthrough impossible and began to retreat.
Despite gathering a force of 40,000 troops and even deploying additional cavalry, they still cannot break through the enemy’s left flank.
Usually, around at this point, “Hm, something’s off?” That’s when they realized…
Romusta, who had achieved a historic victory in the previous at Battle of Gahara Gate and had gained a tactical advantage even before this battle, was arrogantly underestimating and looking down upon the human army, thinking, “The human army is weak.”
There is no way he can lose.
His plan was, “Breach the enemy’s left flank”, and was not going to be wrong.
Finally, due to that assumption, Romusta makes a big mistake in judgment.
“Moriah-kun, send an additional 10,000 from the central army… No, make it 13,000 and send them to our right flank. With this, we will send out a force of 53,000 to the enemy’s left flank.”
“If it were 50,000 troops… We can break through them! I will order immediately.”
Extract as many of the 20,000 Central Army troops defending the Pudding Highlands as possible.
And finish this in one fell swoop.
At that moment, Romusta made a move to change the war situation.
“Now, let’s finish everything with one blow. Baal Balka. You know where the peak of the Pudding Highlands is, don’t you?”
“Of course, Goddess of War. I have firmly embedded the geography of this area in my mind.”
“Nh, very well. Then, that is your goal. Advance, Balka army, no matter what happens until you reach the goal.”
“As you wish.”
On the other hand, the headquarters of the Albatross Liberation Army is about to bring the battle to a conclusion.
Prev Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter