bookandnovel Chapter 791 Military Observers
Chapter 791 Military Observers
Chapter 791 Military Observers
Battery No. 2, Texas.
The vegetation on the mountain wall was burned, leaving large areas of "baldness", and the mountain road was littered with the enemy's corpses that had not yet been collected.
Unlike the No. 1 battery which serves as an outpost position, the No. 2 battery, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 form a corner with each other. Almost all places where the enemy can deploy artillery positions are within the strike range of at least two batteries.
This meant that the British army could no longer rely on its range advantage to bombard the No. 2 battery indiscriminately, except for its few large-caliber siege guns.
At the very least, the Texas artillery, which was in a commanding position, had room to fight back, which allowed the Texans to take advantage of the defense and turn this mountain road into a meat grinder.
Ulm defended the fort with these so-called Texas soldiers.
For the chief winged cavalryman of Lower Egypt who was born a shepherd, he had been through many battles since he followed Lothar in Yoglusborg, but in this battle, all he could do was some physical work such as carrying artillery shells and reinforcing fortifications.
Firearms are not unfamiliar to the Winged Hussars, but the firearms recorded in their Winged Hussar heritage are very different from those of this era.
The soldier, wielding an engineer shovel and piling the fallen rocks and dirt into his backpack, asked, "Knight Ulm, your accent sounds strange. Are you Austrian?"
Ulm shook his head. "I am a Bavarian, although I have never been back. I was born when my parents were on pilgrimage. I remember that they were attacked by the Turks when they passed through Asia Minor. It was Lord Godfrey of Lower Lorraine and Bouillon who saved them. When the Holy City was recovered, they settled in Jerusalem."
The soldier seemed to understand: "Isn't Jerusalem the territory of the pagans?"
Ulm was surprised and asked, "What? So the holy city in your world has fallen again?"
"I'm not sure, maybe I remembered it wrong."
The soldier responded without confidence that there were hardly any devout believers among the younger generation in Texas, and this wolf country had been trying its best to eliminate the influence of the church on the people since its inception.
The legend of werewolves in this country has gradually changed from dark and gloomy to a fairy-tale-like story. Those who transform into werewolves are often no longer villains, but heroes who save the "princess".
Or those oppressed peasants who, by chance, acquired the power of werewolves to rebel against the tyrannical lords.
Because Texas was isolated from the rest of the world, they actually didn't know much about the situation in Europe.
"Master Knight, to be honest, I don't understand why you bigwigs who still use cold weapons would set foot on such a dangerous battlefield?"
"Big man?"
Ulm smiled noncommittally. Although the knights were considered lower-class nobles, most of them were actually quite poor. Their fiefs and estates were probably not as good as those of any manor owner in the New World, and the fertility of the land was far inferior.
"The enemy is coming! Everyone, get into the trenches and defend immediately!"
The Kakuto reminded loudly.
A group of Texas soldiers filed out of the underground bunkers and entered the trenches. Artillery fire was flying. In order to cover the infantry charge, the enemy fired all the artillery at once, which made the Texas artillery unable to fight back.
In the dense smoke on the mountain road, heavy footsteps were heard. From the smoke, iron soldiers wrapped from head to toe in cold iron armor walked out slowly, holding small-caliber hand cannons.
"Those are the enemy's armored infantry. It is said that even with artillery fire, they cannot be killed!"
"Oh no, there's another airship!"
"Hurry and hide in the bomb room. The enemy is about to drop a bomb."
"No, if we go back now, wouldn't that mean we'll just give up our position to the British for nothing? By then, they can just block the bunker exit and suffocate us all underground. Let's fight them!"
"Wait, look! Our dragon rider is coming!"
The Texas soldiers, who were already somewhat desperate, suddenly saw a three-headed dragon rising rapidly into the sky and flying towards them.
At the foot of the mountain, the military observation group that had just arrived near New Basilicata witnessed a spectacular air battle.
It was a battle between a three-headed dragon and a small floating airship.
Compared to the magic dragon, the airship was like a giant and a child, but its attacks could not hit the agile magic dragon at all. The dragon's dragon fire tore its weak top apart, causing it to crash on the spot.
"Hans, what do you think?"
The emperor's adviser who led the team, Chief of the General Staff of the Federal Army Franz Conrad von Hetzendorff, looked at an inconspicuous young officer at the end of the team.
Hans von Manstein was a Prussian Junker nobleman of the Teutonic Knights, which was called the "Baltic German State" by the Germans as the Commonwealth's closest ally, sharing the same language and ethnicity.
In recent years, some cracks have also occurred due to the discord between the Hohenzollern and Habsburg families.
Conrad really hopes to bridge this rift through this exchange.
The State of the Knights was a typical militarist country. Although it was not large in size, consisting only of Prussia, Lithuania, the three Baltic States, and some territories that originally belonged to Poland, it always maintained high military expenditures and ranked among the second most powerful countries in terms of military strength. It had a profound influence in Eastern Europe and Northern Europe.
Everyone knows who the imaginary enemy of the Knights is. After all, there are only two neighboring countries around it, Tsarist Russia and Germany. In an era of rising nationalism, the Knights maintain such a high military expenditure. It must be that in the future war, it wants to tear off a large piece of flesh and blood from the behemoth Tsarist Russia to fill its own greed.
"Air superiority has a strong effect on ground fixed fortifications. In comparison, the land-based ships, which have always attracted much attention and are regarded as the king of land, will have almost no room to fight back if they are attacked by large-scale air forces. Therefore, in future wars, the status of air supremacy will become increasingly important."
Manstein said solemnly, "I think the speed of airships is still too slow, and the accuracy of high-altitude bombing is also very limited. We can only use quantity instead of quality. I think that the United Military Industry should develop a small aircraft based on the characteristics of airships, which can drop bombs more accurately, have a faster and more flexible flight speed, and use a direct-fire cannon that can tear open the armor of airships."
"Like a Texan dragon?"
"Yes, giant dragons are hard to find, and dragon riders are even rarer. Over the years, there has only been one dragon rider in Europe, the Grand Master. But if we can create dragon-like creatures out of steel, they will be endless."
All members of the military advisory group fell into deep thought upon hearing this. Germany and the Knights Templar were both traditional European powers, so their officer corps were certainly not famous for nothing.
They have long recognized the importance of air supremacy in the future.
Conrad frowned and said, "It's a good idea, but in an era when a war is about to begin, the iteration of weapons is extremely rapid. The British suffered a loss in the New World this time, so they will definitely consider installing more anti-aircraft weapons on airships, land ships, and the army. If the British do this, the French will definitely follow suit."
He paused and continued, "The armor of the small aircraft you mentioned cannot be too thick, otherwise it will lose its maneuverability. This means that it is extremely vulnerable to the enemy's air defense weapons. Whether it can defeat the enemy's 'air fortress' in the air, in my opinion, still needs time to test."
Manstein said, "Sir, I think that nowadays, with the large-scale investment of white crystal and magic stone mines in the field of arms, the cost of improving armor and defending against enemy firepower will only increase in the future, and the destructive power of weapons will only become stronger and stronger. Sooner or later, a situation will emerge where the spear is greater than the shield."
Conrad was somewhat dissatisfied, thinking, letting you, a Prussian officer, express your opinion first is just to give face to the guests from your Knights' Kingdom, how come you are taking over the show?
He snorted softly, "Who can predict the future? Let's go and contact the British first."
This military advisory group had no intention of concealing their identity or siding with the Texans; until the outcome was determined, they really only intended to perform the duties of "military observers."
Of course, if the British army suffered a defeat, Conrad would step forward to mediate as a close ally of Britain. The old Emperor Franz and Queen Victoria actually reached a certain understanding.
However, when these Germans arrived at the British camp, Marshal Julian and others were not in such a good mood.
The allies had just arrived and they had lost face, which would obviously affect their dominant position in the Anglo-German Agreement.
However, even more infuriating things happened the next day.
France sent a diplomatic note, claiming that it wanted to send a "neutral" military observation group to prevent Britain from causing another tragedy like the Boer War.
They even brought in envoys from Tsarist Russia to put pressure on Britain together - it was not because they accepted benefits from the Texans. Texas did not have the ability to bribe senior French officials. They simply adhered to the idea that "no matter who it is, as long as they cause trouble for the British, we, the Gallic rooster, must lend a hand."