Chapter 236 : Operation Overlord
Chapter 236: Operation Overlord
When they retreated to the rear and finished regrouping and counting their numbers, Chris looked at the list in his hand with mixed emotions.
Including the lightly and heavily wounded as well as the logistics personnel, the total number of troops under his command was less than 3,000.
Although his division had inflicted considerable casualties on the Church forces during this period, the enemy’s overall troop strength was there for all to see. Those losses were far from enough to reverse the overwhelming disparity in combat power between the two sides.
As night fell, Chris initiated pre-battle mobilization in the camp. Looking at the soldiers before him, he said:
“You are the last ones in the entire division who are still uninjured. You are also the final foundation of the 112th Division. Tonight, you must retake the mountain and hold it for one more day! If you cannot hold it, I will lead the troops and take your place!”
The crowd responded in a low voice: “We swear to complete the mission!”
“Do you have any requests? As long as it’s something I can do, I’ll take care of it for you!”
Everyone looked at Chris in silence. None of them wanted to cause trouble for the organization.
After quite a while, one soldier finally spoke with a smile: “Division Commander!”
“Can we get some fried flour? I’m really hungry.”
Chris felt a deep bitterness in his heart as he looked at him. It was just a portion of fried flour, yet as the commander of a division, he was powerless to provide even that.
Ernesto had already been short on food, and the White Army had confiscated all the grain they could seize. After the 112th Division received its orders, aside from large replenishments of weapons and ammunition, the allocation of daily supplies had been extremely limited—and by now, it had all been consumed.
Chris didn’t know how to respond. The words stuck in his throat, and after a long while, he finally said: “All of you come back alive. I’ll personally cook meat for you.”
Even so, they held no complaints. With expressions of resolute determination, they charged toward the dark mountain under the cover of night.
At that moment, on the mountain, the White Army soldiers were hiding in the trenches, eating bread and drinking fresh water sent from the rear, celebrating their victory.
No one expected the Red Army to launch another assault under the cover of night.
Using platoon-level units and taking advantage of the darkness and the still-chaotic magical elements, they hurled a large number of grenades onto the mountain, throwing the unprepared White Army—who thought the Red Army had already retreated—into complete disarray.
After fierce fighting, they drove this White Army unit down to the other side of the mountainside. However, the Church army quickly reacted and continuously reinforced their forces, slowing the offensive momentum of the 112th Division. The situation began to turn into a prolonged stalemate.
Chris understood that they had little time left. Once dawn broke, it would be the final moment for the 112th Division. No matter what, they had to force the enemy down this time.
He grabbed the Sergeant Major and said: “Gather all the wounded who can still charge and form another suicide squad. This is the final battle of our 112th Division—no one is to be left behind. I’ll lead this unit myself!”
The soldiers who could still stand, along with the cooks carrying iron pots on their backs, all gathered around Chris.
Looking at the crude weapons in their hands, he roared: “Not bad—this is a good place. I’ll die right here! All units—fix bayonets!”
“Kill!!!”
Under the cover of night, the two sides became entangled in chaotic close combat, indistinguishable from friend or foe, preventing the Church’s rear mages and artillery units from opening fire.
Mechanical-body Mage soldiers demonstrated their advantage in melee combat. With massive greatswords, each swing could easily cleave several soldiers of the 112th Division in half.
Yet there were also soldiers wielding pole-type close-range armor-piercing spike charges, who took advantage of the chaos to thrust them into weak points in the armor—such as delivering a fatal strike straight through the rear.
As long as life endured, so did the battle.
Facing enemies several times their number, every soldier of the 112th Division who could still fight gave it everything they had.
When bayonets became slippery from constant stabbing or soaked in blood, they used stones, entrenching shovels—anything they could get their hands on.
After half an hour of brutal close-quarters combat, the blood-soaked Sergeant Major raised a slip of paper in the sea of people and shouted loudly: “Division Commander! Division Commander! Our mission is complete!”
“Our mission is complete!”
But he never received a response again.
Belzetsk Deepwater Port, Loslav, and Ushesk—these three major ports supported 80% of the Church’s maritime trade and were once the cradle of its invincible fleet. They were also the most heavily fortified regions of the Church.
After the destruction of the invincible fleet, in order to prevent further attacks on the Church homeland by the Alliance navy, a large number of permanent fortifications and various large-caliber coastal defense guns had long been constructed here.
Belzetsk, Loslav, and Olstead formed a triangular defensive network, with city fortifications built accordingly. Even the ground itself was paved with solid stone slabs engraved with various rune arrays to enhance the surrounding protective shields.
Even during the peak of the war with the Tsarist Nation of Roshek, when new troops were urgently needed, the defensive forces here had never been redeployed. It was known as an impregnable super fortress.
And yet, this toughest nut to crack was exactly what the Seris Federation intended to take on.
From the very beginning of the war, aside from air force deployments, the Alliance had deliberately refrained from using most of its equipment—precisely to prepare for this offensive.
The reason was simple: precisely because of its immense strategic importance, it possessed such terrifying defensive strength. But if it could be breached, the Church would effectively lose half its lifeline.
Moreover, the Alliance could rapidly achieve its strategic objective of linking up with Ernesto.
And this super fortress was likely at its weakest internally. According to intelligence estimates, the Church had been able to quickly stabilize internal unrest and suppress the dissatisfaction of nobles by redeploying this elite force elsewhere.
It was estimated that at least half of the troops had been rotated out. While the total number remained the same, the disparity in combat effectiveness was significant.
Aside from the Laplade Fleet assigned to other missions, most of the military forces had been concentrated here. Together with the returning fleet from Ernesto, they had assembled four Dreadnought-class Battleships, over twenty cruisers, and a large number of troop transports converted from oil tankers.
More than 1,000 various fighter aircraft, 600 Gringol Bombers, over 50 large gunship aircraft, and more than a hundred airships with diameters of 300 meters had also been gathered.
In addition, there were three army groups and four tank divisions, with total participating forces exceeding 400,000 troops.
Operation codename: “Operation Overlord”
This punch had been prepared by the Alliance for a long time—and the Church had been waiting as well.
The plan was divided into several phases. Once officially initiated, large-scale unrestricted bombing operations began first.
Alliance bomber groups, carrying cluster munitions and heavy bombs, systematically destroyed all railways, newly built airfields, bridges, and anti-aircraft fortifications within the Church’s territory.
At the same time, they used incendiary bombs to permanently incinerate identified industrial clusters, erasing not only machinery but also the workers within—completely from the world.
In truth, this also served as a declaration of the arrival of the Seris Federation.
This news shocked the current Pontiff and the royal family. They immediately ordered all troops deployed with the Coalition Forces and those fighting in Ernesto to return, further strengthening the defensive lines at Belzetsk and other locations.
This significantly reduced the pressure on Ernesto, allowing it to better defend against Coalition Forces offensives.
As for waiting for reinforcements—without the railway network, that would take quite some time.
And the Alliance had no intention of giving them that opportunity.