Chapter 1630: Chapter 1547: Encircling Ben
“Regular support will suffice, our army is not made of paper.” Tagg was very confident in the troops that had already landed: “Send a telegram to General Hog, telling him to destroy the invading enemy! Since they’ve come out of their shell, don’t let them crawl back in!”
At this moment, the frontline commander of the Tang Army’s landing troops is the Supreme Commander of the Great Tang Empire’s 1st Corps, General Hog. He had already come ashore with his command post, setting up the headquarters inside a main bunker at Position 5.
After receiving orders from Tagg, General Hog immediately issued combat orders: Open the gates to let the Dwarves approach Ben, and then use the troops’ advantage in night vision devices to encircle this unit.
“First, deploy pockets on the flanks! Then let the units with night vision devices take the front, establish a defensive line in the outskirts ruins, let them see Ben, but not enter!” Hog dangled a carrot in front of the Dwarves, and that carrot was Ben!
As the Tang Army began preparing for night battle, Ben in far-off Eternal Winter Port received several headache-inducing reports: Too much information was coming in for him to handle.
Initially, a torpedo boat unit that had been attempting night raids on the Tang Army reported back; their losses had increased, and the Tang Army had dispatched a large number of aircraft, using unknown weapons to sink many of the Dwarf torpedo boats.
Three submarines were sunk, severely impacting the Dwarf Navy’s combat capability. They lost the ability to restrain the Tang Army’s landing fleet, leaving the Steel Rampart even more isolated and unsupported.
What made Moss even more nervous was that one of the submarines was caught and sunk by the Tang Army during its return journey, even while it was surfaced, sending back a vague report before being sunk.
The report was as follows: A suspected Tang Army fleet is heading south, their carrier-based anti-submarine helicopters have spotted us…
Generally speaking, carrier-based anti-submarine helicopters from Tang Country do not operate far from their fleet, so the navy judged that the Tang Army fleet is indeed moving south, heading towards Eternal Winter Port.
The navy there was in chaos, all preparing to fight to the death to protect Eternal Winter Port; Moss, however, felt that the Tang Navy dividing forces presented an opportunity. If a fleet was moving south, this would mean air superiority near the landing area would be weakened.
But before Moss could indulge in this thought, the previously-cutt-off radio communication briefly resumed for a few minutes. During those minutes, the 2nd Corps sent back a crucial piece of intelligence: Ben was already lost.
This was confirmation, something Moss was previously not completely certain of regarding Ben City. In his shock, Moss also received another blood-boiling piece of news: the 2nd Corps Commander Harev decided to counterattack.
If the 2nd Corps committed reserves to a counterattack, it would mean troops from positions 1 to 3 would be withdrawn, leaving those positions without any reinforcements…
For Moss, who had drafted pre-war plans for holding steadfast, such actions were akin to seeking one’s own death. Once mobilized, all pre-war deployments would be rendered completely ineffective.
The Dwarves had previously dispersed their forces, essentially pinning themselves to their positions. Once a decision to counterattack was made, time would be needed to regroup the dispersed forces, a clumsy and foolish move.
“Fool! Harev is a fool!” Moss muttered, his complexion pale, then ordered communication with the 2nd Corps to prevent Harev’s suicidal behavior.
But after brief restoration of communications, the Tang Army’s interference rendered communication extremely difficult once more, forcing Moss to dispatch messengers around Ben to Harev’s headquarters to deliver orders.
This efficiency was clearly unable to keep up with the changing situation, so Moss reluctantly chose to actively coordinate with Harev: “We can’t let them act alone, or everything will be over.”
Having made his decision, Moss immediately mobilized the reserve units closest to Ben: the most elite 1st Corps of Dwarves, which he had been clinging to and reluctant to use!
Furthermore, it was not feasible to mobilize an entire Corps, so Moss maneuvered the core forces of the 1st Corps which included the 1st Armored Division along with the 1st Infantry Division, the 11th Infantry Division.
These three units were the most powerful in terms of combat capability, the best-equipped, and the most robust three Division-sized units on the Dwarves’ side. On the battlefield, they had gained a fearsome reputation, causing headaches for Elf forces.
Whenever these units appeared on the battlefield, the defensive lines of the Poplar Empire would tremble, and Elven forces would understand that these crazed Dwarven units had come again.
Meanwhile, the Tang Army made a series of adjustments to annihilate the elite reserve units of the Dwarves’ 2nd Corps thrusting in from the west: The 1st Paratrooper Division, which had fought in Ben all afternoon, was relocated to the east to regroup. The most-ready 1st Infantry Division and the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Armored Division took defensive positions to the west of Ben, preparing to encircle the advancing Dwarf units.
Simultaneously, the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division, arriving by helicopter, set out from Position 4, sweeping around to the rear to coordinate with the 1st Infantry Division and the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Armored Division for a surround-and-conquer operation.
To ensure no chance of failure, one regiment of the 1st Armored Division of the Great Tang Empire, after a short rest, was reassigned to the east, supporting the somewhat weary 1st Paratrooper Division, which had been in fierce combat all day.
As Hog arranged his formations to welcome the Dwarvish 2nd Corps to its demise, his recon units on the eastern flank reported a frightening message: “A Dwarf unit is moving west, seemingly attempting to pin down the Tang Army in Ben.”
The situation became interesting: the Tang Army’s most exhausted 1st Paratrooper Division might have to hold out on the front lines for another night, engaging the attacking Dwarf forces.
Fortunately, they had support from the 1st Armored Division’s 1st Regiment; the bad news was that this might be their only reinforcement from the 1st Armored Division.
“Should we have the 1st Marine Division’s reserves…” a staff officer hesitantly suggested, though knowing it was unlikely to be feasible.
At that moment, the 1st Marine Division was attacking Position 3, seemingly about to capture it; withdrawing troops at such a moment was clearly not a wise choice.
Moreover, the distance was too great. Even if they forced a night march covering dozens of kilometers from west to east, they would be too exhausted to participate in combat effectively upon arrival.
“Have the 2nd Marine Division detach some troops, launching an attack from Position 6 northeast… to scare the opposition a bit…” Hog sighed, brow furrowing as he ordered, “Threaten their flank, see what effect it has.”
“Or I’ll just fight in the streets of Ben! Hell…” Gritting his teeth, Hog cursed profanely.