Attack

The Irish First Division's plan received more support from Chairman Russell and the Military Council, so the Irish Second Division was officially relegated to a feint and blocking force.

In order to create the impression of concentrating forces to besiege Athlone, the Society of United Irishmen mobilized almost all the forces in their base. County brigades and district squads were mobilized. These soldiers would be responsible for, along with a portion of the Irish Second Division, posing as the main force to surround Athlone.

Just like during the later Battle of Ping'an-Gelge, after counting the number of people in the county battalion and district squads, Irish Second Division O'Hara almost actually considered launching a full-scale attack on Athlone, because... because he really didn't expect that the county battalion and district squads could have so many people!

Yes, the county brigades and district squads from Ireland's two major strongholds have now been combined, adding another division of fifty to sixty thousand men. Adding the more than forty thousand men of the Irish Second Division, it seems entirely feasible to launch a full-scale assault on Athlone.

But O'Hara restrained himself, primarily out of discipline. Since the Society of United Irishmen Military Council had already decided on a feint attack, he wouldn't arbitrarily change it, unless the Britain at Athlone themselves ran into trouble.

Secondly, O'Hara knew that although the county brigade and district squads were numerous, their training and equipment levels were significantly inferior to the main force. Their equipment was barely comparable to the notoriously ineffective "police force," and their training was even worse. Of course, with their indomitable courage and unwavering determination, they might easily defeat the "police force," but attacking fortified positions would require both fearless sacrifice and a resolute will. However, even with these qualities, it was far from sufficient.

Now that the plan was finalized, the Irish Independence Army immediately sprang into action.

Swamp warfare expert Edward Stanford, now a colonel for his distinguished service against the Ireland, has his regiment deployed to Athlone. The United Kingdom has now completely broken with the rebels and has been instructed to prepare for defense, as the rebels will soon attack Athlone.

Edward Stanford knew that the Duke of Norfolk was trying to get as many troops as possible sent from the homeland, but the British Army were currently at a disadvantage in Ireland until reinforcements arrived. The Ireland would certainly take advantage of this opportunity to besiege Athlone, hoping to destroy this most important stronghold and thus completely destroy the crucial railway.

The authorities went to great lengths to lure the Ireland into besieging Athlone. First, the garrison couldn't be too large; too many troops would deter the Ireland from attacking, as they feared they couldn't capture it before the Britain could launch a major offensive. This prevented the Duke of Norfolk from realizing his plan to use the outpost to draw the Ireland to the city, then quickly transfer his main force via rail for a decisive battle to cripple the Irish Independence Army. Even if more troops were brought in, it would only be a repeat of the previous scenario: the United Kingdom's army would bleed continuously in small, high-density skirmishes, and the war seemed endless.

However, if the garrison is too small and they are unable to hold the position, and the Ireland manage to ambush and wipe them out, it would be a huge loss, making the subsequent war even more difficult.

Finally, after careful discussion, the Britain concluded that with their "Bonaparte Gilded Shield" style defenses, plus approximately six thousand actual Britain troops, they should be able to hold out and hold out until the main force arrived. Furthermore, six thousand men wouldn't be enough to truly frighten the Ireland into not attacking.

Early that morning, Edward Stanford woke up very early. He got out of bed, drew back the curtains, and looked out the window.

It was still early, the sun had not yet risen, and a layer of dark blue fog covered the ground. This was a common occurrence at this time of year; sometimes, the fog would rise and not dissipate until noon. Such weather was obviously unfavorable for defense. Under the cover of the fog, the attacking side could easily sneak up and then use explosives and demolition charges to send a bunker flying into the air.

Colonel Edward Stanford immediately tensed up. He quickly put on his uniform, went out the door with a few guards, and headed to the front lines.

When Edward Stanford arrived at the forward fortifications, the sun had already risen, but the fog had become even thicker, a white expanse where visibility had dropped to less than thirty meters.

"Is there any movement?" Edward Stanford asked Battalion Commander Richard was on duty at the time.

"I don't know, we can't see anything. Someone heard a slight movement over the minefield. But we don't know what it is. Maybe it's a person, but it could be something else, like a rabbit or something. We fired a few shots blindly in that direction, but we don't know what the effect was."

"Are our military dogs responding?" Edward Stanford asked again.

"There are some reactions, but rabbits react the same way. Last time there was a dog that followed a rabbit into a minefield, and then..." Richard shook his head.

"What the hell," Edward Stanford said. "The fog is very thick today and it's not going to clear anytime soon. You'd better be careful and alert, and don't let the Ireland sneak up on you with their explosives."

"There's such a large minefield outside, how could they possibly get in so easily?" Battalion Commander Richard shook his head, but glancing at Edward Stanford's expression, he added, "Of course, we'll be on high alert."

"Tom, I estimate they'll take action within the next couple of days, so you can't take it lightly," Edward Stanford said.

"Yes, yes, commander, don't worry, I sleep with one eye open."

As they were talking, a group of the Irish Independence Army soldiers took advantage of the thick fog and arrived at the minefield at the front of the British Army lines.

Unlike the inefficient probe-based mine-clearing methods used by Britain engineers, Ireland engineers had access to the most advanced France mine detectors. These devices, which utilize electromagnetic induction, could clearly detect buried metal objects, far superior to the Britain engineers' clumsy, indiscriminate metal probes.

Whenever a landmine was detected underground, the Ireland sappers would stop, take out long metal probes to pinpoint the mine's location, and then carefully dig it out. Under the cover of the dense fog, these sappers quickly cleared a safe passage through the minefield.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers carrying explosive charges and demolition charges crossed the minefield and began to approach the British Army fortifications.