Reinforce the Front Line
At 4:00 AM on the 20th, several brilliant shooting stars flashed past the window of the Command Island at Martin Fortress command center; those were the broken keel of a Behemoth-class Battlecruiser from the Alpha Squadron.
Although the sky was still overcast a few hours ago, it didn't rain here. The rain clouds that piled up in the sky only made occasional rumbles of thunder before being blown further away. For the local amphibians and thorny plants, it was just a disappointment.
Augustus couldn't remember the last time he had closed his eyes for a long time. No one advised him to rest or sleep for a few hours. Outside, the fighting was raging, and even the Revolutionary Army soldiers who weren't on duty couldn't sleep in their barracks.
Less than twenty miles from Martin Fortress, the battlefield in the Barren Canyon had become a true meat grinder after more than ten hours of fierce fighting, with rivers of blood and corpses strewn everywhere.
From 6 PM on the 19th, when the vanguard of the Alpha Squadron engaged in firefight with the forces of Harnack and Tychus, until around 10 PM, when eight main Revolutionary Army divisions led by Raynor and Londerstein launched a fierce attack on the rear of the Alpha Squadron's army group, encircling it. The casualties on both sides soared from the initial hundreds to thousands, increasing exponentially and far exceeding the casualties suffered by the Revolutionary Army since its first formal establishment.
The Confederacy Army and the Revolutionary Army deployed a total of about 150,000 troops in an area of less than a few dozen square miles. The Alpha Squadron had about 20,000 troops, while the Revolutionary Army deployed about 15,000 veterans of the 1st Korhal Revolutionary Army, more than 78,000 new recruits from the three Deadman's Port, 10,000 troops from the two Mar- Sara local brigades, and about 40,000 troops from the three Revolutionary Army divisions that Warfield brought back from Umojan, who had participated in the defense of Korhal.
During the alternation of offense and defense, the offensive and defensive lines of some units of both sides overlapped. After running out of ammunition and becoming separated from the supply lines, close-quarters combat even broke out in some areas. Meanwhile, the Alpha Squadron artillery units, located behind their own lines and lacking cover, suffered heavy losses because they were unable to attach bayonets to their railguns.
The Revolutionary Army possesses over 40,000 CMC-200 armor sets and a small number of CMC-300 Power Suit. Most of these came from the Umojan Republic and several highly autonomous member colonies, while the remainder were obtained through capture. The remaining soldiers could only wear Exoskeleton Armor with weaker protective capabilities.
Aside from the existing Arclite Siege Tank, Goliath Combat Robot, and several Rattlesnake Prototype Vehicle, the Revolutionary Army's possession of heavy firepower weapons is negligible, except for a small number of electromagnetic cannons and unmanned bombers supported by Umojan.
"Edmond Duke abandoned the idea of breaking out from the Raynor - Londerstein lines in the north an hour ago." A different voice finally came from the keyboard and radio in the command center, like ice shards colliding in a river in early spring.
"Now, Duke has abandoned the Confederate Marine Corps tied down by Major General Raynor and is instead leading the elite guards of Alpha Squadron and Fleets soldiers south to launch a renewed attack on the bottleneck position in the canyon where Harnack and Tychus are located, preparing to break out from there." After Augustus's former adjutant was killed on his way to reinforce the bottleneck position with reserves, his Ghost operative bodyguard Sarah Kerrigan temporarily took over as adjutant.
"Duke wanted to fight me to the death." Augustus still remembers the face of that young adjutant.
He was a cadet who graduated from the Korhal Military Academy, one of the first and last Revolutionary Army officers from that academy. He died at the age of twenty-five from a delayed-fuze aerial bomb, the eldest son in his family, with a pregnant fiancée.
He was one of the tens of thousands of the Revolutionary Army soldiers who died today, nothing special, the only difference being that Augustus remembered his name.
No battle is without casualties. The highly resocialized Confederacy army is not the same as the local planetary defense force and civil defense force of Mar- Sara. Their equipment is outdated, their training is lax, and their fighting spirit is weak. They are even inferior to a flock of pigeons. Alpha Squadron is, after all, an army composed of professional soldiers, Resocialized Soldier are far superior to those of the militia.
"The remaining warships of Alpha Squadron are regrouping on a cold, frozen planet on the outermost edge of the Sara System, but my Fleets still holds the advantage, which means Duke can no longer return to his Fleets." Augustus's voice was hoarse, his vision becoming somewhat blurred from staring at the same Holographic Projection map.
In the past Augustus might have had the leisure to enjoy wine, tea, and expensive chocolates like a nobleman, but now he simply kept chugging military-grade coffee to improve his concentration and focus.
"As long as Duke can drive Harnack and Tychus away, we'll have no defensible position in front of Martin Fortress except for a few minefields," Augustus continued. "Then Duke can destroy the rebel command center in one fell swoop, throwing them into chaos. At the same time, Duke can also lead a portion of the Alpha Squadron soldiers back to high-altitude orbit through the airport at the Martin Fortress command center."
"The bottleneck position that Harnack and his men held was crucial; it was a vital choke point," he said. "In the time to come, the bottleneck position would inevitably become the center of the entire battle."
"The casualties at the bottleneck position are so severe that some companies and even battalions are reduced to only a dozen men, and the last reinforcement reserve force set off just three hours ago." Kerrigan, as a powerful Psionics, is perfectly suited to the role of adjutant, and her thinking is intelligent and flexible enough. More importantly, Kerrigan knows what Augustus is thinking, what he needs, and what he wants to do.
No one can be more empathetic than a mind-reading Psionics.
At that moment, an information officer rushed over. "Colonel Harnack requests reinforcements. The Alpha Squadron has launched a new offensive and has already captured almost two-thirds of our position."
"Duke's Alpha Squadron has been besieged for nearly eleven hours, and they are prepared to fight to the death." Augustus held his breath, paced a few steps, and then stopped.
"I remember we have no reserves left." As he spoke, Augustus turned to look at Kerrigan beside him. In a large-scale battle of legion size, the side that runs out of reserves first indicates that they are struggling and at a disadvantage in the battle.
"All the reserves at Martin Fortress have already departed. Now, only Corporal Faraday's guard battalion, the information company, and the logistics company remain in the Marshal's headquarters," Kerrigan told Augustus. "In addition, we have an engineering regiment."
"And the General Staff," Augustus.
"The command must not retreat. As long as we can hold out until Raynor ' forces divide, encircle, and annihilate the rest of the Alpha Squadron, we will win the battle."
Immediately afterwards, Augustus issued orders over the channel at the Martin Fortress command center, "The Chief of Staff and personnel from the information operations and support departments, remain here. All other personnel, including the Engineer Corps, go to the barracks and armory to collect your Power Armor and Gauss Rifle, regardless of your rank, whether you are a private or a lieutenant colonel."
"When you collect your weapons, hand over your will and paycheck to your superior. If you do not wish to go to the battlefield, then submit an explanation of your circumstances."