Chapter 1616: Chapter 1533: Betting All Chips
In the Ice Cold Empire’s frontline command center at Eternal Winter Port, General Moss was waiting for reports from various fronts.
Thanks to the many advanced radios they had, the Dwarves’ communication abilities had some assurance. Despite many channels being disrupted by the Tang Army, some situations could still be promptly reported back to the command center.
Although the cannon fire from the frontline couldn’t be heard, the atmosphere inside the Dwarf command center was far from relaxed. The inexplicable loss of position 5 during the night compounded with the unsuccessful operations this morning.
Firstly, the Air Force’s counterattack had completely failed. Of the planes that took off for combat, nearly none had returned. The mission to bomb the beachhead wasn’t accomplished, and the escort fighter jets were all lost.
Even though many pilots managed to parachute safely, the loss of planes was tangible. According to the liaison officer, the Ice Cold Empire’s Air Force counterattack operations were unlikely to continue this morning.
This afternoon, the Air Force promised to deploy around 170 planes to continue combat. However, if those planes were lost, the Air Force might only be able to deploy a few dozen planes tomorrow.
The loss of air superiority was expected; Moss wasn’t too concerned about it. However, the losses on the ground were making him uneasy.
Behind position 5, the second line of defense was teetering, with the Tang Army making some breakthroughs. Their vanguard troops were already threatening the airport far behind position 5.
The counterattack on both flanks was also not going well. A large number of Dwarf reserves were assembled at position 6, but throughout the morning, these troops had mostly remained in place.
As for the other side’s position 4...
"Position 4 has lost contact..." An officer nervously approached Moss, reporting the latest situation: "The main position 401 was engaged in fierce combat with the Tang Army, then their phone lines went dead."
The chief of staff standing next to Moss was taken aback, almost unable to believe his ears: "It’s only been a morning, and position 4 has already fallen?"
He had personally inspected position 4, where the defenses were exceptionally well-equipped, featuring rotatable large turrets armed with 381 mm main guns intended as backup barrels for battleship main guns, along with 300 mm heavy artillery...
Under the cover of these heavy turrets, bunkers and small cannons backed each other to form a three-dimensional firepower network, making the place nearly impregnable.
Yet this entire defense system was conquered by the Tang Army in just a few hours? It was simply unbelievable.
If the Tang Army had always been so fierce, wouldn’t the entire Steel Rampart be no different from paper?
Moss remained fairly calm; he didn’t consider losing some positions entirely unexpected: "It seems that’s the case. The Tang Army’s firepower is stronger than we imagined, and their assault capabilities are indeed formidable."
"What should we do, General..." The chief of staff asked in a bit of a panic.
"There’s no solution, because in the initial estimate, it’s normal for the Tang Army to occupy several positions. As long as we can deplete the Tang Army’s supply as much as possible, we have a chance to turn the tide." Moss answered truthfully.
In his view, the fiercer the Tang Army’s offensive, the faster their ammunition consumption. As long as they depleted the supplies they brought, they’d start to falter.
However, this process would cause significant losses for the Dwarves, and they would appear highly passive.
Nonetheless, Moss thought there was still a chance: "The situation is very simple now. If we hold on, losing positions slower than they consume ammunition, we’ve won... Conversely, if we don’t hold on, then we’ve lost."
"Until the final moment, no one knows the outcome of this battle." He knew that he and the Tang Army Commander were akin to two gamblers at a card table, each pushing their chips forward, merely waiting for the moment when the opponent could produce no more chips.
"Order the reserves to advance, try to retake position 4, question position 6, and ask when they can reclaim position 5!" Determined to use all his chips here, Moss once again urged his troops to press forward.
He felt that even if it was just to deplete the Tang Army’s supplies, he needed to speed up. Otherwise, when the Tang Army established floating docks or had the strength to seize Eternal Winter Port, the Ice Cold Empire would find itself at a disadvantage.
Despite the challenges of cross-sea transportation, the situation was different for the Great Tang Empire. If they really had a port, the Tang Army might indeed obtain sufficient supplies, leaving the Dwarf Empire in a catastrophic situation.
Therefore, Moss’s core tactic was to exhaust the supplies of the Tang Army during their vulnerable landing period.
"Yes!" Upon hearing Moss’s orders, the messenger officer hurried out.
...
At position 6, the Dwarf Commander was at his wit’s end, looking at his wounded subordinates. They had organized two large-scale counterattacks and countless small-scale offensives.
Yet the Tang Army across from them showed no intention of retreating even a step. In fact, during this process, they seized several forward positions to the north of position 6.
Those damned tanks were too powerful, resulting in the Dwarves deploying ten times the number of tanks, yet not gaining any advantage.
Or to be frank: the Dwarves’ tanks hadn’t destroyed even one Tang Army Type 96 main battle tank, while the Tang Army’s new tanks had destroyed over 30 Dwarf tanks.
to 0! In the face of such overwhelming power disparity, the Dwarves’ counterattack seemed feeble, and the Tang Army’s offensive was overwhelmingly strong.
Of course, this wasn’t the total loss of tanks for the Dwarves today; these 30 were merely the ones destroyed by Tang Army tanks.
In fact, the number of tanks the Dwarves lost was far greater: over a hundred tanks were bombed by the Tang Country’s Air Force during the assembly.
The battle had only been ongoing for a couple of hours, but the Dwarves had already lost nearly an entire armored division’s worth of weapons and equipment due to combat losses and failures, incapable of participating in the subsequent combat.
This horrifying rate of loss was already affecting the combat effectiveness of the frontline Dwarf troops. The originally planned support was gone, making their counterattack naturally weaken.
"Sir! General Moss is inquiring when we will be able to reclaim position 5?" One communication officer approached, saluted, and conveyed the message to the irate Commander at position 6.
"Attack once more! At any cost..." said the exhausted Dwarf Commander at position 6, issuing orders once again.