Chapter 1634: Chapter 1551: Moss’s Dilemma
"After dawn, our pressure will increase... The Tang Country’s planes have started to increase!" Leaning against an armored vehicle, the commander of the 1st Corps, Haralick, said irritably.
He thought that by deploying the elite 1st Armored Division, the enemy’s line would soon show a breach. But it turned out that he was overly optimistic about his assault capabilities.
The pressure from the sky was increasing, and the ground attack wasn’t going smoothly either. The Tang Army’s defensive line was very strong, and he couldn’t get close to Ben.
"What the hell is Harev doing, isn’t there supposed to be a pincer attack? Is there no progress on their side at all?" Painfully listening to the reported casualty numbers from his subordinates, Haralick looked at a communications officer nearby.
The officer awkwardly avoided his superior’s gaze. Their communications had not been restored; the Great Tang Empire’s electromagnetic interference was simply unreasonable, and they hadn’t been able to smoothly connect with the 2nd Corps.
The best record was a single message from the 2nd Corps, saying they had already advanced to the outskirts of Ben.
Since they reached the outskirts about two hours ago, by now they should have already entered the city, right? Could it be that the Tang Army gave up even on Ben and still has their elite troops placed east of Ben?
From midnight until now, the 1st Corps had already lost about 100 tanks, more than 120 armored vehicles, over 200 trucks, and more than 50 artillery pieces!
Most of these weapons and equipment weren’t lost at the front lines of the attack but were destroyed by bombing from the Tang Army during the march. Such huge losses were more than the 1st Corps could bear; the only reason they could still continue the attack was their iron will.
"More than 1,500 dead and missing... We haven’t even been able to break through the enemy’s first defensive line! It’s a disgrace! A disgrace!" After complaining about the incompetence of his allies, Haralick angrily criticized his own troops: "We are the 1st Corps! We have our own honor! Reorganize for another attack! This time, spare no effort to seize the first position from the Tang Army!"
He had to give General Moss an explanation; after taking the first position, he could at least report the results, explaining how many kilometers closer he was to Ben...
Besides, he was worried that his troops, deployed in the wild, would suffer greater attacks from Tang Army aircraft during the day.
They had to invade Ben, at least allowing part of the troops to interlock with the Tang Army to avoid greater losses.
In addition, he was worried about another issue: the Tang Army troops from the south were advancing north, although the scale wasn’t large, it was extremely deadly.
If the Tang Army troops from the south threatened his flank, it would be difficult for the 1st Corps to extricate itself. With the remaining reinforcements from the 4th Armored Division, part of the 1st Corps was setting up defenses against the northward advancing Tang Army, but this was ultimately a serious threat.
Various unfavorable factors converged to make Haralick very worried about his troops. Thus, he sent a telegram to Moss, briefly introducing the battlefield situation.
From his perspective: the results of the 2nd Corps were unclear, his troops suffered heavy losses, and the strategy of enveloping Ben seemed unachievable.
Moss received the telegram but didn’t have a good solution either: he didn’t know what was going on with Harev’s damned 2nd Corps, whether they had attacked Ben or not.
If he ordered the 1st Corps to retreat, it would be like selling out the 2nd Corps. If the 2nd Corps hadn’t achieved any results, it would be fine, but if they had already taken Ben, and because of the 1st Corps’ retreat leaving them unsupported losing the advantage, it would be a big deal.
But conversely, if the 2nd Corps hadn’t gained an advantage, then continuing to let the 1st Corps stay in place didn’t seem like a good option either.
Currently, it’s nighttime; the scale of Tang Army air raids isn’t large yet, and the 1st Corps has several hours to retreat. If they return to base, with solid bunkers and defenses, they wouldn’t continue to suffer huge losses.
Moss was a bit unwilling to let the 1st Corps retreat like this because it was a counterattack he started with great determination. Or rather, this was his only opportunity for a counterattack.
If letting the 1st Corps return would mean abandoning the 2nd Corps, the Dwarfs near the Steel Rampart had almost exhausted their mobile forces. From now on, all they could do was hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Moreover, the troop vacuum caused by the Tang Country Navy’s division was about to disappear, and a large Great Tang Empire Navy Fleet would soon appear near Eternal Winter City, turning it into the front line.
"General, why not let Haralick try again? If it doesn’t work, retreat around three o’clock..." the Chief of Staff suggested a compromise that seemed reasonable.
Moss didn’t quite agree with this choice: an attack is an attack, defense is defense; sometimes an incomplete attack is worse than focusing entirely on defense from the start. If there’s no determination, why make decisions?
If they fight until three o’clock and the situation isn’t clear, the enemy is almost collapsing, but then we retreat, wouldn’t that be a joke? Conversely, if they can’t succeed by three, why not retreat at two? What’s the point in wasting troops and time?
But Moss himself was tangled in a similar issue: wanting to retreat but unwilling, wanting to fight but lacking courage. To some extent, the Chief of Staff’s strategy reflected Moss’s own dilemma.
Thinking it over and over, Moss ultimately decided to hold on for two more hours and see the situation around three o’clock—he didn’t decide only to fight until three, instead he ordered Haralick to continue the attack.
Three o’clock was a self-imposed deadline, not mentioned in the orders. So the 1st Corps received orders to continue the attack and must break into Ben before dawn.
Upon receiving the orders, the 1st Corps launched an attack on Ben again, repeatedly attacking the defensive positions held by Xiang Ziyu, bombing it with remaining artillery until it resembled the surface of the moon. Corpses littered the ground, and even tank tracks were covered in blood.
Around two-thirty, the Dwarfs’ troops finally seized the first position from the Tang Army, but they also paid a heavy price for it.
They didn’t know they had triggered a switch; a Tang Army armored regiment hidden behind the positions waited for more than two hours just for this moment.
Taking advantage of the Dwarfs’ unsteady foothold, the armored regiment led by Liu Guozhu began a counterattack.