Chapter 1664 Combat Conference (Ⅱ)

Logan Volsunger did not refute Baron Laval face to face, but his thick eyebrows could not help but be tightly locked.

"It's claimed to be 30,000, but it's actually only 9,000. Isn't this too much water? The bragging is too much. If you can't fool the enemy, but deceive your own people, wouldn't it be embarrassing?"

Slude couldn't help complaining in a low voice.

"Whether we can scare the enemy or not, at least we have to know how much we are worth, and stay sober." Sir Custis said thoughtfully, "Counting the 2,000 militia recruited from the surrounding villages and towns, Meade The total strength of the Gard Colonial Legion has expanded to 4,000, and Logan's Asa Hunting Cavalry has also been supplemented to the scale of 1,000 people. Counting the 1,000 horses George brought from Alfheim, and 9 soldiers from the empire Thousands of reinforcements, our total strength has reached 15,000."

"Fifteen thousand troops sounds spectacular, but Master Fei claims that he will increase his troops by 20,000 from the mainland!" Haakon shouted.

"It's not 'Jianyou'. In fact, the reinforcements from Feizhen's native land arrived at the New Avalon Naval Port last Friday, and the troops are now on their way south to reinforce Linyuan Castle." Joan corrected in a low voice.

"The combat effectiveness of the troops cannot be simply compared with the number of officers and soldiers, but the quality is more important! The first brigade of law-breaker knights from the mainland of the empire, all members are 'law-breaker knights' promoted by clergymen, and are known as 'gods of war'. Sharp blade', the combat power is not comparable to that of ordinary soldiers." Baron Laval said seriously.

"However, the reinforcements sent by Feizhen are also known as the country's elite troops, so they may not be inferior to our law-breaking knights." Logan retorted blankly.

Colonel Vassar noticed that there was a strong smell of gunpowder between the two colleagues, and he was afraid that they would quarrel, so he quickly intervened to smooth things over.

"Sir Laval just said that exaggerating the strength of one's own troops before the battle is a psychological tactic. Could Master Fei also use the same scheming, claiming an increase of 20,000 troops in name, but in fact there are not so many troops?"

Prince Sigmunt nodded and said: "From my past experience in dealing with Master Fei on the battlefield, I can deduce that the figure of 20,000 must be watery. The question is how much water is there?"

"If we can try to understand the real strength of the enemy, then we can make targeted combat arrangements. Otherwise, it is all guesswork, and it is difficult to guarantee that we will not make misjudgments."

Sir Custis gave Joan a wink, and said unhurriedly: "Your Excellency Marshal, Dr. Vader and I have been collecting enemy intelligence through different channels during this period, and the information we have obtained from different intelligence sources They are roughly the same, but in comparison, Dr. Vader has more details than me, so please ask him to report to you the current situation of the enemy's troops."

"Oh? This is unexpected good news!"

Prince Sigmund turned his head to look at Joan, smiling encouragingly.

"Dr. Vader, can you share with us the information you have? This will be very helpful for the next battle plan."

Joan quickly stood up and said a little cautiously: "Your Excellency Marshal, please forgive me for not revealing the source of the information, but I dare to guarantee on my reputation that every piece of data I provide you is true and credible! "

Prince Sigmunt nodded slightly, and signaled him to continue with his eyes.

"After the Battle of Lake Aosta ended, General Thomas Cornwallis led the remnants of the army to retreat to Linyuan Castle. Together with the 1,000 enemy troops originally stationed in Linyuan Castle, the total strength was nearly 3,000. In the Kalydon mercenary group of Linyuan Castle, there are less than three squadrons of mountain giant mercenaries, about 160 people."

"The number of hill giants seems insignificant, but their combat power is far beyond that of ordinary soldiers. If the combat power of giant mercenaries is converted into humans, it is at least equivalent to a thousand-man army."

"Just now Haakon mentioned that the "Jortunheim News" publicly declared that the Fichinese would send 20,000 troops to the colonies. According to what I know, the more realistic figure is only 7,000, including 5,000 riflemen, 2,000 Hussar."

"The 7,000 troops from Feizhen's native land are now heading down the Vimul River, and will pass through the Iron Forest and enter Linyuanbao at the latest the day after tomorrow."

"Based on this calculation, the total strength of the defenders of Linyuan Castle will exceed 10,000. Although our army has the upper hand, the advantage is not large enough to conquer the strong fortress held by the enemy. I am afraid that we can only adopt long-term siege tactics. , The siege continued until the day when the enemy army ran out of ammunition and food, their morale collapsed, and they took the initiative to open the city and surrender."

Colonel Vasa proposed a conventional combat idea, but was opposed by Baron Laval.

"The materials and rations stored in Linyuan Castle are enough to support an army of ten thousand people for a whole year. Do we have to spend a whole year besieging the city?" Baron Laval shook his head and said with a gloomy face, "Not to mention the Jotun Sea Governor Rawls Winthrop will never let the Cornwallis corps besieged in Linyuan Castle. He will send reinforcements later to cooperate with the defending troops to launch a pincer attack on our army, forcing us to The army is fighting on both sides, and it is likely to end in tragedy in the end!"

The worst possibility proposed by Baron Laval is really unpleasant, but Joan has to admit that Benedict Laval does have foresight.

"From the information I have, Governor Winthrop is actively recruiting militiamen in Jotunheim. If there is no accident, there will be at least 5,000 fully armed Jotunheim militiamen in New Ava by the end of next month at the latest. Long board the ship, and go down the Vymur River to reinforce Lindeep Castle."

"If the enemy's reinforcements arrive at Linyuanbao before we besiege the city, our strength advantage will disappear. At that time, General Cornwallis will be able to adopt a conservative defensive strategy and have sufficient troops to take the initiative to attack. Our army The situation will be passive."

"Conversely, if our army encircles the Deep Fort before the enemy's reinforcements, we will have to face the problem Sir Laval just raised. How should we deal with the enemy's two-sided attack?"

Joan took a sip of coffee, calmed down his breathing rhythm a little, and continued:

"In addition to the 5,000 militiamen who are gathering in New Avalon, General Cornwallis also has a reinforcement army ready to go on Calydon Island."

"Joan, are you referring to the hill giants of the Calydon tribe?" Logan asked in a deep voice.

Joan nodded, and replied seriously: "This time, the Queen of Huaia will personally lead a team to reinforce General Cornwallis. I haven't been able to find out how many hill giant mercenaries will participate in this expedition, but there is one thing that can be done." It is confirmed that Queen Huaia will use a mysterious weapon from the ancient 'Era of Giants', this weapon is powerful enough to turn the tide of battle."