Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 101 I stand on the high ground looking towards Madrid~

Morin may have been internally complaining, but then again...
At this point in time, the standard melee weapon used by Saxon infantry was the S1898 bayonet, which was over half a meter long.

This thing is fine for close-quarters combat with bayonets, but it's a bit too long for close-quarters fighting like this.

An entrenching tool is a bit rough when you're 'doing work'.
But even Molin had to admit that it was indeed useful.

Soon, Morin led his commandos into the outer camp. After Morin gave them a signal, the men pounced on their targets like ghosts.

The entrenching tool shoveled fiercely at the neck of the sleeping enemy. Although it was extremely bloody and violent, no one dared to hold back.

However, the commandos, including Morin, were clearly not very familiar with this method of scouting and had not quite mastered it.

The first round of attacks had just been completed when it alerted several nearby enemies.

Seeing this, Morin did not hesitate and fired a few shots from his P08.

The assault team members immediately returned from their 'knife-wielding suits' to their regular suits, picked up their weapons and started firing, while also throwing grenades into the camp.

The gunshot rang out, the grenade exploded, and the entire battalion was blown up.

Those who are frequently disturbed at night know that when you are woken up from a deep sleep, you will feel palpitations and your reaction speed will be very slow for a short period of time.

So many of the Kingdom's soldiers, after waking up, were shot down by bullets before they even knew what had happened.

As gunfire erupted in the camp, Sergeant Klaus quickly commanded the main force, which was on standby, to charge forward, and the battle instantly turned into a one-sided affair.
Over the next few days, Morin tried this tactic of 'stealth infiltration + hypnotized sentries' several more times.

It's easy to use, but it also has a drawback.

That is, his own and the commando's biological clocks were completely messed up.
After discovering that many commandos were showing signs of lack of rest, Morin temporarily halted the night raids.

And time, amidst the daily marches and battles, arrived at the sixteenth day after the start of the Mackensen Offensive.

The Saxon Expeditionary Force's 1st and 2nd Corps finally met up 20 kilometers outside Madrid.

This time, the enemy was truly at the gates.

Soon, everyone's attention was focused on a high ground in eastern Madrid—the Vallecas Heights.

The Vallecas Heights are located in the southeastern part of Madrid.

In the world before Morin's journey, this place was already within the city limits of Madrid.

There is also the Vallecas Stadium, which serves as the home ground of Rayo Vallecano football club.

But now, because Madrid's urban area has shrunk by nearly one-tenth, it is still some distance from the old city walls.

This hill is more than 100 meters higher than the city center of Madrid on average. Standing on this hill, you can have an unobstructed view of the entire eastern and southern parts of Madrid.

The densely packed houses, the crisscrossing streets, and even the magnificent palace in the city center are all clearly visible.

For the attacking side, this is an excellent artillery position.

Once the artillery is deployed here, whether it's a 77mm field gun or a 105mm howitzer, it can easily cover half of the city, including the eastern city wall.

Conversely, for the defenders, this is a natural barrier that must be held at all costs.

Once the Vallecas Heights are lost, Madrid's gates will be half-open to the enemy.

Commander Hague, commander of the Brittany Expeditionary Force, was well aware of the importance of this high ground.

Therefore, he deployed two battalions of the Blackguard Heights Infantry Regiment, known for their tenacity and bravery, from the first batch of reinforcements from the Brittany Expeditionary Force to this strategic location.

These soldiers, dressed in dark green Scottish kilts, constructed sturdy anti-artillery fortifications on the high ground, making it less likely that the Saxon Expeditionary Force would be able to destroy the high ground with artillery.

The commander of these two battalions was an old colonel from the Scottish region of Brittany.

After Haig gave him the order, he resolved to fight the Saxons to the bitter end in this place.

The battle began at dawn.

Due to the terrain, the number of troops that can be deployed at the same time is limited; even in a dense formation, only two battalions can launch an assault.

The Saxon 31st Voglen Infantry Regiment was the first to launch the attack. They suffered heavy casualties and even managed to reach the high ground and engage in hand-to-hand combat several times, but were repeatedly repelled by the Scots on the high ground.

Those Scotsmen seemed tireless and fearless of death, holding their ground with precise shooting and fierce counter-attacks.

Within half a day, the 31st Infantry Regiment launched four attacks, but was forced to retreat after leaving behind more than 4 corpses.

The offensive mission was also handed over to the 32nd Infantry Regiment, where Morin was stationed.

By the afternoon, everyone in the 32nd Regiment's temporary command post felt immense pressure.

Major Thomas, who was in charge of the main attack, and Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich, the commander of the 2nd Battalion, frowned as they thought about the blood-stained hill they had just seen through their binoculars at the front line.

"A direct assault would come at too high a price," Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich shook his head. "Those Scots aren't afraid to die."

"Yes, but we are not afraid of dying, and we must take it down."

Major Thomas began, but he didn't have a good solution for the time being.

Just when everyone was at a loss, they looked at Morin, who had been brought in to participate in the tactical meeting.

When he noticed that everyone in the tent was staring at him again, Morin almost lost his composure.

Here we go again, huh?

However, Morin also knew the importance of this high ground.

If we can capture it, it will be extremely helpful for the upcoming siege of Madrid.

He glanced at the time—it was almost 4 p.m.

Then he glanced at the map again and saw that the artillery regiment under the 8th Infantry Division was also on standby nearby.

After a moment's thought, Morin revealed his plan.

"Major, how about we try a night raid again?"

His voice attracted everyone's attention.

"Night attack?"

Night attacks were an extremely risky tactical choice for armies of that era.

Although the 1st Company under Morin's command had successfully carried out night raids many times, that was because the 1st Company had completed a lot of preparatory training.

If other units did this, they might not necessarily achieve the same results.

Any mistake during a night raid could lead to disastrous consequences.

"That's too risky, Morin."

Major Thomas shook his head.

"I can't possibly send your company to attack two enemy battalions."

"No, Major, we have the advantage at night."

Morin walked to the map, pointed to the topographical map of the Vallecas Heights, and calmly analyzed:
"Night can conceal our intentions in troop movements and shorten the distance of our assault."

"I will personally lead the team to take out their outer sentries, and then the 1st Company will sneak up to a position 40 meters away from their front line and use grenades and concentrated firepower to tear through their defenses in one fell swoop."

"As long as we can open a gap, the main forces of the 1st and 2nd Battalions will immediately follow up and expand the results. After the first two battalions have completed their assault, the 3rd Battalion, as the regimental reserve, can also join the battle."

"This is destined to be a chaotic melee, so numerical superiority is crucial at this time."

"Of course, we still need to do some important preliminary work." ...

After Morin's battle plan was reported, the artillery regiment of the 8th Infantry Division was the first to complete its battle deployment and then began to bombard the hill in turn.

Although the terrain and the enemy's counter-battery trenches meant that such shelling could not cause much damage.

However, this artillery bombardment, which nearly depleted the artillery regiment's ammunition reserves and continued until sunset, still achieved two results.

First, the anti-artillery trenches on the high ground were damaged to some extent, and a large number of shell craters appeared along the attack route.

Secondly, the soldiers of the Black Guard Heights Infantry Regiment, who were hiding behind the trenches, spent the entire afternoon in tension and were unable to take a proper rest.

Immediately after the sun had completely set, the attacking troops began firing signal flares over the high ground every hour or half an hour.

There are red and white ones, and the color is random each time it is emitted.

The soldiers of the Black Guard Heights Infantry Regiment remained on edge amidst the whistling of signal flares and the red and white flashes of light.

No one knew which signal flare was the signal for the Saxons to attack.

Often, when soldiers of some high-altitude infantry regiments were so exhausted that they fell asleep, a signal flare would be fired up and wake them up.
Meanwhile, the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 32nd Infantry Regiment of Saxony, at the request of their sergeants, were forced to return to their tents, cover their eyes with any available cloth, and begin to rest.

Only the 3rd Battalion of soldiers, serving as reserves, remained at the front line to maintain vigilance.

After midnight, Morin began preparing his spell.

这一次，他的法术位安排为【2环隐形术】2/2、【1环睡眠术】3/3、【1环法师护甲】1/1。

The system shows a 'loading' time of 3 hours and 45 minutes.

At 3:30 a.m., Morin took advantage of a signal flare landing on the high ground and, relying on his individual combat skills, quietly made his way to the halfway point and hid in a shell crater.

Once his spell slots were fully loaded, he used [Invisibility] to approach the sentries who were forcibly on high alert.

Then, he used the Sleep spell three times in succession, silently taking down nine Scottish sentries on the outskirts of the highlands.

These highly vigilant sentries fell into a deep, almost infantlike sleep before they could even sound an alarm.
At 4:10 a.m., the soldiers of the 1st Company quietly approached Morin as planned.

We are now only 10 meters away from the enemy's first trench.

Any soldier who poked his head out of the trench would be startled by the dense mass of people lying prone in front of him.

Unfortunately, after a night of harassment, the soldiers in both battalions could no longer control their desire to sleep.

Even among the sentries who weren't knocked out by Morin's [Sleep] spell, two fell asleep.
Below the high ground, soldiers from the 1st and 2nd Battalions lay prone on the ground in close formation, awaiting orders.

In addition to them, General Mackensen sent half of his general's guard after learning of the attack plan.

Ten elite soldiers from the general's guard lay prone beside the two battalions of soldiers.

Two of them also carried modified MG08 heavy machine guns that could be hung on their bodies, as well as a 200-round ammunition belt.

Everyone held their breath, their hearts pounding in their chests.

The battle began at 4:15 a.m.

"Throw!"

With a very low command from Morin, hundreds of spherical grenades were hurled into the Scottish positions ahead.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of violent explosions instantly tore the silent night sky apart.

Then came the second round, and the third round.
"rush!"

Morin was the first to jump out of the depression, his P08 pistol with a 32-round drum magazine already spitting fire.

The assault team followed closely behind, silently charging towards the awakened position.

In the trenches, and further back in the camp, the infantrymen on the high ground were stunned by the sudden barrage of hand grenades.

Before they could react, the soldiers of the 1st Company had already rushed in front of them.

At close range, the P08 pistol's firepower advantage is fully utilized.

For this attack, Morin used all 50-plus P08 artillery pieces in his entire company.

A dense hail of bullets swept through, and the Scotsmen didn't even have time to pull the bolt before being felled by a barrage of 9mm bullets.

However, the soldiers of the Black Guard Corps lived up to their elite reputation.

After the initial chaos, they quickly organized a counterattack.

A burly Scottish sergeant, clad in armor, roared as he leaped out of the trench.

He ignored the bullets aimed at him, brandished his greatsword, and cleaved the upper body of the nearest 1st Company soldier in two.

"God bless the Queen. May she always be victorious and bathe in glory!!!"

The soldiers on the high ground, having recovered from their initial shock, fixed their bayonets and launched a counter-charge. Although many soldiers couldn't get very far under the firepower of numerous P08 artillery-type mortars, their numerical advantage allowed them to reach the 1st Company's soldiers.

A fierce hand-to-hand battle erupted instantly in the dark trenches.

Morin activated the last [Mage Armor] on his body, while continuously casting [Trick - Blade Protection] on himself.

He was like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep, specifically targeting the most ferocious-looking Scottish veterans.

His P08 pistol, at close range, is almost guaranteed to kill whoever it points at.

Soon, the main forces of the 1st and 2nd Battalions, along with the 10 general's guards, rushed up, and the scale of the battle rapidly expanded.

The entire Vallecas Heights had been turned into a giant meat grinder.

On this small battlefield, soldiers from both sides were engaged in the most primitive and bloodiest battle.

Shouts of killing, screams, gunshots, and explosions echoed throughout the night sky.
The battle continued until dawn.

As the first rays of sunlight illuminated the high ground, the gunfire gradually subsided.

There wasn't a single Blackguard Highland Infantryman still standing on the entire high ground.

They gave their lives to fulfill their vow to fight to the death.

The 32nd Zwickau Infantry Regiment of Saxony also suffered heavy losses, with rough estimates suggesting that its casualties exceeded 50%.

Morin's 1st Company had already suffered the fewest casualties.

More than fifty people were killed in action, and almost everyone who remained was wounded.

Even the general's guard sent by Mackensen suffered five casualties.

Morin stood at the highest point of the hill, while the soldiers around him slumped on the ground, panting heavily.

They were covered in mud and blood, their faces blank with shock, completely stunned.

He watched all of this silently, without saying a word.

I turned around and looked down the mountain.

The massive silhouette of Madrid, and the lights of this ancient city, stood out vividly in the pre-dawn darkness.

(End of this chapter)