Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 11: The First Battle Begins

Fifteen minutes later, with Klaus's help, Maureen assembled the entire platoon.

After checking their weapons and ammunition, the soldiers shouldered their backpacks and stood silently in three columns, awaiting further instructions.

In this brief respite, Maureen also discovered a new use for the 'golden finger' in her mind.

He discovered that he could shrink the detailed battlefield map and fix it in a semi-transparent form in the upper left corner of his field of vision.

It's like playing an RTS game or Battlefield, with an added mini-map that you can view in real time.

While doing so would temporarily prevent him from switching to other tabs such as 'Intelligence' or 'Information', the benefits are obvious.

He can keep track of the dynamics of both sides on the battlefield at any time without worrying about the entire UI being forcibly shut down due to unexpected external events.

"Platoon leader, the company has begun to move."

Klaus's voice brought Maureen's attention back to reality.

"Set off."

Without wasting words, Morin gave a simple order and then led his 3rd Platoon toward the positions of the other two platoons and the company headquarters.

The sun had not yet risen; it was only peeking out below the horizon, and the light in the forest was still dim.

The soldiers' boots crunched on the withered branches and leaves, making a slight cracking sound that mingled with the metallic clang of their equipment, creating a unique melody during their march.

Soon, they arrived at the assembly area of ​​the 3rd Company.

Company Commander Captain Hauser was standing at the very front of the column, with the other two platoons already lined up behind him.

Morin commanded his troops to quickly catch up with the rear of the column.

A tall, serious-looking sergeant major strode up to Captain Hauser, stood at attention, and reported.

"All present, sir!"

"Thank you, Sergeant!"

Hauser nodded, then walked to the front of the company and stood still.

"Entire company! Center line! Rapid march!"

The sergeant major stood behind the company commander, while the other company officers immediately moved to both sides of the formation, repeating the orders and maintaining the marching formation.

"Left, right, left! Left, right, left"

Excluding supplies, the entire company of nearly two hundred men, under the orders of officers and sergeants, once again transformed into a long gray snake, silently moving towards the designated attack preparation position.

After walking for about ten minutes, the group stopped behind a patch of low bushes.

This is the standby area of ​​the 3rd Company, and also their attack preparation position as the reserve force of the 1st Battalion.

Through the gaps in the bushes, Morin could clearly see the open space ahead.

The soldiers of the 1st Company had already deployed three skirmish lines, each about 150 cm wide. Of course, this was different from what Morin understood as a skirmish line.

However, for battles at the end of the line formation, this formation with soldiers spaced 1-2 meters apart is sufficient to be considered a skirmish line.

Behind them was the 2nd Company, lined up in a dense column.

As a unit that quickly stormed into the enemy's position after the breach was opened, the soldiers of the 2nd Company had bayonets fixed to the muzzles of their rifles, which reflected a cold glint in the rising dawn.

The whole scene was eerily quiet, with only the mournful sound of the wind blowing across the fields.

Morin glanced at the pocket watch that Captain Hauser had lent him; the silver hands were steadily moving toward 5:07.

When the time came, the oppressive silence was instantly torn apart by a sharp whistling sound.

A calibration shell pierced the sky and exploded outside the distant village of San Isidro, sending up a plume of black smoke.

On the map in the upper left corner of Morin's field of vision, the icon of the artillery position flashed, and a red parabola landed precisely on the edge of the village.

Immediately afterwards, a second calibration shell landed, this time closer to the center of the village.

The shooting calibration is complete.

The next second, the entire sky seemed to be filled with the whistling sound of artillery shells.

The twelve FK.96n/A 77mm field guns of the field artillery battalion began rapid firing.

Although it was only a small-caliber field gun, it still demonstrated terrifying destructive power when fired in salvo.

The explosions were deafening, and the village of San Ysidro was instantly shrouded in smoke and dust.

Soil, gravel, and rubble from houses were thrown high into the air and then fell back down.

At this moment, the 'God of War' began to show his power.

After three rounds of rapid firing, the shelling came to an abrupt halt.

A brief silence fell over the battlefield once again. Morin could feel the soldiers around him breathing heavily, and many of them wore expressions of excitement.

In their view, such a fierce artillery barrage would be enough to completely destroy the morale of the Aragonese peasant soldiers in the village.

The moment the shelling stopped, a sharp whistle shattered the silence of the battlefield.

This is the signal to attack.

Outside the bushes, the three skirmish lines of the 1st Company began to slowly advance.

The soldiers marched in perfect unison, holding their Gew.98 rifles level in front of their chests, the muzzles pointing directly at the village shrouded in smoke ahead.

Their movements were not fast, but each step was steady and powerful, and the formation moved forward with almost no chaos.

The discipline of this army was on full display at this moment.

After the skirmish line of the 1st Company advanced about 100 meters, the 2nd Company behind them also began to move.

The soldiers, lined up in dense columns, followed in unison at the officer's command.

Instead of spreading out, they maintained a tight formation, preparing to charge into the enemy lines with maximum force after the 1st Company opened a breach.

The rising sun cast its golden rays across the plains, illuminating the pointed tops of the soldiers' helmets and the rows of gleaming bayonets on their rifles.

A gray wave of 360 soldiers silently surged toward the village of San Isidro.

The whole process was eerily quiet.

Apart from the rustling of military boots on the ground and the occasional whispered commands from officers, there were no other sounds.

Morin crouched behind the bushes, his heart involuntarily tightening.

On the map in the upper left corner of his field of vision, the blue icons representing the 1st and 2nd companies were steadily approaching the gray rhombus representing the unknown enemy force.

Everything seemed to be going exactly as Captain Hauser had predicted.

The village's garrison seemed genuinely terrified by the intense artillery barrage, cowering in the ruins, too afraid to show their faces.

The 1st and 2nd companies quickly covered half the distance without encountering any resistance.

Morin even noticed that some of the soldiers from the 3rd Company around him had relaxed and started talking in hushed tones, as if they thought the battle was over ahead of schedule.

Company Commander Captain Hauser also had a relaxed smile on his face. He even took out his pipe and tapped it on his heel, preparing to enjoy the leisure before victory.

However, this optimistic atmosphere did not last long.

Just as the skirmish line at the forefront of the 1st Company was less than 200 meters from the outskirts of the village, a burst of intense gunfire suddenly erupted from the village ruins.

Blood splattered immediately on the skirmish line of the 1st Company, and several soldiers fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

The defending troops, having regained their senses, launched a counterattack.

The attacking column experienced a slight commotion under the sudden attack, but it was quickly suppressed by the whistles and shouts of the sergeants.

"Stop! Raise your guns!"

"aim!"

"volley!"

At the sergeant's sharp whistle and the officer's command, the skirmishers of the 1st Company stopped in unison, knelt on one knee, and raised their rifles.

Then he pulled the trigger in the direction from which the gunshot rang out.

After a burst of intense gunfire, the firepower on the edge of the village noticeably decreased.

"keep going!"

The soldiers rose again, picked up their rifles, and continued their charge.

Stop, aim, fire, charge. This process is repeated over the next few dozen meters.

Although soldiers continued to fall from the guns, the offensive momentum of the entire company was not greatly affected.

Thanks to the discipline instilled by their rigorous training and the accurate volleys of their Gew.98 rifles, they were able to suppress the village's garrison firepower for a time.

The scales of victory still seem to be tipping in the Saxons' favor.

But Morin didn't relax at all.

His entire attention was focused on the small map in the upper left corner of his field of vision.

Just now, a brand new red icon lit up unexpectedly on the outer perimeter of the village of San Isidro as the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd companies approached.

[Aragon Kingdom Army - Vickers Machine Gun Position]

(End of this chapter)