Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 31 Heavy Machine Guns on the Flanking Side
Although the soldiers in his platoon had only been with him for less than 48 hours, Morin's heart still bled when he heard about the casualties.

But he knew this was not the time for grief. After ordering his squads to treat the wounded, he rushed to the edge of the high ground and set up his binoculars again.

Through the somewhat blurry field of vision of the telescope, at least one battalion of Kingdom troops was surging toward the high ground in dense formation.

He glanced at his own positions. The 1st and 2nd companies had already suffered heavy losses the day before, and the recent artillery bombardment had only made matters worse.

Countless people were killed instantly by the shrapnel from the magic crystal cannon, and most of the surviving soldiers were also wounded.

The stretcher teams organized by the company's medical sergeant were simply not enough, and the morale of the entire battalion was extremely low.

Major Thomas and three company commanders were loudly encouraging the others, and under the officers' urging, the soldiers gradually climbed to the edge of the high ground and raised their guns.

But Morin knew very well that, given the current state of the 1st Battalion, it was virtually impossible to hold off an enemy battalion's charge head-on.

The only hope is to inflict enough damage on the enemy and repel their attack in the first wave; otherwise, this high ground will definitely not be able to be held today.

His gaze swept back and forth along the enemy's attack route, and a bold and crazy idea quickly took shape in his mind.

“Klaus! Sergeant Jonah!” Morin roared.

"To!"

"You two, along with the heavy machine gun team, take the rest of the first and fourth squads and come with me!"

He pointed to the relatively complex slope on the left side of the high ground.

"Let's flank them from the side and give them a good beating!"

Without hesitation, Sergeant Klaus and Corporal Jonah immediately called for the designated soldiers to follow.

The Vickers machine gun team is currently assigned five soldiers, three of whom worked together to lift the already assembled machine gun and advance.

Another person picked up two ammunition boxes with both hands, while the last person picked up the heavy coolant tank.

When they captured the machine gun, Morin's soldiers also looted less than 500 rounds of ammunition from the second floor of the farmhouse.

This amount of ammunition wasn't much for a heavy machine gun that needed to maintain continuous firepower. Morin had originally intended to use it sparingly, since ammunition for the Vickers machine gun wasn't easy to find.

Although the rifles used by the Kingdom's army are the same .303 caliber, also known as the 'British 77' caliber.

However, Morin and his team were unable to collect much in a short period of time, but Morin couldn't care less about that now.

"Bowman, Fisher, Miller! You take the rest of the men and stay here! Help Captain Hauser and the others hold the front! Hold off the enemy as much as possible before we open fire!"

"Understood, Platoon Leader!"

After giving instructions to the other three corporals, Morin didn't delay any longer. He led two squads and a heavy machine gun team and quickly slipped down the left slope of the hill.

Their actions had to be swift and covert.

Fortunately, the undulating gentle slopes and the crater-filled terrain provided them with natural cover.

The gray uniforms of the soldiers provided decent cover on the smoke-filled battlefields after autumn arrived. At least they were better than the Gauls wearing red trousers.

Morin ran in the lead, his brain working at lightning speed. The system map in his field of vision kept adjusting, planning the safest and fastest route for him.

This operation was fraught with danger. If they were discovered by the enemy, their small squad would be found and surrounded, and their fate would be predictable.

Fortunately, the Kingdom's army was so focused on defending the high ground that no one noticed the small force quietly flanking them.

About a minute later, Morin led everyone to the designated location.

This is a huge depression created by artillery shells, forming a perfect natural machine gun position.

From here, one can clearly see the long, undefended flank of the Kingdom's attacking force, struggling to advance up the gentle slope.

As the saying goes, "High ground attacks low ground, and high ground attacks," let alone having infantrymen use their legs to launch a feint attack.

Normally, a commander would consider this attack order carefully before issuing it.

However, the Kingdom's army was eager to recapture these high grounds, so their commander didn't think much of it and simply ordered the Kingdom's 'black beasts' to charge forward first.
"Quickly! Set up the machine gun!" Morin ordered the machine gun team in a low voice.

Several soldiers deftly set up the heavy Vickers machine gun, while the loader, less skilled, loaded the canvas ammunition belts. "Everyone else! Establish a circular defensive perimeter around the machine gun! Prepare for battle!"

The soldiers quickly spread out and lay prone on the ground, pulling back the bolts of their rifles, the dark muzzles pointing at the attacking Kingdom army, wary of any potential threat.

Morin lay prone next to the machine gun and raised his binoculars.

The Kingdom's army's first wave of attacks has begun.

Just like the Saxon soldiers' attack that Morin had seen before, the Kingdom's soldiers also formed three relatively dense lines and charged towards the top of the hill with shouts.

Behind these three ranks of soldiers were soldiers from another company in a close-knit column.

At this moment, the soldiers of the Kingdom Army in the front row were less than two hundred meters away from the front line guarded by the 1st Battalion.

Sporadic gunfire rang out from the high ground; it was the soldiers of the 1st Battalion firing their rifles with precision, attempting to slow the enemy's advance.

"Platoon leader, can we fire now?"

The machine gunner licked his chapped lips, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Although it was his first time firing, he seemed to have anticipated how much damage an attack in this direction would inflict on the enemy.

"hold on"

Morin's voice remained calm as he placed his hand on the machine gunner's shoulder.

"Let them charge forward a bit more, and then attack when they can't retreat easily!"

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly at that moment.

Every second felt like an eternity.

Morin could hear the heavy breathing of himself and the soldiers around him.

150 meters
120 meters
One hundred meters!

It's now!

"Fire!"

Morin suddenly patted the shooter on the shoulder.

“Da da da da da—!”

The Vickers heavy machine gun roared and spat out a long tongue of fire.

The scorching bullets, like the scythe of death, swept fiercely towards the unsuspecting flank of the Kingdom's army.

The Kingdom's soldiers, who were charging forward with all their might, never dreamed that such a deadly firing point would suddenly appear on their flank.

And now, they were stuck in an awkward position, and then the .303 bullets easily tore through their dense crowd.

Many soldiers didn't even have time to react before being hit by bullets and falling to the ground.

Because the attack was from the flank, the machine gunners perceived the enemy's attacking line as a column.

He doesn't need to adjust the angle much to bring an entire squad of enemies into firing range.

The roar of machine guns and the cries of the Kingdom's soldiers instantly echoed across the battlefield.

"Fire! Fire! Shoot their officers first!"

After the machine guns opened fire, Morin also loudly gave the order to attack to the riflemen around him.

More than twenty rifles opened fire simultaneously, the precise bullets fired by the Gew.98 continuously killing the Kingdom's officers who were trying to find cover or organize a counterattack.

To highlight the officers' status and make it easier for soldiers to find them during combat, the uniforms of the Kingdom's officers are clearly different from those of ordinary soldiers.

They even added silver thread decorations to their black clothes to highlight their status, which made them easy targets for Morin and the other soldiers.
The entire kingdom's offensive formation collapsed completely at that moment.

(End of this chapter)