Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 44 Everyone Must Become Street Fighting Masters

The officers fell silent. Morin's words had made these professional soldiers realize the brutality of urban warfare.

On the other side, Maureen looked at Battalion Commander Major Thomas:
"Major, I suggest we immediately apply to the regimental headquarters to dismantle the regimental heavy machine gun company and distribute it to the various companies within our battalion!"

"Dismantle it? But heavy machine guns are the regiment's most important supporting firepower, especially in defensive battles. Besides, everyone has already witnessed the power of these machine guns these past few days."

Major Thomas answered somewhat hesitantly:
"Wouldn't it maximize our advantage if we could concentrate our machine gun positions?"

"In urban warfare, concentrated heavy machine gun positions are sitting ducks!"

Morin retorted without hesitation:

"Not to mention that the enemy has flying mages who can attack the concentrated machine gun positions at any time! Even if the enemy infantry flanks from other directions, a few grenades thrown in will wipe them all out!"

"But if we spread them out, a machine gun team, with two or three riflemen providing cover, can find a window with a good view or a street corner with some cover that is easy to move from, and then camouflage it, we can completely block off an entire street!"

"Machine gun positions must not be fixed in one place, as that makes them easy targets for the enemy. If the situation becomes unfavorable, they must be moved to alternative firing positions immediately."

"We also need to use everything we can find to build barricades. I remember the supply train also carried barbed wire, right? Don't keep it, spread it all out on the street!"

Morin quickly recounted what he knew, while the officers, including Major Thomas, had already taken out their notebooks to take notes.

"Finally, our artillery."

Morin looked toward the edge of the city. “Once the street fighting starts, it will be difficult for our 77mm field guns and 105mm howitzers to provide accurate indirect fire support, because we will be completely entangled with the enemy.”

"Instead of letting them sit idle in the back, let's bring them into the city too!"

This idea was even more outrageous than any of the previous proposals, and everyone in the command post was stunned.

Bringing artillery into the alley? Has this kid gone mad?
"Lieutenant Morin!" Major Thomas's voice changed slightly. "Artillerymen are a valuable branch of the military. Sending them into urban warfare will result in very heavy casualties!"

"Major, I know this is risky."

Morin looked at his battalion commander and explained firmly and patiently:

"But artillery laid flat in urban warfare is the most powerful weapon in our hands, especially those 77mm field guns. I know they are equipped with old-fashioned shrapnel shells. As long as they are laid flat and fired, one shell can sweep away an entire street!"

"And the 105mm howitzer is like a mobile battering ram! Just like what my colleague just said, what if the building is captured by the enemy?"

"It's simple, just bombard him with 105mm high-explosive shells!"

"If the brigade wants to hold onto this city, then they need to first consider how to hold it, and then consider the issue of reconstruction later."

The temporary camp was completely silent; only the heavy breathing of the men could be heard.

All the officers, including Major Thomas, were utterly stunned by the new picture of war that Morin had painted.

Break into smaller units, utilize buildings for movement, traverse interiors, lock down streets with machine guns, and fix bayonets to artillery.
These scattered tactics, when combined, form a complete and rigorous urban warfare system.

Although they had never been exposed to it before, as professional soldiers, they could instantly understand the feasibility and immense power of this system.

"A genius. Absolutely a genius! You were born to fight!"

Captain Hauser muttered to himself, his gaze toward Morin shifting from admiration to a hint of awe.

After all, it would be difficult for a normal person to come up with these things.

Major Thomas, as if belatedly realizing his excitement, was trembling all over. He grabbed Morin's arm, his whole body becoming somewhat excited.

"Morin! You...you...I need to go to the brigade headquarters immediately! I need to report your plan to the regimental commander and General Paul! If a plan to defend Seville is needed, then these tactics you mentioned are it!"

After saying that, he didn't give Morin a chance to react at all. He grabbed the notes he had just hastily jotted down and rushed out of the command post like a gust of wind.

After Major Thomas left, the remaining officers swarmed around him, bombarding Morin with questions about all sorts of details.

"Lieutenant Morin, how do we deal with enemies who might be hiding in the shadows?"

"What's the most effective way to set up firing positions in a room?"

"What if the enemy follows our example and makes holes in the wall?"

Molin was surrounded and felt completely overwhelmed.

But he patiently answered their questions one by one.

He knew that the deeper these people's understanding of urban warfare was, the greater their chances of survival, and the more solid the entire Seville defense line would be.

He had to ensure that the unit remained standing until the armored airships arrived, which would greatly increase his chances of survival. Once he had finally managed to get everyone out of the way, Morin could finally catch his breath.

He casually sat on an empty ammunition box, but a new question popped into his mind.

His tactics are based on the traditional mindset of infantry fighting infantry.

However, the enemy includes mages and armored knights.

Leaving aside the mages, it seems they are still afraid of attacks from firearms.

But what should we do with those eight white tin cans from the Knights of the Garter?

In open terrain, they are powerful weapons for charging forward.

In the confined environment of urban warfare, they would only become even more unstoppable mobile fortresses.
Given their previous demonstrated strength, they could easily smash through walls, crush barricades, and ignore any infantry fire.

The thought of that scene sent chills down Morin's spine.

"Perhaps infantrymen in another world were just as bewildered when they first saw a tank."

The thought flashed through Morin's mind, but he also knew he had to come up with a solution.

Otherwise, the seemingly perfect urban warfare system he had just conceived would be nothing more than a paper lantern that could be easily punctured in front of those steel behemoths.

They relied on infantry to use hand grenades or military explosives to blow it up.
Putting aside whether the power is sufficient, Morin felt that in urban warfare, infantry would probably have no chance of getting close to a charging armored knight.

This thing is obviously much more flexible than early tanks, and 'anti-tank gymnastics' are unlikely to be effective against these metal cans.

Its weapon and the knights and squires that follow it will tear any infantryman who tries to approach to shreds.

What about using cannons?

This was the only possibility Morin could think of. He had just suggested bringing the artillery to the front lines for direct fire. Could these cannons pose a threat to the armored knights?

He couldn't answer that question himself.

So he needs to find someone who knows about Armored Knights and ask them.

Ludwig.

Having thought of the name, Morin no longer hesitated and immediately got up and ran towards the Teutonic Knights' encampment.

The garrison of this Teutonic Knights squad was completely different from the temporary garrison of ordinary infantry.

There were no noisy soldiers here, only technicians and servants in oil-stained work clothes, working quietly and efficiently.

Six armored knights that survived the previous battle were parked on the open ground. Technicians climbed up and down, carrying out emergency repairs with various tools. The sounds of hammering and banging filled the air, and a strange, mixed smell permeated the atmosphere.

As soon as Morin entered the camp, someone noticed him.

"Lieutenant Morin?"

It was Ludwig's voice.

Morin looked in the direction of the sound and saw Ludwig standing on the shoulder of his car, holding a wrench in his hand.

Upon seeing Morin, a hint of surprise appeared on his face. He then nimbly leaped down from the 3-meter-tall armored knight and landed steadily on the ground.

"What brings you here? Do you want to talk to me again about Patrecia?"

As Ludwig wiped the oil off his hands, he walked toward Morin with an overly familiar and enthusiastic tone.

To be honest, Morin also admires this guy.

Although he was involved in the maintenance of the armored knights, apart from his gloves, there was no oil stain on his body, and he remained as elegant as ever.

However, Morin was still a little unaccustomed to this guy's change in attitude, but now was not the time to dwell on that, so he went straight to the point and asked:

"Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig, I have a very urgent question to ask you."

Seeing Morin's serious expression, Ludwig also put away his smile and became serious as well.

"You said."

"Could our 77mm field guns and 105mm howitzers pose a threat to the armored knights of the Garter Knights in close-range direct fire?"

(End of this chapter)