Thirty soldiers from the task force, fifty soldiers from the Welsh Regiment, six people from the weapons laboratory, plus two hunter guides from the Lakelands.
These two hunter guides are from Christopher and are very familiar with the nearby mountains and forests.
In addition to people, there are ten green mules and pack horses that carry food and supplies.
This team of less than a hundred people was Art's first step southward. In the military order document of the Military Affairs Office, this team was called the advance company.
The advance company did not carry heavy armor or heavy weapons, and field camps were omitted. Even the army's rations were repeatedly streamlined. Five pieces of hard bread and a loaf of pastrami per person were all their food supplies for the next period of time.
The advance team, as the name suggests, is the army that takes the lead in completing a certain task before the bulk of the troops arrive.
This advance team has only one mission - to capture the Yamakou Army Fort, which is a day's walk south of Nanguan, when Wadbury's Lombard army moves north again to attack Nanguan Army Fort.
That military fortress is the only military fortress in the mountainous area south of Nanguan, and it is also the chokepoint for entering and exiting the mountainous area.
According to the battle plan formulated by the General Staff of the Military Affairs Office led by Art, the first stage of the Welsh Army's march south to Lombardy was to occupy this military fort. This not only broke the enemy blockade, but also turned the Yamaguchi Military Fort into a bridgehead for the Welsh Army to attack Lombardy.
Two days later.
Southeast of Nanguan Army Fort, in a dense forest cave ten miles away from the river canyon, a cloud of smoke slowly floated out of the cave entrance, then dispersed into a light air mass, floated up into the sky and mixed with the forest fog.
At several commanding heights around the cave, you can see sergeants with swords standing or sitting and scanning the distance vigilantly.
At the entrance of the cave, several soldiers wearing mail and half-helmets, carrying long swords and battle axes and hammers at their waists, walked towards the cave carrying bundles of firewood.
After entering the cave, after getting used to the darkness, you can see seven or eight small bonfires, each with a group of similarly dressed sergeants gathered together. It is not cold this season, so the bonfire is only used to provide a hot meal for the soldiers.
Sixty or seventy soldiers quietly enjoyed the only hot meal of the day in the cave. No one said much. The only sounds in the huge cave were the sounds of tableware clashing and teeth chewing.
Inside the cave, next to a reddish fire where only some charcoal fire could be seen, Ron, wearing half armor and carrying a stainless steel knight's sword at his waist, reached out and picked up a wooden spoon and scooped out a large bowl of meat stew from the deep pot on the fire.
The broth contains bread crumbs, onions, cabbage and a few slices of thinly sliced corned beef. Don’t think that having vegetables and meat can be very delicious. In fact, the pastrami brought to compress space is quite tough. Even if it has been cooked on the fire, it will still make your teeth tingle when you eat it.
Ron refused the small wooden spoon handed over by Stanley, directly brought the wooden bowl to his mouth, sucked and poured the caloric food into his mouth, trying not to feel the rough texture.
Ron is the commander of this advance team.
According to the original plan, Stanley served as the commander of the advance company, because this special battle was mainly carried out by the task force. For this purpose, Stanley carefully selected thirty elites from the one hundred and fifty members of the task force.
Since the Lombards had to garrison the mountain pass fortress to resist the enemy after capturing it, Art also transferred fifty soldiers with experience in city offensive and defensive warfare from the Welsh Army to join.
But after Art thought repeatedly, he decided to send Ron to personally command the advance company in the battle.
One is that this battle was of great significance to the Welsh Army's march south to Lombardy, and various variables emerged in the battle. In addition, the teams that formed the advance company were not the same, so a person with war experience and strong qualifications was needed to serve as the commander.
Angus and Odo are experienced and have the highest qualifications, but they are responsible for the Nanguan War and the command of the Welsh Army Corps. In addition, the advance company's combat nature is special. Angus and Odo are elites in regular warfare, but this kind of special combat may not be comparable to Ron, who has a deep knowledge of Art's true inheritance.
At the same time, the task force is under the direct control of the squire. Ron is the immediate superior of the task force, and he is also a senior officer of the Welsh Legion. Both the members of the task force and the legion soldiers are willing to obey his orders.
In addition to the chief officer Ron, the headquarters of the advance company also includes adjutants Stanley and Oliver, as well as Matthew, the inspector specially assigned by the inspection system.
This former little bandit has now become an inspector at the standard level of the Welsh Legion, and his military position in the entire Welsh Legion is the same as that of his father Redoan, who has just been promoted to patrol captain.
And the Welsh military officer is one level higher than the military officer, so in a sense, Matthew is already one level higher than his father's military rank.
Several adjutants beside the fire all stared at Ron. The young commander left the brigade yesterday evening and personally led two sentries to spy on the military situation near the river canyon. This was probably the first hot meal they had eaten.
The food in Ron's bowl has been devoured. He handed the empty bowl to the soldier beside him, wiped his mouth, and said, "Just tell me about the enemy's situation."
Ron said and took out a map from his arms. This map was the masterpiece of Bob, the staff secretary of the Military Affairs Office and the Chinese Army Secretary. It detailed the mountains, rivers, houses, roads, and the distribution of military fortresses from the lakes in southern Wales to Milan, the capital of southern Lombardy.
Ron put the map on his knees, and several adjutants immediately stood up and gathered around him. Oliver quickly took out half a candle from the side bag of his belt, blew it close to the campfire, and held it next to the map.
With the dim light of the candlelight, Ron pointed to several marks on the map and said to several adjutants beside the fire: "The Lombard army has evacuated the mountainous area and is temporarily stationed in a market town outside the mountain."
But the Lombards are also wary of us leaving the border and going south, so they have deployed defensive forces."
“At this time, the Lombards have set up a total of three lines of defense from Nanguan Army Fort to Shankou Army Fort.” The ten cavalrymen are mainly responsible for monitoring the movements of Nanguan Army Fort. Once the defenders have the momentum to leave, they will immediately mount their horses and retreat, warning the rear. "
"At Nanguan Army Fort and Shankou Army Fort. There is a temporary camp on the plains south of the middle pass. About a hundred elite Lombard infantry are stationed here. Except for a small number of laborers and miscellaneous soldiers, almost everyone is wearing armor. They are probably Wadbury's heavily armored guards or troops. "Last night, I touched the hillside behind the temporary military camp, but there were many enemy sentries and the patrolling soldiers were very alert, so I couldn't get close."
"There are not many defenders at the mountain pass military fort. I guess they think the mountain pass military fort is impregnable. In addition, there are hundreds of elite sentries in front, so there are less than fifty people in the military fort, mostly crossbowmen."
h Between the military fort and the Yamakou Military Fort, there are three sentries patrolling day and night. Last night, we were almost discovered by the sentries who were looking for the night with torches..."
Ron finished introducing the enemy situation between the Nanguan Military Fort and the target Yamakou Military Fort, and put away the map.
"According to the order of the Military Affairs Office, our first task is to capture the Yamakou Army Fort. The best time to attack is when the Lombard army attacks the Nanguan Army Fort again. If we can capture the Yamakou Army Fort at that time, we can lock the Lombards in the canyon and beat the dogs behind closed doors."
Stanley asked first, "Sir Ron, we are unable to determine the time for the next large-scale attack by the Lombards. If they refuse to attack, the greater the risk we will be exposed. Even if we are not exposed, the supply of the advance company will not be enough."
The Military Affairs Office only said that it is best to kill two birds with one stone. But to be on the safe side, we should capture the Yamaguchi Fort as soon as possible." Inspector Matthew retorted, "Sir Ron, whether we can lock most of the enemy troops in the canyon to form a pincer attack is not the first priority of the advance company, but it is of great significance to the entire southward campaign."
“Imagine if Wadbury’s army can be trapped in the canyon, leaving the Lombards in a dilemma, and then the Welsh Army marches to the south pass to defeat the enemy with one blow. Once the Lombard “Northern Expeditionary Army” is completely wiped out, the south of the mountain pass military fort will become almost uninhabited. The Welsh Legion will eliminate a powerful enemy by marching on Lombardy. ”
Matthew is an inspector and a leader in battle command at the Military Academy, so he has a longer-term perspective.
Ron turned his attention to Oliver, the deputy captain of the task force who had been lurking in the Principality of Lombardy for nearly two years. "Oliver, you have been lurking in Lombardy for many years and know the Lombard people. When do you think Wadbury will go north again to knock on the pass?"
Oliver lowered his head and thought for a long time, then raised his head and glanced at everyone, "The Lombards will not wait too long, and the south will not give Wadbury too long-term support. I estimate that they will have to go north again in half a month at most."
half a month, and the supplies of the advance company do not allow them to lurk for so long.
Besides, the enemy is not blind. With such a large army lurking in the mountains, the longer it lasts, the greater the risk of exposure.
"We have to pour some chicken blood into the Lombards..."
Ron thought hard for a long time, "Herald, get a carrier pigeon."
As he said that, he took out a pen and paper from his shoulder bag...
Fifteen soldiers were divided into five groups and took turns guarding the three iron boxes in the cave. Next to the iron boxes, Jack, the deputy manager of the weapons research laboratory, and his three team members were guarding the iron boxes at all times.
Two soldiers used wooden sticks to carry a deep bucket pot containing broth and wheat paste to the outside of the cave. The soldiers on guard looked up and down before letting them in.
"Brothers, the freshly cooked broth is still hot. Eat it quickly." The soldier put the deep pot on the ground and picked up a wooden spoon to stir up the aroma.
A soldier filled a large bowl of broth and wheat paste, brought it to an iron box on the inside and handed it to Jack, who was wiping the "baby" in the iron box, "Sir Jack, what is this?"
The soldier stared at the copper cylinder in the iron box, which was about two feet long and no smaller than a deep copper pot for cooking broth, and his mind was full of questions.
They all know that the guys in these weapons research laboratories carry strange weapons, but this is the first time they have seen their true faces.
"This thing is called a city-breaking cannon, and it is specially used to break down castle doors." These things are the top secrets of the Wells Legion, but they will use these weapons soon, so Jack has no intention of hiding it from his own people.
Jack opened another iron box and picked up a solid lead ball. "This is a cannonball. It is loaded into the barrel and can directly blast open the strongest city gate..."