Munitions Empire

Forward! That was the thought in the minds of all the Tang Army soldiers who had broken through the Qi Army lines. They rushed forward recklessly, seizing village after village, capturing one pass after another.

Behind them, the Qi soldiers, now completely without a foothold, faced an extremely awkward situation: they seemed unable to plug the holes that the Tang Army kept expanding, round after round.

No matter how many troops they gathered on both flanks of the Tang Army, they could not make the Tang soldiers retreat an inch; indeed, the numerous assaults by the Qi forces did not even touch the edge of the Tang positions.

The irony was that most of the defensive works the Tang Army relied on had been built by the Qi Army. The Tang Army had simply modified them a little and used them directly.

"Those damn Tang Country Air Force! Every time there's an attack, they come over to mess things up!" The Third Prince complained angrily in his shelter.

Right before his eyes, Tang Army Stuka Dive Bombers descended from the sky once more, dropping a bomb among the Qi Army's assembling troops, instantly causing a massive number of casualties.

An infantry regiment that had just gathered to prepare for an offensive dispersed in an instant, their courage to attack completely vanquished.

In fact, the casualties inflicted by the Air Force weren't significant; even that recent bomb had only killed twenty to thirty soldiers.

But it was this kind of desperate killing, the passive beating without the ability to fight back, that drove every Qi commander to despair. No matter how they encouraged their soldiers, they could not rouse them again.

The persistent wailing from hell, like an incurable ulcer that couldn't be shaken off, became a curse. Whenever it sounded on the battlefield, the Qi soldiers would break down and flee without looking back.

Even though such bombings could actually only cause a few casualties, who would want to be among that unlucky few?

"We don't really have any good solutions either; almost all of our heavy artillery in the war zone has been destroyed. The enemy forces are advancing into our hinterland, and we cannot stop their advance!" An officer reported to the Third Prince of Qi Country.

The Third Prince clenched his fists, furious with the situation before him, yet unable to come up with any good solutions.

Just moments ago, he had learned that the division commander of the Qi infantry division at the breached segment had been captured, and a military headquarters behind the lines had lost contact.

Just looking at the map, the Qi defenses had been pierced through by the Tang Army, and the Tang forces were even advancing further.

Those areas hardly had any Qi troops stationed. If the Qi main forces could not stop the Tang advance, what else could make the Tang Army stop?

The answer was supplies!

The majority of the Tang Army's forces had actually been forced to halt their advance, with the fastest-advancing Armored Corps waiting for their fuel and ammunition, waiting for the following infantry to catch up.

Along the roads were piles of Qi prisoners of war—some groups so vast that one couldn't see the end at a glance. Everywhere, they tallied the numbers of prisoners, estimated to be upwards of 30,000.

Most of these prisoners hadn't even been disarmed; some were even still living in the barracks they had originally been stationed in.

However, they had surrendered, given up the fight, and numbly watched the Tang soldiers riding in automobiles, passing grandly through their defensive lines.

Previously, there had been sporadic artillery fire from Qi Country harassing the breakthrough point, but as the gap widened, the place became quieter and more bustling.

A convoy of Tang soldiers, together with trucks of ammunition and fuel, advanced forward, while the Engineer Corps worked at full power, filling in trenches and building roads as if they were opening mountains and building bridges across water.

Within two hours of breaking the defense line, a road had already cut through Qi's defenses, and a constant stream of supplies started pouring over the border chasing after the advancing Armored Corps.

Despite this, due to the poor condition of the roads, inaccurate maps, and sporadic unorganized resistance encountered along the way, most of these supplies were still late.

All the supplies originally estimated to arrive were almost an hour or more behind schedule, and that was after the logistics troops strained themselves to keep up with the progress.

To ensure the front-line Armored Corps had enough fuel and ammunition to continue their rapid advance, at least one-fifth of the logistics vehicles broke down along the way.

In many places, they had to drive the Qi forces that were blocking the roads into the fields to barely ensure the passage of the Tang mechanized forces.

Watching self-propelled artillery and a variety of vehicles drive past, the surrendered soldiers of Qi Country realized the stark difference in equipment between the two sides.

The war had barely begun, yet the Tang Army had already shown the world a completely different mode of operation. Under the cover of aircraft, thousands of Tang troops were entering Qi territory in a manner that was chaotic and competitive.

On the night the battle erupted, the 1st Armored Division of the Tang Army advanced 110 kilometers, a pace akin to marching speed.

At the same time, the 2nd Armored Division also pushed forward 100 kilometers. With one division on the left and one on the right, they were already threatening Nanye, a strategic town in the southern part of Qi Country.
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What's even more shocking is that not only these two armored divisions were rapidly advancing; the 3rd Armored Division slaughtered its way 95 kilometers north, completely shielding the side flank from the direction of the Dahua Empire.

The 4th Armored Division also charged 81 kilometers east, and although they covered a shorter distance, this division was clearly about to close the encirclement on the entire defense area of the Third Prince.

Along with these three divisions entering the battle zone were two mechanized infantry divisions and two regular infantry divisions, which were now scattered in disarray throughout the entire battle area.

It might seem there were only eight divisions attacking, but these troops had already penetrated deep into the hinterland of Qi Country. The war had turned into a dynamic mode, a pattern unfamiliar to countries around the world.

No one knew how to fight such a war, nor did anyone know how to stop the Tang Army that had picked up speed.

The Second-hand Tang Army that had started running two years ago, namely the main force from Northern Ridge, the Kingdom of Gemalin, had already been unstoppable, let alone the real Tang Army now equipped with more vehicles and tanks and protected by the Air Force.

Although the specific situation of his own troops was still unclear, the Third Prince of Qi Country had some capability, after all.

He knew that after the Tang Army had broken through the defense lines, it was highly unlikely they would ignore the hundreds of thousands of Qi Army soldiers on the border, so it was very likely that they were already threatening his rear flank.

While he did not believe he could be encircled and annihilated, if his supply lines were cut, the tens of thousands of main forces left in his hand on the western front would suffer.

Therefore, while organizing troops to try reclaiming the breached defense line and closing the gap, the Third Prince was also deploying troops and issuing orders, preparing to stop the Tang Army that threatened his side flank.

"Bring out our most elite troops! Yes, the tank corps that Shireck assisted us with! Order them to block the east-advancing Tang Army at Luo Town! It must be here!" the Third Prince instructed several generals in front of him while looking at the map.

"These tanks were given to us to break through the enemy's lines..." a general began to remind him.

"I know! But what other troops can stop these damned Tang Army? If I lose another headquarters, what else do I have to fight with? Huh?" the Third Prince retorted in a fit of rage.

The general closed his mouth, but another suggested, "Your Highness! Just those dozen or so tanks might not be enough... Shall we send some infantry to support them?"

"Pull one more battalion from the east... No matter what, hold Luo Town at all costs! Not a step back!" the Third Prince, left with no choice, had to pull another battalion from the eastern front.

Although he was also worried about the possibility of another frontal breakthrough by the Tang Army, he was more concerned that the situation at the already-breached location would continue to deteriorate.

Thus, he had to risk mobilizing defense troops from other sections of his front to reinforce the critical direction.

In fact, he was worried for nothing, because the Tang Army truly no longer had the capacity for another frontal assault. All troops had been redeployed near the breach, and the numbers at the front were insufficient for offense but adequate for defense.

After giving his orders, the Third Prince looked at the map again. As long as he could hold Luo Town, at least he could buy enough time for his flank.

Then, reinforcements either from the direction of King City or from the First Prince from behind could reach the battlefield, reversing the current adverse situation.

The key factor now was whether he could hold Luo Town, whether he could hold out until these reinforcements arrived, and whether he could drag the war back to a rhythm of holding positions.

What he did not know, however, was that the real target of Redman, the commander of the Tang Army's offensive, was actually Nanye, the strategic town to the south! While the Third Prince was carefully trying to secure his minor side flank, Luo Town, the Tang Army was already eyeing the entire main flank of the Qi Army.

Because there lay the railway that connected to various parts of Qi Country, as well as the rail line stretching to the front lines at the border between Tang Country and Qi Country! Taking control of this railway would improve the logistical support environment for the Tang Army.

Moreover, by capturing Nanye, they could cut off the supply lines of the First Prince's main forces and destroy or take the vast stockpiles of strategic materials in Nanye, weakening the fighting capability of the Qi Country's main forces.

All in all, Redman's ambitions were much larger than the Third Prince imagined, or else he wouldn't have assembled the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions in the direction of Nanye.

With hundreds of tanks and support from at least one mechanized infantry battalion, capturing Nanye seemed to be no difficult task.

As long as the Tang Army completed resupplying and kept their tank units in motion, Nanye, this almost undefended strategic location, could fall in one fell swoop.