The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 509: Chapter 400: The Combat Power of the Australasia Army_2

Although it would result in greater casualties than before, a frontal breakthrough often yields good results compared to flanking tactics. Absolute superiority in troops can give Russia Nation a greater advantage.

However, on the Westline battlefield, a massive frontal breakthrough is not that easy. First, there are lots of airplanes and airships in the sky. Choosing a frontal breakthrough could likely be detected by the enemy in advance, resulting in a tight defense setup.

The two most practical and effective tactics are somewhat outdated, which makes the problem of which tactics to use on the Westline battlefield for the three front armies a major issue.

After careful consideration, the Allies decided together that the three front armies should each decide their own task deployment, with each army group having enough freedom to choose the direction of breakthrough.

Simply put, under the premise of the group carrying out tasks, the Allied forces on the Westline battlefield will be divided into army groups or even army units, breaking the whole into parts, to achieve breakthroughs or bypasses with smaller scale forces.

For one, smaller scale units carrying out tasks can more effectively hide under the enemy's airships.

On the other hand, armies containing several hundred thousand troops from each side are not so easy to command, especially since these armies include soldiers from the United Kingdom, France, Australasia, and Italy, some of whom do not speak each other's language. Separate action is undeniably a better choice.

The Australasia Guard Division Two and Regular Third Division are responsible for covering the flanks of the French Third Army Group, as is an infantry division of the Expeditionary Force of Britain under Commander Martin's command. Also, there is a Cavalry Division from the French Third Army Group.

This results in Commander Martin having nearly seventy thousand troops under his command. His discretionary power in the war is quite substantial.

The Central Front Army, where the Australasia Expeditionary Force is located, is responsible for breaking through the Alsace Lorraine area, ideally seizing it, to increase France's desire to fight against Germany.

With the French Third and Fourth Army Group, the Australasia Expeditionary Force, and a British infantry division, the Central Front Army has a total of 850,000 soldiers. It has the largest number of troops among the three great front armies, and also the heaviest mission.

At noon of the day, the Fourth Army Group and the German Second Group Army also met. The war between the Central Front Army and the German Army was in full swing.

Although no enemy was detected for over half a day, Commander Martin did not dare to take anything lightly. He still ordered the army to carry out wartime patrol status, always alert and ready for a possible enemy.

At noon on May 10th, 1915, with the distant sentries reporting anomalies, Commander Martin finally discovered the trace of the German Army.

It was an elite German force, consisting of about thirty thousand men, equipped with fairly advanced weapons.

However, given that this group is a rear unit, it's clear that not many heavy weapons, such as machine guns and large artillery, were taken along.

To note, the transportation of machine guns and artillery would at least require horse carriages and trucks. Yet, this force consisted almost entirely of infantry, which indicates that there are not many heavy weapons.

Once the number and the quantity of heavy weapons of the opponent were identified, Commander Martin instantly decided that the Australasia Army would be responsible for the main attack, and the British and French armies would flank, making sure that not a single German soldier would escape.

Soon, fierce firefights broke out on the left flank. The powerful firepower of the Australasia Army inflicted heavy casualties on the German Army unexpectedly.

The numerous heavy machine guns and firearms brought lots of casualties to the Germans even before they saw the Australasia soldiers.

But the German soldiers' response was also rapid—they immediately sought cover and launched a counterattack. A small force was dispatched from the German army, apparently aiming to try and bypass the side of the Australasia Army and implement the flank ruhui tactic.