Starting from the Planetary Governor-Chapter 802 - 440, I don’t want casualty numbers, I just want Gaomen Ridge

Chapter 802: Chapter 440, I don’t want casualty numbers, I just want Gaomen Ridge

When the Beastman Overlord truly gathered the vast Green Skin army, when the firepower and armored strength of the Green Skins could be utilized without restraint, they also demonstrated the strong combat capability that allowed their race to dominate the Star Sea.

This hundred-kilometer battle line was subjected to a powerful breakthrough by the Green Skin forces. A vast number of human troops were caught off guard and were directly overwhelmed by the flood of Beastmen.

Of course, the human troops here were primarily from the Planetary Defense Force.

The massive assembly and attack by the enemy was precisely what Perbov wanted to see. It was to be expected that the Defense Army couldn’t withstand it.

However, the Defense Army’s failing still caught him off guard, or rather, the offensive power of the Beastmen exceeded his expectations.

How could a single assault create a breach in the defensive line that was one hundred fifty kilometers wide and nearly three hundred kilometers deep?

Perbov’s main forces hadn’t even had time to complete their deployment!

This gap was too large; even if he managed to deploy his troops completely and win the decisive battle, encircling the enemy would be difficult.

Without forming an encirclement, the defeated Green Skins, once reorganized, could still continue to fight. Only with an encirclement could a genuine annihilation battle be fought.

The Green Skins were still gathering step by step, and now was the time to net them.

Perbov now was no longer concerned about the magnitude of the battle results; what he considered was whether he could stomach what was to come.

At the same time, he couldn’t let this operation result in overly adverse consequences.

A major home-planet city with a population in the tens of millions was right before the Beastmen’s onslaught.

Tactically, Perbov couldn’t allow the Green Skins to further widen the gap; strategically, he couldn’t afford to lose a large city with tens of millions of inhabitants. Therefore, he issued orders to the three divisions stationed directly in front of the Green Skin forces to hold the city’s outskirts at all costs.

He himself then began large-scale mobilization of the main forces of the Alliance Army, preparing to enter the battle.

Before that, the three infantry divisions of the Alliance Army had to build a defense line by utilizing mountains, rivers, and several bridges, and hold off the advancing Green Skins from tearing through the front lines until Perbov’s main forces arrived.

…

“I don’t want casualty numbers, I just want Gaomen Ridge!”

This was the last order that Zhang Zhikai heard over the phone from his division commander.

He was the Major Battalion Commander of the 326th Infantry Division – Battalion 7, part of the 7th Corps of the Alliance Land Forces. Four hours earlier, he and his troops had been ordered to support “Gaomen Ridge.”

Currently, the main attack direction of the Green Skin Orcs was trying to cross the river; the human military, in response, defended along the river to prevent the enemy from crossing.

The initial core of the battle was at the bridge, but it was quickly destroyed, and both sides began to repeatedly contest, rebuild, and destroy the damaged bridge, resulting in countless human and Green Skin deaths.

Subsequently, the Green Skins tried to create new river crossing points, with their technically dominant leaders bringing a large number of lesser minions to build pontoon and makeshift bridges.

There were failures, of course, but also successes. However, even a successful crossing would face the stiffest counterattacks by the humans where the artillery group would intensely bombard, followed by resolute counterattacks by infantry companies.

Later on, the frustrated Green Skins even attempted to find a shorter section of the river to cross directly with armed Skugg Beasts.

Of course, it was suicidal. A large-scale fording, once discovered, was akin to delivering themselves to the slaughter. The Green Skin Orcs caught in the swift current couldn’t even counterattack and could only passively take hits.

Even if small-scale fordings succeeded, they hardly mattered. A small number of troops in a conflict involving forces of hundreds of thousands on both sides could not make a significant impact.

Originally, Zhang Zhikai’s Battalion 7 was tasked with guarding along the river. In their responsible area, there were no bridges or pontoons, just direct crossings by Green Skins that were harshly repelled by them.

However, the nature of beating a dog in the water couldn’t last long.

His defense area was taken over by two infantry battalions from the Defense Army. These two battalions were previously disorganized by being routed at the frontline and had retreated to regroup. One couldn’t expect much from their combat effectiveness, but there was no other option now.

Their defense lines were severely strained under the fierce attack of the Beastmen; any usable force had to be utilized.

Zhang Zhikai’s Battalion 7, still maintaining relatively complete combat effectiveness as a standard infantry battalion, received a new task: reinforce Gaomen Ridge.

This was a river bend plateau, not particularly high in altitude but still strategically significant. Located on three sides by water, setting up an artillery battery and stationing troops here could surveil a wide stretch of the river. Commanding from high ground, the Green Skins had no chance of breaking through from this point.

Yet because of its importance, Green Skin rocket artillery and heavy artillery constantly targeted it; other Green Skins crossing the river from different locations circled to the northern side of the land at the plateau to fiercely attack.

Previously stationed here was another infantry battalion from the 326 Division. They had staunchly resisted here for two days, reportedly suffering heavy casualties and were about to give in.

Battalion 7 was the force ordered to support.

As soon as it engaged in combat, Battalion 7 achieved commendable battle results. At that moment, the Green Skins assaulting the high ground suddenly encountered an attack from behind, suffering terrible losses from the artillery fire. The engaged companies and platoons also annihilated a substantial number of Green Skins.

Especially the anti-armor company directly under the battalion, using portable armor-piercing rocket launchers and plasma guns, destroyed several killer cans and also killed two Skugg Beasts.

The heavy units sent across the river by the Green Skins weren’t many!

Having been heavily damaged, the Green Skins were thus repulsed.

Then, Zhang Zhikai dispatched a liaison to communicate with Battalion 11 on the high ground.

Based on his strategy, defending the high ground was the priority, but they couldn’t just passively hold it, foolishly waiting. The two battalions could completely complement each other — Battalion 11 could continue holding the high ground while he led Battalion 7 on the lower side of the high ground.

Once the Green Skins continued their assault on Gaomen Ridge, Battalion 7 could flank them just like in the recent battle; but if the Green Skins chose to deal with Battalion 7, then Battalion 11 could provide fire support from higher ground and even countercharge.

The number of Green Skins crossing the river was still limited—otherwise they wouldn’t have been so desperate to seize Gaomen Ridge, which was to ensure that subsequent river-crossing operations could proceed more smoothly. Under these circumstances, the Green Skins should not have had sufficient forces to attack two battalions and two positions simultaneously.

However, when the messenger relayed the message from the high ground, Zhang Zhikai’s heart sank:

Where was Battalion 11?

After defending Gaomen Ridge for a whole day, the fully staffed Battalion 11, which should have had three thousand men, now had only about three hundred.

That was not just the frontline forces being reduced to two hundred men; that was all that was left of the battalion.

The artillery position had been destroyed under the heavy fire from the Beastmen across the river, countless warriors died under the bombardment, and they still held their ground despite heavy casualties until logistical troops, guards moved up; artillerymen, without cannons to operate, also had to pick up rifles and enter the frontline trenches and bomb shelters.

The battalion commander had been killed, the commissar and deputy commander took over; when they all died, the company commanders and instructors moved up…

Now, in charge of Gaomen Ridge was a lieutenant, who was normally just an instructor for a company.

And he was now the highest-ranking officer remaining in Battalion 11.

Zhang Zhikai was silent.

He was shocked by the heavy sacrifice of his allies and, on the other hand, he felt a fearful awe for the entire mission.

Of course, he was afraid.

Was there any fundamental difference between Battalion 7 and Battalion 11?

Now that Battalion 11 was gone, with no one to support him, what was he supposed to do?

As per the division commander’s orders, he had to take charge himself.

And then, watch his own battalion end up like Battalion 11?

He was truly afraid.

But with the mission at hand, he could only tell the messenger to find a way to contact the division headquarters, report the situation of Battalion 11, and express his concerns.

The casualties would be enormous.

Then, the division commander gave him that sentence, “Don’t want casualty numbers, just want Gaomen Ridge.”

What else could he do?

Afraid as he was, he could only push forward.

But lessons from the situation of Battalion 11 still had to be learned.

Defending to death would only lead to death. He decided to defend both at the foothills and the highland.

Artillery positions were placed at the foothills to ensure they could bombard the incoming Green Skin forces from the north, but also with cover from the high ground, so that artillery fire from the Green Skins on the southern bank of the Great River could hardly hit directly here.

Artillery must be preserved, or there was no way to fight.

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Battalion 1, along with his own guards, were sent to the highland, relieving the brothers from Battalion 11. Battalions 2 and 3, along with battalion headquarters, were positioned at the foothills.

Both sides ensured they could communicate and support each other.

As he was finalizing the strategic deployment, the Green Skins attacked, heading directly towards his headquarters at the foothills.

In hastily established positions, his troops could only rely on bomb craters, fallen trees, small hills, and large boulders as cover to fight the oncoming Beastmen.

The casualties were substantial.

On average, it took ten to twenty hits with firearms to kill one Beastman; while their commonly equipped shotguns and large caliber rifles, if hit, would penetrate immediately, making the personal body armor seem as flimsy as paper.

Even though they had managed to establish the artillery formation, under the assault of over a thousand Green Skin Orcs, Battalion 7’s position at the foothills was nearly broken through.

Zhang Zhikai even began to doubt whether his strategy of dividing his forces was correct.

Fortunately, at the last moment, it proved useful for the troops assigned to the mountain.

Mortar fire from Battalion 1 rained down from above, and multiple heavy bomb machine guns on the high ground, from a distance of fifteen hundred meters, crazily swept down.

In addition, the division commander didn’t just expect him to use lives to fill; upon the call of the messenger, a division-affiliated aviation force scrambled three Wind Falcons, breaking through the Beastmen’s air blockade, and dropping six missiles.

With all this help, Zhang Zhikai suffered over two hundred casualties but repelled the Green Skins’ attack.

But there was no time to catch a breath; he had to immediately fortify the position, quickly digging foxholes, bomb shelters, and trenches as needed.

The Green Skins wouldn’t give him much time; the Beastmen’s next assault would arrive soon.

The scouts on the high ground, using binoculars, could already see several Skugg War Behemoths breaking through the river blockade and swimming across. Judging by their path, they were coming for Gaomen Ridge.