Chapter 1605: Attacking Hanover

At this time, the Holy Cross Army led by Douglas was unaware of the riot that had broken out in Prague.

He could not spare any attention for the situation in Prague at this moment.

The food and money obtained there were already more than enough.

Under the cover of the Dark Night, Douglas marched in concealment; ahead lay the Prussian border city, Hanover.

According to intelligence gathered from reconnaissance, the only force stationed in Hanover at this moment was the Dragon Flame Army led by Ling Chen.

According to information provided by Catholics hidden among the Prussian populace, the Dragon Flame Army had dispersed its forces throughout Hanover after regaining control of this land.

This was the location where the Dragon Flame Army's defensive strength was weakest.

Douglas took advantage of the night to launch a surprise attack on Hanover.

By the time the Dragon Flame Army guarding this city reacted, it was already too late.

The force they had stationed there was less than thirty thousand men.

Yet the troops led by Douglas numbered over seventy thousand.

On the plains where the Hanover border was located, the Holy Cross Army led by Douglas crushed the camp where the Dragon Flame Army was stationed with just a single cavalry charge.

At the first moment of encountering the enemy attack, the Dragon Flame Army quickly formed a defensive posture and lit the beacon towers.

The smoke from the beacons rose into the sky beneath the silent night sky.

The Dragon Flame Army had set up a beacon tower every ten miles; after the beacon tower that was ambushed was lit, one beacon tower after another was instantly ignited.

Seeing the smoke rising into the sky, Douglas frowned; he knew this was the tool the Dragon Flame Army used to transmit messages.

The surprise attack had been exposed.

He had not expected the Dragon Flame Army to actually be able to hold out long enough to light the beacon towers.

"Pursue them, do not let a single Dragon Flame soldier escape!"

Douglas ordered in a deep voice, and the Holy Cross Army cavalry launched a charge.

After lighting the beacon towers, the ambushed Dragon Flame Army held their ground for about an hour before immediately following their commander's orders to retreat.

Although the border city was lost, there was no need to hold it at all costs.

This place was not important.

Douglas pursued the victory, but it had little effect.

Although the Dragon Flame Army had no war horses, by utilizing the night and their knowledge of the surrounding environment, the fewer than ten thousand Dragon Flame soldiers soon vanished without a trace.

By this time, the beacon towers had been lit, and the Dragon Flame Army had also received the news.

General Ling Chen, who was far away suppressing bandits, looked at the lit beacon towers and had to abandon the victory he was about to achieve; he had not expected enemy forces to invade at this time.

He had to rush back to Hanover quickly.

If Hanover fell, the gateway to Berlin would be completely opened, and the cavalry could even charge directly into Berlin in less than two days.

After entering Hanover, Douglas's Holy Cross Army quickly occupied the territory of Hanover by leveraging the advantage of their cavalry.

The Dragon Flame Army gathered its strength to resist, but they were facing Douglas's cavalry.

Coupled with the current scarcity of supplies and ammunition, it made the already difficult situation for the Dragon Flame Army even worse.

The Dragon Flame Army, having been caught off guard, was exhausted from dealing with the situation.

By the time Ling Chen rushed back, much of the land in Hanover had already been lost.

Returning to the main base, Ling Chen did not even have time to drink a sip of water before hurrying into the command room to look at the staff officers of the Dragon Flame Army.

"I need to know the current battle situation, who exactly is attacking us, and how much of our troop strength has been lost!"

The Strategist immediately reported these details.

The Strategist pointed to the map of Hanover and said calmly, "We have lost the southwestern region of Hanover."

"The enemy is currently entrenched on the hills near the Elbe River."

"According to intelligence gathered from scouts, the enemy is the Holy Cross Army, but they are indeed using French Heavy Cavalry, and their weapons are also a very messy mix of 'made in a hundred countries,' but this is a unit with extremely formidable combat power."

"The weapons and ammunition we brought are already..."

"... running low, and our cavalry is even more scarce," the Strategist said with a frown.

"General, our troop losses are not high, but lacking the cover of Shield Infantry, the battle formations we use to defend against cavalry are almost unusable."

"The Musket Team's lethality against cavalry is also negligible because they have no bullets; the only things we can use right now are the Infantry and the Special Forces."

After listening to the Strategist's analysis, Ling Chen was exceptionally calm.

Out of two hundred thousand Dragon Flame soldiers, they now had less than three thousand Light Cavalry in their hands.

The gap in combat power due to equipment was enormous.

"Where is our Dragon Flame Artillery Group?"

"There are still three hundred, but there are only six hundred cannonballs left; the enemy is a force of nearly seventy thousand men, and six hundred cannonballs are simply not enough."

"Moreover, the main city of Hanover is our last hope; it must absolutely not fall."

"These six hundred cannonballs must be used at the most critical moment."

Ling Chen's brows were tightly furrowed, squeezed into a 'chuan' shape.

He looked at the map; the entire city of Hanover was located on a plain with too few hills, and the Holy Cross Army's goal was to destroy Protestantism.

Since that was the case, their primary objective for the attack was to capture Berlin.

Once Prussia was wiped out, these Protestants would completely lose the country they could rely on.

He said in a deep voice, "Call Diana over and ask her how many routes there are from Hanover to Berlin."

Before long, a messenger was sent to invite Diana over.

As soon as Diana entered the command room, she felt a heavy atmosphere.

Ling Chen was staring at the map and did not even notice Diana enter.

Diana softly interrupted Ling Chen's thoughts: "Excuse me, is there something you need me for?"

Ling Chen turned around, looked at Diana, and asked, "How many routes are there from Hanover to Berlin?"

Diana looked at the map, recalling the Geography and terrain of various places in Hanover in her mind.

"Hanover is a plain region, but it relies on the Central German Mountains; to enter Berlin from Hanover, there are several roads, and the General knows the main ones that have been traveled before."

"But there is also a very hidden mountain path."

Diana pointed to a spot on the Central German Mountains on the map.

"The Central German Mountains only have this one place most suitable for an army to march; in other places, the mountain terrain is too steep, and there is simply no Method to enter Berlin directly."

"However, this path is little known, and very few people would take this road."

Ling Chen stared at these routes that Diana pointed out.

For him, there was good news and bad news.

The good news was that the entrance to enter Berlin was still in his own hands.

The bad news was that the Geography of these places was extremely unsuitable for his Dragon Flame Army to fight.

Their current equipment situation would make it very difficult to attack.

"Send someone to tell Frederick II everything here; we need to rearrange the battle here."

Ling Chen looked at the mountain passes on these few roads.

"Concentrate the troops in these places; Diana, I need you to personally lead the way on that mountain path you mentioned."

Ling Chen's expression was extremely complex; he had not expected the Holy Cross Army's attack to arrive so quickly.