415: Chapter 52, Expeditionary Force Commander_1 415: Chapter 52, Expeditionary Force Commander_1 “Daniel, you got here fast enough!”
Prince Butzweig couldn’t help but sneer.
The two sides had agreed to join forces for a major offensive.
His units had suffered through the gruelling fight, only to have the spoils of war stolen away by Duke Daniel and his men.
The Orc Empire believed in survival of the fittest; spoils of war ingested, were never regurgitated.
After the great battle, the Bimon Army reaped nothing substantial beyond the harvest of reputation.
Although they captured quite a few weapons and equipment, those were paid for with the loss of soldiers.
Let alone the losses of the Cannon Fodder Troop, the key problem was the losses incurred by the Bimon Cavalry.
“A cornered rabbit will bite.”
Moreover, their opponents were the human armies.
Faced with a large-scale charge of the Bimon Cavalry, the expeditionary force indeed had no solution; yet when facing a divided chase of the Bimon Cavalry, the fleeing noble knights were far less passive.
The Alpha Kingdom nobles had plenty of experience dealing with isolated Bimon Cavalrymen.
Even if they hadn’t personally tried their hand at it, they had heard of the bull stories spun by their elders at home.
Whether these stories were true or false, it could certainly be said that the nobles who survived the battlefield had gathered plenty of pure combat skills and survival skills.
They might not have learned how to command thousands of troops, but they had certainly learned a lot.
Almost every noble family has this kind of inheritance.
After all, if fate was cruel and each senior member that went to war fell in battle, the family lineage would not have survived until today.
A small group of Bimon Cavalrymen who venture out in pursuit seldom manage to return alive.
Cornered, the noble Knights exhibit astonishing potential and often make desperate, final stands.
So much so that even though the Bimon Cavalry suffered less than a thousand casualties in the initial engagement, the subsequent scatter of forces inflated the casualties to the four-figure range.
After tallying the losses post-battle, Prince Butzweig was shocked to find that his main force had diminished from a total of over 8,500 before the battle to fewer than 7,000 men.
Compared to the honors won, such a loss was not significant, but it was still difficult to bear.
Had the Wolf Cavalry arrived just a tad earlier, the casualties of the Bimon Cavalry could surely have been kept under a thousand.
Suffering both troop losses and having the spoils of war snatched away, it showed great restraint on Prince Butzweig’s part not to fly off the handle on the spot.
“Your Highness, thank you for the compliment!
Our Silver Moon Wolf Clan Cavalry is not as brave and good at fighting as Bimon Cavalry.
The only advantage we can boast is speed.
If we are even a bit slower, I am afraid we would not find place among the Five Great Emperor Courts.”
Duke Daniel replied indifferently.
As if the victory in this battle was truly due to the timely arrival of the Wolf Clan Cavalry.
Faced with such impudence, Prince Butzweig was helpless.
What’s done was done, and even victory in argument now would serve no purpose.
This time, the Silver Moon Imperial Court benefitted, but he would attempt to make up for it in the future.
Infighting among the Five Great Emperor Courts was not new, and habitual sabotage was the order of the day.
If positions were reversed, Prince Butzweig would also not hesitate to exploit his comrades.
Despite the back and forth, the victory in this battle was due to the combined efforts of two Emperor Courts.
If the Silver Moon Imperial Court’s army hadn’t attacked the barracks of the Human Allied Forces, the Expeditionary Army would not have collapsed.
If they were confronting the Bimon Cavalry alone, even with significant casualties, the Expeditionary Army of the Alpha Kingdom would still be able to hold on.
After all, what is tested on the battlefield is morale.
As long as the military morale does not collapse, even with the addition of the Silver Moon Imperial Court’s army, the Expeditionary Army with a numerical advantage can still fight to the death.
Even if they eventually fail, they can at least have a decent ending.
For example: both sides suffer losses, and the Orc Army merely scrapes a win.
“Hmph!”
After a cold snort, Prince Butzweig left, showing only his back.
He failed to come to an agreement, but he took note of this debt.
From the beginning of the battle till now, his main force had lost more than 30% of its strength, a substantial loss.
Fortunately, the major offensive was brilliantly victorious, and reinforcements from the Imperial Court were on the way, providing a little comfort to Prince Butzweig’s aching heart.
…
On the fourth day of the disastrous major offensive, which is Holy Calendar 99988, September 7, the Duchy of Moxi finally named this failed campaign the “Dachias Battle”.
The name held no technical content; it arose solely due to the main conflict taking place between Dachias and Yass.
After a heated argument, they decided to include both place names.
The Moxi Duchy High Command chose to suppress the news of the defeat within its ranks, but their approach to the outside was completely opposite.
After the first high-level meeting following the defeat, they immediately released the news.
To obtain more international support, they even inflated their own losses.
As one who had to jointly bear the brunt of the disastrous defeat, the news reached the Alpha Kingdom, and Caesar III was so mad that his beard stood on end.
It did not matter that they had lost their troops.
Upon dispatching the expeditionary force, there was no expectation that the units would make a full retreat.
But the problem was — the commander in charge of this major offensive was his beloved son.
One could imagine that the epic failure of this strategic war would forever be an addendum to his son Little Caesar’s life, to be recorded in the annals of history.
The reputation of the Royal Family was thoroughly tarnished with this move.