Chapter 1750 The Unchanged Strategy
When receiving the urgent battle report from the fifth theater, Soshyan immediately analyzed Huron’s strategy—the opponent had targeted two targets from the beginning. On a theater commander.
In other words, Huron has realized the weakness of the expeditionary force, that is, the number of Space Marines is very small, and all theater commanders are Space Marines, so as long as they focus on attacking the expeditionary force's Asterta power , it can seriously shake the mobility and command record of the expeditionary force, causing the expeditionary force to lose the ability to conduct follow-up attacks.
From this point of view, Soshyan underestimated Huron's strategic vision. Huron obviously understood that it was impossible to defeat the expeditionary force on the frontal battlefield with the existing strength of the Red Pirates alone. It can be seen from the recent offensive that without the large-scale ground armor force, the help of the Titan Legion and the Chaos Knight family, the Red Pirates' attack ability is much worse than previously expected. So if they want to win, the only way is to Naval battles continue to wear down the effective strength of the Empire, and it is not enough to simply eliminate the Astra Militarum, because the Empire's Astra Militarum are not in general numbers. The most effective battle damage is the Astartes. This is among all the battle sequences of the expeditionary force. The only thing that cannot be replenished in a short time.
From the perspective of the attack method, Arash's side should be based on ambush, with a certain amount of luck, while Salamander's side is setting a trap and waiting for Tu'shan to take the bait. Obviously, the latter's If the success rate is higher, then Huron will definitely take it as the main direction of attack.
And as time goes by, this possibility is getting higher and higher. On the one hand, Salamanders' character of rescuing them in trouble makes them very easy to take the bait. After all, the whereabouts of Corsaro Khan in the third theater are erratic. , the first and second theaters are heavily surrounded, the fourth theater is the farthest, and the only available targets are the fifth and sixth theaters.
The second point is the value of Tu'shan himself. He is the only founding regiment leader in the entire expeditionary force. Samuel and Corsaro are only company commanders after all. In terms of status and prestige, Tu'shan There is no doubt that he is second only to Soshiyan, the commander-in-chief, and the last Salamanders chapter leader died at the hands of the Red Corsairs. If Huron can kill the new Salamanders chapter leader again, this will be a great help for the expedition. The blow to the morale of the army will be extremely huge. At that time, Soshyan will not only bear huge pressure from public opinion, but also bear a heavy debt.
This goal is extremely tempting whether it is strategic or tactical. If Soshiyang were Huron, he would definitely use all means to eliminate Tu'shan.
In other words, Huron must try to die, and Soshyan must not let this happen.
However, this incident also reminded him of some issues that he had ignored before, and also confirmed what Veronica had asked herself before——
Is it really appropriate for Astartes to serve as theater commanders?
Thinking about it now, Soshyan feels that he may have underestimated the seriousness of this problem, because Astartes commanders are used to commanding operations on the front line or even on the firing line. There is no problem in the regiment, but on a battlefield with tens of millions of troops, this is not appropriate. After all, to put it bluntly, if the regiment commander is sacrificed, he can be replaced by the company commander immediately, but the theater commander is killed in battle. Now, let a company commander take his place?
In terms of command, the Astartes are actually competent. After all, there were some famous Astartes commanders during the Great Crusade. However, the Legion of Astartes has this command that can adapt to large battlefields. chain, this command chain covers the mortal auxiliary forces and the navy, but in the Holy Code era, because each company often needs to act independently, the command chain is more of a decentralized state that pursues flexibility. The advantages are self-evident, and the disadvantages are also obvious. , even after the chapter leader dies in battle, it is difficult to immediately choose a new replacement.
If the current situation of the Astartes serving as theater commanders does not change, then their habit of commanding on the front line of the battlefield must also be changed, otherwise they will become too easy to be beheaded by the enemy - which seems a bit ironic to say. , the Astartes who most often resorted to decapitation tactics, must now beware of the decapitation tactics of their enemies.
So he immediately sent instructions, or orders, to all theaters. All theater commanders were not allowed to command on the front lines, and they must not be separated from the protection of the fleet and battle groups.
After issuing this order, he had to face a new problem.
How to save Tu'shan?
Most opinions are to give up Angstrom's attack plan first, turn all the prepared troops to the fifth theater, and fish out Tu'shan first. Everyone also realizes that if a start-up group If the regiment leader is killed in battle, the impact will be extremely bad.
However, Soshyan didn’t see it that way.
In the situation room of the Eternal Loyalty, while everyone was still talking about it, Soshiyang on the chair coughed lightly and put down his hands on his chin. Everyone stopped the discussion and looked at him.
"Captain Tu'shan cannot afford to make any mistakes." After saying this, he paused.
“However, accordingly, all Huron’s attention must be there now. He predicts that we will go to rescue at all costs. If we attack Angus with all our strength at this time, Thom, the Red Pirate must have been caught off guard. There is no better opportunity than now."
As he spoke, he stood up and walked back and forth behind the table, and finally made up his mind.
Gamble!
"I have sent a message to the Gray Knights. They will go to rescue the Salamanders Chapter Leader. In addition, the Second Company of the Astral Knights will also lead the Charadon fleet there, creating the illusion that we are all turning to rescue."
< br>"This"
Lysander hesitated for a moment, then whispered:
"Is it enough? According to the intelligence, the Red Pirates invested at least two main fleets in this attack, including 3 ships The battleships and 7 large cruisers have a strength of more than 20,000. Even if most of them are on standby in the fleet, it is conservatively estimated that more than 5,000 people will be engaged in ground combat."
"It may not be enough to repel the red pirates. , but I think it’s enough to rescue the trapped salamander.”
Lysander looked at Soshyan and immediately understood what the other party meant - as long as Tu'shan could be fished out, that planet and even the entire galaxy could be abandoned.
Although this was cruel, he believed in Soshyan's decision. After all, Soshyan was responsible for the victory of the entire expedition. The responsibility he shouldered was huge. After a few seconds of silence, a series of Imperial Fist attacks The chief nodded.
"I understand, Supreme Lord Commander."
Soshiyang looked at the others and said solemnly:
"Then follow this plan. The subsequent voyage must be kept strictly confidential. Everyone outside this room, including the Space Marines, knows that we are going to support the Salamanders."
"Yes!"
Of course, it's not all bad news these days. News came from Malakin in the Fourth War Zone not long ago. With the help of the Death Watch, they successfully eliminated two larger green ones. Pirate pirate group, now there are only two other larger groups of alien pirates left around Pale Star. The route situation has been greatly improved. Some imperial merchant ships have also begun to take the route of Pale Star. This is also a help for the logistics supply in several war zones. .
In addition, Soshyan also had a complete plan for the military ticket that Soshyan asked Sillu Clermont to make. After Soshyan saw it, he felt that there was no problem, so he asked the other party to trial it on a small scale in the Sagan system. .
Soon, the Second Company of the Astral Knights led the fleet under the banner of Soshyan and quickly set off towards the Slgard galaxy. Just when everyone thought they were going to rescue the Salamanders, the real The main fleet has rushed to Angstrom as fast as possible