Chapter 186 Pincer Offensive

"Notify General Muira to attack again. After this next attack, I estimate the English army will be on the brink of collapse," Roland said with a smile.

Roland's estimation was spot on. Due to the relentless assaults by the French forces, the English army had reached a critical point. The ordinary soldiers of the English army were in panic, and despite the commander's shouts and attempts to rally them, they couldn't organize themselves anymore.

At 11 o'clock in the morning, French soldiers had already breached the English defensive lines. The two sides engaged once more in fierce combat, with close-quarter fighting breaking out due to their proximity.

The eastern battlefield of Middelburg was the focal point of the French attack, and naturally, the British defense was concentrated there. The 2nd and 3rd Brigades of the British army stationed here were both elite units.

However, the intense artillery barrage from the French army had already severely damaged the deployment of the British 3rd Brigade on the front line. Following this, they suffered a double assault from the new tactics of the French infantry and the cavalry, causing the British defense line to hold for less than an hour before being breached.

When the report of the fall of the 2nd Brigade's position reached General Bamore's hands, he could hardly believe the outcome.

"General, sir, a report from the eastern front... our position has been overrun," a staff officer trembled as he presented the frontline report to General Bamore.

"Damn it! The 2nd and 3rd Brigades are the elite units of the British army. How could they collapse in just one hour? Tell the front line, get that position back, or I'll send them to a military court!" General Bamore slammed the military intelligence report on his desk angrily, then barked his orders.

"But, General, the 3rd and 2nd Brigades were heavily hit in the previous battles. They have less than 2,000 men left now; I'm afraid they won't be able to accomplish this heavy task," the British staff officer said worriedly.

Each brigade should have had 6,000 men, but now they had less than 2,000 left—a devastating loss considering the battle had only begun half a day ago!

"Send the 1st Brigade to reinforce them. We must resist the French attack at all costs. Also, find a way to inform the Navy. We need their support," Bamore ordered sternly.

"Yes, General," the staff officer nodded.

Under Bamore's command, the 1st Brigade of the British army was dispatched as a reserve to help the 2nd and 3rd Brigades reclaim their positions on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Bamore exhausted every means to contact the British Navy, seeking their support.

In the afternoon, the 1st Brigade of the British army arrived at the eastern battlefield to reinforce their original stationed troops, aiming to retake their lost positions. But would the French allow them to do so?

As soon as the British made their move, the French artillery immediately took action. The next three hours saw a powerful and relentless barrage of artillery fire from the French army, dealing a significant blow to the British forces. This barrage prevented the British from advancing and reclaiming their positions.

By the time the British commanders regained their senses, the frontline positions had completely fallen into the hands of the French army. The French even began constructing makeshift defensive works on the captured ground.

The British attempted to retake these positions, but the cost would be immense. The heavily fortified French army held a significant advantage in defense, making it extremely difficult for the British to make any headway. This led the British army to suffer even greater losses in their attempt to reclaim the ground. With significant manpower casualties, the British army found it increasingly unrealistic to maintain their eastern defenses.

The fighting continued throughout the day, lasting until evening when the French army finally ceased their attacks. The temperature dropped significantly at night, making it unsuitable for further combat. Moreover, the soldiers were exhausted from the day's battles.

However, the British were not ready to give up. That very night, they organized a daring raiding party to retake the French positions under cover of darkness. But the French army was already prepared, deploying a large number of artillery pieces on the positions, easily repelling the British assault.

The intense fighting continued throughout the night, and by dawn, the British army had left a battlefield littered with bodies but without any significant gains.

General Bamore, stationed in Middelburg, was in disbelief when he received the casualty reports. In just one day, the losses suffered by the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Brigade, and the newly dispatched 1st Brigade totaled nearly 8,000 men. This meant that the British army had lost almost half of its forces.

Moreover, the primary losses were among the frontline infantry and artillery, severely impacting the overall combat effectiveness of the British army. Unfortunately, Bamore had no choice but to accept this brutal reality.

The next day, as soon as the sun rose, the French army launched another attack. With the initiative firmly in their hands, the French continued to press their advantage, leaving the British army no time to react.

In this battle, the French deployed three infantry divisions totaling 30,000 men and launched a large-scale attack against the remaining British forces. This directly led to the already battered British army being unable to hold out any longer.

By the afternoon, the heavily damaged British 2nd Brigade couldn't sustain the pressure and began to falter. Under the fierce onslaught of the French, one British soldier broke and ran, triggering a chain reaction that plunged the British lines into chaos. Subsequently, large numbers of British soldiers started fleeing, and a few even surrendered to the French.

The Eastern defensive line painstakingly constructed by the British Army collapsed. Over 8,000 British officers and soldiers were annihilated by the French during the battle, whereas the French losses were less than 1,000.

After breaking through the British defensive line, the French continued their offensive. However, the main objective of this campaign launched by the French was to eliminate the 20,000 British troops deployed in Middelburg in one fell swoop.

Fortunately, Middelburg was a coastal city, and the sea cut off the retreat route for the British, which meant the French did not need to specially dispatch forces to cut off their rear; they only needed to progressively pressurize and reduce their living space.

On February 8th, after achieving victory on the Eastern front, the French forces on the Southern and Northern fronts also began their movements.

With the Eastern defensive line breached, it posed a great threat to the British forces. The loss of the positions forced the British Army to reduce its sphere of influence.

"Commander Roland, the 2nd and 8th Infantry Divisions have begun their march. The 2nd Infantry Division is expected to launch its attack tomorrow, and the 8th Infantry Division should also commence its attack by tomorrow at the latest," a French staff officer reported to Roland.

"Good, order the 2nd and 8th Divisions to attack the British forces to the maximum extent. This is the only way to continually compress the British forces' area of influence," Roland commanded.

"Yes, Commander Roland," the staff officer nodded and immediately went to issue the orders.

The main French forces were only tens of kilometers away from the Southern and Northern battlefields, still less than one hundred kilometers. But due to the muddy roads caused by the rain, coupled with the gradually colder weather, it exacerbated the difficulty of marching. This made it impossible to complete the journey of tens of kilometers in just a few days. Fortunately, this was not only targeted at the French army, but also at the British army. British reinforcements attempting to support the front line from the rear would also face this problem.

On the battlefield, two infantry divisions of the French army broke away from the main sequence and marched south and north of Middelburg, attracting the attention of the British army.

Lieutenant General Baumor stood in front of the battle map, pondering deeply.

"Damn Frenchmen, what do they want to do?" Baumor couldn't help but curse.

"Your Excellency, could the French be trying to surround us?" A British staff officer suddenly said on the side. He drew the march routes of the French 2nd and 8th Infantry Divisions on the map. From above, it could be seen that the French were using a pincer attack, aiming to surround the British.