Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 1229: WW1: Taking back Thessaloniki (3)

Three kilometres from the frontline.

Senior officer Sir Arthur Thorne had blood all over his body, his armour practically drenched in it. He couldn’t even keep count of how many Bharatiyas he had killed, but looking at his face, one could not tell that he was the victor at all. Instead, going by his sour expression, people might assume that he had been cornered and his group had been locked in an ambush.

Unfortunately, Arthur was in that exact situation. ’This is taking forever, damn it,’ he cursed under his breath as he led his troops toward the next target. He wasn’t being ambushed by the Bharatiya troops per se, but his current situation was hardly any better. He was practically a caged bird. He, and for that matter, the general as well, had completely underestimated the sheer scale of what a million troops actually meant.

On the front line, at any given moment, only around 200 to 300 thousand Bharatiya troops were engaged in active combat. The rest were stationed in the rear, occupying various villages and towns, waiting for orders to act whenever they were deemed necessary. So technically, although the Bharatiya Empire’s offensive was concentrated on the frontier city of Çorlu, their troops were spread across a vast area of nearly 100 kilometres.

So for Arthur Thorne to reach his objective, he had to go across some small villages and paths, which were usually occupied by the Bharatiya troops. Fortunately, because they had been caught unprepared, the Bharatiyas were not too difficult to deal with. Not to mention, each camp contained no more than a thousand men, while Arthur commanded over five thousand, a number that kept increasing as more troops exited the tunnel and joined the regimental formation. Even so, clearing each position consumed far more time than he could afford.

"Damn it all," his frustration grew as he felt as though his hands and feet were tied. He understood he could not run rampant in the rear of the Bharatiya army for long. By the time the Bharatiyas managed to organise an effective counterattack, he needed to complete his mission and attempt a breakout. Yet now, even without significant resistance from the Bharatiya Empire, victory seemed to be slipping farther and farther away.

Senior officer Sir Hugo Schmidt, who was on the other end of the battlefield at the rear of the Bharatiya frontline, faced with a similar challenge, and his expression was clouded with worry and uncertainty.

The two senior officers, placed in a difficult position, constantly searched for solutions that could pull them out of their predicament. In the end, both arrived at the same conclusion: to join their forces together and launch a more concentrated assault.

Although this would also lead to a fierce resistance from the Bharatiya Empire, it was still the best solution given that they were running out of time and the Bharatiya Empire was still organising the troops to deal with them.

The next moment, Fireworks flew into the sky.

Arthur Thorne and Hugo Schmidt were taken aback as the fireworks went up almost at the same time, and even more surprised that they both came to the same conclusion. A smile etched on their faces, and they immediately ordered their unit to adjust the direction of their movement.

Right at that moment, Brigadier General Veera Venkat finally caught sight of the enemy.

"Found you," he chuckled.

"Commandos, prepare for combat."

The commandos grew visibly excited and eagerly gripped their guns.

"As for the Rangers, pick your positions and support us during the battle."

Most of the Rangers had already been anticipating the order, so as soon as the words left his mouth, they immediately dispersed. Some climbed into leafy trees to take their positions, while others chose the ground itself, burrowing into it, their ghillie suits rendering them nearly invisible.

"Here... they... come," Veera Venkat reminded them, his voice stuttering slightly with excitement and restlessness.

The next moment, the European troops appeared directly within the crosshairs of the commandos and the Rangers.

"FIRE!!"

The high-pitched shout, like the call of a devil, unleashed death and destruction.

"BRRRRRR!" The machine guns unleashed unrelenting firepower with the soldiers gluing their hands to the trigger and blasting bullets down the line without any regard for aim or accuracy.

The Europeans, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the commandos, immediately faced the full brunt of the crossfire. The machine guns, coupled with the highly accurate rifles and the mortars, immediately created a kill zone where everyone who entered was either killed on the spot with their bodies filled with dozens of holes or straight up obliterated.

"Damn it," Arthur Thorne cursed under his breath as he immediately plopped down to the ground and roared at his troops to do the same.

"Use the grenades, quickly throw them at those ****." He ordered, his breathing rapid. He then followed through with his own orders and took out a grenade from his backpack and threw it overarm with all his strength, but right at that moment, he felt a chill seep down his spine as a bullet grazed his helmet. If he had looked up even a little more, his brain would have turned into mincemeat.

’Gulp!’

He took a few breaths to calm his heart and looked around to see the situation of his troops. His face immediately turned ugly. A lot of officers were not as lucky as he; they all had parts of their heads blasted off, and their bodies lay lifeless on the ground.

"Keep at it, don’t relent, keep chugging those grenades." He gritted his teeth until his gums bled and wore a new piece of helmet he had found lying next to a dead soldier whose arm was completely blown off.

Feeling like there was no chance of taking on the commandos who had formed a kill zone, he decisively ordered his troops to slowly back out. "Don’t let up the pressure while retreating, keep throwing those grenades and keep unloading the bullets every chance you get."

After he luckily reached a safe distance, he finally got up on his feet, his body stained with the blood of his comrades, showcasing the hell he had to crawl out of. He had a ruthless expression on his face, "There aren’t too many enemies, let’s go around, we don’t have much time remaining."

Veera Venkat immediately got to know about the movements of the enemy, and his expression turned ugly.

"Where are the rest of our troops?"

"They are coming right as we speak, sir."

"Damn it!"

"Alright, since we cannot keep them, let’s funnel them into a place that is advantageous for us."

"Where are the highest concentrations of the commandos?"

"10 kilometres at two o’clock, sir. There is currently a battalion of commandos in a small town who are stocking up on their supplies to set off to our position."

"Perfect."

"Have them stay put at their location, and also inform all the other commando units in the vicinity to converge on the point."

"Yes, sir!"

Right after relaying the orders, he did not sit still. He immediately ordered the scouts and the Rangers under his command to increase their activity along the twelve and three o’clock lines.

"I am sure the enemy has been startled and is now eager to complete their mission. They will avoid conflict as much as possible. In such a situation, they will inevitably move toward the town."

Hugo Schmidt, on the other hand, did not have to go through the same situation Arthur Thorne did, but his condition was hardly any better. While on his way to meet up with the regiment led by Arthur, he constantly endured harassment from the commandos and the Rangers, causing his troops to be chipped away little by little. Sadly, he could not even launch a proper counterattack, since he was short on time and had to stick to his objective no matter the cost.

Among the commandos launching guerrilla attacks from time to time was a well-built, middle-aged man with a thoughtful look on his face. He was none other than the second lieutenant Veera Badra Shastri, the one commanding the operation. Having just learned about the kiting operation conducted by the Brigadier General, an idea suddenly popped into his mind.

’Why don’t I funnel this group into the convergence point as well? Wouldn’t it be better to take care of all of them at once?’ The more he thought about it, the more his eyes brightened.

"Everyone, listen up." Making a firm decision in his mind, he immediately relayed his orders to his team and started a new funnelling operation mirroring the one directed by the Brigadier General.

Ironically, the commandos chose a strategy of funnelling both enemy regiments toward a single point so they could deal with them using superior firepower, completely unaware that the two European senior officers, Arthur and Hugo, were aiming for the exact same outcome. However, whether Arthur and Hugo would actually be pleased with the result remained to be seen.

Right at this moment.

Around seven kilometres away from the frontier, a group of men were guarding a run-down hunter’s cabin, but oddly enough, these men, although dressed in shabby leather clothes, were equipped with muskets and rifles. This was not something an ordinary hunter would be able to afford.

A First Lieutenant in the Rangers immediately felt the whole situation a little fishy, so without hesitation, he took aim at the "hunters" and fired, immobilising them in a single shot.

’Go ahead, I will cover you guys.’ He ordered the scouts as he got up and advanced, looking for a better position with a wider vantage angle.

The scouts carefully advanced, watching their surroundings with bated breath, their nerves tense and their eyes alert. But at that very moment, a loud explosion erupted from within the cabin. In an instant, the cabin was completely obliterated, killing the "hunters" who were already lying on the ground, barely alive.

The First lieutenant jumped up, his eyes wide open, only now understanding what had happened. His doubts really turned out to be true. It was not a simple cabin but a front for the tunnel opening, and when the soldiers guarding the tunnel were immobilised, they alerted the men within the cabin with a scream, prompting them to run inside and blow up the exit.

As for why blow it up, even if he thought with his ass, he would know the reason.

The tunnel probably led directly into Çorlu, making it a huge risk in case it fell into the hands of the enemy, so they would rather destroy the tunnel than let it fall into the Bharatiyas’ control. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Knowing this, he couldn’t sit still. He knew he had to do something, so he did not wait for the orders from the general and acted immediately.

"Open a small path and quickly pump the gas in before they blow up the rest of the tunnel. I’m sure they haven’t gone too far," he ordered.

The gas he was referring to was a strategic resource that normally required authorisation from a Brigadier General or someone of higher rank before it could be used. Fortunately, he was not worried about being penalised. He was confident he could justify the decision under the invocation of the 24-3A protocol, which allowed an officer at the First Lieutenant level to authorise the use of such a strategic resource in an emergency. And because it was considered a strategic resource, the gas was not normally found with the scouts, the infantry, or even the heavy infantry. Thankfully, owing to the nature of their missions and the likelihood of encountering unexpected situations, the Rangers were among the few units that carried it and were equipped with a few canisters for emergency situations.

Without taking his gaze off the gas being pumped into the small opening created in the collapsed tunnel exit, he turned to a communications officer and, with a sombre expression, issued his orders.

"Inform the Brigadier General about the situation, and also let the commander know what is happening. I suspect there may be a second tunnel, or even several tunnels like this, in multiple locations at the rear. Tell them to remain cautious and to secure any tunnel immediately, lest those inside escape."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Also inform the Brigadier and the commander that I have invoked Protocol 24-3A and have them stand by for my status. Once we are certain that the people inside are neutralised and the tunnel is secured, we will await further orders."

"Yes, sir!"