Putting aside the terrifying casualties, the Battle of Somsonas has always developed in the established direction. From a strategic perspective, this is a war of attrition that is conducive to the consumption of the Federal Army and the dismantling of Norman's forces. However, as Ze said in the wargame deduction, if this battle was not commanded by Marshal Sedlinz, then the Federal Army will have a great victory. But in turn, since Sedlinz is in command on the Western Front, he can mobilize resources from all parties to support the battle-he can completely jump out of the battle itself and mobilize other troops on the Western Front to carry out tough military operations in other areas, thereby changing the situation of Somsonas.

On the 17th day of the battle, the Normans ascended from the northern line to Mason, the capital of Lorraine. This was another strategic stronghold for the federal army to garrison. It was a traditional industrial area and densely populated area of ​​Lorraine, or an important hub for Lorraine to connect with the rear. Once there was a problem with Mason, the Norman army could easily reach the edge of the ice sea and cut off the land connection between Lorraine and the rear.

Although this situation also occurred in the last war, the federal military and civilians used air transport and sea transport to maintain the connection between the rear and Lorraine, starting from the overall situation of the war, this would make the federal army more passive, and for the Lorraines, they would enter the bloody and cruel era of guerrilla warfare.

Mason cannot be misunderstood. This is the unanimous judgment of the Federal Generals. However, in order to prepare for and implement the Somsonas fight against the epidemic, they mobilized the combat forces in Lorraine as much as possible. Although Mason nominally had nearly ten divisions of federal troops and dozens of battalions of reserve troops, it should be noted that these regular troops were withdrawn from the front line to rest and replenish. Many troops had only 20 to 30% of the combat effectiveness, and those reserve battalions were mainly recruited. The only good news is that General Ateus personally took the formation of Mason. He was experienced and had a steady mentality. He could mobilize all combat forces in Lorraine within his authority.

Under the command of this federal veteran, the Union army launched a fierce exchange of fire with the coming Norman army north of Mason. Due to the tenacious resistance of the federal army, the Normans ultimately failed to break through the defense, but this was obviously not just the only trick of the Normans. On the 22nd day of the Battle of Somsonas, the Normans brazenly attacked Slien, the most important military stronghold in southern Lorraine. What is even more worrying is that the Normans only took one and a half days to break through the three defense lines outside Slien. Although they were temporarily blocked from the core defense line of the federal army, the subsequent gunboats launched fierce shelling on Slien.

The Norman ground forces formed an excellent shooting position for the fast-mobile air artillery ships. In just over two hours of artillery fire, a large number of aviation facilities built by the Federal Army in Slien were smashed into pieces. By the time the Federal Air Force launched a counterattack with no cost, the Norman's flying gunboats had begun to evacuate. The chasing Federal Army fighter jets and Norman fighters covering their own flying gunboats broke out fierce air battles west of Slien, and the Federal Air Force failed to take advantage.

After nightfall, the ground troops of the Norman army launched a fierce offensive against Slien, who had lost heavy equipment support, and broke into the core position of the Federal Army that night. If the Federal Reinforcements had not arrived in time to repel the Norman army, Slien would have declared fall before Somsonas.

Srien's tense battle situation forced the federal army to shift its attention from Somsonas to southern Lorraine. In comparison, Srien's strategic significance was obviously better. In order to defend Srien, General Yatus had to move from a limited army to allocate. In this way, the federal army invested in the Somsonas battlefield not only failed to continue to receive additional troops, but was transferred away some heavy equipment.

The Normans seemed to have the right to mobilize the federal army. In the next few days, the Norman army's combat aircraft and light ships frequently broke into the hinterland of Lorraine and launched raids on the federal army troops and their baggage that maneuvered along railways and highways. This kind of air hunting battle was more sharp than the ground guerrilla they were good at. The federal army, which could not defend their strongholds, was not only mobilized by the enemy, but also lost its precious strength after leaving the position.

From the Battle of Somsonas to the 32nd day, the original momentum of the federal army had been weakened a lot. After rest and supplementary, the Normans launched a new round of offensives. The most violent artillery fire storm since the launch of the battle appeared on the Somsonas battlefield. The Normans ground troops followed the artillery fire and attacked the Federal Army, while the Norman ships carried elite marine forces to carry out airborne at various strongholds behind the Federal Defense Line. This compact three-dimensional attack has tested the Federal Army's front line many times. Although the Federal Army prepared various back-ups, under this tsunami-like attack, in the face of this tsunami-like attack, it finally failed to hold on to the enemy's heavy punches. The Somsonas and the Lorraine Free Canal Industrial Zone fell into the hands of the Normans one after another. Soon, many important strongholds in depth were also occupied by the Normans.

In this case, the three-person committee had to face the reality that the Battle of Somsonas had failed and sent an emergency telegram to General Yatus. Although in the Lorraine area at this time, the number of federal troops still had a clear advantage compared to the Norman army that had come from afar, and received strong support from the people, General Yatus was still in a situation where there was no soldiers to be sent. He had to instruct the federal troops on the battlefield of Somsonas to retreat in an orderly manner and gather in the Mason area.

In Srien, in the south, with the end of the Battle of Somsonas, the Norman army seemed to have injected great spiritual power, and penetrated the core defense zone of the federal army with an unstoppable spirit. In just two days, General Ateus had no choice but to withdraw from the two important battle commands. Tens of thousands of federal troops and huge reserve and baggage units retreated to Mason, the capital of Lorraine.

In offensive operations, the federal army is sometimes lacking in quality, and they have great experience in retreating operations. There are many ways to defeat the Normans, who are defending the defense zone, but they are trying to severely damage or even annihilate them during the retreat of the federal army. The Normans may not be able to do it. With the joint efforts of various generals and their respective troops, tens of thousands of federal soldiers and civilians who participated in the Battle of Somsonas retreated smoothly to the Mason area.

Mason is located in the plains in the southeast of Lorraine, and is the last railway hub in the southwest of the Federation, suitable for economic development. After years of rapid expansion after the war, its urban area has increased by more than half. Even so, Mason is still not a military stronghold suitable for defense.

If a city is just not ideal in its geographical location, as long as the guardians are determined to die, they can still turn it into a solid fortress. In fact, Mason is not much different from the previous war. The rivers and hills here and the gullies in the south have added more tactical space for the guardians.

As a veteran with deep experience, General Ateus did not make a choice between the regular options, but instead consolidated his defenses on the surface with great fanfare in Mason and acted as if he wanted to fight the enemy to the death. In fact, he used the short period of renovation to rectify all the troops, and then launched a thunderous counterattack in the direction of Slien with the elite assault division as the main combat power.

This counterattack was tactical, with the purpose of blocking the Norman army advancing towards Mason in a far-reaching position and creating the battlefield situation as favorable as possible for the upcoming Battle of Mason. After the counterattack was launched, it was beyond the Norman's expectations. In the Harge Forest between Slien and Mason, the federal army won a rainy night victory, annihilated thousands of Norman troops, and their own casualties were minimal.

The federal army took advantage of the rapid momentum of counterattack to approach the Slien area again, and both sides knew that when Slien's original military facilities were destroyed and the new fortifications had not been established and consolidated, its military value was not high. Therefore, the Norman army gave up Slien without resistance. Considering the lengthening of the front line and the danger of being cut off by the Normans, the federal army invested in the counterattack only symbolically recovered Slien, and the elite combat forces quietly retreated to the periphery of Mason.

Two days later, the Normans realized that their opponent had not taken the bait, so they took Slien back with a regiment of troops.

In the direction of Somsonas, the federal army sent a small number of reconnaissance units for combat reconnaissance and found that the Norman army was gathering troops here and preparing to attack Mason along the canal. Therefore, the federal army chose the hero to cut off their arm, blow up a series of traffic facilities along the route, and blocked the canal.

Listening to the rumbling thunder coming from the front, Weiss felt particularly heavy. Every roar was like a drumstick hitting his heart, with an indescribable pain. Lorraine ushered in its golden development period after the war. The emerging industries represented by Somsonas and the Lorraine Free Canal Industrial Zone were like mushrooms after a rain, bringing new dawn to this ancient and backward land. If it weren't for this abominable war, Lorraine would have become the most dynamic area in the western part of the Federation and even the entire Federation in the promising years, and the living standards of the people would continue to improve. This place could have become the starting point for him to move to a larger political stage. Unfortunately, all these beautiful visions turned into pieces in the rumbling sound of cannons.

The most painful thing at the moment is more than that. Hundreds of thousands of Lorraine residents were stationed around Mason under the command of General Ateus. They still have the strength to launch a new counterattack. However, the Normans had the initiative on the entire battlefield at this time. As they dispatched more and more troops to the Western Front and handed over to the command of their genius commander, Marshal Sedlinz, if the rear stabilized, they would definitely carry out the cause of the last war to the end.

When Mason fought against the powerful enemy, Weiss did not have much confidence in winning. In the conversation with General Ateus, he had clearly realized that the veteran had been pragmatically prepared to lead the Lorraine army to the rear, which was also a preparation for a commander. Until now, the General Staff of the Federal Army has never issued a defensive order. In fact, it is unlikely that they should not give in to the enemy in a desperate situation.

In the war with the Normans, the federal military and civilians had long realized that preserving strength was the top priority, and the gains and losses of a city and a place were not important. For Weiss, he faced an extremely difficult choice: whether to withdraw with the army or stay in Lorraine with the people.

The Klumber-Heisen family had been transferred to the rear as a special group, and Ze could also arrange to evacuate with them, so he had no worries. However, his identity was different from the past. As the chief executive of the border province in the southwestern federal, an important figure in charge of the mobilization and deployment of the Lorraine reserve troops during the war, if it fell into the hands of the enemy, its influence would inevitably be different from the previous war.

Weiss considered this for a long time. In peacetime, the Lorraine people trusted and supported him. During wartime and in danger, how could he abandon the people and retreat to the rear only with his own safety? If he stayed, it means that the Lorraine people could still find their backbone under the enemy's iron hooves and in the face of the enemy's pressure, and still stand up straight, even if guerrilla warfare would make them sacrifice a lot.

Indomitable is the indomitable spirit that the Lorraines have been around since ancient times.
Chapter completed!