On the morning of the fourth day of the Federal Joint War, when Weiss followed the battalion commander Major Boone Salgert to the regiment headquarters to confirm the patrol route that day, he was told that the original patrol alert mission had been cancelled. The defense here will be handed over to the troops of the 157th Reserve Division, and all the members of the Baston student group will go north and go to the border area to perform new tasks.

"According to the latest news, our 9th Corps and the 1st Brigade of Wessex have recaptured the City of Longz from the Norman Army. It is the closest city to us in Wessex, and it is also the first Wessex city that we have joined forces to recover with the Wessex army. The Norman Army's early offensive was fierce, resulting in the long front line. Now they have put their main forces in the direction of the Wessex capital. There are only a few corps in the southeast of Wessex. It is expected that our 3rd Corps can advance at a faster pace, and there will definitely be many Wessex troops along the way. As a front-line guard patrol force, our regiment will have a heavy task during this period, so everyone should be mentally prepared!" Colonel Capes, the regiment commander, gave his battalion-level officers a "vaccination" in a tone of no arrogance.

"What about the Western Front?" Major Salgert asked. The so-called Western Front refers to the Western Front of the Federation. For hundreds of years, the sphere of influence between the Federation and the Norman Empire has always been based on the Monamolin Mountains as its natural border. However, these two powerful countries only have a direct border less than 30 miles long on Monamolin Mountains. In the Monamolin Mountains, which stretch thousands of miles, the Kingdom of Fries, the Kingdom of Basel, the Kingdom of Kempten, the Kingdom of Farlane and the Esnier Tribal Alliance. Last game

In the war, the Norman army used these five weak neutral countries to attack the Ulster Free Federation. After the war, the five countries restored their independence and sovereignty and declared permanent neutrality. The neutral status was endorsed by the International Peace Alliance and the Three Strong Governments, and seemed to have more solid and reliable guarantees. However, the stage of the North Fries crisis once again reminded people: the so-called guarantee is nothing more than a means for big powers to restrict small countries. The truth is always in the hands of the strong.

After the Ulster Free Federation and the Norman Empire declared war with each other, the border between the northern Federation and the Kingdom of Wessex in the north immediately became the northern battlefield for the confrontation between the two sides. The federal army and the Wessex troops who retreated into the federal territory took the initiative to attack. The northern line was fierce, but the western front was surprisingly calm. The steep terrain of Mona Peak was not suitable for combat troops to carry out. The fleets of both sides confronted each other across the peaks. If either side wanted to make a breakthrough from here, it would have to pay a huge price. The Kingdom of Basel, Kempten, Farain, and Esnier, suitable for the passage of the large corps.

The Tribal Alliance, the Norman Empire did not invade their neutral status, and the Federation that advocated freedom and democracy could not transcend legal principles and morality forcibly borrowing the law and morality. As for the Kingdom of Fries, which had been involved in the war, although it had formed a military alliance with the Norman Empire, it did not have to bear the obligation to go to war against the Federation before the federal army attacked the territory of the Norman Empire. Given that the Fries army entered the territory of Wessex as a legitimate "counterattack" and the federal government did not declare war on it, which allowed the Kingdom of Fries to be devastated by the war in the northern region.

"There is no new situation on the Western Front for the time being," Colonel Capes replied. "If the positioning of this war is to return to the pre-war situation, then the main battlefield will be in Wessex, and the Western Front may be just a 'sit-sit-sit-war battle'."

Major Alfret Kesen, commander of the 4th Battle Battalion with Lun Schmidt, said: "I don't believe that the Normans will be content with some of the territory and resources of Wessex. By the time they capture Tic City and clear the northern battlefield, they will definitely attack the Federation with all their might."

Colonel Capes said: "Maybe, maybe not. The generals of the Joint Staff should worry about what they should worry about! What we think and what we think is, after all, it is just our thoughts and opinions, no one will care about them."

This is a bit unpleasant, especially to the strong military academy students, they can't help but think that this old senior is a negative and short-sighted character. Weiss felt this way at first, but when he thought about it carefully, it was as if he was not in his position and did not plan his own affairs. Although intermediate officers must be in mind the overall situation, in comparison, paying attention to the present is a more pragmatic and competent manifestation.

After talking about military affairs, Capes called the names of four deputy battalion commanders: "Long, Otto, Yofen, Lun, after these two weeks of getting along, you four have a very good impression. There is no doubt that you are the most talented and capable of this class, and I believe they have the most potential to rise. Through the experience of war, you will understand many things that cannot be obtained from classes and exercises. With this foundation, your military career will be smoother than ours. Therefore, you must seize the opportunity and use your courage and belief to overcome difficulties, and be cautious to avoid unnecessary losses caused by lack of experience. As for the strength of the Norman army, I know that some of you have already had a fight with them, and have a very intuitive understanding of this, so I will not go into details here."

The four students responded with a humble attitude: "Thank you for your reminder, we will remember it!"

Capes ordered with a calm expression: "Okay, everyone will go back and arrange the migration and defense affairs. After the handover is completed, the troops will set off immediately!"

Everyone stood up: "Yes!"

This time, the Baston student body was officially incorporated into the combat force, and the four combat battalions and the baggage companies were all arranged according to the Federal Army standards. Weiss was located in the 1st combat battalion, with 495 people, including 105 students from the Baston Military Academy and 390 reserve soldiers. Except for the sharp knife platoon, the other companies and platoons were mainly student soldiers, and the reserve soldiers were based on reserve soldiers. As the military mobilization was gradually completed, the reserve soldiers in the organization were successively replenished, and the first-tier reserve soldiers were all assigned to the Baston student body. They had to receive one week of national defense and military training every quarter, so they had certain basic military skills, and were between 18 and 27 years old. In the federal army's reserve homocade, it is the second only to retired soldiers and local paramilitary units personnel.

In the afternoon of the same day, the advance troops of the 157th Reserve Division arrived at the Baston Student Corps. This division-level field force with a number of active-duty soldiers serves as middle and senior commanders and older retired personnel as grassroots backbone forces. Eighty percent of the personnel are reserve troops from various echelons. At the beginning of the army, they have basically no combat effectiveness and need to be trained during assembly, mobilization and garrisoning. Generally, it takes two or three months of running-in training to meet the basic conditions for going to the front line.

Looking at the messy and loose marching team of this reserve force, as well as the faces of the old and young in the team, Weiss couldn't help but feel worried. The wargame confrontation with representatives of the Royal Norman Army Academy allowed him to understand the strength of the Normans in combat strategy. The reason why the Norman army could quickly crush the Wessex army was not only the new weapons of the aviation force, flexible and changeable, and unexpected tactical strategies were also the key to victory. Think about it, if the Normans used their air superiority to have a large depth of interweaving with the air-ground combination, the 157th Reserve Division, which was not ready for combat, encountered a Norman army like a wolf or tiger, would be like a flock of sheep to meet a wolf. How could this battle be fought?

Just as Weis was in deep thought, someone next to him asked loudly: "Hey, guys, where did you come from?"

"We are reserve soldiers of the 12th Garrison." Someone in the team replied loudly, "Some from Neuchettel, some from Lorraine."

Lorraine? Lorraine Federal State?

Weis quickly looked in the voice and answered a middle-aged man with short beards. He had a square face, thick neck, wide shoulders, round waists, and not tall, but he looked particularly solid. His face, which had a simple expression, was actually filled with a bright smile!

In amazement, Weiss carefully observed the rest of the team. Although the long-distance hiking marches made these reserve soldiers who lacked systematic training tired, most of them were smiling in the Q&A. Some people started, while the rest took over:

"We came from Lorraine! Gusburg of Lorraine!"

"Norgrac of Lorraine!"

"Cavershall of Lorraine!"

"We came from Neuchettel! Kauts of Neuchettel!"

"Mukru of Neuchettel!"

The officers of the Baston Student Group stood under the big tree by the roadside, as if they were conducting a special military parade. Someone found a fellow villager and warmly offered his blessings:

"Hey, I'm here with Mouckle! Fields in the North District of Mouckle!"

"I am Maglos from the suburbs of Mauklu! Mr. Fields, good luck!"

"Good luck, too! Mr. Maglos!"

This human touch swept away the haze in Weiss' heart. He suddenly realized that the fundamental reason why the situation has developed to this point is not that the federal high-level officials blindly avoided war, but that the Norman Empire and the Kingdom of Wessex were fighting around the North Fries region, and even the Norman Empire launched a counterattack against the Kingdom of Wessex through the Norman-Fries alliance treaty, which did not violate the core interest of the Ulster Free Federation, the spirit of freedom believed in by federal citizens.

As the matter continued to deepen, although all the strata of the Federation felt anxious, they did not use war to resolve the threat of war. Unexpectedly, the Norman Empire defeated the Wessex army and occupied the southern and southeastern areas of Wessex at an astonishing speed. The troops headed straight to the northern border of the Federation, threatening the national security of the Federation. In order to defend their country and defend their freedom, the federal people insisted on joining this unavoidable war. No matter how strong the enemy was, they were fearless.

"This will be an arduous war, but I believe that the Federation will surely win the final victory." Colonel Capes's voice suddenly came from behind the officers of the Baston Students' Corps.

The officers made way for Colonel Capes.
Chapter completed!