Chapter 1623:
Chapter 1623 1624 The Elves Escape
This time the Tang Army's advancement seemed to be faster than when the 1st Army and the 9th Army defeated the 5th and 6th Army of the Ice Empire. A large number of Tang troops poured directly into the breach, and then began to cut horizontally.
The 8th Army had already given up its position without even having time to react. Many people didn't know what was happening, but the forward troops of the Tang Army's 11th Army had already cut into the flank of the 3rd Elf Army.
This time it was completely lively: the elves did not expect that an armored force of the Tang Army would suddenly appear on their flanks.
The 11th Armored Division of the Tang Empire continued to advance forward, almost non-stop and captured important strongholds on the side of the elves. They destroyed the ammunition depot and dispersed all the coalition's baggage troops.
Those troops really did not have the ability to retreat. Most of them had to requisition a large number of cattle and horses in order to adapt to the damaged roads. The ability to mobilize these livestock was almost zero.
Facing the tanks and armored vehicles of the Tang Army, as well as more and more aircraft in the sky, these transportation troops of the Ice Empire collapsed almost instantly.
Countless supplies and livestock carcasses were discarded on the roadside, and a large number of people became prisoners of the Tang army. In this way, the troops of Tang State advanced all the way and occupied various areas along the way.
As if entering uninhabited territory, the 11th Armored Division was not blocked by Van Kruse's retreating troops until it was about to cut off the supply line of the 2nd Elf Army laterally. By this time, they had almost exhausted their fuel.
It is difficult to say whether the elves blocked the Tang army's attack or whether the Tang army stopped advancing due to supply problems. In short, the Tang army finally stopped, and they had already swept through almost half of the battlefield.
Ying'an's troops have basically completed their combat missions, and the Elf troops are already in the encirclement. If they don't retreat immediately, one of the two Elf armies will end up being surrounded and annihilated.
Van Crouse was so frightened that he lost his soul and lost his mind, and immediately issued a desperate order to retreat. The 2nd Army did not even notify the 3rd Army around it and began to flee.
Or it would be more accurate to say retreat: Van Crouse could not care about anything. He ordered his troops to retreat immediately and retreat to "Saint Lo" as far as possible.
This Saint Luo is actually a fortress on the coast of the Ice Empire, and it is also a military port: it is located to the south. It was a military city built to stabilize the sea and facilitate the transportation of supplies when the Elf Poplar Empire was attacked.
Saint Luo has a small population, but it has a military port and is a large military fortress. The most important thing is that it is not far from the Yangmu Empire.
Previously, part of the Ice Empire's navy was stationed here. Later, it was attacked by carrier-based aircraft of the Tang Army. The main fleet of the Ice Empire's navy continued south and anchored outside Rewind Port.
The main fleet of the elves has also moved north and is deployed in the Rewind Port area, which allows these battleships and old aircraft carriers to continue to challenge the Tang Empire's navy in the north. The commanders of the elves never dare to do so. They were just ordered to drive to the vicinity of Rewind Port and "wait for opportunities" here.
Van Crouse's troops now have only one way to survive, which is to immediately retreat south to the Saint-Lo Fortress. As for the 3rd Army commanded by the Marquis of Lourdes, Van Kruse could no longer take care of it. In his opinion, Ludd's army was surrounded on three sides, and the only remaining side was where Van Kruse's troops were stationed. The Tang Army is unlikely to give Lu De a chance to break through, so the best outcome for the 3rd Army is to stay and break the rear.
Of course, he is not such a heartless person. After successfully escaping from the encirclement, he will still try his best to help Lude and try to let part of the 3rd Army escape...
As for the entire 3rd Army successfully breaking through, Van Kruse never thought of such a thing.
So, when the encirclement of the Tang Empire was about to be formed, the 2nd Army of the Elf Tribe began an unprecedented breakout...or, in other words, an escape.
The retreat was orderly at first, but as time went by the whole operation changed. First of all, a large number of weapons and equipment began to be abandoned, because the Elf soldiers found that their tanks and armored vehicles were often targeted by the Tang Army's air strike force.
Like their Qin predecessors, they discarded their heavy equipment as a matter of course. The reason was naturally that these tanks and armored vehicles broke down.
That's right, there will be no technicians to confirm whether there is really a problem with the weapons and equipment during the rout anyway, so as long as the crew members say there is a problem, the equipment can be discarded on the roadside.
At first, everyone still needed to find some excuses, but later they didn’t even need to find excuses: because the troops collapsed so quickly, supplies were completely cut off. Tanks and vehicles are running out of fuel on a large scale, and everyone no longer cares about these precious equipment that require fuel and parts.
It turns out that once the rout began, there was almost no difference between the Elf soldiers and the Qin soldiers.
They also abandoned trucks, artillery, tanks, armored vehicles...all. Then, like the Qin army before, the infantry simply threw away their heavy machine guns, and things like tents and quilts were thrown everywhere.
The first thing smart soldiers throw away are their weapons. They know that if they lose their tents and rest at night, they may suffer a lot. Everyone only kept daggers and bayonets for self-defense, and a few kept small weapons such as pistols.
Even if they don’t lose their rifles, soldiers will lighten their load and throw away a large number of their bullets: no one keeps statistics on where such things go anyway, so throwing away bullets is actually a very convenient choice.
It is enough to leave a bridge to hold a few rounds of bullets for self-defense. They have no plans to fight the Tang army anyway. Everyone is running away. If they really encounter Tang Jun, they just have to raise their hands and surrender...
In such a general environment, the first large-scale defeat of the Eastern Continent Allied Forces broke out. The Elf 2nd Army gave up its position and began to run south. The 3rd Army on their flanks immediately followed suit and made the same choice.
The Marquis of Lourdes didn't even have time to scold Van Crouse before he ran away with his headquarters. Because he was so hasty, he even forgot to pass the retreat order to the troops on the far right.