Chapter 228: All-Out Counterattack

Chapter 228: All-Out Counterattack

Noah gave the order before the Astragoths could launch another attack. During the previous hour, he had compared the goblin positions with the ground they had lost. Several abandoned positions still had usable walls, raised firing points, and open approaches that machine guns and tanks could cover. If the Astragoths kept those positions, they could continue pressuring the weakened goblin line.

He contacted the senior commander. "Send orders to every commander who can spare troops without leaving a position undefended. We will attack across the contested area. I want the strongest positions we lost back under our control."

The commander checked the latest reports. "We can attack several positions at once, but some approaches are completely open. The first groups will take casualties before the tanks can move into supporting range."

"We have more soldiers in this area than they do," Noah said. "That advantage is useless if we keep those soldiers in reserve. If the first group loses men, the next group keeps moving. Do not stop the entire attack after one unit suffers heavy losses. We stop only after the selected positions are back in our hands."

The commander ignored firing points that had been reduced to broken ground and focused on positions that could still be defended after they were retaken. Those became the assault objectives.

Preparation took little time. The officers had already fought over most of the same ground and knew where the Astragoths usually gathered. Artillery crews received the locations of the largest known enemy concentrations.

Tanks moved behind the routes they were assigned to support. Riflemen formed the main assault groups, while RPG teams stayed close enough to attack armored Astragoths that broke through the advance.

Once the commanders reported that they were ready, the artillery opened fire.

Shells struck several Astragoth groups near the selected positions. Two explosions landed among one group near a damaged wall, scattering the creatures. Another group stayed behind cover until shells struck the ground in front of it and forced the creatures to move.

The bombardment ended as the leading goblins approached the target areas, and the artillery shifted its fire toward Astragoths farther away.

The counterattack began across the contested ground at nearly the same time. Goblin assault groups left several occupied positions and advanced toward separate objectives. The Astragoths reacted quickly. Some charged the nearest goblins, while others stayed around the positions they controlled and waited for the attackers to approach.

The first casualties came before the goblins reached the old defenses.

One assault group encountered ordinary Astragoths in open ground. Rifle fire killed several creatures, but the survivors reached the front ranks and struck the goblins with their bodies and tails. Soldiers fell, and the men behind them continued firing through the gaps.

Several goblins tried to drag wounded soldiers away from the fighting. Their officer saw the next assault group approaching and understood the danger. If the path remained blocked, the second group would have to stop in the same exposed area.

"If he can still walk, help him move with us," the officer shouted. "If he cannot, pull him out of the route and leave him for the recovery teams. The next group needs this path clear."

The soldiers moved the badly wounded away from the direct route and continued forward. The group behind them passed through and added its rifle fire against the Astragoths blocking the approach.

Farther ahead, an armored Astragoth broke into another assault group. Rifle rounds struck its scales without stopping it. The creature swung its tail through the front ranks and killed several goblins before more soldiers turned toward it.

The officer saw too many men gathering around one target. "RPG team and two rifle groups stay on that creature. Everyone else goes around it and keeps moving toward the position. We are not stopping the whole assault here."

Most of the group split around the armored Astragoth and continued forward. The RPG team waited until the advancing soldiers cleared its line of fire, then launched a rocket into the creature’s side. The impact damaged its scales but did not kill it. The riflemen who stayed behind concentrated their fire on the damaged area until the creature collapsed, then followed the rest of the assault.

The same problem appeared elsewhere. Whenever an armored Astragoth blocked part of the advance, officers left enough soldiers and heavy weapons to deal with it while the rest continued forward. The goblins were taking losses, but the main assault kept moving toward the selected positions.

One group encountered Astragoths near a collapsed barrier. The barrier prevented most of the goblins from firing at the same time, so the officer divided his soldiers before they reached it. One part stayed in front and kept the Astragoths occupied. The other moved around the exposed end of the barrier and attacked from the side.

When the Astragoths turned toward the second group, the soldiers in front advanced. The maneuver cost more goblins, but the assault passed the barrier instead of stopping in front of it.

The first major objective still had several sections of usable cover. Astragoths occupied the old goblin position and waited as the assault groups crossed the final stretch of open ground.

The first goblins reached a break in the wall and came under attack before they could spread out inside. Several died near the opening, and the survivors were forced back a few steps. The Astragoths moved toward the gap, trying to drive them away completely.

While the defenders concentrated on that opening, a second goblin group reached another damaged section of the position and climbed through. The soldiers opened fire from inside, forcing some of the Astragoths to turn away from the first opening.

The officer commanding the assault received a report from the first group. "We lost many men at the opening. We can still hold outside it, but we cannot force our way through alone."

"Tell them not to pull back," the officer replied. "The second group is already inside. If the first group leaves, the Astragoths can turn everyone against the men who just entered. Hold the opening and keep them divided."

The survivors stayed in place and continued firing into the gap. More goblins entered behind the second group, forcing the Astragoths to fight in two parts of the position.

An armored Astragoth held the central section and prevented the goblins from joining their two groups. A tank had followed close enough to fire once the infantry cleared the area in front of it.

The officer inside contacted the tank crew. "Armored target in the center. Our men are behind the broken wall beside it. Wait until they are down before firing."

The riflemen dropped behind the wall. The tank fired, and the shell killed the armored Astragoth. The goblins crossed the center immediately afterward and joined the two parts of the assault.

Once the groups connected, more soldiers entered through both openings. The remaining Astragoths could no longer hold the position and began leaving through the far side.

The goblins did not pursue them. Machine-gun crews moved into the surviving cover, riflemen occupied the open sections, and the tank moved behind the position so it could support the next fight.

The local officer reported the capture. "The main cover and central firing area are ours. We have wounded throughout the position, and several groups are mixed together, but enough men can still fight."

"Keep them there," the senior commander replied. "Bring the machine guns forward and use the tank to support the nearest assault. Do not send anyone after the Astragoths who are leaving."

Within minutes, the recovered position was supporting another attack. A machine gun fired at Astragoths crossing open ground toward a nearby fight, while the tank engaged an armored creature trying to reach the same area.

Another assault had stalled before reaching its objective. Both officers leading the front group had been killed, and the surviving soldiers had stopped in open ground with no one directing them. The next group caught up and began gathering behind them.

Noah saw the delay in the report and contacted the senior commander. "Place those survivors under the nearest officer who is still moving toward that objective. Do not leave two groups standing in the open while someone tries to rebuild the original unit."

The commander reassigned them immediately. The next officer took control of both groups, placed the survivors into his formation, and restarted the advance.

The second major objective was harder to reach. Several armored Astragoths remained around the approach, and the first goblin group lost many soldiers before reaching the cover.

One armored creature struck the front and killed several riflemen before the RPG team could fire. The first rocket missed when the Astragoth changed direction. The second struck its side but did not stop it.

The nearby officer saw that the creature was still moving toward the infantry. "Clear the tank’s line. Move away from the creature and let the tank finish it."

The riflemen moved aside. Once the firing lane opened, the tank fired and killed the wounded Astragoth. The surviving goblins continued forward without waiting for the rest of the group to reform.

At another approach to the same position, ordinary Astragoths struck the front ranks and forced them several steps back. A second goblin group was already arriving behind them.

The local officer used the additional soldiers immediately. "Second group, move into the gaps beside the men already firing. First group, stop backing up. Hold where you are until they reach you, then move forward together."

The new soldiers filled the gaps in the reduced front ranks. Their combined fire killed the Astragoths closest to them, and the group advanced again.

The goblins reached the position through several damaged sections of cover. Some assault groups arrived with less than half the soldiers who had started forward. The officers stopped trying to keep those groups separate and placed the survivors under whichever officer was still directing the attack.

One officer found two depleted groups waiting behind a damaged wall. "You are one group from here. The tank is about to fire at the opening ahead. Once it fires, go through together and stay with the officer already inside."

The tank shell killed an armored Astragoth near the opening. The combined group entered immediately afterward and gave the goblins inside enough soldiers to prevent the defenders from pushing them back out.

The Astragoths began withdrawing after the goblins gained control of the remaining cover. The goblins stopped at the edge of the position. Machine guns were brought forward, tanks shifted behind the infantry, and wounded soldiers were moved away from the firing areas.

Casualty reports continued reaching Noah. Several assault groups had lost more than half their soldiers. Some no longer had enough men to remain separate units, but the selected positions were still being taken.

The senior commander contacted Noah after another objective fell. "Most of the positions are ours. Two are still contested. The groups attacking them are badly reduced, but we can support both from the positions we already captured."

"What can you send without weakening those positions?" Noah asked.

"Two tanks can support one attack. For the other, I can send soldiers from a group that just finished its assault. We also have machine guns with clear lines toward both approaches."

"Use them. Take those two positions and stop there. I do not want anyone advancing beyond the objectives."

Fire from the recovered positions began supporting the remaining assaults. Machine guns engaged Astragoths moving between the contested areas. Tanks fired on armored creatures blocking the approaches. Additional soldiers left one captured position and joined a reduced assault that no longer had enough men to continue alone.

The first remaining objective fell after tank fire killed two armored Astragoths near its cover. Riflemen entered immediately afterward and forced the ordinary defenders out.

The final position held longer. Several armored Astragoths remained among the defenders, while the first goblin groups had already suffered heavy casualties. Soldiers from a nearby captured position entered through another damaged section while the Astragoths were concentrated against the original attackers.

The defenders turned toward the new group, allowing the first assault to advance again. Two tanks fired whenever the infantry cleared a safe line. One armored Astragoth survived the first shell but was killed by an RPG after the impact damaged its scales. Another was killed by a direct tank shot before it reached the soldiers entering the position.

Once the armored creatures were gone, more goblins entered than the remaining Astragoths could stop. The defenders withdrew, and the goblins halted at the planned objective.

Officers combined reduced groups, moved wounded soldiers away from the firing areas, and brought ammunition forward. Tanks stayed behind the recovered cover instead of following the retreating Astragoths. Machine guns were placed where they could fire across the approaches if another attack came.

The senior commander sent the final report. All planned objectives were under goblin control. Several assault groups had lost more than half their soldiers, and some had been reduced so badly that they would remain combined with other units.

"Keep the reduced groups together," Noah said. "Place the surviving weapons where they can cover the approaches, and stop anyone from advancing farther. We attacked for these positions because they are useful to defend. There is no reason to lose more soldiers beyond them."

The order moved through the recovered positions. The goblins ended the counterattack where Noah had planned. Many soldiers had been killed or wounded during the advance, but the army now controlled the strongest defensive positions selected before the attack. It also had enough surviving troops and weapons there to prepare for the next Astragoth assault.