Xie Ke felt that God was on his side: the sudden snowfall relieved him of worries. The Tang Army's terrifying air support was difficult to deploy under such climate conditions.
Therefore, even though he was not overly prepared, he still followed Binghan I's order and eagerly launched a counterattack.
The Tang army actually did not retain many troops on the front, and there was no order to defend. Therefore, after encountering the dwarf troops, the Tang defenders who were on the defensive immediately began to retreat.
For them, such a climate was indeed not suitable for combat: they got on trucks or armored vehicles, quickly broke away from contact with the dwarf counterattack troops along the road, and retreated to the second-line position.
On the first day of the counterattack, all Xie Ke received was good news: his troops crossed a river called the Porter River within an hour, and the Tang army had indeed advanced to the west bank of the river before.
After crossing the Porter River, the forward troops of the Dwarf Eastern Front continued to advance westward. It only took about three hours to capture the first village near the west bank of the Porter River.
Since the two sides started the war, this is the second time that the coalition has achieved real results in a counterattack: the previous one was the counterattack against Everwinter City.
It was later proven that the counterattack was actually a trap dug by the Tang Army for the Ice Empire, so strictly speaking, that counterattack could not be considered a success.
Whether this time counts or not, it's hard to say for the time being, because no one can be sure whether the results they have achieved now were deliberately thrown to them by the Tang army.
However, Binghan I was very optimistic about this. He believed that the Tang Army's line was stretched too long, so this time he keenly captured the Tang Army's weaknesses, and it was definitely not a flaw that the Tang Army deliberately left behind.
The situation seemed to be developing as Binghan I imagined: in the evening of that day, Xie Ke's troops advanced more than 15 kilometers and tenaciously captured three villages. They were only a few meters away from the important town of Dalkas in the southern plains occupied by the Tang army.
It’s 18 kilometers.
Although on this day, no real battle broke out between the frontline troops and the Tang army, and the two sides only maintained limited contact, Xie Ke was still very confident in taking Dalkas.
Even though the dwarf commanders on the front line had been reporting to their front army headquarters, emphasizing that they had not encountered the main force of the Tang Army, and that the Tang Army had not even repaired serious fortifications, Xie Ke still insisted on continuing the attack early the next morning.
He must achieve victory in the southern plain before the Tang army encircled and annihilated the 11th and 12th Group Armies. Only in this way would this counterattack be meaningful and he could give Binghan I an explanation.
Therefore, regardless of the supply difficulties of the troops and the follow-up plan of the follow-up troops being delayed by snowfall, Xie Ke ordered his forward troops to continue to advance westward.
Early the next morning, the dwarf troops opened the frozen tent door, had a simple breakfast, and then launched the attack again.
Their marching speed was very slow because their troops were large in size, the road conditions were not very good, and the snowfall had not stopped. These factors severely restricted the dwarves' advancement.
However, that afternoon, the forward force that Xie Ke relied on the most, the absolute main force in his hands, had been reluctant to use it since joining the war. Therefore, the 9th Armored Division under the 9th Group Army of the Ice Empire was finally retained.
Arrive in Darkas.
This town is not very big, but it is indeed a very important transportation hub on the southern plains. There is also a large machinery factory on the outskirts of it. Capturing this town will at least allow Xie Ke's troops to obtain some frontline maintenance and repair of heavy armor.
vehicle capabilities.
The 9th Armored Division, which had been prepared for a battle with the Tang Army in Dalkas Town, only encountered small-scale resistance from the Tang Army.
Several armored reconnaissance vehicles of the Tang Army fired anti-tank missiles. After losing several dwarf tanks on the periphery, they broke away from the contact, passed through the city, and left.
After losing a few tanks and cautiously entering the city, the dwarves discovered that the Tang army had not deployed any defense line here at all. Maybe it was because the Tang army had advanced too fast before and had not had time to build defenses here. Maybe it was because the Tang army had not yet had time to build defenses here.
There was no intention of wasting troops here to prevent the dwarf troops from advancing.
In short, the 9th Army recaptured Darkas, and this result was already the most dazzling and glorious result achieved by the coalition forces since the war began.
You know, from beginning to end, the coalition forces were not able to recapture any large and medium-sized cities from the Tang army, and even the villages were very few.
Now, Xie Ke has recaptured Darkas! The coalition's counterattack finally achieved decent results! After hearing the news, Xie Ke quickly sent someone to inform Binghan I, who had just fallen asleep.
Subsequently, the message that the Eastern Front Army had recaptured Dalkas was sent to Ironforge and the Poplar Empire. No one could believe this was true, but it seemed that Xie Ke's counterattack had indeed had an effect.
If the dwarves can retake the southern plains and stabilize the front in the central mountains, then Ironforge seems to be able to save something more...
No matter how you look at it, this is an option worth trying. Therefore, the Yangmu Empire started discussing on that day whether they could increase material assistance to the Dwarf Empire.
The dwarves did not disappoint their elven allies: after capturing Dalkas on the second day, they did not stop their counterattack. On the third day, they still advanced with great success, taking over all the villages around Dalkas and bringing the battle line back to the front.
It advanced 9 kilometers to the west.
Because the logistics transportation could not keep up with the advance of the frontline troops, the dwarves' attack speed had to slow down. However, they advanced nearly 40 kilometers in three days, which was already a very remarkable achievement.
In order to establish a victory as soon as possible, Xie Ke ordered the dwarf infantry to advance lightly and occupy as many areas as possible as quickly as possible. This decision allowed the dwarves to achieve more brilliant results on the fourth day: they advanced 13 kilometers, which was 13 kilometers faster than the third day.
The day will go faster.
However, because the dwarf infantry advanced alone, the Tang army wiped out more than 1,500 dwarf soldiers in the delayed battle. These losses also made Xie Ke feel the pressure.
He knew that there should be no more troops on the front of the Tang army, but only a small number of troops had already caused heavy losses to the dwarves' attack.
If the snowfall ends, the advance may not be sustainable... All he can do now is pray. Pray that the weather is still on their side, and that the 11th and 12th armies can hold on longer.
