Chapter 181: Turning Point (Part 1)

“You must take on all the responsibility.”
Colonel Elminaj stepped back involuntarily. “Me? That requires Major General Nigeri’s authorization.”
Like every graduate of the Saint-Cyr Military Academy, he had dreamed of becoming a general, but he never imagined such a crucial task would fall upon him at this moment.
Now, he bore the weight of over ten thousand soldiers and officers’ lives and deaths on his shoulders. This was not a patrol mission in Algeria—it was a real battle, against heavily armed Black Flag bandits.
He wasn’t ready, yet this immense responsibility had been thrust upon him.
“Is it my authorization?”
Nigeri’s face was pale, hit by several shrapnel wounds. “Colonel Elminaj!”
His voice, usually soft, was now filled with authority. “As the commander of this force, I grant you supreme command. I hope you can fulfill the mission…”
He coughed loudly but still forced himself to continue giving orders from the stretcher. “From now on, the entire force will obey your commands.”
Gunfire and artillery blasts echoed through the air. From afar, mortar shells from the Black Flag forces fell from time to time. Their reconnaissance units were searching for any possible weak points, and many company and platoon-level forces had also launched attacks.
The French forces were under full siege, but Colonel Elminaj’s mind was blank.
He had to take on such a huge responsibility alone—completely unprepared.
Sweat beaded on his back. His most intense military action so far had been participating in patrols with some African scout battalions, which he had completed successfully, but always under superior command.
Finally, he turned around. A group of staff officers had reported all kinds of intelligence, but he couldn’t hear anything. He only felt a sense of crisis, an unbearable burden.
The Black Flag forces had launched a full-scale attack. Now, there was hardly any safe area for the entire force, and the collapse of the 111th Regiment had only worsened the situation.
He wanted someone to explain his predicament, but he couldn’t find anyone. He had to make decisions on his own—and do so flawlessly.
“We…” After a moment of confusion, he finally snapped, “We must take action!”
“Our actions seem…”
Even Ye Chenglin realized that Liu Yu’s probing attacks might not work. “We don’t have a core force!”
So far, aside from two infantry battalions sent to pursue the 111th Regiment, the Black Flag forces had always operated in small units, at most expanding to company size, with many fronts only having platoon strength. If the French could concentrate their forces for a counterattack, the Black Flag forces attacking inward might suffer a severe blow.
“Don’t worry!” Liu Yu reassured him. “Our opponents aren’t just Nigeri—they’re also Colonel Elminaj.”

That’s right, Ermingarda! Regarding this officer who died prematurely in 1884, Liu Yu had only one regret—that he wasn’t promoted to major general to command the entire French army. Historically, Ermingarda was a lieutenant colonel in the army, yet this lieutenant colonel successfully brought down the Ferri cabinet; his role in toppling the cabinet even surpassed that of any Qing general. When the French spoke of the defeat he caused, they could only console themselves by saying, “This defeat must not be compared to Italy’s defeat in 1898. In that battle, our army had only one brigade, while Italy lost six entire brigades. Moreover, the Italians lost 72 cannons, and their commander fled at the sight of the Ethiopians…” Being slightly better than the Italians was their only consolation! Yet Ermingarda, the lieutenant colonel who created this miracle, was now tasked from the start with commanding an entire infantry brigade. Liu Yu knew well that this man was the weakest link in the French army. “Find Ermingarda’s brigade and strike him hard! That’s all we need to do.” … On the other side of the battlefield, Ermingarda had already received a lot of information, but he soon realized he had no understanding of the actual situation on the battlefield. His temper became extremely irritable; he snapped at everyone, demanding that officers of any rank carry out impossible missions. But as for himself, he had completely lost control—his mind was just a millimeter away from blankness; he didn’t know what to do. He once thought he was a brilliant commander like Napoleon, but at that moment he realized he lacked such qualities. Yet deep down, he had to argue with himself: “You can accomplish the most difficult tasks.” But the situation didn’t improve at all. More and more troops from the Black Flag Army were being sent in: “An enemy infantry battalion has appeared on our right flank; we need reinforcements!” “An enemy reinforced company…” “Another enemy infantry battalion has been spotted; request artillery support…” All around, the Black Flag Army surged in like a tide, seemingly ten or even a hundred times larger than the French forces. In fact, the number of Black Flag Army troops involved in the attack wasn’t as large as Ermingarda imagined. So far, there was no sign that the main force of the Black Flag Army had been deployed; it was simply the French front line exaggerating the size of the enemy forces—a common phenomenon in any army. An enemy infantry company, in the eyes of a squad of defenders on the front line, often appeared as an entire battalion, and defenders in different positions would report it repeatedly. Under such circumstances, Ermingarda realized his efforts couldn’t change anything. “We need reinforcements!” “Enemies are everywhere…” The infiltrating Black Flag Army consisted of just over two thousand men. Although the defeat of the 111th Regiment had given the Black Flag Army control of the entire battlefield, a competent commander with professional leadership could immediately inflict heavy losses on them.

But Erminga clearly did not belong to the ranks of “excellent commanders.” The troops were in complete chaos; he often gave several completely opposite orders, and several reserve units were moved back and forth uselessly at various key points. On the Black Flag Army’s side, they were also gradually strengthening their forces under Liu Yu’s orders, even attempting an attack on a regimental scale for the first time. Such attacks made the French army even more desperate for Erminga’s orders. Erminga, who was taking on such a significant responsibility for the first time and had been the top graduate of the Saint-Cyr Military Academy, finally fell silent. Several officers shouted at him, “Colonel, what should we do?” “We need to take action!” Erminga suddenly shouted loudly, “We indeed need to take action! I order… the troops to abandon their baggage and heavy equipment and retreat!”