The Fox of France

Chapter 179: Turning the Tables (1)

Launching a major offensive during the busy farming season to disrupt agricultural production was nothing new, at least not in Joseph's eyes. In another time and place, the Japanese locust armies loved to employ this tactic. But this strategy was thoroughly foiled by the heroes of the revolution. The approach of these revolutionary heroes in countering such unscrupulous methods had been portrayed in many classic wartime films that Joseph had watched in his previous life (note: not the later sensationalized war dramas).

This tactic was known as "turning the tables" during that time. Its essence was simple: when the enemy encroached upon our territory with their "incursions" and "raids," it was necessary to implement the "turning the tables" tactic in military terms, meaning when the enemy entered our territory, we would counterattack and push back into their territory (Adapted from "Guerrilla Warfare and Political Offensives Against the Enemy").

In his previous life, history enthusiast Joseph hadn't read professional military documents, but that didn't matter. He had watched many relatively accurate war movies, even those that were labeled as "educational films" about resistance against foreign invasion. In these movies, he often saw scenes like this.

The commander of the main force, shaking hands with the local leader, would say, "The enemy is launching another raid. We must move to the outer lines to strike them, protect the civilians, and handle the task of impeding the enemy's progress."

The local leader would respond resolutely, "Rest assured, Commander. We will accomplish the mission!"

In this context, "moving to the outer lines" referred to the "enemy enters, we enter" strategy, where our main forces, exploiting the gaps between the enemy units, would penetrate deep into the enemy's rear. At this point, the enemy's rear would be particularly vulnerable, as the enemy heavily relied on rear supply lines. When the rear, thinly defended due to the diversion of the main enemy forces, was attacked, the enemy had to recall its troops, effectively terminating the large-scale sweep of the base.

Of course, this method of warfare demanded a high level of organization within the executing army. It required the ability to disperse and consolidate troops at any moment. Otherwise, while taking advantage of the gaps between the enemy units, the army could easily be caught, leading to severe losses. In the present world, including the Irish guerrilla groups, there was no such highly organized army. Thus, it was quite challenging to have the Irish execute such a high-difficulty tactic.

But the Irish terrain provided them with significant assistance, making it relatively easy for them to cross the British encirclement. The key was the widespread marshland in Ireland.

These marshlands covered extensive areas and were filled with various dangers. Even the locals dared not enter them. However, for the prepared guerrilla units, these marshes became the best hiding places and passages. After the first major sweep by the British army, the Federations highlighted the importance of building marshland shelters. They drove stakes into the marshes and placed boards on top of them to create safe pathways. When necessary, they would remove the boards and even use ropes to pull the stakes out, turning the original path into deadly traps.

The British army couldn't possibly encircle these vast marshlands. They didn't have enough manpower for that, and attempting to do so would only lead to overextending their forces, making them vulnerable to guerrilla actions that could annihilate them. Their main forces had to cross the marshes to attack the heartland of the base. However, this allowed the main force of the guerrillas to use these marshland passages to bypass the British army and strike at their rear targets.

So, when Joseph included this type of tactic in the letters he sent to the leadership of the Unified Irish People's Federation, almost everyone's eyes lit up.

"Unbelievable... I never thought we could pull off something like this! Haha, when they come to sweep us, we'll sweep them right back. We'll dismantle the supply depots they've painstakingly constructed near those cities, strip them of everything stored inside, and take care of those guarding them in other words, we'll give them a triple whammy!" Joyce, the commander of the Independent Division of the Federation, had once served as a platoon leader in Napoleon's Italian Army and had received special military training in Toulon. He was now leading the First Division formed by the Federation.

The divisions of the Federation were more like brigades in modern armies, not traditional divisions. In other words, a division had fewer than a thousand soldiers. However, in the Irish Independent Army, this was considered their main force. Under the command of the Federation, there were only two divisions.

"Our strategic goal is to mobilize the enemy, prevent them from damaging the base, avoid unnecessary revenge, and keep emotions from affecting our work," President Russell said sternly.

"I understand, President. I was just speaking without thinking. It won't affect our work," Joyce hurriedly replied.

"Don't speak so casually, even in front of our warriors. When you need to promote, do it from the perspective of helping our brothers in the base," Russell emphasized.

"Understood."

"All right, let's get to work."

Preparations were hectic. Especially after deciding on the turning-the-tables tactic. Various types of intelligence were gathered and enemy configurations gradually became clear...

The small mining village was situated between the "quasi-pacified zone" and the "non-pacified zone." Many years ago, there used to be a small copper mine in the vicinity, giving the village its name. However, the mine in the area had long been depleted due to ore extraction, and the miners had left. The remaining people had become potato farmers.

After the last major sweep, the population of the village had been decimated. However, it didn't fall into disrepair. Thanks to the arrangements made by the Federation, those farmers who had escaped from the area controlled by the British became the new residents of the small mining village.

News about the impending major sweep had already been relayed to every household in the village by the local militia. They even added, "Make sure to follow our training. After receiving the notice, organize yourselves and take refuge in the nearby marshlands. Don't hide in the mines. During the last major sweep, the villagers took refuge in the mines, and the British simply smoked them out. The entire village was wiped out!"

Everyone in the village had already heard this story, and there were even terrifying legends about that mine. But everyone expressed their gratitude to the local militia.

One noon, while everyone was busy in the fields, a whistle sounded.

Everyone quickly looked up towards the small hill, where they saw the signaling tree had fallen.

"Follow me, everyone, hurry to the shelter!" Village chief Sean shouted.

"Village Chief, my wife is still in the village!" someone yelled.

"Don't worry, there are people in the village to take care of it. You just come with me directly to the shelter," the village chief replied.

The village chief led the people to the edge of the marsh. At the entrance to the marsh, a member of the local militia was guarding, holding a rifle confiscated from the "Black Dogs." Behind him, a wooden path extended dozens of meters ahead.

"Edgar, have all the people who stayed in the village gone inside?" the village chief asked.

"They've all gone inside, and the livestock too," Edgar replied.

The village chief waved his hand to the crowd and said, "Alright, everyone, hurry inside!"

One by one, everyone stepped onto the wooden path. As they moved forward, they picked up the boards that had been laid and repositioned them in front. They also used ropes to pull up the wooden stakes supporting the boards or adjusted them. As a result, the path they had walked on was once again covered in various aquatic plants.

"Village Chief, look, smoke is rising over there!" someone shouted.

"It looks like it's in the direction of our village!"

"The British are really coming. Do you think they'll dare to enter the marsh?"

"I'm afraid they won't. These scoundrels dare to enter, we'll take as many as we can. Let's give them a taste of their own medicine!" Edgar held the rifle in his hand and cursed.

After a while, a group of British soldiers and "Black Dogs" arrived at the edge of the marsh.

"Report, sir. Judging by the tracks, it seems the villagers have entered the marsh," a Black Dog officer said to another British officer who was mounted on a horse.

"Good. Very good." The British officer raised his binoculars and looked into the marsh. The marsh was full of various tall and short reeds and other aquatic plants. Occasionally, a few waterbirds could be seen, but that was all they could see.

"Very good." The British officer nodded again and said to the militia officer standing next to him, "Take your men and scout ahead."

The Black Dog officer was so frightened that he trembled all over, almost falling to his knees. "Sir, this marsh is impassable. You see the water doesn't look very deep, but... below it, the mud could be much deeper. Stepping into it might cause a person to sink completely! We can't go in there!"

"Can't go in? Then how did those rebels get in there?"

"Sir, they're locals; they might know how to navigate. We're outsiders, and we have no idea which parts of the marsh are deep and which are shallow. Going in without knowing is a death sentence!"

"Death? Captain, we're at war! If you're afraid of death, why are you even fighting? You Irish people, each and every one of you is a devious, slippery rogue... What's wrong? Are you trying to disobey orders?"

Seeing the British officer reaching for his pistol, the militia captain quickly said, "Sir, we are following orders..."

Then he went back to his troops, randomly picking a few men and waving his pistol, saying, "You guys, go ahead and scout. If anyone refuses, I'll shoot them..."