The arrival of the Holy War Army provided strong reinforcement for the Expeditionary Force and allowed the Expeditionary Force to stabilize its front line.
However, despite the arrival of reinforcements alleviating some pressure, the overall situation of the Expeditionary Force remained grim.
Although they had been on the offensive before, Alex and the high command of the Expeditionary Force had to admit that, by now, the Expeditionary Force was almost unable to fight any longer.
The prolonged and intense fighting had left the troops exhausted, resources were severely depleted, and morale was also seriously affected.
The Astra Militarum, as the main force, suffered heavy losses, with many units losing a large number of personnel and becoming disorganized.
Many once-decorated units were now reduced to remnants, with their combat effectiveness significantly diminished.
Although the Commander of each strike group was reorganizing the scattered units, this could not hide the reality of gradually insufficient troop strength.
The reorganized units, while barely maintaining their structure, had significantly reduced combat effectiveness.
The elite units, which formed the core of the attack, also suffered considerable losses; several Space Marine companies participating in the war were crippled, with companies that were not even at full strength losing more than half their numbers during months of fierce fighting, and some of the more severely hit companies were left with only a few crippled squads, their numbers less than a quarter of what they were upon arrival.
The losses among the Imperial Knights were equally heartbreaking, with over a hundred Knights shedding their blood on the battlefield; although most of the Iron Thrones were recovered, more than a dozen historic knight titans lineages were cut off, and over twenty of the Empire's outstanding nobles faced the end of their lines.
As for the losses of the Knight Squires, they were even greater, with over four hundred Knight Squires lost, enough to cripple the Knight Family participating in this war.
Even the Lin Guang Family had two Knights killed in action, but fortunately, their remains were successfully recovered, and the Iron Thrones were salvaged, which was a blessing in disguise.
Among the various forces participating, perhaps only the Sisters of Battle suffered less severe losses; thanks to their faith-infused divine abilities and their past experience fighting the Necrons, only about four hundred Sisters perished, making them the force with the fewest losses among all participants.
The losses of these elite units were particularly devastating to the Expeditionary Force, as their combat effectiveness could not be replenished in a short period.
While the Holy War Army possessed fanatical combat will, they lacked sufficient tactical training and proper armaments, which meant they could only replenish personnel attrition but could not restore the combat effectiveness of the units.
The arrival of the Holy War Army, though temporarily alleviating the problem of insufficient manpower, could not replace the experienced and well-equipped elite units.
The Expeditionary Force needed time to regroup and required more reinforcements from the rear to replenish their losses.
—
"We need more Astra Militarum; relying solely on the Holy War Army, we are simply unable to continue the offensive." During the military conference, an Astra Militarum staff officer spoke loudly, stating a fact that everyone tacitly acknowledged.
His voice carried a hint of fatigue and anxiety; clearly, the current battle situation had left many feeling powerless.
By now, out of two hundred thousand Astra Militarum, only eighty thousand remained.
Although the Expeditionary Force had captured two-thirds of the planet's surface and destroyed several Necron Tombs, everyone knew that these were merely insignificant gains.
These superficial victories had not inflicted substantial damage on the core strength of the Necrons, but instead, they had caused the Expeditionary Force to gradually lose its advantage through continuous attrition.
The true core tomb world of this planet was located on a plateau within the remaining unconquered one-third of the area.
That was the Necrons' last stronghold, where the Necrons had a defense so strict it was almost abnormal; any enemy attempting to approach would face devastating attacks.
A massive Doomsday Monolith array, composed of huge Doomsday Monoliths, guarded the continent where the tomb world was located; the Expeditionary Force had only attacked once, but they had left behind an armored regiment equipped with super-heavy tanks and several elite infantry regiments, half a company of Space Marines had perished, and over ten Imperial Knights were melted into a puddle of molten metal.
The ferocity of that battle exceeded everyone's expectations; the Expeditionary Force appeared so vulnerable in the face of the Necrons' defenses.
(Doomsday Monolith, a relic no longer in production)
That was the Expeditionary Force's most devastating offensive; the Necrons' powerful defensive array infuriated Alex, who ordered the fleet to bombard the area relentlessly for an entire week.
The bombardment only stopped after the surface had been leveled by twenty meters, and the entire ground had become a massive lava lake, with all those defensive structures shattered.
However, even so, a large number of defensive fortifications remained, making the Expeditionary Force's advance extremely difficult.
Every push was accompanied by immense sacrifices, and the enemy's defenses seemed impossible to completely destroy.
The high command of the Expeditionary Force realized that they needed more resources and stronger forces to break through the Necrons' defense line.
"Lord General Alex, we need a Titan Legion and more super-heavy tanks; otherwise, with the firepower we currently have, it will be very difficult to crack those alien fortresses that are almost integrated with the terrain," the Star Realm Army Lord General said, both advising and explaining the difficulties he was currently facing.
The First Strike Group had now concluded its operations on Zaporozhye IX; after leaving a portion of the garrison, the entire strike group had now shifted to the conquest of Donetsk III.
But even with the four strike groups converged and the Ecclesiarchy sending three million reinforcements, this war had still fallen into a stalemate.
Without powerful ground units like Titans, attempting to forcibly break through the Necrons' defenses was nearly impossible.
Whether it was a Monolith or an obelisk, both were heavily armored units comparable to tanks, or even super-heavy tanks; without firepower capable of 'can-opening' a Titan, it would be difficult to destroy these large vehicles, which possessed astonishing defensive capabilities while also being able to deploy more ground troops on the battlefield.
And if these large vehicles, which served as defensive nodes, could not be destroyed, the Expeditionary Force would be unable to achieve a breakthrough.
While it was certainly possible to use the fleet's orbital bombardment to open a path, the destruction caused by orbital bombardment was too immense; while indiscriminate bombing could reduce casualties, turning everything into a lava lake would also render the offensive meaningless.
Moreover, letting the fleet bomb indiscriminately was indeed satisfying, but the consumption of ammunition was enough to make one's liver tremble.
So, facing everyone's complaints, Alex nodded affirmatively and said, "I will request reinforcements from the Star District shortly, but for now, until reinforcements arrive, I hope all units can stabilize their front lines and not make any mistakes at this time."
"Please rest assured, Inquisitor, with the arrival of the Holy War Army, manpower on all current front lines has become abundant; while an offensive might be beyond our current capabilities, defense is certainly not an issue," the Cardinal Bishop of the Ecclesiarchy confidently told Alex.
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