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"Yes!"
Looking back, two trucks carrying anti-aircraft guns drove past the troops preparing to charge into the town.
"Phew...this is going to be a headache..."
"Why do you say that, Lieutenant?"
"Be prepared to fight the enemy to the death tonight..."
……
"Your Highness, I have good news for you."
At the same time, unlike Lemeria's deep concern, a more optimistic radio wave flew back to Berlin.
"Speak quickly, Sassler."
"The 33rd Army has sent word that their troops sent to support Zelbst are about to arrive at their destination. The vanguard reports that fighting is still ongoing in the city, and the garrison commanders are still able to maintain communication with them. If all goes well, tonight's operation should be able to drive the Soviet troops out."
"Ah, that's great." Elizabeth smiled with relief. "The Soviet army is launching a large-scale multi-point offensive, and it was already a bit difficult to deploy troops. I was even prepared to abandon the flank of the battlefield where that town is located. Now that we've secured that place, the troops in the center of the battlefield can continue fighting with peace of mind, without having to be in such a hurry to retreat."
“But hey, I have a question, Duke.” At this moment, Kelly leaned over and said, “If I remember correctly, the troops responsible for Zelbost and the villages and towns to the south are not a brigade with a considerable number of elite personnel. They have held out for so long. They should be nominated for an award.”
"Haha? Your Highness actually remembers it so clearly?"
"Hey, I'm not as tall as my sister, but I'm not as dumb either!"
"What do you mean, kid?" Elizabeth immediately reached out and gave her brother's shoulder a firm squeeze. "Alright, Sassler, go on. It seems like there's something we should be paying attention to, isn't there?"
“Yes, that’s how it is.” Sasler continued his account amidst Kyle’s groaning, “Back then, a group of officers from the 58th Division, which was responsible for guarding this area, proposed to build a lot of these things in some important defensive positions, just like the trenches and bunkers that the Soviets had dug for their tanks.”
"Really?"
"That's right. According to reports from actual combat, due to a lack of experience and the tight schedule, most of the bunkers were only enough for the assault guns. While these pits couldn't prevent many assault guns from having their turrets pierced by a single shot from the Soviet Bison, they did effectively reduce the exposed area of these black vehicles. The troops could hold out for more than half the time they had before."
"In addition, since this unit has a relatively high proportion of infantry, they also dug some small pits to ensure their survival in the field. Of course, all of this is related to the fact that the number of US and Soviet air raids has decreased due to the weather in the last two days. It is probably because of this that the intelligence on the Soviet ground forces was incorrect."
“By the way,” she interrupted the Duke, “what did they use to dig it up?”
"Uh... they claimed they didn't have any decent tools, so the KMF grabbed some scrap KMF armor plates and dug them out with the arms of these steel knights; the infantry dug with shovels, which were originally intended to dig graves to bury more warriors on the spot."
“Hmm…” Elizabeth nodded in satisfaction, “It seems that way…”
"Has Your Highness suddenly become interested in trenches?"
"No, no, no, I brought up the trench issue a long time ago... Oh, I remember you weren't there that day. But Sasler, I'm sure you don't think I'm that slow, do you? From today onwards, when we first used trenches, and then when we charged straight into Soviet trenches, I think this thing is very useful, at least in District 45, right? Oh right, I think it was used in the EU more than 70 years ago as well."
"Your Highness, are you referring to that war in Europe?"
"And when else? Historical records show that trenches were only used in that one war, right? That was basically a hodgepodge of tanks, fighter jets, and infantry. And look at us now, we use fighter jets for bombing and transport, we've replaced tanks with assault guns, infantry no longer bleed in the open, KMFs are almost covering the entire American continent, and trenches have become synonymous with latrines... and then those bastards from Sector 45 taught us all that again in one go..."
“This, Your Highness Elizabeth…”
"It seems that the enemies of this world are really a group of excellent teachers... They will try to correct us back to what we use wrongly, and they will tell us how to do what we discard or even despise. Hmm, I'm really curious whether the trenches built by the EU were any different from those built by the Soviet army."
"Your Highness need not worry about that. There are still a lot of Soviet troops left in our occupied territory in trenches, which we haven't filled in yet, have we?"
"Of course I know. So I not only called the ladies of Agincourt to work on sorting out and summarizing the patterns and strategies of the Soviet army's deployment of trenches and artillery positions, but even my guards, you see, don't you feel like you haven't seen Iska in a long time? I wonder which handsome lady she's hooked up with."
"In that case, I wonder if the mainland has any equipment that would allow the KMF and tanks to dig trenches. I'll inquire on Your Highness's behalf. Oh, and of course, there's also the question of how to deal with landmines."
"Haha, your considerations are as thorough as ever, Duke. Perhaps you could request a few more books and documents about that war?"
……
"No need to look anymore, this is the one."
Meanwhile, in a house in downtown Berlin, Angelina, Sissi, and several female guards from the Imperial Guard were busy at work.
"The West of War?" Shisian took the book Angelie handed her. "What's written in this?"
"It covers everything about a certain general, how they used trenches, how the trenches were improved after each failure, and how they were improved again after yet another failure, until they finally came to a disastrous end. Oh, and there's a trench distribution map on page 59, and a photograph of the trenches from a macro perspective on page 88, and then..."
"Wow?" Xixi'an couldn't help but smile slightly. "Remembering things so meticulously is a bit scary."
"Hey, I'm telling you guys..." Then, Griffin, carrying a stack of books, walked over shakily, "Can't you let me rest for a bit? All this hard work is done for me?"
"No."
"Hey? Angelie, I'm talking to you..."
"Think about what else you can do here besides physical labor, okay, dear Captain?" With that, he grabbed a book from the side and threw it at Griffin without looking back. "Put this book back in the previous stack, and also, wait a minute, bring me the large compass from the next room."
"Holy crap, that hurts..." Griffin held the book in one hand and covered his nose with the other as he moved to the side.
"Oh, poor Captain," Xixi'an couldn't help but smirk. "By the way, Angelie, what did you do before you enlisted?"
"Me? My grandfather and father were both scholars, so there were many books in my house when I was young. I read and memorized them often, and now I can basically remember every book I read... Oh, of course, as for the things Griffin hid under his bed, I..."
Angelie suddenly raised her hand and slapped her mouth, realizing she had said something she shouldn't have. She glanced furtively at Xixi'an's eyes that were staring at her, then looked away shyly.
"Speaking of which, what about you, Warrant Officer?"
“My father served in the Pendragon Garrison in the capital and was recently promoted to adjutant to the commander-in-chief. He taught me a lot about combat. Of course, I may not have inherited his mindset, haha.”
“Oh, I see… Well, okay…” Angelie stammered, continuing to look at the photos of the Soviet trenches she was surveying.
"Hey, I'm really curious," Xixi'an said quietly as she watched Griffin put down his book and wipe his nosebleed. "What about before the captain enlisted?"
"He... just remember, compared to us, he's practically illiterate... Okay, let's get down to business. Bring me that photo..."
Chapter 188, Section 258: Treasure Map: Berlin
"Oh, look at this, there's nothing more reassuring than seeing aerial fortresses flying through the sky."
It was still Hanover, a major city ravaged by the devastation of World War II, and the same American C-47 transport plane that had just landed at the nearby airbase. This time, however, it was General Clay who disembarked. As General Eisenhower's current deputy, he had come to find the Union Jack flying here on behalf of Ike.
From mid-air, you can see Royal Air Force Spitfire fighters patrolling the airfield, and further up in the clouds, you can vaguely see B-17s rushing back to the British Isles—Berlin is experiencing another day of devastating American-style hail, isn't it?
“Okay, General, your bombers aren’t here to cure your neck pain from constantly looking down.” At this moment, Field Marshal Montgomery had brought Clay to his command center. “I think you should have brought everything you need.”
"Haha, I understand, Marshal. Now, let me answer the next question for you on behalf of General Ike."
“Okay.” Montgomery said, taking two telegrams from an officer beside him—one in English and one in Russian.
"This was sent to us by Marshal Zhukov from the Soviet side, regarding the problems encountered in the Soviet-occupied German territory. Recently, the Soviet army discovered that the Britannian army seems to have deployed a super-heavy artillery piece with an extremely long range and enormous power to the war zone. In recent days, every night, this artillery piece has been providing extremely effective fire support to the Soviet rear positions and front lines under the cover of darkness, causing the Soviet army to suffer considerable losses."
"What's even more infuriating is that the Soviet army has also confirmed that the enemy's artillery is operating under the tactic of hiding during the day and operating at night. It sounds simple, but the Soviet army simply cannot find where the artillery is. They... as if they have received a divine revelation from Lobachevsky, have gradually calculated the possible area where the artillery might be, but the results brought back by their aerial reconnaissance are that there is no trace of it at all."
“The Soviets want us to ‘test mines,’ I understand.” Clay nodded. “But more than that, I’m curious to know what their findings will be.”
"Marshal Zhukov meant that, according to calculations, this artillery piece is currently most likely deployed about 100 kilometers from the southern front, which is... Berlin. But speaking of which, I'm actually quite curious whether this artillery piece is a bit too far-fetched. A range of 100 kilometers, and the Soviet army claims that the impact point error is no more than 800 meters. If the German Paris Artillery could achieve that, that old man Pétain probably wouldn't be locked up with the Nazi leaders now; he would have been blasted to death on the way from Paris to Verdun long ago..."
"Ha, the Paris Cannon, hmm... Britannia must have gone to great lengths to hide something this big."
"Why not? But now the Soviet reconnaissance planes are already dumbfounded. Now it's up to you American air force, how about it?"
“I brought some photos, taken by the bomber crews during the last bombing of Berlin.” Clay took a few photos out of the folder and placed them in front of Montgomery. “Berlin has changed a lot now. Although it’s constantly being bombed, it seems that Britannia is fulfilling our post-war ambition of rebuilding Berlin, huh?”
“Not surprising, General, not surprising.” Monty picked up the photo, examining it while shaking his head slightly. “They didn’t come to our world as street thugs looking for trouble. They want to devour our cities, our people, and our oceans and continents. To put it bluntly, they’re here to become the new masters of this world after defeating us. Repairing and converting the occupied territories into future residences is a perfectly normal operation.”
“Well, that makes sense. Here’s another photo.” Klay swept another photo over. “This is Oranienburg, north of Berlin. When we sent out a small group of planes to bomb it a while ago, we found that Britannia had not only rebuilt a lot of buildings, but also installed a lot of new things. After consulting with many engineers, we concluded that these look like solar panels.”
"The sun... My God!" Montgomery's eyes widened instantly as he stared at the photograph. "Did Britannia just casually set this up to generate electricity? Uh, never mind, let's get back to the main point, General. You mean there are many buildings being rebuilt in Berlin now, is that right?"
"There are so many, in the city center, the suburbs, and streets in all areas. It seems like it all happened overnight. Now there are so many newly built houses in Berlin. I'm afraid their soldiers won't be living in tents anymore and will all be sleeping in apartment buildings?"
"Yes, well said, General. You've made me almost believe that Britannia is really doing a major building renovation."
"Huh? What do you mean by this, Marshal?"
"Well, I don't quite understand Britannia's technological achievements. Could they have built five- or six-story buildings in such a short time? I also don't know if their architectural style is the same as ours. Please think carefully, Lieutenant General Clay, what purpose does Britannia have that would warrant them building so many houses? Military relatives? Do you think it's necessary to settle them in Berlin, a city that seems safe but is actually extremely dangerous due to daily air attacks? And finally, what kind of space do you think would be very similar in size to conceal something like the Paris Cannon and the Gustav?"
"This……"
"Well? Did I wake you up?" Montgomery smiled slightly. "Ah, well, it seems like this is just a game of whack-a-mole. Who knows which house in Berlin might be hiding these rats with Optimus Prime on their heads in broad daylight. Come on, General, I think I need to ask you Yankees for some things."
"Um... okay." Clay looked a little lost.
"I hope you can inform General Doolittle's Eighth Air Force as soon as possible to find out every nook and cranny of Berlin, and then divide Berlin into several areas. Each time the bomber group goes out, it should focus on striking suspicious targets in one area. This time the target is a bit special. Even if a thousand Flying Fortresses came, they couldn't take care of all the hundreds of square kilometers of Berlin. Let's plow every area carefully."
"Oh, is that so? Then the Marshal has no further requests?"
“That’s all, because we’ll have to handle the rest ourselves.” Monty continued to instruct the officer in charge of taking notes, “Next, I need to ask General Portemley about the situation with the Royal Air Force’s bomber force. I suppose next time you head to Berlin, Lancaster will be on the white star side of your plane.”
"Huh? Your bombers aren't ready to sortie yet?"
"A month ago, how were the Russians pointing fingers and making irresponsible remarks about us with Britannia's bombers? Now we'd like to launch an attack, but I think you, General, should know that you Americans are asking us to make room for your new bombers, aren't you? B-29 Superfortresses, well, I just hope that after all this wrangling, the contribution these bigger birds make will be proportionate to their size."
"Well, hopefully this will only affect the bombers. After all, the Royal Air Force's night reconnaissance aircraft are more important than them right now."
"But there are a few other things I'd like to know..."
"Hmm?" Clay watched as Montgomery suddenly straightened up with his hands behind his back, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling.
"Solar panels, hmm... I really hope my troops get lucky someday and can capture a complete set, or that the paratroopers can quietly airdrop behind their lines and bring one back?"
"Marshal... why do you always seem to be picking on those red berets?"
Chapter 259 Britain, Fire Erupting in the Sky
The sky was clear, but wisps of smoke rose high from the ground.
Several Gloucesters bearing the emblem of the Knights of Agincourt, along with a circle of ordinary Sunderlanders, were slowly ascending to the height of the clouds, carrying KMFs with flight wings.
"Okay, everyone, let me repeat the orders we received... The radar station just reported that the American bomber group is coming from the west again, and their destination is undoubtedly Berlin. Our mission, with about ten KMFs, is to intercept them. Oh, no, not to stop them outside Berlin. We are responsible for interfering with the escort of the bombers, making the American fighters entangle with us as much as possible. This will make it easier for the main air interception force coming from other directions."
"Well then, thank you for your hard work, Lieutenant Daimler." Among the KMF formation was Lilizia's black Vincent, while the other Knights were piloting Gloucesters.
"Oh, um..." the lieutenant said a little embarrassedly, "Warrant Lieutenant Lütjens, I'd like you to coordinate and command this battle, would that be alright?"
"Huh?" Lily was clearly confused. "I... you're higher in rank than me, and besides, I'm used to fighting alone..."
“No, Lieutenant, you clearly have something else in mind when you say that.” Juliet added from the three-person squad, “We’re here to deal with enemy fighters. In that respect, you’re probably more experienced than the Lieutenant, or even any of us, from escorting the Knights of the Round Table at the beginning to stopping the Black Knights from escaping in Area 11 not long ago.”
"Alright, I'll accept your offer..."
As they spoke, amidst the terrifying, locust-like roar of engines filling the sky, everyone looked up uneasily—high in the distant clouds, 150 kilometers from Berlin in the east, a dark, goose-shaped cloud blocked the midday sun from reaching the western sky.
"So many?!" Ipel followed behind, staring wide-eyed and pouting. "Do you think there are even more American bombers coming?"
"Huh? Uh, it seems so..." Daimler paused, then subconsciously magnified the observation device. "Hey, it seems there are new bomber models in this formation? Quite a few."
"Huh? The Americans have a lot of new weapons again? Are they just trying to scare us?"
"My God, no way..." Lilizia was a little flustered, but then she remembered that she was the team leader and quickly sorted out her thoughts. "Um, everyone, listen to my orders."
"Ok?"
"The whole team, do not charge into the American fighter formations for melee combat, and do not attempt to break into their defensive fire network between bombers. My Vincent will lead their fighters out. All of you maintain maximum power, level flight or dive. All Sunderland units are responsible for guiding the fighters. Do not turn back to return fire before the battle is over. All Gloucester units are responsible for chasing and engaging the enemy at six o'clock. Understand?"
"And you lot," she specifically reminded the new Sunderland pilots, "the fighter pilots in Sector 45 are terrifyingly shrewd. You've just arrived, so your superiors must have warned you..."
"In combat, be flexible and mobile, coordinate with each other, and never maintain a stationary formation in the air under any circumstances... We know that..."
"Uh, that's good." Lily nervously squeezed the joystick. "Everyone, proceed as planned, I'm going in."
In the sky, those novel and enormous figures gradually became clearer in her eyes—solid and stable fuselages, four slightly bulky propeller engines, and sturdy twin vertical tails following behind, along with the red, white, and blue rings painted on the wings and sides of the fuselage like jewels, as they graced this land that already belonged to Britannia.
……
"Tsk tsk, look, they're going to come to Germany to dig up dirt again."
Alongside the B-17s that were all too familiar with the KMFs, a dozen or so Lancaster bombers advanced in formation, looking towards the lower skies to the east.
"Huh? I see an enemy aircraft." The bomber leader, in the cockpit, raised his binoculars and watched as a gleaming black doll slowly approached from below. "Is this the weapon of the British from another world? I've finally seen it with my own eyes, and it's a model I've never seen before."
"It feels like... it's flying even faster than the German 109..." the machine gunner, who had a more comprehensive view from the pilot's seat, replied. "Sir, this thing is probably here to lure the escort fighters, and what are these puppets doing? They seem to be about to attack but aren't."
"The group down below? Hmm, I do recognize that one, but their strange tactics obviously pose no threat to us. Don't worry too much about them; our gentlemen in fighter jets will handle it."
"Huh? If that's the case, why..."
"At least these KMFs are a big threat to the Army gentlemen, right? At least two or three squadrons of our fighter jets are nothing to these escort forces." As he spoke, the captain picked up the communication device and said a few words.
The machine gunner looked up and saw several small gray eagles, also wearing red, white and blue rings and with exceptionally elegant figures, swooping down from the higher altitude of the bombers, their fiery figures trailing behind them. They were carrying 20mm Hispano cannons and were going to wipe out those audacious puppets.
"OK, Major, I think we don't need your Mustangs and Lightning anymore. Let's keep the formation going, okay?"
……