Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

Page 173

"Did you come from the air? Did you bring any heavy weaponry? If you only have machine guns, you'd better find some help, okay?"

"Don't panic, bro. Can you tell me what the enemy has done to you?"

“We have three squadrons of KMF here, and we originally planned to ambush a British force that was about to pass through our area.”

"And then? It's a trap, you're surrounded?" Griffin's mouth was still as unruly as ever.

“No, Captain, we are guarding the main road leading to our rear town. The situation in the rear is terrible, and we need to buy time… But these British from District 45 seem to have spotted us. We are now tied down, and they have called in artillery to suppress us.”

"How many of them are there?"

"Four tanks we've never seen before, and more than thirty infantrymen alive. Our recoilless rifles can't even penetrate these dumb-looking iron turtles?"

"Silly? Okay, let's get down and see just how silly it is?"

Griffin and Lily reached the ground first, stopping right next to the objects. They threw all their weapons to the side: machine gun bullets, UL rounds, and finally, to stop them, they tried to cut the suspension of their road wheels with MVS.

When they got closer, they were astonished by what they saw: the road wheels on one side of these tanks were incredibly small, with 11 wheels densely packed in front of them, some of which were even damaged, yet this didn't affect their movement. In addition, the steel components on the road wheels were as sturdy as a lion's gums, pushing the tanks forward slowly while slowly turning their turrets. Was there any need to get closer?

"Heavens..." Although the infantry's firepower was negligible, the two dared not approach them any further; even the UL rounds hadn't deformed a single piece of their skirt armor. "I say, has it always been this slow?"

"Yes, they've been moving at about the same speed as the infantry, and their firepower is so-so, but we just can't break through it, and we don't have a chance to get close to it. What should we do, Captain Griffin? Can't you contact the air for artillery support?"

“I don’t think it’s good!” He looked up and saw several Sunderland planes diving behind him, being chased by several newly arrived British warplanes. The former was probably born from the same mother as the big, clumsy guy in front of him. Two propeller engines supported its burly body, a bunch of tightly packed machine gun ammunition belts on the nose, and rockets and bombs hanging under the wings. It was heading towards Lieutenant Coughlin and his men.

"Damn it, these British, how have you been?" Lilizia couldn't take it anymore. Gritting her teeth, she dodged the tanks aiming at her guns while tracing circles on the ground, gradually approaching the engine of one of the tanks. With a trembling heart, she jumped up and frantically sliced ​​at the roof armor with machine gun ammunition and an MVS spearhead, finally setting it ablaze.

"Calling Captain Griffin, we have spotted enemy ground forces approaching you from the west. Please prepare your strategy."

"What?... Everyone, retreat."

At the command, Griffin and Lily had no choice but to dodge the shells while accelerating into the air and flying eastward.

Only the tanks—infantry tanks named after the fat gentleman nicknamed "Black Dog"—continued to advance slowly and steadily alongside the infantry.

Section 278, Chapter 207: HBE Reporting Names (Part Two)

It seems that Expedition 45 is indeed a very serious topic, so much so that even officers and sergeants are crowding around here.

This is an open space in front of a military warehouse on the outskirts of the Tokyo Concession. After the parked vehicles were moved, a large pile of weapons seized from the people of Ward 45 were placed here.

Yes, all the bolt-action, automatic, and semi-automatic weapons used by their infantry were placed at the temporary firing range for everyone to shoot at—of course, there was no need to worry about bullets; at least through the collection throughout Berlin and a small number of imitations, there was definitely enough for everyone to play around at the firing range for a few days without restraint.

In contrast, the area displaying tanks and artillery was much quieter. After all, most of what could be collected was already scrap metal, leaving only a pile of battlefield photos and performance data from the technical department as topics of conversation. As for the wreckage of the fighter jets, they were simply left scattered aside, leaving everyone to imagine what they looked like in their entirety.

Caronville slipped into the crowd of people unnoticed. He wasn't interested in learning anything new; he just wanted to hear what they were saying. It was easy to tell from their words what the officers' attitudes were toward the expedition, and it was also clear how likely they were to die before they even got off to a successful mission if they maintained their current mindset.

"Hey! Kali!" At that moment, a major emerged from the crowd and warmly embraced him. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Ah, Tanni, aren't you busy too? Didn't I hear you were also involved in the pre-battle training of these new units?"

"Yeah, but I don't have any shifts today. Hehe, by the way, I just got back from District 45. Do you know anything new there?"

"Ahem." The lieutenant colonel curled his lip. "Her Highness Elizabeth's desire for reinforcements is greater than her desire to kill... If my rank weren't so low, I would really like to write a complaint to His Highness Schneizel's desk."

"Hey, hey, hey, can you control yourself? This isn't like you, or is this the general atmosphere in the expeditionary force now?"

“The box of bullets Her Highness Elizabeth gave us is far more valuable than the armies of people sitting comfortably talking big,” Caronville said calmly, shrugging with a helpless expression. “Can’t you tell me something nice?”

"Is that a good name? Now the tactical codename for that US tank has been released. Do you want to hear it?"

"The one called M4 'Sherman'?"

"Hmm, 'Porcupine,' what do you think?"

"Machine guns are quite tough to handle, even KMFs are complaining about them, huh?" The two smiled faintly. "By the way, you just mentioned that you were also involved in pre-battle guidance? Let me ask you a few questions."

"explain."

"What do you know about the way we're currently fighting the enemy in District 45 on the ground? Just give me a brief overview."

“Let me think.” The major looked up. “First, we must thoroughly investigate the enemy’s situation before any operation begins, that is, we must do a good job of reconnaissance. Second, before attacking, we must use indirect fire, such as assault guns or KMF recoilless rifles, to provide fire coverage and take out the key targets identified during reconnaissance. If there is no artillery, we can call in air support. Third, during the attack, we should try to use assault guns as the vanguard, with KMFs following behind. Fourth, during the defense, we should dig as many trenches and bunkers as possible, and we must never charge blindly.”

"Hmm, very good. Is there anything else?"

"Uh... When marching, we need to be careful to stay hidden, especially at night. We need to control noise and light. Oh, and when conducting defensive operations, we shouldn't just stay still and defend. We need to combine this with reconnaissance to find out if the enemy has any weaknesses that can be exploited... Wait, I don't think that's right."

"What's wrong?"

"Cali, do you know absolutely nothing about this?" The major suddenly looked particularly alert.

"What a joke, do you really think I was suffering from insomnia for months because the Soviet army was too easy to deal with?" He paused for a moment, as if he understood something, "Ahem, actually I was worried you didn't know."

"Don't worry, your lecture recordings are all finished, everyone can just take a look."

“That’s the point…” Caronville looked a little embarrassed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with my recording. When it got to 022 minutes, right before the tactical segment, it suddenly just kept showing static and gibberish. The subsequent audio was also corrupted, so I had to re-record it.”

"That's terrible, stuck at 022 minutes?"

"Yeah, tsk, I don't know why it's this stupid number. It sounds like a girl who's never punctual for dates and keeps making excuses. I should just smash her with a pigeon egg."

"Huh? What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Uh, it's nothing. I have another class to attend later, I'll be going now..."

……

After a while, it was the same large lecture hall again, with the same officers and Caronville alone on the stage. However, the photo behind him had changed from showing the ravaged land of District 45 to showing the chaotic sky of District 45.

"I think that all of you here, even those who are only good at ground warfare, have had the experience of equipping KMFs with wings to fight in the sky. But I hope that after you go to Area 45, you must correct this habit, because compared to many of you, the fighter pilots in Area 45 are only responsible for the sky. That's why they are particularly good at the sky."

"First of all, everyone must abandon the old static formation in the sky. I believe that the video I just showed you, showing the 41st Army being slaughtered by Soviet warplanes when it first arrived in Berlin, and the combat logs provided to you by the soldiers of the Expeditionary Force, have all proven that maintaining speed and altitude in the air is a new principle of warfare. This will allow us to achieve greater victories at a lower cost, without a doubt."

"So, let me briefly summarize the aerial tactics in Sector 45." With that, Caronville picked up a pair of chopsticks from the table and skillfully made a chopping motion in his hand. "I'm not sure if you will use this Asian utensil. You might use it as a skewer for grilling, or you might use it as a knife and fork. And that will be how we fight in the skies in Sector 45."

"That's right. You are like these two chopsticks. You need to engage these fighters in the air in flexible formations composed of several KMFs, with high speed and highly coordinated small-group cooperation, because the enemy is not fighting alone in the sky. In the skies of Area 45, no one is a lone hero. Everyone is a part of the sky."

"Here's a simple way to deal with fighter jets: if one person gets caught by the tail of an enemy aircraft, they should immediately swerve left and right to hold it off. Then, the other person should follow behind the enemy aircraft and try to catch it again. Use a bait hook and a scraper. This way, even if you can't shoot down the enemy aircraft, you can still rescue your partner to a large extent."

"Secondly, you must be able to distinguish between different countries' fighter jets and adopt different tactics, because the enemy's tactics are different. For example, Soviet and British fighter jets have excellent maneuverability and are very good at engaging in dogfights with us, which is very physically demanding. The US military is different. They usually dive down from a very high altitude, launch an attack, and then immediately dive away. There are very few opportunities to engage in dogfights with them, but every time they dive to attack, nine times out of ten, someone will die. Even if there is a dogfight, it will quickly enter the 'hook and scraper' phase I just mentioned. If you don't get out in time, it is very dangerous."

There was little discussion below, and no one questioned what the lieutenant colonel had said.

“However, I have a question.” A girl raised her hand. “Lieutenant Colonel, I’d like to know, on average, are all the pilots in Sector 45 capable of doing this?”

"Well... I can only assure you that what you are fighting in the sky is definitely not a disorganized mob, because they can even make the Knights of the Round Table flee in terror. I suppose that photo is quite convincing."

“I’ve seen the photos, but this is a bit too far-fetched. Speaking of which, I do have some doubts about how the Third Knight lost back then… Logically speaking, there are quite a few elite pilots of the KMF.”

"I'm sorry, madam, these elites either survived to this day by following the methods mentioned above, or they died like dandelions on the road to directly confronting the Knights of the Round Table. Ironically, none of them were posthumously awarded anything."

After the girl sat down, Caronville took a deep breath and moved on to the next step.

“Okay, engaging the fighters is one of your main tasks in the air. Another very important task is intercepting enemy bomber groups. I believe you have all seen the wreckage of the American bombers in front of you, as well as the photos of them bombing Berlin. Although they are not large, their presence is the biggest threat to Berlin, which is the bridgehead of the expedition. What is more troublesome is that every time they come over our heads, they bring not only bombs, but also a large number of escort fighters and their own self-defense machine guns, which are enough to threaten all KMFs.”

"When facing a bomber formation, your first priority is to avoid getting caught in their crossfire. Secondly, be wary of their escort fighters, who may swoop down from an unknown direction to attack you. Most importantly, remember that enemy bombers maintain a tight formation when dropping their bombs. Therefore, your primary objective is not to destroy them all before they reach Berlin, but to prevent them from comfortably flying over Berlin in formation. Do you understand?"

……

"Okay." The lieutenant colonel paused. "Now I'll summarize the tactical code names of the main fighter jets of the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. Please take notes."

The first one shown is from the US military.

"The P-51 'Mustang' fighter and the P-47 'Thunderbolt' fighter, codenamed 'Locust' and 'Honeyfly' respectively, were both armed with several machine guns on their wings, which could easily penetrate the KMF's limb armor and flight devices. In addition, what made them most special was that you often saw them not in the air, but on the ground. Besides fighting with us for the air, they would spend more time dropping bombs and rockets along the front lines and transportation routes we occupied."

"So most of the time, when they swoop down from the sky, we are easily worried about both the sky and the ground, especially those of you fighting on land. When you see locusts and moths swooping down, you must notify your friendly forces immediately. Either quickly launch anti-aircraft fire or quickly take cover, otherwise we will die like wheat fields ravaged by insects, understand?"

"Then there are their main heavy bombers, codenamed 'Flamingo,' equipped with four propeller engines and about ten machine guns for self-defense. The machine guns are the same type as those used by the Locust and the Caterpillar, and their firepower is less destructive than our armed transport aircraft, but their field of fire is better. In other words, no matter which direction we attack them from, we will inevitably enter their effective angle of attack. There is no other way to avoid this situation; we must either evade them in time or destroy them in time. I suggest you do not blindly choose the latter, because they are more robust than you think."

Next, he posted photos of British warplanes.

"The Spitfire fighter, our codename 'Firefly,' unlike American fighters, doesn't usually carry bombs to the ground. However, in the air, the power of the one or even two pairs of cannons on its wings is something no one can withstand. When encountering them, just follow the rules of air combat. As for ground troops, they don't need to be too alarmed by Firefly air raids. By the way, there's some good news: so far we haven't encountered any other, more troublesome British fighters. If any appear, I will inform everyone immediately."

"The Firetail doesn't often participate in ground attack because the British have assigned this job to their heavy fighters, or light bombers. They are very uniform in their characteristics: two engines on the wings, and all the weapons are mounted on their noses. Generally, they won't engage in dogfights with you, as that's their weakness. So if you encounter them, you can try to shoot them down on your own. Remember their code name—'Skuas'. They could be the stepping stones for you to become an aces."

"Then there are the British bombers, which are similar in appearance to the American bombers, with four engines and a full complement of defensive machine guns. However, there is something that will make you happy: the British bombers' defensive machine guns are severely lacking in firepower, and the KMF's armor is almost completely immune to them. You can safely destroy them."

"Let me add something for everyone: the US military's insignia is a white five-pointed star in a blue disc, while the British military's insignia consists of three concentric circles—the outermost one is blue, the middle one is white, and the innermost one is red. Do you understand what I mean? If you see a bomber with these concentric circles painted on it, you're in luck. Forget about evasive maneuvers, just take its engines off. Give it the nickname 'Grey Heron,' even though their bodies aren't that elegant, at least they're not some kind of bird of prey, haha."

"Finally, there are the Soviet fighter jets. The main aerial adversaries are the La-7 and Yak-9 fighters. Their weapons are all mounted in the nose, with several cannons and machine guns. They are very good at dogfighting and head-on engagements. I think you are all willing to remember the previous rules of combat and not to confront them head-on. These 'woodpeckers' are not as harmless as you think."

"Then most of the Soviet bombers are not a significant threat; their codename is uniformly 'Bar-headed Goose,' and they can be dealt with in the same way as the 'Skuas.' However, there is one very exception, which the Soviets call the Il-2 attack aircraft, tactically codenamed 'Steppe Eagle.' If you are on the Soviet front line and happen to be the enemy in their path, you will encounter these aircraft, which have only one engine but cause more devastation and destruction than any bomber. Dealing with their sturdy fuselages is a major headache. There's not much to say; when the Steppe Eagles swarm in, remain calm and do not attempt to engage them in dogfights."

At the end, Caronville hesitated for a moment before posting this last picture, a separate photo of a Soviet fighter plane painted entirely silver with the number 27 on its tail.

"This plane, and its pilot, is your most troublesome enemy in Soviet airspace, the Silver Dove. Remember, warriors, never attempt to attack the Silver Dove alone under any circumstances, even if you are in an excellent position. Never forget to keep a calm mind, and never forget the devastation of Tristan... Thank you."

Chapter 208, Section 279: Black Vs Black

The once peaceful and sunny Tokyo concession is becoming increasingly turbulent.

Davis, along with Philip and Sergeant Chizuru Nagayama, each with a gun, leaned against a military vehicle. A rocket launcher for infantry was mounted on the rolled-down car window.

And what kind of people were passing by them? Groups of District 11 residents from the slums timidly made their way through the open space between the black-clad infantrymen. However, unlike before, this time, there were inexplicably more guys with red armbands wrapped around their left arms among the black-clad gunmen—yes, the armbands also had the black Nazi eagle that these Yankee boys couldn't stand.

They were heading towards a newly erected wooden platform with several gallows nailed to it and a fence surrounding it. Karlstadt and Gunther were whispering to each other on the platform, surrounded by a group of soldiers protecting them. Looking around, they could also vaguely see dark figures lurking on the buildings.

Strangely, apart from a few infantry fighting vehicles, only some military vehicles could be seen. Where did all the KMFs go? This question lingered in the minds of Davis and his two colleagues.

"So, we really didn't mishear, they're going to rely on these armored vehicles to ensure the safety of the execution ground?" Philip smirked slightly. "Oh, and that's with all those dozen of their heads."

“That is indeed unusual.” Davis looked up at the sky, recalling the formation that Guilford, then acting governor, had made in front of the Chinese Federation embassy in District 11.

“Hey, let me tell you,” he nudged Yongshan, who never liked to speak first, “Have you ever done anything like this during public executions before?”

"During the television broadcast, the camera only showed the infantrymen responsible for the executions."

“Emmmm…” Davis hesitated for a moment, “So the higher-ups didn’t make any prior arrangements? Like an ambush? Or are there any troops hiding there?”

Yongshan simply shook his head, as if he had something on his mind.

“Hey sir, what do you say?” Philip turned around with a grin. “Do the Nazis think they’re being blessed by some damn God, and that they can go off and do whatever they want? I don’t think they’re going to escape unscathed today.”

"What if nothing had happened today?"

"Something bad will happen next time."

"Then something bad will happen next time."

"And yet nothing happened many times in a row?"

"Okay, then let's look back at what the Nazis went through from 39 until Hitler's sudden death. Ha! It was all destined for them! Why don't we just wait for them to meet their end?"

"Tsk, Philip, you rascal." Davis chuckled and shook his head. "Your actions aren't exactly proactive, so why are you so optimistic?"

"Well, the show is about to begin."

……

Meanwhile, Karlsstadt was busy directing his soldiers, who were also from the fallen Third Reich, to slowly herd a group of District 11 people wearing wooden plaques to the gallows. Without exception, each plaque bore the emblem of the Black Knights, their own name, and some confessions forcibly given to them by others.

Next, as the major, he began to recount in front of everyone what these people had done in reality, or what crimes they had fabricated. However, before he began to speak, he first turned off something over his ear, and then Gunther slowly walked to the side, his lips beginning to tremble.

"Captain Schreiber, any news?"

“It seems the Black Knights’ plans are about to fall through.” He was already in a dilapidated hut next to the execution ground, fully armed with many soldiers, watching outside. “A truck that passed by earlier seems to have hidden over there.”

"Keep a close eye on them, they might..."

"No, they've already copied it. Don't worry, I'll lead the team well."

"Be careful, after all, you're the only one who can take responsibility right now..."

"It's enough that I'm in charge. It's better to let Henrik, who only knows how to make rules and spread ideas, sit at his desk and wait for the phone call."

Gunther anxiously put down the communication, while Karlstadt was still explaining things to the large audience of District 11. He went up to remind him, but the latter did not move.

“Calm down,” he responded softly, then resumed his resounding speech, “Now, let me witness firsthand how foolish it is to rebel against the rules.”

……

You're wrong!

Suddenly, a familiar, loud shout filled the entire venue. Karlstadt knew it was ZERO's voice, coming from all directions.

"Lord ZERO? Lord ZERO has arrived?"

"Where is he?" The crowd began to feel uneasy. It seemed that ZERO's prestige among the people of Japan was indeed very high.

“Answer me, Mr. Karlstadt, if being unarmed can be called foolish, then filling your body with guns and smearing yourself with the blood of innocents can be called wise?”