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It looks like just an ordinary KMF? No, the air suddenly became scorching when the black thing in the middle shouldered a cannon-like object and aimed it at the bomber formation.
Those were indeed ants, but they were the kind of ants that could dig up nests and destroy dikes.
Right in front of the fighter pilots swaying in the sky, the KMF was suddenly obscured by a dark red pillar of fire that pierced the heavens and the earth, clearly like a sharp butcher's knife slicing down along the neatly arranged bomber formation.
"Oh my God, oh my God..." Hudson's radio was in complete chaos—no pilot could believe their eyes. The pillar of fire drew a somber folding fan through the formation of aircraft, followed by a series of explosions. More than thirty Flying Fortresses and Lancasters, along with a bunch of Spitfires and Mustangs passing by, vanished without a trace in the sky.
“God…” He stared in disbelief at everything. The colorful KMFs had long since flown away, leaving only fragments of red and blue concentric circles and white stars that had turned into burning fireballs falling to the earth. The chilling air trembled in the flames, just like his hands, gripping the control sticks in fear and unease as he sat in the cockpit.
His hands were no different from those of people born in the British Isles or the Americas, but this was an arrangement by an enemy more powerful than the wrath of God. Hudson could use any means, such as looking or moving his fingers, to feel that he also had a pair of organs that opened like beautiful maple leaves.
And some faces that we had just glimpsed in a fleeting moment, their hands left without a single bone or piece of flesh, vanished from the world...
"Scatter...scatter! Yes, everyone scatter!" In his daze, he didn't even think of chasing after the strange black figure. Who knew if he would just be a speck of dust swept away from the sky?
……
And what about Elizabeth? The hadron cannons had used up all their energy, leaving the American and British aircraft formations gaping open like watermelons chopped in half. However, she didn't choose to continue the fight. She had Iska and another guard grab their aircraft with the grappling hooks she had dropped and swooped down towards the ground.
"Hmm, there are a lot of enemy planes behind you to your left." Iska flew on Elizabeth's grappling hook while keeping a close watch on the pursuing American fighters with his machine gun. "Your Highness, hurry up."
"Hold on tight." The princess calmly looked at the earth below the sky and gradually increased the speed. Her Lancelot Judge could fly at this speed without any problem, but Vincent, whom Iska had just replaced, was struggling a bit, not to mention Gloucester, the other guard.
Okay, now that I've left the fighter jets far behind, I can finally relax and give my brother a proper account of things in the Capitol.
"Have the nearby air forces returned to base for regrouping? Are we ready to launch another attack?"
"No problem, sister. I'll keep an eye out for any other aircraft groups coming."
……
"Hurry, hurry, Juliet, how's Sissie's landline?"
While the Potsdam garrison was still busy with their tasks, glancing up at the impressive feats of the Hadron Cannon, Griffin and his team, along with a large group of KMF aircraft, had already returned and landed. Unlike fighter jets that need runways to land, they only needed to reach the nearest ground supply depot. To put it simply, they could exchange their energy cubes and grab a few bullets before moving on to their next mission.
Aside from the possibility of not being able to provide KMF's flight wings, even the arms and legs of the humanoid weapons could be replaced. Shishian is clearly relatively lucky; despite being shot down and injured in the crash, she only suffered a bruised forehead and lost both legs of her aircraft. It seems she's just one step away from returning to the skies.
"Oh ho? It's Major Maier again?" As the captain returned to the air with his men, another group of air force personnel arrived to join them. "Hey, why are you bringing fighter jets this time?"
"Well, how should I put it?" The major paused for a moment, "Besides the load capacity, we also have to acknowledge the gap in firepower between us and the KMF."
Yes, look at the two machine guns hidden under the nose of the aircraft. They are definitely superior to the machine guns of the KMF.
"Oh, it can't be..."
"Huh?" The major noticed something was off, and Griffin also curiously looked towards the ground. "Wow, Angelie, do you know that?"
"That...that's Her Highness Elizabeth's plane, isn't it?" The girl looked at the humanoid knight that was once again approaching from the sky. Together with her guards, they approached the returning bomber group and once again used the blazing light of the hadron cannon to darken the line between heaven and earth.
"Uh……"
"What's wrong honey?"
“I remembered something unpleasant from the past… Her Highness had taken me to her plane before, and then she held me in her arms as she sat in the cockpit and closed the door…”
"Hey, hey, hey, don't drive so suddenly in front of the major and the others!" Griffin was terrified. He scratched his head, and somehow pulled out a green thread.
"I don't care, Captain. I only care how many of the enemy will never return."
The major smiled calmly, and as the light from the hadron cannon faded, he led his men and charged into the still-struggling bomber group along with the accelerating jets.
……
"Is this number... really okay?"
As night fell, everything was enveloped in darkness, and the lights in the US military headquarters in Frankfurt were as despairing as a small boat adrift on a stormy sea.
General Eisenhower simply did not believe the report that General Doolittle had given him in the telegram.
"...53 bombers and 16 fighters vanished from the skies. Combined with the loss statistics provided by the Royal Air Force, today's bombing raids on enemy airfields resulted in the deaths of a total of 107 aircraft and approximately 800 pilots..."
“I…I don’t know how to describe such a loss, General.” Clay, the second-in-command, looked utterly speechless.
"This is definitely not something that conventional weapons can do."
“Of course, I specifically asked the Soviet military about it before.” As he spoke, he pulled out a few photos from a folder next to him. “Before their Berlin siege line completely collapsed, they also encountered a similar attack. A somewhat bulky KMF launched an attack on their transportation hubs in northern Berlin, such as train stations, in a manner very similar to what the pilots encountered today. The same straight, dark red beam of light, and almost all the facilities of a train station, along with two military trains and several ground troops, were reduced to ashes.”
"Magical, truly magical. Perhaps these extraterrestrial visitors can manipulate magic, hmm?" Ike smiled helplessly. "Have the frontline soldiers reported similar news?"
"No, General. There are no records of this weapon being used by ordinary frontline enemy troops. According to the accounts of the surviving pilots today, combined with the situation of the Soviet army and the accounts of the prisoners, the only ones who could possibly use this thing are their so-called 'dedicated aircraft'."
"The name of the weapon?"
Hadron Cannon.
"Jesus, what is this Qiangzi...?" Now it was the five-star general's turn to have a headache. Neither he nor the weapons designers had ever encountered this before. "Have we only ever captured soldiers and officers? We haven't even captured any engineers?"
"If ordinary engineers could understand this cannon inside and out, then this weapon wouldn't be able to stand out on the battlefield."
“Cough, it is indeed quite difficult.” Ike’s smile became even more helpless. “We still can’t get into Berlin, and the bastards who are attacking us in Berlin either attack quickly or run away quickly. Hmm… when will Monty and the others be able to get their jets to Germany?”
"The speed of a meteor is certainly much faster than the speed at which the gentlemen of the Royal Air Force make decisions... but Field Marshal Montgomery would prefer that I give this to you."
"Hmm?" Clay handed over a PDA that he didn't know which enemy had given him, and then watched him slowly open a recording.
"Many of our radio stations received this message after the aircraft returned."
……
“We may not understand District 45’s definition of war, but just as the people of District 45 will not understand the definition of certain victory.”
"After three months, everything we did on this land was not in vain. We are not afraid of our blood filling the trenches, because we look forward to filling a city with the corpses of the enemy; we are not afraid of our lives being lost in the smoke of battle, because we believe more than ever that victory always comes at a price."
“We are not vulnerable, and our enemies are not born with a destiny. We are no different from those born in District 45. Everyone will die on this land. What we need to do is to suffocate any who want to fight us to the death before our last breath is spent in glory.”
"Because of this, our beautiful lives will continue indefinitely; because of this, we can devour the entrails of our enemies; because of this, we will grow stronger in battle. This is our path of evolution. Sadly, some who oppose us still live in our ridiculous and fragile fantasies."
"Warriors of Holy Britannia, now, tear apart any enemy who fights to the death before us with your weapons and bare hands. When Berlin sees more dawn again, remember our belief: whatever the banners above the opposing ranks may be adorned with, hammer and sickle, white star and red stripe, or even a fake Union Jack, bury them with your own hands in the fire they have created."
……
……
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[Author's rant: emmmmm, I'm really broke lately, so much so that I'm desperately looking for work... I don't know if my current job will last through the training period without being laid off. If it does, maybe it will be okay soon... By the way, everyone, I've recently had a bit of a shock and want to buy some women's clothing, so... could you guys help me out? It's this one below, a bit pricey, but I'll definitely show you pictures of it in women's clothes...]
Section 292, Part Five: The Oder River – Operation Elbe, Part 1
On December 28, 1945, after the Holy Britannian Empire publicly revealed its identity and formally declared war on the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain, which had already begun fighting, the leaders of the three countries immediately decided to re-encircle Berlin as quickly as possible, before Britannia could fully commit to a full-scale war.
Due to the significant losses and unfavorable offensive situation suffered by the Soviet forces stationed in Germany during the Second Battle of Berlin (known as the Berlin Breakthrough by Britannia), the Soviet army, after consultation with the United States and Great Britain, decided to launch a joint offensive plan involving the forces of the three countries. This was later known as the Oder-Elbe Offensive, codenamed "Operation Reef" by the Western Allies, and referred to as the German Defensive Operation by Britannia, the defending side.
The joint offensive plan was to proceed in four steps:
First, the Soviet army launched the ground offensive, starting from Leipzig and advancing northward along the east bank of the Elbe River, cutting off as much of the Britannian forces on the west bank of the Elbe as possible from Berlin.
Second, the US military sent ground troops through the Soviet-occupied zone and launched an offensive northward along the west bank of the Elbe River. Meanwhile, given that the British army had already engaged in large-scale fighting with the Britannian side, Field Marshal Montgomery ordered all British troops to adopt appropriate methods to lure the enemy into continuous combat, thus keeping their attention entirely focused on the British-occupied zone.
Third, the ground forces of the United States and the Soviet Union must meet up as soon as possible near Magdeburg, a key point on the Elbe River, to disrupt its land links with Berlin and thus successfully capture the city. At the same time, the British army will continue to hold back the Britannian ground forces on the western front until Magdeburg is occupied by the American or Soviet forces.
Fourth, after capturing Magdeburg, the Soviet army would launch a second offensive from the west bank of the Oder River, and carry out a deep encirclement and annihilation campaign against the Britannian ground forces south of Berlin. Meanwhile, Magdeburg would continue to consolidate the area west of Berlin. During this period, the US forces would be responsible for covering the flanks of the Soviet forces in adjacent directions, while coordinating with British forces to employ either encirclement and annihilation or pursuit tactics against the western front.
If, during this period, the joint operations of the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom in the west and south lead Britannia to redeploy a large number of troops from the Oder and Baltic directions in an attempt to block them, then the Soviet ground forces on the Polish side, who are on high alert, will break through the enemy-occupied area on the Oder River as quickly as possible via Szczeszczuk and the pontoon bridges rapidly constructed on the Oder River, thereby achieving a death encirclement of Berlin from the east and north as quickly as possible.
……
Operation Reef became the first large-scale military operation at the division and corps level in history, closely coordinated by the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. If successful, this operation would have left a significant mark on the world's diplomatic and military history.
On January 2, 1946, the operation officially began with the advance of the Soviet 8th Guards Army and the 2nd Guards Tank Army. The Soviet troops quickly advanced more than 30 kilometers to the north. At the same time, the advance teams of the US 1st Infantry Division and the 3rd Armored Division also immediately arrived near the first stop of the operation—Fort Bern [Chapters 180-181].
Britannia was somewhat caught off guard by the simultaneous actions of the US and the Soviet Union, because apart from engaging the Soviet front-line forces, most of its energy was spent on the British forces west of the Elbe River [Chapter 186]. It was unable to stop the Soviet offensive in time and could only use a railway gun codenamed "Poseidon's Halberd," which had only been deployed near Berlin recently, to carry out long-range artillery bombardment on the front line of the attacking Soviet forces at night after the camouflage frame and canvas were removed.
The results were not impressive, but they did cause some trouble. The advance of some Soviet front-line troops was greatly affected, and a logistics storage point was directly hit, resulting in a massive secondary explosion. By chance, this guided the air force's attack, slightly disrupting the Soviet logistics [Chapter 185]. At the same time, Soviet front-line troops also discovered that, starting about four days into the operation, Britannia's ground forces had made considerable technological progress compared to the initial encirclement of Berlin. The most obvious manifestation of this was their large-scale digging of trenches and bunkers for defensive operations, and the obstacles facing the Soviet forces began to slowly increase [Chapter 187].
In addition to suppressing and breaking through Britannian forces, the US and British forces never stopped their air strikes against the latter's occupied territories. Since the Soviet Union completely withdrew its accusations against the British before and after the Berlin Incident, on January 7, the Royal Air Force bomber force finally began to participate in the bombing of enemy-occupied territories as it had wished. After learning of the existence of the "ultra-long-range artillery" from the Soviet Union, they formulated a plan to bomb Berlin intensively in different areas and destroy the artillery [Chapters 188 and 189].
同时由于空中支援的及时，美军的地面部队也并未在一路上遭遇到过多的抵抗，很快在1月9日凌晨就将贝恩堡占领并完全巩固，这使得布里塔尼亚远征军高层不得不开始谨慎评估起当下状况来【第194、195、198、199章】。
However, the Soviet offensive was largely unimpeded, and by January 10th, the Britannian ground forces had been forced back to the Berlin-Magneburg road defenses, putting them in a very unfavorable situation [Chapters 200, 201]. But on the same day, when American and British bombers arrived in Berlin to bomb, they hadn't anticipated that the enemy's air power seemed to have grown considerably, and they were subjected to a dense barrage of rockets from Britannian armed transport planes. Although they achieved their bombing objectives and inflicted significant ground damage, the losses to their aircraft exceeded expectations [Chapters 202, 203].
In the eyes of American and Soviet soldiers, Britannia was like a struggling student who had just finished some extra lessons and was about to challenge the top students, causing significant delays in the US-Soviet operations. Although the US forces had captured Schönebeck, located 13 kilometers southeast of Magdeburg, on January 15th as planned [Chapter 205], the Soviet army was still unable to capture the cities of Wiesenberg and Nimec [Chapter 204].
Left with no other option, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain had to revise their battle plans: due to the high-profile joint offensive by the United States and the Soviet Union, Britannia had to abandon large tracts of territory in front of the British defenses and retreat to the Elbe River. The British army should now advance across the board. At the same time, with the help of bombers from the Royal Air Force, the ground troops quickly reached the villages around Magdeburg [Chapter 206].
For Britannia, the situation had become extremely urgent. In order to avoid the annihilation of a large number of troops in the joint attack of the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain, they had no choice but to secretly transfer the troops guarding the lower Elbe River (near the Baltic Sea) and the Oder River defense line to the Magdeburg line for a counterattack.
On the morning of January 17th, after careful preparation, Britannia launched a surprise attack on American positions in Schönebeck from the northwest with a brigade and a regiment, attempting to capture the city in one fell swoop. This offensive and defensive maneuver led to the first major battle between Britannia and the Americans since the start of the war—the Battle of Schönebeck. During the counter-offensive, Britannia deployed jet fighters, which had previously participated in system upgrades, for the first time to bomb and destroy American positions. They also utilized a large number of attack helicopters and the newly arrived KMF Portman submarines. [Chapters 213, 214, 215]
The counter-offensive occurred before sunrise, and a large number of US warplanes failed to take off in time, resulting in heavy casualties and equipment losses for an infantry regiment and an armored regiment. Besides the significant pressure exerted on the US ground forces, while numerous armed helicopters were shot down by US aircraft and anti-aircraft fire during the battle, they inflicted devastating damage on the ground. The US 33rd Armored Regiment lost nearly 40 tanks and vehicles to helicopter rockets, representing more than half of the entire western city defense force. Meanwhile, the KMF escorting jets and helicopters also significantly hampered US air operations during this period.
(Author's note: Due to health reasons, this image has not been completed yet, but will be added later.)
……
Finally, thanks to emergency support from the Royal Air Force and relentless ground attacks by the US Army Air Forces, the American troops stationed in Schönebeck held out until the 32nd Armored Regiment and the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment arrived to relieve the siege, pushing the front line from Schönebeck to Dowdendorf, three kilometers south of Magdeburg, before the battle finally ended. The American soldiers defending Schönebeck later confessed: if the enemy had pressed for time and attacked two or three hours before sunrise, they could have stripped our clothes off in the square to warm themselves by the fire at noon that day. [Chapters 216, 217, 218]
This day was perhaps unlucky for the American, British, and Soviet armies. Not only did the American forces suffer their first major battle since the start of the war, but Britannia also concentrated its forces on a major counterattack against Soviet troops approaching the Berlin-Magneburg highway, somewhat miraculously pushing the Soviet forces back four kilometers south. However, this counterattack involved too much air power. While Britannia's frontline soldiers were excited about their success, an American and British bomber squadron inadvertently approached an airfield north of Berlin. [Chapter 219]
At this point, there was almost no air power available, and it seemed that the entire occupied territory was laid bare before the enemy. As the commander of the expeditionary force, Elizabeth Britannia made a dangerous but decisive move that completely altered the security situation in Berlin—she personally took to the air, ordered her personal guard to act as decoys, and then used her own hadron cannons to ambush the Allied air formations in the clouds, before dispatching air forces from other directions to pursue and engage the Allied aircraft. [Chapter 220]
This tragedy, later known as the "Berlin Red Moon," became the first and most devastating air raid by the U.S. military since the end of World War II. Although the bombers ultimately succeeded in bombing the airfields amidst two intervals of Hadron munitions firing and the encirclement and suppression by Britannian KMF forces, it resulted in the deaths and injuries of 107 British and American fighters and bombers, as well as more than 800 crew members, within a single day. These horrific losses forced the U.S. and British high command to reassess their plans for attacking Britannia and to seriously re-evaluate their adversary.
The waters of the Elbe River have lost their clarity, and no one knows which flag the spring breeze of 1946 will first brush against.
This concludes Part 5 of the compilation: The Oder River - Operation Elbe, Part 1.
Hmm, the author has been a bit tired lately... I don't know if it's from lack of exercise or what, or maybe it's because I've been too focused on the story. Updates for this story will be delayed for a while. Also, I need to think about my new book. Anyway, as long as I'm here, you'll still have something to read. So, Happy New Year everyone!
Chapter 221, Section 296
In late winter, the Baltic Sea is swept by biting winds and dim moonlight, and even the warships adrift here remain as hardworking as ever.
The St. George flag stood alone atop mast after mast, surrounded by waves and spray, accompanied only by the spinning radar as it faced the raging torrents.
HMS Diaden, the third ship of the Bellona-class cruisers, accompanied this vast group of shadowy figures. Born from the body of a Dido-class light cruiser, drenched in the salty seawater of the vast darkness, only its 5.25-inch main guns and densely packed rapid-fire tubes remained, gazing at the distant shadow of the fleet flagship ahead.
"Everything is normal, sir." There was nothing unsettling about the radar operators' reports.
Their presence in the Baltic Sea was extremely dangerous for the Royal Navy—the Soviet army had lost most of its occupied territory, and the bright red flag could not be seen along two or three hundred kilometers of coastline. These seven warships were like a herd of zebras, hiding themselves, unaware of when disaster would strike.
Directly ahead of the Diaden was the Fiji-class destroyer HMS Kenya. To its left, the flagship HMS London and HMS Norfolk, the mainstay of the fleet, were slowly cruising one after the other. Three destroyers circled the London to its port and rear. Indeed, they didn't need to worry about any warships suddenly appearing, because so far, the only ships remaining in these waters were the Red Navy's Baltic Fleet, marked with hammer and sickle—friends who had previously confronted them but quickly resolved their misunderstandings.
So far, their only threat has been from the air. Nearly a month ago, they were caught off guard and sent back a damaged destroyer near Rügen Island. Now, they still occasionally detect humanoid aircraft hovering around them. Naturally, their air defense formation must not be disrupted for a moment in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
Taking risks is something the Royal Navy must do in critical moments, because they are the only ones capable of conducting meticulous reconnaissance along the German coast at night.
"Hmm, how many turns are Mr. Montgomery and Mr. Eisenhower going to wind up the flag-raising mechanism?" As the captain of HMS Diaden, Lieutenant Commander Barrod couldn't help but feel uneasy. The Royal Navy had already polished the flag, but the call for close-range artillery support from the shore was still nowhere in sight.
……
When seabirds begin their hunt, only the frantic waves offer shelter to the fish.
……
"Captain, Captain, there's a situation on land to the south."
"Report."
"At bearing 76 and distance 5900, two or three fire-breathing objects are rising into the air."