Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

Page 183

Who knew the vehicle was loaded with ammunition? The fireball from the secondary explosion sucked in all the surrounding KMFs like a vortex, then dismembered and pulverized them, turning them into countless fragments and debris that fell to the ground along with specks of gunpowder. Even the tanks sitting in the grass were smashed and made to make a banging sound.

"Well, this is..." The tank commander was a bit of a headache. It wasn't that he was surprised by the scene; the dust kicked up by the explosion made it almost impossible for the gunner to see where the enemy had gone. "Where are they?"

"I can't see anyone, comrade!" The gunner was equally anxious. "We're too exposed now; we need to consider retreating!"

"Captain Anton! How are things going?"

"Watch out!" The aftershocks of the explosion had barely subsided when the comrades looked up and saw a KMF machine gun looming right in front of them. They quickly ordered the DShK machine guns, which had been prepared for a long time, to disarm it. "Should we retreat? I'll get the comrades in the rear to take cover immediately!"

In the distance, two or three KMFs could be seen hiding in the woods or behind the wreckage of infantry fighting vehicles, firing back fiercely towards the T-34 tank. Anton quickly ordered his comrades to throw out smoke grenades and began to leave.

"Hey, Captain!" A colleague in the KMF cockpit at the back delivered some terrible news: "Take a look at this? How come there are suddenly so many enemies?"

"What?!" Anton stared intently at the map and saw that in the northern towns, blue icons were sprouting up everywhere like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Are we going to be chased by a large group of people?

"No, we made too much noise just now. They thought we were attacking... Good heavens, Britannia has deployed so many troops here. Are they preparing to launch a counterattack?"

"Then can we still run away?"

"Prepare to blow this thing up with a grenade." He picked up the walkie-talkie and sent out the last message about the device towards the commander.

"Captain Anton Vasilyev reports: Ambush point 43 has been exposed and is being withdrawn to its defensive zone at full speed. A large number of enemy troops are currently preparing to attack our area. Please prepare for defense immediately!"

Chapter 224, Section 299: Hammer and Shield, Chaos

The violent explosion could wake even a person in a deep sleep, so naturally, the Britannian military command, which was not far away, could not remain calm.

"What just happened?" Colonel Darwin had been upstairs and had seen a string of brilliant fireworks fly out from the woods on the other side of the road with the sound of thunder.

“Report, something terrible has happened…” an officer came over to reply to him and the other officers around him, “Just now, Duchess Halina, the vice-commander of the Knights of the Fe, who was traveling south with a freight convoy to provide support, was ambushed by Soviet tanks.”

"and then?"

"The tank shot through the Duchess's aircraft as soon as it arrived, then detonated the ammunition on the truck that was prepared for the Canterbury and the assault guns. The Duchess and the other seven members of the Knights were too close to the truck and were all killed on the spot!"

"My God..." The colonel was still able to control himself, but the others next to him couldn't hold back.

"Are you kidding me? A tank somehow managed to get around to our supply line without us noticing? Did they discover a weakness in our defenses?" This was a major's angry outburst.

"How can we tolerate the enemy killing a duchess? And is the Soviet army about to launch another attack?" another officer asked, full of indignation.

Then, at that moment, a gasp came through the radio.

"Soviet warplanes are approaching, take cover!"

"This... a tank ambush and an air raid... perhaps they know we're about to attack?" Several officers became uneasy and prepared to head to the basement for cover. "Has our attack plan been exposed?"

"We must be on guard, Colonel."

The observant colonel looked up and noticed something: a few scattered woodpeckers and steppe eagles were flying over their heads—fighters escorting several Il-10 attack aircraft flew over the edge of town, sporadically spraying cannon ammunition over them.

"Are there fewer planes arriving?"

"Colonel?"

“Everything that needs to be prepared is ready. So, let’s advance our attack time and set off now, shall we?” Colonel Darwin nodded. “Immediately prepare the entire army to advance. Also, are there any survivors from the Duchess’s troop?”

"Yes, there are three more people. They just reported that the only force that ambushed them was a Soviet tank and a few infantrymen, and they have already run towards the Soviet lines."

"Tell them to go after them immediately. Don't worry about anything else. Make sure to bring back the Soviet soldiers alive. We need them to assess the capabilities of the enemy we are facing."

……

"Don't stop, comrades!"

Following the southward-bound track tracks on the ground, Anton led his soldiers at full speed to catch up with the T-34—not to abandon them, but because speed was key now; a tank at full speed would naturally outrun a person, and besides, its 85mm gun still had a lot to do.

"Something's wrong, Captain! A doll has followed us!"

"Oh damn it." The machine gun wasn't very accurate when it was firing, but the comrades were still a little panicked. The DShK machine gun had already been strapped to the tank and taken away, and the anti-tank gun... they had accidentally run out of ammunition earlier.

"Everyone lie down!" The comrades threw themselves on the ground, and then they heard a thunderclap in the clear sky, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound as it swept overhead, followed by the unique, fine sparks of an exploding electronic component.

"Oh, well done, Comrade Commander!" He waved happily towards the gray smoke hiding in the bushes in the distance. "Everyone, keep moving!"

Gradually, everyone felt their steps growing heavier and heavier—the road back was still long, and exhaustion weighed on the soldiers with red stars above their heads, while in the distance, the unsettling rumble of artillery fire could be heard.

"what happened……"

"My God..." Anton looked into the distance and became restless. Indeed, the Britannian forces had mobilized all their forces, and they had actually clashed with their own tank units on the distant plains. The captain didn't feel safe at all, because the tank units hadn't been able to easily drive the enemy back, which meant the problem was serious.

"Captain Vasilyev? Can you hear me?" As the sound of a KMF crashing in the distance and Soviet fighter jets flew overhead, the T-34 commander replied, "Some bastard just shot down our engine, we're preparing to abandon the vehicle."

"Okay, I'll come and meet you right away."

Before the radio was disconnected, Anton heard a series of heart-wrenching screams of someone engulfed in flames and the sound of a pistol firing over the radio waves.

……

Upon returning to Colonel Darwin's side, it turned out that he had been a little too hasty.

The images transmitted back by the frontline commander show waves of assault guns and KMFs on their side locked in fierce combat with the enemy's T-34 tanks. The entire plain is littered with fragments of tracks and mechanical parts, and the burning wreckage scorches the land like wildfire. The battle has unexpectedly escalated to a fever pitch from the very beginning, with even the afterimages of dead soldiers barely visible.

"The bison are being forced back, but we can't hold on any longer!" The commander looked at the infantrymen retreating while lying prone and firing amidst the tank wreckage ahead. "Where are our reinforcements? The Soviets must still have tanks... My God!"

"Hello? What's wrong, kid?" The colonel suddenly heard a terrifying echo of flames bursting across the ground over the radio waves.

"Oh no, oh no, the Soviets have started suppressing our artillery fire! What about our rear firepower, sir?!"

……

The KMFs (Knights of the Aircraft) took to the skies and engaged in fierce combat with the newly arrived fighters. Everything happened too suddenly, and it heated up the battlefield to a boiling point.

"Give it your all!" Anton could almost see his comrades' position.

"Hey, Captain." At that moment, Lemilia's voice came through his radio, "Don't be in such a hurry, you're not the only ones coming to join us."

Indeed, he saw a few infantrymen on the other side, all facing the same direction as him—a trench where Lemilia was standing and waving at them.

"This is bad..." After they left behind the smoke of battle and fell into the trenches, Anton's heart skipped a beat. "We infiltrated and withdrew, but... have they lost their position?"

“That’s true, comrade, but don’t worry.” Lemilia put down the wine jug from her lips and casually wiped the water droplets from her face. “The ‘Animal Killers’ are a bit loud, but they’re not here to bother us.”

At that moment, the fighter planes flying over Anton and Lemilia saw, on their return flight, the muzzles of ISU-152 self-propelled guns on the distant artillery positions, standing side by side, spewing out clouds of smoke that would bring destruction.

On the roadside, the exhaust fumes from the IS-2 tank's engine still lingered.

I'm feeling physically and mentally exhausted... Sigh, I saw Biting Cat at yesterday's CC Comic Con, we chatted about some things, and I was overwhelmed with emotions... And then I got sick...

Chapter 225, Section 300: Flowers Bloom and Blood Falls

The fighting continues.

"Do you understand what I mean, Colonel Darwin?" the KMF commander shouted desperately into the radio. "We have indeed stopped the Soviet tanks, but only for now, in this direction! We only have enough men left to keep watch and clean up here. Where are the reinforcements?"

"Why, why is it failing so quickly?"

"I bet the Soviet army has an entire corps right in front of us! Your wise move now is to request reinforcements immediately, otherwise they'll be marching day and night and tearing Berlin right through!"

"……Feel sorry."

"What? Sir, we're about to collapse! I'm not kidding! ...Sir? Sir, are you there? Why did the follow-up troops go in another direction? And why are there so many giant rhinoceroses there?"

……

"Hit!"

The 122mm shells grazed over Anton and Lemilia's heads, flew over the tripods of the machine gun crews next to them, and landed among the large group of KMFs and black tanks rushing forward.

"OK, we finally don't have to retreat anymore." Anton breathed a sigh of relief. "Everyone, maintain firepower. The enemy won't dare to rush in recklessly now."

But the atmosphere on the battlefield was clearly not enough to make them complacent, because the enemy's follow-up troops were still coming. The IS-2's main guns were so enthusiastic in wreaking havoc on the first wave that they hadn't even thought about retreating yet.

At this point, artillery support from the rear was deployed again, but the enemy either held firm in their positions or continued to charge towards this location.

"Blyat!" Lemilia was furious. In the brief moment while the IS-2 was reloading and firing, those KMFs were rushing towards his face. He was so anxious that he almost pulled out his anti-tank grenade. It was obvious that the enemy wanted to take advantage of this weakness of the heavy tank to get close and defeat them one by one.

"We can't stay here like this, Anton, we must move forward!"

"Hello, hello? Who is your leader?" Anton thought for a moment, picked up the radio and called into the tank group, "I need your help, let me explain."

"It's me, Captain."

"Have the tanks advance slowly, then set up a machine gun barrage. The infantry comrades must follow, is that alright?" After saying this, he ordered Remilia, "Have the soldiers split into two groups, carrying heavy weapons, and advance under alternating cover. Do you understand what I mean?"

"No problem, comrade!" the tank leader shouted. "Everyone! Reduce speed to 5 kilometers per hour and maintain formation!"

As the IS-2 tanks slowed down, Anton led his men out of their bunkers. With the cover of the infantry and tanks behind them, he led his men to lie prone on the ground in front of them. Anti-tank guns, heavy machine guns, and rocket launchers were all raised to help the IS-2 clear out the puppets that dared to approach.

Danger? Talking about this on the battlefield? There's no other way; you can't wait for the enemy to get close to the tank before firing, right? That would be a huge loss.

KMFs were wiped out wave after wave by small-caliber tanks. The 122mm tank guns could easily target the assault guns in the back row. Of course, it was also possible to blast craters in front of their two legs with shells, but that would be even more inhumane. At most, the shells would blow the turrets of the assault guns into pieces like flying ladles and crack the hulls, but for the KMFs, being hit directly by shells was bad enough, but they would also drag their comrades down with them.

They fired an AP shell that penetrated through the shell and dragged it behind them, accidentally hitting an innocent young woman in the process; the high-explosive shell that hit the ground unleashed a double whammy of shockwave and shrapnel, leaving people over four meters tall either lying on the ground like weeds crushed by wheels, or suddenly appearing as if struck by a barrage of hidden weapons, with wounds covered in sparks.

"Alright, Lieutenant Lemilia, get ready!" The tanks quickly drove past them, and seeing that the pressure ahead had eased slightly, Anton immediately called to the rear, "Move 50 meters in front of us and bring heavy weapons!"

“Да!”

Then he told his comrades to move around a bit to make room for the comrades and tanks advancing from the rear. Of course, there were also IS-2s whose tracks had been destroyed by the enemy and were stuck in place, so his comrades could gather in front of them. As for the comrades who had fallen to the ground and were no longer breathing, there might not even be time to remove them from the path of the tracks.

They took turns providing cover and advancing, slowly moving forward until every last piece of trash was thoroughly dealt with, allowing the road wheels and military boots to easily tread over the garbage-like electronic components.

Red stars flew across the sky, followed by the artillery fire of ISU-152s sweeping across the land, driving the humanoid weapons that were flying in disarray out of the sky.

……

"Tsk tsk, why did you have to provoke the Russians?"

"Let's take a look at the Elbe River after so long," Captain Drucker said, standing on the bank and looking east. He could even see Soviet fighter planes carrying downed KMFs flying over their heads.

And now, the city of Magdeburg is about to fall.

"The British are not to be trifled with when they get angry." The captain took this sentence to heart. He hadn't slept well the night before because the Union Jack came knocking and demanded that the American troops use all their howitzers to mow down Magdeburg from nightfall to dawn. Now, a city that was almost unscathed at the end of the World War was in a state of utter devastation.

More than half a year ago, they were in the city, waiting for the Berlin bombardment to cease and end this disaster that had spread throughout the world; now, they are outside the city, setting fire to these rows of houses, just to restore peace to the seven continents and five oceans.

Before they could tear down that foreign flag, they had one last thing to do.

"Captain, I'll send you the coordinates right away."

At this moment, under a bush in the southern suburbs of the city, several shadowy figures were hiding, having been lurking around all night.

Jonathan, along with a few young men, wearing enemy night vision goggles and carrying the PDA entrusted to him by the captain, were adjusting the screen and the distant houses.

What was it? This story begins with the wreckage of an M26 tank in the distance, and we should also mention the Churchill tanks to the west, which are also lying on the road with bullet holes.

For some reason, it seemed like the enemy had dug out those deadly German anti-tank guns from back then, hid them in nooks and crannies, and then pierced through any tanks that tried to approach, leaving no one unscathed.

The siege of the city these past few days, the air raids and artillery bombardments have choked these strange creatures to death, and many of their movements have disappeared. Now we need to take stock of whether there are any stumbling blocks around the city.

That very night, Jonathan finally saw the true face of this new weapon—it was like a KMF that had been skinned like a wild beast, laid out on the ground, with a claw with a drive wheel gripping the ground, and then a cannon mounted on it, although the frame seemed a bit too high.

Hiding behind the rubble was still a piece of cake. The sergeant had already taken photos with his PDA and found the trail of the four-legged creature carrying a cannon in Canterbury. He was about to send the coordinates back when he discovered there was no signal.

"Jesus, what's going on?" For some reason, the vertical bar in the upper right corner has turned into an X.

"Sir, is that it?" A fellow worker pointed to the radio tower on the other side of the river, which had just been bombed down.

"Good heavens... Calling the captain, captain? Could you please ask the British gentlemen to behave themselves? We can't even send you a message right now."

"Then wait two minutes. Their shelling will end, and they'll prepare to attack."

"Well, it's alright. Should I have someone run and bring the PDA back?"

……

In reality, Drucker meant something else entirely. Since Britannia's PDAs relied on their radio towers to transmit signals, a signal interruption meant the enemy would have to immediately begin repairs or switch to other means of communication.

Sure enough, my PDA regained signal soon enough—the fact that the enemy's central system could still do this meant that the artillery fire and air raids had not completely paralyzed them.

So let "Long Tom" be the last straw that broke the camel's back, well, this straw was made of lead.