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Page 190
However, after a gust of wind blew by, he discovered that the new guests hidden in the smoke were a bit too surprised—the half-track was carrying an M45 machine gun turret with four M2 heavy machine guns, and the Chaffee tank did not have the 75mm cannon on its hull, but two thin, long things.
"OH NO!"
Before the bomb could even be released, the M19 weapon carrier, equipped with two 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns, delivered a series of heavy blows, tearing the KMF apart like a tattered blanket in the air above the river. The bomb activated in his hand, along with the anti-aircraft vehicle, became the executioner for his teammates.
The two weapon carriers were ordered to take up their positions at the air defense positions, but unexpectedly, they encountered this kind of task. The Bofors was like a cone-shaped hammer, and the M2 machine gun was like the small teeth on a saw. It was a one-sided assembly line. Scattered mechanical limbs and the Knights' emblems spewed electric sparks, like stones falling into the Elbe River during an avalanche.
Of course, not all KMFs had stepped onto the tightrope. The knights on the other side scattered immediately upon seeing this, but how could they escape this devastating onslaught? Unless God came down from heaven and gave them a pair of wings, but clearly, heaven hadn't received their request before they died.
I roughly understand their operational intentions now—see the helicopters and transport planes flying in the distance? I guess these knights who are leading the charge are here to secure the west bank so that these people can land. That's fine, it gives the M19 a chance to do its job again. The thick and sharp bullets tear through the wings and bellies of these birds like a shredder, and along with the insignia of the knights on their bodies, they either fall into the bushes or sink to the bottom of the river.
Feeling lonely in the river? Ah, of course there are things to keep you company.
"Detonate!" The last Union Jack crossed the Elbe River, followed by a deafening roar. The bridge surface was dumped into the rushing river like coal dust, where the corpses of the poor creatures awaited downstream.
That's how it's done!
……
"No matter how handsome, dashing, or debonair a devil is, he is still just a devil. His heart yearns for killing, his brain is bloodthirsty, and his terrifying pupils are forever filled with the burning village."
"No matter how poor, destitute, or weathered, a knight is always a knight. With a heart full of peace, a valiant figure, and strong arms, the power of justice will always be in his presence."
"Day after day, the devil echoes forever on the hillsides strewn with corpses; as time goes by, the knight always protects his kind and beautiful homeland."
"Do not ask the devil why he kills, for he will only tell you with contempt how cheap life is, like a festering sore on a corpse in a graveyard; nor ask the knight why he makes peace, for he will tell you with righteous indignation how precious peace is, like a warm soup on a fireplace in the dead of night."
Griffin rested on the ground with his plane, holding Lilizia's copy of "The Wandering Ghost," a page with a missing corner from the bookmark card—Lili must have always regarded this sentence from the book as her creed.
Whether it's because the book has a very wide readership or because it's based on the real world, before coming to District 45, most members of the Knights of Agincourt, and even almost everyone in the regular troops, held this belief. However, now, this trace has completely disappeared from them. On the contrary, the newcomers, regardless of age, still carry this aura; the group of young men and women he leads are a perfect example.
As reinforcements, although they had undergone some intensive training and performed commendably in executing tactics suitable for the 45th District battlefield, their faces showed signs of discomfort with the place, or to put it more bluntly, fear and unease towards the enemy, and shock at the horrific scenes unfolding before their eyes.
……
“Back to the skies, warriors.” Angelie came over, closed his book, and helped the weary bodies to their feet. “Berlin won’t let us relax and make tea.”
The KMF formation once again took to the skies with its wings, keeping an eye on the approaching enemy aircraft from Area 45 while also keeping an eye on requests for support from the ground. Before long, they received the message.
"Calling for help! Calling for help! Soviet warplanes are approaching! We need backup!"
"I've received your coordinates, officer, we're on our way." Griffin, leading the new faces, rushed up to the top and quickly began identifying the birds in the sky. "Four woodpeckers, four steppe eagles, prepare for attack!"
Well, not bad. The attack aircraft didn't fare too well, and the woodpeckers didn't manage to shoot anyone down in the air for a while. It seems the warm-up training was well done. It's just that there was some chaos on the radio. Yes, the initial tension hadn't been relieved. These young men and women were either too nervous to speak or were talking nonsense in their anxiety over the radio waves.
Fortunately, Angelina was more patient than him and was able to calm everyone down slowly. So, Griffin switched to another channel to hear if there were any other important matters related to the war.
……
"What? Are you crazy, Giger?" Hmm, the atmosphere on the radio was a bit strange. It was the two squadron leaders on the ground who had just called him for backup, and they were arguing.
"Do as I say right now, Claude, it's too late!"
Do you know what the consequences of this will be?
"I don't care about the consequences, I want you to open fire now! Quickly! We can't let the Soviets get ahead of us!"
"It seems like something important?" Griffin interjected while continuing to maneuver around enemy aircraft in the air.
"None of your business, Captain Griffin! Unless you're here to help me!"
"I think I saw you two or three months ago when I left Berlin, Mr. Giger? What problem have you encountered?"
“There’s a group of Soviet soldiers on the hill in front of us. They have heavy weapons. Just now, another company besides the two of us tried to attack, but their captain was defeated and forced to retreat.” Gigelton paused. “Just now, the soldiers in that company said that a warrant officer was leading them, and then they all rushed into the Soviet position to fight to the death!”
"So now you want to provide support?"
"NO! Captain, I don't care if Lieutenant Claude and his men only arrived yesterday, I demand that the hills be bombarded with artillery fire!"
"What?! Are you serious?!" Griffin demanded in shock. "Where's that warrant officer? Contact him!"
"I'm getting no response. She must be dead! Hurry, everyone! If we're any later, the retreating Soviet troops will slip through our fingers!"
"What? Her?" Griffin subconsciously sensed something was off.
"Yes, that squadron reported that a female warrant officer in a black Vincent came looking for them. She almost single-handedly drew all the firepower with amazing maneuvering, allowing those young men to charge in with her!"
"Oh my God..." The captain's face turned pale with fright. "I'm going to check the situation. No one is allowed to fire without my permission!"
……
The moment the camera focused on the Soviet positions, the ominous premonition was confirmed.
The KMF with the insignia of the Knights of Agincourt was hers, but Vincent had been smashed to pieces, and only Sunderland was left fighting the Soviet infantry.
"What? Lily?!" No, there's another one. My God, Griffin, couldn't believe his eyes. Short white hair, black military uniform, Lily Zia had actually grabbed a gun and was retreating in the trenches on the hill, firing back as she went, getting entangled with the enemy!
"Hey, Lieutenant Claude, listen up! You are absolutely not allowed to fire now, no matter what Giger says! Captain Giger, there are still our soldiers surviving on the position. Charge forward immediately! It's not too late!"
"Impossible, Griffin! The Soviets could kill those survivors in the blink of an eye. The enemy would have plenty of time to regroup and rebuild their defenses! Our lives are far more valuable than tons of artillery shells. If you won't do it, I will!"
"Stop him, Claude! Don't fire!"
Griffin was about to charge down when he saw Lilizia already holding a rifle with bayonets fixed, covered in blood, and fighting hand-to-hand with Soviet soldiers—he couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to lose one of his bravest subordinates.
"Your request received, Captain Giger, prepare to fire!" This voice did not come from anyone just now. Looking back, a high-explosive cluster munition that looked exactly like the one fired from Canterbury flew up from the distant woods, heading straight for the hill.
"No!—" He tried to stop the shell, but in the end, he could only watch helplessly as it bloomed like an autumn chrysanthemum on the battlefield, scattering across the earth and turning into a sea of fire...
……
"Gigler...give me back Lilizia!" Griffin, fighting back tears, rushed to the ground, clenched Vincent's fist, and smashed the man's phone into a mangled mess. His subordinates? Enraged but unable to speak out, who knew if this would lead to another internal conflict?
Looking at his lifeless superior, and then at Griffin's aircraft, he threw down the machine gun, the MVS sword, and the flight wing, and charged alone towards the tranquil hill.
Jumping out of the cockpit, the captain crawled aimlessly across the chaotic battlefield—there were no living people, everything was lifeless and fragmented, heavy machine guns, artillery, and scattered KMF parts were mixed with corpses, and bloody dark clouds rose into the sky.
Hell, this is the devil's hell, a stark contrast to the relatively intact little village at the foot of the hill. In the village, jars and pots were piled up, but here, corpses were stacked up. There weren't many Soviet soldiers guarding this place, but after the artillery fire had plowed through, the sky seemed to no longer belong to the living.
He feared that a Soviet soldier might suddenly rise up behind him, wielding an entrenching tool, and dig him out of his life again, just like he had done months before.
The pile of corpses beside him suddenly moved. He pulled out his pistol, aimed, and moved closer to pry it open. As expected, the corpses on top were thrown aside by the living people below, and a bayonet sprang up.
“No!” Griffin jumped up and fired a shot at the arm that was wielding the knife, then almost regretted it—he missed the tattered, blood- and mud-stained black military uniform.
"Oh my God..." Was this a surprise? Griffin immediately knelt down and cradled Lilycia's still slightly lifeless body. "Are you alright, Lily? You can hear me, right? You can see me, you can see me, that's wonderful..."
"Lieutenant...?" The young woman's face showed no surprise or satisfaction, as if she had failed to commit suicide.
As they were talking, Griffin seemed to drop something on the ground. It turned out to be a book he had put in his pocket and had forgotten to put it back before going into battle.
"Come here, look at your book. You really like it, right? You want to become a knight full of honor to slay the devil, right?"
Without responding to the somewhat naive words of comfort, Lilizia looked into Griffin's eyes, then finally turned her despairing gaze to the gray sky and slowly closed her eyes.
……
"No, Captain...we're all devils now..."
Chapter 238, Section 313: The White Eagle Will Eventually Arrive
"...I must admit that this is one of the saddest days in the history of the United States Army. Our plan to drive the Britannian Imperial Army back to Berlin through Operation Reef has failed. This operation was decided upon based on the best available information, and the failure was entirely due to my personal decision-making and command errors, for which I am willing to take full responsibility."
"Our ground forces and air force also demonstrated the utmost courage and dedication. I will take full responsibility for the lives of every soldier. The losses and impacts on the British and Soviet sides caused by coordination failures during the operation are also part of my dereliction of duty as the highest-ranking officer in Germany. I will strive to restore our cooperative relations with both countries and engage in closer strategic discussions with their key military commanders. The following is the next step plan formulated by the Supreme Command of U.S. Forces in Germany..."
When the Stars and Stripes bid farewell to the Red Star once again over the Elbe River, General Eisenhower, hundreds of kilometers away, had to prepare for this defeat.
"The price of optimism and confidence, General. It seems the soldiers have made a wasted trip this time." Clay accompanied him, also showing a helpless expression as he looked at the information sent back from Magdeburg.
"Not at all. At least we didn't just hand over a formidable barrier." Presumably, no matter how unprecedented or extraordinary these extraterrestrial visitors are, it wouldn't be easy for an army of hundreds of thousands or even millions to cross a river hundreds of meters wide. The answer is simple: the Oder River to the east allowed the enemy to remain in one place while also restricting the Soviet army's movements.
"Alright, perhaps we should confirm the next steps with Field Marshal Montgomery again? I think he's more likely to find weaknesses in defense."
"I hope so. Let him go to London and come back. But..." Ike couldn't help but sigh. "As for Marshal Zhukov, we have done everything we could on the ground. I just hope there won't be any more trouble in the air."
……
When an officer came to collect the original telegram and helped tidy up the mess on the table, he discovered another draft telegram left by General Eisenhower.
"...This is the first time in the history of the U.S. Army that we have conducted such a large-scale joint operation with another country, and it is also the first time that we have conducted a large-scale joint military operation with the Soviet Union. This is a great victory for the Allies, and it is the result of the bloody battles fought by all our officers and soldiers. We have successfully shattered the delusional attempt of the Britannian Empire to invade our wounded world. Now they are like lions in a cage, waiting for us in Berlin to finally strangle them."
"We are about to reclaim our peace. The brave warriors who have sacrificed their lives since the Berlin Incident will finally rest in peace. In this series of military operations, everything has proven that our partners on the British Isles and our allies from Siberia are reliable and trustworthy. We will work together after this war to rebuild the civilized society that has been destroyed since 1939..."
Upon closer inspection, I could almost smell the salty sea breeze from Normandy about two years ago, but alas...
"Hmm?" Turning around, I found that the general had suddenly returned, seemingly to retrieve something he had forgotten.
“Oh, it’s good that you’re here.” Eisenhower nodded. “Draft a new telegram for me, telling General George Patton at the Fifteenth Army headquarters to come see me tomorrow morning. I have something to arrange for him. Also, convey the same message to the commander of the 4th Armored Division and his lieutenant colonel, Clayton Abrams.”
……
So where was that telegram, filled with negative words, sent? On the other side of the Atlantic.
As soon as General Omar Bradley's car came to a stop, the communications officer here received a telegram from the Pentagon and handed it to him.
"Hmm, it feels like it's been a long time since I've been this busy." Since being appointed acting Chief of the Army General Staff by General Marshall and approving Eisenhower's Operation Reef, Bradley had been constantly worried about this five-star general who was three years his senior. As time went on, he naturally sensed the impending defeat, and upon seeing this news, he wasn't too surprised—to survive such a combined three-nation offensive, the enemy's strength was indeed expected.
It is said that the enemy's technological level is higher than that of any of the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, and France? This means that the necessity for Stars and Stripes to deploy more advanced weapons as soon as possible is increasing. When it comes to technology, the first thing that comes to mind is the fighter jets in the sky. This is also the reason why Bradley came here - Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, which is adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean.
Before he arrived, a general who had also come from the Pentagon had been waiting for him for a long time: Curtis LeMay.
"I heard you're not feeling well working at the Pentagon?" Bradley asked with a smile. "Worried about the guys in the Eighth Air Force?"
"At least they still managed to 'never evade' it; Berlin is still like an ant on a hot pan."
“But there’s something I want to pass on to you.” Brad Lidley paused. “The flying cowboys actually didn’t form a proper formation in the sky. Of course, it was those jet-powered bombers on the other side whose turbulent wakes were making the air fortress tremble. After all, trying to push something that big into the air is a matter of force.”
“Well, if our guys had that much carrying capacity, I think the Missouri could have gone to Tokyo Bay months earlier, because that damn island would have been burned to ashes... no, what’s the point of holding a surrender ceremony if it’s burned to the ground? All the Japanese speakers would have gone to hell.”
"Unfortunately, although General Doolittle is still planning the bombing mission, he has already ordered a halt to the air raids on Berlin." LeMay probably knows the reason: "He is now discussing new methods with the Royal Air Force, and we will have to use some clever tactics."
"Isn't that why we're here?"
……
Bradley and LeMay weren't there to inspect the troops; there was an unfamiliar but distinctive face. The designers from Republic Aviation had brought the general a new jet fighter—the XP-84 "Thunderjet."
Since President Truman declared war in Congress, the development of many weapons systems has been accelerated somewhat due to pressure. The Thunderjet, which was originally slated for its maiden flight today, was finally tested last month by engineers. It seems Lockheed, the creator of the P-80, has encountered a formidable competitor.
Two well-maintained prototype aircraft were now placed in front of the two generals, set against the azure sky, like adult eagles eagerly taking flight.
“I’ve heard that the guys on the Mustang Angels often tell a joke these days.” Li Mei seemed to suddenly remember something. “Fighting the new enemies is like tearing a chocolate wrapper with a toothpick. Browning machine guns can no longer easily destroy those guys that are twice the size of the Sky Fortress.”
"I've heard that Grumman's pandas have similar ideas. It seems a bit difficult to adapt the British gentlemen's Hispano cannons to these new birds. I hope the problem can be resolved soon. I don't want the supermen of the air force to have to embroider clothes for Chocolate while Lancaster is already showing off with 20mm cannons."
"Then, how about we take care of providing those superhumans with even stronger fortresses?"
Now, as the P-84 prepared to ignite its jet engines and head for the runway, a roaring, forest-like inferno swept across the sky from the west, engulfing everyone overhead.
……
Bradley looked up, his eyes filled with satisfaction and unforgettable memories; Li Mei raised her neck, revealing genuine confidence and anticipation.
……
Just as they had said before, the enemy's strength was within their expectations, and for that reason, for the past month since the start of the war, they had been busy traveling between France and Britain, aiming to provide more nesting places for the eagles now passing overhead.
The embers of Tokyo's fire had been extinguished for far too long. The B-29 Superfortress bombers, like snowflakes scattered in an avalanche, were awakening, their pent-up hatred and rage barely contained. They came from the Pacific, from the assembly lines that had just rolled off, from various military airfields across North America, soaring over General LeMay's head like a pack of wolves charging past their alpha, taking flight towards the radiant sky, towards the European continent across the Atlantic.
Just as the girl from the other world said, the white star insignia that fell in Berlin was only the beginning.
In Bradley and LeMay's eyes, these eagles flying eastward were only the beginning of this war.
The departure of the Superfortress brings more than just hope for victory in this war.
……
"You fly fast, bro! We're waiting for you in Paris!"
The crew of a B-29 flew over a cloud, watching the F-84, which had just taken off, swiftly pass through the formation of Superfortresses, battling a bald eagle under lightning. No bird of prey could better replicate this magnificent figure.
As they continued their ascent, they unexpectedly encountered an aircraft carrier at sea, escorted by warships.
"Oh, look at this, it seems a distinguished person has come to see us off?"
Bathed in the bright sunlight of the east, they could see the Hellcat fighters piled up on the aircraft carrier, gliding off the deck in an orderly fashion, stretching their bodies like a boxer who hadn't used his skills in a long time and was about to warm up his muscles for the impending bloody battle.
Naturally, without much effort, the B-29 pilots all clearly saw the two English letters written on the front of the deck, symbolizing invincibility—EN.
"It's an honor to meet you this way, good luck, E."
……