Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

Page 195

"Too unlucky, Captain..." The radios and PDAs they had salvaged from the wreckage were all useless. If they couldn't get any guidance or contact any friendly forces, these soldiers would continue to wander on the ever-changing battlefield, guided by Anton's compass and distant landmarks, or simply wait to be killed by the approaching enemy troops.

"Everyone lie down!" A sound different from a propeller approached from the sky. Looking up, they saw a lone white bird slowly circling and slowing down.

Isn't that a Britannian troop transport plane? Presumably, it's not here to dig potatoes, given its vertical takeoff and landing capability.

……

The captain lowered the landing gear and stopped not far from a large tree, waiting for two other crew members wearing red crosses to carry the pilot out of the shade of the tree on a stretcher.

"Tell me when you're done!" He turned around, intending to wait for the hatch to close, but he vaguely noticed what seemed like an unfriendly head flashing past in front of the cockpit.

"Damn it!" Just as he heard the sound of his two companions' noses cracking and was about to draw their pistols, he turned around and saw Anton rubbing the sight of a PPSh-41 against his chin like an itch, along with two other Soviet soldiers who had subdued the rear-end of the gun.

"O...OK?" The captain panicked. "It's okay that I didn't buy a ticket."

“I don’t like jokes, sir.” Anton’s sharp question was like a bayonet pressed against the captain’s eyes. “I need you to answer me: how do you Britannia usually treat captured Soviet pilots after they parachute? Show me.”

“Understood, understood.” The captain handed the pistol to the captain. “What else do you need me to do? ‘Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Flight X of the Free Meal Airlines’? How do you find that service?”

Anton, with an indifferent expression, grabbed the captain's head, pointed to the control panel, and asked which one was the communication device. After understanding, he tossed the captain to the back.

"This is Captain Anton Vasilyev." His heart pounding as he adjusted the radio frequency and amplitude, "Any Soviet Red Army unit radio receiving this message, please contact me immediately! Respond if you hear me!... Hurry, hurry, someone speak!"

……

"Very good, comrades, clean your eyes and make sure there's something conspicuous hanging on that plane."

Not long after, a plane covered with a white sheet with a red cross slowly came to a stop on a small hill where Soviet infantry were stationed in the distance.

"You can get out now." Anton and several soldiers from the company ushered the crew members out of the cabin and shook hands with the major in front of them. "The rest of the troops will arrive on foot soon, but there are some things that need to be delivered to you urgently."

“Very brave comrade.” The major patted the captain on the shoulder. “This will be the first time we’ve been this close to a complete vertical takeoff and landing troop transport aircraft. The generals will be very pleased.”

"Forgive my bluntness, but it's a bit too early to be happy, comrade." Anton frowned and strained his voice as he took the water bottle handed to him by a young comrade next to him. "Hide the plane first. The enemy in front of you may not be in a hurry to find it, but it's not too far away from you."

"Sit down, Captain. Speak slowly, what news do you have?"

"I had the pilot look from the sky for a while... To be honest, from the northeast, about 4 kilometers away, the dust heading towards you would require at least a hundred KMFs and tanks to raise. I hope the artillery that our company couldn't fight alongside back then is heading towards you."

The major took a deep breath, his face showing some worry. He gritted his teeth and turned to pick up the phone to call for artillery support from his superiors.

"Do me one more favor, Major," Anton said frantically, stretching out his hand. "Please ask the nearby units if they have any news of Lieutenant Lemilia Petrovsky... We got separated during the retreat, and we haven't heard from him since..."

The major didn't say anything, but took out his handkerchief.

"Take a good rest, comrade. Don't worry, this time it's my turn to tell them how to fight."

……

"The defenses of the Eighth Guards Army have now been breached. The Britannian army has concentrated about five divisions to attack our lines. The 39th and 79th Guards Infantry Divisions of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps have already had one and two lines of defense breached, respectively. Lacking support from heavy weapons and armored units, they often have to face attacks from a dozen or even twenty humanoid weapons or armored vehicles in the form of an infantry platoon. The artillery and air force are already stretched thin in this situation."

"Since the arrival of a large number of enemy reinforcements, the pressure on the various units on the southern front and neighboring army groups has increased dramatically. The fierce offensive has not only brought about a sharp increase in casualties and equipment losses, but also put a lot of pressure on the rear. At present, it seems that the Britannian army has no intention of rushing to cross the Oder River and has been taking a defensive stance. If it continues to launch a high-pressure offensive on the remaining German-occupied areas, the fall of Leipzig, Dresden, and our last few major cities in Germany will be only a matter of time."

"We must promptly shift the pressure of the entire Soviet Red Army elsewhere, at least to other directions on the southern front of Berlin. None of us want the old saying to come true: 'Let the current Soviet forces stationed in Germany repeat the mistakes of Operation Barbarossa in 1941.' — General Chuikov, Eighth Guards Army."

Sitting in the new headquarters of the Soviet forces stationed in Leipzig, Marshal Zhukov received the telegram and pondered the many unfavorable factors facing him, but simply smiled indifferently.

At the same time, General Soklovsky also brought him an order from Moscow.

"Marshal, Comrade Stalin seems very dissatisfied with the current situation... He has now given us a death order: we are not allowed to withdraw from Germany before the Britannian army enters the American and British-occupied zone. Your previous plan to abandon Leipzig and Dresden at the cost of this has been rejected. He also stated that if you disobey the order, you will be stripped of your title of Hero of the Soviet Union."

The Marshal remained unhurried, taking over from Comrade Stalin word by word and beginning to read it with great interest.

"You must think of another way, Marshal!" The general was getting anxious. "We have to play this game now, whether we like it or not! Leipzig is alright, it has the Elbe River and its tributaries to protect it, but Dresden is completely on the plains! And if the latter falls, Leipzig will definitely fall too! Our supply lines are already saturated, and we can't bring more troops to Germany!"

"Then what do you think of our allies on the west side?" Zhukov finally spoke.

"It's no use. The British and American allies have already begun to deploy along the Elbe River, confronting Britannia head-on. They can no longer bring their troops to the gates of Berlin." The general shook his head. "How can we expect the western forces to share the burden?"

"I never said we should let the Allies attack first; I meant we should let the enemy attack first," the Marshal smiled slightly. "You've forgotten that there's a place to the north that belongs to Germany, haven't you?"

"You mean Rügen Island? Britannia is already planning to land on the island and seize it."

"Don't worry, it's hard to say whose flag will be planted on this island anytime soon." Zhukov said, taking an envelope out of his drawer. "Tell Colonel Kodelevsky, the commander of the island, not to leave the position. Someone will come to help him soon."

"With both anti-landing support for the island and the threat of Britannian warships, the Red Navy probably can't handle it, Marshal?"

Soklovsky was frantic, but then he saw the marshal take out another written order, which was to be given to the commander of the Baltic Fleet.

"There are two important things that must be conveyed to the comrades in the Red Navy: First, when assisting in the defense of Rügen Island, you must not take the initiative to attack. Second, you must contact the Swedish side as soon as possible and have them come to London with us for a meeting. As for my intentions, you will understand later."

"Relax, comrade, this war will be decided one day." The marshal began to doze off in his seat. A second before closing his eyes, he glanced with satisfaction at the letter on the table bearing the coat of arms of the British Royal Navy.

……

"Comrades, hurry up! Disembark in an orderly manner!"

As night fell, the tranquil sea east of Rügen Island was teeming with activity. Thousands of Soviet soldiers, who had arrived by ship from Szczecin, orderly stepped onto the dock to support the island's defenses.

Catherine and Ilya were among them by accident. Touching the darkness and the dim light, the two realized that the direction of the group after landing was a bit wrong. Why were they putting away their guns in front?

"One after another, hold on tight!" They followed behind several comrades carrying Mosin-Nagant or SVT-40 rifles. After handing their guns and bullets to a sergeant, they turned around and handed them to a familiar-looking face.

"Oh, so that's why we had to take out all our bullets beforehand on the ship?" So everyone's going to switch to SKS rifles once we get to the island? No wonder they're cracking down on these older guys who use different types of ammunition.

"Wait, are you snipers?" The sergeant noticed the scopes on their rifles. "Then you don't need to change them, just keep going."

Well, it seems the whole island knows this new face isn't suited for the job of being a sharpshooter, for now.

Upon closer inspection, the disembarking team was divided into three groups. The PPSh-45s and heavy machine gun teams left directly from the middle because they did not need to change. On the left, the rifles were being replaced with SKS rifles, and on the right, the DPs were being replaced with RPD light machine guns.

Continuing forward, all three teams reached the second checkpoint, where each individual and each machine gun squad received a long, thin stick.

"Are you kidding me? One Iron Fist per person... oh no, RPG-1?" Ekaterina was speechless. "Is the disease among tank crew comrades so contagious? And we snipers have to carry them too? We've never learned to smash a KMF dog's head with a grenade from 800 miles away."

The soldier who issued the weapon replied succinctly: "Face reality, girl. This is not only a compromise due to the lack of artillery, but also ensures that when you are sacrificed, at least the other comrades will have one more time to aim."

When they reached the end of the column, what they were given was even more outrageous—where did our comrades get so many Britannian army night vision goggles and individual walkie-talkies?

"Every soldier and every machine gun crew has a radio and night vision goggles! Take the weapon and equipment manuals from the cabinets across the way!" An NKVD comrade was also helping to maintain order. "Get a good rest tonight, comrades. Get used to your new gear as soon as possible. We will fight bravely on this island!"

Chapter 247, Section 327: The Pawn Crosses the Milky Way

I've forgotten how long it's been since I moved to Japan; the torn-off calendar pages have filled this trash can.

"Taylor, you stay here and watch."

Davis and his four soldiers stopped in front of a restaurant, while the other three went inside.

“OK, kid.” He called over a familiar-looking receptionist. “Same as always, we’re here to check the ‘special chemicals’ again, you understand.”

The waiter skillfully led them to a room at the back of the restaurant—as usual, upon entering the room, they saw Clark had set out a table of food on his desk.

"It's so good to see you guys, buddy, come on over."

"It must be awkward to always have you treat me, right?" Davis picked up the newly opened glass of red wine first. "Cheers to your successful trip home."

“Okay, guys, take your time eating.” Clark smiled, then pulled a notebook from under the table, which contained a complete record of his observations and experiences in Berlin. “Listen to me while you eat.”

……

“Okay, let me summarize.” After the meal, Davis fiddled with the toothpick in his hand with a worried look. “First, these bastards built a lot of buildings in Berlin, then they dug a lot of mazes underground, and then they planned to build a lot of war fortifications in Berlin, send a lot of people and a lot of warships, and at the same time they were arresting people like crazy.”

"Once you capture a pilot who has parachuted out, or a combatant captured on the front lines, immediately send him to Berlin or a town in the surrounding area. In no more than three days, you'll see what this other side of Japan looks like—a world of towering buildings, where the filthy Brandenburg Gate is nowhere to be seen... Each soldier is treated like a miser dropping gold coins from his wallet, damn it."

“No soldier can escape from them now. We have so much important information but we can’t get it out. Moscow, Washington, and London must be worried for us.” Clark sighed. “Our cowboys were thinking of escaping from the jaws of death, but this time they’ve been met with a vacuum cleaner.”

“According to their priority, field officers and generals are on the highest alert, though it seems none have been caught yet… Next are pilots, regardless of rank, then ground troops, including junior officers, sergeants, and privates.” Philip chuckled again. “You know, these enemies are quite interesting. They don’t seem very good at fighting, but they’re as shrewd at taking heads as Clark. Ha, most likely they’re just after laborers.”

"Stop teasing me, let's change the subject." Clark thought of something else, "Have you heard any gossip about the military?"

“They’re going to play Columbus to District 45, no, to our world.” Garcia’s face showed a hint of anger. “I’m hearing a lot of news in the barracks about the families of the District 45 expeditionary force moving to Berlin. At the same time, we’re also helping to gather a lot of laborers to support the infrastructure construction in Berlin. Of course, the latter can also bring their families to settle down.”

"Then the news we've heard is pretty much the same. The existence of our world is just one step away from being made public." Clark was stunned. "You guys think, such a big country, if it really gets angry with us, and mobilizes several times or even more than ten times our total manpower and production resources, then the extraterrestrial visitors living around Berlin will outnumber our guns... I feel like the Native Americans are waiting to laugh at us at the gates of their paradise."

The room fell silent, and just then Philip thought of something.

“Wait, Clark, you just said that Britannia has basically allowed civilians to travel to Berlin now, right?”

"Yes, everything is ready except for the final push."

"I think this could be a breakthrough..."

"Hey? Now that you mention it, I think I have an idea." Clark quickly lit a cigarette to strike while the iron was hot. "Sir, there's something I'd like to ask you to prepare for, is that alright?"

Davis sat up straight, staring intently at him.

“Pick a young man in our POW camp who has an average face and not too high a rank. He must be one of ours or British. No matter how good the Russians are at English, if their accent is too heavy, it won’t work. Then I’ll have my men go and look among the German civilians and Britannian laborers in Area 11.”

"What are they planning to do?"

"I haven't figured out the specific execution plan yet. In short, it's never a bad thing to have more cards in hand. Let's select a few that are viable on both sides first, and then we'll act according to the situation. Of course, if you discover any opportunities during this period, please contact me immediately."

"Alright... but how do you define 'average face'?"

"Those who can command the wind and rain, those who are under close surveillance, those who are so handsome they can bend cannon barrels, those who are so ugly they make people want to smash bowls; those whose scars are too distinctive, those whose deeds could be recorded in a history museum—none of these are acceptable! I want the kind of person who can change their clothes and disappear into a crowd, the kind that you can never find in your entire life!"

“That sounds okay, but there’s something else you need to be careful about.” Davis’s tone became serious. “Recently, those Nazi dogs have been acting up. They’re arresting Black Knights supporters everywhere in District 11, and they’ve gained more power than us. They’re like mosquitoes, watching us day and night… If it weren’t for their banquet today, I probably wouldn’t be able to eat this meal.”

"Then let's see how well those Soviet guys learn English. They might be able to lend a hand," Clark thought to himself. "By the way, what have they been up to lately?"

"Heh, a great job. Do you still have the newspaper about beating up a bear in the street? I heard that because of that, a zoo offered a high price to have Stasevich and his two companions patrol the zoo and the surrounding area. Now, not only do they patrol the tourists, but the bear they beat up back then is still in that zoo. That big guy even salutes them when they pass by."

"Then aren't they being watched by Hans all the time?"

"If the Germans want to manage things, they need a legitimate reason. These few Russians have boosted the zoo's visitor numbers, and the zoo director is pushing his superiors to give them more authority. Hans is just sitting there watching with envy."

"Oh? Is it really true?" Clark looked surprised. "Making someone a celebrity just by being in the newspaper?"

"It's not just that, it seems they're doing other things too. For example, imitating a statue."

"Yes, they're mimicking the posture of their 'great Comrade Lenin,' exchanging their thoughts with the tourists coming and going. Let me put it this way, if words could be turned into parts, the words 'worker, peasant, proletariat' that Stasevich spewed from his mouth, along with a whole host of irrefutable criticisms of the feudal aristocracy and capitalists, could be assembled into an M4 tank."

"That would be great!"

"What a load of rubbish! How many people were willing to listen to his nonsense at the beginning? He assembled an M4 with a 75mm cannon, but your opponent is a Tiger tank. What's the point of talking about that? One young man even refused to support the Black Knights after listening to him."

"Huh? Isn't this just making things worse?"

"Not only the Black Knights, but even the Britannian Empire has stopped supporting him! It's said that this guy has gone mad, he doesn't go to work or eat, he's either following Stasevich and the others around all day, or he's writing all sorts of nonsensical and flamboyant things."

"So what exactly did Lenin teach them back then...?"

……

As they were talking, Davis's walkie-talkie suddenly rang; it was Taylor's voice.

"Boss, Sergeant Nagayama is looking for us. You'd better hurry. Also..."

"Also, I brought you a roasted chicken leg, don't rush me... Okay everyone, get back to work."

"I'll have someone clean this place up, sir. Just don't let this get out." There was some unease in Clark's eyes.

“As long as we don’t violate military discipline in front of her, she won’t cause us any trouble. We all know her.” Davis patted Clark on the shoulder before leaving. “It’s up to you now, kid. You’re going to have a tough task ahead of you.”

“It’s my duty, sir.” With that, Clark took out the mask codenamed Atlantic from the drawer. “Excuse me, I have to go see Zero too.”

Chapter 248, Section 328: Waiting for You Before Tokyo Bay, My Sister

Meeting the Black Knights was like the arrival of a cult leader. They carried him in a grand procession, with shouts and commands delivered in perfect unison. Although Clark wasn't ordered to remove his mask, he was searched to make sure he wasn't carrying any guns or knives before being allowed into an empty warehouse.

He was invited to sit at a table, and after waiting for a long time, several small lights were suddenly turned on. Only then did he see that ZERO and several other high-ranking Black Knights had been sitting opposite him for quite some time.

“Christ…” Clark was slightly startled. “Mr. ZERO always does this. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“This is a key element in controlling Britannia, Mr. Atlantic,” the man hidden beneath the black cloak and mask spoke. “Surprise attack, and by the time they realize it, it will be too late…”

“Seriously, we’re all family, is there any need to play these games?” Clark said impatiently. “Can’t we get straight to the point? You called me here to discuss the plan to kidnap the new governor, didn’t you? Nanali is arriving in the Tokyo concession in four days aboard the Skyship to take up her post as the new governor. If the raid fails and we end up stepping on a banana peel, we’ll lose face and reputation.”

A plain-looking man to ZERO's right muttered a few complaints to him, then gestured to his men to turn on the projector.

[Author's Note: The following statement is almost a complete replica of the original plot of episode 6 of season 2 of the anime, so feel free to comment.]

“My name is Kaname, and I will now introduce our action plan.” The Asian man began to point at the map on the screen. “Since the princess is traveling in a skyship, we must send our main weapon, the KMF, into the sky. At the same time, we do not yet have enough flight devices. Britannia’s flight wings are not compatible with our aircraft, so we must rely on external forces.”

“When we escaped the Tokyo Concession, we successfully stole several armed helicopters from the Britannia armory and the Chinese Federation embassy, ​​respectively. We're currently hiding them in an abandoned residential area in Maebashi City.” Kaname pointed to this location, about 60-70 kilometers northwest of Tokyo. “According to our tests, these helicopters can easily lift the KMF into the air, so we'll need them to introduce the princess.” [In the original work, the helicopters took off from the Chinese Federation embassy within the Tokyo Concession.]

"Four days after the princess arrives in Tokyo, we will attach the KMF to a helicopter and fly to the eastern sea area three hours before its air fleet arrives at Honshu Island. We will then conduct a boarding raid over the sea and rescue the princess as soon as possible. After that, we will be met by other forces that are waiting at sea."

……