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"Huh?" He seemed to have seen something and immediately stopped the whole team. "American tanks? Three Porcupines!"
When news arrived that several Shermans had unexpectedly encountered the group ahead, it was like a pair of scissors tearing a hole in a sack full of grain. The advancing main force immediately dispersed from the long marching column, forming staggered formations and slowly approaching the American forces.
"Can you see anything else, Captain?"
"Confirmed, three porcupines, no infantry or other enemy units."
"Very good. Vanguard troops, listen up! Assault guns cut off their retreat, KMF recoilless rifles fire directly, and the rest of the companies do not expose their firepower."
The shells flew away with a series of thunderous roars, and the three tanks in the binoculars were instantly engulfed by the fire of nine or eight KMFs. The forest and fields behind them were also turned into a sea of fire.
"All troops, maintain formation and continue advancing, be on alert for any other possible enemy... Halt!"
"Damn it, Captain, are you sure you found a porcupine?"
"If you want to get someone fired, then use my binoculars!"
What he said was absolutely true; that outline could only be that of a Sherman. But why was it that, apart from the broken tracks and the blackened hulls of the three tanks that should have been easily destroyed, not a single flame could be seen?
"Fire again!"
Two or three more recoilless rifle shots were fired, but the tanks were still unharmed. All the bullets landed squarely on the tanks, and the tanks were not facing the correct direction, with no ricochets.
"They...they moved! They're alive!"
Now it was the officer's turn to "disable" everyone's sighting devices. Incredibly, everyone watched as two of the three Sherman tanks slowly turned their turrets around.
"Watch out for smoke!" Shells came hurtling in, exploding into two clouds of white phosphorus that enveloped the group. The captain quickly ducked into the turret, closed the hatch, and grabbed the gas mask beside him. "What's next, sir? Retreat or advance?"
……
"Reporting, Colonel, uh... vehicle number two is out of commission. We are trying to reverse. There are no casualties yet."
"Stop retreating, keep firing in place, we are now moving to the flank."
At the same time, the US Army colonel leading this tank battalion commanded his tanks to slowly advance from both flanks towards the enemy's side.
He lay sprawled on his M4A3E8, holding binoculars in one hand and a Britannian-made PDA in the other, which he held in front of his eyes.
"Well, it's not as clear as with binoculars, but at least I can slip a war correspondent into my pocket, right?" He chuckled easily, turned off the recording, and glanced at the terrain one last time on the map.
"Attention, 37th Tank Battalion! This is Colonel Abrams. We have engaged the enemy in a skirmish. B Company has been suppressed. Advance to the flanks!"
"Fire smoke grenades toward B Company to cover their retreat! Prioritize attacking enemy assault guns!"
……
Without helicopters, Mustangs, or Thunderbolts, and without any prior air raids or artillery preparations, the tanks adorned with white stars and the mud-covered armored formations clashed and fought each other fiercely.
Smoke and chest-high bushes provided the only cover on the plain. The trajectories of artillery shells and the tracers of machine guns darted overhead like eagles and mosquitoes. Just as a sliver of smoke grazed between the helmet and ear, the enemy cannon would set you and the vehicle beneath you ablaze, turning you and the vehicle into a simmering iron pot.
The word "encounter" represents too many unexpected events, even if you don't need to fight in a steel coffin.
As a Britannian infantryman sitting in an infantry fighting vehicle, the order to disembark suddenly came when the fighting began. Of course, it was also unexpected that he was caught off guard before he could even step out of the vehicle before he died.
For a tank crewman operating a Sherman, the sudden damage and fire of the vehicle was unexpected. Similarly, the unexpected death of a crewman who had just emerged from the escape hatch under the vehicle, feeling miraculously alive, was caused by the turret exploding in the explosion and landing on him.
In an extremely short time, one after another, the dark steel monsters were ignited as quickly as cardboard boxes thrown into a furnace. This time, when an American tank fired a bullet into the glacier of an assault gun, a mud pit filled with the sound of fireworks appeared on the ground. This time, when a KMF anti-tank round pierced the hull of a Sherman, a porcupine lay asleep in the thick smoke by the grass.
The white barrier of smoke grenades has gradually dissipated, replaced by the charcoal smoke rising from burning steel coffins that once enveloped the battlefield. The smell of gunpowder has gradually faded. The strange fragrance and nauseating stench of the Sakura Stone Energy Blocks and gasoline, which were detonated and ignited respectively, completely dispelled any trace of the arrival of spring.
Abandoned tank hulls and fragmented doll bodies gradually became cover scattered across the battlefield.
……
"AP, 1200 yards, fire!" The 76mm shell left the barrel. After a fierce battle, the last combat-ready assault gun was destroyed by the Abrams's gun. "All crews halt, reverse and fire in the opposite direction of the enemy! Quickly!"
The remaining threats are infantrymen slowly approaching with rocket launchers, and KMF's recoilless rifles.
Just then, an ominous sign appeared in the sky. A swarm of jet engines drew near, and several Britannian jets slowly descended from the sky. But upon closer inspection, they hastily dropped their rockets, and the two Meteor jets that were closely following behind were revealed.
The Royal Air Force in the sky was already locked in fierce combat with the enemy, as if telling the colonel not to worry too much about the air and to focus on the ground.
"Huh?" With poor visibility, Abrams only then noticed a uniquely colored figure in the enemy ranks, holding a huge green glass object. And it was heading straight for the charging B Company's last Jumbo tank.
When the recoilless gun's armor-piercing shells hit its frontal armor, they only left welding torch-like cuts, and the thick gun shield could only leave faint ash on it.
"Fire! Keep firing!" The other tanks in the rear continued to fire at the agile shield bearer, which skillfully weaved between Jumbo and the other tanks, constantly attacking the tanks behind it with its recoilless rifle.
The slow-moving Jumbo has become a hindrance. Turning away and exposing his side would surely mean certain death, but the heavy turret is gradually unable to keep up with the jumping tiger's pace.
Colonel Abrams was also dumbfounded from a distance—he checked his PDA and realized that the guy with the energy shield in front of him was no ordinary Sunderland Crabbe. This guy's Vincent had been upgraded, and just now, he calmly blocked a 76mm bullet.
Just as Vincent stepped onto the front armor of the Jumbo, intending to raise his shield forward and fire a shot at the top of the head to finish off the iron turtle, a sharp and powerful cannon roar came from behind, pulling everyone back from the premonition of losing this behemoth.
Like an owl hunting its prey, suddenly colliding head-on with a giant iron ball used by a crane to demolish a house, amidst blinding sparks and the dissipating green light, Vincent's upper body jerked backward, his legs jutting forward, and he crashed solidly into the behemoth's turret.
Well, it's like an acrobat trying to do a handstand on horseback but falling off. Before he can even get up, a high-explosive shell comes flying in. The tank crew, still in shock, follow the afterimage of the shell and look back at the swarming rear troops, with the M36 tank destroyer leading the way.
"This is the 8th Tank Battalion and the 10th Armored Infantry Battalion. What's the situation?"
Abrams stood atop his tank, wiping away sweat with a sigh of relief. He gazed at the forest fires that had long since burned down from the crashed Britannian jets, the high-speed airflow of the Meteor fighter jets sweeping overhead, bringing a touch of coolness.
……
"Target confirmed, descending, drop bombs!"
Braving the machine guns and cannons everywhere, several squadrons of Mosquito and Meteor fighters swooped down like knives licking blood, and the pontoon bridge built next to Schönebeck finally broke into pieces on the river surface amidst a huge splash of water.
General Morrison, commander of the 39th Army, was extremely uneasy and desperately tried to contact Windsor.
"What should I do, sir! The American forces have now trapped me and my four divisions on the west bank of the river! My supply lines, my remaining three divisions, have all been left on the other side!"
“I already know, General. We’ll talk about your mistake later. Move your troops as far north as possible, toward Helmstedt. Don’t let the American forces sever our connection from another direction.”
And so, in another small town, a large group of people draped in the Britannian flag suddenly appeared and crowded all the streets.
“Very good, like dominoes.”
And so, a figure gradually emerged from a grove near the town—a familiar sergeant, wearing the insignia of the First Division on his arm, climbed onto an M19 weapons carrier.
"Take this, Sergeant Jonathan, it's your turn to load it!"
Thus, the twin Bofors anti-aircraft guns mounted on it, along with tanks, cannons, and armored vehicles from all directions, gradually aimed at the tides surging northward.
"Let's pray that we gave our comrades who died in Berlin a proper burial..."
Section 367, Chapter 285, HBE Reporting Name (Part 3)
Whether it was an oversight at the military academy or a long-term decline in physical fitness, Caronville was diagnosed with heatstroke after returning from a military conference during the day and preparing to continue his work.
The Berlin night gradually became lively and colorful. As usual, he locked himself in front of his desk, holding a pen in one hand and a damp towel in the other, covering his mouth and nose. His breathing sounded like the eerie wind coming from a cave, and he coughed incessantly.
"Colonel? You really are here. I found a bottle of medicine."
The one who pushed open the door was Shishian—the Knights of Agincourt hadn't had any urgent missions lately, and they had just acquired a lot of information on new equipment from the US and British armies, so they sent a few people to assist him.
"Thank you, Lieutenant."
"Put the pen down first, here." Xixi'an didn't seem to have any intention of turning around and leaving. She unscrewed the medicine bottle and handed it to the colonel. "I warmed it up with hot water. Drink it quickly."
"Huh?!" Just as he finished drinking, Caronville was startled. The lieutenant suddenly bent down and pressed his forehead against Caronville's, almost making him jump off his chair.
"I want to check if you have a fever..."
"I've never had a relationship with a member of the opposite sex done this way before, except for my mom... Do you do this to everyone, Xixi'an?" The colonel scratched his head shyly, his cough disappearing in fright.
"We're all brothers and sisters standing together under the same flag, what's there to be embarrassed about?" Xixi'an's lips curled up as she flipped through the documents on the table. "It's quite surprising that the American and British tanks aren't as capable as the Soviet ones, but they're quite good at creating all sorts of oddballs."
“Ha, who knows what their engineers were thinking. Look.” Caronville pulled out a few photos of Sherman tanks. “They’re all ‘Porcupines,’ right? Look at their turrets, the specifications of their cannons, and look at the outline of the hull. Just compare any two and you’ll see a huge difference.”
"Hmm, perhaps that's why we and the other side are both the dominant forces in our own world's America? We are Sunderland, Gloucester, Vincent, all with the same skeleton, but each with our own differences? In their case, it's interpreted as 'porcupine'?"
"Do you understand why His Highness Kelly is so distrustful of the US military? Others think the same way we do." Caronville paused. "However, that's not what I'm worried about lately. The codename for the M26 tank has already been confirmed as Triceratops, and what's even more certain is that there seem to be more and more of these beings that are slightly inferior to the 'Giant Horned Rhinoceros'."
"Hmm..." Xixi'an took the report from the colonel, her expression not good. "Except for a very few weapons, the Triceratops is completely immune to KMF attacks from the front, and can even block armor-piercing rounds from assault guns to some extent?"
"The British seconded it." The colonel handed her another photo of the British Churchill tank. "Does it look familiar? These roaming iron turtles have also been codenamed 'Giant Crab.' Judging from the name, you can imagine that its armor is no easier to deal with than that of a Triceratops, even though it is slow and its firepower is not even as good as that of a porcupine."
"So our opponent played the fool and fooled us, right?"
Receiving no reply, Xixi'an turned to look. Karonville walked to the window, put the towel back in front of his mouth, and coughed a few times.
“I’m very worried about the situation of the Expeditionary Force, and the upcoming battle in Sector 45, Lieutenant.” A worried expression was on his face. “If things continue like this, whether it’s the United States, the Soviet Union, or our destined adversary, Great Britain, there will definitely be more insurmountable ‘monsters’ facing us, and we…”
“You’ve probably heard about it.” Caronville paused, then turned around. “His Highness Kelly has decided to use the vacant factory area in the Berlin Underground City, as well as most of the land outside the city, as production lines for new combat vehicles. The source of these vehicles will be those blueprints and prototypes that have been left idle in the Empire and have been neglected to the point of mold.”
"That sounds like a good thing, Colonel."
“Yes, it sounds like, just ‘it sounds like’.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how capable these new faces are, but there are two key points that are absolutely crucial.”
"Where will we get the raw materials to manufacture these weapons? Her Highness the Princess and Prince Schneizel are currently at odds, making it difficult to travel to our homeland, and we haven't even found an iron ore mine in District 45 yet. Secondly, even if we start manufacturing and putting them into service now, how long will it take for all our personnel to be equipped? And what kind of opponents will await our expeditionary force then?"
“There will be challenges in the future, but it’s too early to think about them now. Besides,” Shisian straightened his beret, “these should be the tasks of engineers and logistics officers. Everyone has their own responsibilities, and the colonel should just do his job.”
……
After she spread out the photos of the other Allied tanks, she pulled Caronville back to the table.
"Even if it's just playing cards with pictures of enemy armored vehicles, every card has its significance. If the colonel thinks that the US, USSR, and UK are not opponents to be underestimated, then he should think carefully about their motives for building these things."
"Oh, these are basically the reconnaissance and fire support equipment used by their army, as well as anti-aircraft firepower."
"The M24 light tank, codenamed Skunk, was the only one capable of posing a direct threat to assault guns. Then came the Stuart light tank and the M8 armored vehicle, codenamed Toad and Owl, respectively. As for these half-track vehicles, they were used by the US military for transporting personnel, serving a similar purpose to infantry fighting vehicles, but why did the generals codename them 'Caterpillar'?"
“It should be related to these two things.” Xixi’an looked at the M16 weapon carrier and the M19 weapon carrier at the end of the list. “The former is a modified half-track vehicle, so it’s like a ‘dead leaf butterfly’. The latter’s chassis is a ‘skunk’, so it’s like a ‘raccoon’, which is also a eutherian.”
“Tsk tsk tsk…” Caronville raised an eyebrow. “I can’t keep up with a girl’s way of thinking.”
“Then I’ll ask you a question too.” Xixi’an pursed her lips playfully, “Do American tanks need to worry about their neighboring anti-aircraft vehicles falling asleep? Do British artillery need to worry about the red and blue concentric circles in the sky abandoning their protection?”
“If everyone can’t do their job properly, or even trust each other, then it’s bound to collapse at the slightest touch.” Xixi’an grasped Caronville’s cold palms with both of hers. “Clearly, the entire 45th District Expeditionary Force, from top to bottom, is gradually shining. So please, Colonel, promise me that you’ll finish writing your notes before you go and chat with the engineers, okay?”
……
"You two seem to be having a rather deep conversation?" At that moment, Angelie, who also worked as an assistant to Caronville, entered.
"Ahem, Lieutenant, how is His Highness the Prince?"
"Although His Highness was still somewhat resistant, he eventually agreed to the decision to name the jet fighter 'Phoenix.' Well, you know, the real name of this 'Phoenix' is Gloucester Meteor. Look at their Gloucester, and then look at our Gloucester, cough..."
"So, have Your Highness and the generals come up with an effective way to deal with it? Otherwise, the sentence I just mentioned might come true: being helpless in the face of a new generation of enemies."
“You are a talented staff officer, not a pessimistic philosopher all day long.” Angelie walked calmly to the desk and laid out a stack of documents. “Xixi’an and I will take you outside to relax now. As for the code names of the American bombers that the generals just decided on in their meeting, I’ve written them down for you.”
"Bomber? You mean that new face that recently bombed Stralsund?"
"Yes, starting today, unlike the 'Flamingo' of the B-17 and B-24, the B-29's codename will be 'Icarus'."
……
After leaving the office, the three of them chatted about the war, but then an awkward silence fell over them.
“Um… I’m sorry, I really don’t usually chat with girls.” Caronville scratched his head repeatedly. “Let’s get back to the old topic… I heard that your Knights have been quite scattered lately?”
“As you can see, Colonel.” Angelie looked up at the sky. “Many members of the Knights of Agincourt either died in battle during the Berlin Crisis or were dismissed during Her Highness Elizabeth’s purge. The new recruits are clearly not yet familiar with the situation.”
“So, including the four of us in our squadron,” Shissian added, “besides the two of us who are currently in the rear, Juliet and Ypel are now on the front lines as a fire support task force. After all, the latter has to live up to the cheap scattering hadron cannon she’s carrying, right?”
"Wait, isn't your team supposed to have five people? There's one more..."
"You mean Lilizia?"
"It's her. Are there any other people in your team?" Caronville asked, somewhat surprised. "The Knights are known for their elite fighters. Shouldn't she be leading the task force?"
“Lily…” Angelie’s expression suddenly turned sour. “According to the commander’s orders and the doctor’s diagnosis, she must stay in the rear as a recruit instructor and is not allowed to engage in combat except for defensive operations.”
“Now that you mention it, I seem to remember something.” Caronville thought for a moment, “Today I saw a young lady with short white hair in a hospital room. She looked so sick that I couldn’t believe she was such a top player.”
"Huh?" Xixi'an turned around. "She's in trouble again?"
“Alright, finally I have a topic to start.” Caronville shrugged. “Since Lily is a brave yet lonely girl who’s been acting strangely lately, there must be some story behind her, right?”
Chapter 286, Section 368: Lonely Loyalty
The story begins in the early spring of 2012 in the Chinese calendar.
As the war to conquer the world began, Japan, a small neutral country, became an enemy of the Holy Britannian Empire, along with the EU.
This group of British, who were once known for "abandoning their homeland," now only took a few months to make Japan surrender. The glory of the EU, which had once conquered the British Isles, is gone, and it is gradually losing its will to fight and initiative under its powerful military force.