dmims Page 9
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Upon regaining consciousness, John immediately ordered the entire division to accelerate its advance, aiming to reach Swabella as quickly as possible and annihilate the "Amelia Volunteer Army," which was attempting to stop him with its futile efforts. However, if he had known that the loss of the Royal Fusiliers Regiment, an entire tank battalion, and a large amount of supplies and resources was merely the beginning of a massive air raid, he probably would have preferred to remain unconscious.
Over the next three days, the 588th and 46th Air Regiments flew more than 30 sorties, dropping nearly 70 tons of aerial bombs. According to Lilia or the reconnaissance team's statistics, at least one tank regiment and two artillery battalions of the 73rd Infantry Division had their equipment destroyed on the march, and countless infantrymen were killed or wounded. The headquarters of the 83rd Infantry Brigade was even blown up in an air raid, and its commander, Major General Scripps, died in the raid, becoming the first General Belken to die in the war.
The arrogance that had grown from the initial easy advance melted away like ice and snow in the face of these devastating losses. The Belken landmen abandoned their underestimation and began to devise countermeasures against the air raids by the Amelia Volunteer Army.
Thus, on the third day of the air raids, Lilia finally faced a counterattack from ground fire.
As before, Lilia's Su-7BMK flew unimpeded over the enemy ranks. After a circle, it leisurely cut into the flight path from the head of the Belken Army's formation and began its dive. The attack aircraft's altitude dropped sharply to less than a thousand meters. Just as she was about to drop her bombs, a dense barrage of fire suddenly erupted from the ground. The barrage of green tracer rounds seemed intent on covering her position.
Lilia's small hand trembled, and she flung out two OFAB-250 missiles without even realizing it. She was taken aback—when did these Belkens get AA guns? The ground reconnaissance team hadn't mentioned the enemy having AA guns either. She quickly aborted the subsequent dive bombing procedure, pulled back on the stick to stop the dive, and increased the throttle to disengage. Since the enemy had AA guns, she'd take down these anti-aircraft defenses first and then play around with them later.
Seeing the Su-7 disappear into the distance, the AA gunners ceased firing, while Lilia began to recall the attack she had just suffered: the fire seemed to be concentrated on her flanks, and the enemy AA guns were likely positioned along the flight path she had just entered. Could this be a carefully laid trap by the Belken?
Let's test our skills against these AA guns and see if Belken's AA guns are tougher than our own attack aircraft. The Su-7 drew an arc in the air and returned to its original attack route, only in the opposite direction.
Lilia slammed the throttle to its limit, and the fighter roared as it dove towards the ground, dropping four bombs in quick succession. She didn't look back to check the bombs' impact points; her finger was on the trigger, her eyes fixed on the predicted AA position. However, no flames erupted from that spot. Had she misjudged? Lilia leveled the attack aircraft—otherwise, she'd be in close proximity to Gaia. But in that instant of leveling, she finally saw clearly: it was indeed Belken's AA position.
As for why the Belken soldiers didn't open fire, it's because what the girl identified as an AA gun was actually just a Belken machine gun. The Belken concentrated these infantry-grade machine guns together for anti-aircraft defense. Because these machine guns generally had low elevation angles, they placed several ammunition boxes under their tripods to increase the elevation. The short time the attack aircraft spent turning back wasn't enough for the Belken to turn these heavy machine guns 180 degrees—their tripods couldn't support it. Therefore, the moment the soldiers operating the machine guns saw the Su-7 returning from behind, they abandoned their guns and began to scatter.
I was just scared by the few broken machine guns of the Belken Japanese.
Realizing this, Lilia felt a surge of anger, wishing she could use Doraemon's time-traveling device to go back a few dozen seconds and punch herself. This was just too damn embarrassing! Probably nothing like this had ever happened in the entire 7th Brigade. If word got out, her career as an attack aircraft pilot would probably be over. In that case, she'd better make a huge fuss to cover it up!
The attack aircraft circled again in the air—after flying for some time, she had thoroughly familiarized herself with the aircraft's characteristics, thus greatly improving her maneuverability—she lowered the nose, pulled the trigger, and began strafing. The shells fired from the NR30 cannon created a wall of fire on the ground, rapidly spreading towards these "AA positions." Whether wooden ammunition boxes or steel machine guns, everything was reduced to a pile of junk under the 30mm cannon's attack.
The ferocious aura, like the roar of a wild beast, shattered the morale of the Belken troops on the ground. Drivers abandoned their trucks and fled with the infantry. In the past, Lilia would likely have ignored these defeated soldiers who had lost their will to fight; destroying all the heavy equipment would have been enough. Annihilating these scattered infantry would have taken considerable effort—constantly diving, strafing, and then pulling back—a tedious process that, after several days of intense operations, had become tiresome. But today was different. She had decided to have her Belken men keep her secret.
"Witch One calling Eagle's Nest: Mission accomplished, enemy convoy destroyed."
Fifteen minutes later, Lilia, who had already reached a confidentiality agreement with the Belken people below, called the airport.
"Eagle Nest received. Thank you for your hard work. Please return to base."
“Witch One received. Oh, by the way,” the girl’s voice came through the radio in a flat tone, “those Belkens have started to concentrate their machine guns for air defense. I think it’s necessary to inform the Army Air Force pilots to be careful.”
"Eagle Nest received. I will remind all pilots."
……
I have good news for you.
The drafts are all used up.
What you see is fresh, hot, and just out of the oven.
So, really, aren't you going to give me some votes?
Volume 1: Chapter 46 (Chapter Forty-Four) The Night Witch
Although their initial attempt at dense machine gun fire for air defense failed, the Belken soldiers stubbornly persisted, trying several more times. Not only Lilia suffered this fate, but Eagle 1 and Eagle 2 also once again endured the meager firepower of the Belken machine guns. Unfortunately, the Belken's attempts ultimately became just another victory for the Amelia Volunteer Air Force.
After these attempts, the Belken seemed to realize they couldn't destroy the aircraft on the ground, so they adopted the idea that "if I can't defeat you, I can at least hide from you." According to scouts, the Belken appeared to drastically reduce their daytime activities, abandoning the exposed roads and hiding in the mountains or jungles, resuming their road marches at night. They seemed to believe that the darkness would provide the best cover for their ground troops, thus diminishing the air superiority of the Amelia Volunteer Army.
But Lizzie decided to show them through her actions that the night was not a friend of the Belken people either.
Although the Su-7BMK lacked night-fighting capabilities, this didn't mean the Lilia couldn't launch attacks at night. It's worth noting that during World War II, the 588th Air Regiment was comprised of women flying slow, wooden Po-2 biplane bombers without night vision. Over four years, they flew 30,000 missions, dropping 23,000 tons of bombs on the Germans, inflicting heavy casualties. The German high command even promised fighter pilots an Iron Cross for each Po-2 bomber shot down from the 588th Air Regiment. The Germans also reverently referred to the female pilots of the 588th Air Regiment as "Night Witches" because of the whooshing sound of the wind whistling through the wingtips during Po-2 gliding bombing missions, a sound reminiscent of a witch's broom.
Now, Lilia is piloting a steel fighter jet that is decades more advanced than the Bo-2, so she can't afford to let the reputation of the "Night Witch" fall into her hands.
Lilia wasn't worried about the Belken's air defenses. For her, the risk of night flight missions probably lay in the increased risk of crashing into the ground—especially during dive bombing or landing. Due to the reduced visibility for pilots, she had to anticipate the timing of pulling back on the stick, otherwise crashing into the ground would be her only fate.
Ground crew prepared a black-and-white map for Lilia. Compared to a color map, a black-and-white map is easier to read in low light conditions—contrast colors are visible even in dim light. This is crucial for the Su-7 attack aircraft, which lacks electronic displays. Lilia needed to memorize the flight path for tonight's operation and the enemy's movement route. Because the Belken were marching at night, their positions were not fixed. Although a reconnaissance team was following the Belken force and reporting their coordinates in real time, Lilia still needed to be very familiar with the area to quickly locate the enemy.
Meanwhile, ground crew were mounting two long-lasting flares on the outermost pylons of the Su-7. These two flares were essential tools for Lilia's hunt tonight, as they could provide ample illumination to a large area, leaving the Belkens nowhere to hide.
Tonight's tactics are simple: take off, maintain an altitude of 1500 meters—at which the Belkens will have difficulty hearing the Su-7 flying—and after approaching the target area, Lilia will descend to 600 meters, visually confirm the target's presence, pull up to release flares, and then launch an attack on the target.
"From the depths of hell in 6lence, sancast their spells, explove violence." (Hellish violence, silent and stealthy, launching an air raid, a devastating blow.)
"Russian night flight, perfect, flaeless vion, undetected."
Lilia leaned against the Su-7's gangway, humming an English song she'd heard on the intranet, and carefully put away the black-and-white map. Ground crew had already loaded the flares, so Lilia entered the cockpit, completed a series of takeoff checks, started the engines, and released the wheel brakes once the engines reached 70% speed.
The hangar doors were already open. Following the lights illuminating the roadside, the attack aircraft reached the center of the runway. Engine thrust was increased to full power, and with a light touch of the rudder pedals, the aircraft aligned itself with the runway and completed takeoff. The Su-7 quickly left the airport behind, reaching an altitude of 1500 meters. Lilia adjusted its course and controlled its speed, flying towards the target area along the pre-set route.
The green fluorescent lighting made the cockpit somewhat eerie, but this did not dampen Lilia's spirits as she admired the night sky.
Although Villand Province is an industrial province of the Kingdom of Elgia, its night sky has not been completely polluted by industry. In addition, the weather is clear tonight, with only one or two clouds in the distance. Therefore, Lilia can see a sky full of stars as soon as she looks up.
It seems the Belken people can see me just by looking up. But that's fine too; more light makes it easier to spot targets, Lilia thought.
After several tens of minutes of flight, the Su-7 attack aircraft had approached the enemy's area of operation.
“Witch One, the reconnaissance team has withdrawn. Their last report was that the enemy's position had moved about 500 meters south, which is basically in line with our estimate,” Eagle's Nest said.
"Witch One received." Lilia, having received the communication, descended and rolled to assess the situation below, where she spotted a dense crowd. The Su-7 immediately scrambled upwards, firing a long-lasting flare. The road beside the jungle instantly became as bright as day. Lilia didn't need to launch an attack; the Belken infantry, realizing they were exposed, began to lose their fighting spirit. The panic accumulated from days of air raids quickly spread throughout the unit.
As aerial bombs whistled down at the feet of the Belken soldiers, bursting into orange fireballs, the Belken infantry unit collapsed. The soldiers threw down their weapons and rushed to both sides of the road, trying to escape the burning road.
But against the Su-7, only a small number of lucky ones who were close to the jungle but far from the center of the road were able to survive this night bombing.
……
I forgot to mention
Yesterday I updated the 7th Brigade's organization, but it contained spoilers. If you don't mind, you can check the section related to the work.
Book 1: Chapter 47 (Chapter Forty-Five) The Belken must regroup their forces.
This latest defeat enraged Lieutenant General John, who berated three brigade commanders and seven regimental commanders in the division headquarters. In just four days, his 73rd Infantry Division had lost nearly a third of its men, advancing a paltry 10 kilometers—a stark contrast to its early performance, when the 73rd Division advanced over 50 kilometers in a single day. He could even imagine the astonishment of the rear command when they learned that the 73rd Division had lost a third of its forces without even encountering any soldiers from the Kingdom of Elgiah.
“General, why don’t we stop and rest? The lads aren’t in good shape,” the brigade commander of the 82nd Tank Brigade boldly suggested, relying on the fact that his unit was the only tank unit in the 73rd Division. Because of the Belken tank’s large size and poor concealment, his brigade had suffered the most air raids in the past four days. So far, he had lost over a hundred tanks in air raids. Furthermore, since the outbreak of the war, his brigade had been almost entirely on the move or in combat, severely lacking maintenance. More than thirty tanks had fallen behind or been abandoned along the way due to breakdowns. Now, he only had a little over a hundred tanks left, enough for a tank regiment.
"Stop and rest? Are you tired of living?" the brigade commander of the 81st Infantry Brigade cursed. "This place is teeming with Kyrgyz spies. There might be a few Kyrgyz reconnaissance soldiers lying right next to us, waiting for an opportunity to call in their planes to send us all to the sky!"
"If you don't rest, are you planning to launch a surprise attack on Svorbella under such air raids? I'm afraid you'll be killed by your mutinous subordinates before you even get ten kilometers away." The brigade commander of the 82nd Brigade scoffed at his colleague's words.
“Our infantry are helpless against these things that fly in the sky. We’re always trying to defend against air raids, but nine out of ten times we fail,” said a colonel who was the commander of an infantry regiment under the former 83rd Infantry Brigade and is now the acting brigade commander of the 83rd Infantry Brigade. “General, I think the only thing that can deal with the Ergia aircraft is our own planes.”
None of the Belken senior officers present actually witnessed the aircraft that launched the air attack on them; their knowledge of these planes came entirely from reports from their subordinates and their own knowledge of Belken aircraft.
"My people told me that they always launch attacks with very few planes, mostly just one, sometimes three, but never more than three. Could we call in an air force unit to help?"
Yes, although airplanes have only been around for a short time in the world of Ens, and even their entry into the military is a recent phenomenon, the Belken Army and Navy, recognizing the powerful reconnaissance and fire-correction capabilities of these aircraft, established their own air forces. To avoid infighting between these two separate air forces and potential resource waste, the military established an independent air force, concentrating all aircraft on it. Naturally, after its establishment, the Belken Air Force began researching what roles aircraft could play on the battlefield besides reconnaissance and fire-correction. After all, airplanes were still relatively new in the world of Ens, and related tactics and applications were largely unexplored. The pioneering Belken Air Force was naturally in an exploratory phase. However, after these past few days of air raids, the Belken Air Force will likely break free from this state and attempt to build a tactical air force capable of intercepting enemy aircraft, covering ground troop advances, and possessing a certain degree of lethality against enemy ground forces.
The current Belken Air Force is not entirely without offensive capabilities; they have begun experimenting with mounting machine guns or artillery shells on these biplanes to attack ground troops. However, limited by technology, they have only managed to mount machine guns on the aircraft. If the air force wanted to inflict significant damage on enemy infantry, they would probably have to have pilots carry a few grenades and drop them on the ground. But even machine guns are enough to pose a threat to enemy aircraft—as everyone knows, aircraft are very sophisticated machines, and the more sophisticated something is, the more vulnerable it is. Especially the engine; a single bullet can shut it down. Pilots in the air are not protected by armor like tanks on the ground or warships at sea; being hit by a 10mm machine gun bullet can also be fatal. On Anton, there have been several cases of I-15s shooting down F-86 Sabres. Therefore, as long as the Belken Air Force pilots are all highly skilled, they still have a slight chance of taking down Su-7s or MiG-21s in aerial combat (a big lie).
Although John agreed with the colonel's suggestion, he dared not put all his eggs in one basket with the air force. After all, they had already managed to mount large bombs on their planes, while his own aircraft were only equipped with one or two machine guns; the superiority of their technology was obvious. He hoped they could use their numerical advantage to shoot down the Elginian aircraft.
“I will request air support, but in the meantime, we must rest. Our troops have become too scattered and demoralized in order to avoid air attacks, which gives the Elgins the opportunity to pick us off one by one. We cannot afford to bleed them dry any longer,” John said. “We must unite as one to quickly defeat the Elgins’ 44th Infantry Division and take Svorbella.”
"But if we gather together, we'll become targets for those planes..." The brigade commander of the 82nd Brigade was extremely worried.
“We’ll hide in the eastern jungle. The trees will shield us from the planes overhead, and the dense vegetation will reduce visibility and the kill radius of bombs. If the Elgins want to find us, they’ll have to get close. If they can’t find us from a distance, so be it. Don’t tell me you can’t even catch a few Elgin scouts at this close range. We have a numerical advantage, so let’s make the most of it. If we spot a scout, we’ll send ten, twenty, thirty soldiers to surround and wipe them out!” John slammed his fist on the table with a dull thud, effectively shutting down the 82nd Brigade commander’s objections.
"The Elgeans have been bullying us for long enough. Now it's time for us to reap the rewards! We must wipe out all the Elgean scouts around us and not drag them into the jungle! Without their guidance, those planes won't be able to fly right over our heads and shit on us anymore!"
"Yes, sir!" the brigade commanders of the two infantry brigades hurriedly replied. Even the brigade commander of the 82nd Tank Brigade reluctantly accepted the order, his heart filled with despair: Damn it, the Vilran Forest is full of wetlands and swamps, and all his precious tanks are going to be destroyed in this wretched forest!
John's guesses were mostly correct. If the Belkens had indeed all hidden in the jungle, unless the Amelia Volunteer Army was capable of burning the entire jungle to the ground, they could only send out reconnaissance troops to track them down step by step. The jungle environment would largely negate their technological advantage, allowing the situation to develop in a direction favorable to the Belkens.
A few days ago, Lu Wu would have been helpless to watch the Belken men run into the jungle and escape. But now the situation is different. The equipment of the 7th Brigade's mixed artillery battalion is in place. Both the self-propelled rocket artillery company and the self-propelled howitzer company are ready to drop shells on the Belken men. So what follows is a broadcast of a classic old song.
……
Regarding the issue of unit designations (number 1) that some people previously raised, the designations for artillery units have already been modified to some extent. As for the designations for infantry regiments, the modification work is too extensive, so they will not be changed. This was a joke caused by my own lack of knowledge and skills; please excuse the poor quality.
Volume 1: Chapter 48 (Forty-Sixth Chapter) When Pear Blossoms Bloom Across the Horizon
"Surround and drive away the reconnaissance teams around them, and the larger groups will split into several smaller teams to disperse... Hmph." Lu Wu took the reconnaissance report that Yelena had compiled and summarized, snorted, and came to the same conclusion as the reconnaissance soldiers and staff officers, "They are planning to escape into the jungle in batches."
"Should we intercept them before they enter the forest?" Yelena asked.
"No need," Lu Wu said. "We have too few people. Intercepting them would be too much trouble. Just have the reconnaissance team follow them. They'll definitely have a regrouping point to reassemble their troops. Find that regrouping point, then use artillery fire. It's simple, easy, and it'll give the artillery battalion some combat experience. It's a win-win situation." Lu Wu paused slightly and said, "Also, notify the Ergia side. They can probably withdraw their reconnaissance troops soon. We should try to avoid unnecessary sacrifices."
The fate of the 73rd Infantry Division of the Sobelken Reich Northern Army was decided in such an informal environment.
Upon receiving the order, the two self-propelled howitzer companies and one self-propelled rocket launcher unit of the mixed artillery battalion began preparing for the bombardment. These artillerymen worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk, dedicating themselves to improving their mastery of the equipment. Naturally, these young artillerymen gained a deeper understanding of both the equipment's performance and its practical application.
The sight of these artillerymen riding out in their tanks every day greatly motivated the officers and soldiers of the 6th Battalion of the 444th Regiment. Good heavens, they were still undergoing basic training. Bai Xue, in charge of training, had already made it clear that if even one person failed the assessment, they wouldn't be able to proceed to the next stage of training. This assessment wasn't just about infantry physical fitness and tactical maneuvers; it also included a literacy test—a basic Russian exam. The vehicle manuals were only in Russian, and much of the equipment was also in Russian. Without some Russian knowledge, the next stage of learning would be much more difficult. Soldiers like Sullivan and Kolin, with some basic literacy, were fine, but such soldiers were few and far between in the 6th Battalion. Over 80% of the soldiers were illiterate, making the learning process even more challenging. Fortunately, the Kingdom of Elgia required officers to be literate; otherwise, Bai Xue and her team would have faced even greater difficulties in teaching them.
Returning to the mixed artillery battalion, after half a week of live-fire training regardless of ammunition consumption, the SU-5-1 artillerymen had achieved a firing rate of one round every six seconds, and the reloading operation of Katyusha rockets was controlled within nine minutes. Meanwhile, the Belken soldiers, who thought they had shaken off the scouts, were like a high school girl whose vigilance had vanished along with a pervert, completely unaware that they had led the pervert to their doorstep.
As one Belken squad after another assembled somewhere on the outskirts of the jungle, the air assault company soldiers, who had evaded the clearing operation, reported the coordinates of their assembly points to headquarters via a communication.
"Send out the artillery!" After the 73rd Division had gathered nearly 70% of its troops and showed a clear intention to continue deeper into the jungle, Lu Wu gave the order without waiting for the rest of the troops to regroup.
于是正在接受考核的第6营士兵们看到了和往常稍有不同的一幕：不仅仅是SU-5-1和BM-13，第7旅还额外出动了两个班的BMP-2M对这支炮兵进行护卫，近七十辆载具构成的庞大队列在经过训练场时，瞬间就把这些爱尔吉亚王国士兵的眼睛给吸引住了。
After leaving the base, the convoy headed north and split into two groups when it was 12 kilometers from the assembly point. Two companies of SU-5-1s and three escorting BMP-2Ms broke away from the convoy to find a suitable location to build a launch site, while the rocket artillery company and the escort continued north until they stopped to build a launch site when they were 7 kilometers away.
Nine BM-13 "Katyusha" rocket launchers were lined up on the position. Soldiers lowered the armored sidewalls on the truck cabs, and officers measured the distance to the target and calculated the launch angle. The launch rail angle of the BM-13 rocket launchers was then adjusted according to this data. After completing these pre-launch preparations, the soldiers of the rocket artillery company withdrew to the flank of the launch position, leaving eight self-propelled rocket launchers ready for deployment.
"Ready!" The company commander of the self-propelled rocket artillery company raised the red flag in his hand.
“Огонь!”
Lu Hongqi was swung down suddenly, and the engine of the M-13 rocket was activated and ignited, emitting a long tail flame. After a short slide on the launcher rail, the rocket body rose into the air. The 16 rockets quickly became a small dot in the sky, leaving only the "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound.
"Did you hear anything?"
At the Belken assembly point, a private first class picked at his earlobe and asked his comrade next to him.
"Could it be that damned plane again?" His comrade, who had narrowly escaped death from the 588th Air Regiment's air raid, was filled with worry.
“It doesn’t sound like that, the sound is much sharper—hey, look at the shooting star!” The private patted his comrade and then pointed in a direction.
"What's wrong with you? Where can you see a shooting star in broad daylight? Bullshit, it really is a shooting star?!" His companion, who had been looking worried, opened his mouth in disbelief.
"My mom told me that seeing a shooting star brings good luck..." the private rambled on, staring at the shooting star. But then he frowned. "Wait a minute, why does this shooting star look like it's about to hit us?"
"No, these shit meteors are going to hit us on the head..." As the trajectories of these "meteors" became clearer, the private's comrade's face grew paler and paler. He turned to look at the growing number of people attracted by the sound and the strange phenomenon in the sky, then turned back to the private, "Fuck you, these are the Elgins' magic meteors."
Just as the private's brain was processing and analyzing the meaning of the sentence, the true appearance of these "meteors" appeared before them and then exploded.
"Target hit! Open fire, all units!" As the test firing results reached the rocket artillery company, the company commander waved the red flag again. This time, 128 rockets were launched, their exhaust plumes and billowing smoke almost engulfing the entire rocket artillery position. After a short flight, the rain of fire swept across the jungle, hitting the assembly point one after another and exploding. The 4.9 kg explosive charge of the M13 rocket even exceeded that of the 3.67 kg of the 122 mm M 30 howitzer, creating a rectangular kill zone of nearly 1000 square meters even in the jungle.
……
Fun fact about jiu: It's not cold
The shells fired by breech-loading artillery are cylindrical with a spindle-shaped tip, and they land at an angle. Due to the shape of the shell, more fragments are generated on the sides and fewer at the front and rear, so the fragmentation kill zone is roughly a rectangle that is wider laterally and narrower longitudinally. Rocket artillery works in a similar manner.
According to the 1953 Russian edition of "Artillery" and the 1956 Russian edition of "Mortar," a 122mm howitzer can create a rectangular fragmentation kill zone of 60x20 mm, or 1200 square meters. However, this area has been reduced to account for obstruction from the surrounding trees.
Volume 1: Chapter 49 (Forty-Seven) - One After Another Takes the Stage
"What happened?" John left the command tent as soon as the first series of shrill screams came, to find out what was going on. He witnessed his men perish in a spectacular meteor shower.
“Did the Ergia send an artillery division to bomb us?” John’s hands trembled uncontrollably. His command post was fortunately positioned between the two rockets, just outside their effective range, so the first wave of rockets failed to destroy the 73rd Division headquarters. The scorching heat and the pungent stench of burnt human flesh made his stomach rumble. He walked numbly toward the charred blast zone ahead. The ground was littered with severed limbs. Soldiers whose throats had been slit by shrapnel stared wide-eyed, clutching their throats, their legs leaving gashes in the scorched earth, but they fell silent as John approached. An infantryman who had been closer to the blast point and had miraculously survived but lost an arm knelt on the ground, staring blankly at his right hand.
"Medic! Medic!" Urgent cries began to echo throughout the assembly point. Medics who had survived the shelling adjusted their helmets upon hearing the cries for help and began providing first aid to those nearby. Clean bandages and cotton balls were quickly exhausted by the sheer number of wounded, and the rudimentary medical supplies meant these medics could only treat minor wounds. When faced with wounds where intestines were protruding and blood was gushing out like from pipes, they could do nothing but give the wounded an injection of morphine. But soon, even morphine ran out.
4. "Where did the 44th Infantry Division get so many heavy artillery pieces? Are the military intelligence department a bunch of pigs?" After the fear of narrowly escaping death subsided slightly, intense anger took over John's mind. Only a cluster of hundreds of 150mm or larger heavy artillery pieces could have produced such devastation. The Elgins' 150mm heavy artillery clusters were generally deployed at the army group level. The appearance of a heavy artillery division in Svorbella likely meant that an Elgin army group had arrived without warning. Hadn't the Imperial intelligence department confidently guaranteed before the war that all movements of Elgin Kingdom troops above the division level would be exposed to them? What was the deal with this suddenly appearing heavy artillery division?! Could it also be the work of that self-proclaimed "Amelia Volunteer Army," that "civilian" military organization? In any case, the intelligence department had to take responsibility for the 73rd Infantry Division's losses!
Of course, besides this reason, another reason was that his troops failed to carry out the order to "encircle and annihilate the Ergia scouts."
"General, I think we should move immediately. If it really is an Ergia heavy artillery division, then they must be preparing for a second wave of shelling!" The brigade commander of the 82nd Brigade was still not calm.
"Have the trucks gather as many wounded soldiers as possible, and we'll head deeper into the jungle." Clearly, they needed to escape with their lives from the heavy artillery division before they could settle scores with the intelligence department, so John decisively chose to move.
Interestingly, the rocket artillery company was doing something similar to what the 73rd Division was doing at this time: packing up their belongings and making a run for it. Rocket launches generate large amounts of smoke and flashes, revealing the positions of the rocket launchers and making them vulnerable to enemy counterattacks. Although this round of shelling covered a considerable area, it failed to annihilate the 73rd Division; the enemy's tank and artillery units remained intact. Therefore, the rocket artillery company now had to relocate.
But the artillery of the Amelia Volunteer Army wasn't limited to this rocket artillery company; there were also two companies of SU-5-1s that hadn't fired yet.
The F-10 1902/30 howitzer, located at the rear of the vehicle, was already raised high. One by one, 6.23 kg shells were fed into the breech by the loader, and after the propellant charges were inserted, the breech was closed.
After two test firings of the F-10 howitzers completed calibration, extending the artillery's firing range deeper into the jungle, the 18 howitzers began their saturation firing. While their propellant charges were naturally less than those of the M-13 rocket launchers, they had a longer range, were more numerous, and had a faster loading speed. After each firing, the loader quickly opened the breech, ejected the spent cartridge case, cleaned up the gunpowder residue from incomplete combustion, and then pushed the next shell and propellant into the breech before closing the breech. The movements were fluid and seamless. In just five minutes, the two SU-5-1 self-propelled artillery batteries unleashed over 720 rounds, totaling 4.5 tons, into the jungle.
After the shelling ended, if you took a picture from the air, you would see a conspicuous vacuum zone in the northwestern part of the Villand Forest. Most of the trees were first snapped in half by rockets, and the few that were still standing had their crowns sheared off by the 76mm grenades that followed. If these trees were like hair, then without a doubt, the 7th Brigade had pulled a large clump of hair off their foreheads today.
As for the original assembly point of the 73rd Division, there were hardly any survivors left. Those who hadn't evacuated with the main force immediately, those who chose to stay behind to rescue the wounded, or those who couldn't go far because they were caring for the wounded—the vast majority of them perished in the second round of shelling. The blood of thousands soaked the charred mud; boots sank into it with every step, and dark brown blood gurgled out from beneath your feet. This was truly hell.
In this shelling, it wasn't just the infantry that suffered damage; the 82nd Brigade's tanks also suffered another loss: twenty-two tanks were hit by rockets, and with the losses they incurred on their way to regroup, the 73rd Division was left with only seventy tanks.
The fleeing soldiers of the 73rd Division naturally heard the deafening roar of artillery and explosions behind them. Heads down, the infantrymen dared not look back and quickened their pace. John, walking in the middle of the column, glanced back at the rising smoke from the assembly point. He understood that after this series of attacks, the 73rd Division had lost the ability to continue its offensive, or even its fighting capacity.
“Send a telegram to headquarters, telling them that our unit has suffered heavy losses from bombing by Elgin aircraft and heavy artillery barrage, and has lost the ability to continue the offensive. If the mission still needs to continue, please send reinforcements and provide air cover.” John dictated to his adjutant, his eyes vacant, the high spirits he had displayed since the start of the war gone.
……
So annoying, they start acting up as soon as it's time to kill.
The Golden Dragon Fish was destroyed upon leaving the house, an air raid forced the retreat along the way, the gatekeeper faked a fall, all the boss battles were missed, and even a publicly funded trip for supporters along the way arrived.
Volume 1: Chapter 50, Section 48: Battalion Tactical Group
[Task successful]