Shadow Empire

Chapter 961 A Great Battle
The president of the Republic of Dantra looked at the newspaper in his hand, his face revealing no change in emotion.

He slowly put the newspaper down; the front page featured a photo of the Secretary of State and the Slade delegation.

He stood in the very center, his smile as radiant as a blooming flower.

This newspaper is the front-page headline of today's Dantra local newspaper, the Daily News, with the headline "The Federation and Slade conclude negotiations and will soon return to the battlefield," and the accompanying picture makes it very clear.

Actually, they had almost reached an agreement in June, but the federal government kept dragging their feet. They were waiting for an opportunity.

In late June, with the help of some traitors, Dantra's mechanics bypassed the frontal route and attacked their key defensive nodes from the side, tearing the entire defensive line apart.

The war situation became dangerous, becoming the final straw for the Slavs, who accepted all of the Federation's demands.

Now, the Federation has begun to return to the battlefield.

By the time President Dantra saw the newspaper, the Union soldiers had already begun to fight again.

“Two newly launched fleets,” he pursed his lips, “more numerous, larger in scale, and with more advanced technical specifications than before.”

"In the navy, at least in theory, we are already lagging behind them in every aspect."

"This makes me very doubtful about how we won the last naval battle."

He looked up at the other gentlemen in the office. “Some say they deliberately let us attack their fleet in exchange for this negotiation opportunity and the fervent support for the war at home.”

"Because of the attack on Golden Harbor City, their defense war bonds sold out as soon as they were released, which is nothing short of a miracle!"

"To sell these bonds, we not only have to find ways to persuade our people and allies, but sometimes we also have to tell them, in a threatening tone, the potential costs of not buying them."

"Now, this group of cunning, insidious, and unscrupulous people has returned to the battlefield, which is not good news for us."

The Dantra stock market began to plummet early this morning because the Federation has returned to the battlefield, which means the situation of the war will once again become unclear.

Capital doesn't like this situation, as it means their investments may not bring them any profit and could instead add to their debt.

The room remained completely silent. The president shook his head. "Alright!"

"Although I could have guessed this would be the outcome before I called you here, you would only keep your mouths shut in the face of this issue."

No one spoke, because the question was indeed difficult to answer.

In terms of soldier quality, understanding of warfare, strategy, and tactics, there is no doubt that the Republic of Dantra is far ahead of the Federation.

Despite the fact that the Federation had gradually pushed the front line back to the border and even into the territory of the Dantra Republic, the situation remained unchanged.

In terms of actual military strategy and tactics, they were still inferior to the army of Dantra.

The Dantras simply couldn't defeat them; their conventional methods of warfare were completely different from the Federation's money-spraying approach to war.

In terms of financial resources, the Federation is indeed more experienced than them.

Those shells, costing two or three hundred yuan or even more, rained down on their positions and fortifications as if they were free.

Sometimes the shells they use to destroy a bunker cost ten or even dozens of times the price of the bunker itself.

They don't care about spending money; they only care about what effect the money will have.

War is all about attrition.

The Commonwealth could afford the costs, but the Dantras struggled in the war.

A general said, "Operation Eagle is almost complete, and the balance of the war has shifted, Mr. President."

The president hesitated. The "Eagle Plan" mentioned by the general was a new plan specifically designed to counter the excessive war potential of the federal army.

They had previously considered using mechanized units to advance rapidly in order to avoid positional warfare with the Federation, but this was not very effective because the Federation also had mechanized divisions, and in greater numbers with better parameters.

The difference between rushing in and not rushing in is that one can at least fight back a few times, while the other cannot fight back at all, and the losses are equally great.

Despite having some subordinate states behind it, and still expanding eastward to replenish its strength.

However, the rate at which these blood replenishments are being used is still somewhat slow compared to the high-intensity consumption of the current war.

The simplest example.

From the moment a bullet is loaded into the chamber to the moment the trigger is pulled and the bullet is fired, it can take only a second.

However, the time it takes for the raw materials used to make bullets to travel from being mined to arriving in Dantra after a long transportation process, and finally to being manufactured into bullets, can be several weeks or even longer.

They need a completely new solution to resolve their current predicament.

Fortunately, they found it!

The President has already visited the eagles in Project Eagle, and although it is still uncertain whether they can change the course of the war, this is the best option at the moment.

He nodded slightly. "I hope they can become our winning force, just like the eagles of Dantra!"

“However, we cannot rely entirely on Eagle. I plan to send a delegation to the Empire to talk with the Emperor.”

"The imperial family and those nobles possess astonishing wealth. Their social system concentrates their resources in the hands of these nobles, and they also have great war potential."

"Perhaps we can persuade them to join this war, just as the Slads persuaded the Federation to join. Maybe we can see the Imperials on our battlefield."

This idea had been brewing for a while; he had long had such a plan and consideration. Dragging the vast empire into the water might be the best way to relieve pressure, bar none.

Just as the Federalists had considered, both sides had placed too many bets at the table, and neither could afford such losses.

If someone has to leave the table, it's not voluntary; they're forced to because they lost the final hand, not because they left halfway through!
No one in the room objected to his decision. The president then began to call roll, and those whose names he called were all members of the delegation that had come to the empire.

If they could bring the empire into the picture, they would have a much better chance of victory.

This matter is currently kept secret, and to avoid being sabotaged by the Slade or the Federation, only the people in this room know about it.

The changes brought about by the Federation's return to the battlefield were very direct; the morale of the Slade immediately soared.

The soldiers on the front lines were unaware of the price Slade had paid for the Federation's return to the battlefield; all they knew was that the hard times were coming to an end.

The Commonwealth can help them share a large part of the pressure, allowing them to concentrate more forces on certain points. Fighting with superior numbers is always the key to winning wars!
In just a few days, the Dantras began to actively tighten their lines, and a brief period of peace even emerged on the front lines.

But everyone knows that this peace will be very short-lived.

The Federation became the "big brother" through some less-than-honorable means, so this big brother must demonstrate his strength on the battlefield.

The Federal military and Ministry of Defense formulated a series of plans, and they also promoted domestically that this was a "war of revenge." The Dantras' shameless sneak attack on Golden Harbor brought disaster and suffering to the people of the Federation, and now the soldiers of the Federation will repay them on the front lines!

The people were once again fooled by politicians' word games. They spontaneously organized marches, but this time it was not a protest or a demonstration. Instead, it was an expression of support for the federal government's decision and a way to cheer on the soldiers on the front lines!
A few days later, continuous artillery fire began to sound on the front lines, and the Dantra people hiding in trenches or bunkers near the impact points of the shells showed expressions of terror.

Even those hiding in bunkers didn't seem much more relaxed, because no one knew if a shell would hit their not-so-thick walls at the perfect angle the next second!
At that moment, the storm formed by the shells possessed a destructive power more terrifying than natural disasters, and the earth trembled incessantly.

The air was filled with the earthy smell of soil.

Dust and debris, hurled by artillery shells, filled the entire battlefield.

The intense shelling lasted for about two hours, which seemed to be their way of greeting the Dantra people.

After the shelling ended, apart from some defensive fortifications, there was no intact land left on the entire position.

The trenches had disappeared, replaced by craters and huge clods of earth that had been blown away and landed heavily on the ground.

As for those people in the trenches, they had long since disappeared, and they, along with the clods of earth, filled the entire battlefield!

While they were still in a daze, the Federation army launched an attack. Mechanics worked in conjunction with infantry. The Federation's tactics were gradually taking shape and were being used very effectively.

It was clear from the battle that the Dantras had to retreat; the Federation's artillery fire was too intense and too dense.

In the past, during the wars between the Dantra and the Slavs, a “bombardment” might have involved thirty or fifty cannons firing in several rounds before it ended.

But the Federation bombarded the area with an unknown number of artillery pieces, with more than a dozen shells falling every second. The saturation bombardment left no chance for the soldiers near the impact points to survive!

In just thirty or forty minutes, some of the areas that had been saturated with vegetation were completely deserted.

When the news reached the capital, Dantra, the president could only shake his head. That's just how the Federation is; there's nothing they can do about it.

After much deliberation, he finally decided to launch "Operation Eagle," hoping it would make the Commonwealth a little more cautious on the battlefield.

This is not their backyard!
The first decisive and swift victory greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers throughout the military alliance, including the Slade.

Although they paid a heavy price and lost a lot, it was all worth it.

The scales of war tipped again. If the scales were a person, they would be very distressed, constantly shifting their position, which would be unbearable for anyone.

Clean up the battlefield, tidy up the mess, blow up some of the defensive fortifications left by the Dantras, then level the road and continue dragging the cannons forward.

The orderly pace of the battle drew nods of approval from some military observers. After suffering hundreds of thousands of casualties, the Federation had finally mastered the art of war and developed their own unique style.

The next battle was a week later, and the frontline commander planned to continue the rapid advance to gain control of the next town, which he considered to be another less arduous battle.

The main force of the Dantras has not yet arrived here, so they can still advance a little further.

As the artillery positions were set up, the commander, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, stood at a distance and nodded. The moment the artillery began to spew out thick smoke, he took a deep drag of his cigarette, which was tinged with gunpowder smoke, and a look of contentment appeared on his face.

Every shell fired could potentially take the lives of one or more Dantra soldiers, and no one on the battlefield would find that cruel.

This is one of the reasons why soldiers and officers develop psychological problems.

They have gradually begun to disregard human life, and when they encounter trouble in their normal, ordinary lives, they often resort to the simplest means to solve the problem.

This is actually a kind of "cognitive impairment." They can't distinguish between life and the battlefield, or perhaps their psychology is abnormal and fragile.

This is another saturation bombardment that will last for several hours, and this is just the beginning.

Just as he was squinting and thinking, "Why should the navy fight against our army?", some small black dots suddenly appeared in the distant sky.

He happened to be looking in that direction and paused for a moment.

The federal government also has migratory birds every year, but that's during the fall and winter and spring and summer. It's summer now, and the weather doesn't change much, which is perfect for birds to live in. Why would they migrate?
And they're all so big?
How about we cut down a couple and try them?
As he was thinking about these things, his eyes suddenly became strange, because those "birds" were getting bigger and bigger, to the point that the game was abnormal.

People on the ground also noticed this strange phenomenon, and some even shouted, "What a huge bird!"

As they approached, the commander also heard a buzzing sound coming from the sky. Although the sound was not loud, it was definitely audible and very clear.

That's not a bird!

His expression gradually turned serious as he looked at the things flying in the air, which were clearly piloted by people.

He had seen aircraft before; the Federation had them too, but they hadn't been used in the war because of their limited load-bearing capacity, so they could only be used as reconnaissance units.

However, these things are clearly developing faster than the Federation in some technologies.

Now, his question is, what are these aircraft doing here?

Provide coordinates for their artillery?

Or is it for some other reason?
While he was still pondering this question, these planes told him what they were going to do.

Two oval-shaped objects, resembling large rugby balls, were dropped from each plane, one of which had a propeller attached to one end.

As he watched these things wobble and sway in the air for a few moments before turning and falling toward the artillery position, the cigarette he was holding slipped from his mouth without him even realizing it.

With a loud explosion, he was suddenly pressed to the ground by his adjutant. Explosions continued one after another. Even more terrifying was the fact that, in order to make the Dantra people feel the terror of the Federation's abundant artillery shells, the artillery positions were piled up with a lot of ammunition, and very densely packed.

Some shells were triggered by the explosions of the bombs, causing a chain reaction that made the entire artillery position look like it was filled with a long string of firecrackers, making it extremely lively!
The explosion didn't last long, but the destructive power it caused was astonishing!

Flying debris and even cannon wheels became astonishing killing weapons. Someone was smashed in two by a flying wheel while trying to avoid an explosion!

Just four or five minutes after the smoke cleared, the commander shook his head and looked up.

Dust fell from the hat in a flurry, and looking up, there was no one left standing on the entire position.

Limbs and torsos were everywhere, and some survivors were wailing in agony. It was like the end of the world!
The commander struggled to get up, only then noticing something pressing down on him—his adjutant. He turned to look at the adjutant on top of him, gave him a push, but there was no further movement.

He appeared somewhat silent. After struggling to get up from under his adjutant, he looked at the completely destroyed artillery position and gasped.

The lingering smell of gunpowder in the air was anything but romantic; it made him cough uncontrollably. He turned and ran back, determined to get the military, the Department of Defense, the president, and Congress back on track as soon as possible!
Half an hour later, it became known that the Dantras might possess aircraft capable of being used in war.

For a moment, the entire federal leadership seemed to have been put on pause. For a few minutes, everyone was holding their phones, their expressions frozen.

In reality, the losses weren't significant. Considering the Federation's resources, it was just a couple hundred artillery pieces, some soldiers, and some ammunition.

They've suffered losses before, much more severely than this, and most of the people on their current "battle casualty list" are people who died before and are now being reported.

They dared not reveal it all at once, fearing it would cause social unrest, so they could only release it little by little, like squeezing toothpaste.

What truly silenced them were those aircraft, those things that changed the nature of warfare!
Now it's not just a question of whether we can defend against these aircraft flying around in the sky, but also when their aircraft will actually appear on the battlefield!
(End of this chapter)