It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 119 | Three consecutive promotions are like death
When talking about the defense of Budapest, Sigrid's mood became obviously heavier.

Clara, who was standing by, wanted to ease the atmosphere, so she changed the subject and said, "Mr. Advisor, Her Majesty the Queen said that in recognition of your dedication, she would give you a reward. Is there anything you would like?"

Shang Ke also realized that his previous words were a bit aggressive, so he took the opportunity to laugh and half-jokingly complained: "Our country's military rank promotion is very strict. I don't know when I can become a general."

So this is your dream? What a simple vision!

Sigrid completely forgot that Shang had just criticized her for being too naive.

She promised softly, "If you don't mind, I can nominate you for an honorary military rank with the Ministry of National Defense, Major Shang."

"Of course I..." Shang Ke said seriously, "I don't mind."

Sigrid sighed softly and said calmly, "I hope this satisfies you. I don't want to owe a righteous soldier like you any less."

Am I the embodiment of justice again?
Dear Her Majesty, isn't your reversal a bit too big?

Shang Ke tried hard to hold back his laughter, but he couldn't help it in the end, and deliberately said jokingly: "Great, it seems that I am worthy of wearing a military uniform, how lucky."

Sigrid's cheeks visibly flushed. She leaned slightly to the side and said calmly, "Of course you deserve to wear a military uniform. You have always been an excellent soldier and a brilliant tactician."

A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier! Be the best soldier!
Shang Ke felt like laughing when he thought that his foreign honorary military rank would be higher than his country's official military rank.

After all, there was such a person in history who was awarded the title of Philippine Marshal before being promoted to five-star general.

Marshal Mai! I'm talking about you!
It turned out that Sigrid was very trustworthy. She quickly conveyed the message to the Ministry of National Defense, suggesting that Shang, who had performed outstandingly, should be awarded an honorary military rank.

The Hungarian Ministry of Defense actually had a not very good initial impression of Shang. When the Royal Guard was formed a few months ago, everyone knew that a major from the military technical advisory group came to the door every now and then to ask for soldiers and weapons and equipment, which gave everyone a headache.

But now it is different. To be honest, the strategy of using water instead of soldiers almost saved the Hunnic army from the brink of collapse.

For this reason alone, gratitude is well deserved.

Therefore, when posthumously awarding honorary military ranks to the fallen volunteer air force pilots, the Ministry of National Defense prepared a unique promotion document specifically for Shang.

A major general who looked like an old scholar saluted Shang Ke and then solemnly handed him a finely crafted letter.

"Thank you for your contribution to the defense of Hungary. 150,000 defense personnel were saved from the brink of hell. With government approval, on behalf of the Ministry of Defense, I confer upon you the rank of colonel. Regardless, we Hungarians recognize that your talent and achievements are worthy of this rank. God bless you."

Along with the honorary military rank promotion order, there were also military uniforms, which were divided into two sets of casual uniforms and one set of formal uniforms.

Of course, in Shang's opinion, this is only of collection value, because the clothing of the Hunnic Royal Army does not quite conform to his aesthetic taste.

Although this colonel title is only honorary, it does sound much better when said out loud.

In daily dealings, the phrase 'Colonel Shang' is much more amusing than 'Major Shang', and people who don't know the truth will be stunned when they hear it.

In addition to Shang Ke, there are four other people who also received honorary military ranks.

However, they were all awarded posthumously.

Since the beginning of this month, the Grand Union Volunteer Air Force has begun sending a small number of aircraft to carry out patrol missions, although they are not yet fully prepared upon arrival.

From October 10th to October 6th, the Volunteer Air Force flew 10 combat sorties, engaging in three major air battles. They shot down 29 enemy aircraft, lost 426 of their own, and lost four pilots in foreign skies. Warrant officers were posthumously promoted to captain, second lieutenants to major, and first lieutenants to lieutenant colonel. All those who died were promoted three ranks posthumously.

In comparison, the cross-level promotion of Shang, a living person, does not seem so sudden.

"They only made you a colonel? I thought you could be a brigadier general based on your intelligence alone."

Anna was both curious and regretful when she learned that Shang had been awarded an honorary military rank.

"No, no, no, you can't say that, Anna. You have to know that the treatment of being promoted three levels in a row is reserved for the dead." A passing major staff officer said with a smile.

Anna nodded repeatedly and turned to Shang Ke and said, "Okay, sorry, Major Shang... Colonel Shang, I hope you can also be promoted next time."

The latter said leisurely, "I hope my country's official military rank can be changed."

"That day won't be far away." Anna suddenly thought of something and took out a sealed glass jar from her handbag beside the table.

She handed the glass jar over and said, "This is cider brewed by my family. I give it to you, Mr. Consultant. Get ready for Halloween. It's a pity that I can't take a holiday for Halloween this year."

It was hard to refuse a good intention. Even though Shang Ke was skeptical about whether drinking this homemade wine would cause diarrhea, he still thanked him and accepted it.

Halloween in Hungary combines Catholic traditions with local customs. Halloween is mainly for mourning the dead and is generally solemn and dignified.

There are naturally legal holidays for such festivals, but with Ivan Rus's army approaching, there is no time to relax.

The Battle of the Tisza ended in defeat for the Hungarian army, which failed to achieve its strategic goal of keeping the enemy east of the river defense line.

Similarly, although Ivan Rus's army won the battle, its attempt to encircle and annihilate the Hungarian field troops also failed.

匈尔瑞军队总伤亡3.3万人，其中死亡9268人，另外损失各种身管火炮221门、坦克132辆、汽车430辆、飞机138架。

伊凡罗斯军队总伤亡4.1万人，其中死亡1.08万人，技术兵器的损失要少些，一共损失火炮130门、坦克45辆、汽车240辆、飞机177架。

At first glance, the number of tanks lost by Imperial Russia seems unusually small?

In fact, during the entire battle, the Imperial Russian tank forces had more than 200 tanks damaged, but as the victorious side, they were able to calmly recover and repair most of them.

As long as the tank does not catch fire, it is usually difficult to lose it completely.

For example, the Ivan Rus army categorized tank damage as requiring minor repair, medium repair, major repair, and irreparable damage. Given the country's limited national strength, any technological weapon was a precious asset to the Imperial Armed Forces. Assessing tank damage was a serious matter, and dereliction of duty by logistics officers was severely punished.

In short, more than 100,000 main Hungarian troops in the northern section of the Tisza River defense line escaped, retreated smoothly in an organized manner, and re-established a defense line about 50 kilometers east of Budapest.

In other words, the enemy had approached to within only a few dozen kilometers of Budapest.

The embassies of the United States of America, the Republic of Marianna, the Grand Unified Federation, etc. are already preparing to move.

For the first time, Shang Ke truly experienced what it meant to be in a precarious situation.

(End of this chapter)