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

Chapter 142 | Tactical Victory

At dawn, a red sun rises from the horizon.

Eastern suburbs of Budapest.

A church in a small town was being used as the army group's headquarters, and the operations staff reported the bad news from the previous night to Tukhachevsky.

"Commander, the 144th Infantry Division's attack on the northern city area failed. The Huns launched a counterattack, besieging the assault group that had broken into the vicinity of Heroes' Square. Our rescue efforts could not save them, and we lost approximately 800 men and 15 tanks."

"What is Gromov doing? How could this happen?"

A look of astonishment appeared on Tukhachevsky's face; he found the battle unbelievable.

To put it vividly, he now has the expression of an 'old man, on the subway, looking at his phone'.

The deep assault on the northern city was personally commanded by Gromov, commander of the 144th Infantry Division, and the Davikov assault group that was annihilated was composed of the most combat-effective companies in the 144th Infantry Division.

In the afternoon, it was said that Davikov's assault group had easily advanced to the vicinity of Heroes' Square, only to be wiped out overnight?
The other assault groups did not cause any trouble and successfully penetrated deep into the southern and eastern urban areas, establishing a foothold.

Tukhachevsky had Gromov summoned.

The latter said, extremely dejectedly, "Your Excellency, I am willing to accept the punishment..."

"I'd rather know about military matters than punishment, Gromov."

"Your Excellency, from a tactical perspective, we have overlooked the enemy's artillery. The enemy has deployed a powerful field artillery group on the west bank of the Danube, which has seriously hampered our operations. The enemy commander has cleverly concentrated his limited number of tanks and launched a sudden counterattack when our attack on the stronghold was blocked."

Tukhachevsky paused for a few seconds, then said thoughtfully, "It seems you've met a formidable opponent."

Gromov sighed and recalled with great regret: "Yes, what I personally regret most is that the relief force was less than a kilometer away from Davikov's assault group, but the force failed to break through in three attacks. The enemy blocking the relief force was stronger than the average enemy."

The operations staff nodded in affirmation, saying, "The front lines have reported the same information: the enemy blocking your way is Queen Hunry's guard."

Oh?
This immediately caught Tukhachevsky's attention.

At this moment, a lieutenant colonel intelligence officer reminded him: "Commander, we've learned something unusual from interrogating prisoners these past few days. The defensive deployment of Budapest was actually established under the guidance of the Khitans. One of the key figures was a major advisor who was assigned to train the guards and made numerous suggestions regarding the city's defenses. Furthermore..."

The staff officer paused for a moment, then said in a strange tone, "And it was also his suggestion to sabotage the Tissalek Dam."

what? !

It is said that the guards also participated in the counterattack against the airborne troops at Vijes Airport. It turns out that it was all done by the same person. How come this guy keeps ruining my plans?
For a fleeting moment, Tukhachevsky really wanted to see for himself who this guy really was.

However, as a general commanding an army group, it seemed beneath him to pay too much attention to a mere major.

So he said, feigning composure, "It seems they are indeed trying very hard, but unfortunately this is just a death throes. We will soon crush the Hunnic capital."

Shortly thereafter, Tukhachevsky responded to the feedback from each unit one by one, and then went outside the church alone.

He lit a cigarette and stared absently at the smoke-filled city of Budapest.

The undercurrents in St. Peter's Castle were turbulent, and countless eyes were watching him. Whether he would have a peaceful end was still uncertain. At this moment, under immense pressure, he felt extremely tired.

The day.

While Ivanros's army was making intensive preparations for the next phase of their offensive, inside the No. 1 teaching building of the Sixth Middle School...

Major Mirko arrived with great enthusiasm to report on the results of the battlefield cleanup, only to find Shang fast asleep on his cot with cotton stuffed in both ears.

"Is this the composure of an exceptional tactician? To be this calm." Major Mirko exclaimed in amazement.

More than half an hour later, Shang Ke finally woke up.

In reality, the heavy pressure kept him constantly on edge, causing him to be highly stressed and unable to fall asleep, forcing him to rely on sleeping pills.

Even so, he still tried his best to appear calm and composed.

As the backbone of this unit, his words and actions are evident to everyone.

If the generals are anxious and uneasy, how can their subordinates not have doubts?
Shang Ke knew that he had a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. Every decision, big or small, was directly related to the life and death of thousands of officers and soldiers, and could even affect the overall war situation.

From the day he agreed to take over command, he was prepared for this.

Last night's annihilation battle was largely as Shang Ke had anticipated. The participating units fought brilliantly, completely wiping out an elite assault group.

Although Davikov's assault group only appears to have six or seven hundred men, which is about the size of a reinforced battalion?
However, the results of the cleanup of the battlefield showed that as many as 40 or 50 officers were killed or captured, and even the soldiers were mostly privates, with only one-third being privates, not to mention that the assault group was also equipped with more than ten tanks.

An objective assessment suggests that this was no less devastating than the loss of an infantry regiment.

"They managed to cram dozens of officers into such a small combat group? No wonder they're Russians." Shank exclaimed in amazement.

After a moment's thought, Shang Ke couldn't help but think of the BTG battalion-level tactical group of later generations, which was a combined unit consisting of a BMP motorized infantry battalion attached with several tank companies, self-propelled artillery companies, and anti-aircraft companies. It was also a product of the lack of sufficient funds and personnel.

Shank offered a fair assessment of Tukhachevsky's idea—a last resort.

In fact, this is a high-risk, high-return strategy; essentially, it's robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Because the formation of temporary combined arms units is a great test of the officers' and soldiers' tactical skills, and the Ivanos army in the Hunnic direction was relatively weak in this regard, it was necessary to concentrate officers and experienced veterans.

The consequences of the annihilation of Davikov's assault group were far more severe than imagined. The 144th Infantry Division suffered heavy losses, with the 430th Infantry Regiment almost losing its offensive capabilities due to the withdrawal of many officers and veterans, and now only able to undertake defensive tasks.

For the military and civilians of Budapest, this resounding victory near Heroes' Square was a ray of light in the midst of a heavy gloom.

Lieutenant General Carroy, the city's defense commander, sent his congratulations despite his busy schedule, praising Mr. Shang's excellent command and expressing his intention to personally nominate him for another War Cross.

Shank smiled slightly and said to the people around him in a nonchalant manner, "It's nothing. According to the promise given by Queen Sigrid, I am now only one step away from becoming a baron."

(End of this chapter)