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

Chapter 146 | The Great Poison Gas Diagram
By mid-November, Ivanos's army had maintained its aggressive offensive for several days.

During this period, the Russian Imperial Army suffered approximately 1100 to 1300 casualties per day. The 36th Infantry Corps suffered heavy losses, with each battalion and company losing more than 50% of its combat personnel.

Tukhachevsky arrived near the city in an armored vehicle, where there were several supply depots and repair shops, all covered with anti-aircraft camouflage netting.

When he arrived, an infantry battalion had just withdrawn from the front lines for rest and recuperation.

A battalion?

But this group of beggar-like people probably only numbered around two hundred.

He stopped his men and asked them what was going on, only to find that the officer who came forward was just a young lieutenant.

The lieutenant was wearing a soldier's uniform, and the steel helmet on his head was badly worn and the paint was peeling off.

He gave a weary salute and said weakly, "Commander, this is all that's left of our battalion. Most of the soldiers in the three companies are dead or wounded."

"What about the other officers?"

"They're all dead, only Lieutenant Chernov and I are alive."

Tukhachevsky noticed a faint sense of death about the lieutenant and the soldiers behind him.

Oh no, a strong sense of death.

Their eyes were vacant, their expressions blank, as if their souls had been ripped from their bodies, and their military uniforms were dirty and tattered.

The lieutenant sighed.

"Commander, this is hell, and the Huns are devils. Please believe me, everyone has done their best."

“We take the first floor, they resist on the second; we capture the second, they retreat to the roof to resist; we clear a block, they might continue to resist in the sewers…”

With a somber expression, Tukhachevsky looked into the distance again. All the buildings in sight were dilapidated, and the walls were riddled with bullet holes of all sizes.

He did not believe that victory could be achieved through mere courage and willpower.

Warfare is an art of military strategy.

The nearly ruined Budapest before us seems like a work of art, a testament to the wisdom of our enemies.

Every barricade, every firing point, every bunker was a meticulously crafted, treacherous killing trap.

Tukhachevsky already knew who was behind all of this, but he still found it hard to believe.

How could the Khitans, who had enjoyed peace for so many years, have created such a terrifying meat grinder? Could that guy be a genius too?
"boom!"

A cannon blast pulled him back to reality from his deep thoughts. It was his own B-4 howitzer firing, and another 203mm high-explosive shell exploded violently.

“I will smash all of this,” he murmured.

This is for the sake of the motherland, and also for the sake of myself.

Analyzing the lessons learned over the past few days, Tukhachevsky identified several key points.

(1) There are no shortcuts in street fighting; you can only grit your teeth and fight at a loss.

(2) The field artillery groups deployed by the Hungarian army on the west bank of the Danube River posed a great threat and repeatedly thwarted their offensive.

(3) The best way to deal with a sniper is to bombard him with artillery fire rather than have your own snipers fight him.

Fearing Veronica's wrath, Tukhachevsky only gave a brief report on the current situation and did not request substantial reinforcements.

So this week, the army group only received a few thousand new recruits and a fully equipped Nationalist shooting brigade as reinforcements.

However, he took a different approach, requesting that the Romania send two more infantry divisions, in regiment units, to engage in a fierce tug-of-war.

Currently, our progress in the southern and eastern districts is quite considerable, but we are at a loss in the northern district.

That was also where his opponent was. No, he was just a colonel, or even just an honorary rank, not worthy of being called an opponent.

Tukhachevsky took a deep breath and issued a stern order with a grim expression: "We must capture Heroes' Square at all costs, implement closer artillery coordination, and the air force will also carry out devastating air strikes there."

"Sir, let the soldiers rest, and release the poison gas on the Huns!" an aide suggested indignantly.

Upon hearing this, everyone present fell silent.

People don't actually mind using poison gas; both sides used it on a large scale during the European war. However, the Geneva Convention now prohibits its use.

If that's the case, then we don't need to.

From this perspective, most of the officers in Tsarist Russia were still normal people.

However, this was everyone's previous idea.

But now, after so many days of this thorny battle, everyone is exhausted and their patience has long been worn out.

Therefore, releasing poison gas is not necessarily a bad thing.

After a long pause, Tukhachevsky said calmly, "We won't consider that approach for now."

The proposal to use chemical weapons was shelved, but not entirely rejected.

In the afternoon, preparations for the thirteenth attack on Heroes' Square began in earnest.

This time, Ivanros's army deployed three infantry battalions and two tank companies in three adjacent city blocks, intending to launch a strong attack after an unprecedentedly heavy artillery barrage.

The attack plan was roughly as follows: tanks would remain at the starting position to provide strong direct fire support, while the infantry units launching the assault would be divided into three echelons, with one company deployed at a time from each direction.

The difficulty of urban warfare lies in this: deploying three or four hundred people at once almost fills the limited battlefield capacity.

An hour and a half later.

On the top floor of the Sixth Middle School's teaching building, Shang Ke gazed towards Heroes' Square, which was almost completely engulfed by artillery fire that blotted out the sky.

After more than ten frenzied attacks, the defending troops near the square also suffered heavy casualties and had been replaced three times.

Whether they can stop the enemy's attack this time remains to be seen.

Shank has deployed the 3rd Battalion of the Military Police to the northwest of the square, ready to provide support or launch a counterattack should the situation become critical.

But just then, a sharp-eyed person noticed something unusual.

Reka pointed into the distance and exclaimed in surprise, "Sir, there are enemy planes over there! They're huge planes!"

Following the direction she pointed, Shang Ke saw several four-engine bombers emerging from the clouds in the eastern sky and slowly descending.

Uh... what is that?
It shouldn't be a transport plane, so it can only be a bomber. Are light bombers not good enough? Why would they specifically send a heavy bomber?

With a furrowed brow, Shank stared at the bomber formation, pondering the reason.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and he muttered to himself, "No way..."

He turned to Reka and said urgently, "Reka, relay my instructions. The orders are as follows: the Third Battalion should prepare for battle. The Royal Guard should immediately move to the east side of the waterworks and organize a volunteer suicide squad. Remind the artillery command to prepare a temporary support plan. Hurry!"

At that moment, the three four-engine bombers also flew over Heroes' Square, and three black dots fell from their bellies.

About ten seconds later, several blinding white lights suddenly burst forth, followed by a deafening explosion!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"

The middle school building was two kilometers away from there in a straight line, but Shang Ke still felt the fierce shockwave, and his peaked cap was blown off by the blast.

Damn it! Have the Russians gone mad? That's at least a three-ton super-heavy aerial bomb!
(End of this chapter)