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

Chapter 148 | Looks like I'm a genius too
"Salute to the fallen!" The lieutenant colonel gritted his teeth and roared, "All standby units, shell Heroes' Square, instant fuse, high trajectory, four rounds in rapid succession!"

The Second Provisional Field Artillery Group actually consists of four battalions, with eight artillery companies currently on standby.

The shooting data at Heroes' Square had already been recorded, so there was no need for temporary calculations; the data recorded in the booklet could be directly copied.

At 14:53 p.m., with a command from the lieutenant colonel, more than thirty 105mm and 155mm howitzers roared in unison!

At the same time, on the battlefield...

The Russian soldiers who had captured Heroes' Square cheered loudly and waved their military flags. The officers, however, dared not relax and sternly reminded everyone to wipe out the remaining enemy and be careful of a counterattack.

On the starting position of the attack, Major General Barannikov was still urging the follow-up troops to hurry up and advance, so as not to be pushed back by the Hungarian counterattack before the first echelon had a firm foothold.

Due to the continuous obstruction of Hungarian artillery fire, the second echelon's advance was extremely difficult, and the third echelon was completely unable to move.

"If only our country were stronger, then with a few half-track armored vehicles, we could ignore artillery fire," Major General Barannikov thought.

Just as he came to his senses, multiple explosions suddenly appeared in the distant Heroes' Square!
"Boom—boom—boom—"

In just a few seconds, dozens of explosions and flashes of light appeared one after another, and thick smoke and dust completely engulfed the first echelon that had just captured the square.

It's over! The attacking force has been completely annihilated!
This thought instantly flashed into Major General Barannikov's mind.

He roared angrily, "Why?! Why?! They've gone mad! There are still their remaining defenders on the position! Damn it!"

Despite the breached defenses, Major General Barannikov still strictly ordered the second echelon to quickly cross the artillery-blocked area, no matter what, and not to lose Heroes' Square again.

How can you spit out meat that's already in your mouth?!
However, a few minutes later, the Tsarist Russian officers saw something strange through their binoculars.

Three or four red public buses were seen driving slowly from the northwest street, swaying and ignoring the occasional shell explosions nearby, heading straight for the square.

Upon approaching, the buses were blocked by numerous craters and had to stop.

Dozens of fully armed royal guards filed out, quickly formed ranks, and then shouted as they launched a fearless counter-charge into the square!

what? !

Can it still be like this? !
Major General Barannikov was dumbfounded.

Previously, the Hungarian Second Provisional Artillery Group had conducted a rapid-fire attack with four rounds, firing a total of 72 105mm shells and 44 155mm shells, causing heavy casualties to the three Imperial Russian infantry companies that had captured the square.

Although the remaining soldiers, who were dazed and confused by the bombing, still numbered about a hundred, they were terrified and no match for the royal guard's suicide squad. Within minutes, they were routed...

"Colonel! That's fantastic! A perfect idea!" Reka exclaimed excitedly.

She added, "The Third Battalion will be at the square soon, Colonel. The first company is just one street away."

Shang Ke saw all of this.

He felt the tension in his heart ease a little, and couldn't help but take a deep breath. Then he slowly sat down, picked up the kettle, and took a few sips of water.

The public bus was the product of his brilliant idea last week.

It is common for infantry units to be blocked by artillery fire. The most effective solution is to have them ride in armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, but this is not something every country can afford.

Therefore, he ordered his men to gather four public buses that were still operational, and welded thin steel plates onto them in the front, back, left, and right, not expecting them to withstand machine gun fire, but only to be immune to artillery shell fragments.

To my utter surprise, they actually came in handy. Dozens of royal guards who volunteered rushed into the fray and fought bravely, temporarily preventing the square from falling. Looks like I'm a genius after all!
Shang Ke took a breather, regained some interest, and stood up again to go behind the artillery scope.

The 3rd Battalion of the Military Police has moved to a favorable position and has dispatched three companies in batches to reinforce the Royal Guard suicide squad.

Everyone knows that piecemeal tactics are a poor strategy, but in the current situation, with limited battlefield capacity and the hindrance of artillery fire, the only option is to use piecemeal tactics to forcibly turn the battlefield into a meat grinder.

To put it vividly, the Battle of Budapest was like the Hunnic army dragging the Ivanlus army into a quagmire.

Seeing the first echelon retreat in disarray, and the Hungarian army counterattacking and fighting fiercely with the second echelon, Major General Barannikov was furious.

Failure at the last hurdle?

Absolutely unacceptable!

In a hoarse voice, he anxiously issued the order: "The Huns have no reserves left. Tanks, advance two hundred meters, get close to suppress the enemy, and prepare to lead the third echelon in the assault!"

The lieutenant colonel standing nearby questioned, "Chief of Staff, 200 meters is too close, we'd better..."

"Didn't you hear my order?! Move out immediately! This concerns the honor of our army! Don't forget how many brothers died in Budapest!"

Major General Barannikov roared, somewhat out of control. You could say he was now like a gambler at the table, determined not to concede until he had played all his cards.

Heroes' Square has become a knot in his heart; he won't turn back until he hits a wall, and even if he does, he'll smash his head against it until he's bloodied and bruised!
Tanks started moving, followed by a large number of infantry, rushing from their attack positions toward Heroes' Square amidst a hail of bullets.

These are the only three relatively intact companies remaining from the three divisions and nine regiments of the 36th Infantry Army, with a total of 455 officers and soldiers.

The meat grinder is back in operation, throwing in lives and leaving behind only bloody corpses...

"Huh? Interesting, Colonel!" Reika suddenly exclaimed, turning to Shank with delight, "An observation post claims to have seen something unusual at the movie theater north of Elizabeth Street, a suspected high-value target, perhaps a high-ranking military officer?"

Oh?
Shang Ke immediately turned the scope around and carefully observed the dilapidated movie theater.

Sure enough, there seemed to be a shelter there, but it was disguised, and no communication antennas or wires were visible.

But since it has been discovered, there must be some flaws—Shang Ke saw several armored vehicles and motorcycles parked nearby, as well as a black sedan.

Because of the distance, the details of the car were not clear, but it was generally British in style.

Using the armored vehicle next to it as a reference, we can determine that the car is quite large, perhaps a long-wheelbase sedan produced by Austin or Hillman.

"We were saying good things come in pairs, and I was even thinking about how to kill a general, but this has just been delivered right to our doorstep."

Shang Ke was overjoyed.

However, the Ivanros were cunning; they built their bunkers on the side of the cinema ruins, which would block shells fired by howitzers from the west bank of the Danube.

What to do! Urgent!
After pondering for a full minute, Shang Ke, deep in thought, came up with a feasible strategy.

He asked, "Are there still shells left for the heavy mortars we captured last week?"

Captain Zeno answered without hesitation, "Yes, we have them, but not many."

(End of this chapter)