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

Chapter 152 | Difficult Times

Realizing something was terribly wrong, Sergeant Matt felt a chill run down his spine.

He yelled, "Damn it! Everyone put on gas masks immediately! Blanca! What are you doing?"

The young woman coughed a few times, rubbed her eyes, and replied, "This cigarette is pungent; my throat and eyes feel a bit uncomfortable."

"It's poison gas! A chemical agent! Get your gas masks!"

Sergeant Matt spoke as he climbed out of his bunker, raised his rifle, pointed it into the air, and fired a warning shot.

The nearby soldiers were terrified and scrambled to find their gas masks.

However, rubber gas masks are very fragile and are considered consumable items.

Armies around the world commonly use canvas bags to carry gas masks, which are lightweight but offer no protection.

Historically, a distinctive and iconic piece of equipment worn by German soldiers was the metal cylinder they carried on their waists. This was actually a container for gas masks, providing some protection. However, some German soldiers found the cylinder cumbersome and, since gas masks were rarely used, they would use it to store bread and biscuits.

【Picture】

The same was true of the Hunnic army.

Faced with such an unexpected situation, many people frantically tried to grab their gas masks, only to find that they were damaged. Many soldiers had also filled canvas bags with extra rations or ammunition, leaving them with no gas masks to wear.

Panic spread rapidly.

Just then, the enemy's artillery fire suddenly intensified after a brief pause, turning into rapid-fire attacks, indicating that an attack was imminent.

"Huh?! Poison gas?!"

Upon learning this, Shang Ke, who was stationed at the department store, immediately thought that the enemy had gone completely mad.

Seriously? Are the Romanians really that twisted? They're just blatantly ignoring the convention and releasing poison gas?
"Chemical protection units, take immediate action, verify the situation, now..."

Just as he was speaking, someone exclaimed in alarm, "The enemy's artillery barrage has ended and has already extended to the back of the square. That's too fast!"

This was not the normal pace at all; the artillery preparations were much shorter than usual.

Shang Ke paused for a moment, clenched his left fist, and slammed his right index finger heavily on the map.

He said in a deep voice, "Retreat. Order the garrison to withdraw from the battle. All mortar units on standby in the nearby streets should provide full cover for the retreat. Report to the city defense command and remind all units to pay attention to chemical protection."

The overall war situation is unfavorable, and the four field artillery groups of the Hungarian army on the west bank of the Danube are not as glorious as before. In recent days, they have been in a very difficult situation under the dual suppression of air attacks and long-range firepower.

Since he could not get strong artillery support for the time being, Shank did not want the square defenders to fight him to the death. He could temporarily avoid the enemy's sharp edge and give up the position, and then launch a night attack to retake it.

Whether it was the historical Battle of Stalingrad or the current Battle of Budapest, the artillery units on the opposite bank of the river played a crucial role.

It can be said that if it weren't for the dedicated efforts of the artillerymen on the west bank of the Danube, the garrison in Budapest would not have been able to hold out until today.

Three hours later, a special platoon from the chemical protection company of the Hungarian 4th Infantry Division approached Heroes' Square, collected air samples, and determined that the agent was likely of the phosgene or diphosgene type.

Diphosgene (C₁ClO) is an asphyxiating agent. Under normal conditions, it is a colorless liquid that is insoluble in water. It is more than ten times more toxic than chlorine and can form a sufficiently lethal concentration in battlefield environments. Moreover, it is relatively persistent in low-temperature environments, lasting for 60 to 120 minutes.

Phosgene and diphosgene have a slightly irritating odor, smelling like rotten hay and rotten apples. This poison can cause delayed pulmonary edema, leading to hypoxia and suffocation. Because it only causes poisoning through the respiratory tract, attackers only need to wear gas masks to be immune, without needing to worry about harming their own people.

An interesting but not funny characteristic is that there are no immediate abnormal sensations after being exposed to this suffocating agent; the toxicity only becomes apparent after a period of time. However, smokers will notice something strange beforehand—the taste of their cigarettes inexplicably becomes terrible.

During the European war, experienced veterans would use this rudimentary method to determine if there was poison gas.

In the afternoon, although most of the defenders suffered only minor poisoning due to their retreat, some died painfully from severe pulmonary edema caused by inhaling more toxic gas... The situation was becoming increasingly dire.

To date, the 4th Infantry Division has suffered more than 9000 casualties and has been replenished with 7384 soldiers and officers. The front-line units have been replaced almost twice.

The 10th Infantry Division in Zone B and the 51st Reserve Infantry Division in Zone C were in similar condition, having suffered almost total losses and only managing to stay afloat thanks to a constant stream of reinforcements.

The Hungarian General Staff has been discussing the feasibility of sending one or two divisions across the river to relieve troops, but no decision has been made.

Because of the loss of air superiority, transporting supplies from the west bank to the city has become very difficult.

Since the beginning of this month, an average of seven or eight hundred people and two hundred tons of supplies have been transported to the garrison in the eastern city every day. The transportation missions are mostly carried out at night, and even with all our efforts, we can only double the transport capacity at most.

Under the premise of ensuring basic replenishment, the limited transport capacity is insufficient to support a division-level unit to cross the river, and it would probably take ten days to half a month for them to cross the river separately.

If the 'blood transfusion' is suspended for a few days to focus on transporting troop rotation personnel across the river, the defending army might collapse first.

After some deliberation, the General Staff suggested that the defending troops conserve ammunition, stockpile two to three hundred tons of supplies, and then free up transport capacity to allow the troop rotation to cross the river.

Lieutenant General Carlo of the city defense command could only manage a wry smile at this unrealistic suggestion.

Many defense zones have now been torn apart by the enemy's continuous attacks. If it weren't for the defenders' tenacious resistance and their use of the terrain to their advantage in local firepower, they would have been wiped out long ago.

Saving ammunition? Saving it will only lead to collapse.

The battle became increasingly difficult for the defenders in late November and early December, and equally bitter and bloody for the armies of Ivanros and Romania.

This difficult time left everyone with unforgettable and painful memories.

The day was December 1st, and the daytime temperature plummeted to around 0℃. The freezing cold made the residents, who lacked heating, shiver.

At 6:45 AM, the enemy bombarded the Alina Hotel with 203mm howitzers.

At 7:50 a.m., approximately 300 enemy troops, supported by 5 tanks, attacked the Alina Hotel.

At 8:08 AM, an advance force of approximately 700 enemy troops advanced to the vicinity of the American consulate, two blocks from the city defense command.

9:40 AM | The enemy captured the Alina Hotel, and about 20 defenders broke through the siege.

At 10:37 AM, an enemy regiment of approximately 1500 men and 21 tanks advanced to the vicinity of the Capitol Building.

At 12:44, our patrol ambushed an enemy convoy in the Moyol district, killing approximately 40 enemy soldiers.

At 14:30 PM, approximately 200 of our troops launched a counterattack against the Alina Hotel and successfully recaptured it.

At 15:05, enemy aircraft attacked Liberty Square, dropping approximately seven heavy bombs. The defending troops reported about 70 casualties.

At 16:45 PM, the Alina Hotel was captured by approximately 500 enemy troops.

At 18:30, approximately 200 remnants of the 'Lister' police battalion lost contact with headquarters.

At 22:26, ​​an enemy infantry unit of approximately 150 men was repelled during its infiltration attempt on the C3 defense zone.

At 22:45, our side successfully launched a night raid, eliminating approximately 200 enemy soldiers, and the Alina Hotel was once again under our control.

The battle reports received by the city defense command clearly demonstrate the bloodshed of the fierce fighting.

Gradually, a sense of despair began to rise in people's hearts—was it worth continuing like this?
(End of this chapter)