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

Chapter 166 | The Big One is Coming!

“Those were just civilians, they had no weapons at all, it was a massacre.”

"what are they doing?!"

"Aaaaah! Damn it! Those beasts!"

"I will slaughter all the Romanians!"

In everyone's eyes, this was essentially a complete act of revenge and venting anger, an extremely cruel and indiscriminate massacre!

The soldiers were filled with righteous indignation, their eyes fixed on the human tragedy unfolding in the distance.

The indiscriminate executions, indiscriminately targeting women, children, and the elderly, came to an end. After a hail of bullets from two light machine guns, piles of corpses lay in front of the wall...

Shang Ke couldn't bear to see such a scene and didn't want to look at it for even a second.

The usually aloof Emilia had clearly been provoked in the past two days, and she whispered through gritted teeth, "This blood debt... one day... the Romanians will pay it back with interest!"

noon.

An unusual sound of airplane engines came from the sky.

Confused, Shank went to the window and saw squadrons of planes roaring past west of the Danube.

Immediately afterwards, a series of explosions came from all around.

The sound was clearly not coming from Ivanlos's army besieging the remnants of the defending forces, but rather from an air raid or artillery barrage.

"Strange, the Royal Air Force hasn't appeared for a long time, why is it suddenly joining the battle today?" Corporal Kevin wondered.

"They've regained their combat capability after receiving new aircraft, or maybe..." Shang Ke suddenly thought of something and said to everyone with delight, "Get ready! The enemy may be in deep trouble."

Attention! The big one is coming!

Shang Ke took out the simple hand-drawn map again, and after thinking about it carefully for a long time, he was struggling with what to do now.

This hand-drawn map was seized from a Romanian sergeant who was killed. It is very rough and roughly records some of the supply stations, first aid stations, checkpoints, repair shops, large strongholds and so on that the Romanian army has set up in the city.

"This is an awkward position. If we get exposed, it won't be easy to get away. Let's go to the next block."

Shank felt it was inappropriate to continue hiding here, so he decided to go to the border area between Ivanros and the Romanian army. The two enemy forces would certainly not be as closely coordinated, making it easier to hide or break out.

So, under his leadership, the team set off after recovering their strength.

The journey was fraught with danger, but ultimately safe, as they constantly encountered Ivanos's army and Romanian army rushing along the way.

Shank's premonition grew stronger, and he was certain that the Hungarian army on the west bank of the Danube had launched a large-scale counterattack.

After several detours, the squad arrived near the C7 supply depot established by the 22nd Infantry Division of the Romania, and found a well-positioned spot in the ruins to take cover...

Under diplomatic pressure and with the support of some members of the government, the Marianne government publicly declared its position and formally declared war on Ivanrous this morning, belatedly joining the war that has been underway for several months.

However, Varland has not yet agreed to open the border, so a large number of Mariana's troops remain on standby in the country.

During this period, the main force of the Hungarian army, which had been lying in wait along the Danube River defense line for a long time, launched a full-scale counter-offensive along a front of more than 100 kilometers!
The Hunnic army displayed remarkable courage, deploying eleven divisions—more than half the original plan—to cross the Danube and launch an attack on the Ivanos and Romanian armies on the east bank, applying pressure from the front.

The entire Marianne Expeditionary Force was deployed. Two mechanized divisions crossed the river west of Budapest, and one infantry division crossed via the remaining Széchenyi Chain Bridge and the frozen river to directly reinforce the remaining defenders in the Parliament area. The Expeditionary Force was essentially a reorganized Marianne 21st Corps, with a total strength of approximately 5.1 men, and its order of battle was:
| 3th Mechanized Division
| 15th Mechanized Division
｜54th Infantry Division

The Marianaes were arguably at the forefront of the world in armor technology, but their tactical thinking lagged behind.

Although the mechanized divisions are large and well-organized, they are somewhat bloated, with an insufficient proportion of infantry, leaving much room for improvement.

These mechanized divisions were reorganized from cavalry divisions, and their general organization was as follows:

Combat Brigade

—Tank Regiment
—Tank Regiment
>Synthetic Brigade

—Armored Reconnaissance Regiment
Motorized Infantry Regiment

Artillery Regiment

Engineer Battalion

>Communications Battalion

Although the overall organization was not perfect, the two fully equipped mechanized divisions still greatly shocked the enemy.

Pick the softest persimmons first!
12月13日中午11时45分，第15机械化师仅耗时一小时便突破了帝俄第344国民射击兵旅的主阵地，并在三小时内彻底将之击溃。

Subsequently, the 15th Mechanized Division rapidly advanced southward and penetrated deep into enemy territory, repelling the all-out counterattack of the Imperial Russian 129th Infantry Division.

The 3rd Mechanized Division followed closely behind, advancing all the way to the southwest of Budapest, where it annihilated a Romanian infantry regiment and captured a large amount of military supplies. The 3rd Mechanized Division then began a flanking maneuver to the east, preparing to cut off the enemy's retreat route within the city.

The entry of the Mariannas into the war was not surprising; the people of St. Petersburg knew it was only a matter of time.

However, for the officers and soldiers of Imperial Russia who had to face the formidable advance of Marianne's army, this was hardly a good thing.

In just one day, the army group's positions south of Budapest collapsed, and it's no exaggeration to say that it was like a dilapidated wooden house that had been trampled to pieces by an elephant.

Tukhachevsky believed he was well-prepared, but he clearly underestimated the gap in combat capabilities between the two sides.

What's the use of having a large population?
Unless you have an absolute numerical advantage of more than seven times, the quality of your troops is more important than the quantity of your troops; this has always been true throughout history.

In particular, the Ivanos Empire War Council has always been rather dismissive of the Hurricanes and has been very unenthusiastic in replenishing officers and advanced weaponry.

The brutal Battle of Budapest severely weakened the 10th Army's tactical and technical capabilities. In particular, the severe shortage of junior officers greatly affected its organizational capacity. The once-proud T-34s were allocated to fewer than 100 vehicles, and after such a long battle, only a dozen or so remained operational.

Now, Tukhachevsky has very few options left.

With their flanks crumbling and several divisions retreating in disarray, the Hunnic army surged forward, closely following the breach opened by Mariana's expeditionary force.

The battle reserve consisted of only one motorized infantry division. Ordering this division to stop the surging enemy was probably like trying to plug a huge hole in a wine barrel with a wine cork.

Abandon Budapest? Evacuate this place that has caused the bloodshed and sorrow of thousands of soldiers?

Would Veronica, who was in St. Petersburg, be furious and tear him apart if she found out? Hachvsky didn't even want to think about that scene.

(End of this chapter)