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

Chapter 183 | What are you doing here?
"Ivanos continued the excellent mobilization efficiency he had during the European War, and by Christmas of that year, the army had swelled to six million men."

"Five million Ivanros's army advanced deep into Valland along the entire front, with endless infantry overwhelming the enemy like waves under the cover of tank units."

"Perin is like a small wooden house in a storm, teetering on the brink of collapse. Once this capital is captured, Ivanros's humiliation of the past twenty years will be completely washed away."

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The train rattled along in Austria, passing through Werner and continuing westward.

Outside the window, snow was falling heavily, while inside it was warm as spring, with a thin layer of frost condensing on the glass.

"It's a bit of a pity. This trip was too rushed, and I didn't even have time to visit Werner."

As a historic city, Shank really wanted to see what Vilna looked like in this era.

The itinerary is roughly as follows: first, change trains in Vinal; then, travel across the southern part of the Valland; after arriving in Stuttgart, change trains again; after entering the Marianne region, change trains for the third time; and finally, travel from east to west across the Marianne region to reach the western coastal city of Bordeaux.

Shang Ke felt that things were better when he first entered the country, but the further northwest he went, the more he could sense the panic among the people.

When the train stopped at Linz station to replenish coal and water, Shank got off and went to the platform for some fresh air.

The taciturn railway workers were busy operating the machines to add coal and water to the steam locomotive. There were many passengers, carrying large and small bags of luggage, their eyes revealing confusion. The train station was filled with an atmosphere of worry and desolation.

A young man who looked like a student claimed to be from Bolin Technical University. He had finally managed to squeeze onto a train on the eve of the enemy's arrival and was now planning to return to his hometown in Linz to seek refuge.

"All I can say is that everything is out of control. Yesterday's newspaper said the enemy is attacking Hamburg and Wittenberg, and Polin doesn't know how long they can hold out..."

The young man exited the station with his luggage.

Just as Shang Ke was deep in thought, a joyful exclamation interrupted his thoughts.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure dressed in a khaki suit and wearing a bowler hat.

Huh? What's she doing here?

Morrow was clearly surprised as well, and the two of them asked in unison, "What are you doing here?"

Morrow asked in confusion, "Colonel Shang? Did you leave Hurricane with your country's advisory group?"

“Yes.” Shank looked her over with surprise and asked, “But why are you on this train?”

"After the battle ended, I received a personnel notice from the division headquarters to return to the mainland to guide training work in Lyon."

"What a coincidence."

Accompanying Moreau were five or six officers from Marianne's expeditionary force, men and women.

Moro only knew that there were members of the military technology advisory group of the Great Unified Federation on this train, but they were not in the same carriage. If they did not get off to rest, they would probably only have a small chance of meeting each other during mealtimes.

The two chatted happily.

Just then, several train station staff members walked over.

The leader explained, "I'm very sorry, gentlemen, your train is temporarily unable to proceed. The army has notified us that it needs to be urgently deployed."

Upon hearing this, Shang Ke frowned and asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know. The military has ordered an immediate halt to civilian train services in the southern region because they need to redeploy troops."

"How long will it take?" "Nobody knows, maybe a day, maybe a week."

“You should know who we are. We must cross the border from Varland as soon as possible.” With that, Shank reached into his pocket, pulled out several large pounds, and stuffed them into his hand.

Realizing that something was wrong, Mr. Shang immediately resorted to both soft and hard tactics.

The other party hesitated for a long time, but finally refused, saying they would never agree.

Morrow couldn't help but mutter, "These stupid Vallanders..."

The train carrying the military technical advisory group was dismantled; several passenger carriages were separated and parked nearby, while dozens of freight cars were reattached to the steam locomotive, clearly indicating that it was going to transport troops.

Late that night.

Two military trains arrived one after another, and a third arrived at dawn.

Since the stop was only for replenishing coal and water, the soldiers did not get off the vehicle; only a few officers got off to stroll around and get some fresh air.

Shank noticed that the uniforms of these Dide soldiers were not those of ordinary infantry, but rather those of mountain infantry.

By the time it was broad daylight, the fourth military train had also entered the station. This train consisted of half boxcars and the other half flatcars, on which were attached light mountain guns and small-caliber anti-aircraft guns.

Is this ever going to end? How many troops are they deploying?
Just as Shank was cursing in frustration, bad news arrived late—at 8:00 a.m. sharp, the Kingdom of Itali declared war on the Republic of Mariana, and the latter immediately responded.

Then everything makes sense.

Since Italli is determined to align itself with Britain, it is only a matter of time before they declare war on Varland.

The two countries are separated by the famous Alps, so it's no wonder that Varland was in a hurry to send reinforcements to the south.

With the situation in the north already precarious, they also had to be wary of the south. The drawbacks of fighting on multiple fronts became immediately apparent. It's safe to say that things were really tough for the Valland side.

Shang Ke could only sigh, he had no energy to empathize with them, he just wanted to get away from this troublesome place with his spoils as soon as possible.

However, it is counterproductive.

The situation was similar the next day; the train station was almost constantly busy from morning till night, and it was unclear how many divisions the Varland army would send as reinforcements.

Seeing this, Shank could not wait any longer and drove to the Linz garrison office, hoping to borrow a heavy-duty tractor.

Near Linz is an independent heavy field artillery brigade equipped with the formidable Mrs18 210mm howitzers and the powerful SdKfz9 heavy half-track trailers.

After Mr. Shang's earnest and persistent negotiations, the local garrison reluctantly agreed to the request, lending a spare SdKfz9 half-track trailer and four Henschel 33D trucks, as well as relevant personnel.

He ordered the three damaged T-34s to be abandoned, with only the gearboxes and some parts removed from them, and only the better-maintained T-34 to be towed by a trailer.

He also left behind a rare handwritten IOU in both Chinese and German: "I hereby borrow one large tractor and four trucks from your army to transport my regiment's personnel and supplies. They will be returned upon arrival in Nuremberg."

The team prepared to set off again on this snowy day, heading north, a journey that was bound to be arduous.

Seeing that they were about to depart, members of Marianne's expeditionary force also came to them, as they also did not want to stay in Linz and therefore hoped to travel with them.

Shank initially wanted to refuse, but considering that bringing along these Mariana officers might provide unexpected help, he hesitated for a moment and then agreed.

“The Valland Railway is absolutely terrible,” Morrow couldn’t help but complain.

Shang Ke couldn't help but chuckle and nodded in agreement, saying, "That's absolutely right."

(End of this chapter)