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

Chapter 266 | Three Hundred Warriors

Upon learning of the heavy losses suffered by the artillery positions—not only were all the captured American-made howitzers lost, but even one of his own cannon battalions had been routed—he became even more furious.

Damn it! If I get blamed for this... how am I supposed to explain myself?
The position of commander of the New York occupation forces was a bittersweet one.

The pain stemmed from the constant attacks on the occupying forces, with shootings and explosions occurring daily, leaving everyone overwhelmed.

The joy stemmed from the sheer prosperity of New York, a wealth so astonishing that it left everyone speechless, with wealth of every kind visible everywhere.

Up until tonight, Brigadier General Voronov felt that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, because everyone from him to the bottom had made a fortune.

However, this joy will come to an abrupt end tonight.

The occupying forces in Brooklyn called, claiming to have visually observed something unusual: American naval vessels were approaching the Manhattan coastline, seemingly evacuating the remaining troops!

Voronov was shocked and immediately demanded verification.

About twenty or thirty minutes later, multiple flares were fired from the cannons and flew toward the dock, hovering in the sky above it. The bright light instantly revealed the situation below.

The Russian soldiers across the sea stared wide-eyed at what they saw: the remnants of the enemy were trying to escape by boat!

Upon learning the truth, Voronov was furious and immediately ordered the bombardment of those warships. At the same time, he ordered the front-line troops to launch an attack, and while the enemy was organizing a retreat, to stick to them and pursue them relentlessly.

But how can such a suddenly issued order be executed?

The occupying forces didn't have any decent heavy weapons. Their artillery consisted of only some 76.2mm infantry guns, and although they had powerful 120mm heavy mortars, these were unusable for bombarding surface ships.

Therefore, the occupying forces of Imperial Russia had no choice but to use their ingenuity.

The occupying forces in the Brooklyn area pushed several infantry guns to the shore and sent in a formidable multi-turret heavy tank, which aimed at the destroyer and opened fire.

Because of the short distance, a few shells actually hit a destroyer.

Although the Clemson-class destroyers were older models built more than 20 years ago, they were not pushovers to be easily bullied. The Humphrey (DD-236) was hit by two shots in a row, and the furious sailors immediately maneuvered the ship's guns to aim at the muzzle flash and returned fire with the 102mm guns.

Not to be outdone, the neighboring Arden also fired rapidly, as if in a competition, unleashing dozens of shells in quick succession, instantly sending the enemy on the shore fleeing in terror!

The Imperial Russian tank crews were indeed fierce and brave, though they might also have been blinded by rage.

The 'battle tank' continued firing at the destroyer a kilometer away, which resulted in an attack from the USS Helena.

The Imperial Russian forces had learned from past combat experience that multi-turret tanks were very effective in boosting morale and suppressing resistance in occupied territories.

It's ironic that what was envisioned as a steel behemoth, a land cruiser, was ultimately deemed a weapon of counterinsurgency.

"Boom boom boom!"

The half-salvo from the Helena was terrifying; a series of 152mm shells slammed into the vicinity of the SMK heavy tank, destroying it in the blink of an eye. A detached road wheel rolled dozens of meters away.

At 3:30 a.m.

Brigadier General Voronov was extremely anxious. Two or three hours had passed, and his troops were still not ready to attack. What was going on?

The adjutant reported rather awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Your Excellency, Lieutenant Colonel Fedorov claims he cannot assemble on time; many of his men have deserted..."

"What did those deserters do? Robbery? The military police should shoot them all!" Voronov even angrily cursed Sukabule.

The adjutant thought to himself that this was entirely his own fault.

Since entering New York, the expeditionary force, which considered itself the victor, could no longer contain itself in the face of this dazzling and prosperous metropolis. Various war crimes emerged one after another. For example, petty theft and forced buying and selling became so common that even the military police had no time to deal with them.

As the commander of the occupying forces, Voronov naturally assumed that it was reasonable for the victors to enjoy themselves a little, so he did not deliberately restrain these behaviors, which was tantamount to condoning them.

New York was so large—with a population of over seven million before the war—that the soldiers who deserted were like fish in the ocean, and how could a few hundred military police possibly manage them?

Now Voronov can only reap what he sows. Of the three infantry battalions facing off at the front, only half of the officers and a third of the soldiers remain on the front lines; the rest have deserted to find their own way to make money.

As dawn approached, the Imperial Russian besieging forces finally launched an attack.

Supported by a multi-turret tank and several armored vehicles, two reinforced infantry companies launched their eleventh attack on the stock exchange building.

The fighting was particularly fierce. The Imperial Russian soldiers used grenades and flamethrowers to press forward step by step, but they also suffered heavy casualties under the dense crossfire from several buildings. In the end, although another company came to reinforce them, the attack still failed.

The first day of the 'Magic Tide' operation was uneventful, and more than 700 wounded and sick soldiers and more than 400 defending officers and soldiers were eventually evacuated.

The rest of the men, led by Colonel McAuliffe, fought their way back to the last line of defense near the dock.

Meanwhile, about three hundred soldiers, who volunteered to cover the evacuation, were left behind and led by Lieutenant Turner to defend the New York Stock Exchange building, tying down a large number of enemy troops.

By the evening of the following day, the Imperial Russian soldiers had advanced to a distance close enough to see the waves on the distant sea.

As night fell, a fleet of destroyers and fast freighters arrived on time, and the second phase of the evacuation operation continued.

After a night of effort, several destroyers and cargo ships successfully evacuated the remaining two thousand people, and also took away a small number of wounded civilians stranded among them.

The moon was bright and the stars were few; the sounds of gunfire were intermittent, and the waves crashed against the dock with a series of splashing sounds.

On the battered Whitehall pier, stray bullets whizzed past from time to time. Anthony McAuliffe, his face covered in soot, stared in the direction of the New York Stock Exchange and stood at attention, giving a standard military salute.

An impatient voice urged from the bystanders, "Colonel! We should go!"

McAuliffe closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and reluctantly turned to board the small boat.

Once he got close to the destroyer, he climbed the rope net and onto the deck, just like the others.

Upon meeting the captain, his first question was: Where is Shang? Where is the guy who orchestrated the evacuation?
The captain hesitated for a few seconds, then replied uncertainly, "Perhaps they went to the president to receive an award?"

(End of this chapter)