Imperial Elite

Chapter 114 Impossible Mission
Seizing and controlling an entire section of railway sounds difficult.

It's actually not simple at all.

In particular, the section of railway on the southern shore of Lake Baikal that Joe wanted to seize was not only difficult to take, but they also only had one chance.

Because the construction here was very difficult, the Far Eastern republic that controlled this section of the railway blew it up.

It is definitely impossible to repair this railway in such a short time.

Once the railway is destroyed, Joe only has two ways to solve the problem.

They either had to find a way to seize the ships on Lake Baikal that were used to transport trains in the past, or they had to detour around the northern part of Lake Baikal to join up with the Bohemian Legion.

Both of these backup plans have the same problem.

That means it takes too long.

Because they were fighting far from home, Wagner carried an excessive amount of supplies.

However, although the casualties were not high after this expedition, the supplies were greatly depleted.

Especially precious oil, a resource that was never a concern in the Old World, after its initial use was considered a luxury.

Joe soon discovered that things like ammunition and fuel were even harder to obtain in the Far East than these.

Although the Russian Empire began oil extraction and processing on Sakhalin Island in the Far East as early as the 19th century.

However, apart from Sakhalin Island, there are no other oil extraction industries in the Far East.

To make matters worse, this only oil extraction and processing area in the Far East was occupied by the Rising Sun people in April of this year, and the western region is still in the midst of a civil war.

Thus, apart from the Far Eastern Frontier Government relying on the charity of the Shengyang people, and the Shengyang people who seized Sakhalin Island, who were able to obtain a relatively stable supply of oil, there was no other way to obtain oil.

Other factions can only obtain gasoline in two ways: one is to raid other people's fuel depots to plunder gasoline.

Another option is to search for the oil storage bases that the old Lucia Empire once had here.

Due to a minor unpleasantness with the Rising Sun Empire in the past.

Therefore, after that minor conflict, the Russian Empire stockpiled a batch of oil and ammunition in the Far East.

Thanks to these two main sources of fuel, and some money-grubbing foreign businessmen, the major powers in the Far East were still able to keep their internal combustion engines running within their spheres of influence.

This fuel shortage was fatal for Wagner, who was conducting mechanized warfare.

After all, Wagner's military equipment was slightly inferior to that of his good brother. It couldn't use everything that could burn as fuel, nor could it make the aircraft spirit happy and run faster than when it had fuel after running out of fuel.

Therefore, Joe could only try to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, while decreasing the use of heavy technical equipment.

Wherever they went, they tried to collect and take away all the oil.

Of course, Joe paid him, but considering the environment and fuel scarcity in the Far East, he usually paid two to three times the normal selling price.

Given that the nation was a victor in the war, the high value of the British pound made those who had been forcibly charged gasoline by Joe feel very conflicted.

After all, this kind of small profit made under violent coercion is something that really needs to be mentioned.

Fortunately, although gasoline is scarce, the Far East is not short of coal, being a coal-producing region.

So unless absolutely necessary, Joe wants to use trains to complete this mission whenever possible.

Things like transporting goods by car over a long distance from the northern section of Lake Baikal should be avoided if possible.

As you travel further west, closer to Lake Baikal, the landscape becomes increasingly desolate due to the inconvenient inland transportation.

As Wagner entered contested territory, he encountered more battles.

This delayed Joby's arrival at his original planned location near Ulan-Ude by another day.

Once they got here, they were very close to Lake Baikal. The closer they got to Lake Baikal, the more worried Joe became that the Far Eastern Republic might blow up the railway out of a fit of anger.

So after capturing Ulan-Ude, Joe did not let the armored trains charge forward headlong as they had in the past.

Instead, they ordered the armored trains to temporarily stop for rest and repairs, while the 7th Truck Transport Company began preparations to seize the railway line.

Since this railway line is a full 260 kilometers long, theoretically speaking, it is almost impossible to completely occupy the railway and remove any possible bombs before the enemy can react, thus preventing the enemy from sabotaging the railway.

After all, if the other side wants to sabotage the railway, they only need to blow up a bridge or a tunnel.

If Joe wanted to use the entire railway, he had to completely clear it away.

The "cleanup" here refers to first eliminating all the guards along the railway line and taking control of the engineering personnel.

Then all railway bridges and tunnels were inspected to remove any remaining bombs.

Technically, the two sides are not facing the same level of difficulty.

Although theoretically, it is almost impossible to do so.

But Joe assembled the Seventh Truck Transport Company precisely to accomplish this near-impossible task.

Moreover, Joe wasn't entirely without a chance to complete the mission. Firstly, in terms of equipment, both the 7th Truck Transport Company and the Lucia Guard had automatic weapons with terrifying rates of fire, as well as sniper rifles capable of blowing someone's head off from 800 meters away.

Whether it's a rapid assault or a precise sniping attack, they have the corresponding equipment.

Secondly, the six-wheeled armored vehicles and trucks that Joe had prepared for this operation were very fast.

Like the Unyielding One, it was a product that utilized an aircraft engine.

These machines reached a top speed of 98 kilometers per hour, which surpasses the speed of civilian vehicles and approaches the speed of some race cars.

Even armored vehicles can reach speeds of 70 kilometers per hour on highways.

Since that's the case, Joe is ready to go all in.

Because this railway was controlled by the Far Eastern Republic, Joe also obtained some Far Eastern Republic flags, uniforms and armbands on his way here.

So Joe's plan was to have the 7th Truck Transport Company and his guards wear some Far Eastern Republic uniforms and armbands, and then, after hanging the Far Eastern Republic flag on the lead six-wheeled trucks and armored vehicles, launch a direct assault along the railway line.

Generally speaking, such a half-hearted disguise would never fool anyone.

As soon as you open your mouth, you'll definitely be exposed.

But what Joe wanted was to delay until he was ready to speak.

As long as the other side does not detonate the bomb immediately, destroying the railway and tunnels.

Wagner would then be able to physically eliminate the possibility of the other side detonating the bomb.

The plan is set, and that's how it's going to be done.

Perhaps the pressure was too much and made him abnormal, or perhaps he felt that he would probably never experience something like this again in his life.

Or perhaps to further confuse the troops guarding the railway line, Joe ordered the 7th Truck Company to bring six cameramen and three cameras when they prepared to launch their assault.

I'm going to document this impossible task.

If they succeed, the Wagners who participated in the attack can brag about it for generations; even if they fail, the spectacular explosion is still a sight to behold.

The plan is set, let's do it!

Of course, usually, such a raid should be carried out on a dark and windy night, a time for murder and arson.

But Joe did not do that. Instead of choosing the night, he waited until the next morning, when the sun had already risen and anyone who wasn't blind could see the convoy moving along the railway, before letting the troops set off.

Although it seems that Joe's behavior is completely insane.

However, Joe's approach completely contradicted the thinking of the troops stationed along the railway line.

After Wagner had been running around in the Far East for several days, even the most uninformed people knew that Wagner was heading east.

This has put the Far Eastern republics, which control the Lake Baikal region to the east, on a very tense note.

Because let alone that they didn't know what Joe was doing here or where he was going.

In fact, even Downing Street in London didn't know what Joe was doing.

Just over two weeks ago, Joe was conducting amphibious landings on the Anatolian plains, routing the Sudanese.

How come Joe reappeared in the Far East more than half a month later and even beat up the Shengyang people?

Although we don't know exactly what Joe is doing, this is, after all, old Joe.

So Downing Street is still trying its best to clean up Joe's mess, considering that no matter what Joe did, he will definitely have to return home by sea.

Downing Street then ordered the Navy to send the Far East Fleet to the north to assess the situation and, if possible, to help Joe, at least to bring him back alive.

However, given that the Ascending Sun were beaten up and are still besieging the port, yet they haven't lodged any diplomatic protests and remain silent even within the League of Nations.

Downing Street was happy to play dumb, remaining silent on the matter in diplomatic settings.

With no one knowing what Joe was up to, and despite knowing that Wagner was heading east, the Far Eastern Republic did not choose to destroy the railway along Lake Baikal immediately.

After all, negotiations with the Bohemian Legion had been going on for a long time and had been difficult, but there had been some progress.

Now that the Bohemian Legion has agreed to lay down its arms and pay some tolls for innocent passage, destroying the railway at this point would only render the previous negotiations futile.

This allowed the Bohemian Legion to choose other methods to advance eastward.

That would prevent them from getting the Bohemian Legion back to the negotiating table.

After all, if they could defeat the Bohemian Legion, they would have done so long ago and wouldn't have dragged it out at the negotiating table until now.

Of course, they also considered that Wagner's appearance at this time and place was very likely aimed at the Bohemian Legion.

Therefore, the Far Eastern Republic also issued an order to the troops stationed along the railway line: as soon as Wagner's armored train appears in your sight, then no matter what, immediately detonate bombs to destroy the railway and blow it up!

Because the railway along Lake Baikal is 260 kilometers long, and in order to meet the needs of steam locomotives, there is a station of varying sizes on the railway line every five to ten kilometers.

Given the dense network of stations along the railway line, even Wagner couldn't possibly pass through here without alerting anyone, could he?
Therefore, stations along the railway line were on high alert, fearing that the moment they opened their eyes, they would see Wagner's armored train appear before them.

However, no one expected that Joe would do things completely unpredictably.

As the most notorious villain in the Old World, this guy actually dared to deceive and ambush them, the small station guards, without any sense of martial ethics.

When those convoys, bearing the flags of the Far Eastern Republic, appeared on the railway in a grand display.

The garrison at the station was completely baffled. What was going on with this convoy?

The higher authorities didn't mention that any of their own people would be coming from the east.

If I wanted to make a phone call to ask for instructions, these cars would arrive too quickly, almost instantly at the station.

Then a pretty girl jumped out of the car and said, "Comrade, we are a film crew from Moscow. Come on, smile at the camera."

Faced with this situation, the station guards were completely baffled, like Louis XVI holding a comb.

They could only stare blankly at the camera on the train carriage.

The camera is already here, so there shouldn't be any problem... right?

Then, while the defenders were still in a daze, the 7th Truck Transport Company and the Lucia Guard, having used this brief opportunity to ascertain the situation at the station, launched an attack. To avoid being heard by those nearby at the station, they didn't use submachine guns or light machine guns, but instead used pistols.

The station was cleared within three minutes. A few people were left to search for detonators and explosives, while the rest continued to advance and repeat the process at the next station.

The attack went very smoothly along the way; this kind of attack pattern is rare not only in the Far East but also in the Old World.

Even if some stations heard faint gunshots for some reason, they were fooled by the Lucia Guard's claim that vehicles might be firing backfires, and that you misheard.

What? You don't know what engine backfire is? Come on, driver! Give him a job!
Faced with the woman's kind eyes, the camera mounted on the carriage, and the flags and uniforms hanging on the train, the station guards lowered their guard.

And then, naturally, they all faced the same fate.

Although their attacks were very successful for most of the time.

Two hours after the operation began, the assault team, which had already cleared most of the stations along the railway line, still encountered trouble.

In a train station, they encountered a very rigid commander who did not let them in just because they were carrying flags.

Instead, he instructed the sentry to keep them outside the station while he said he needed to make a phone call to ask for instructions.

Faced with this situation, the commando team had no choice but to risk having their gunfire heard and use submachine guns equipped with silencers to end the battle in a short assault.

Although the commando team successfully completed the battle, the thrilling encounter left everyone terrified.

The defenders, as always, were unable to cause them any trouble in the battle; not a single one of them even suffered a graze from a bullet.

Only one unlucky guy twisted his ankle because he lost his footing when he jumped off the car.

Typically, these unlucky guys will be laughed at for a long time.

But this time, no one could laugh, because when they rushed into the platform and killed the last person, that person had already put his hand on the detonator.

If they had fired that shot any later, or if the man had fallen in the wrong position, their operation would have been a complete failure.

Faced with this situation where everything almost ended in disaster.

Everyone in the commando team gasped.

After experiencing all of this, the commando team regained their spirits and were no longer as arrogant as before.

They started to become more aggressive.

The commando team soon arrived at the last stop on this route, Slyudyanka.

Unlike most places along the railway, this is not a station but a city.

Upon reaching this point, the commando team did not intend to advance any further, but instead sent a telegram to Joe.

'Canned food has arrived'

After receiving news that the commando team had succeeded, Joe breathed a long sigh of relief.

Capturing this section of the railway would complete the most difficult part of the entire plan.

Next, all we need to do is break through Liujiangska and Irkutsk, and join forces with the Bohemian Legion, then we can return to the Old World with the gold.

Just as Joe was preparing to order his troops to advance on armored trains, gunfire suddenly rang out from behind the troops.

Normally, the sound of gunfire wouldn't make Joe extremely nervous, but he certainly wouldn't take it seriously.

In this land teeming with guerrillas, being attacked by them is as commonplace as eating for a living person.

But soon, Joe realized something was wrong, because the gunfire was too intense, unlike anything a guerrilla force could produce.

Joe immediately ordered the armored units to dismount. The gunfire was definitely not the kind of intensity that guerrillas could produce; it was the level of a regular army.

Then, right after the tanks were unloaded, the troops responsible for perimeter security also sent messengers.

They indicated that they appeared to have been attacked by the Rising Sun people. Although the enemy's firepower was insufficient, their numbers were overwhelming, and they requested reinforcements!

Faced with the inexplicable trouble-making by the Shengyang people, Qiao didn't know why they were bothering him.

However, since they had already come to him, Joe didn't mind giving them a ride.

At the same time, Qiao was also very curious: how did these Shengyang people catch up with him after he had run so far?

Although the Rising Sun seized a good opportunity to attack Wagner when most of his troops and equipment were on armored trains, preparing to continue their advance.

Although the Rising Sun Regiment of the interventionist army was incomplete at this time, and had lost a lot of men in the Twin Cities, only less than two thousand men had caught up.

However, the two companies of rearguard that Joe left behind to guard against the guerrillas had an overwhelming numerical advantage.

Upon discovering that the defenders were few in number, the Shengyang people launched an attack without hesitation.

As a unit that places great emphasis on close combat, the Rising Sun Unit has undergone extensive training in charging and bayonet fighting.

During the charge, not only would there be well-trained veterans suppressing the enemy infantry with rifles, but their rifles, which resembled long spears, would also give them an advantage in close combat.

This approach achieved considerable success in the Far East, and even the Teutonic colonial forces could not withstand its onslaught.

But Joe, who had already spent enough time in the trenches, never wanted to engage in close combat.

For Joe, why go through the trouble of fighting with bayonets when a problem can be solved by using bullets or water pipes?

Therefore, in Wagner's mechanized infantry squad, in addition to two light machine guns that served as the core of the squad, and four submachine guns that the squad leader, deputy squad leader, and two submachine gunners were equipped with, there were only four traditional bolt-action rifles to provide supporting firepower.

Most of these veterans also learned to use this bolt-action rifle to fire a rapid-fire shot for a frantic minute, creating the effect of a semi-automatic rifle.

Overall, the firepower of this German armored grenadier configuration, which referenced the second opinion exchange meeting, would be considered excessive even in the Old World.

This is the firepower configuration you'd use to fight aliens.

Compared to Wagner's combat squads, the firepower of the Rising Sun could only be described as meager.

Although a squad could fit fifteen men when fully staffed, three more than Wagner's troops, their only weapons were rifles and grenades. Let alone submachine guns, even machine guns were only issued to platoon-level units, with only one or two being issued.

This overwhelming disparity in firepower left the Shengyang soldiers stunned as a large number of them fell instantly after the initial charge.

Is this really the firepower that two companies could produce?

What the hell are these reconnaissance soldiers doing?!

According to the original plan of the Rising Sun, they should have launched an attack, quickly crushed Wagner's rear guard, and then engaged in close combat. They should have used their more skilled close combat training to defeat the incredibly weak Wagner troops who didn't even want to walk and only wanted to ride in cars when they went out.

However, after the first wave of attackers were wiped out on the way, the Shengyang people, having lost the element of surprise, were thus held back.

Generally speaking, after losing the element of surprise in an attack and discovering that the enemy's firepower is extremely fierce.

As long as the commander still has any sense, he should abandon the offensive and look for other ways to fight.

However, the situation is different for the people of Shengyang.

As a late-developing nation, the people of Shengyang understand that their technology and national strength are inferior to others. But under these circumstances, how can they still achieve victory?

Let's use our mental strength...

Although no one can clearly explain what mental strength is, the people of Shengyang believe that as long as they muster their spirits and exert their mental strength, they can overcome material disadvantages and win.

Theoretically speaking, this statement is indeed correct, but the understanding of spiritual power among the Shengyang people is clearly different from that of others.

Since all we need to do is rely on morale, then all we need to do is for the infantry to rally and charge. We defeated the Lucias this way in the past, and we can defeat Wagner's forces this way now.

So when Joe arrived on the battlefield in his tank to direct the counterattack, he was met with a group of Shengyang people who seemed to have gone mad, charging with bayonets and sabers.

Faced with this scene, Joe was momentarily stunned.

After all, the last time I saw a scene like this was before, except that I was one of those rushing through the crowd.

So this is what it looked like to watch people charge into battle back then...

Although the results are hard to say, they certainly looked very energetic.

So before ordering the armored forces to launch a counterattack and flank from both sides, Joe had the remaining photographers set up their cameras.

This kind of shot is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so what are you waiting for? Hurry up and shoot it now!

As the cameramen began setting up their cameras to film, Joe also began directing Wagner to launch a full-scale counterattack.

As the tanks began their attack, the infantry followed behind, providing cover for their advance.

Meanwhile, the armored vehicles, taking advantage of their speed, began speeding across the field, heading straight for the rear of the Rising Sun forces.

Although compared to the Western Front, Joe's armored counter-attacks lacked heavy artillery support.

However, the Shengyang people were clearly not Teutonic.

Faced with an attack that even the Teutons couldn't withstand, the Rising Sun people naturally couldn't either.

After the armored vehicles cut off their retreat, the attacking Sunborn were completely surrounded by Joe.

At this point in the battle, Joe thought the other side should be about to surrender.

After all, even if they were in their full strength, they couldn't defeat themselves in a sneak attack.

Now that people are dead all over the place and we're surrounded by ourselves, shouldn't we surrender?
However, that wasn't the case. After discovering that he was surrounded, Joe found that gunfire and explosions were heard first from the positions of the Rising Sun people.

Then these people from Shengyang attacked him again.

Moreover, Joe didn't think it could be called an attack.

Because these Rising Sun people, armed and in dense ranks, advanced slowly but powerfully toward Wagner's position.

It gave the impression that they weren't attacking, but rather somewhat courting death.

Although Joe had witnessed much death towards the end of the war, he tried to avoid causing too many casualties in subsequent military operations.

Basically, even if they are leftists, as long as they lay down their weapons, Joe will not do anything to them and will choose to deport them directly.

So when faced with these people who seemed to be courting death, Joe felt that things weren't that serious and there was absolutely no need for them to do so.

I was just about to ask if anyone knew the language of Sheng Yang so I could shout something and make them surrender.

But these slowly advancing Ascendants fired on Wagner's troops as they advanced.

As soon as the gunshot rang out, not only Wagner's veterans, but even Joe reflexively ordered to open fire.

A minute after the gunfire, the last Shengyang man fell to the ground.

As the Shengyang people launched their "charge," they were now scattered in different places.

Qiao bypassed these acquaintances and arrived at the position where the Shengyang people had previously fired shots and made explosions.

There, Joe saw some wounded soldiers huddled in a circle, presumably committing suicide with grenades, and others who, in a very flexible manner, swallowed their rifles to end their lives.

Seeing this situation, Joe came to the conclusion that these Shengyang people were not normal people and that they should not be treated like normal people in the future.

Damn it, these people don't even care about their own lives, so why would they care about other people's lives?

(End of this chapter)