Gundam, Gravity Elegy

"Did they lose air superiority?"

"They didn't lose it completely. The Zeon people simply couldn't adapt to Earth, and with the added guerrilla attacks, their aircraft development progressed very slowly."

"So we can try to launch a direct airstrike on Odessa."

"No, wait a minute."

After hearing Gao Ren suddenly utter those words, Kuvatro couldn't help but reach up and adjust his sunglasses:

"Are you going to start with something this exciting?"

"No, I think this should be feasible."

Gao Ren spoke up.

"Zeon adopted a landing operation, rapidly occupying a large number of resource points and factories while spreading across multiple locations on Earth. This certainly provided Zeon with a large amount of resources and an advantage for long-term operations, but population has always been Zeon's weakness."

At this point, he couldn't help but close his eyes.

After going through the basic ideas in his mind, Gao Ren took a deep breath:

"In order to protect their resource bases and factories, and because of their population disadvantage, it is difficult for them to extend their battle lines, let alone fully occupy the earth. The evidence is that the 2nd and 3rd Mobile Divisions that descended to North America were unable to continue to expand outwards after they merged and occupied the North American interior. Central America and Alaska are still federal territories to this day."

"so what?"

Meeting that gaze that seemed to hold a hint of inquiry, the boy slowly clenched his fist:

"Therefore, I think we can take advantage of the weakened state of the Zeon air force, communicate with the military, including the Alaskan base, to provide escort, and directly airdrop at the Odessa mining base to destroy their MS production line and other industrial bases. Then we can retreat to the Far East. Considering that Zeon's main European forces are in Western Europe, we can safely land and then use Media to completely withdraw."

"What if we're being chased?"

"That's unlikely."

Faced with Kuvatro's questioning, Gao Ren simply shook his head:

"The Zeon forces have been using Minovsky particles to disrupt electromagnetic waves and other guidance and communication methods to disable the Federation's command chain. However, this method also breaks their command chain into several parts. Therefore, as long as we can directly disperse high concentrations of Minovsky particles and then bomb their signal base stations, we can ensure that their communications are completely disabled in a short period of time."

"I see. As long as we retreat within the stipulated time, we can not only deal a devastating blow to their command system and logistics production line, but also leave without anyone noticing."

“That’s right. The existence of Minovsky particles has propelled our human technology to an incredible level, but at the same time, its properties have also caused tactics to regress to the level of old-century mechanical warfare. Therefore, as long as we take advantage of the blind spots in communication, we can directly…”

"Pfft."

Suddenly, a burst of laughter rang out.

Of course, it didn't belong to anyone present, but rather to the communications that were still in place—their team's communications officer, codenamed "The Diver."

Perhaps because she was in the cabin of the Migratory Bird and was not disturbed by any noise, the undistorted sound was particularly pleasant.

but……

"What a cute boy."

It was full of banter.

Or rather, mockery.

This abruptly halted Gao Ren's reverie, and when he came to his senses, he found everyone around him completely silent.

Whether it was Sherry, who remained silent from the very beginning, or their captain:

“Kuwatero…”

He instinctively wanted to say something, but the words suddenly got stuck in his throat.

Gao Ren wanted to say something, but his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

"It seems you've realized that I—am just a captain."

Kuvatro pointed lightly to the three-star rank insignia on his uniform and adjusted his sunglasses.

Behind the black lenses, his scarlet eyes pierced like needles, just like the words he was saying:

"But you are just a second lieutenant. Our scope of operations and our command authority are limited to the unit. So no matter what tactical ideas you have, they are impossible to realize."

Chapter Ten: The Earth Army's Dilemma

The Migratory Bird continues to soar through the sky.

Inside the cabin, the only sound seemed to be the roar of the engines from the Media transport plane, with the hum of the six turbine engines being particularly noticeable in the silence.

At this moment, Gao Ren still wanted to say something:

"But Zeon has also used similar tactics."

"They are few in number."

"While we still have air superiority..."

"efficiency……"

However, like a machine that has been impacted, even though he had a lot of things he wanted to express in his head, he found that he couldn't connect them no matter what he did.

That boulder called reality is pressing down there, blocking the road, and you can't see the exit at all when you look over.

And for those who have lost their way, all they can say at this moment is this:

"It should have worked."

“It would work, but we need to follow orders from our superiors, Lieutenant Gao Ren.”

Kuvatro calmly began:

"I heard that you did very well in the officer training school, but the real battlefield requires you to abandon all the ideas you had in school. You may be able to speak freely in class, but unfortunately your current rank is not high enough to allow you to participate in the decision-making process."

"……I see."

Gao Ren instinctively covered his head.

It can only be said that some things can only be truly understood by being on the front lines.

Although he hadn't realized it before, once he came to his senses, an important reality suddenly appeared before his eyes:

"It can only be said that two months of study may have given you the qualities of an officer, but it is not enough to give you the mindset that a soldier should have."

"terribly sorry."

"No, how should I put it, it's not really your problem. Not everyone can adapt to the rules of the battlefield all at once..."

Perhaps it was because this topic was giving Captain Cuvatro a headache, as his expression was inexplicably troubled:

"The reasons are very complicated, and I don't recommend thinking about them right now."

With a gentle tap of the pointer on the electronic screen, the map of Europe shifted to the southwest.

"In short, the route planned for us is here—we will depart from South America, cross the Atlantic Ocean, pass through the Belfast Naval Base, and then, together with the supply forces of this naval base, officially enter the combat zone through the Dover Strait under the escort of fighter jet formations."

"Does crossing the Strait of Dover now automatically make it a combat zone?"

"Theoretically, yes. A month ago, General Reiber personally ordered the main European forces to withdraw to the Iberian Peninsula and the Western European Plain respectively. The former will coordinate with the African Army through the Gibraltar base, while the latter will build a joint naval and air force defense line around the English Channel through several seaport bases."

At this point, Cuvatro's expression became somewhat subtle:

"But to be honest, no matter how eloquently it is said, it is essentially just the result of one crushing defeat after another."

"However, this approach is actually understandable."

Looking at the map, almost blackened by Zeon, Gao Ren spoke:

"Zeon is at a disadvantage in terms of population, which is actually disadvantageous for them in both long-term and protracted warfare. Even now, although they seem to have occupied the Odessa mining base, their territory is unstable. Therefore, as long as the Federation forces delay and stabilize the front line, they can launch a full-scale counter-offensive once their equivalent mobile suits come off the production line."

"But that's definitely a matter for the future. Right now, the Federation Army is still being beaten down by two Zeon divisions."

Captain Cuvatro gently poked the inland part of the electronic screen with his pointer and couldn't help but sigh:

"The Zeon Earth Attack Force's First Mobile Division—the main force of the first landing operation—was in Hungary two days ago, while their Seventh Division has been advancing all the way from Poland and may be close to Berlin by now."

"If this continues, they might eventually meet up on the plains of West Europe..."

“That’s right, but let’s put those strategic matters aside for now. What’s important right now is this place—”

Zooming in on the map reveals the corresponding text:

“Southern Central Europe?”

"Yes, about half a month ago, the main force of the 6th Panzer Division of the European Front stationed there disregarded orders and engaged in combat with the vanguard of the 1st Zeon Division, launching a battle on the plain in the middle of the Danube River."

"Armored Division..."

"That's right. The original force of three hundred Type 61 tanks and their accompanying light tanks suffered heavy losses, while Zeon reportedly only lost a few mobile suits."

Gao Ren was stunned:

"But the casualty ratio doesn't seem right. Even if you remove the satellite network and missiles and only use primitive tactics, that many tanks should be enough to give Zeon a hard time, right?"

"Yes, but for many reasons, that's the final fact... How many years do you think these armored units haven't fought a war?"

"..."

Gao Ren remained silent.

If you haven't thought about this aspect carefully, it's fine, but once you start thinking about it deeply...

"As early as 30 years ago, space dwellers already made up 80% of the Federation's population, so is it 30 years?"

"You can make bolder guesses, after all, the Earth Federation has been established for more than a hundred years."

Responding to Gao Ren's uncertain tone, Kuvatro could only sigh:

"Space colonization has shifted the Federation's focus to space. While the Navy and Air Force can still manage to scrape by by patching up fighter jets and warships, the Army..."

He shook his head:

"The Type 61 tank, hailed as the king of the land and now a source of pride for armored forces, is essentially an old-fashioned design from the last century. Its most innovative feature is simply replacing the power source with a hybrid electric drive. Meanwhile, the RTX tank, which was originally intended for the army's modernization 20 years ago, was taken to space to maintain the stability of the colonies and used by the local garrison."

Gao Ren is quite familiar with this; he knows it even without reading history books.

After all, there are advanced models of this thing.

From the Type 61 tank to the RTX tank, and then it evolved into the thing that's still lying in the hangar of the B-64 (Traveler):

Number RX-75: Steel Tank - Even though it is given the name of a mobile suit and is included in the RX project, its essence is still a tank.

"Then, in addition, some stubborn old fogies always wanted to confront them head-on, so they used these outdated equipment to fight Zeon head-on, which not only resulted in heavy losses, but also forced them to pay an even greater price."

He drew a circle lightly:

"Salz Base?"

"That is a military base that has existed since the old century. Because there are a lot of minerals in the surrounding area, it has been in operation and use ever since—at least that's what the reports say. And the 44th Mechanized Mixed Battalion, which is now stationed there, is a reorganized unit of the remnants of the defeated 6th Armored Division."

"A mixed unit... or a large brigade?"

"That's right, it's a temporary force of about a thousand people. Half a month ago, its purpose was to cover the main force's complete retreat. Now, it's responsible for harassment work behind enemy lines."

Finally, the electronic screen went completely off, and Captain Cuvatro couldn't help but stretch:

"Now let's announce the first mission for our fourth squad."

"What is it?"

"Give yourself a code name for your actions."

"..."

Author's message

…………

44th Mechanized Mixed Battalion, from the Gravity Front

Chapter 11: Military Base?

Two hundred years ago, during the war known as the First World War, people first realized the importance of armored vehicles.

In an era before venturing into space and conquering even the skies, the concept of 'mechanization' was formally born in the military sphere.

At the same time, due to the immaturity of the industrial base, armored forces still needed support and complementarity with other forces, thus giving rise to the concept of 'hybrid'.

As time progresses and humanity gradually conquers the sky and the sea and moves towards the universe, the concept of 'hybrid' also changes.

Two hundred years later, nearly 80 years after humanity entered the Universal Century, the textbooks at the Gabro Military Academy clearly state that today should be a new era of joint operations by the army, navy, and air force.

Although the interference of Minovsky particles has completely shattered the original concept of 'information warfare', with the chain of command broken, each side is now forced to fight alone on the battlefield.

But at least it should look like something out of the Universal Century, right?