Assault Colossus of the Nemesis Warfront

Simultaneous Deep Battle Operations

Immediately following the conclusion of the battle in the deep sea, the aerial battle between the two opposing forces finally commenced in full as well.

The combat command center of the Cimon-class was wrapped in a somber atmosphere.

It had been an hour since the first aerial engagement.

「They sure overwhelmed us.」

「Yes. The difference in the number of our forces was just too great.」

Aki sighed as she reviewed the result of the aerial engagement.

It was their total loss.

The aerial forces of the Argonauts were just far too superior.

Even though the Metal Iris forces fought back tenaciously, the enemy forces were 5 times more than theirs.

The friendly forces were currently still engaged in a fierce battle.   Reinforcements were being sent whenever an opening presents itself.

「The analysis results are out.  It’s an estimate calculated from the number of enemy formations and the cycle pattern of flight formations. The present enemy air power is estimated to be 3000 to 5000 units.」

「To think they had that many.」

「Yes. The enemy fighter planes have also been analyzed. One model is a single-engine fighter manufactured by John Arms. We still haven’t identified the twin-engine fighter they’ve fielded.」

「What about the casualties?」

「Eighty-one enemy planes have been destroyed. Twenty-one of our own fighters have been downed.」

「The performance of our machines is higher. Or rather, the Familiars are pretty skilled fighter pilots.」

「The twin-engine aircraft seems to have better performance compared to the single-engine one. It seems to be roughly on par with Star Soldier. Their pilots are brainwashed humans while ours are Familiars with their own wills. It is expected that our own fighters have better combat performance.」

「But it looks like we really can’t bridge the gap in numbers huh.」

The Familiars fought really well in the face of such an overwhelming difference in numbers.  Since the pilots were mainly bird-shaped Familiars, they found it easier to eject and escape from downed planes, which was the only saving grace.

「So, it should be better to regard their number to be at least 5000.  And we have a thousand on our end huh?」

「Yes. We managed to manufacture an additional 500 aircraft after we increased the production rate. We also have 100 Falke fighters from Kurt Maschinenbau and 400 Star Soldiers from Skunk Technology.  There are 100 aircraft assigned to the Aristides and 220 aircraft assigned to the Cimon, but they are excluded from the total.」

「We deployed five squadrons composed of 24 aircraft each during the initial clash. And the enemy deployed ten squadrons of 66 aircraft each from three different Fortress Areas in waves. They’re pouring out in droves. They’ve practically secured air superiority huh.」

There was a limit to the simultaneous deployment of aerial formations from a Fortress Area protected by a shelter.

At this rate, they wouldn’t be able to deploy their ground forces properly and will be forced into a siege.

「There are already this many fighters. They still haven’t launched bombers, attack aircraft, and transport aircraft.」

「They probably have 1000 to 2000 attack aircraft on hand. Well, a generous estimate would be about 7000 to 8000 aircraft all in all.  The use of bombers is too limited so they should be the least in number while they should have an ample number of fighters and aircraft that can be converted into a fighter configuration.」

A transmission from Rick came in.

「Rick, how is it? Is it actually that? A saturation attack?」

「I think your prediction is spot on. The ground troops can’t deploy properly. That should be one of their aims.」

「So it really is simultaneous deep battle operations.」

Deep operation was a military theory devised during the Cold War era in the 20th century by the Soviet Union.

There was no particular universal tactic, but deep operation was famous for being close to being one.

It was a tactic that simultaneously suppressed the enemy force’s first, second, and third defense lines, supply lines, and rear facilities with overwhelming firepower.

It was not meant to attain a decisive victory in one fell swoop but instead launched multiple operations in order to overwhelm the enemy’s defenses and have enough forces to surround the enemy from all sides.  It completely invalidated the tactic of aiming for a breakthrough by focusing on one front through the use of overwhelming numbers.

Even though it’s often referred to as a brute-force method, it requires careful preparations and an accurate grasp of timing.

The ultimate objectives of war were the expansion of territory and political power.  However, the premise of the deep operation tactic was to completely destroy the enemy forces and territory without caring about any gains at all.   It was a tactic that only the Cold War era’s Soviet Union could come up with and consider implementing.

「I didn’t think they would even deny us deploying anti-aircraft units outside the Fortress Area.」

「They’d just be sitting ducks if they went out there now. They’d get picked off by long-range attacks. Come to think of it, the enemy has the Bombardment Lord working for them, right?」

The figure of Alberto, who was a B-Class Development Engineer famous for his love of large-caliber cannons, was clearly shown with the enemy during the war declaration.

「So, we can anticipate that their next moves would be a non-stop march and wave attacks huh? Those are tactics that make full use of Murders.  And they also have the Bombardment Lord with them? It’s quite possible they’d attack us from all possible angles.」

「They’ve divided us into strong and weak parties according to Lanchester’s linear law.」

「I absolutely hate that law. It decides everything through air power and the total number of weapons. I still like old man Patton more.」

「But the vectors are completely different…… I don’t hate Patton myself though.」

「We have no choice but to act as the weaker force. We can only employ limited war, one-point concentrated attacks, and guerilla tactics.   The problem is that the tactics that can be employed inside the shelter are limited.」

「According to Koopman’s analysis, we’d still have a chance if we can divide the enemy forces.」

「Should I get out there?」

「No. It’s not advisable to deploy a single warship while the enemy still has air superiority secured.」

The Cimon-class was currently standing by on the sea floor.  It was preparing to defend the Silhouette Base and for the battle against Murders.

Even though it had its own fighter complement, the number of enemies was more than expected.  It would just be a drop in the bucket even if it did sortie and provided reinforcements to Fortress Area P336.

Also, it would take some time to land and launch an assault.  In this situation where it was being preserved as a hidden card with no escort ships accompanying it, it wouldn’t be a good idea for just a single ship to go into battle.  It would just become prey to the enemy and eventually be shot down.

Aristides was in Fortress Area P336. It was to serve as a key element of an all-out assault, a solid wall to cover allied troops, and a means of evacuation.  It would be utilized according to the situation.

「It all depends on whether or not we’ll get reinforcements. The ground troops are to remain on standby. If the situation continues as is, we’ll attract as many of them as much as possible and use the Fortress Area as a literal fortress.」

「Roger that, Commander Barry. It’s great that you’re still cool-headed.」

Barry contacted Jenny after his discussion with Rick.

「The enemy is sending in combined formations of at least 200 aerial units every pass. They’ve completely taken air superiority. Sending in our own fighters to intercept wouldn’t amount to much because we’re outnumbered. Let’s give up air superiority to them for now.」

「We’ll need comparable numbers to handle them after all.」

「That’s right. We have no choice but to make up for our lacking numbers with the frequency of sorties.  We’re the defending side after all. If the Cimon-class rises out of the sea in this situation, it’ll just eat concentrated fire. The Aristides and the air corps still have 500 aircraft in reserve, but there’s a limit to the number of units we can deploy each sortie.  This is one of the weaknesses of Fortress Areas.」

「They’ll just beat up the anti-aircraft vehicles if we send them out too. It’s a really bad situation huh?」

「We wanted to intercept the Ate from outside the Fortress Area after all. It looks like we have no choice but to fight it while using the Fortress Area’s defensive walls.」

The Ate had tremendous destructive power. Furthermore, the total number of enemy troops was more than ten times Metal Iris’ own.

Metal Iris had more versatile ground artillery options, but they can only be deployed if Metal Iris had air superiority secured.   The rear troops would also be on the receiving end of the enemy’s deep battle operations.

The main troops that had high combat power such as the tanks would get isolated, surrounded, and systematically destroyed.

「Understood. We’ll attract as many as possible, take air superiority back somehow, and then launch a counterattack, right?」

「If everything really goes that well anyway. Right now, that’s the only move we can play.」

「Roger. We’re forced into fighting nerve-wracking battles while the enemy pilots don’t even feel anything since they’re either unmanned machines or people deprived of their wills.  It’s really unfair.」

「There’s no such thing as fairness in war after all.」

「Tell me something I don’t know. We’ll think up ways to increase the frequency of sorties on our end.」

Barry viewed the data on the combat situation around the Fortress Area.

A large number of enemy fighters were constantly flying in.

It seemed that they wouldn’t even give Metal Iris’ own fighters time to re-sortie.

At this rate, they really would get forced into a siege.  And a weapon that was perfect for a siege battle, the Ate, was fast approaching.

「How long until the Murders reach here?」

「About two days more. A more exact estimate can’t be provided at this time.」

「So, we only have until tomorrow huh.」

They had data about aerial battles in the 21st century that were settled relatively swiftly.  There was even forecast data about aerial battles between two opposing fleets.

But there were just too many enemy units. It won’t exactly be in just a few hours, but the turning point of this current battle was probably going to arrive before the day was done.

They could fight it out with the Murders for a week, but that’s only if they have a steady grip on air superiority.

If things don’t go well, they might get defeated sooner.

「They probably wouldn’t really send all available Murders on Planet Asia against us, right?」

『That is indeed impossible. There isn’t enough space to deploy all of them after all. The number of Murders currently available on Planet Asia exceeds one million.』

「What about those in this continent?」

『A maximum of over 200,000 units.』

「So, we have to expect at least that many huh?」

It would just be too much if they had to face Murders from the entire planet.

Hence, a reasonable estimate of the number of enemy forces was important.

「Should we just abandon P336 and retreat to the Silhouette Base for a siege?」

Barry was well aware.

Once the Arte destroys the shelter dome, they’d get hit with the full force of the enemy’s deep battle tactic, and they wouldn’t be able to turn things around even if they conducted guerilla warfare.

Hence, he couldn’t help but worry.  They would have more of a fighting chance if the transferee companies really do send in reinforcements.

However, even if one dreams of such convenient reinforcements arriving to save the day, the reality of the current situation wouldn’t change.

「A transmission just came in. ……Wait, don’t tell me–? Why!?」

「What’s wrong, Aki?」

Aki got astonished and turned speechless for a moment.

「A friendly fleet has appeared from the sea. It’s from the Silhouette Base!」

「What?! What do you mean by a fleet appearing?  Kou, do you know anything about this?!」

Barry called Kou through the emergency line.

Kou, who was on stand-by inside Unit 5, was also stunned.

「No, it wasn’t me. I don’t know anything about this…… Aki?」

「I don’t know anything about it either!」

「Just what is going on here?」

「Transmission from the fleet in question. I’ll put it up!」

Aki accepted the transmission.  The moment she saw the image on the screen, she almost couldn’t help but scream in distress.

The image displayed the figure of a familiar young girl.

「Do you read me, Commander Barry? This is Provisional Admiral Aimer. From here on out, the carrier strike group under the Silhouette Base will also participate in this operation. We will now engage the enemy in battle.」