Gundam, but from the Ground Alliance to the Human Alliance to the out-of-control servitor

Jim E, who was targeted by the rocket launcher, showed no signs of surprise. He changed his direction without hesitation, avoiding the incoming rockets. At the same time, he raised his Jim machine gun and fired, and immediately fought back.

The other 'loyal wingmen' who received the signal immediately gathered around and once again took advantage of their space warfare capabilities to fire at a distance that could avoid the rocket launchers used by the enemy's new mobile suit.

The leading Demon with a distinctive paint job seemed to rely on the pilot's hand control to balance the aircraft, and used other airborne pods as springboards to maneuver and dodge, and even managed to survive the concentrated fire of multiple Jim-Es. Lasted for a while.

"Concentrate your attacks on the enemy's ace aircraft, but don't kill them all. Leave one alive and try to capture the enemy's new aircraft!"

As Lieutenant Sandath's deputy and guard, the federal pilot in another manned command aircraft of the unmanned squadron ordered. At the same time, he pulled out the assigned beam saber and danced towards one in the vacuum from behind, but provided The big demon, who couldn't change any speed, rushed over.

Naturally, the pilots of the Federation did not dare to touch the customized paint. The big demon that had not been taken down in the concentrated fire of multiple 'loyal wingmen' looked like it was not easy to mess with;

Instead, he picked another one and after getting out of the airdrop pod, it took a few rounds from Jim's machine gun and rolled over like it was out of control.

The big golem seemed to have noticed the sneaky Jim E approaching with his beam saber drawn out, and struggled to raise his machine gun to point at Jim who was approaching from behind; however, the big golem was designed as a ground combat machine, and even the AMBAC system——

That is to say, the MS is in a vacuum, does not rely on any attitude adjustment engine, and only relies on the rotation of the limbs to change the orientation of the body under the constraints of angular momentum conservation. There is no system installed.

"Hey, Zeon's new land combat machine? I didn't expect it to be captured by our federal space army before it even landed on the ground..."

The pilots of the Federation Army dreamed of making meritorious service, getting promoted, and then applying to be transferred out of Sandas, the bum unit. The "loyal wingmen" also stopped shooting because of the approach of friendly aircraft——

Unexpectedly, the big demon, who looked clumsy and unable to turn over, suddenly became agile, pulled out the electric sword behind him, twisted his upper body forcefully, and swung it backwards.

It is a pity that most of the Zeon Army pilots who received the new model of Daimo are elites who were in active service in the Space Attack Force or were withdrawn from the Earth Front for repair. Although they were really not used to it at first. Maneuver; maneuver;

However, after sensing the approach of a Federal mobile suit and trying to capture it in close combat, he used a trick to lure the enemy deeper.

Jim E's pilot was caught off guard, and the beam sword in his hand pierced out subconsciously, but it only penetrated the head monitor of the demon. After all, his initial preparation was to capture the enemy aircraft, but the electric sword of the demon escaped from Jim's head. The waist was cut violently across the waist——

However, all the big devil could do was turn around, and he failed to finely adjust the attack angle to avoid the location of the MS reactor. He had no time to escape, and was subsequently submerged in Jim E's explosion.

Lieutenant Sandath, who returned with the anti-ship attack team to pursue the Zeon fleet, never expected that this time he would bring 13 mobile suits, only one of which was piloted by a human teammate. The fleet's mobile suits also survived the battle;

In the end, he fell into the task of attacking the enemy's airdrop pod that was "unable to resist".

"The enemy's new land combat aircraft..."

Even though the human pilot who issued the order had died accidentally, the 'loyal wingman' still completed his final mission, which was 'don't kill them all' and 'capture one';

So when the remaining six 'Loyal Wingmen' responsible for intercepting the Zeon Army's airdrop pod showed themselves to Lieutenant Sandass, their limbs, head monitors, and back thrusters were all penetrated by Jim who carefully shot at close range without causing death. The big demon who was paralyzed by the explosion looked a bit dumbfounded.

The loyal wingman is set to fire a flare when the manned commander aircraft cannot be contacted within the communication range, calling the nearby squadron commander aircraft to come closer, and execute the last order received until the propellant is almost exhausted and no new one is received. command, it will automatically find a way back to the mothership.

Just because Lieutenant Sandath didn't know what was going on here, he hurried back when he saw the signal flare, and his pursuit of the Zeon fleet was not fully successful.

At this time, the federal cruiser also sent a signal to return to the ship and break away from the battle. Lieutenant Sandas had no choice but to suppress the bitterness of losing his teammates again and ordered his "loyal wingmen" to force the Demon's pilot out of the cockpit, and then set off Return with the captured demon.

……

"Our Space Attack Force transport fleet was attacked by the Federal Space Fleet and had to adjust its orbit and mobilize escort forces to concentrate on sailing; the supplementary equipment and personnel originally scheduled to be delivered today have been cancelled. We apologize for your understanding..."

"...In addition, the frequency of orbital bombing over Eurasia will also be optimized in the near future. Ground forces are requested to seize the opportunity. Don't waste the number of bombing applications."

"[Explicit Side3 expletive with an authentic accent], a bunch of losers, who claim every day that their control of the universe in low-Earth orbit is unbreakable, how come they wither away after only one use!?"

The commander of the Zeon Army's Central Asian side, General Paulus, spat fiercely on the intelligence sent to show his disdain; then he put down the report and walked out of his temporary headquarters——

Above the distant horizon, his 'former' headquarters, the wreckage of a Daboud-class land battleship was still vaguely visible with black smoke rising;

The Daboud class, which had its position exposed due to supporting the frontline bombardment, only survived for less than half an hour before being forcibly broken through Zeon by more than 20 desperate Federation bombers, suffering considerable losses. The army's ground air defense network was destroyed in one fell swoop.

The jurisdiction of the Zeon Central Asian Front extends from Syria and Iran in the Middle East to the front line of the current confrontation between Kazakhstan and the federal army, under the city of Baikonur;

The scope is indeed not small, but the level of regional infrastructure is generally lower than the earth's average. Not to mention ammunition and maintenance parts, even military rations are difficult to supply on site, and operations are highly dependent on air-dropped supplies.

In contrast, the federal troops coming from the east and north are all veteran armies on earth, with very good equipment and training. This is why he has been unable to occupy the space launch center in this area. Thank you. The reason for the city of Cornur.

Under the large-scale counterattack wave of the Federation Army, after a day of armored assault, counterattack, artillery bombardment, and counter-artillery bombardment, General Paulus' Zeon main force barely managed to hold on to the Zeon army after changing hands several times. Positions under and around Baikonur;

However, what deeply disturbed him was that his flanks, the positions garrisoned by less powerful security divisions and auxiliary troops provided by the Middle Eastern countries that had regained their independence with the support of the Zeon Army, were being destroyed in large areas. Lost contact.

Chapter 74: Iron Storm (2)

"I don't want casualty figures, I just want Tashkent!"

"I have given you two land mobile divisions, as well as two independent MS brigades and long-range fire strike groups directly under the front army. I want you to ensure the safety and smooth flow of roads and railways passing near Tashkent before the sun sets tomorrow! "

"..."

"What? You said that the enemy has occupied the air superiority of the battlefield and counterattack has been hindered. You still want the Gawu-class aircraft carrier battle group to provide cover above your head, and you also want orbital bombardment? When will the Zeon Earth Attack Force be out of the air? There will be no war if we take cover, take back Tashkent, this is an order!”

Just hearing a 'pop' sound, the commander of the Zeon Army's Central Asian side, General Paulus, slammed the microphone back and walked back angrily to the digital sand table at the headquarters, with slender and fierce eyes. Keep scanning on the map;

The situation in the Central Asian theater is slightly different from that in North America. The infrastructure here, including roads, railways, wires and communication cables, has even been declining over the past half century or so -

As a result, the Federation Army launched a large-scale counterattack on the front line of the confrontation. Behind the areas controlled by the Zeon Army, they also used airborne troops, guerrillas, and amphibious frogmen to destroy the optical fiber and fiber optic cables newly built by the Zeon Army on the surface. communication facilities;

Admiral Paulus' control over the hundreds of thousands of Zeon field troops under his command and more garrison troops in the occupied areas suddenly became much weaker.

When the Zeon Army was advancing rapidly, ammunition, propellants, and other supplies could be obtained in large quantities from space. The Zeon Army's transport fleet could drop up to nearly one million tons of supplies to the ground at one time;

However, such as food, clothing, and some low-tech military supplies, the Earth Attack Force still needs to find ways to solve them on the spot as much as possible, and even so, for the huge army under the command of General Paulus, this is only It's just enough, and there's probably no room left to save the rest.

'Baikonur, Turkestan, Tashkent, Samarkand...'

Admiral Paulus silently thought about the few cities along the railway line in Central Asia, which are also the key locations for the Zeon army's garrison; these nodes are in the shape of a 'U' that opens to the west and lies down. , surrounding the Central Asian desert that spans hundreds of kilometers in between;

The main force of the Zeon Central Asian Front is located exactly at the top of the 'U', while Kashgargan is close to the bottom of the arc of the 'U' and is currently rushing out of the Kurgistan region from the east. The coming federal troops fought for it.

Once the city of Tashkent is lost, it means that the Zeon Central Asian Front's communication line will be cut off. The Zeon Army field corps located under the city of Baikonur will have to consider traveling through the uninhabited Kizilkum Desert within hundreds of kilometers. , to improve the tactical position to the south.

……

October 25, UC 0079.10.25, outside Tashkent;

After receiving the reinforcements promised by General Paulus, the Zeon Army's field corps once again launched an attack from the north of the city, trying to cut off the supply line of the federal army that had rushed into the city and extended northeastward out of the city.

The first to use the drumsticks of the God of War to play the prelude to the battle were the multiple artillery groups deployed by the Zeon army in concealment at night, including traditional deflection howitzers, rocket launchers, and support mobile suits modified on the earth. Zakuganon;

The overwhelming artillery shells fell like a shower on the federal army's front line, but before the federal soldiers who hurriedly got into the trench fortifications could carefully experience the shaking earth, in less than a minute, Zeon's shelling immediately It began to extend toward the rear of the federal lines, and then stopped abruptly——

On the entire front, there is no doubt that the Zeon Army's firepower projection is at a disadvantage. If we don't move our positions quickly after a wave of attacks now, it will be too late to escape when the Federation Army's counterfire comes or an air strike arrives. .

The dual backbone of the Principality of Zeon in both the physical and spiritual senses, 4 brigades, more than a hundred Zakus mixed with a handful of newer models, supported by more tanks and armored grenadiers of the Zeon Army Launched an impact.

Under the battlefield shielding of rice particles, the speed of the impacting troops is life. As long as they rush to the position before the enemy can re-establish contact with the artillery in the rear and maintain close contact with the federal army's front-line troops, the federal army can gain an advantage. Air power and artillery fire are the most effective weapons.

Under the cover of gunfire and deliberately spread smoke, the Zeon Army's vanguard mobile suit units gradually approached the Federation Army's frontline positions; relying on the rocket thruster on its back, Zaku walked out of the moon's low gravity. 'Running-jumping' pace, leaping hundreds of meters forward with each step.

"Hold still, don't panic! The target is the enemy aircraft on the far left, launch teams 1-4 are ready!"

The Federation sergeant crawled out of the hastily constructed trench and crawled forward to the crater in front of the position to observe. Four heavy wire-guided anti-tank missile teams were already in place, ready to stab Zeon's steel giant. dagger.

"Lao Zhang, the platoon leader said, let us who carry the rocket launcher also listen to your orders and shoot together!"

"What, what are you causing trouble? It's close and there's still time for you to show off!"

Noncommissioned officer surnamed Zhang looked back and saw that in the winding trenches, federal soldiers carrying rocket launchers walked by from time to time; this kind of unguided anti-armor weapon was not easy to use against MSs with high mobility and three-dimensional movement. It is difficult to work within a certain distance.

"Come on, this time the Zeon Army is launching a serious, large-scale attack. How can your missiles fly as fast as the Zeon Army's bullets with a string behind them? I'll shoot you with a machine gun before your missiles can reach them. , we are here to share the pressure.”

The speed of the wire-controlled missiles distributed by the Federation in the particle combat environment is limited by the physical limitations of the control cables. The highest speed can only reach subsonic speed, and the average speed within the effective range is less than four times the muzzle velocity of the Zaku machine gun bullet. one part;

At medium and long ranges, it is not uncommon for federal infantry anti-tank groups to be knocked out by Zaku machine gun rounds before they can control the wire-controlled missiles to approach the Zaku;

And if the distance is shortened, the condescending MS also has a big advantage in the observation field, making it difficult to hide the heavy anti-tank missiles that need to be set up to launch.

"...Then wait a little longer, move closer and hit - shush,"

The noncommissioned officer surnamed Zhang suddenly clenched his fists and raised his hands, making a stop gesture. He quickly lay down and wrapped himself in the anti-thermal imaging camouflage cloak. It turned out that there were several light hoverbikes in front of the federal army battlefield. Pulling along the Zeon Army's scouts, they approached before the MS troops.

The Scouts are also considered to be one of the highest casualty units in the Zeon Army. They often walk in front of the large troops, and are responsible for using their own lives to force the Federation Army to reveal their positions and warn the friendly forces behind them.

'How to do? '

The soldier carrying the rocket launcher made a mouth gesture to the noncommissioned officer surnamed Zhang, but the noncommissioned officer just pursed his lips and carefully poked his head out of the crater, observing the actions of the Zeon scouts with binoculars. Once they noticed and started to warn, then no matter what No matter what, they will launch an attack on the Zeon army's MS.

But fortunately, at this moment, only a gunshot was heard in front of the federal position. The leading Zeon scout tilted and fell from the hoverbike; it was the federal sniper who was also hiding in front of the main position and decisively Shoot and shoot.

Zaku's attention was drawn to the approaching Zaku, and his pace slowed down. The muzzle of Zaku's machine gun and head monitor were turned to the side——

"Good opportunity, fire!"

The noncommissioned officer surnamed Zhang shouted excitedly. Suddenly, the sharp roar of more than a dozen rocket engines sounded on the federal infantry position. Line-controlled anti-tank missiles were mixed in with the remaining rockets used for cover and shooting together. , flying towards Zaku who was slightly distracted in the distance.

"It's the armored hunters of the federal army, fight back quickly!"

"Get out of the way, the federal army's position is right there!"

There was a brief confusion in the communication channel of the advancing Zaku team. The Zaku that was the target did not have time to switch ammunition types in the panic, so it fired the shaped armor-piercing projectile being loaded in the Zaku machine gun at the Federation. The infantry positions fired continuously, but it was difficult to achieve any effect;

However, the Zeon army's troop density was not small at this time; another Zaku nearby, which was more skillful in maneuvers, quickly reacted and immediately used the Zaku rocket launcher he was equipped to fire at the Federation infantry position. Much bigger rockets.

"Hold still, don't be afraid! Keep an eye on your target!"

The non-commissioned officer surnamed Zhang yelled, and the federal soldiers who were carrying rocket launchers that could not be controlled after being fired had already thrown away the empty rocket launchers the moment they were launched, and rolled and crawled to hide in all directions. After all, the rockets were launched. The light from the tail flames exposed during the bombing had already allowed them to complete the task of distracting the Zeon army.

The explosion was the first to explode on the federal army's position. The 120 mm caliber and fast-firing Zaku machine gun bullets were undoubtedly devastating to the mortal bodies of the federal infantry. Even the hastily built trenches were not enough to provide perfect protection. protection of;

However, the Zakus failed to confirm the position of the wire-controlled anti-tank missile team immediately, and these determined hunters gritted their teeth and endured until the end amid the flying shrapnel, watching the missiles fly towards the Zeon army's mobile suits.

"Hey - not killed, ready to shoot again..."

Zaku, who was selected as the target, finally made the right move at the last moment. He used his arms and shoulder shields to protect the torso of his body, blocking two missiles that should have been fatal, and one of the other two. It hit the head, and one shot penetrated Zaku's thigh, but these were still repairable injuries.

Before the anxious federal sergeant could finish his words, he watched helplessly as the huge rocket from the Zaku rocket launcher flew over his head and landed on the main position behind him, causing a huge explosion; The shock wave forced him to cover his helmet and lower his head like a muscle reflex.

'Tsk, it still doesn't work. The Zeon Army's MS troop density is too high, and our infantry unit can't handle it. I don't know when the communication line of the company headquarters will be connected. Let's fight [Earth expletive] this way. gun……'

……

"Sergeant Amuro, can you see the red and yellow flares on the right front?"

"Can you see, Miss Platinum, that is the target?"

"Yes, there is a small group of Zeon Army mobile suits riding flying pedals, trying to attack key facilities such as artillery positions and supply assembly points behind our army's lines. Please try to stop them."

"Hey...are you not coming towards us?"

After simple repairs, the White Base flew across the ocean from North America to the middle of Eurasia. It was also ordered to join the federal army's "Great Flood" counterattack as an independent force specially approved by Chief of General Staff Rebier. ;

It's just that after the original layer of "joining the army was just a last resort, just to protect myself and everyone" was torn off, and they followed the orders of their superiors and actively joined the white base in the center of the battlefield, the volunteers were generally in a low mood. .

"Please, Sergeant Amuro, the Federal Air Force is unable to spare time now, and the maneuvering speed and cross-country capabilities of the ground forces are difficult to catch up with the Dedai bombers as a maneuvering tool. Now I can only rely on you."

Platinum flexibly adjusted the communication channel, changing the communication link that was originally aimed at the entire Gundam, Guncannon, Guntank, and core fighter squadrons about to attack to broadcasting different versions of encouragement to each driver individually.

Although it is an independent force, due to the re-established intelligence contact range, Platinum must remain silent about the situation of the White Base to ordinary federal army and air force commanders, and even its own existence itself must be concealed;

As a result, it is difficult for other federal forces to completely trust the White Base. Communications are only willing to maintain the most basic level of assigning tasks and confirming the situation. Although for Platinum, this is still enough to be called 'competent'——

But for the crew of the White Base, especially after they had enjoyed the cheers as heroes in Seattle before the Matilda team sent new instructions, returning behind the scenes seemed particularly unbearable.

"Platinum, why hasn't Gundam attacked yet? At such a critical moment, is Amuro being emotional again?"

"Confirming the pre-sorty inspection items, item 342/385... Captain Brad, the Gundam sortie procedure has been confirmed."

After receiving the order from General Rebel to formally form the White Base Force, Captain Blade seemed to consciously want to guide the crew of the White Base to the disciplinary standards of the regular army;

Although under Platinum's subtle influence, he at least tried to do ideological work for these young girls, but Captain Brad himself is also quite young, and the officer training he received was even more rapid. There are some things that he himself They may not be able to fully figure it out, but they are just trying to support the captain's airs.

Chapter 75: Iron Storm (3)

"Call the brigade headquarters, call the brigade... Zizi, please reply when you receive it. This is the position of the 2rd Mechanized Infantry Company of the 3nd Battalion, requesting fire support!"

"...The brigade headquarters has received confirmation that the connection signal is connected. Our brigade's artillery is moving its position. Please provide the enemy's location coordinates."

"How long will it take [Earth expletive]-"

The second lieutenant who took over the command wiped the dust on his face and looked up. Not far away, several armored vehicles were firing at the federal army's armored vehicles that were carrying missile launchers and drifting wildly left and right in the deserted fields. antiquity--

There are more, their bodies half shrouded in smoke and dust, the vague outlines of steel giants belonging to aliens.

"The target is our company's position. Hurry and fire at my position. Zeon Army's mobile suits have already rushed up!"

The voice on the other end of the communication paused for a moment before saying:

"...I understand, is the target the enemy's MS team? I'll apply to the superior unit..."

"Division-affiliated, group-army-affiliated artillery units? But when will we be able to—"

The young second lieutenant was a little angry. The self-propelled mortar units under the combined battalion level were very ineffective against high-speed moving armored units such as mobile suit. Moreover, the Zeon army accumulated anti-artillery techniques and tactics when the artillery radar could not be used. Quite astonishing too;

The direct fire support unit directly under their battalion couldn't be contacted at all. Didn't you expect that the artillery units with longer ranges under the brigade level above were also running away?