Munitions Empire-Chapter 1210: Progress at lightning speed at 1130
Shenwu Sixteen managed to have a restful sleep last night, as the Tang Army did not carry out any airborne operations during the night, and there were no reports of any battles.
The Mirage Country troops, akin to deaf and blind men, received no warnings whatsoever. The radar station on New Island had been rendered inoperative days earlier due to a fire that destroyed its antenna.
The movements of the Tang Country Navy were a complete mystery to the Mirage Country Navy, leaving Shenwu Sixteen with absolutely no time to react.
Half an hour ago, he received a report stating that a massive fleet from the Tang Army had been spotted on the southern side of New Island. To him, this was utterly redundant: a landing fleet from the Tang Army would undoubtedly be massive.
And then things spiraled out of control: the reinforcement troops he sent out reported back that dense smoke was billowing from the Tang Army’s landing zone, rendering any approach impossible.
Indeed, they could not approach; dozens of Stuka Dive Bombers, along with rocket-laden Pirate Jets and Butcher Fighters, were circling overhead like hawks, diving down relentlessly on any moving entity.
The nearby roads were destroyed, and both cars and tanks were reduced to wreckage. The Mirage Country infantry barely managed to approach the landing zone, only to collide with the Tang Army, who were quickly expanding their gains along the trenches.
"General Shenwu Erlang has confirmed that there are no airborne attacks within his jurisdiction... The enemy did not deploy paratroopers last night," a reporting officer informed Shenwu Sixteen, who stared silently at the map.
His mind was racing, trying to deduce why the Tang Army did not deploy paratroopers and assessing the size of the landing force.
Could it be that the enemy held him in such low regard? That while they used paratroopers against Shenwu Zhong, they felt no need to deploy the same against him, Shenwu Sixteen?
Or perhaps the losses sustained by the Tang Army’s paratroopers during their assault on South Island were so severe that they dared not send them into the battle for New Island?
Neither possibility truly terrified him. What he feared most was... the enemy holding back their paratrooper units, preparing to unleash them as a decisive blow at a critical moment!
If he issued an order to have the 3rd Corps, dispersed across various locations in anticipation of paratrooper attacks, regroup to reinforce the beachhead direction, what if the Tang Army deployed paratroopers tonight?
But if he did not command the 3rd Corps to reinforce the beachhead, what would happen if the beach was lost? The Mirage Country commander quickly found himself mired in deep contemplation.
A few minutes later, he saw the light: second-line troops reported that the Tang Army’s landing forces had broken through the coastal defense line, leaving Shenwu Sixteen no more room for hesitation.
His strategy of massing heavy defenses on the beach had failed completely: substantial forces had suffered significant losses over the past ten days, while enemy bombardments coupled with this morning’s shelling had obliterated painstakingly-built defensive fortifications.
Though abundant in number, the Mirage Country infantry proved utterly ineffective against the enemy’s air, naval, and amphibious armored assault, collapsing in mere moments.
"Second-line troops have spotted the initial units of the enemy landing force. They have not launched an immediate attack, but our men saw their tanks..." A communications officer delivered the latest dispatch to Shenwu Sixteen.
Before Shenwu Sixteen could issue any orders in response, a second telegram arrived: "Troops stationed in Antian Village have reported that they’re under attack by the Tang Army and are requesting reinforcements."
Shenwu Sixteen walked over to the map and confirmed the location of Antian Village, already understanding that the possibility of driving the Tang Army back into the sea was nearly non-existent. At best, like Shenwu Zhong, he could only try to hold out on New Island for as long as possible.
He lifted his head reluctantly and inquired whether the Air Force could deal a significant blow to the enemy fleet to turn the tide: "What’s happening with the Air Force? Can they launch an attack on the enemy’s fleet?"
The reply he received brought no comfort: "Airport No. 1 has just been hit by eight Stuka Dive Bombers. The runway has been destroyed, five aircraft have been damaged, and the entire aviation unit No. 3 is unable to participate."
Thanks to interference from the ground-level anti-aircraft guns, Airport No. 1’s damage wasn’t too severe. However, there was no way to get planes airborne to engage in combat today.
Another liaison officer reported the situation proudly: "At Airport No. 2, 13 planes took off and engaged in dogfights with 20 enemy aircraft. Thirteen planes were shot down, but one enemy Butcher Fighter was also taken down! Nonetheless, Airport No. 2 has been preserved... They’re scrambling to prepare aircraft for another wave of the enemy’s assault."
Compared to Airport No. 1, at least they managed to shoot down one enemy plane and safeguard the airport, which counts as a "remarkable" achievement.
But it was purely luck: they happened to encounter a novice rookie piloting the Butcher Fighter, and the Tang Army’s Butcher unit this time was tasked with supporting ground operations, not the elite J-6 squad trained for air combat. This fluke led to their lone kill.
The third liaison officer looked uneasy; he had not received concrete updates yet and reluctantly explained: "No contact with Airport No. 3! Surrounding units have reported seeing thick smoke. It’s possible that the communication lines have been destroyed, or the airport might have been bombed."
"Airport No. 4 deployed 10 planes from the ’Brave Vanguard Squadron,’ but the results are unclear," reported the liaison from the fourth airport. The so-called Brave Vanguard Squadron was Mirage Country’s internal moniker for suicide plane units.
The name had been chosen to replace the unsettling labels of "suicide planes" and "suicide boats," making the sacrificial troops feel slightly better about themselves. Such a euphemistic name might also grant them a bit more serenity on their journey through The Netherworld.
"Wasn’t Airport No. 5 already crippled…? Same goes for Airport No. 6." The liaison officers for those two airports appeared visibly embarrassed, as their airports had been devastated by fires and bombings over a week ago.
Those facilities were beyond repair and effectively non-existent now: the ammunition depots and fuel storages had been ignited, transforming the sites into man-made lakes.
The planes stationed there had all been destroyed, instantly depriving the Mirage Country of over 100 aircraft of various models. The damage was so extensive that even engines and components were irrecoverable for spare parts.
The Mirage Country lacked the resources, capabilities, and time to construct ten airfields on New Island. They had initially prepared to engage the Tang Army in a decisive battle on South Island, where ten airfields had been built. Replicating such a project on New Island was simply impossible.
New Island had only six airports in total; two had been bombed into ruins, and the remaining four owed their continued existence to the Tang Army’s plan to utilize them after capture, refraining from total destruction.
The reality was that the Navy, prioritizing fleet safety, had bombed New Island’s Airport No. 1 and Airport No. 3 at the outset. Airport No. 3 remained unreachable due to its burning communication tower, which continued to spew thick smoke.
"What about the Navy? Can they mobilize some speedboats ahead of schedule and drive off the enemy fleet?" Shenwu Sixteen turned his gaze toward the Navy liaison officer, despite knowing the Navy’s powerlessness.
The naval officer shrugged helplessly, explaining: "We’ve deployed 60 Brave Vanguard speedboats here! They’re ready to fight... But the problem is, without the cover of night, the speedboats cannot approach the enemy warships."
The Navy commander was well aware of what his fleet consisted of. The speedboats were of no real combat value—essentially glorified self-guiding torpedoes.
During daylight, enemy destroyers and cruisers could easily obliterate these fragile vessels with their small-caliber artillery; only at night did the speedboats stand a chance of getting close to the enemy ships.
"If the Army can hold its ground and trap the enemy near the beach... we can launch an evening assault and deal heavy damage to their fleet!" The naval officer tried to reassure Shenwu Sixteen, who kept silent and merely looked at him with skepticism.
Whether the suicide speedboats could achieve anything substantial was uncertain, even to the naval officer himself: success was a possibility, but failure was equally likely.
Recognizing that daytime support from the Navy was simply unfeasible, Shenwu Sixteen shifted focus: he had to hold his position, enduring the day and waiting for nightfall to enable a naval counterattack.
"Send a telegram to Shenwu Erlang! Order the 3rd Corps to regroup!" Shenwu Sixteen issued his command: "Have nearby units reinforce Antian Village immediately! Stop the Tang Army’s advance there!"
"At all costs! Hold the current territory! Not one step back! Stall the Tang Army!" He shot a warning glance at the Navy liaison officer, silently conveying that they had better deliver on their promises.
Meanwhile, a Tang Army soldier unfurled a blood-red Dragon Banner atop the tallest building in Antian Village.
A 63 Tank crushed the corpses of Goblins by the roadside, followed by an armored vehicle and heavily armed soldiers from the Tang Empire.
Collapsed structures littered the area, and Tang Army soldiers cheered in victory. Moments earlier, they had secured control of this location, seized nearby roads, and annihilated approximately 1,500 Mirage Country troops.
Elsewhere, Tang Army units had already bypassed the Mirage Country’s second line of defense along the coastline and were charging toward the third line.
Even Shenwu Sixteen hadn’t anticipated the speed of the Tang Army’s advance—so fast that he hadn’t had time to adjust his deployments before they had already seized a massive landing zone stretching more than thirty kilometers from the beach into the island’s interior.
Unlike the battle for South Island, the Tang Army now displayed their true, unmatched blitzkrieg capabilities. Fuelled by relentless momentum, they pushed forward without pause, and within just a few hours—by midday—they had landed 59 Tanks and heavy artillery.
Due to their overwhelming success, the Tang Army’s General Feng Kezhi himself hadn’t felt the need to come ashore to command operations. His corps had suffered minimal losses, so insignificant that he found no reason to relive the tension of the South Island landing...
------
Supplementary Update
