Reich Marshal of the Belkan Reich

RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Chapter 43-5: Gunboat Diplomacy (Part 5)

By placing medium-sized reality anchors on three Ju-400 Atlas, Yuki has made it so that the cumbersome devices are always on the move and on hand to support the 501st Airborne. This lessens the chance of an anchor being intercepted by the enemy and allows them to cover a wide area of Sardegna. With them deployed, it didn't take long for Auschwitz to be locked down by one reality anchor, with the other two acting as backups. Then, from all of them, invisible domains start expanding and overlapping together, cascading down to where Auschwitz is.

"Confirming successful deployment of reality domain, we're enforcing the new rule set." Said a CIC officer aboard the RMS August von Parseval.

Watching from the battlefield data taken by AWACS and recon teams, the commanding personnel can clearly see that the mana readings from the Sardegnian Crusaders and their equipment are heavily suppressed or outright disappear. The city that is their target is now pulled right into broad daylight, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

"That's your cue, airbornes. Give them Hell!" Yuki ordered into the headphone mic, overlooking the holographic battle map aboard the Parseval. Standing next to her is Bryn, alongside the officers who are responsible for running the 2nd Carrier Strike Group. The strike group is parked just a stone's throw distance away from the ruined Taranto Harbor. Despite its destruction, the harbor is still useable should Yuki deem it necessary.

Per Yuki's order, the Generals that are on the ground give the go-ahead to initiate the combat plan.

Recon units around Auschwitz begin calling in fire support from the three FOBs and CAS from the 2nd Carrier Strike Group. Lasing and handing over the fire mission coordinates, recon units like the Brigands direct accurate payload to be delivered on top of key Sardegnian positions in Auschwitz.

First, howitzers and rocket artillery from the three FOBs start firing. Just the sound of the 150 mm howitzers alone has been enough to wake up the entirety of Sardegna, much less the numerous bright red trails of the rockets. In less than a minute, 122 mm Lynx rocket batteries have emptied their tubes while the howitzers take a bit more time, sending consecutive rounds up in the air, MRSI style. A minute later, the first wave of artillery started landing on Auschwitz. Prioritizing barracks, motor pools, and tank depots, the Lynx rockets continuously pounded the structures into pulp, exploding fuel and ammo consecutively. For heavier, more dug-in targets like bunkers, and command centers, 150 mm arty shells are guided right on top of them. If rocket artillery had cast a destructive rhythm on Auschwitz, the howitzer shells do nothing more than create one, singular beat of a drum. An earth-shattering drum that breaks more than just a few windows of Auschwitz's castle which is far from the scene of destruction. The shockwave alone causes the collapse of a few pillars inside Lady Lyssa's headquarters.

Well, they say that you shouldn't skim on safety protocols for a reason. Should have hired a more qualified contractor to build that.

Overall, the artillery bombardment has successfully crippled the Sardegnians' quick response capability. To further escalate the damage, airstrike arrives in the form of Harriers and Phantoms, carrying dumb bombs and rockets to hit targets of opportunity. AA installations, mortar pits, watch towers, and even roaming infantry squads aren't spared. If the steel eagles spot an armed target, they will swoop down and deal with it promptly.

"This is Voidling Squadron, we're on station. Got eyes on an entrenched AT position. Voidling 3 to 4, it's your show." A squad of eight Harriers, loaded to bare, can be seen circling above the airspace of Auschwitz. This particular squad, belonging to the battlecarrier Munich, has the emblem of a Takodachi holding up two revolvers, gangsta style.

"Copy that, Void Lead. We're going in." Of the eight, two Harriers detach from the formation, flying down with their targeting sights trained on the marked target group.

Voildling 3 flies in front, with the pilot announcing. "Going for gun." Aligning the ballistically calculated gun sight on the line of Cannone da 47/32 M35 AT guns, the pilot presses the trigger. "Guns guns guns."

*Brrrrrrrrrrrttt*

With an angry roar, the 30mm Mk103-4 Gatling aboard the Harrier spats out an incessant red beam of tracers. Painting a line right over the formation of the AT guns, the explosive fillers of the 30mm HEDP shells completely decimated the soft-skin Sardegnians, turning them into red, gory mist. "Yeah, yeah, I got 'em. Number four, you're next."

"I got them in my sight." Voilding 4 replied, following after the trail left by Voidling 3. "Pickle, pickle."

And with that, four 250 kg bombs are dropped successively, completely obliterating the AT gun line if they weren't destroyed by the gun run already.

Circling above them, Voidling Lead reports. "Good effect on target. Yeah, that punches a nice hole in the perimeter for the boots on the ground. Alright, 3, 4, form up. We're gonna be around here for a while for further tasking."

"Copy that, Void Leader."

Scenes like that happen repeatedly, even when the Brigade Combat Teams start making their appearances known.

Leading the charge of one of the BCTs is the 1st Armored Company, 73rd Armored Regiment. Their Leopard MBTs kick up a large cloud of dust as they ride forward valiantly, their main guns astutely observe the path forward. Trailing behind them are lines of Puma IFVs, each carrying eight soldiers. As the Auschwitz defenders are heavily suppressed and confused by the initial bombardment, interception fire is negligible for the three BCTs. That said, it doesn't mean that the BCTs like being fired at.

Whenever the lead vehicles of 1st Armored Company see a muzzle flash, no matter if it's big or small, proportional responses are, of course, delivered promptly.

"Gunner, left, infantry trench. 700 meters." A Leopard tank commander called out a target for his gunner. "Loader, HEAT, airburst."

"Ammo up!"

"Target in sight. On the way!" The 105mm gun, adorned lovingly with the words "Your Mama", roars to life, sending a HEAT-FS shell zipping across the air. Finally, the shell detonates above the Sardegnian trench, raining a hail of deadly shrapnel on the poor MG crew and the nearby soldiers.

"That's a kill! Keep loading HEAT, we got more targets coming into view." Ordered the commander.

He then continues directing targets for the gunner to engage. And it's not just 'Your Mama' that is going ham on the Sardegnians, but also the other Leopards and Class C Pumas too. As it's about to be an urban combat scenario soon, recon teams like the Brigands start following the main force, becoming part of the spearhead, and are responsible for accurate fire support call-ins.

Once the BCTs breach the outer security perimeter with sonorous greeting fanfare in the shape of 57mm and 30mm autocannons, airborne infantry starts dismounting from the back. The men and women then flank the AFVs, guarding them as metal and organics alike push further inside the battered city that is Auschwitz. To prevent the armored force from being ambushed, the 501st soldiers act as the eyes and ears for them. The men and women start kicking down doors and flushing out any soft-skin resistance standing in their way. If they come across a well-defended intersection or a bunker, the infantry calls in the big guns to breach the structure. Usually, this ends up being a burst of fire from a 57mm autocannon, however, there are cases of 105mm cannon being used to great effect.

During the time the BCTs venture into the outer districts, the slum of Auschwitz, they get to see the true horror that the city has been harboring and left festering without prying eyes. Mass graves, brothels, forced slavery, and detention centers,... are but one of the many revolting things they come across. There are cases of Sardegnian soldiers, those that have committed crimes against fellow man, stubbornly hold onto their lives, using live prisoners as human shields or bargain chips with the 501st Airborne. Facing such scenarios, the airborne infantry tackles the matter with absolute firepower and tactics.

Utilizing magic and aerial observer, the 501st infantry breaches buildings with a combination of flashbangs and non-lethal magic. Regardless of whether they're enemy or prisoners, the Belkans subdue them all, chiefly to ensure the safety of their fellow airbornes. Enemy combatants who dare to resist are quickly mowed down by G1 rifles or USP pistols while scared or unresponsive prisoners are zip-tied. The latter are then handed over to trailers, combat medics that follow behind the entry team, for processing. This usually entails patching them up before sending them to the rear formation where MEDEVAC Boxer APCs are stationed. Of course, sometimes, the entry team will come across surrendering Sardegnians. Though more often than not, these guys are faking it, even when unarmed. To ensure their safety, entry teams always aim for center mass or headshots whenever they can if the target is holding a weapon.

Surprisingly, sightings of suicide bombers are reported up the chain of command. They come in the form of forcefully conscripted prisoners, strapped heavily with fragmentation grenades and detonation cords before being sent down a hallway or an intersection. Most regrettably, the majority of Belkan injuries, with a few unfortunate cases of fatalities, happened because of this distasteful tactic employed by Auschwitz's commander. This occurs due to the shocking nature of the tactic, soldiers with bleeding hearts would try to save the prisoners, sometimes at the cost of their own lives.

Despite the rare occurrence of this tactic, Yuki still puts her foot down.

"You either shoot to kill or shoot to disable. Do not let them use your compassionate heart against you and your brothers and sisters. That's a direct order."

From that moment onwards, the effectiveness of suicide bombers is drastically reduced, chiefly because the elite airborne infantry shot out the legs of the prisoners. This buys them time to flank the Sardegnians holding the detonator and kill them all. But as expected, they can't save every and all prisoners. At least most of them are still alive, whether that's for the better or for worse is better left unsaid.

After all, what they experience in this Hell hole will scar them for the rest of their lives. To some, death would have been a sweet release. But for now, that choice isn't theirs to make.

With effort and patience, the 501st Airborne encircled the city, advancing and liberating every step of the way. In just a little less than an hour, half of the city is already well in the hand of the Belkans. The only trouble is the slum complex, where the majority of the multinational prisoners are being kept in poor conditions. It's not like there are many enemies here per se, but rather because there are too many prisoners here to be processed at one time. Preliminary reports that it will take at least a week to give these poor souls first aid alone, not to mention further treatments or identifying them. Until the rest of Auschwitz is clear, however, no more help will be sent. Hence a small force and some supplies are dedicated to keep the slum from being visited by desperate Sardegnians.

After experiencing everything Auschwitz has to offer, it's safe to say that members of the 501st would never recommend it on any travel book. Safe to say, they would be more eager to raze everything about it to the ground instead.

Perhaps, they will do just that when they get to the more critical parts of the city.