It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 108 Chapter | Dimensionality Reduction Attack
Miskolc is about thirty kilometers away from the Takota area, which is not far.

Shangke thought the scenery along the way was very nice. The flat concrete road was flanked by dense woods and blooming wildflowers, with a faint fragrance wafting into the air. In peacetime, this place was simply the perfect choice for an outing.

However, the war was a real spoiler.

The air raids by the Imperial Russian Air Force knocked down many trees, and some sections of the road were covered with bomb craters of various sizes. Many truck wreckages were connected end to end and were burning fiercely. The surviving soldiers were carrying the bodies of their comrades.

There was a huge traffic jam here. The Hungarian-Swedish 3rd Independent Armored Regiment was blocked and dozens of Type 32 tanks were lined up in a long queue.

A major came in a car and shouted angrily.

"Get these damn trucks out of the way!"

"Sorry, sir, we are clearing the road, please give us some time."

"We don't have time to wait. Leave immediately and have the tanks knock the damaged truck to the side of the road!"

A man named Shang was hitchhiking all the way and recently met this armored regiment on its way to the front line. However, he didn't expect that they would be stuck only eight or nine kilometers away from their destination.

This was a very standard air interdiction operation - the armored regiment was delayed for half an hour.

The so-called air interdiction is the tactical aviation force's attack on the enemy's shallow and deep targets, thereby cutting off, weakening and hindering the enemy's supply and reinforcement to the front line.

Can half an hour decide the outcome of a battle? Often, yes.

After roughly clearing away the wreckage of the convoy that blocked the way, the armored regiment was finally able to move forward.

As we got closer to the war zone, the sound of gunfire became clearer and wisps of black smoke rose into the sky.

Shang Ke was eager to know the current situation of the war, so he didn't bother to waste time looking for the basic command post and went directly to the nearby reserve command post.

This was the backup location, with telephone lines and various equipment already laid out, but only a few staff officers remained on duty. If the primary command post was destroyed, the reserve command post could immediately take over.

"What's the situation at the enemy landing site?" Shang Ke asked while scanning the map on the table.

"It's roughly estimated that there is a regimental-level force. In addition, we observed that many tanks were reinforced by the pontoon bridge. It may be a battalion-level tank unit." Someone answered.

"The Ivan Rus people are so difficult to deal with. Our artillery blew up two pontoon bridges yesterday, and they repaired three more." A captain complained.

Shang Ke noticed that the Hungarian army was organizing a counterattack, and the field artillery group began to pour artillery fire on the landing site. The armored and infantry units were entering the starting positions one after another.

The counterattack force consisted of the 3rd Independent Armored Regiment and the 4th Infantry Regiment of the 12th Infantry Division. They were ordered to resolutely and bravely destroy the enemy's landing site and block the breakthrough point.

At 14:30 p.m., the 105mm howitzers of the divisional artillery regiment stopped their artillery preparation and then turned to blocking fire on the east bank of the Tisza River.

Three red flares were launched into the air one after another, and the Hungarian soldiers who were ready to go rushed out of the attack starting positions and launched an attack following the tank cluster!
Although the enemy in front of them had built field fortifications and had twenty or thirty tanks coordinating the defense, they were all light tanks with thin skin and large fillings, and were not to be feared.

Our team is so powerful that it seems we can crush the enemy in one breath?
But the good times didn't last long. Soon, sporadic counterattacks came from the other side of the river, and they became more and more frequent.

At this time, the attacking force had advanced to a distance of less than 600 meters. Faced with the sudden artillery attack, the Hungarian infantry had to lie down and seek cover.

The enemy's hidden anti-tank artillery positions also took the opportunity to open fire. At least a dozen anti-tank guns fired fiercely at the Hungarian tank cluster!

"Um?!"

Shang Ke saw this scene through the artillery scope, but due to the distance and the smoke and dust on the battlefield, he couldn't see clearly. He tutted in dissatisfaction and asked a female lieutenant present, "Has the front line reported back? What's the situation?"

The latter closed his eyes and meditated for a few seconds, with his mouth slightly open, as if he was organizing his words.

She then described it vividly: "The front-line observation post saw multiple anti-tank fire points firing, perhaps ten or twenty, distributed on the left and right wings. The front line was in an arc shape, and our attacking forces were blocked... Two more tanks were hit... They exploded!"

The female lieutenant grabbed a pencil, not caring what color it was, and scribbled the rough layout on the notepad.

Shang Ke took a quick glance and frowned, saying, "It's a standard pocket formation. Quickly withdraw the attacking troops."

It is normal to encounter this situation. If the attack is blocked, then evaluate whether it is necessary to fire back. If not, then retreat decisively and regroup, and then charge again after eliminating the enemy's firepower points.

Unexpectedly, the Hungarian field artillery group fired a round of smoke bombs at the enemy positions to cover the attacking forces to continue their attack.

"Hmm? That's a bit radical." Shang Ke frowned.

It was obvious that the Hungarian commander was unwilling to give up halfway and was determined to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.

But this seems a bit forced?

Now more than a dozen tanks have been destroyed, and the infantry units have also suffered certain casualties under the rapid counterattack artillery fire, and are in some chaos.

In the next few minutes, there was a clear disconnect between the attacking forces, and the coordination between infantry and tanks was no longer neat.

A minute later, the Russian artillery on the other side of the river turned its guns and began bombarding the Hungarian front-line positions, and fired dozens of smoke bombs to the flanks.

Just when everyone was scratching their heads, the female lieutenant in the reserve command post suddenly said nervously, "Oh my God, there are enemies on the flank. The guard position on the right has heard the sound of tank engines. The enemy is trying to attack our flank!"

A moment later, the crisis arrived.

At 15:03 in the afternoon, Shang Ke witnessed many tanks circling the side of the landing site and heading straight for the right wing of the Hungarian offensive force. The shapes of those tanks were very familiar to Shang Ke. They were the early models of T-76.2 using 34mm short-barreled guns. He would recognize them even if they turned into ashes!
Facing such an opponent, the Turan I and Type 32 had no chance of winning. The T-34 was almost completely immune to the Skoda 47mm tank gun's armor-piercing shells, unless it was extremely unlucky and happened to be hit by the turret ring.

From the perspective of armor-piercing missile confrontation, this is a dimensionality reduction attack.

On this day, Shang Ke witnessed a one-sided crushing and massacre.

The Hungarian attacking forces not only suffered from the crossfire of anti-tank guns in the front, but were also forced to fend off the Russian tank clusters from the flank, and were quickly defeated.

The sun began to set, and after the fierce battle, all that was left on the battlefield were corpses of various causes of death and a burning steel bonfire, which was particularly tragic.

Due to the enemy's sophisticated defensive tactics, the Hunnic army's counterattack against the Toktau area ended in failure.

That night, despite the artillery blockade, Ivan Rus's army began to build more pontoon bridges, and a steady stream of reinforcements crossed the river to assemble.

Some reconnaissance troops began to infiltrate deep into the enemy territory in the second half of the night and engaged in brief firefights with the Hungarian army.

"Reinforcements will not arrive for at least 24 hours! What should we do?!" a major staff officer said anxiously.

After daybreak, the enemy would certainly launch a massive attack. The darkest moment before dawn was extremely tormenting for the Hungarian officers and soldiers.

"This breakthrough cannot be blocked. We need to prepare for the worst." Shang Ke stated the facts in a cold voice, his eyes falling on a small town called Tisalek on the map.

(End of this chapter)