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

Chapter 115 Chapter | I Want to Live in a Bright Era
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The violent explosions that occurred one after another made the earth tremble.

Several 120mm mortar shells fell in succession. Each shell was loaded with 1.6 kilograms of TNT. The power was so great that it instantly shook the entire area.

At this moment, the loud noise of the pouring river was eclipsed.

Shang Ke struggled to get up from the ground, and the dust on his body fell off like chaff being sieved.

He felt dizzy and his eardrums were probably injured, making every breath unbearable.

"Oh my god! I'm speechless!" he blurted out in Chinese.

I just stole an anti-aircraft gun and blew up a T-35. Is it necessary to use a 120mm heavy mortar to blow me up?
Lieutenant Malton rushed over and checked him up and down to make sure he was not hit by shell fragments.

When people are extremely nervous and excited, adrenaline is secreted excessively, and they may not be aware of their injuries.

The soldiers began to retreat.

Someone threw a smoke grenade to the front of the position to block the enemy's vision.

At the starting position of the west bank attack, the four mortars were also ready, and the remaining dozen or so shells would be used to support the retreat.

"Enemy infantry is moving towards nine o'clock!"

"Give me two more magazines!"

"Mortars incoming! Watch out!"

"Medic!"

The sun rises, and the morning light stretches Shang Ke's shadow very long.

Walking on the narrow top of the dam, he could feel the vibration under his feet, and every moment thousands of tons of river water rushed out through the outfall.

The engineers had no time to place explosives and now they had to evacuate the hydropower station and retreat to the west bank through the dam.

Common dams are mainly divided into two categories: gravity dams and arch dams.

A gravity dam relies on its own weight to withstand water pressure. In short, it is a mountain made of reinforced concrete with a thick dam body.

The arch dam uses an arch structure to transfer water pressure to the bedrock on both sides. It is cleverly designed, saves building materials, and the dam body is significantly lighter and thinner.

Structurally, a gravity dam is almost indestructible; after all, it's like a mountain of concrete.

Fortunately, the Tissalek Dam built with aid from the Grand Unification Federation is just a standard arch dam.

The pursuing Ivan Rus's troops appeared one after another from the smoke, bullets rained down, and people were shot and fell to the ground.

In the dense forest on the west bank, a group of Hungarian artillerymen were struggling to push a heavy cannon to rotate half a circle.

Although the Vz.14 is a very light 150mm howitzer, its weight of 2.8 tons is still a huge steel giant for human power.

Because it was too dark, another artillery piece accidentally fell into a pothole while being towed by a truck. Everyone had to fill it with thermite to destroy it, because in this case only a heavy tracked towing vehicle could pull it out.

After the only remaining artillery piece was dragged to the designated location, the truck drove away and the soldiers pushed it to turn its direction, then carefully covered it with branches and leaves as camouflage. From a distance, it completely blended in with the trees and bushes.

"We can aim at the dam now. Come on, bring the prepared shells over and fix the fuses."

Lieutenant Leo commanded the soldiers to get ready and one by one attached delayed fuses to the only thirteen concrete-destroying bombs.

Concrete-destroying bombs are a special type of ammunition fired from large-caliber artillery. They are between armor-piercing shells and grenades. The body of the shell is stronger than that of ordinary grenades. It will penetrate deeply into the target and then detonate, thereby more effectively destroying reinforced concrete.

The black muzzle of the gun was aimed at the dam a thousand meters away.

"Lieutenant, are we really going to destroy it?" a corporal asked knowingly with a look of reluctance in his eyes.

"In order to defend our motherland, we have no choice." Lieutenant Leo said softly.

"If possible, I would like to live in an era without invaders. How bright it would be." The corporal said regretfully.

"You're dreaming. There has never been such an era in human history." The sergeant next to him glared at him.

"Well, at least don't invade my country," the corporal muttered.

Everything was ready. After all the friendly forces had evacuated the dam, Lieutenant Leo raised the small flag.

The messenger came running over and saluted, "Second Lieutenant, please confirm the order. I am conveying the instructions of the acting commander, Major Shang - permission to open fire."

"boom!"

With a cannon shot, a 150mm concrete-destroying bomb flew towards the dam and penetrated deep into it. The delayed fuse at the bottom of the shell immediately detonated, detonating the 4.2 kg of explosives filled in the shell.

It is now 10:6 a.m. on October 6th.

Because there was no time to place explosives, the Bella battle group was forced to implement emergency measures - the Hungarian artillery directly bombarded the Tiszalek Dam.

Half a minute later, the second shell hit the dam.

At this moment, Lieutenant Colonel Shedov and others on the east coast were stunned.

"What are they doing?!" a captain exclaimed.

"This is not an accidental shot, this is not an accidental shot, they want to blow up the dam, kill them quickly!" Lieutenant Colonel Shedov ordered anxiously.

"Lieutenant Colonel, there's a hole in the dam, and the water is gushing out!"

"Damn it! Send a warning to the troops crossing the river downstream, now!"

In just a few minutes, the Hungarian artillery fired seven rounds in a row. The main structure of the Tiszalek Dam was severely damaged and seemed to be crumbling.

Streams of water gushed out of the breaches and flowed into the abyss like a shower.

Perhaps it was because the steel bars and high-grade cement used in the construction aided by the Great Unification Federation were of such high quality that the dam still held on tenaciously.

One more shot and everything would be over, Lieutenant Leo thought.

But suddenly, the whistling sound of artillery shells was heard in my ears.

“Boom—boom boom boom—”

Seven or eight mortar shells fired from the east coast landed near this artillery and exploded - the muzzle flame of a large-caliber howitzer was very conspicuous. After the Imperial Russian mortar team discovered it, they quickly opened fire here.

Seeing this scene, Shang Ke felt something was wrong.

He looked at the dam that was teetering on the edge but refused to collapse, then at the smoke-filled howitzer, and angrily said, "I'm so fucking speechless!"

He then turned and asked - those who volunteered to participate in the suicide mission stepped out, ready to seize the artillery and continue firing at the dam.

Suddenly, Dodotia cried out.

"Wait! Mr. Major! Look there!"

Everyone looked there.

Amidst the smoke and dust that had not yet dissipated, a figure was faintly swaying.

The ragged Lieutenant Leo crawled up, covered in blood, his right eye blinded by shrapnel.

Realizing that the crew members were either dead or injured and that he was the only one able to move, Lieutenant Leo struggled to pick up two propellant bags, loaded them into the gun chamber, and then closed the intermittent threaded breech block.

He pulled the trigger.

This aged howitzer roared with age and launched concrete-destroying bombs weighing dozens of kilograms.

After doing all this, Lieutenant Leo sat down weakly.

This shell was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

In an instant, the Tisalek Dam collapsed completely, and the accumulated massive river water gushed out all at once, rushing all the way south!
"What a great dam! I hope it can be rebuilt after the war. Electric lights are better than gas lamps." Lieutenant Leo wanted to light a cigarette, but it was soaked in blood and could not be lit.

He heard another terrifying scream from the sky, but now there seemed no need to be afraid. He looked at the corporal's body and smiled, "It's a pity that no one will see that day."

The next second, the lieutenant's figure was engulfed in the flames of the violent explosion.

(End of this chapter)