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

Chapter 121 | Is a city more noble than the will to resist?

Ambassador Han Yonghua said slowly, "I understand your concerns, so I would like to convey the attitude of our president."

He took out a letter from his pocket and showed it to everyone present. The letter was signed by the President of the Federal Government Council.

"We have indeed underestimated the ambitions of Ivan Rus. The actions of Ivan Rus and Britain have seriously affected peace and stability in Europe. We are very disappointed and should intervene."

The ambassador clearly and explicitly conveyed the views of the top leadership of the Grand Federation.

The letter was first handed to Sigrid.

Sabor looked at her, then looked at Han Yonghua and nodded, saying sincerely, "Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. Now we know what to do."

Commander-in-Chief Admiral Deger said, "Although we cannot predict whether the Varlanders and Marianas can stop the Ivan Rus', we will persevere with all our might. Budapest is a cultural and spiritual treasure of our country, but the terrain to the east is flat and plain, militarily unsuitable for defense. The General Staff's opinion is to hold off resistance to minimize losses and concentrate our forces along the Danube."

Budapest is divided into two parts by the Danube River. To the west of the river is the hilly Buda, and to the east of the river is the flat Perth.

The Hungarian General Staff believed that there were no strategic locations to defend around Perth and that it was surrounded by enemies on three sides, so it would be better to abandon it directly.

"Give up defending Perth? Such a non-resistance strategy is too passive." Sigrid questioned.

She felt that this was a sign of weakness and politically negative.

"It is not wise to defend Perth, Your Majesty. It is a waste of manpower." A lieutenant general said more bluntly.

General Deger pointed to the map and patiently explained, "As you can see, if we defend Perth, our troops will face attacks from the north, east, and south. This is very dangerous. If you want to consider the political impact, perhaps we can deploy one or two battalions to provide symbolic resistance?"

Sigrid couldn't accept it emotionally, she thought it was too weak.

Do we really have to give up most of the capital to the invaders without firing a shot?

Subconsciously, she looked to the other corner of the conference room - Mr. Shang was listening there.

Shang Ke, who was in a trance, was brainstorming, thinking about how to best deploy the defense of Budapest.

He felt that this situation was familiar.

Why does it feel a bit like the Battle of Stalingrad in the original plane's history? It seems like we could really try to recreate it?
Stalingrad is divided in two by the Volga River, and Budapest is divided in two by the Danube River.

The German army rushed towards Stalingrad in a mighty force, and Ivan Rus's army also rushed towards Budapest in a menacing manner.

Shang Ke couldn't help but whisper a few words to Xia Zhizun beside him, then bent down and said to the regiment commander, "Commander, I think we can try to defend half of the city, engage in street fighting and a war of attrition, while the main force continues to reinforce in Hexi..."

Major General Zhang looked ahead, pondered for a moment, and suddenly spoke.

"Everyone, we have different opinions." He pointed at Shang Ke and said, "Major Shang, please speak up. Be bold. I think it's interesting."

So dozens of eyes were focused on Shang.

Admiral Deger was a little impatient. He didn't think a major could have any insightful ideas.

In any case, before you are qualified to sit down and discuss campaign deployment, you must at least have experience in commanding division-level troops, right?
Shang Ke walked over to the huge map hanging on the wall, pointed in the direction of the city and said, "The buildings in Perth are mainly brick, stone and concrete, which are relatively solid. There are also many multi-story buildings. This is actually very advantageous for defense. I don't think such advantageous terrain should be easily abandoned."

Curious, Sigrid's eyes lit up a bit, and she stared at Shang with great interest. He continued to speak in Hungarian:

"The Perth city area is large enough to accommodate two or three infantry divisions. I suggest deploying two divisions in the city, but the main force of the army group will still defend along the west bank of the Danube."

"During the battle for the city, the main force on the west bank can reinforce the defenders on the east bank and provide fire support with field artillery."

"I noticed that the Ivan Rus army that invaded Budapest was just a second-rate unit, poorly equipped and with few automatic weapons."

"Street fighting can even out the gap between the enemy and us. The attackers can't deploy large numbers of troops and can only engage in difficult close combat with the defenders. It's very likely that Budapest will become a meat grinder..."

The conference room was quiet.

A group of senior military and political officials were evaluating Shang's words in their minds.

Parliament Speaker Sabor hesitated and said, "If we do this, the city will be destroyed by war."

Before anyone else could say anything, Sigrid said bluntly, "I agree with this strategy."

This is a bit abrupt. Under a constitutional monarchy, as a symbolic head of state, it is not appropriate for her to be so tough.

Some of the Hungarian elite present were very unhappy about this - they didn't care about the destruction of the historic city? Foreigners are foreigners.

A civil servant said: "Your Majesty, I can only say that the consequences of this strategy are more serious than you imagine. Budapest is a treasure belonging to all Hungarians, and the city must be protected from destruction by war."

The implication is that you, a foreigner, are short-sighted and have no right to decide the survival of this ancient historical and cultural city.

Sigrid was obviously angry, or rather, indignant and aggrieved.

She took a deep breath and retorted in a serious, slow voice, "I understand the cost of resistance, and I'm also aware of the consequences of not resisting. Budapest has been captured by the Mongols and the Ottomans before, and each time it put up a heroic resistance. This is the history this city deserves to be remembered for, not showing off a thousand-year-old pillar or a five-hundred-year-old wall."

She went on to say, "I believe that brave nations are connected in spirit. If you believe that the value of the city itself is nobler than the will to resist, then I would rather abdicate and return to my homeland." Her words were powerful.

Different road non-phase plan.

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

Shang Ke felt that Sigrid's words were quite well-spoken, so he couldn't help but interrupt to support her.

“It takes only one victory to wash away a defeat, but even ten victories cannot cover up the shame of one surrender.”

Hearing him say this, Sigrid's eyes softened.

"I support total defense. I would rather lead a brigade or a regiment to fight to death here than let the Romanians set foot in Budapest." Major General Ratz-Jene was the first senior general to express his position clearly.

"We can pick out some precious treasures and escort them away until the war is over." Speaker Sabol also spoke to smooth things over.

In fact, the generals all felt that what Shang said was very true - it was feasible to engage in street fighting in the city with the Danube River behind them. Even if they could not hold on in the end, they could still make the enemy suffer a bloody defeat.

Admiral Deger made the final decision, saying in a deep voice, "Alright, then I will order the General Staff to formulate a city defense plan to deplete the enemy to the maximum extent possible. Budapest will be the grave of the invaders!"

(End of this chapter)