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

Chapter 99｜Strike a Heavy Punch! Killing People in Space

At 12:30 noon, the second wave of Ivan Ross airborne troops arrived, and the 5th Airborne Infantry Regiment began to enter the battlefield one after another.

Because they already controlled the airport, they decided to take the most efficient but also quite risky way to land - forced landing.

The leading transport planes circled and descended in altitude, finally aiming their noses at runway 2 and attempting to land.

After the wheels touched the ground, the transport plane slid down the long runway, gradually slowing down. Before it even came to a complete stop, the hatch opened, and dozens of Imperial Russian paratroopers filed out and jumped straight out...

"So arrogant? There's no way out of hell, you've walked right into the trap!"

Shang Ke certainly could not tolerate the enemy forcibly landing under his nose, and immediately ordered concentrated firepower to attack the enemy transport plane that was landing.

The Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, 81mm mortars, and 75mm cavalry guns all changed their targets and fired fiercely in the direction of the airport.

The rest of the Hungarian and Swedish troops in the vicinity also took the same action, using all their weapons to fire at the airport.

In an instant, guns and cannons roared, and countless tracer bullets flew through the air.

Several transport planes were damaged during landing and crashed out of control, erupting into huge balls of flames and billowing smoke.

A transport plane loaded with paratroopers was on fire, but the pilot still managed to control the plane and force a landing. The Russian soldiers rushed out of the hatch in a hurry. Within seconds, the plane was hit by two mortar shells and turned into burning wreckage.

Another transport plane following closely behind was not so lucky. During landing, its wheels rolled over a bomb crater, and the landing gear broke instantly. The entire plane rolled out of control and broke into pieces. The three-bladed fixed-pitch propeller fell off and spun at high speed, cutting an unlucky person dozens of meters away into two bloody halves.

Despite the intense ground fire, the Ivan Rus Empire Air Force pilots remained undaunted. Some even actively maneuvered their burning transport planes to avoid blocking the runway.

The fierce battle lasted for half an hour, and a total of more than 20 transport planes forced to land, bringing two understaffed airborne infantry battalions.

At this point, because the airport runway had been severely damaged and was covered with craters and metal debris, the remaining dozen or so transport planes were unable to land and had to return with the paratroopers.

"Son of a bitch! Damn it! What on earth is that unit in the southwest?"

Lieutenant Colonel Antonov was extremely angry. It could be said that the participation of the Royal Guards completely disrupted the originally smooth raid plan.

Now the operation to attack the urban area has stalled. Three airborne infantry companies are trapped in the wilderness and are being beaten in vain. The second wave of airdrops for subsequent reinforcements have suffered heavy losses.

"That's not the uniform of the Royal Hungarian Army!" someone said.

"Lieutenant Colonel, I asked the prisoners, they are Queen Hunricane's guards." A lieutenant replied.

The midday sun was shining brightly, but the Vitesse Airport below was a scene of complete hell.

The transport planes that forced a landing were basically destroyed. The burning wreckage looked like bonfires, and the ground was littered with corpses, blood, debris, and craters.

Shang Ke decided to cut the Gordian knot and take down the three companies in front of him in one go.

But the Hungarian commander on the other side of the battlefield obviously had the same plan and launched an attack first.

Thus, Shang Ke witnessed with his own eyes what it meant to hit a rock with an egg.

Two companies of the Hungarian Reserve Infantry Division deployed into an offensive formation and launched an attack on Ivan Rus's airborne troops.

The Russian paratroopers first sniped the officers and non-commissioned officers, and then fired short bursts of fire from the Degtyarev light machine guns on both wings. Not long after the exchange of fire, it was like a blow to the head that interrupted the Hungarian army's attack.

Then, about a platoon of Russian paratroopers, backed by rifle grenades and light mortars, launched a short, powerful counterattack, defeating the attack of this rookie Hungarian unit. Dozens of Hungarian officers and soldiers' bodies were scattered across the wilderness, their deaths varying from cause to cause.

During this process, the Royal Guard's Bofors anti-aircraft guns were unable to provide support to avoid accidentally injuring friendly forces.

Obviously, the Hungarian commander on the opposite side did not know his own strengths and weaknesses.

These Imperial Russian paratroopers are the elite among the elite. The Hungarian reserve forces, which are all rookies, are lucky enough to be able to hold their positions. How dare they take the initiative to attack?
However, the seriousness of the matter can also be seen from this battle. In any case, Shang Ke is determined to wipe out all the enemies in front of him.

This is no ordinary enemy! We must strike hard!
Just at this time, a new force arrived to join the battle - it was the cadet detachment of the Danube Casey Armored Forces Academy.

They temporarily formed a tank unit to provide support, with a total of five LT-35 light tanks. The front armor of this 10-ton tank is 25 mm thick, which is generally quite good.

This batch of tanks was imported from the Republic of Bohemia a few years ago. Later, the Hungarian Ministry of Defense felt that it was more cost-effective to import them from the Grand Federation, so it stopped purchasing and handed over the tanks to the Armored Forces Academy.

You came at the right time!
Look, I'm sending tanks to send all of you into the sky!
"Send a communications team over there to contact them and have them cooperate with us in the battle immediately!"

Shang Ke made a prompt decision and gave instructions to the signal corps.

Soon a group rode away on sidecar motorcycles and joined the tank unit.

The female sergeant major shouted to the squad commander: "Let the signalman come out! Replace him!"

The communicator in the co-pilot seat was kicked out in a daze and replaced by the female sergeant major.

One incomparable advantage of mind communication is that it is convenient and direct, eliminating the trouble of debugging and interfering with radio channels.

The intensity of the battle decreased slightly in the afternoon, but soon escalated again.

The Imperial Russian paratroopers relied on the low-lying areas to put up a tenacious resistance. During these few hours, whenever they had some free time, they would frantically dig bunkers and carry out close-range operations.

Now most people have dug individual prone foxholes, and some are even about to make kneeling foxholes.

The protective effect of field fortifications is actually quite considerable, and the killing effect of the Royal Guard's artillery coverage has dropped sharply.

If we don't attack now, and wait until dark, these guys will probably break out under the cover of darkness!
At 13:45 p.m., Shang Ke issued an attack order after comprehensive consideration, requiring Company A and Company B to advance with the support of the tank unit to compress the enemy's range of activities.

Interwar light tanks were pretty useless. The LT-35's 37mm gun was underpowered, and its armor couldn't withstand Russian 14.5mm anti-tank guns, but it was better than nothing.

This time, Shang Ke adopted a coordinated tactic of infantry in front and tanks in the back to prevent the light tanks from being destroyed by the Russian paratroopers using anti-tank guns.

With the addition of the female sergeant, the coordination between infantry and tanks is quite flexible. Once the infantry discovers the enemy's machine guns, it won't take long for the tanks to provide direct fire support in a timely manner.

The battle was fierce!

The fighting continued from the afternoon until evening.

After several hours of fighting, the Royal Guards had compressed the remnants of the three Ivan Ross Airborne Infantry Companies into a rectangular area of ​​only tens of thousands of square meters, and the enemy's resistance firepower gradually became weaker.

"Sir, do you want to persuade them to surrender?" Captain Eugene asked.

"Persuade them to surrender?" Shang Ke was disheveled after an afternoon of fighting. He smiled calmly and said, "Persuading the paratroopers to surrender is a waste of time. Prepare for the general attack and end the battle before sunset."

(End of this chapter)