Munitions Empire

"The third one!" Hidden in the corner, the sniper cradled his G43 semi-automatic rifle. Looking through the four-times scope, he accurately took down a Dahua soldier who was aiming his rifle, ready to fire. The enemy soldier clutched his chest and fell to his knees in the crosshair, struggled twice, then face-planted into the mud and disappeared. In the past, the standard equipment for Tang Army snipers was the 98K rifle, which was later upgraded to the G43 semi-automatic rifle to keep the caliber consistent with the MG-42 machine gun, simplifying logistics. This model remained in use. Compared to the frequent upgrades of heavy weapons, the urgency to update the weapons wielded by the soldiers wasn't as pressing. After all, they all served to kill—the equipment was somehow cobbled together to suffice until today. However, with the addition of the four-times scope, the G43 sniper rifle boasted decent accuracy and superior sustained fire capability within the engagement range of 200 to 300 meters. Because it eliminated the need to work the bolt, the sniper could calmly watch his target die before seeking the next one. Soon, another Dahua soldier, who stopped to raise his rifle and shoot, was spotted and the Tang Army sniper pulled the trigger once more—the Dahua soldier fell the next second. This was simply a massacre. When the concealed MG-42 machine guns of the Tang Army started howling like tearing cloth, the army of Dahua could not stop retreating. The charging Dahua soldiers seemed accustomed to the sound of the ripping machine and began to turn and run wildly, not even sparing a glance at their wounded comrades as they fled the battlefield. The Dahua Empire tank units, struck by artillery that destroyed several tanks, began to back up, leaving behind the blazing wreckage to cover the infantry's retreat. They abandoned the remnants of five tanks and suffered around two hundred casualties—corpses of Dahua soldiers littered the battlefield everywhere, and the dismal moaning of those not yet dead could still be heard. In less than 20 minutes of fighting, a tank battalion and an infantry battalion were nearly crippled and lost their combat effectiveness. And this was only the start of the battle at Li Family Village. Unbeknownst to them, a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky, tickling their faces, making it hard to tell if it was the rain or the chill wind blowing in their faces. The Tang Army soldiers carefully cleaned up the battlefield, taking care of any Dahua wounded still clinging to life. For the soldiers defending Li Family Village, these past two days had been a relatively easy time. If the Dahua military continued to attack, they could effortlessly repel them. However, the real test would come on the third or fourth day when the follow-up Dahua troops would start to press in from both flanks and those terrifying heavy cannons would join the battle. Once the Dahua artillery arrived, the fighting would be no joke. Without exaggeration, they would level Li Family Village to the ground. The frontline commanders of the Tang Kingdom had underestimated the Dahua Empire's fervor for this war—during the night, the Dahua military hauled their 150mm howitzers onto the battlefield in the rain. And there was more than one! The next morning, as the rain still poured, a whistling shell fell into Li Family Village, collapsing a building and severely damaging surrounding structures. The supply trucks parked in the village began to evacuate immediately, and the Tang Army's battalion commander had to rush through the rain to a field hospital set up in a corner of the village, to remind a doctor and a nurse there to stay safe. The shelling showed no sign of stopping, with dozens of cannons bombarding for over an hour. Hundreds of shells fell on and around the village, toppling many buildings. However, the rain kept the dust at bay, leaving the battlefield eerily clean. Because it was regulated, the ammunition storage was dug into shelters. However, for the sake of convenience, many soldiers would still stay in residential areas. With the enemy's shelling commencing, the good days were over. The houses were no longer safe, and places to take shelter from the rain had decreased significantly. There was no choice but for all the soldiers to sleep in more concealed tents, disperse as much as possible, and ensure they were well camouflaged. "Without aerial reconnaissance, we can't determine how far the enemy's flank has advanced," the battalion commander, freshly returned from the field hospital, shook the droplets off his body and complained as he looked at the map. If the enemy began attacking the flank, he would have to prepare corresponding forces there because according to the defense plan provided by the regimental headquarters, his position was protruding. This meant facing the danger of being attacked from three sides—but this also enticed the Dahua Empire to focus their attention on Li Family Village. Relying on Li Family Village and continuously using fueling tactics was Tagg's strategic design to hold Xicong. As long as Li Family Village could captivate the main force of the Dahua Empire, he would have enough time to dig a bigger trap in Xicong. The goal wasn't just to hold Xicong, but to turn it into a graveyard for the Dahua military! So when Li Family Village came under bombardment, the infantry division of the troops stationed there immediately reinforced their own with three assault guns and added two Wild Bee Automatic Cannons. By noon, the rain had subsided slightly, and the Dahua military immediately launched a new round of attack. They were actually under pressure to attack, since weather forecasts were basically non-existent at the time, and everyone had to guess the weather conditions. The rainfall could stop at any time, and as soon as the Tang Country's Air Force appeared on the battlefield, no one could predict the consequences. The clouds and precipitation neutralized the aerial superiority of the Tang Army, which allowed the Dahua troops to launch such a smooth offensive and calmly deploy artillery. If they missed the rainy period, their attack would face greater difficulty, which was something the entire Dahua Empire hoped to see. Thus, accelerating the attack became their only option, even though their transportation was also affected by the rain, and even though they were reluctant to launch a large-scale campaign in wet weather. Still, Dahua's higher-ups knew that they had to capture Xicong before the end of the rainfall, cut off Tang Country's southern transportation hub, and seize the food and other materials that Great Tang had reserved in Xicong. At the same time, they could drive away the Tang Country's Air Force deployed near Xicong, increasing the attack distance for the Tang Country's Air Force and weakening its impact on the battlefield. All this had been discussed before the battle, they were established strategic goals, and were endeavors the Dahua military was determined to achieve at all costs. So, disregarding the rainy weather and everything else, they fought desperately in their attack, not hesitating even if the losses were significant. Thus, the second battle for Li Family Village erupted, it was still a frontal assault, still the most traditional "human wave tactic". The only difference this time was the cover of superior artillery, and dozens more tanks on the frontal battlefield. "The enemy has so many tanks! And, their quality seems much better than the ones before," the battalion commander lamented, furrowing his brow as he watched a Dahua Type 1 Tank approaching their defensive line. As he spoke, the Dahua tank attempting to close in on the Tang Army's defensive line was hit by a shell, caught fire, exploded, and was left paralyzed on the spot. A Number 4 Assault Gun, hidden on the flank, used its low profile and good concealment to destroy many enemy tanks without being exposed. It had destroyed five tanks in yesterday's battle, and as of today, it had taken out seven more of the enemy's tanks. Yet, despite this, the Dahua military showed no sign of retreating. Clearly, the other side had also received desperate orders, as this attack was definitely at any cost. The nearly one battalion's worth of Dahua infantry suffered heavy casualties, and then another battalion charged forward, stepping over the bodies of their comrades to continue their advance. In fact, the more the battle progressed this way, the more the battalion commander of the Great Tang side worried about the flanks of his defensive line. The south was relatively secure with another battalion's defensive line, but to the north, there was only a depleted "squad" pulled back from the front line. Relying on the woods, one tank, a few armored vehicles, and less than a company of soldiers... If the enemy detoured to attack that forest first, it might actually fall into their hands. If that forest was lost, his flank would be like a nail was hammered into it; assaulting Li Family Village from that forest would basically cut down the attack distance by hundreds of meters. This was no joke; if things turned out poorly, he might be forced to retreat into Li Family Village and fight in the streets. But even though he knew the enemy might attack that forest, he had no spare forces to send in support. Just one look at the current battlefield, and he dared not redeploy even a single platoon to sit idly in the forest. "We'll see how things go later..." That was the best decision he could make. In a few hours, the other three Number 4 Assault Guns that were on the way would arrive, and he could then station one over there... Little did he know, at this moment, the tank commander hidden in the forest had already spotted the row of Dahua Type 1 Tanks in the distance through the slits of the periscope. The commanders of the well-manned Dahua Empire were not fools, of course; they were naturally going to use their numerical advantage. When they had established that a direct attack wasn't very effective, they had already spread out their troops and extended to both wings, ready to attempt a probing attack from both sides. "Load armor-piercing rounds! Aim!" the tank commander ordered loudly. The loader pushed a round into the chamber and closed the breach. The gunner's eyes were glued to the sighting scope, pressing the crosshairs onto one of the advancing Dahua Type 1 Tanks through the reticle on the lens. "Fire when you're confident! The enemy is too numerous, it's too dangerous to let them get closer!" The commander didn't dare take risks, for his tank's armor was not much to speak of either, it couldn't withstand the 90mm short-barreled gun of the opponent.