Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The Storm Before The Calm
On the side of the Russo's trenches, tens of thousands of conscripts were lined up, armed with outdated bolt-action rifles and poorly made uniforms made from mixed materials such as wool and leather of poor quality.
For an army, they were too poorly armed and equipped, but it did not matter to the Russo officers, after all, they were not part of their main army.
They were merely a bunch of people belonging to different ethnicities and the countryside forced them into service as sacrificial lambs, or "fodders" as the world called it.
The use of fodders became popular during the peak of the Russo-Georgian Conflict, where the Georgians, who rebelled from the Empire, used the mountains of the Caucasus to their advantage by blocking paths and fortifying the mountains.
Making it a behemoth fortress, it also did not help the Russo that the Georgians were receiving outside support.
As an act of desperation, the previous Army Marshal used mass attacks, but the army he used did not consist of the main Imperial Army, but countless random people from different ethnicities and refugees.
Since they were considered a nuisance and threat to royal power and the royalist-nationalists, the government, with the permission of the imperial family, approved of using them as mean shields.
They saw it as killing two birds with one stone, it was also very effective, they were able to exhaust and overwhelm the Georgians, forcing their supplies to depletion, and eventually, they surrendered.
The same tactic will be used against the Orientisians, the military heads also foresee the operation to be much easier because, unlike the Georgians, there's no mountain range to hinder the advance of the fodders, the tank division will also have an easier time with the flat terrain with only mud and the enemy serves as the challenge.
~•~
Saryada is rooted in the Siberian region, wherein the community of the indigenous Yakut people flourished, they are mainly composed of Turkic people but are also a mix of Mongolian descent.
Everything was normal in her community, until that fated day in the freezing morning, a troop of Russo Imperial Soldiers arrived in their village and handpicked men and women to be forcefully conscripted.
Those who resisted were shot dead on the spot, they also threatened to wipe out their community if they did not obey them.
Saryada was one of the abducted men and women from her community, the soldiers also took their stored food for the coming winter while leaving at least ten dead people.
Saryada couldn't fight back nor dare to do so, being only 15 years of age, Saryada was forced to swallow the harsh reality of life.
After she was transported here to this hellhole, Saryada's life turned into complete hell, she was forced to attack an enemy she did not know of, forced to eat whatever abomination food they served for her, lived for months in the trenches that were always wet with mud, smelled like rotting corpse, piss, and shit.
And endured harsh wounds and beating she got from the suicidal infantry attack tasked them, at this point, Saryada was considered lucky for surviving this long, after all, most of the people she came with from the community were neither dead nor dying somewhere in the no man's land.
She then woke from her light nap or was forced to do as the shitty fat officers from the main army barked orders.
All of them lined up in the trenches, not long after, the familiar whistle sound she knew of rang loud as her fellow fodders yelled in war cries.
Group by group, the fodders climbed the trench and started the frenzy of suicidal mass fodder attack, Saryada also took off but did not share the spirit of others, this time though, they numbered considerably more.
The fodders charged relentlessly, and the artillery regiment also fired the barrage on the enemy trenches, giving good cover and time for the fodders to further advance deep into enemy lines.
Saryada ran as fast as she could, her ragged breath along with the war cries and the sound of an explosion filled her ears, she looked at her comrades, pitifully armed with whatever was given to them, she even saw one armed with a flintlock musket.
Sooner, the fodders managed to run for 100 meters, the enemy trench, which was now clear of smoke from the barrage, started to fire at them, Saryada ducked into a nearby crater, raised her rifle, and fired at the enemy.
As much as Saryada tried, she couldn't hit anything at all! The training she received was incredibly short, she doesn't know all the basic and fundamentals, well, that applies to all fodders.
Back on the Russo trench, the field officer signaled a command, later, the ground began to shake as the powerful engines came from the Russo 9th, 12th, 3rd, 8th, and 20th tank divisions, a total of 1,750 tanks!
The steel behemoths were mainly composed of light to medium tanks, the tanks rolled on the muddy trenches, and behind these tanks were infantry support, 100,000 of them specifically, with the addition of the fodders the strength of the Russo peaked at around 250,000!
The trenches across the border of Russo-Oroentis turned into a battlefield, and Russo bombers and close air support planes started to wreak havoc against their enemies.
Orientis retaliated by sending 12 squadrons of their planes, however, their outdated biplanes were outclassed and were being slowly hunted down.
~•~
On the side of Orientis, soldiers manning their 50 mm anti-tank guns move into action, aiming them against enemy tanks, and loading an armor-piercing shell (AP), the crew rotated the gun and fired at the enemy BT-7.
The shell pierced the front hull of the tank, hitting the driver and gunner while also severely damaging the engine, the rest of the crew were severely injured by the shrapnel from the projectile wounding them.
More and more enemy tanks showed up, and the tanks that were entrenched also joined the carnage, these tanks were locally made, but their design hailed from Czechoslovakia and Deutsche Empire.
A Panzerkampfwagen 38(T) was entrenched on a small hill, overlooking the battlefield, this tank, however, was a variant made by Ignis Arms Industries, unlike the original variant, this one boasted a thicker armor, 32 mm on its front hull, 17 mm on each side hull, and 35 mm armor on the turret on all sides.
Not only that, but the tank was also stripped of its 37 mm cannon and was replaced with a more powerful 50 mm anti-tank gun, while the upgrades made the tank heavier and slower, the power it delivered shadowed these setbacks.
The tank was named Typus I or Typus I Medium Tank, it now weighed 12.5 tons, with a crew of four.
Inside such tank, the commander of the tank, Axel, looked at the tank's periscope, seeing an incoming enemy tank clear of any obstruction he commanded his crew orders.
"Enemy T-26 3 o'clock, 160 meters, load APC round."
The gunner, Hans, rotated the turret on the enemy position, spotting the enemy target, he quickly grabbed an APC round on the ammo rack and loaded it inside the cannon before closing it.
Carefully aiming the cannon, the tank commander gave a go signal, "Fire!"
The 50 mm cannon unleashed its wrath, the APC round traveled the distance and found its mark on the enemy T-26, piercing the front hull that resulted in a fiery explosion, killing the enemy crew instantly.
Despite being outnumbered, Typus I proved to be superior against their enemies, with improved armor and guns, the tank managed to destroy and disable many Russo tanks.
"Enemy BT-5 12 o'clock, 150 meters, load APC!"
The tank aimed its powerful gun and released another shot, however this time, the round only hit the tracks and destroyed it.
Axel clicked his tongue, "Round missed! The BT-5 lost its track, load another APC! They were now vulnerable, Hans loaded another round and aimed the gun, pulling the trigger, another shot was released and finally hitting the front hull and coincidentally hit the ammo rack.
The BT-5 turned into a live fire show, and a massive explosion occurred, killing the unfortunate souls near the tank.
"Hell yeah!" Axel and his crew celebrated before picking up enemy tanks again, unaware of an incoming threat, an enemy tank fired on their position, and the shell traveled at a higher velocity than the rest of the Russo tanks.
The shell found its mark, hitting the Typus I's side hull armor, unfortunately for the enemy, Axel's tank was slightly angled, causing the round to ricochet, but shook the crew inside as the sound of heavy metal colliding rang in their ears.
Axel and his crew were dizzy, "Shit, we're hit!" he yelled, he then opened the commander's hatch, and he used it as cover while looking for the enemy that hit them, he used his binoculars and saw the tank behind it.
Axel suddenly felt dread, "Oh god not good, Ron change gear! Reverse, reverse, reverse!"
Ron, the driver crew quickly changed gears and reversed the tank, Polo, the machine gunner couldn't help but be curious, "What did you see up there?"
Axel bitterly replied, "A fucking KV-1! We're lucky the shell that hit us bounced, else we'll all be dead in one shot."
The crew tensed up, and just as they thought they were winning, the enemy suddenly revealed one of its most troublesome heavy tanks.
Axel shook his head, "No time in prying over that behemoth, Hans! Load AP! We will shoot that fucker down!"
"Yes sir."
The battle finally reached its peak, and Orientis was being pushed back.
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