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

Chapter 171 | 9 people vs. 767 people

In this day and age, without rocket launchers or recoilless rifles, infantry is at a significant disadvantage when facing armored vehicles.

If the Romanian infantry at the assembly point did put up some fighting, then the artillery north of the small park could only be described as offering token resistance.

After firing several shots and then unleashing a barrage of bullets, most of the Romanian artillery scattered and fled.

One artillery crew, however, remained exceptionally determined, even pushing the gun to turn its muzzle in an attempt to directly bombard the Panhard armored vehicle.

Cecil Morrow, of course, wouldn't let the enemy get what they wanted. He aimed directly at the field gun and fired continuously, using the coaxial machine gun to tear the eight or nine artillerymen to pieces!
The remaining defeated Romanian artillerymen also received special care from Mr. Shang.

"Moro, the enemy is fleeing at ten o'clock. Encircle them!"

What is a 'pocket'? Does it mean to intercept?

Shang Ke shouted urgently, "Yes, yes, yes! Quickly, use the machine gun!"

Dozens of people fled north together, only to be met with concentrated fire. More than a dozen bodies were scattered across the open ground of the small park, and the rest quickly lay down, too afraid to move.

On the other side, nearly a hundred people rushed eastward in a frenzy, but no matter how fast their legs were, they couldn't outrun bullets. They were quickly intercepted by a barrage of bullets, and many of them staggered and fell to the ground after being shot in the back.

Of the dozen or so trucks, five were quite clever and abandoned the others and fled as soon as they sensed the danger. The remaining seven or eight trucks were all destroyed.

Any group that tried to get up and run would immediately be met with gunfire. However, in this critical moment, the Romanian artillerymen instinctively huddled together.

Simply put, it's like herding sheep.

As for the few individuals who dare to break away from the main force and escape on their own, we'll leave them be.

Shang, naturally, didn't speak Romanian. On a whim, he shouted in Hungarian to the group of surrendering Romanian infantry: "Do you understand? You're surrounded! Tell those artillerymen to surrender immediately!"

A corporal wearing round glasses stood up shakily, raising his hand.

“No…don’t shoot. I speak Hunnic and I can persuade them to surrender.”

"Okay, go ahead. I'll give you two minutes to think about it."

So the Romanian corporal walked north toward the small park with his hands raised.

Annoyed by his dawdling, Shang fired a shot into the air and shouted, "Hurry up! Run!"

The corporal immediately took off running.

Before long, in despair, the demoralized Romanian artillery unit surrendered.

12月14日下午15时45分，罗曼尼亚第22步兵师的一个营（欠一个连）和一个75毫米野战炮兵营大约七八百人全军覆灭。

A few soldiers who managed to escape claimed that their side was ambushed by an "unknown number" of enemies, and that they were forced to surrender because they could not contact their superiors and could not receive reinforcements.

"What if these Romanians rebel..."

Looking at the hundreds of prisoners thronging around him, Cecil Morrow's previously composed demeanor vanished, replaced by a tense expression.

"Don't worry." Shank pointed behind him and said easily, "Didn't you hear that? There aren't many shots from the Mosin-Nagant rifles and Degtyarev light machine guns anymore. Now it's all other gunfire."

“That’s brilliant.” Morel listened intently and pondered, “It sounds like the sound of Bertier’s rifle. Our troops are very close.”

A quarter of an hour later.

Three Panhard four-wheeled armored vehicles drove from the street southwest of the small park and approached after noticing the situation.

Seeing the large, densely packed group of prisoners, the lieutenant leading the group was stunned. "Hey! Did you do this?"

The lieutenant looked incredulous and quickly told everyone to be on guard, fearing that the several hundred people might suddenly riot.

Morrow called out, "I'm from the 1st Armored Car Company, 12th Cuirassier Regiment! You're the 2nd Company? How far is our regiment from here?"

"We're not far off. Our regiment just wiped out an Ivan Ross infantry battalion, and we'll probably be advancing here soon..."

As they were talking, the lieutenant noticed a rather unusual person there—wait, what's this colonel?

After Mr. Shang finished his brief explanation, the lieutenant's incredulous expression grew even more serious.

A few people plus two armored vehicles captured seven or eight hundred Russian prisoners? To be honest, it's just too unbelievable no matter how you look at it.

Shank didn't stand on ceremony with these Mariana people and immediately gave them instructions: "I've been separated for too long and I'm in a hurry to get back. You will be responsible for guarding these prisoners until the main force arrives."

Mauro helped translate and relay the instructions.

The lieutenant hesitated for a moment, but still saluted and accepted the mission.

Then, Shank climbed onto the armored vehicle and pulled Emilia up by the hand.

“Let’s go to the city defense headquarters, which is near the Citibank by the river,” Shank said to Morrow.

The latter was silent for two seconds, then replied speechlessly, "Colonel Shang, my mission is to conduct combat reconnaissance on Romeo Street, not to drive people around."

The former smiled slightly, casually pointed to the large group of prisoners, and said with a smile, "Wouldn't this result count as exceeding the mission target?"

This time, it was Morrow's turn to be speechless.

So the group left the small park in the Panhard eight-wheeled heavy armored vehicle and headed west.

During this time, they first located the badly damaged T-34 and confirmed that it still had enough fuel in its tank to get through the road. Then, they had Corporal Kevin escort the prisoner's communications officer and Berezova drive the T-34 behind the armored vehicle.

To be honest, the roaring sound of the diesel engine was so loud that the people sitting in the armored vehicle had to speak loudly to chat.

Moro asked curiously, "I don't understand, Colonel Shang, how did you survive in enemy-occupied territory after you were separated from your unit?"

“Of course, it’s all about brains.” Shank laughed, then pointed to Emilia beside him and praised, “And excellent warriors too.”

At this moment, inside the armored vehicle, the driver turned around while driving and said, "Moro, I remember Colonel Shang. I recall him being mentioned in the battle briefing."

A word to awaken the dreamer.

Moro suddenly remembered a few passages mentioned in the battle briefing.

She stared intently at Shang, and said with deep emotion, "Sir, so you are the person described in the war briefing."

Oh?
Shank hesitated for a moment, then asked with interest, "Your intelligence on the Mariana Expeditionary Force has been leaked to me?"

"Indeed, there are two direct written records about you, and you are also mentioned indirectly in relation to the urban combat defense deployment in Budapest."

"You've done a thorough job with the intelligence. I never expected to become famous." Shang Ke couldn't help but feel a little smug.

Seeing his reaction, Moro silently complained in her heart, then pretended to be serious and said sarcastically, "After all, very few people personally propose and carry out the destruction of dams."

(End of this chapter)