Why would I join the army if I can’t drive a Gundam!

Chapter 109: Battle of Baikonur (Part )

"team leader?"

Jim's sneak attack really gave the Zeon pilot a big surprise. At close range, the accuracy of the beam gun is even better than that of the beam rifle.

Captain Zaku's body was directly sprayed through, and the attack position was the opponent's cockpit.

Then, the machine holding the axe staggered and fell, leaving only the last Zaku being besieged by the other two GMs.

"Damn it! I'm going to fight you!"

The death of his two teammates plunged the Zaku pilot into despair. Afterwards, he picked up the thermal axe and used his indomitable momentum to chop the two GMs back continuously.

"What are you doing?"

Captain Jim was furious when he saw his two teammates being beaten by Zaku. Although pilot Jim lacked combat experience, the two of them were now in a two-on-one situation.

"Shoot!"

"He's entangled with Unit 2, I can't open fire!"

"call out!"

Captain Jim immediately raised his blowtorch, seized the opportunity, and blew up the Zaku's head monitor.

Without the main camera, Zaku's attack rhythm immediately became chaotic, which gave Jim, who was fighting with him, a good opportunity to attack.

The latter used his shield to knock away the swinging axe, and then chopped off Zaku's arm with one blow.

Then, the third GM rushed forward, stepped on the back of Zaku, and kicked it to the ground.

"Zeon pilots, surrender immediately!"

Captain Jim turned on the external voice, picked up the beam saber he had dropped, restarted the power, and moved the hot particle beam towards the cockpit little by little.

Then, the Zeon pilot, his face covered in blood, crawled out in a panic. If possible, he hoped to be shot dead by the enemy without feeling any pain, rather than being roasted into charcoal bit by bit by the beam saber.

Afterwards, the pilot was stripped of his clothes and tied up in the carriage.

"Is this okay for you two?"

Captain Jim said to the truck driver.

"This can only be counted as one!"

The conductor looked disdainful.

"The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force can all fly mobile suits, but when have you ever seen them fly a fighter jet?"

Although the aerial battle between the Federation and Zeon forces ended in a draw due to the continuous reinforcements from both sides, the Federation won a great victory in the search and rescue operation for the pilots.

The lightly armed troops dispatched from the base almost successfully rescued all of their own pilots and captured dozens of Zeon pilots. During this period, the search and rescue forces of both sides exchanged fire many times. Although the Federation Army also lost more than ten trucks and crews, it replaced three Zakus and almost the same number of Weasel armored vehicles of the Zeon Army.

This result naturally made the commander of the 1st Division furious, but there was nothing he could do. After all, the Zeon army was unfamiliar with the local environment, so it was normal for it to act a step slower than the Federation Army.

"Gentlemen, we don't have time to get acquainted!"

"Enemy reinforcements are on the way, we must attack immediately!"

"But the Air Force failed to gain air superiority..."

"By the time they gain air superiority, the Federation tanks will be in front of you!"

The division commander, Major General Yuri Kellern, looked at his men in front of him and then spoke slowly.

"Starting tonight, no matter the cost, we must take down Baikonur's outer defenses!"

"First, take Hill 296 on the periphery!"

The so-called Hill 296 refers to a hill outside the Baikonur base. It is the only commanding height near the Baikonur base. Although it cannot overlook the entire base, it can still see many facilities inside the base.

The so-called 296 refers to the altitude of this highland. As for its original name, almost no one remembers it now that most of the locals have disappeared.

That night, on Hill 296, most of the only company of federal defenders had fallen asleep peacefully, and only a few sentries were still squatting vigilantly at their battle positions.

They wore camouflage cloaks and hid in permanent fortifications, with various monitoring equipment in front of them. Using these equipment, they could observe all movements within a radius of five kilometers. Even if a rabbit ran by, it would be clearly seen by the thermal imaging.

If an enemy wants to approach under the cover of night, all it takes is a phone call, and the artillery units on standby in the base can fire shells over the enemy's heads within five minutes.

As for the sneak attack, that was also difficult. They had to first deal with various arrangements on the periphery, including sensors, minefields, etc. Although the Zeon army had bombarded the outer minefields with artillery fire for a whole day, after nightfall, the base defenders used mine-laying rockets to re-fill those areas with mines.

"It should be peaceful tonight!"

Behind the monitor, a fully armed non-commissioned officer couldn't help but yawn. It was already 2:4 in the morning. Friends who have stood guard know that posts to are the most difficult, so the non-commissioned officer felt a little uncomfortable at this moment.

"That's right. The Zeons shouldn't be so stubborn as to want to attack immediately, right?"

As soon as his companion finished speaking, unknown noise began to appear on the monitor.

"Rice grain interference!"

“Sound the alarm!”

They were not the only ones who noticed that something was wrong. When the Zeon army began to scatter rice grains to interfere with the Federation Army's long-range detection equipment, the radar department had already sounded the combat alert.

The pilots on standby quickly rushed out of the duty room and headed towards the hangar.

After the appearance of rice grains, the rules of war have changed significantly. In the past, radar would detect the enemy before attacking, but now, the attack will be launched only when the enemy cannot be detected. There is no way around it. This is the characteristic of Minovsky particles. If rice grains appear in an area for no reason, then there must be a problem!
And when the federal army sounded the alarm, fierce artillery fire roared from the other side of the horizon.

The Zeon army also knew that spreading rice grains was like covering one's ears and stealing a bell, but it was better to conceal one's whereabouts than to be careless.

The entire First Division concentrated all its artillery and Majla tanks, and even many Zakus were gathered together, holding modified rocket launchers and firing ammunition into the sky.

On the east side of the base, the defense area mainly managed by the 90th Armored Division of the Federal Army was suddenly engulfed in flames. The Zeon army attacked not only the outer minefields, but also various facilities inside the base, including ammunition depots, barracks, etc.

These were taken by the Zeon air force during the daytime air battle.

However, the shelling was generally ineffective. The Baikonur base was also painstakingly built by the federal army. Most of the important facilities were underground, so there was no major damage even if the surface was uncovered. During the shelling, except for several Jims whose exposed displays were damaged by shrapnel, the federal army suffered minimal losses, with only less than double-digit casualties.

Not long after the shelling began, a large number of Dopp fighter jets arrived above the base and began to attack the defense line. Then, the base's air defense firepower quickly retaliated. Anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missiles roared, making the entire sky as bright as day.

At the same time, on Hill 269, the Federation Army's observation post also saw the rapidly approaching Zeon Army on the horizon.

The Zeon 3rd Brigade, responsible for the attack, deployed more than one hundred mobile suits, hundreds of tanks, and hundreds of armored vehicles at once, which was half of the entire brigade's combat equipment. Obviously, the annihilation of the 1st Brigade gave the Zeon army a great psychological shock.

"Coordinates confirmed, effective firing!"

There are not many federal troops on the high ground, because the high ground cannot deploy too many troops, even one company is a bit crowded, but because of the geographical advantage, they can mobilize the defensive artillery of the entire base at will.

So, when the Zeon army began to attack, the first to launch a ground counterattack were naturally the artillerymen!
"Damn it, Zaku is running too fast!"

The Federation Army fire dispatcher who was leading the attack could only beat his chest and stamp his feet in anger as he watched the mobile suits that had left the troops behind them far behind. All the artillery firepower hit the heads of the Zeon Army's tanks and armored vehicles, but those burly Cyclops were almost unharmed.

Although they did not spray at full speed like they did when they were chasing the armored vehicles, they were still jogging at this moment, with each step covering dozens of meters. In just a few minutes, the Zakus had approached the minefield and entered the sight of the base defenders.

"Open fire!" The tanks, mobile suits, and even other firepower such as missiles hidden under the bunker began to roar. Under the dense barrage of bullets, more than ten Zakus rushing in the front fell down without a sound.

The Zeon army also retaliated against the exposed firing points.

After an M61A5 tank adjusted its fire control parameters towards the enemy several thousand meters away, it immediately began to fire at full speed. The 155mm armor-piercing shells whizzed towards the machines and successfully killed an unsuspecting Zaku, piercing through its abdomen.

When the Zaku was hit and fell down due to loss of control, the location of the Type 61 tank was discovered and marked by the Zaku's fire control device.

Then, a Zaku behind him picked up the 280mm rocket launcher on its shoulder and fired a shot.

This Type 61 was directly penetrated by the armor-piercing jet, and the jet even detonated the ammunition in the loader. With a bang, the head of the Type 61 flew into the sky with a roar.

Not only the 280mm rocket launcher, but also the 120mm machine gun that fires low-speed multi-purpose grenades poses a great threat to the top armor of the Type 61 tank. The shells can easily blow up the top armor of the tank. The Type 155 equipped with a 61mm tank gun can only be said to have finally gained the ability to fight back, but it is still a little short of competing with the more flexible mobile suits.

Even with the cover, the 90th Armored Division still lost nearly thirty Type 61 tanks in a short period of time.

The 90th Division's mobile suit units also suffered losses. A considerable number of the Zeon pilots were veterans trained by Loum. They had excellent marksmanship and could maintain a good hit rate even at a distance of two thousand meters.

Although it is difficult for Jim to effectively attack the cockpit by firing while hiding behind cover, destroying Jim's head monitor can also reduce the combat effectiveness of these equipment.

As a result, many Federation pilots could only maneuver with difficulty, and the fire suppression effect they imposed on the Zeon army immediately weakened.

Then, more than ten Zaku tanks and armored vehicles that barely caught up with them launched an attack on Hill 26.

"Hunter team, take your positions!"

Because it was impossible to place any heavy equipment on the high ground, the only weapon the defenders could use to attack the Zaku was the Queen wire-guided missile. The entire company deployed twelve launchers in squads on the top of the mountain, waiting for this moment.

"Machine gun crew!"

The company commander watched as Zeon's Weasel armored vehicles dropped off their infantry at the foot of the mountain and immediately blew a whistle.

Then, at the hidden firepower point on the top of the mountain, the M299 light machine gun began to roar, and bullets splashed towards the foot of the mountain, immediately mowing down a group of Zeon soldiers.

These Zeon infantrymen were not as experienced as the mobile suit troops. Many of them only spent three months in the training camp before going straight to the battlefield. Chaos was inevitable because the non-commissioned officers who were supposed to organize them were also inexperienced.

After getting off the car, a Zeon officer eager to achieve great things roared.

"Long live Zeon!"

Then he took the lead and rushed towards the top of the mountain.

The infantry behind them, who were supposed to organize the attacking formation, straightened their backs and formed a dense formation and rushed forward.

So, unsurprisingly, these people were shot down to the ground one by one by the machine guns like wheat.

"Cover the infantry!"

The mobile suits reacted quickly and fired their machine guns at the top of the hill, but they forgot that there were Zeon infantry under their feet.

As a result, the 120mm shells flying from a height of more than ten meters successfully hit some unlucky people.

"Scatter, scatter, stay away from the mobile suits!"

The Zeon officer, who finally came to his senses, could only roar and pull up the soldiers who were lying on the ground and dared not move one by one, and then kick them hard on the buttocks with his military boots to make them stay away from the Zaku.

"Forward, forward, everyone, get up and keep moving forward in skirmish formation!"

On the high ground, the machine gunners of the Federation Army rolled back to their bunkers covered in dust. They were responsible for luring the enemy, and they would retreat immediately after firing a chain of ammunition from their machine guns, because the Zaku's shells would cover their position next.

While the Zaku was busy clearing these firepower points, the anti-tank firepower points called the Hunter Group bared their fangs towards the Zaku.

"One, Two, Launch!"

The twelve launchers were divided into three groups, as stated in Macharius's manual. The two launchers in each group opened fire first. Due to the initial velocity of the missiles, most Zeon pilots would subconsciously jump to avoid them.

The remaining two launchers are used to make finishing blows at moments like this. It is even more difficult for a Zaku in the air to dodge the incoming wire-controlled missiles.

Following the commander's order, the gunners at the two hidden launchers aimed their sights at the Zaku below and pressed the button.

With a puff, a huge missile popped out from the launch tube.

The missile first fell, then flew rapidly forward. After it was out of a safe distance, the tail fins unfolded and the engine began to ignite. At the rear of the missile body, there was a fiber optic wire.

This thing is the weapon that can best restrain Mi Li, because the signal for controlling the missile is transmitted through optical fiber, and there is no need to worry about interference from Mi Li at all.

"Missiles incoming, get out of the way!"

The Queen's flight made quite a noise, and the Zeon pilots could see it with just a glance. Then, the Zaku at the front subconsciously activated a jet jump and soared into the air.

"Number three, number four, launch!"

The anti-tank team on standby was waiting for this, and then two missiles were fired again. The members of the first and second teams immediately cut off the line and began to move the launch device when the opponent took off.

The Zaku jumped into the air and could only watch the missile roaring and hitting him. Then, the explosion blew the Zaku back to the ground from the sky.
The heavy explosives blew the fuselage into pieces, and fragments of hands and feet fell down with a crackling sound.

"I saw their location!"

A Zaku at the rear turned its gun and was about to fire at the launch team's position, and then two missiles took off from the position. The pilot could only pull the trigger randomly and then control the body to jump sideways, but just as he was about to land, the third and fourth missiles appeared again.

He was lucky this time, as only half of the Zaku's leg was blown off, so his machine rolled down and knocked down another friendly machine.

"What are the infantry doing? Come on!"

The two machines were blown up, causing the Zaku pilots to shrink their necks. Due to the angle, it was difficult for their firepower to directly hit the Federal Army's firepower points in the bunker. They could only suppress them randomly with machine guns, hoping that the infantry could arrive in time.

Under the spur of their commander, the Zeon infantrymen began to attack the hill little by little. At this moment, they finally remembered what they had learned in the training camp: smoke cover and advance in groups in turns. Although they were not very skilled, they at least knew how to use it.

"HQ, this is the observation point, requesting a dangerous range strike, covering the coordinates, high-angle airburst attack!"

The federal commander on the hilltop whistled again, ordering all his men to take shelter in the permanent fortifications. He called on the artillery to carry out an air-blast attack on the enemy close to the position.

Then, when the Zeon infantry was about to reach the high ground, a roar of thunder exploded above their heads.

The air-burst ammunition was loaded with a large number of steel balls, coupled with countless fragments, which instantly exploded into a bloody mist on the top of the mountain. These were caused by the Zeon soldiers being torn to pieces by the artillery fire.

The shells exploding overhead had nowhere to escape. Dense steel balls and fragments spread violently and evenly below the center of the explosion. After the rapid and intensive bombardment, the already sparse vegetation on the high ground was gone, and the ground was covered with a layer of yellow loose soil mixed with pink.

But of the dozens of Zeon soldiers who had been here just now, nothing was left, and occasionally pieces of blood-stained cloth could be seen floating from the ground.

After the air-blast attack on the high ground, the federal artillery quickly shifted its firepower toward the foot of the mountain.

The Zeon army was forced to scatter and flee.

At this time, the air force troops coming from the rear air base had also arrived above the airspace and began to fight with the Dopp fighter jets.

The Ray bombers further behind began to unceremoniously drop aerial bombs on the Zeon forces.

"Order the troops to retreat!"

(End of this chapter)