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

Chapter 125 Don't Ask, If You Do, Just Move Out

After Farmington was attacked, Makarius suddenly realized why he was so uneasy; something had indeed happened that night. However, it seemed that the Zeon had also grown tired of Salt Lake City and were turning to the north to find a new breakthrough. Currently, the 126th Mechanized Brigade stationed there has been fully committed to the battle, and the Federation forces in the rear are also rapidly reinforcing them.

A deafening barrage of artillery fire soon filled the night sky. However, Zeon artillery then joined the chorus, and in order to suppress each other's firepower, both the Federation and Zeon artillery shifted their targets and began counter-battery strikes against each other's positions.

However, this did not alleviate Farmington's dire situation. After deploying a large battalion of mobile soldiers, the Zeon forces pressed forward with two regiments of assault troops, and hundreds of Magella tanks and thousands of infantry were charging toward Farmington.

At this moment, Farmington became a battlefield where tens of thousands of people fought. Like Salt Lake City, the town's buildings were reduced to ruins in a very short time. The Union infantry stationed there were not as brave as the elite troops who dared to fight to the death at close range. Therefore, they could only call for various long-range attacks like sissies whose balls had been pinched.

The Federation forces were indeed getting anxious. If Farmington were breached, the Zeon forces could establish a solid breach along the Rocky Mountains behind them. In such terrain, it would be unrealistic for the Federation forces to try to encircle the area from both sides.

Most importantly, the area behind the mountains is flat and undefended!

Therefore, at this moment, North American Command activated almost every available means. Cheyenne Mountain Base even launched more than a dozen cruise missiles at Farmington to attack the Zeon forces' second-line assembly area. Even the Great Pallet-class ship subsequently joined the bombardment of Farmington.

Salt Lake City is not far from Farmington, so the defenders could see the flashes of light on the horizon, and the artillery fire from both sides even lit up half the sky.

"Can Farmington hold out?"

"I'm afraid not!"

Marcarius listened to the message on the friendly forces' channel and then shook his head.

"The 126th Brigade stationed over there can't hold out any longer, and now the 127th Brigade, which has been urgently dispatched, is in their place, but it looks very risky. The Zeon are also constantly reinforcing their troops; their mobile suits alone have exceeded two hundred!"

No one blames the 126th Brigade for failing to hold the line. Federal troops are also divided into different levels. The 126th Brigade is an ordinary garrison unit with a relatively strong fighting spirit and mediocre equipment. It's already quite good that it has fought this far.

"Are we going to help?"

Looking at the explosions on the horizon, Nagase Hotaru couldn't help but ask Macarius.

"help?"

Makarius looked at the electronic map in his hand, then shook his head.

"They're too far away, we can't help them!"

"However, I have a good idea!"

Seeing the smile on Makarius's face, the pilots who knew him well immediately smiled as well.

"What should we do, boss?"

"Let the third squadron be equipped with Zaku, and we'll raid their hometown!"

Makarius pointed to Granzvi, west of Salt Lake City, with his pen in hand. Although he didn't know what was there, Makarius knew from the intelligence shared by aerial reconnaissance that the Zeon had set up a sizable base there, with a hospital and air defense positions, and at the very least a regimental command post!
He then took his plan, jumped into a jeep, and drove to the command post outside the city. Although the Red Dragon Tactical Brigade was directly under Gabro's command, the theater command was still in the hands of the theater command, so he had to ask the supreme commander for permission first.

"You want to launch a counterattack directly?"

Colonel Taylor was still in the command post looking at documents, with an unfinished sandwich and cold coffee in front of him. The only thing was the ashtray, which was piled high with cigarette butts, some of which were still burning and emitting their last bit of light and heat.

"It's just a small-scale false flag operation. We have a company's worth of captured Zaku, which have already been upgraded with our army's iff system. But the Zeon can't defend against them in the dark of night, not to mention that they are still launching an offensive in the north. So, I'm thinking of launching a short-range assault, which might force some of the enemy at Farmington to retreat, thus relieving some pressure on them!"

After listening to Makarius's report, Taylor couldn't sit still any longer. He quickly got up and paced back and forth in the command post. After walking back and forth dozens of times, he stopped and looked at Makarius.

"No, don't fight a small battle, fight a big one."

Colonel Taylor then walked to the holographic map and pointed to the densely packed troop numbers on it.

"Salt Lake City has amassed so many troops for a counterattack, but the Zeon have maintained their offensive, so the counterattack hasn't been launched yet. But now, it's time to give them a headache!"

"I will have the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions cooperate with you!"

"What about the defense line?!"

"The 29th Division will take over the defense line, and the 101st Division will also be in position by dawn!"

"You have only one order tonight: don't stop until I tell you to. Push along Highway 80 as fast as you can. Don't worry about anything else. I'm giving you all the support firepower from the entire division!"

"understand!"

Markarius then saluted and left. Taylor then quickly drafted a battle plan and summoned the commanders of the various units at the front to prepare for its execution.

When Macarius returned to the front lines, a squadron of disguised Zaku was already in place. These mobile suits had undergone certain modifications in Gabro to be compatible with the Federation's combat system, and their weapons and equipment had also been replaced, with the original 120mm machine guns being replaced with the Federation's standard 100mm caliber guns to reduce logistical maintenance costs.

However, nothing else was improved. After all, if the appearance changed, there would be no point in talking about the so-called "fake flag operation." Moreover, Makarius specifically asked the logistics department to paint the personal markings of the Zeon aces he remembered on these Zaku.

Of course, to make it easier for the Federation Army to identify them, these Zaku mobile suits also had a small star and crescent symbol added to their fuselages. In fact, Makarius really wanted to paint all these mobile suits red and then draw Char's symbol on them to do bad things, but a dozen or so red comets would be too conspicuous, so the plan was abandoned.

As for the difference between these Zaku and the ground-based Zaku, ordinary Zeon soldiers wouldn't be able to tell them apart. Most Zeon soldiers would categorize a single-eyed Zaku as one of their own, so the difference in model doesn't matter.

To coordinate with the Red Dragon Brigade's operations, Makarius contacted his own Rangers who were currently operating on the West Coast. Unexpectedly, the officer in charge was an old friend, Pierce, who had fought alongside Makarius on Zeon's homeland.

"We have captured Zeon uniforms and several cars!"

After learning about Makarius's plan, Pierce readily offered his own ideas, and soon a respectable Zeon squad was assembled on the West Coast.

They were driving three Zeon-style jeeps, and the soldiers inside were all dressed in Zeon military uniforms. Pierce even dressed himself in a Zeon lieutenant colonel's uniform.

This was his spoils of war. During the nighttime infiltration, the Zeon army also sent out elite troops to fight them back. After close-quarters combat, Pierce and the Zeon commander leading the team ran out of rifle bullets at the same time.

Then, the Zeon commander prepared to draw his dagger for a glorious battle between officers, but unexpectedly Pierce pulled out a revolver. After that, Pierce got a complete Zeon lieutenant colonel uniform, but no helmet. Because it was covered in blood and brain matter, he felt disgusted and threw it into the sewer.

"Boss, it looks like tonight's going to be a big operation!"

Soon, the Rangers spotted the giant Cyclops appearing in the night. If they hadn't been in contact beforehand, they would have scattered like birds and beasts long ago; they would never have dared to confront the Zeon mobile suits head-on.

"My older brother is here, how can I be small!"

Pierce looked at the giant steel warrior approaching and felt a pang of envy. He also wanted to equip the Rangers with mobile suits, but considering the nature of their mission, this wish was likely to be dashed.

“How majestic!”

"Yes, I regret it. I'll go back and submit a report to transfer to the Mobile Suit Unit!"

A Ranger, drooling with envy at the Zaku, immediately betrayed his own side, only to be ganged up on and beaten by his own comrades. "Captain Pierce, why are you just standing there watching? Didn't you promise to be a Ranger for life?"

"Then why can't the Rangers fly mobile suits?"

Under the watchful eyes of Pierce's men, the Red Dragon Squadron quickly completed its infiltration of the West Coast and assembled. Because the mission objective had changed, these mobile suits were now bulging with extra ammunition, and the GMs were even carrying extra beam spray guns.

"Pierce!"

"Boss, what are your orders?"

"You will be in charge of clearing the way along the way. The Third Squadron will cooperate with you. Keep hidden as much as possible, and don't leave any survivors unless absolutely necessary!"

"understand!"

Pierce nodded. Leaving no survivors was still quite difficult for ordinary troops to accept, but it was commonplace for the Rangers. In fact, before the Red Dragon Battalion arrived, they had already wiped out several Zeon observation posts. The bodies of those Zeon sentries were still warm!
Pierce and Zaku's squadron then swaggered toward the west side of the city, while Makarius waited five minutes after the troops left before setting off.

As soon as the fake flag squadron left the city, they encountered a Zeon observation post. These soldiers had no idea that their European allies had sent the Federation a large number of intact mobile suits, so when they saw these Zaku appear, they simply went up and questioned them.

Then, while their attention was drawn to the Zaku, the Rangers circled around to the back of the sentries.

Then, some slit their throats, others pulled out silenced pistols, and within seconds, several still-warm corpses lay on the ground.

Then, the main force of Rangers, who had been quietly following the fake flag squadron on both sides, quickly took over the observation posts. They would not participate in the operation, as they would be responsible for providing vigilance to friendly forces later.

After eliminating several observation posts in the same manner, the Fake Flag Company entered the Zeon army's defensive line. Relying on the identification documents and forged documents they had previously looted from the corpses, the Fake Flag Company easily passed the inspection. In fact, the Zeon army did not conduct a serious inspection at all, since there were dozens of unit numbers gathered here, and they could not verify each one.

At that moment, the fake flag squadron just happened to pass by a new convoy delivering supplies to Farmington.

Pierce forcibly suppressed the urge to fire a burst of bullets at the unsuspecting vehicles and continued advancing with the fake flag squadron, stopping after entering the second line of defense.

At this moment, Makarius and his men also approached the Zeon army's defensive positions.

"There are Federation mobile suits!"

Faced with the undisguised Gundam and GM, the Zeon forces quickly went into battle mode. Then, just as the field commander was about to relay the battle situation to the rear command, a series of loud noises came from outside his command post.

Then, the commander's vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness.

Having already entered the position, Pierce and his men used revolver grenade launchers to blow up the field tent where the command post was located. At the same time, the Zaku of the Fake Flag Squadron launched a sneak attack on the Zeon mobile suits from behind.

"Damn it, why are you attacking your own people?"

Amid the Zeon pilots' resentful questioning, one ground-based Zaku after another either perished from a barrage of bullets from behind or were cleaved through the heart by thermal axes, all they received in return was the Federation pilots' cackling laughter.

A squadron of mobile soldiers turning on their comrades at close range is no joke; it turned the entire garrison near the highway into a complete mess. In the pitch-black night, they couldn't even distinguish between Zaku and Zaku.

The fake flag squadron doesn't need to worry about these things. All friendly forces are marked with green iff icons on the monitors, so they only need to eliminate all targets without icons.

Amid the chaos, the remaining forces of the Red Dragon Squad attacked from the front.

Makarius's Gundam took the lead, and equipped with a beam rifle, he wouldn't even spare an infantry fighting vehicle, let alone the Magella tanks and other equipment.

After tearing apart the Zeon resistance, the Red Dragon Battalion quickly continued westward along Highway 80 until it reached the T-junction leading to Granzvi before turning back.

At that moment, the headquarters of the 1st Brigade of the 2nd Division of the Zeon Army in Granzvi received intelligence that the front-line positions had been attacked.

The newly appointed brigade commander was even wearing his pajamas. Because the First Brigade had suffered considerable losses in previous battles and had lost its command post and a number of senior officers, the First Brigade was given a reserve commander from Zeon.

The latter was not yet used to Earth's environment or jet lag, so when he received the intelligence, he was still leisurely pouring coffee.

"What did you say? What do you mean by the defense line being out of contact?"

The commander was stunned for a moment until the scalding coffee overflowed the cup, burning him and making him scream, before he came to his senses.

"I will send reinforcements immediately. You must find out the details..."

Before he could finish speaking, a beam of light suddenly shot out from afar, setting a large number of tents ablaze before blasting the air defense radar located outside the command center into the sky.

Immediately following were a series of explosions and towering flames.

The brigade commander, carrying a communicator, stepped out of the command post and immediately saw a red and white mobile suit emerging from the rising smoke in the distance, illuminated by raging flames. The suit was armed with a beam rifle in one hand and a beam saber in the other.

Two Tigers, which were guarding the brigade command post, launched an attack on the other side. However, the other side only needed one shot and one knife to turn the two Tigers, which were considered as trump cards, into scrap metal. Looking at the Tigers with huge holes in their chests and cut in half from the waist, the commander suddenly felt that the other side was as if they had just kicked two dogs on the roadside to death.

"Is this... a Gundam?"

"Sir, you need to evacuate from here!"

The staff officers at the brigade command rushed forward like madmen, trying to pull the commander away, but Makarius had already seen the dense array of antennas and the equipment vehicles operating outside. He raised his beam rifle, pulled the trigger at the tent, and then finished it off with a grenade from his right arm, blowing the command post into the air once again.

"Destroy this place, leave no room for retreat!"

Subsequently, the entire Red Dragon Squadron, like a harvester, lined up along the city and began indiscriminately attacking Zeon targets on the ground.

The GM, equipped with a 240mm shoulder cannon, has now become a demolition crew. Wherever there is resistance, the heavy artillery is fired. Most of the Zeon mobile suits stationed here are currently in a state of readiness, and the only weapon they can use is the heat axe that they always carry with them.

But when these Zaku launched their fierce charge, they were met with beam spray guns that had been emitting energy.

The purple beam was unavoidable and easily shattered the Zaku's armor at close range. Even if the Tiger used an electric whip to restrain the weapon, these pilots would simply release the spray gun and take out the MG79 from their thighs.

"Oh, a tanker truck! Smash it!"

"Burn up the ammunition depot!"

After occupying the area, the Zeon army painstakingly established extremely strict field camps, but now, all of this has suddenly collapsed under the roar of steel.

Ammunition depots, oil depots, and barracks became targets of heavy firepower, turning into infernos one by one. The Zeon field airfield in the corner was no exception; several transport planes and fighter jets were attempting to climb away from the area, but were precisely targeted and killed by Makarius while still gliding.

"Sir, something's happened! Our rear positions have been attacked by Federation mobile forces, and the 1st Brigade has been completely cut off!"

　The previous chapter had the data for the War Crab and the High War Crab mixed up. The War Crab is 18 meters long, and the High War Crab is 15 meters long. Thank you for pointing this out, dear reader.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)