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

Chapter 176 The Moment of Victory
After the defenders learned the truth about their abandonment, the liberation of Baikonur was only a matter of time.

With their fighting spirit and courage gone, the Zeon forces were forced into retreat by the Federation forces' rapid offensive. In just a day and a half, the entire outer defense line of Baikonur Base was under the control of the Federation forces. Several elite units, like the Red Dragon battle group, had even penetrated deep into the base and driven wedges into the Zeon defense line.

Meanwhile, the Zeon forces were unable to muster enough strength for a counterattack. Their elite mobile suit reserves had all been wiped out by the Red Dragon Battle Group, and a large number of their troops had been systematically annihilated by the Federation forces on the outer defense lines. Now, the Zeon troops trapped in the core area of ​​the base were even forced to cram their logistics staff, cooks, engineers, maintenance technicians, and other personnel into the infantry units to fill the gaps in the defense lines.

However, the addition of these non-professional infantrymen did not alleviate the problem of insufficient strength of the Zeon garrison. On the contrary, because these men did not have the skills to fight infantry, they suffered heavy casualties under the fire of the Federation army, thus creating a vicious cycle.

Due to manpower shortages, logistics personnel were forced to fill the front-line positions. However, these logistics personnel lacked sufficient skills to cope with the fierce firepower of the Federation forces, resulting in heavy casualties and further exacerbating the manpower shortage.

Despite the positions falling minute by minute, the Zeon troops holding the position showed no sign of surrendering. Like mindless zombies, they mechanically continued to fight the attacking Federation forces in makeshift foxholes, bombed-to-the-ruins buildings, and even in the wilderness, until their bodies were completely annihilated.

When the Federation forces advanced to the core area of ​​the base, they even encountered Zeon child soldiers wearing ill-fitting, baggy uniforms and carrying submachine guns with only one magazine or a rocket launcher.

Led by a few Zeon officers or sergeants in dress uniforms waving battle flags, these child soldiers surged out of the ruins in waves and launched suicidal, rapid attacks on the Federation forces.

Initially, the Union soldiers were trying to subdue these children, who were not even ten years old. However, after being attacked by these child soldiers' suicide grenades, which caused casualties among their own troops, the Union frontline commanders immediately abandoned the idea of ​​rescuing the children.

They immediately called in Flying Ray bombers carrying heavy bunker-buster bombs to conduct a precision strike on the ruins where the child soldiers had appeared. After several heavy bunker-buster bombs landed, the ruins even collapsed, eventually turning into a large crater with a diameter of more than 100 meters and a depth of nearly 30 meters.

As for whether anyone still exists below, no one knows. In any case, more than 600,000 people were listed as missing persons on the post-war Zeon military personnel list, and the information on those child soldiers was destroyed, leaving only a few words.

This wave of bunker buster bombs was just the appetizer. After seeing that the remaining core area was nothing but endless ruins, the Federation forces stopped advancing and began to call in the air force in one fell swoop.

Seven air squadrons from more than a dozen air bases in Central Asia launched nearly 4,000 bomber sorties in a single day, dropping thousands of heavy bunker-buster bombs on the last remaining Zeon positions.

When the bombing ended and the Federation forces resumed their offensive, they eventually found over a thousand Zeon prisoners on the devastated battlefield. Most of these prisoners were so shaken by the bombing that they were in a state of delirium, much like severely mentally ill patients.
As for the other Zeon forces, they were buried forever under the ruins.

"Finally, we've won!"

At 7:30 a.m. on August 8, Rebil received a report from the front-line troops that every inch of Baikonur Base had been returned to the Federation.

Upon seeing the news, Santa Claus couldn't help but sigh. The war had started in March and continued until August, turning most of North America and Central Asia into a tug-of-war between the two sides. Although the Federation forces had achieved the final victory, the casualties were still considerable, especially in the early stages when there was a shortage of mobile suits. The Federation forces had to fight against Zeon's mobile suits with their own flesh and blood.

More than two-thirds of the Federation Forces' losses were incurred during this phase, and the Zeon forces, as the attacking side, fared no better. The foundation of the Zeon Defense Force, established since Zeon's independence, was directly severed, and even its roots were completely uprooted. Dejinzabi's past investments in defense and military affairs were essentially wasted, with the five army divisions and two attached corps-level air squadrons that attacked Earth being completely annihilated.

Zeon is now truly without any soldiers to fight. It may even be able to abolish the so-called army as a branch of the military altogether, and the famous officer academy can be completely shut down, because the three graduating classes from 75 to 78 were basically all on the list of the dead.

"Damn, it's finally over!"

When a military flag, scorched by smoke and riddled with bullet holes, was planted at the highest point of the Baikonur base, all the Federation troops erupted in cheers.

The surviving soldiers and junior officers cheered wildly, hugging their comrades and laughing and crying. The senior officers, on the other hand, maintained their composure, but their trembling hands holding cigarettes revealed their state of mind.

The Red Dragons were naturally celebrating wildly, with a few audacious individuals even firing their beam rifles at the sky like fireworks.

Some clever guys, caught up in the celebration, went to hug the female soldiers around them, because these female soldiers were also in high spirits and would happily give kisses to every Federation soldier around them, whether they knew them or not.

Amuro was the first to do this, taking the opportunity to hug all the female technicians in the combat group's maintenance team, leaving his face covered in lipstick marks from these aunties and older sisters.

Then, he excitedly ran to Makarius to show off, and then saw Nagase Hotaru clinging to Makarius like a sloth, kissing him endlessly.

So Amuro could only leave dejectedly. Although many more people kissed him, not a single one offered him any saliva, which made Amuro sigh.

"If Lieutenant Matilda were here too!"

Of course, he wasn't the only one who was saddened. Lieutenant Shiro Amada hadn't returned to his unit because of his previous mission piloting the Apsaras, so when the news of the victory came, he couldn't wait to share it with Aina. But just as the two were about to embrace, a ruthless hand grabbed Aina, and then Shiro Amada ended up hugging Norris, who had a serious expression on his face.

Seeing Norris's fierce expression and his pitiful look, Aina could only wink at him and mouth her feelings.

This made Amada Shirou quite happy, especially when he saw that the other person seemed to be saying something to him. When Aina mouthed the words, she held up three fingers, and Amada Shirou immediately imagined it as "see you at three o'clock tonight," which made him even happier.

Of course, the happiest person in the Federation has to be Gop at the Gabro base, because in some ways, he is the busiest person in this war!
As the chief steward of the Federation forces, Gop and his directly subordinate Media strategic transport fleet made invaluable contributions during the war. No matter where the Federation troops were, whether in the scorching deserts or frigid snowfields, their necessary supplies always arrived on time. Federation troops didn't need to worry about ammunition depletion during attacks, and even if they retreated, their regrouping points would be ready to replenish their losses. With Gop, the soldiers on the front lines only needed to fight bravely, while the commanders in the rear had much more to consider—a statement that was practically flawless, especially for Macarius. The Red Dragons fought across the land, always traveling on Media aircraft; all Macarius had to do was choose a target, and the fleet would deliver his entire force.

Now that Earth is fully liberated, Gop's workload can be reduced somewhat, at least he will no longer have to rack his brains to meet the huge consumption of millions of troops during the campaign.

How could this not make him happy? He had been so busy with the daily needs of millions of troops on the front lines that he didn't even have time to have a proper lunch or a good nap. He often worked overtime until late at night. But now things were different. As for the subsequent space battles and Luna II, it could take on a lot of work for him. He could even find some time to go out fishing or play chess.

As for the Federal Parliament, it is currently putting all its effort into publicizing its glorious victory throughout the entire Earth Sphere. Even in a corner of Side 3, long-range buoy signals from the Federation can be received.

Even if they heard the news, the Zeon listeners dared not spread it around, as listening to enemy radio during wartime was strictly prohibited.

Of course, the Zabi family elders at the top of Zeon society don't need to worry about this at all. They can even set up dozens of machines to listen to and watch various Federation programs 24 hours a day.

It's just that they might not be able to laugh as loudly as the Federation people!

Dejinzabi, for one, was definitely not laughing.

The loss of his most beloved youngest son was a great blow to the old man, so much so that when he heard the news of the complete annihilation of the Earth Army, he did not even fly into a rage, but simply said, "I know."

Looking at his dejected father, Kilian sneered and then asked.

"Your Highness, we should be holding a grand state funeral for Karma now!"

Deakin didn't speak, but simply raised his head and looked at Kihren's performance with a cold gaze.

"He was, after all, our brother, and he sacrificed himself for the great cause of the Zabi family. We have every reason to let the whole country witness the passing of such a hero!"

Kiran spoke with such sincerity that he even rubbed his eyes as if he were truly saddened and about to cry, which made Kycilia feel disgusted.

Only Dozle, sitting on the very edge, frowned deeply. He no longer had time to grieve for Karma's departure, because after consuming the Zeon forces on Earth, the next target of the Federation's attack would be his Solomon Fortress. This space fortress was the gateway to Zeon, and once it fell, Zeon would only have Abaoakong as its sole barrier.

Thinking about what the Zeon army had done on Earth, Dozle didn't even dare to think about how to retaliate after the Federation army invaded Zeon's homeland. He had absolutely no confidence in the Federation army's discipline!

"Kihlen, he's your brother!"

After Gihren launched into a long speech, Deakin spoke to Gihren in an almost pleading tone.

“That’s right, Your Highness. Karma was my brother, but he was also a hero of Zeon, our pride. His passing is also a great opportunity for us to inspire our people!”

Kilian didn't take his father's pleas to heart. He only wanted to seize the opportunity after his brother's death to exploit the other party's popularity. Nothing could mobilize the people's fighting spirit better than a heroic funeral, so he would never give up this opportunity!
Of course, for Gihren, the most regrettable thing was that it was Karma who died, not Kycilia!

After all, Kycilia was a much tougher opponent for him than Karma.

Although Gihren's request sounded like it was waiting for Deakin to make the decision, in reality, he had already made up his mind to do it. Deakin didn't even have the possibility of refusing. After Karma's death, he was already disheartened and had been completely stripped of his power by Gihren. It could be said that at this moment, even his personal freedom was in question.

After receiving Dekin's "affirmation," the Führer's Guard in Zeon immediately sprang into action and completed preparations for Kalma's funeral in a very short time.

The most ridiculous thing is that at this nobleman's funeral, only his clothes were left; his body had been burned to ashes by the beam saber, and Zeon had no way to collect Karma's body even if he wanted to.

Then, on the day of the state funeral, hundreds of thousands of Zeon citizens once again flooded the streets, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to prepare to send off this nobleman.

When Kalmar's empty coffin arrived at the cemetery through the street, Kirian began his speech as usual.

"We have lost a hero! But does this mean our defeat? No! The war has only just begun! On Earth, our forces, after inflicting heavy losses on the Federation, have safely withdrawn into space, and we will achieve even more victories in the future..."

"Kihren, you're a madman!"

Sitting behind Gihren, Dejin was at a loss for words. The tragic loss of millions of people was being touted as a magnificent victory by the enemy. If such a victory were to come a few more times, would Zeon still be able to exist?
(End of this chapter)