Gundam: From Piece to Player

Also, to better reflect actual combat.

Starting in January of this year, the attacking party will begin dispersing Minovsky particles.

At that time, communication networks will be severely disrupted, and troop operations will tend to be fragmented, often resulting in MS units finding gaps in the melee and defeating them one by one.

"Sergeant, have they dispersed Minovsky particles?" Song Ren asked the communications officer inside the vehicle.

"not yet."

"Activate ground radar and C4ISR (Comprehensive Military Information) system."

Although he didn't know what the other party was up to, since they weren't using Minovsky particles, he was about to make his move.

Once the radar had pinpointed the enemy's approximate location, Song Ren issued the order: "Provide artillery cover for the enemy command post, then conceal yourselves and close the engagement distance."

More than 40 twin-mounted 155mm cannons roared and fired at a location 4 kilometers away, while their chassis, powered by engines, began to maintain their maneuverability, because even without the Minovsky particles dispersing, their positions would be detected by radar.

As expected, before the effects of the artillery strikes could be confirmed, Song Ren's original tank bunker position was smeared with various exercise fuel bombs.

All the fortifications suffered a wave of attacks.

"Major, the enemy command post has been destroyed by our side, but the radar shows that the heat source of the signal has not decreased, indicating that it disengaged during the attack."

The command post is probably empty.

"Minovsky particle concentration?"

"Still 0, the other party has not yet spread the word."

Having never encountered this situation before, Song Ren, as a tank instructor, knew what it meant: it was a provocation, but also his chance to win.

MS was able to defeat the tank because of the Minovsky particle distribution.

If the Minovsky particles stopped spreading, could the tank defeat the MS?

No one has ever done such a test before.

Although this is a suppression battle, as the defender, Song Ren can theoretically win as long as his troops survive for more than one hour, and he can also gain the advantage of defeating the opponent in the training battle.

...Perhaps he could gain fame and a promotion opportunity by doing so?

However, if they were to launch a direct confrontation, the outcome would be difficult to predict.

Song Ren opened the deck at the top of the turret and threw the wine bottle out. The strong wind generated by the colony's weather system blew on his face. He thought of the student he had painstakingly nurtured, who gave up further studies because MS had a better future.

High above the colony, a gray, horned Bug floated in the air, achieving flight in a low-gravity region thanks to an experimental flight pack mounted behind it.

Besides the custom-designed cockpit, this Bugu is equipped with a learning computer, high-sensitivity optical equipment for sniping, and hardware that allows Alice to perform calculations... Judging from the amount of equipment used, it can hardly be considered a mass-produced machine.

On his control panel, there was a bracket to hold the "Alice" terminal in place, and Alice's image seemed to float in the air.

"Brother, what choice would Major Song Ren make for you to approve of him?"

“I acknowledge his determination to take the initiative and meet the challenge head-on.”

"What if he attacks, and you still defeat him?"

"That just means he's a tank instructor with lofty ambitions but no real ability."

Karma smiled, stepped on the gas, and Bug swooped down like a hawk, quickly locking onto a Type 61 tank speeding through the street. He fired a preemptive shot, a paintball landing on the turret top like bird droppings, rendering it useless "scrap metal." The exercise program's damage assessment device immediately locked the engine and firing mechanism.

"It seems he has passed the first step of the test." As Karma spoke, he turned on the radio system, which was free from any interference. "All MS units, freely destroy the target. Without Minovsky particles, the enemy's artillery fire is very accurate."

"Received." A unanimous reply came from each MS unit.

Meanwhile, Song Ren was also listening to reports from the various train crews below.

"Number 15 has remained silent."

"Numbers 16 and 17 are assigned to Commander 12 and are to go into hiding in the city. The enemy will use a top assault tactic."

"Received." A cheerful response came from the other end of the radio, and compared to his usual perfunctory tone, Song Ren was now fully alert.

"2nd Squadron, you are responsible for acting as bait, luring the enemy in the open parking lot, and making good use of the smoke. 1st Squadron and 3rd Squadron, you go to the residential area on the mountaintop and control the high ground, as the enemy mobile suits may attempt to break through by jumping. 4th Squadron, you are the reserve force, responsible for covering 1st Squadron and 3rd Squadron."

Song Ren chose a terrain that slopes from north to south as the location for the battle.

The hilltop residential area to the north is riddled with bunkers, making it difficult for a mobile suit standing 18 meters tall to launch a proper assault. Instead, it could be ambushed by a tank that suddenly crashes into a residential building through a tunnel.

The flat parking lot to the south was a conspicuous decoy, with only a few ruins and abandoned vehicles as cover. The second squadron, with the best driving skills, was responsible for acting as the decoy.

By utilizing the tank's mobility and its own smoke device, the tank can attract the attention of the MS forces. When the MS forces attempt to attack the Second Squadron, they will expose their flanks to the ambushing fire positions on the hilltop.

When it was first introduced, the most commendable feature of the Type 61 tank was not its armor-piercing capabilities, but its C4ISR system. The Type 61 tank's firing accuracy was virtually perfect within a 3km range, without the interference of Minovsky particles.

After receiving orders from Kalmar, the MS units of the 101st Division began to pursue the tank units of the Training Regiment.

The 1st MS squadron, which was in the lead, saw signs of more than a dozen Type 61 tanks moving near the parking lot. They instinctively jumped up and carried out a top assault operation according to the tank attack manual.

In an instant, the dozen or so firing positions on the mountaintop lit up, and the first squadron to climb was almost completely wiped out, their bodies covered in colorful graffiti within 5 minutes.

"All units, suspend attacks."

Karma piloted her aircraft and swooped down from the colony toward this area, while the armored anti-aircraft vehicles on the ground scattered colorful "black clouds" in the air.

Faced with this type of air-to-air close-range explosive, Alice assisted him in piloting the aircraft to change direction and speed multiple times in the air, dodging the enemy computer's linear, average speed predictive attack, and at the same time roughly testing the distribution of the enemy's firepower points on the mountaintop.

He quickly understood Song Ren's plan: a bait at the foot of the mountain and two firing positions above the mountain.

With the north being higher and the south lower, the three points echo and cooperate with each other, and there should still be a reserve force.

In terms of tank warfare, it's a textbook example of armored defense utilizing the terrain. Coupled with precise fire control and the tank's inherent stealth, no matter how mobile suits are used, it will take considerable casualties to clear this area.

An entire MS squadron has been wiped out; if he tries to charge again, he'll just become a laughingstock.

"Activate Minovsky Particle Dispersion," Kalmar gave the final order. "The battle will be over in 10 minutes."

Chapter 26 The Real Victor

At Kalmar's command, the yellow engineer-type Zakus waiting nearby began to carry the Minovsky particle base station to the rear, and the dispersal device was activated with the hum of the motors on them.

Two minutes later, surrounding electromagnetic wave devices will be severely interfered with, to the point that they will be unable to communicate.

"Major, the enemy has released Minovsky particles."

The sergeant rushed up to the second floor and reported the situation to Song Ren. Meanwhile, Song Ren was already in a residence on the mountaintop, having lowered his binoculars.

“Yes, I see the base station,” Song Ren said. “Go, send one last command before the radio becomes completely unusable, so that the squadron leaders can carry it out.”

"Yes."

Ten minutes later, Karma personally piloted the Bugu, leading the 2nd MS Squadron and the 3rd MS Squadron into the parking lot. In order to be safe and not lose any troops, they advanced by encircling the area and taking turns providing cover.

At the cost of 3 mobile suits, 13 enemy Type 61 tanks were destroyed in the parking lot.

After suppressing the parking lot, only the enemy in the hilltop residential area remained.

In actual combat, Karma wouldn't use her precious mobile suits to search the mountains. Instead, she would wait for the Minovsky particles to dissipate, then use radar to locate the enemy one by one, and then use mobile suits to snipe them.

But this is an exercise, and the premise is to eliminate all tank units within an hour. Even if you wipe out the mobile suit units, you still have to turn the mountain over.

Thirty-five minutes have passed since the start of the operation, and the MS units have all activated their infrared thermal detectors.

Minovsky particles are less effective at attenuating infrared waves than radar waves.

It takes about 1 kilometer to locate the other party.

The MS troops didn't have any better methods either, and continued to advance while providing mutual cover, just like they had done in the parking lot.

Just then, the roar of several tank engines echoed from the residential area above, and the immense infrared heat instantly caused a high heat source to appear on the heat sensor.

Karma then realized that the enemy might have just turned off the engines of all their tanks.

MS units almost reflexively fired towards the heat source.

Karma was the only one who didn't fire, which made the commander think, "This is bad."

The colorful ammunition instantly obliterated the Type 61 tank that appeared in the heat source's field of vision. However, the sound and heat generated by the mobile suits firing in turn revealed their own positions.

These are bait.

The next moment, the MS that had opened fire was immediately subjected to blind artillery fire. The special ammunition could easily penetrate concrete structures, but it could not damage each other's armor.

The sounds of the 155mm twin-mounted cannons firing and the 120mm Zaku machine guns firing echoed in the air, like countless duels. Firing could kill the enemy, but it could also instantly expose oneself.

The Type 61 tank is 3 meters tall, resulting in a smaller surface area vulnerable to bullets, while the Zaku, even when crouching, is 10 meters tall. A single hit from a 155mm cannon on any part of the Zaku's torso or limbs would render it instantly unusable, not to mention the Zaku's superior firepower and caliber.

Karma suffered a huge loss in this swap.

Karma's Buggy shot up from the alley entrance, and the other "surviving" MS also jumped into the air. Karma counted them and found that there were a total of 5 left.

That's incredible.

In actual combat, he would have to face a military court. Regardless of the enemy's losses, he led an MS battalion to fight a Federation tank regiment to the death, losing 21 tanks in the process.

Song Ren watched the MS units roar away through the air, while the "destroyed" MS reactivated their red-eye cameras, took to the air, and headed back to the rendezvous point. Just as he was wondering what was going on, the Minovsky particle concentration dropped to a baseline value, and the exercise communicator rang.

"Major Song Ren, congratulations on your first victory. This is the first time since the start of the training exercise."

"Chief of Staff?"

"The other side has conceded defeat," the Chief of Staff said. "You said you have a knack for tactics and strategy."

"Which gentleman? Has he admitted defeat?" Before Song Ren could even react to who 'gentleman' was, the public communication channel was already buzzing with excitement.

"This is the first time, isn't it? The MS force has been defeated."

"What's so great about driving an MS? I drive a tank."

"I always said that no matter how powerful MS is, on land, tanks are still the kings of land warfare."

"Brother Song Ren, no matter what, you should treat everyone in our squadron to a drink."

It's been so long since I've felt the feeling of victory.

Unusually, Song Ren promised to treat everyone, but they didn't go to a bar because he felt it wasn't the time to relax.

Back in his dormitory, Song Ren took out the note the chief of staff had given him after the exercise. It had a long phone number on it. He took a deep breath and then pressed the green communication button.

"good evening."

"Excuse me, are you Lord Karma? Excuse me?" Song Ren said politely. He knew too little about this gentleman and was unsure of his temperament.

"Yes, it is. Is there something you need?"

“I am Dimejiel Songren.”