Gundam: From Piece to Player

And that's when I heard Amuro call me that.

The despicable masked man pulled out a pistol, fired a shot at the ground, and then pointed it at Amuro. Amuro raised his hands again.

"Spies are not protected by the Antarctic Treaty, and I can shoot you dead."

Seeing that the other party was extremely aggressive.

Amuro had no choice but to confess. "...I am the pilot of Federation-78-2."

"It's you." Upon hearing this, Xia put away his gun. "It's rare that you seem to like you so much. Are you also joining the Zeon army?"

Before Amuro could even deny it.

A beautiful woman with black, center-parted hair and smooth brown skin stepped out from behind Char, immediately capturing Amuro's attention. Her emerald green eyes shone brightly.

But then a girl's voice echoed in my mind, reminding me.

"Sir, please don't be so blunt."

"I... I need to think about it some more." Amuro was taken aback when he heard this thought.

He said to Char.

Looking at Lala, I asked, "Are you talking to me?"

Amuro thought to himself.

A voice answered in my mind.

"Yes, my name is Lara Singh. It's nice to meet you."

Amuro noticed that his gaze was meeting Lala's.

Char quickly stepped forward and used his body to shield Lala and Amuro.

He was somewhat surprised after he did it.

Are he and Lala really close? They're more like comrades-in-arms, I guess?

What am I doing?

Chapter 113 A Grand Gift and a Great Merit

Unbeknownst to them, a prime-time soap opera was unfolding somewhere in the base.

Kalma received a remote communication from Mark Bay, who had sent back crucial intelligence from an informant he had bribed at the Federal General Staff.

The Federal General Staff officially issued the order to launch the Battle of Odessa.

The Earth Federation plans to launch the Battle of Odessa on October 31, with the goal of eliminating Zeon's largest base on Earth... This is probably the easiest objective for them to conquer.

It would be fine if all we knew was that the Federation was going to launch a major battle.

But this informant seemed to be even more skilled, having obtained marching routes for the Union Army units with their unit numbers. It's said that this thing was placed on Mark Bay's desk the day after the battle plan was finalized…

It's unclear whether Kycilia's intelligence capabilities were overly advanced, or if the Federation was confident in winning the battle despite intelligence leaks.

Karma had originally intended to fly directly to Odessa to oversee the situation, but this made him change his mind.

It's too polite of you not to accept gifts.

"A large-scale ambush?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Ya immediately perked up.

"If this ambush is successful, and you perform normally, your rank can probably be promoted to colonel. After the Battle of Odessa is over, your great achievements should be enough to promote you to brigadier general."

brigadier.

Upon hearing this military rank, Xia Ya was taken aback.

"You're not lying to me, are you?"

Do I look like someone who would lie?

"picture."

Karma was speechless; he was a man of his word, for goodness' sake.

After setting the objective of the ambush, Kalmar ordered the North American Army's MS units to begin assembling.

Meanwhile, the main armored forces and most of the army troops had already arrived in Odessa in June under Song Ren's leadership to carry out "training" operations.

In reality, they are all second-line defense forces in North America, numbering around 10.

Ninety Yukon-class submarines (converted from captured U-class submarines, mainly used to transport equipment and helium-3), 200 Greyhound-class submarines, and 100 Greyhound (carrier-type) submarines, carrying an underwater fleet of more than 600 MS/MA of various types, secretly departed from the east coast of the United States.

In addition, there are eight super-large special nuclear submarines related to Project Ragnarok.

Intelligence indicates that the Federal Army will deploy 30% of its ground forces in Odessa, approximately 600 million army troops (including logistics).

He can no longer afford to hold back his strength. Once Europe falls, the Federation forces will definitely launch a full-scale counterattack on Earth.

In order to achieve victory in the Battle of Odessa, Kalmar almost emptied all the mobile suit forces at the North American base, leaving only tank units to hold the line.

The underwater fleet crossed the Atlantic Ocean, passed Gibraltar, entered the Mediterranean Sea, and headed towards the Black Sea.

The Earth Attack Force's temporary operational command was set up on this specially designed large submarine.

The lead ship was named "Red October" by Kalmar.

The implication is that this submarine can destroy federal privilege and its henchmen.

In the operations room, a heated discussion is underway.

“We have conducted related drills in the mountains of North America, but even with satellite mapping, it is difficult to avoid the risk of getting lost while traveling in the Caucasus Mountains and the Turkish mountains.”

"We can send out reconnaissance teams to investigate, and then launch a targeted attack after locating the main enemy force."

"This is completely an overthinking. In order to pursue marching speed, the federal army will not set up defensive squads on both sides of the road. In order to assemble before the 'attack date', they will inevitably advance at full speed along the road. Slow reconnaissance will not only easily expose themselves, but also weaken the effect of the surprise attack. There are only a few roads from the Caucasus into Ukraine that can be used by mechanized troops to advance."

"We've already contacted Major General Yuri of the European Front. Shall we have them conduct reconnaissance while we carry out the attack?"

"We are unfamiliar with the European military deployment and troop allocation habits. Rashly launching a joint operation may cause delays. We only need them to provide fire support."

"We suggest we use MS units to ensure the element of surprise in our attack."

While the staff officers chattered away, Karma seemed to have nothing to do, so Char couldn't help but speak up.

"Kalma, is this how you usually listen to their discussions without participating?"

"This is a special case; there's nothing else we can do in the submarine right now."

“I don’t usually have that much time to attend meetings,” Karma explained, while also instructing Char. “I usually just have them report what happened—there are several solutions—the person in charge and the completion time.”

"The commander's job is to oversee the execution of the plan and to suspend, modify, and adjust the plan in a timely manner based on the actual situation."

"So that's why you often go to the front lines? To get firsthand reconnaissance intelligence from the battlefield." Xia Ya seemed to have discovered a new continent.

"almost."

Karma thought to herself, if she couldn't pilot a Gundam on the battlefield, what was the point of traveling here?

Another concern is preventing decapitation.

In Kalmar's view, large warships in this worldview are no different from coffins; they are built to have their bridges blown up.

You're talking about Lin Youde... that's an exception, okay?

Kalmar steered the conversation back to the present, "We're now considering a surprise attack on the Federal forces in the Caucasus. We'll ambush the unsuspecting Federal troops. In my opinion, either approach will achieve the objective; it's just a matter of how effective it will be."

"I'm already thinking about the second phase of the battle, and it's likely to be very brutal."

Karma glanced at her friend beside her. "Char, if you were Reibir, how would you deal with the Zeon forces entrenched in the Black Sea?"

The two stood up and looked at the Black Sea coast map posted at the back of the operations room.

It contains the strategically important island of Crimea in the middle, borders Ukraine to the north, Russia to the east, Türkiye to the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west.

"The Federation Navy is at a disadvantage in the naval battle against Zeon and is unlikely to be able to seize control of the Black Sea. We'll need the army's assistance." Char thought for a moment and marked the Bosphorus Strait with a red dot.

They will most likely try to attack Istanbul, this historic city. I'm certain that the federal forces, in order to expand their gains and eliminate us, will try to annihilate us all in the Black Sea.

Karma looked at the map.

Istanbul... Constantinople, the city that will never fall.

“If the Federation does what you think is right, to expand the gains, I’ll be very happy… because it means splitting up forces.”

"Doesn't this mean we're besieged? Our supply lines are cut off."

"If they want to drag the battle into a war of attrition, time might not be on their side."

"What do you mean?"

"The number of Federal troops is several times that of our army, and the supplies needed by the attacking side are more than ten times that of our army... Let me tell you, in Odessa I prepared enough ammunition and food supplies to support three months of high-intensity combat."

"The Federation Army always claims to have incredibly strong logistics. Do you think that would allow them to support three months of high-intensity combat?"

How many people are there on both sides in total?

"We have a total of 100 million military personnel involved in the campaign, while they have 600 million."

Karma thought to herself, "The time has come to test the mettle of General 369 (Gao Pu)."

Chapter 114 The Anxious Rebil

Throughout history, warfare has always been inseparable from logistics. However, unlike space warfare and naval warfare, where victory or defeat can be decided in a few hours or an afternoon, the outcome of land warfare requires a longer period of strategic maneuvering and probing.

However, when the strategy reaches a stalemate, it becomes a battle of logistics, and the side that can't hold on any longer will be the first to fall into a passive position.

Mobile warfare played a significant role in Europe during World War II, but in the modern era, with the development of detection and precision strike capabilities, the modern battlefield has shifted towards trench warfare...

Kalmar believed that the Battle of Odessa would inevitably take the form of trench warfare... and therefore he prepared sufficient firepower to counter the Federation's human wave tactics.

"Char, after this large-scale battle, you can show your true face. I will make you achieve unparalleled feats."

"...Could you tell me exactly how to do it?"

"Keep it a secret." Kalmar thought it would be pointless to reveal the secret too early.

Char stopped asking questions and instead asked Karma a question in return.