Gundam: From Piece to Player

“What you’re saying isn’t quite right,” Barney asked.

"What's wrong with it?"

“MS is strong because of the Minovsky particle dispersion. Without this particle, it would be a target on the ground,” Barney said. “Then it’s only natural that tanks use ultrasonic radar equipment. Anyway, both sides use everything they can…”

“You’re right,” Song Ren agreed.

"In local battles, hasn't the Federation already wholesaled a batch of GM units? We can try it out and see if a tank platoon (13 tanks) and a squadron of MS (9 mobile suits) can handle it."

To put it on a larger scale, consider a tank battalion (40 tanks) and a mobile suit battalion (30 mobile suits). Which is stronger? I think we'll have the answer this time. Since you're going to command a large army, I'll test it out for you on the battlefield.”

"Ah."

Although Song Ren appeared calm on the surface, he couldn't help but begin to look forward to the outcome of the battle that Barney had retrieved.

At 12:33, the sky was overcast, and the thick clouds prevented even the sunlight from penetrating. Bruce and his adjutant had just returned to the Peter the Great in a jeep from a reconnaissance mission at the front.

"Are there thunderstorms even in winter this time of year?"

Bruce looked at the sky, which was suddenly illuminated, and couldn't help but wonder.

Before the adjutant could respond, the entire cloud layer was illuminated, like heavenly fire descended by the gods.

Immediately, the light wheel pierced through the clouds and was thrown towards the Peter the Great.

With a terminal velocity of Mach 18, the ballistic anti-ship missile, using a high-strength alloy as its warhead, penetrates the upper deck, the weakest point of the pallet-class defenses.

The powerful kinetic energy pierced through multiple decks, and its delayed fuses were perfectly timed to... detonate the super-large nuclear fusion reactor in the engine room, along with the surrounding 5-kilometer garrison troops, which were also "evaporated" by the blue light.

Within just five minutes, bright spots lit up the clouds over the Crimean Peninsula... streaks of light pierced through the clouds.

A total of 90 corps and division headquarters (Land Cruisers) of the Union Army suffered devastating damage.

According to post-incident statistics, a total of 450 generals and 2700 colonels of the Earth Federation Army were killed in these five minutes of attacks, which were later referred to in the history of the One Year War as "the five minutes that determined fate".

Following the attack, the Eastern Federal Army Group encountered heavy artillery fire in both the north and south directions.

When the frontline troops tried to get the opinions of the division and army headquarters, all communications went silent... and they received no response.

Three minutes after the attack was completed, Karma's 15 armored divisions launched their assault.

It appeared out of nowhere behind the Eastern Army Group and cut into the junction of the Eastern Army Group.

Five minutes after the attack, the Odessagio defenders, totaling 1000 mobile suits, began to move into the second line of defense, and the Eastern Army launched a full-scale counterattack.

The Eastern Army Group, having lost its command post and failed to establish a rear defense line, was caught in a pincer attack from both the front and rear, although some brigade and regimental commanders attempted to organize a response.

However, all their efforts were in vain. The enemy always managed to discover them first, and their attempts were thwarted when the enemy gathered their forces and bombarded them with firepower.

The remaining brigades of the Eastern Army Group had no choice but to fight a desperate battle. Only then did they realize that the 20-meter-deep and 100-meter-wide line was not a defensive line, but a grave dug for them by the Zeon army.

Although some units displayed extraordinary courage, due to the gap in technology and equipment, they could only become the product of being crushed by tank tracks.

At the same time, the Northern Army Group was also attacked by 15 armored divisions of Jeon led by Song Ren.

Compared to the Eastern Army Group, which was attacked from both sides, the Northern Army Group performed even worse. Unlike the 4th Corps, it was not in a state of combat readiness today and was instead resting.

Upon seeing the snow-white Type 61 tanks advancing menacingly, some Federation troops mistook them for new reinforcements and even made way for them with smiles.

They discovered that the tanks' guns were pointed at them, to the point that some federal soldiers died without knowing why their "friendly forces" were firing at them.

When some officers belatedly tried to contact the command headquarters, they received no response from the division or army headquarters.

Fear spread rapidly through laser communication, without any clarification or response...

The Northern Army Group was thrown into a de facto "major collapse" amidst the chaos.

战斗持续到了12月2日下午5时30分，在经历了6个小时的抵抗后，被前后包围的东部集团军残存部队各旅级指挥官发通讯，总计100万人向吉翁军投降。

Kalmar agreed to their request and told them not to block the road, because he was in a hurry to get the logistics troops in Odessa to replace the "battery packs" and replenish various supplies for the 15 armored divisions.

He planned to continue advancing along the northern coast of the Black Sea, and together with Song Ren, use 30 armored divisions, totaling 6000 tanks and armored vehicles, to crush the remaining 200 million federal troops on the banks of the Dnieper River.

He wouldn't be as foolish as Mustache to allow the Dunkirk evacuation to repeat itself here.

Oh, and one more thing: Karma called Char while dealing with the jumbled information.

"Hello, General Kalmar?"

Has Char taken the wrong medicine today?

They don't usually refer to themselves by their job title in private.

Karma didn't think much of it and told him the information.

"Here are the coordinates. Success is within your grasp; it's up to you whether you can seize the opportunity."

Due to information chaos and the complete breakdown of the high command chain, a large number of distorted and absurd messages were transmitted back from the front lines at 6 p.m., six hours after the collapse.

General Reiber only obtained relatively reliable intelligence about the battle situation from his staff.

It is said that after hearing the full battle report, he did not fly into a rage as he had last time. Instead, he sat in a chair without saying a word, looked down at the floor, and remained silent for nearly 20 minutes.

Marching from 1128 to 1201, battle situation map on the afternoon of 1202.

Battlefield map.

The yellow dots represent two concealed assembly points of the armored corps, totaling 30 men, including one unit of 15 men, comprising 15 divisions, all fully armored and mechanized. The terrain there is rugged and hilly, which is conducive to pre-battle concealment.

It was placed there before the battle even began.

Although it was said that a counterattack was to be launched, it was not said that it necessarily had to be an attack from the defensive line.

Chapter 131 Promotion Gift Pack

At 5 p.m., Yuri and Mark Bay dealt with the prisoners of the Eastern Army Group on Odessa Island, along with 800 MS units, some motorized units, and infantry.

They began to share the burden of Karma on the front lines.

This allowed Kalmar and Songren's armored divisions to make key breakthroughs and overwhelm the federal forces that were still putting up a stubborn resistance.

By using ultrasonic radar to locate those organized units that are still organizing resistance, artillery fire and tank assaults can be used to crush their courage to resist.

They ignored the surrendered armored troops and told them to go find the Zeon troops that were coming from behind.

Eight large ballistic submarines, including Red October, changed their missile types after the launch tubes had cooled down and blew up the bridge over the Dnieper River.

The Federal Air Force failed to organize effective ground support... This is most likely because its past attacks relied on ground troops calling in and locating targets...

Without coordinates provided by ground troops, all that would be left is indiscriminate bombing.

However, even if they come, Kalmar is not afraid.

It has field air defense and infrasound defense weapons... When enemy planes attack, it can stun all the pilots in the air, causing them to lose control and crash.

Karma views the battlefield from a holistic perspective... but takes a grassroots approach.

The counterattack went smoothly without any obstacles. The plains on the south bank of the Dnieper River were a paradise for tank and armored troops... the tracks didn't even bounce.

Barney is now the commander of a Type 79 tank squadron in the Zeon army... which is why he said he could help General Song Ren test weapons.

His unit consisted of Type 79 command tanks equipped with a simple ultrasonic radar. For targets 6 meters or larger, the radar could detect targets at a range of 10 kilometers, and for targets 2 meters or larger, it could detect targets at a range of 5 kilometers.

The vast plains of northern Crimea provide an ideal working environment for ultrasound.

"Lieutenant, radar feedback: a squadron of mobile suits are lying in ambush on the hills at a 35-degree angle, 10 kilometers away."

"It's been confirmed they're not friendly forces, right?"

It seems the time for testing has arrived.

"There's no mistake. The voiceprints of all our aircraft have been frequency-processed and will be displayed on ultrasonic radar," the adjutant said.

"Approach them, all personnel change to armor-piercing rounds. First squad prepare to use smoke grenades, second squad and main squad prepare for close to medium range direct fire, approach to within 10 kilometers." Barney issued the order, "Use lasers to transmit the coordinates to the fire support squad (3 Type 79 self-propelled guns), begin fire preparation."

"Yes."

After receiving Barney's order, the three Type 79 self-propelled guns came to a stop and raised their turrets.

Eight kilometers away, Jim is leaping closer... to execute the summit assault.

Meanwhile, the three tanks of the first squad had already created smoke trails in front of the combat team.

This will further affect the firing accuracy of the enemy's optical aiming system.

As the distance between the two sides closed to 8 kilometers, the image became clearer, and Barney could clearly see that the radar showed the opposing side divided into three groups: long-range, medium-range, and short-range.

"Fire support team, eliminate the furthest attack team first."

Barney gave the order.

The fire support team began launching indirect fire under radar detection.

Forty seconds later, the signals from the three furthest units disappeared... If they hadn't already figured out how the ultrasonic radar worked and chosen to lie prone on the ground, they would most likely have been taken out.

If the tactics practiced in previous drills had been followed, Barney should have opted for a partial retreat of the tank force, employing a kiting tactic to continue inflicting damage from a safe distance.

Based on the detection specifications of the captured GM and Gundam, their optical detection limit is 6 kilometers (for MS-class targets, they need to be closer to detect tank-type targets in reality).

But Barney still wanted to get some mid-range combat data.

While they waited, the remaining 6 GMs rushed within 6 kilometers and opened fire on them with their machine guns.

Meanwhile, the three Type 79 tank squadrons began reversing at full speed (maintaining their thickest frontal armor facing the enemy), and Barney's command tank was unfortunately hit.

Although he was already familiar with the armor's performance, Barney still asked.

"What is the extent of the armor damage?"

"Report: Enemy ammunition failed to penetrate our armor. According to weapon identification records, the enemy is using a 100mm machine gun with high-explosive rounds."

"It's even lower caliber than the Zaku," Barney thought, and gave the order: "Tell all teams to fire freely."

The Type 79 tank immediately raised its 175mm main battle gun, and the optical sensitive instrument, in conjunction with the electric turret, locked onto the six GM tanks that were closing in. The main battle gun then began to fire at the approaching GM tanks.

The 175mm armor-piercing round penetrated the GM's titanium alloy shield, entered through the GM's heat dissipation vent, and exited from the rear, triggering a massive explosion.

The other one was shot through the waist by artillery fire, triggering a circuit explosion that detonated the nuclear fusion reactor...

It was a one-sided squadron battle.