The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 949: Chapter 708: Artillery Position

George Smith Patton Jr. was a famous United States Army general during World War II and a legendary figure in American history.

Many considered him “a genius in commanding large armies and the most aggressive pioneer officer” and “the Napoleon of the twentieth century”; yet others believed he was “brave but not smart enough,” “arrogant, and all flash with no substance.”

Many famous generals from World War II held Patton in high esteem, which was enough to prove his personal abilities and excellent tactical literacy.

But now, in the year 1928 of this era, Patton was still an inconspicuous figure within the American military.

Before being entrusted with significant responsibilities, Patton’s rank was only that of a captain, and he served as a staff member in the United States Army without any real authority.

The neglect he suffered over the years and being forced to frequently transfer positions made Patton acutely aware that America was not as great as it seemed.

The experiences changed Patton’s thinking, and he did not possess the steadfast soldier’s heart like General Pershing.

Of course, this was indeed because their experiences were entirely different. General Pershing was favored by President Roosevelt in his early years and was promoted from captain to brigadier general, bypassing the school-level officers.

But it was different for Patton; he remained a captain for over ten years. If it weren’t for the war that urgently brought General Pershing back, Patton’s rank might still have been stuck at captain, unless he could gain favor from the higher echelons.

But the capabilities and approaches of the recent presidents were clear, and it was impossible for them to simply take a fancy to Patton for no reason.

Such disparate treatment also meant that the two had vastly different ideological perspectives. To General Pershing, no matter the outcome of the war, what mattered most at the moment was to fulfill the duties of a soldier.

As for Patton, whether he was serving the American Government or the American People, and what would be best for the American People, had become the most profound question tangled in his mind.

On November 7th, 1928, at the frontline defense positions.

Several days later, the American army finally faced an assault from the Australasian Army.

The outbreak of the war interrupted the complex thoughts of Generals Pershing and Patton, pulling their entire attention back to the battlefield.

General Pershing called the entire defensive line the “bow-shaped position” because the river was bow-shaped, like an open pouch waiting for the arrival of the Australasian Army.

But soon, General Pershing realized that the situation was developing beyond his expectations.

For starters, the number of enemy troops appeared to far exceed the scale of a few tens of thousands.

This was completely different from the intelligence General Pershing had. According to the intelligence, the attacking forces from the north only amounted to about thirty thousand, consisting of one division each from Australasia and the Philippines.

But the forces attacking the front now were more than two divisions, which made General Pershing question the accuracy of the intel.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for General Pershing to resolve his doubts.

The frontline reported that, amidst the attack, a large number of Russian faces were spotted, suggesting support from the Russian army.

If the Russian military were included, then the Australasian Army facing them indeed numbered more than thirty thousand.

This was surely an ill-fated stroke of luck. General Pershing, who had participated in World War I, naturally knew the comparative combat effectiveness of different nations’ armies.

For General Pershing, the Germans naturally had the strongest combat power during World War I, enduring attacks from several powers and stubbornly holding out for years as a terrifying force.

Although opinions varied on who ranked second, for General Pershing, it would have been the Australasians.

The Australasian attack was relentless, bombarding continuously with all kinds of shells and bullets, leaving no chance for resistance,

Combined with their well-trained troops, they could even exchange blows with the German Army, an ability General Pershing thought other countries’ armies lacked.

Most crucially, other countries’ armies did not possess the same spirit as the Germans, but the Australasian Army did.

That fearless spirit was the key to determining an army’s combat effectiveness. An army that fears no death can unleash sufficient fighting power.

As for Russia that they were now facing, if not for the size of its military, its combat effectiveness would probably rank fourth or fifth in General Pershing’s eyes.

This was also why General Pershing could heave a sigh of relief. Compared to facing the Australasian Army, he would rather confront the Russians.

However, before General Pershing could enjoy his relief for too long, the defense positions suffered frequent bombardments from the enemy.

This was part of the agreement between Australasia and Russia: Australasia must provide strong air and artillery support to the Russian troops.

Australasia had no problem with this, of course. Having put the Russians in the vanguard, they naturally had to give something in return.

Compared to casualties, the expenditure of funds did not amount to much for Australasia.

What was fatal for the American Military was that the bombing overhead had not yet ceased, and the enemy’s artillery positions had launched a carpet bombing.

Australasia’s machine guns, though not very powerful, had excellent firepower suppression capabilities.

Such firearms could not cause much damage to defensive positions, but they were effective in suppressing the enemy’s advance.

Under such a barrage, the new recruits led by General Panxing dared not show their heads; most soldiers just fired blindly into the sky and then huddled inside the trenches to reload their bullets on their own.

“Damn, how can their logistics withstand such large-scale bombing?” General Panxing frowned, looking grim as he watched the bombers in the sky from within a trench.

Australasia was fighting across oceans, facing much more logistical pressure compared to the United States.

Yet Australasia still maintained a large-scale bombing campaign, which was not good news for the American Military.

“The anti-aircraft guns, where are they? Bring them out and show the enemy we’re not easy to mess with. Order the Artillery Regiment to start counterattacking; we cannot be suppressed all the time.” General Panxing quickly issued his orders to the messenger.

After the World War, nations around the world had started researching anti-aircraft weapons. Airplanes had played a significant role in World War I, and it was natural for countries to realize the importance of airplanes and the significance of developing weapons against them.

The mainstream anti-aircraft weapon now was the anti-aircraft gun, a type of firearm with a high rate of firing, specifically for shooting at aircraft.

The American Military was naturally also equipped with these anti-aircraft guns, but not in large numbers, as carrying them on long journeys would slow the march.

According to the plan, the next batch of weapons and equipment supplies might not arrive until two weeks later, at which time a large number of anti-aircraft weapons and firearms would also be delivered.

But before then, the firepower of the American Military was limited to a single Artillery Regiment, and the number of shells was restricted.

Under General Panxing’s command, the only available Artillery Regiment began counter-firing against the enemy’s artillery, and the subordinate anti-aircraft gun platoon also retaliated against the aircraft in the sky.

However, both parties’ number of firearms and reserves of shells were not on the same level, and the American Military’s resistance was hardly effective and did not play a crucial role in the battlefield.

Even more deadly was the fact that the counter-fire from the firearms alerted Australasia’s Air Force to the American artillery deployment. With fighters escorting, a few bombers headed towards the American artillery positions.

“Damn, how can their planes be so fast?” General Panxing watched the swiftly advancing bombers in the sky with an ashen face, a sense of foreboding growing inside him.

The aircraft in front of him were entirely different from America’s. The enemy’s flying speed was at least twice that of American planes, meaning that existing American anti-aircraft weapons could not effectively suppress the enemy’s aircraft.

In the development of anti-aircraft weapons, performance benchmarks could naturally only be based on one’s own aircraft.

American anti-aircraft weapons could barely suppress their planes, but if the planes were replaced with more advanced foreign aircraft, the capabilities of the anti-aircraft weapons would be greatly reduced.

“All machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons fire at full strength; we can’t let the enemy threaten our artillery positions!” Despite the intensifying ominous premonition, it was already too late to move the artillery positions.

And how could artillery positions be moved right under the enemy’s nose? Instead of relocating, General Panxing was more inclined towards the second option, which was for all anti-aircraft weapons to be mobilized and to block the enemy’s bombing of their artillery positions with all their might.

It had to be admitted that under the suppression of various machine guns and anti-aircraft firearms, there was still a certain threat to the current planes.

Especially since Australasia had not deployed jet planes, the gap between propeller aircraft and those of other countries was not so vast.

Under the suppression of American firepower, a fighter and a bomber were unfortunately hit and, after struggling for a while, the pilots had no choice but to parachute out.

The remaining bombers and fighters continued to advance toward the artillery positions, and as they drew closer, the enemy’s anti-aircraft weapons could no longer change the outcome.

Boom! Boom-Boom!

Boom-Boom-Boom!

The first series of explosions were caused by bombs dropped from the bombers; the second series erupted disastrously as bombs ignited the artillery ammunitions on the ground.

The bombing was a fatal blow to the artillery positions; a few unfortunate exposed artillery sites burst into flames, creating several enormous mushroom clouds.

Watching the distant mushroom clouds, General Panxing turned pale, knowing that the American Military had lost its greatest firepower support. This meant that the combat power the military could exert would be greatly diminished.

Even if the enemy had ample reserves of shells, in the protracted war to come, American soldiers would constantly be suppressed in the trenches, with little room to fight back.

Such a war had turned into a completely passive beating, where the end of the war and the casualties on his side depended on the enemy’s reserves of shells and the enemy’s intent.