Chapter 1255: WW1: Fall of London and Lisbon (2)
Lisbon, the Kingdom of Portugal
Brigadier General Prakrit Saina had been waiting desperately for a long time for a chance to fire the artillery on the tank.
In fact, Prakrit Saina was not originally part of the combat department; instead, he was simply a member of the logistics team. However, given his exceptional talent in positioning artillery, especially in situations where the light artillery, usually with shorter range but greater manoeuvrability, had to be constantly repositioned according to the ever-changing conditions of the battlefield, he steadily rose through the ranks, going from a normal member to a team captain, then to Sergeant, Second Lieutenant, and First Lieutenant, and he did not stop until he reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, a fairly high position within the logistics department.
But then, about a year ago, things changed.
Maybe the higher-ups noticed his unique skill set, or maybe it was for his expertise, but he was recruited into a combat unit he had never heard of before, it was called the 4th Tank Corps. Initially, he was extremely confused because, for one, he had never been in a combat position. Granted, his work mostly involved operating on the frontline in very dangerous situations, but that did not change the fact that he had never used any sort of weapon or tool himself to confront the opponent. And for two, he was not the only one who was recruited into this mysterious 4th Tank Corps; several thousand people were recruited as well, and his confusion stemmed from the fact that most of them seemed to be from various artillery units across the army.
There were some outliers like him, like this one person he had met who said he was from the commandos, and there was also another person who was from the demolition team of the Engineering Corps, but overall, people like him who were from logistics were the rarest of them all. If not for the fact that the higher-ups had informed him that there were indeed people from logistics in the 4th Tank Corps, he would not even have known that the corps had a logistics officer in it, but that was beside the point.
At the end of the day, he felt like an outlier, like he did not truly belong there, and more than once, he considered resigning and returning to his old position. However, the contract placed before him was the most lucrative he had ever seen, so much so that it could elevate him from being a relatively well-off man within the empire to the richest person in a medium-sized town. In the end, he could not resist the monetary incentive and chose to accept a role he was not even sure he was capable of fulfilling.
It was not all bad, though, since the number of restrictions mentioned in the contract was spine-chilling. Reading them, he came to two logical conclusions. First, that the job would be extremely dangerous, but this consideration was immediately put aside because his previous job was dangerous as well, and it could not get much worse, even when compared to the heavy infantry, who were usually the ones to take the charge. Second, that the 4th Tank Corps would likely be an important asset of the military, and that he would not be losing much by joining it, and boy was he right.
When he had just joined, the tanks had not yet been built, so for the entire year, the only things he, along with his colleagues, did were conduct theoretical research, put forward various strategies, perform mock battles with older war tractors with fireworks attached to them to simulate artillery, and come up with protocols that would integrate with other units of the army.
Finally, half a year ago, he got to witness the might of the Agni Ratha tank they had studied for so long. Saying that he was happy and excited would be an understatement, because at this point, after a year of study, his unique experience of being in charge of moving artillery pieces on the frontline of battle proved to be vital for the operation of the tanks, so much so that his experience was used as the foundation to form the new tank offensive strategy of the empire.
Long story short, he had become a big shot in the Fourth Tank Corps, and just before he set off for this battle, he was even promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, one of the only six commanding tanks within the entire military.
After countless days of waiting, when Commander Seethapathi Yadav finally gave him the go-ahead signal, his happiness could not be contained.
โ**** yes, thank you God,โ he cried out in his heart, his face unable to hide his wide, toothy grin.
After he had enjoyed enough, he brought his expression under control, turned around, and communicated with his troops using the militaryโs own proprietary sign language.
The next moment, the metal hatches from which the men were peeking out were immediately closed, and then the tanks roared in unison as they advanced forward with a majestic stride.
Prakrit did not waste any time either; he decisively got onto his own, greeted his tankmates, and gestured for the driver to move ahead.
In real time, the tanks split into three groups. Two groups went to the sides, trampling the shrubs and plants in their way, moving towards higher ground, while the third group, the one in the centre, moved forward one inch at a time, seemingly waiting for the other two groups to get into position.
Seethapathi Yadav soon understood the strategy that was being used. Remembering the various protocols he had studied, he came to the right decision in order to work seamlessly with the tanks.
"Assume the outer metal leaf formation," he stated.
This was one of the many advantages of having a standardised and structured command and strategy system, because by uttering only a few words, Commander Seethapathi Yadav was able to mobilise the rangers, the commandos, and the sharpshooters within the army to form defensive perimeters on the flanks of the tanks, as well as mobilise the scouts to pay extra attention to any enemy force that could potentially try to flank the tank units.
Andre Selva, the commander of the Lisbon Defence Force, was unable to understand what the huge rolling metal structures were. He knew about war tractors, the slow-moving porcupines that contained over half a dozen machine guns in their bodies, but what was this monster that was larger than them and had a trunk like an elephant? Was this the new witchcraft of the Eastern Infidels?
But no matter how cooped up and unknowledgeable he was about the current situation of the world, when he saw the large metal monsters taking position on uneven ground in two different places, with their trunks aimed directly at his defensive wall, he understood that whatever this was, it was a deadly weapon that could not be underestimated.
"Everyone, bring up your shields and support the wall, no matter the cost. We should not allow these hateful easterners to trample on our beloved city," he roared, and as a firm believer in commanding by example, he took out his own shield and firmly lodged it against the back of the wall.
He did not know if this would work, but his common sense said it would, and he trusted it.
"By the holy blood and by the holy bread, the followers of the one and only never suffer, hold!
Stand firm, let neither fear nor fire shake your soul,
For the light of the divine watches over us all,
Let iron break before our faith ever bends,
Hold the line, for in unity, we do not fall!"
Lowering his binoculars, Seethapathi Yadav felt a sudden pang of emotion stir in his heart. โMaybe if you were born a few hundred years ago, you would have been an unparalleled hero, โhe thought, because as soon as the leader of the opposing force began to sing, the rest of the soldiers, who had been filled with dread at the thought of facing a literal iron wall, were stirred to their core. The song was like a dying flame, one that should have long since faded, yet instead it reignited their withering wills and set them ablaze once more.
"Hold!"
They screamed one by one to support their leader.
"For Lisbon, for a motherland, for a family, for our children, hold!"
"Hold, for we are the brave sons of Iberia, the strongest and the mightiest warriors of Europe."
For Seethapathi Yadav, it was almost unbearable to watch, but unfortunately, Brigadier General Pratik Saina didnโt bat an eye after looking at such a touching and brave show of resistance; he ruthlessly ordered the gunner to pull the trigger.
"Bang!"
And hence, the first shot of a tank rang out on the European continent. The shockwave and the fumes that spewed out of the muzzle, the dust that rose, the trembling ground, and the widened eyes of the soldiers who had never witnessed a tank in action, all seemed to freeze within that exact moment in time and space.
But in the very next instant, everything collapsed. The artillery shell fired from the howitzer ripped through the air and collided straight into the temporary wall made up of various debris and art pieces that had been scoured from across the city.
"Boom!"
The debris exploded, and a mist of blood spread through the air. There was not even the sound of a scream or a shout, because right after the first shot, the tanks fired from both directions in a crossfire, completely obliterating the wall along with the enemy who were foolishly trying to support it with their mortal bodies.
Looking at this scene, Seethapathi let out a deep sigh. He was not saddened, nor was he angered by the actions of the Brigadier General; he was simply lamenting the weakness of the human body and the death of chivalry and the Kshatriya spirit.
With the birth of such weapons, was there any need for Kshatriyas anymore?
