Anti-War Game: Starting from Normandy Campaign-Chapter 496 - 237: [The Fifth Battle, the Importance of Tieyuan]
These aids were all won from three battles.
They were exchanged for the sacrifices of tens of thousands of Volunteer Army soldiers.
Because the combat effectiveness of the Volunteer Army exceeded even the expectations of the Soviet Union.
If we can continue to win.
Why wouldn’t such aid be welcomed?
But after the fourth battle began,
the Republic, due to supply line issues, fought while retreating and had already withdrawn to near the 38th parallel.
This gave the United States great confidence.
Internationally, they claimed to have found a solution to deal with the Volunteer Army, saying there was nothing to worry about, assuring allies to much confidently support them without hesitation.
Battle reports can deceive, but battle lines cannot.
This clear advantage in the fourth battle also gave the European countries a sigh of relief.
If the United States can defeat the Republic,
then they can focus on opposing the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union didn’t expect this situation either,
so they began to increase reinforcements, because by now, they didn’t want the Republic to lose, aiming to delay the United States on the peninsula for some time.
Now,
the United States will soon have a collision with their 300,000 mechanized armored troops against the Republic’s 700,000 infantry.
Both sides have parties watching in the background.
Behind the United States are the European countries, so if the United States loses in the upcoming clash, the suppressed anti-war public opinion would surge instantly.
Behind the Republic is the Soviet Union, worried that if the Republic loses, the situation will worsen further, but whether the Republic or the United States loses,
it is what the Soviet Union prefers to see.
However, the Soviet Union hopes more for the United States to fail than the Republic.
Because if the United States fails,
Europe will have no way to check the Soviet Union, and the United States would focus all their energy on reclaiming their superpower status on the peninsula.
Otherwise, it would be hard to unite their junior allies.
Let alone if the Western superpower of the United States was defeated by the opposing camp’s second power, it would be quite disgraceful to spread this around.
Within the plot,
as the United States advances closer to the 38th parallel,
in the first batch of open battlefields,
the largest clash between the United States and the Volunteer Army is about to begin.
....
On the other side,
in the Polestar Game Company’s president’s office,
Zhao Ming was looking at the timeline within the game, already starting to design the "Fifth Battle" and events after its end.
The main focus was to open the experience of the "Iron Origin Defense Battle",
and the "Cold Guns and Cold Cannons" operation after the end of the "Fifth Battle".
Unlike other battles,
the Iron Origin Defense Battle adopted a scattered interception method.
A division was divided into over 200 combat units,
each occupying different strategic points and transportation hubs to intercept the United States’ forces.
On a plain with no natural defensive advantage,
facing 1,600 artillery pieces, 400 tanks, and hundreds of bombers from the United States,
Volunteer soldiers held their ground for 15 days and nights.
Such a battle,
allows Blue Star players to be randomly assigned the identity of Volunteer Army or United States soldiers to experience it.
Once the "Fifth Battle" ends,
the peninsula battlefield will enter a ’trench warfare’ phase, allowing for greater freedom.
Especially after the "Cold Guns and Cold Cannons" operation begins,
allowing Blue Star players to freely choose an identity of the United States or Volunteer Army and experience the plot.
Many legendary warriors of the Volunteer Army emerged during this period.
Such as Hu Xiudao, a legendary war hero in the Battle of Shangganling who repelled the United States’ forces 41 times in a single day, annihilating 280 enemies.
Or Zhang Taofang, a legendary sniper during the Cold Guns and Cold Cannons operation, who killed 214 enemies with 442 bullets over 32 days.
These are the times when Volunteer Army legendary warriors shone brightly.
By then, ambushes on the United States’ large units with cold guns and cannons are expected to spark a wave of challenges.
Zhao Ming reviewed the timeline, adjusted the battlefield layout, and set up locations where Blue Star players might trigger events, ensuring not to affect the main plot’s big picture.
Soon,
that evening, as Zhao Ming finished the designs,
an announcement was released.
...
On the Sky Shark Live Platform,
in Yu Feng’s livestream room,
it was nighttime in the game.
A time when the Volunteer Army held the advantage.
Sporadic gunfire occasionally flared in the dark forests, and the United States defended with armored tanks while Yu Feng hid behind a tank, livestreaming the battle situation.
In the middle of broadcasting, Yu Feng suddenly saw a message prompt on the screen:
"Hmm?"
"Did Polestar release a new announcement?"
Yu Feng ducked back behind the tank to a safe spot,
switched his consciousness out of the game, returning to the Virtual Body Sensing Pod’s desktop, and then opened the Polestar Company’s official website.
Indeed,
the latest announcement was prominently displayed.
Opening the announcement,
Yu Feng skimmed through it:
"Hmm... let me see."
"The fourth battle is about to end (January 25, 1951 – April 21, 1951)?"
"The fifth battle is about to start (April 22, 1951 – June 10, 1951)!"
"Wow."
"Ends on April 21, starts on April 22, huh?"
"Let me check what date it is now."
"It’s already April 19 on my battlespace."
"So that means there are still two days before the full-scale attack by the Volunteer Army."
"It’s a decisive battle determining the world’s direction."
Yu Feng sighed.
Regardless of which side wins, it will affect the world dynamics,
since behind the United States are the European countries, worried about their failure.
And behind the Republic is the Soviet Union, fearing a United States victory.
Yu Feng continued reading the announcement:
"Iron Origin Defense Battle?"
"Players can randomly become either a United States soldier or a Volunteer Army soldier, in a 10:1 ratio?"
"So it seems players will more likely become a United States soldier."
"They even provided a layout map."
"Hmm—"
"This position?"
"It’s quite precarious."
"At the junction of three railways, connecting north to Pyongyang, south to Han City (Seoul), and east to Mount Geumgang."
"The Volunteer Army’s supply transfers had been conducted here many times, right?"
"There should be a lot of supplies here, then?"
"If the United States seizes it, the supply line for the entire front line of the Volunteer Army will be cut."
"In that case, the situation will not be much better than in Dipi, either."
What was the situation at Dipi?
Due to insufficient supplies, by the third day, all that was left were rifle butts to swing with, as all bullets were exhausted.
If Iron Origin was captured...
Thinking this,
Yu Feng went to search for livestreams located at ’Iron Origin’ and indeed found some, entering the livestream room.
Clear scenes of trains entering and exiting the station across the railroad were visible, confirming Yu Feng’s words by showcasing the transit of supplies in the livestream.
This was indeed a logistical base for the Volunteer Army.
Yu Feng frowned deeply.
He searched the game forum for the peninsula map and found Iron Origin’s location.
Enlarging the map,
Yu Feng’s frown grew deeper.
A battle line of over 20 kilometers, all flatland, offering no defensive advantages, Yu Feng remarked:
"The United States is definitely aiming to cut off Iron Origin’s supply line."
"But this place is really hard to defend."
"With the United States’ pure mechanized forces and the Volunteer Army purely as infantry, the battlefield is almost entirely undefendable flatland."
"This situation...."
Yu Feng was at a loss for words, wondering if the Volunteer Army could hold their defense under such conditions.
In a fleeting moment, Yu Feng considered various tactics but ultimately shook his head.
On a great plain,
infantry fighting armored tanks from mechanized forces... how can this be fought?
Zhao Ming only provided Iron Origin’s map without the Volunteer Army’s deployment plans, so when the Blue Star players saw the battlefield situation,
their first thought was that it’s impossible—how can this be fought?
However, this isn’t the first difficult scene encountered by the Volunteer Army, and many believe they can still hold on, engaging in discussions on Polestar’s game forum.
The core discussion was only one.
With the battlefield being a more than 20 kilometers long battlefront on a great plain, and with 20,000 infantry,
how could they counter the tens of thousands of mechanized armored units advancing towards them....
