Chapter 345: When the Regular Army Begins to Destroy Personnel
The Pela No. 4 offensive is not an important node in this round of strategic offensive launched by the Federation.
Among the nearly 30 planets serving as offensive nodes on the entire front, the importance of Para IV is only at the level of the second echelon.
But even if we just focus on the Para 4, as time continues to lengthen, the front-line troops engaged in the battle on both sides are in a state that is different from that of the war due to their long-term mental tension. It was different in the beginning.
Come to fight in the Imperial Galaxy who knows how far away. Except for friendly forces, everyone on the planet you land on, including civilians, is your enemy. They are afraid of you and afraid of you. , but at the same time I hate you deeply.
Such pressure is unimaginable to many people.
If the federal troops initially fought with the mentality of 'revenge', 'achievement', 'eliminate the tyranny of the empire', and 'create history', now they have lost their original passion.
Instead, there was an increasingly intense feeling of cruelty and irritability, and the desire to torture the 'Imperial Man' began to dominate.
Although the commanders of the federal forces on Para 4 are still awake at this moment and know not to do anything extraordinary, so they strictly restrain their troops, but such restraints will increase over time. has become weaker and weaker as time goes on.
When the military police responsible for supervising military discipline in the military began to collude with the combat soldiers due to the long-term high-pressure environment, the situation slowly got out of control.
In comparison, the situation of the troops of the Star Dragon Empire may be slightly better, but unfortunately it is not much better.
Most of the current defenders on this planet are actually not the natives of this planet. Most of them are 'mobilization soldiers' transported from other galaxies due to the 'General Mobilization Order' .
Although at the beginning they did fight with the purpose of 'defending the country', 'repelling the invaders', and 'maintaining the glory of the empire'.
But facing the fierce offensive of the federal army, the imperial defenders began to have ideological problems after suffering more and more serious casualties.
The same problem is shared by the Federation and the Star Dragon Empire - the sense of national identity.
During the Blue Star period, the people of each country had the highest sense of national identity because they lived on the same land and were connected to each other.
But as mankind has entered deep space and entered the age of interstellar navigation, civilians' sense of identity with the country has declined exponentially.
Many people cannot understand why there are people living on a planet that is thousands of miles away from them and will never meet again in their lifetime. Why do they need to pay the price to provide help?
Many soldiers, including some junior officers, began to ask themselves, why should they give their lives for the planet under their feet that has never been there?
When this idea fermented in the team, it quickly spread at a terrifying speed.
The first impact was that the troops' willingness to fight began to decrease significantly. Many troops would rather give up the position at their feet to others than hang on to the position and fight the federal army.
Then, after many commanders realized that they were likely to be abandoned by the empire's top brass, the mood of self-abasement from top to bottom began to gradually erupt.
Many front-line combat battalions began to let themselves go, chanting the slogan "If you are drunk today, it doesn't matter whether it will be broken tomorrow", and military discipline has gradually become a decoration.
In this context, unarmed civilians have become the most miserable group on the planet.——
"This is 'My Neighbor Totoro', the intersection is safe, Large forces can pass through quickly. "Received, stay alert and continue to conduct reconnaissance after large forces pass through."
Such a conversation took place in the small town of Portia, 11 kilometers away from Refugee Camp No. 5.
The two parties involved in the conversation were an outgoing reconnaissance team and a follow-up mechanized platoon of Atlas' Humanitarian Assistance Force.
At this moment, this small town, which once had a population of nearly 50,000, has almost become an empty town after the federal army and the imperial defenders visited it many times.
According to the survivors who fled to the refugee camp for shelter, it was a federal offensive force that took control of the town of Portia when they evacuated. After they took control of the town, they immediately began a large-scale manhunt and were beaten. scattered imperial remnants and civilians.
The residents of these small towns who fled to Refugee Camp No. 5 were able to escape because they lived on the outskirts of the town close to Camp No. 5.
After hearing the descriptions of these refugees, Battalion Commander Menton of the Second Heavy Combined Battalion of the Atlas Ground Forces, who was responsible for the defense of Camp 5, immediately realized that there were likely to be some in the town. Not a good situation.
Based on his understanding of the mission of 'humanitarian assistance', Monton sent a platoon of troops into the town of Portia after having the communications squad get in touch with the nearby federal army and report the situation. Search for other survivors.
The other units of the 'forward control company' to which this platoon belongs are deployed at a rear position and are ready to provide support at any time.
Since it was a search for survivors rather than actually going up to control the front, Monton did not send too many troops to avoid misjudgment by the federal forces.
But he was not stingy with his support for this forward control company.
The firepower company and drone platoon of the combined battalion equipped with self-propelled artillery and loitering bombs have been reinforced to this company. At the same time, the HCP company and armor company are also ready to attack at any time.
After boarding an armored infantry fighting vehicle and being responsible for forward reconnaissance, the investigation team with the call sign "My Neighbor Totoro" confirmed that it was safe, and the platoon entering the town of Portia quickly passed through the intersection.
Whether it is the armored infantry fighting vehicle used as a troop carrier or the three medium-sized multi-legged fighting vehicles strengthened to this platoon, they are all painted in all white like the Atlas air and space transport aircraft. .
Although such a painting completely loses its concealment, it can at least allow both warring parties to identify the identity of this unit at a glance and reduce the possibility of accidental attacks as much as possible.
Just as the platoon leader and sergeant of the mechanized infantry platoon were sitting in the command vehicle discussing where the survivors would choose as a hiding place, good news and bad news came back at the same time.
The good news is that a high-altitude reconnaissance drone circling the sky finally discovered the civilian survivors gathered together.
The bad news is that a circle of federal troops is currently surrounding these survivors.
The infantry fighting vehicle currently out for reconnaissance announced its position with a loudspeaker and scrolled the content of the "Trares Convention" while rushing to the position reported by the drone. They quickly sent a communication to the command vehicle.
"Platoon Commander, the federal army seems to be preparing to execute these civilians. How should we deal with them?"
(End of this chapter)