Chapter 282: Hostilities - I
The second shell disappeared into the smoke and struck the road seconds later.
Boom!
Concrete and dirt flew through the white cloud, but Recon One was already somewhere else.
Then one of the Vanguards fired back. The lead tanks behind the reconnaissance group opened fire almost together.
Several explosions appeared across the opposite formation as shells struck vehicles, the road around them and whatever cover they had started moving behind.
Recon One’s Guardian continued reversing through the smoke while its autocannon kept firing.
"Enemy tank still active!"
"Keep firing!"
Another burst struck the same vehicle.
Farther behind them, more Golden Eagle Army units were already spreading away from the road.
The Guardian APCs moved between warehouses and abandoned industrial buildings before their rear ramps dropped.
Standard Infantry Squads and Mechanized APC Squads dismounted at the same time.
Army Soldiers and Conscripts moved first while Machine Gunners took firing positions behind them. Guardian GIs spread toward the stronger defensive points, while the Missile Infantry immediately started searching for armored targets.
The Engineers from the Mechanized APC Squads stayed close enough to the vehicles to respond if anything took serious damage.
The Vanguards separated into firing positions instead of staying packed together along the column.
The sudden attack had surprised them, but that was all about it.
Brandon watched the entire engagement unfold through the BACV. Red markers covered the southern side of the facility.
"Southern Command to all elements. Weapons free. Return fire."
Several of his units were already shooting.
Another hostile tank fired.
One of the Vanguards shifted behind the corner of a warehouse before the shell crossed the road in front of it.
Its turret turned back.
Boom!
The returning shot struck the opposing tank seconds later.
"Hit confirmed!"
More gunfire followed.
The engagement spread across the industrial outskirts more quickly than the Hawford side had expected.
The opposing formation wasn’t incompetent.
Their tanks separated from the road and moved behind warehouses, concrete barriers and sections of the old facility that gave them cover. Infantry deployed between the vehicles while lighter armored units moved toward the flanks.
Several cannons fired in a rhythmic pattern.
One shell struck the front of a Vanguard.
The impact threw sparks and fragments from the armor and forced the tank backward slightly.
"Vanguard Three hit!"
"I’m fine."
Its turret was already turning. The damage across the frontal armor was visible, but nowhere near enough to disable it.
A few seconds later, the damaged section had already begun recovering little by little. The deformed armor slowly started returning to its original shape.
The gunner acquired the tank responsible.
"Found the target."
"Fire!"
Boom!
The Vanguard’s shell struck the opposing tank directly through its forward armor. The vehicle stopped as smoke began pouring from the impact point.
Two more Vanguards fired farther down the road.
The Golden Eagle Army’s advantage became obvious very quickly.
Not only were the Vanguards firing faster, but their promoted weapons and crews were simply operating at a level the Hawford formation could not easily match.
The crews adjusted between shots with barely any delay, switching targets whenever another vehicle exposed itself. Their Radar-fed targeting kept the southern formation marked even as buildings and smoke broke direct sightlines.
An enemy tank fired while reversing behind a warehouse.
The shell struck the side of another Vanguard at an angle.
Armor broke away yet the Vanguard continued moving.
"Side armor hit."
"Keep at it, gunner. Driver, don’t fucking sleep around."
"That was luck."
Its turret rotated toward another target.
Boom!
A shell punched through an opposing armored vehicle and exploded somewhere behind it.
Across the road, the Guardian APCs concentrated on lighter vehicles and exposed infantry instead of wasting their autocannons against the strongest frontal armor.
Thirty-millimeter fire ripped through one transport attempting to move between two warehouses.
Another Guardian APC sprayed the upper floor of a building after several hostile soldiers began firing from the windows.
The dismounted squads advanced with them.
Machine Gunners established overlapping lanes between the warehouses while Army Soldiers and Conscripts moved through the gaps.
Several Guardian GIs deployed near the stronger firing positions, their heavier armor allowing them to remain exposed longer than the Hawford soldiers expected.
The Missile Infantry stayed farther behind the leading riflemen, their launchers already tracking the hostile armor through the shared Radar picture.
One Standard Infantry Squad crossed the road under covering fire, disappeared behind a concrete wall and emerged farther along the flank before the soldiers facing them had completely adjusted.
Rifle fire followed.
One Army Soldier was struck and fell behind cover.
The wound began closing almost immediately. He pulled himself farther behind the wall while another soldier covered his position.
"Enemy armor, two hundred meters east!"
"Marked."
A Vanguard swung around the corner of an abandoned workshop.
Three hostile tanks were already waiting.
All three fired.
The Vanguard reversed immediately.
One shell missed.
The second struck its frontal armor.
The third caught the side as the tank moved back.
Armor tore away along the track assembly and the Vanguard stopped hard.
"Vanguard Five damaged!"
"Track hit! We’re immobilized!"
The three opposing tanks immediately started moving toward it. Vanguard Five had all three guns focused on it for several seconds.
Its own turret never stopped moving.
"Target one!"
Boom!
𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
The first return shot struck the nearest tank before it could completely change position.
Another enemy cannon fired.
The shell slammed into Vanguard Five’s frontal armor.
"Still up!"
"Of course we’re still up. Load!"
But Vanguard Five was no longer fighting alone.
The rest of the platoon had already reacted.
Two nearby Vanguards shifted around separate sides of the industrial block, their turrets tracking the same three targets through the shared Radar picture.
At the same time, Missile Infantry from the dismounted squads had already taken positions behind the armored line.
"Armor east. Three targets."
"Already marked."
Several launchers rose.
"HEAT."
The first missile left its launcher with a loud boom.
Another followed from farther down the line.
The nearest hostile tank attempted to reverse but it was too late.
The first HEAT warhead struck its side.
The second missile hit another tank almost at the same time the supporting Vanguards opened fire.
Boom!
Boom!
The three-tank push collapsed as quickly as it had formed.
One vehicle stopped after the missile impact.
Another was struck by a Vanguard shell before it could finish turning.
The third immediately began pulling back behind the workshop.
Vanguard Five’s gunner followed it.
"Running."
"Let him."
One of the supporting Vanguards fired first.
The retreating tank disappeared behind the building just before the shell tore through the corner it had been using for cover.
Vanguard Five remained where it was, damaged but still operational. An Engineer and a Field Support Vehicle were already moving toward it from behind the line.
"Five, hold there. Repair is coming."
"Copy. Thanks for the save."
The crew was already loading another round.