Author Notes:
Oh, Thomas of the Train, what is your wisdom?
"Firepower! Firepower is the answer! If it isn't the answer then you simply aren't using enough of it!"
Jokes aside, welcome back, Captain Jack! Hope you enjoy the early chapters because I sure cooked with them :D
You boys and gals will too soon enough :)
Though this is your last chance for this set of 10% discount on Patreon. It will be some time before I will run another one, so grab it while it's still hot!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
https://www.p-atreon.com/Heartbreak117
https://ko-fi.com/heartbreak117/goal?g=0
P.S: Edited by Yovis
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Metz, Nancy, Luneville, and Strasbourg are cities as close to the Southern Maginot frontline as they can possibly be. So it's understandable that these places are also heavily defended, if not by formidable fortifications, then by numerous garrisons. When the Maginot Line was broken in the early days of Case Yellow, these cities were all the Loyalists still had left before the complete collapse of the Southern Front. Reinforced by retreating units from the Maginot Line, the cities turn into pseudo fortresses that, while can be easily dealt with by the Belkan military, still pose a major challenge to the Reformists'. Unlike the swift seizure of Beaumont on the other part of the front, these four Loyalist cities are fought over in a manner akin to that of modern siege warfare.
The Loyalists used the emplacements on the cities' walls to defend against the attacking Reformist forces. On either side of the walls, artillery batteries constantly traded fire. The debris flying, the smells of blood and gunpowder, the ashen atmosphere... It brings back memories of the Great War in the eyes of both Loyalists and Reformists alike. Then there're the constant streams of bullets and artillery shells whistling and exploding all over. The death cries and the screams for anything that could ease their pain can be heard both on and below the walls. In a mere 24 hours, the sieges staged around the four Loyalist cities made the veterans recall the longest siege in modern history. In the First World War, Belka and Ustio waged 303 days of consecutive battle around the White Rock Fortress. A decisive battle that ended up in a bitter draw for the Belkans of that time. In the minds of the Loyalists, or at least some of them, they're hoping to stage such a drawn-out battle, if only to bide their time and tire out the Belkan-Reformist coalition.
Were it so easy for them.
Knowing that a protracted siege, not to mention multiple, could completely bankrupt her Army, Rosa decides to break out the big guns. The Princess of the Reformists first dialed in requests for Belkan precision bombings, just enough to soften the enemy resistance, yet not being an overkill that would damage the cities' infrastructure. Rosa then commandeered Thomas the Train and its crew after they delivered Yuki's looted heavy armaments on Bulson. The crew, with the aid of some Reformist engineers, fashioned new carriages for the looted 220 mm howitzers. These carriages act as transportable firing platforms when hooked up to Thomas. Though not as protected as any of them would like, the added mobility allows the 220 mm guns to be mobile siege breakers. Rosa put Thomas and the guns to do just that.
Now, after using the Ustian train network to do a half circle around Metz, Thomas and its crew come to a slow stop beyond the effective engagement distance of the Loyalists on the walls. Adam, using the camera of an RCWS to scan the intended target of the 220 mm guns, says.
"The walls sure took a beating, alright." Adam says about the state of Metz's city walls.
Lukas, standing by Adam's side adds.
"Yet they still stand defiantly despite the Reformists' attacks. They tried to displace the Loyalists while doing as little damage as possible to the walls. Regardless, as you have seen, it's not really successful when the very last thing that stands between the Loyalists' defeat and victory is that very wall."
"And since getting the Loyalists off that wall the slightly softer way didn't work..."
Lukas finishes the sentence for Adam. "We brought along the sledgehammer."
The both of them then move to a rear-facing vision port. It's there that they can lay their eyes on the artillery carriages they were pulling along.
"Fancy guns, aren't they?" Lukas comments.
The Ustian 220 mm howitzers are pieces of land artillery of monstrous proportions. The barrel and breach alone dwarf even that of a Hummel SPG compartment, with the entire artillery weighing as much as a naval turret. Dragging one of them is a challenge for any train, and Thomas pulled three such pieces with the added firing platform and makeshift armor platings. Thomas is powerful, alright, but this must have been one of the heavier loads they have ever hauled, if not the heaviest. Protecting these precious weapons are steel plates, welded directly onto the platforms. Since there's no turret mechanism, each platform is fitted with a rotating base, powered by the energy from Thomas. To counteract the recoil of these guns, the train is installed with deployable spades to dig into the ground. Understandably, the Frankenstein nature of this mobile siege breaker design won't be winning any aesthetic prize. However, they will surely get the job done. By the time Captain Surbella gives the train-wide announcement that the 220 mm guns are about to fire, the guns themselves are already aiming down on Metz.
Adam says. "It's starting." There's a certain anticipation in his voice. Though, can you blame the Lieutenant? It's rare to see a land artillery piece with a heavy cruiser level of firepower in action.
"You got your earpro on properly?" Lukas reminds while fixing his ear protection headset. "This is really not hearing safe pretty much anywhere in a hundred meters."
Adam pats his headset down just in case. "It should be. Ready for one of the biggest booms in your life, Lukas?"
"I highly doubt it would be as bad as Warsaw but yeah, I'm ready." Lukas replies while resting his hands on a piece of railing. "Wanna bet that city gate is gonna be straight up gone in ten seconds?"
Adam chuckles. "I'm not gonna take a bet that I will lose. If the 88 can blow the gate apart, the 220 mm will erase the entire structure."
"Smart." Lukas smirks as Captain Surbella starts the countdown on the broadcast system. "Oh boy, here we go...!"
Adam nods before addressing the crew in the command compartment one last time. "Hang on to your teeth, people!"
"3..."
"2..."
"1..."
KRAK-BOOM KRAK-BOOM KRAK-BOOM
The artillery unit of three 220 mm guns fires one by one, with each concussive muzzle blast shaking the entire train length. Adam wouldn't be surprised if Thomas were shaken off the ground without the entrenchment spades. Sure enough, the muzzle blasts also hit the bodies of normal human beings like a soft yet noticeable gut punch while the metals around them groans in protest. Had special care not been taken to secure the sensor arrays aboard Thomas, they would have incurred a hefty repair cost just by firing the 220 mm. Fortunately, Adam had the foresight to protect the sensitive things prior to departure. In any case, the firing of the guns really was a spectacle like Adam had hoped for. And much like what the Lieutenant expected, the damage dished out by the guns is also similarly marvelous.
It takes mere seconds for the heavy high-explosive shells to travel. Seconds that can be counted on one hand. The shorter flight time is because the 220 mm guns were set up in a direct-fire position instead of indirectly. Just like what a true siege weapon is, the howitzers destroy Metz's gate, albeit at a ridiculously high efficiency. Hell, one may even say that one 220 mm gun is overkill, much less three of them. Using three makes it so that the gate crumbles, borderline disintegrating due to the combined explosive power. As the gate collapses behind the dark plumes of smoke like Jericho's walls, the rest of the Loyalists' embankment faces a shock as cracks appear and travel across its length. Fortunately for them, the rest of Metz's walls haven't started collapsing outright, and the 220 mm guns never fire again, having achieved what they aimed for.
Even the disciplined Adam can't keep a whistle from escaping his mouth. "Now that... That's highly impressive. That right there is the ultimate recreation of a castle siege. Kinda wished we could have one of those instead of the 88 now."
Lukas shakes his head with a laugh. "Brother, please, I work my ass off replacing our armor plates and paint job constantly. I don't need something more complicated than that to maintain. Hell, by the time we complete the trips to the other cities, I will have to check and patch every single bolt on Thomas because the recoil of these guns is so outlandishly absurd."
"A shame." Adam comments. "I guess that dream of an actual Land Battleship is still a bit far off."
"We're technically a Land Dragon already, why the Hell do we need a Land Battleship?" Lukas deadpans. "This is pretty much the only train in the entire world with enough firepower to raze an entire city district!"
Adam shrugs with a smirk.
"Well, a man sure can dream, no? Perhaps in the future, the Marshal will see it fit to give us even more guns. Don't tell me that doesn't make you excited, Lukas."
"It does." Lukas nods, sighing. "But I dread the moment when Thomas needs that much firepower. By that time, the threat we will be facing is probably a cut worse than the usual, like Warsaw level of worse."
"That can happen," Adam frowns. "Knowing our luck..."
As the pair mull over potential future scenarios, the Reformists utilize the Loyalists' shock to mount yet another attack. This time, they gain ground faster and more efficiently than before due to the breach in the Loyalists' defense. It doesn't take a genius to know that the siege of Metz is over. What comes next will be a series of urban fighting, something in which the Reformists have an advantage over the Loyalists, owing to their more numerous and effective automatic weapons.
After Metz's capture, Rosa will go on a roll, subsuming more cities on her part of the front. While her progress is undoubtedly slower than that of the Reich Marshal, it's still highly impressive considering her lower and disproportionated technological level in general.