Tyranny of Steel

After the victory in Borneo, Captain Herman von Habsburg and his unit had been moved from the island to the Korean Front, where he and the men beneath his command fought on the front lines of war. However, seemingly over night, the Imperial Japanese Army had begun to withdraw to Busan with the full intention of entirely abandoning the theatre.

Now it was a race against time, as the soldiers of the German and Joseon armies bulldozed their way through the Korean landscape in an attempt to reach the shores of Busan before the enemy could escape back to their homeland. 

Herman von Habsburg was not the slightest bit nervous, as proof of this he rested on the sloped armor of a Panther tank, with his Stahlhelm covering his face so that it could block out the light of the sun. Other member of his unit were smoking cigarettes to cope with the stress of battle which they had endured for months on end.

An entire generation of German youth had been raised for the purpose of war, and though these young men were tried and tested long before they stepped foot on the battlefield, they were still human. Enduring stress, especially when it came to the form of bullets and artillery, was something a person could only handle for so long without reprieve.

Yet it was their duty to storm the beaches of Borneo, and advance through the mountains of Korea, without regard to their one single life. Self-sacrifice was the first basis for human civilization, and thus these men would gladly give their lives for family, folk, and fatherland if they had to, and not complain as they did so. 

Before stepping foot on the battlefield all those years ago, Herman had been conflicted with a variety of familial issues stemming from his sister's betrayal that led to the death of their father. However, now he could not care less. War had become his home, after years of battling savages, and now competing against the only other industrial power in this world, he was now accustomed to the echoes of gunfire and the scent of blood. 

Whether he lived or died, it ultimately did not matter to Herman. After all, he still had an elder brother to continue the family name. Such a thing was not a life that Herman found particularly attractive. Instead, he found himself more comfortable in a muddy trench surrounded by his men, then he did at peace in the fatherland. Perhaps this was why he was still unwed, even as he approached his thirties. Thus, as the echoes of gunfire crackled in the air, from the Japanese defenses in Busan, he slept. 

Eventually the sound of the Panther's main gun going off awakened the Captain as he realized the rest of his company had hopped off their tanks, and out of their Infantry Fighting Vehicles, leaving him alone as bullets barreled towards him. 

After casually tossing his Stahlhelm over his skull, Herman jumped down behind cover and racked the charging handle of his assault rifle. A nearby automatic riflemen, had deployed his bipod over the crumbled stone wall, and was firing off a burst of bullets towards the Japanese who hid behind sandbags. 

The advantage of the Stg-27 which had been modelled after the FG-42 from Berengar's past life, was that it fired from an open bolt while in the automatic setting, while also firing from a closed bolt in the semi-automatic setting. Allowing for reliable bursts of fire, as well as precise shots. 

Each soldier had been issued a 1.5x magnified scope, which greatly enhanced their ability to hit targets, while also allowing a perfect co-witness of the iron sights. Whether they were issued an automatic rifle or an assault rifle, these optics performed exceptionally on the battlefield, especially when compared with the Japanese who were forced to use irons sights.  After firing a barrage of hollow-point bullets towards the enemy, Herman heard the order come through from a nearby radio operator. 

"Captain, our orders are to withdraw from the front lines. It appears the artillery has arrived!"

Rather than risk being caught in danger close territory, Herman, along with all other officers deployed to the front lines, quickly gave the order to retreat back to the armored vehicles. As thousands of German and Joseon troops withdrew from firing range, the Japanese soldiers hollered insults, as if they truly believed it was they who forced the enemy to retreat.

However, in the next moment their cheers came to an end, as tens of thousands of rockets took to the skies, and fell rapidly upon the Japanese defences. The fiery explosions consumed all who were tasked with resisting the German-Joseon advance. They were dead before they could even scream. 

What followed this rocket artillery was an overwhelming barrage of the Hummel self propelled artillery, which numbered in the hundreds. They ruthlessly pounded what remained of the Japanese defenses with their 15cm guns. 

By the time the German mechanized infantry was permitted to attack again, nothing was left of the Imperial Japanese Army's first and second lines of defense except smoldering ruins. With this, the German-Joseon coalition was one step closer to the beaches, where they could cut off the Japanese escape.

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While the German and Joseon Armies made their way to the Coast in an attempt to cut off the Japanese escape. The Luftwaffe was in the air, doing their best to sink the transport ships. The primary means of attack were the Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers, who dropped their payloads as often as possible.

Most of these pilots had come from an airbase further north. As for the few carriers borne bombers, they came from the Sixth Carrier Strike Group, who were further out in the Bohai Sea. Thus, rather than dive bombers, these were Ar 234 Jets, which were equipped primarily with torpedos, this time around. As the SMS, Osterreich only kept a small supply of V-1 cruise missiles on board, which had been used up during the previous attack on the Japanese Third Fleet a few days prior. 

Hans, as usual, was tasked with protecting the bombers as he flew in his Ta 183/III Jet Fighter, zipping through the air with minimal effort, as fought against what limited aircraft the Japanese had deployed to protect their convoy. 

The Ta-183 jet fighter was capable of twice the speed as the Ki-106 fighter, it was also equipped with radar guided air-to-air missiles. Thus, Hans had an enormous advantage over the enemy. The X-1 Air-to-Air missile was modelled after the Ruhrstahl X-4 from Berengar's past life. However, unlike its predecessor, it was modified to make use of radar-locking technology rather than wire-guided technology. As a result, it could seek and destroy Japanese fighters with ease.

Hans had by now mastered the new weapon, and expertly piloted the aircraft around the skies while locking onto enemy targets with minimal effort. At the press of a button, he fired the first air-to-air missile that would score a kill in this world. 

The missile took off and flew through the air as it chased down its target. It could hit a target at a distance of 3.5 kilometers and travel at a speed of 880km/h. There was simply no feasible way for the Ki-106 to escape its path. 

Faster than Hans could even count the seconds it took, the X-1 missile collided with its target, and exploded upon impact. There was nothing left of the mostly wooden plane or its pilot as they completely disintegrated mid air. 

Haywire, who was Hans' wingman, exclaimed in shock over the radio as he witnessed the destructive power of their new weapons.

"Jesus fucking christ!"

As he said this, Hans had locked onto another target and fired yet another X-1 missile. In the blink of an eye, the explosion consumed another Japanese pilot's life. 

The battle on the ground below was just as intense. German wolf packs, combined with Torpedo dive and jet bombers, worked in tandem to destroy the Japanese convoys, all while the German armored divisions pressed forward to the beaches where the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army all gazed in horror as their lifeline sank beneath the ocean's surface. 

On this day, less than twenty thousand Japanese troops escaped from Korea with their lives intact to the nearby island of Tsushima, which was only one fourth of the troops Itami hoped would survive from the slaughter.

As for the rest of the Imperial Japanese Army in Busan, like all other major battles, the Japanese had utterly refused to surrender and instead fought until their last dying breaths, ultimately giving their lives in a pointless struggle. 

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