Although Auschwitz occupied a large plot of land, the 501st Division easily steamrolled through the city's defensive perimeter. This can be attributed to the effectiveness of the airborne division but one can't discount that the lack of combat readiness of the garrisoned regiments has easily tipped the scale in Belka's favor. Despite ordering a retreat to reconsolidate his force and even using suicide bombers, a wholly underhand tactic, the Sardegnian Colonel in charge finds that nothing he did manage to make a dent in this surprisingly powerful enemy.
Though the conflict has been raging for a couple of hours, the Sardegnian can't quite identify just who is the one that has been attacking. Survivor reports have been sporadic and chaotic, lacking much-needed clarification on the actual status of the attacking force. This, right here, shows a stark difference in the leadership of both sides. Whereas Belka encourages lead-by-example and frontline commanding, should one feel have the ability to do so, Sardegnian officers form a strict hierarchy. Commanding officers are expected to maintain a proper image and direct the warzone from the safety net provided by the grunts, all while feasting on whatever they can get their hands on. While this improves officers' survivability, in a chaotic battlefield scenario like Auschwitz's urban combat one, it can inflict miscommunication and delay in commands. The Sardegnian method of leading is also not a singular occurrence, Erusea and Ustio use it, with Rusviet showcasing it to an extent.
Even with the advent of advanced communication technology, high-ranking Belkan officers can still be seen sticking closely to their assigned units, armed and ready to join the fight if need be. Those sightings inspire confidence and morale in the troops, prompting them to fight with more fervor. The on-hand information, in turn, allows the officers to address any tactical issue that may prop up promptly. This aggressive leading method is quite unheard of in the military world. Belkan officers are trained till they become a different breed altogether. That said, the 501st Airborne takes it to the next level, with even their Majors and Colonels riding in IFVs or Ospreys a not-so-far distance behind the main force. Hell, the only reason why they aren't up at the frontline is because there's no need for them, yet. Currently, the 501st is dismantling the pockets of resistance with ease. Soon enough, they will move on to attack the area around the castle and the castle itself.
Knowing that competing with the airbornes in the urban jungle is hopeless, the enemy Colonel reorganizes his tattered force, placing them on the tall castle walls and the castle yard. Desperate, the armory is unlocked and guns are given to every single person in the castle, non-combatants, like military chefs, included. The latter even consists of a few willing prisoners, with the word 'willing' being stretched very hard. Lady Lyssa also throws in most of what she has, sending the Crusaders, handicapped as they may be, down to the castle ground and join the defenders. Even if they don't have access to their magic, their physical ability should still be retained, somewhat.
Such a thing can only be tested in actual combat. But before that, they wait... And they wait some more.
In their hasty retreat back into the confines of the walls, the Sardegnians have left many of their units stranded and besieged by the 501st airbornes. Sporadic sound of combat can be heard yet due to the fog of war, the Sardegnians stationed on the walls can't see anything. Strangely enough, despite the attackers' superior firepower, the castle has been left alone so far. The lull in combat doesn't exactly do wonders for the defenders' mental state. Some take this chance to pray to their God while others are left wondering if the attack is finally over and the time for negotiation has come. After all, besieging a castle would be a costly effort, no?
While the castle defense is perfectly suitable for a contemporary army, with thick walls, anti-air towers, anti-tank alcoves, machine gun nests, and artillery pits... To say that they are awfully lacking against a futuristic army would be an understatement.
Combat breaks out when 501st artillery observers use their laser designators to guide 150mm guided munitions onto the anti-air towers. All around the castle are 16 such towers, and one by one, each goes up in a fiery ball of rubble and ash. After that, the 501st Combat Aviation Brigade starts an aerial assault. The first to engage hostility is the Fi-22G gunships, using a combination of gimbal-mounted 30mm chain guns and door gunners using 14.5mm HMGs, these gunships strafe the life out of the Sardegnians hugging the top of the walls. This is done to ensure the safe arrival of transport Ospreys carrying airmobile infantry.
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After the top of the walls is clear, the Guns-a-go-go gunships dive low, utilizing their rockets and missiles to blow up swaths of Sardegnian soldiers indiscriminately and prioritizing the destruction of bunkers and emplacements. With the airspace clear and using the chaos created by the gunships, the Ospreys arrive atop of the walls. Holding their altitude, the Opreys open their side doors, allowing the soldiers inside to fast-rope down. Some of these soldiers, in turn, will spread out, taking position along the walls and using the height they offer against the Sardegnians. Others will move into the bowels of the structure, taking care to clear out any enemy they see.
The Ospreys would return to the FOBs once they deployed their passengers. A few would, however, stay behind to provide further fire support where a gunship can't. On these particular Ospreys, VTOL-borne snipers take up position by the side, bracing their SG-8 sniper rifles to take out targets of opportunity. This can range from sniping mortar crews to exploding the heads of the enemy by the castle's windows. Against harder targets, the snipers will call them out so that the 14.5mm and 30mm on their Ospreys can engage them. Falling that, well, that's what the ground boys are for.
Simultaneously as the air assault, mechanized elements of the 501st begin storming the castle from the four cardinal direction. With the aid rendered by Guns-a-go-go gunships, Leopard tanks brazenly blow holes into the castle gates, paving the path for the IFVs and themselves to roll over anything the Sardegnians have to offer. Facing an all-out attack like this, the Sardegnians know that this will become their last stand. The notion prompts a more resistant than earlier but also encourages foolish ones too. The mechanized convoys have come across many cases of infantry charging a wall of steel and lead, only to be gunned down heartlessly by a combination of 8mm, 14.5mm, and 30mm collectively. The convoys only stop to deploy their accompanying infantry before continuing forward, unburdened, unchallenged. The unmatched firepower provided by the Pumas and Leopards allowed them to dominate any open area. In CQC, just the automatic Hail Mary from the G1 rifles is enough to mow down any soft-skin ambush. Facing anything harder, the paratroopers employ the 40mm underbarrel grenade launchers to great effect. At the end of the day, images of Sardegnian soldiers being blown out of a window by a 40mm launcher aren't uncommon.
That said, it's not like the Sardegnians don't have a trick up their sleeves. The Crusaders who are loyal to Lady Lyssa are still around. Though some of them died in the initial stage of the attack on the castle, there is still enough left to make an impression. With no access to magic, these Crusaders have no choice but to put faith in their physical attributes and fight. Using standard Sardegnian infantry weapons as their magic pistols are now dead weight, these Crusaders fight tooth and nail against the 501st infantry. With their varying level of strength and durability, the Crusaders would be a menace in a fistfight, with the weakest Crusaders can tank a few bullets as if they're wearing full-body ballistic vests. Most of the Crusaders the airborne infantry encounter are either the weakest D-rank with the majority of them being C-rank. With proper tactics, meaning don't get close to them and just pump them full of lead, these groups of Crusaders are the easiest to turn into Swiss Cheese.
That said, B-rank and A-rank Crusaders are where things would be tough for the 501st. Stronger, faster, and more well-trained, these ladies would be tough to kill as a normal human would be hard-pressed to keep up with them. Given time, they can easily perform hit-and-run attacks to sow chaos in the mechanized convoys. There are already cases of these Crusaders popping out of cover just to chuck a few grenades and then run away, causing unnecessary damage and casualties.
That said, this is quite possibly the last card the Sardegnians can throw onto the table. Powerful as they may be, the high-ranking Crusaders' effort would just be like a drop of water in the desert, not enough to change the tide of battle. They just don't have the number to hold off an entire elite division that wants them dead. But that doesn't mean they will stop causing as much destruction as possible.
Well, Belka knows better, the Reich Marshal knows better than to let them run amok. Already, specialists that are perfectly made to counter threats like the Crusaders are deployed from the RMS August von Parseval. Before the pesky women can cause any more annoyance, these specialists have come from the air. Some deploy their wings, joining their brethren in the sky while others perform superheroes landing and cracking the pavement below them. Standing up at full height, these newly arrived armored figures towering above the mortals and even supernatural races like Beastman and Oni caught themselves lacking in their presence.
One of them, a figure with a skull helmet visor, surveys the battlefield, seeing the looks of shock on the faces of the Crusaders who were just about to deploy against the 501st. Smirking beneath the helmet, the figure chambers his 8-gauge shotgun. "Dibs!" He expressed the word jokingly for all to hear before turning the big tube toward the female combatant.
With the arrival of the Ravens, the game is set from this point onward.