Cozy Glow meanwhile had been scouting the areas up north for Zhukov. She has came back to report.
"How defended is up north?" Zhukov asked the filly. That's the current focus the Soviet marshal has. He wants to secure the only railroads up north that leads to this place called Griffonstone ASAP.
"They have many tanks, some of them being really big ones too. But they don't have artillery. There's so many Royal Guards I can't count all of them, but I'd say five thousand," Cozy Glow reported while saluting with her right forehoof.
"I'm going to find somebody to teach you Russian. Other than that, your scouting is outstanding," Zhukov complimented.
"We should push westwards though. The more we go up north, the more time we give everypony to dig in. Then Twilight and her friends could do real big damage to your war effort," Cozy Glow advised the Soviet marshal.
"I don't know much about this Griffonstone place. For all we know, if the proposed Griffonstone gets involved, we could be fucked. It's vital we secure that railroad up north to cut Equestria off from said Griffonstone," Zhukov brutally dismissed the filly's suggestion.
"We could later even advance through said rift- I don't know much about this... magic and portals and shit. I'm a military marshal, not a man who does witchcraft," Zhukov added.
"Anyway, how well is the shipping in equipment part going? They look so awesome! We getting more of them?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Very good comrade, very good. We've also occupied Black Skull Island, landed on the basalt beach down south and pushing through Pine Needle Barrens. We've also landed near Hayseed Swamps. Another Marshal, Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky, is down south and is pushing his forces up north, while my forces are pushing from the east. Only thing stopping us pushing much deeper at the moment is logistics, which will be all good by tomorrow. That's when we can really give the fuckers some rain," Zhukov replied.
"It's going to be difficult getting past those mountains up north. Defenders could hold a stronger position and even repel an attack," Cozy Glow warned. Zhukov nodded.
"Бля география," Zhukov muttered as he gets out another map from his right pocket, which he stretches out over the map of the equal sign-shaped village. The map Zhukov got out is the full map of Equestria. He takes a look at Rainbow Falls, which is on the north east part of Equestria.
"There is a way round the mountains up north. You don't need to push through the mountains to Rainbow Falls," Said a deep female voice. Zhukov and Cozy Glow look left to Chrysalis, who is also wearing a wooly coat and a ushanka.
"I must say, Soviets do know how to make good coats and hats. I could add these into my new hive," Chrysalis stated.
"You said there's a way around the mountains?" Zhukov questioned the changeling.
"There is, marshal Zhukov," Chrysalis stated as he steps over to the pegasus and human. She points her left forehoof at some very narrow strip of greenery, with mountains on the left and the sea on the right.
"Through that stretch of land, you flank around the mountains, occupy the train tracks. Rainbow Falls will... ah ha, ffaallll. I expect you Soviets to make easy work with the ponies there. You will even have direct access to the Crystal Empire through there too," Chrysalis pointed out to the Soviet marshal.
"How the fuck did I miss that?" Zhukov lightly chuckled.
"Maybe it's to do with your age?" Cozy Glow guessed.
"You, fucking behave, cheeky shit," Zhukov said in a stern voice, but then let's out a light chuckle. He's slowly getting more fond of the filly, that if she didn't become in charge of what remains of Equestria, Zhukov may offer her to be taken under his care.
"And I guess Yakyakistan is there for the taking all the way the west up north if you wanted to establish a presence in the Arctic," Chrysalis added.
"Oh- Chrysalis, how good is your luck with gathering any changelings still loyal to you?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Turns out they've been in hiding, rebuilding very well, far better than my original expectations. Soon, that... rotten Starlight is going to pay for what she did," Chrysalis stated, venting off some steam as she mentioned Starlight. The changeling hates that unicorn with every fibre of her being.
"How many changelings exactly? Thousands?" Zhukov asked. Chrysalis shook her head and began smirking at Zhukov's guess, which was very far off.
"Millions, millions waiting for their que- General Secretary to return," The last thing Chrysalis wanted was the Soviets finding out is that she was a former queen. That'd be a great and flawless way to end up on the NKVD hit list.
"Get those available ready for a glorious offensive," Zhukov demanded.
"One step ahead of you, Zhukov. Changelings plus Soviets, we'd be unstoppable! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Chrysalis evilly laughed before teleporting away.
"The Royal Guard is inept, they are easy to push. They won't expect us to cross that bit of land there," Zhukov confidently stated.
"Should we call in artillery support, just to be a tad bit sure? We wouldn't want to lose and make comrade Stalin very angry, do we?" Cozy Glow suggested.
"There's still too little artillery available in Equestria at the moment. But these Equestrian forces are small, and we should push before they can organize themselves and call in reinforcements from potentially Griffonstone," Zhukov explained to the filly.
(2 hour time-skip)
Zhukov's push up north is backed up by another 10,000 infantry along with 700 tanks. This is on top of the 20,000 troops, a single centaur, 1,000 tanks and an already plentiful 2,000 trucks available for the push. It turns out that this narrow bit of ground is defended by 1,500 unicorns, 1,500 pegasuses, 1,500 earth ponies and even a small force of 300 tanks, but in all areas they're outnumbered. The strong army of 30,000 Soviet infantry along with their tanks, trucks and their single centaur much forwards.
(End of 2 hour time-skip)
Tirek is leading at the front with 3 IS-3's to his left and right each, along with several countless infantrymen jogging, most of them equipped with a Mosin Nagant. The centaur is holding the Soviet flag with both hands, holding it as high as he can. He sees the tanks besides him pause, so he pauses too.
In the distance, the army of ponies are seen. The ponies ahead are dug into defensive positions. The IS-3's began to speed up. Tirek leads forward with the massive Soviet heavy tanks.
The pony in charge of the defence is Flash Magnus. The pony who dug out the defences was Rockhoof, and sort of second in command. Ponies wearing silver helmets instead of the much more common gold helmets are commissars.
"Here they come..." Rockhoof mutters as he sees tanks with pike-nose hulls and rounded turrets. But that isn't the scariest thing seen.
"Is that... Tirek- Oh shoot..." Flash Magnus shudders as they spot a red and black centaur with white hooves holding the Soviet flag with both their hands.
"He's going to steal our magic. We can't engage the Soviets. It's too dangerous if Tirek is aiding them," Rockhoof declared.
"It's suicide I know, but I'll let everypony decide whether to fight or just full on retreat. The Soviets must be trying to flank around the mountains so they can push towards the Crystal Empire. But getting Tirek out of the picture is vital if we want any chance of pushing the Soviets back," Flash Magnus stated.
"I say we send some of our tanks forward to deal with Tirek, or at least render him ineffective. From there, we can fight while on the retreat and regroup with others to form stronger defences," Rockhoof suggested. Flash Magnus nodded in agreement. The pegasus in charge got together 55 Panzer IV's, 40 Tiger 1's and 5 Tiger 2's ready for their task. They're all only being crewed by a single unicorn as unicorn magic can fill out the roles of a whole conventional crew. Each pony knows they could lose their lives, but they'll die for their Equestria.
The infantry stopped charging and paused, waiting behind as the Soviet tanks pushed forward. Tirek sees several grey-coloured tanks charging ahead, some big, but a lot of them are small. They had a German look to them, because they are German-made. But 5 of them made the IS-3 look short, although the Soviet tank is longer. But the size of the tank doesn't matter, the armour and cannon of the tank does.
KLOMBF!
One of the IS-3's fire at one of the Tiger 2's tanks and penetrates. Fire bursts out of the hatch of the tank. A single unicorn came out while burning like wood and cotton, which in this instance the fur and skin is the cotton, and the flesh is the wood. The unicorn screamed as the fire burnt away their skin and began biting the flesh. But their agony is short as they stopped struggling to get out the hatch and just laid half-outside the hatch, burning away, and even some of their bones became visible out of the burning pony carcass.
Tirek sees the gray German-made tanks aiming at him. Hus legs pushes his body sideways.
KABMF!
One of the remaining 4 Tiger 2's fires, but missed the centaur. The Soviet tankers see this becoming a tank battle. Panzer IV's, Tiger 1's and Tiger 2's vs T-34-85's, IS-2's and IS-3's.
Tirek knows in his current form he can't take on a Panzer IV even, let alone any of the Tiger tanks. He too stays back with the infantry. They wait for the mighty Soviet tankers crush the poor Equestrian tankers.
The German-made Equestrian tankers rushes past the IS-3's. The Tiger 2's went into reverse while desperately trying to fend off the IS-3's.
KABMF! KABMF- DING! The 2 Tiger 2's began firing at one IS-3. One shell penetrated the lower plate of the pike-nose and the tank stopped moving. The other shell ricochets of the rounded turret.
KLOMBF! The IS-3 that got penetrated was still able to return fire. It hits the turret of the offending Tiger 2, managing to jam the turret. Then a wave 14 IS-2's pushes forward to support the IS-3's.
KABMF! A Tiger 2 fires at an IS-2. It penetrates the turret and the tank becomes a metal bonfire. Out of the hatches, 3 Soviet tankers are seen climbing out.
KAMBF! One of the Tiger 2's showed no mercy and fired another shell at the already destroyed IS-2. The 3 Soviet tankers that managed to get out get their bodies shredded by shrapnel, and they're flung several feet into the air and lands awkwardly on their heads, concealing their already gruesome fates.
KLOMBF- BANG! Another IS-3 shoots at the side of a Tiger 1 just under the turret. An erupting ball of fire pushes the turret upwards and sends it flying. The unicorn that was inside the tank gets incinerated.
KAMBF! Another Tiger 1 manages to fire and penetrate the IS-3 that had already been penetrated in the lower plate. All 4 of the tankers manage to get out before their seemingly unbreakable tank becomes a blazing wreck.
BMF! BMF! A couple of Panzer IV's releases fire onto the tankers that managed to escape. They're immediately killed in the explosion.
KLOMBF!
An IS-2 meanwhile got to the side of the Tiger 2 with the jammed turret and shot, penetrating and setting the inside on fire. Fire began erupting out of the hatch of the tank. Nopony in burning tank gets out.
BWMPH- BANG! A Tiger 1 has the side of the IS-2 that shot. The German-made tank fires at the IS-2's turret in the side. The turret flies off and an eruption of fire takes it's place. The Soviet tankers in the tank gets incinerated.
KRAKOMBF! A shell out of nowhere hits a Tiger 2 and rips a massive hole into its gigantic upper plate with a massive explosion. The Tiger 2's cannon gets ripped out of place from the shockwave from the explosion of the shell. Through the hole in the upper plate can be a shredded unicorn corpse on fire and blood is all over inside the tank, which the fire slowly climbs up on.
The tank that shot the poor Tiger 2 looks like a bigger IS-3. It drives to the front and is moving at speeds faster than the IS-3's that were at the front of the assault. This big tank is also equipped with a 130 mm cannon. Even worse for the Equestrian tankers, 2 more of these Soviet behemoths appear.
BWMPH- DING! A Tiger 1 shell ricochets off the lower plate of this Soviet behemoth of a tank.
BWOMPF! A flanking T-34-85 got behind the Tiger 1 and fires at the back of it's turret. Flames burst open the hatch. The Soviet tank was so close the crew could hear a pony faintly screaming inside the burning Tiger 1.
KRAKOMBF! KRAKOMBF! The other 2 behemoth-sized Soviet tanks dealt with the last Tiger 2's that pushed forward. The Equestrian tanks are in a state of panic. Except for a single Tiger 1, every tank turns around and tries to regroup with the rest of the defence, big mistake.
BWOMPF! KLOMBF! KLOMBF! BWOMPF! BWOMPF! BWOMPF! KLOMBF! A mix of shells from more T-34-85's, IS-2's and IS-3's shot the back of 7 retreating Tiger 1's, all of which their engines are set on fire. Leading the charge are the 3 big behemoth-sized tanks.
KRAKOMBF- BOOM! One of the behemoth-sized tanks fires at another Tiger 1. Half the tank was left in existence and the unicorn operating it got obliterated in a massive explosion.
Tirek meanwhile charges in with the tanks, thinking he's safe and the main pony tank charge had passed. But he then spots another Tiger 1 and it's aiming directly at him.
"Oh shoot..."
BWMPH!
The Tiger 1 may not be the best tank in the world anymore, but the 88 mm cannon it wields is still lethal. This specific Tiger 1 has done the last job will do, neutralizing a now bloodied Tirek. Shrapnel rips into the centaur and he fell to the ground in unbearable pain.
KLOMBF! A shell from an IS-2 punches through the lower plate of that Tiger 1. While the tank has stopped moving, the tank still looks somewhat usable for another pony.
BWOMPF!
A T-34-85 made sure the tank was burning. It's better safe than sorry. What could've been a usable Tiger 1 for somepony is now unusable.
Meanwhile, the 3 behemoth-sized tanks meanwhile are ravaging Equestria's tanks. They stop driving so they can aim at the retreating German-made tanks.
KRAKOMBF- BOOM! KRAKOMBF- BOOM! KRAKOMBF- BOOM!
The 3 enormous tanks made of pure Soviet steel fire their shells out of their colossal cannons onto 3 Panzer IV's, obliterating each of them in an explosion. There's barely any trace left of the dinky little panzers after being hit by the powerful shells. A Panzer IV may of been big and scary in 1940, but they're nothing against the newest Soviet tanks of 1945.
The remaining Tiger 1's and Panzer IV's managed to escape and regroup with their main defensive line. The overall engagement was an appalling lose for Equestria. The Royal Guard lost 5 Tiger 2's, 11 Tiger 1's and 3 Panzer IV's. All them losses for just a couple IS-2's and a single IS-3 for Soviet losses. But they see it as a victory as they achieved their main objective, neutralizing Tirek.
The 3 Soviet behemoths meanwhile are leading the tank charge. Their hasty path of destruction is nothing other than an unstoppable fist of steel. They're supported by a wave of IS-3's, IS-2's and an armada of T-34-85's with 4 soldiers sitting on the back on each side equipped with an SVT 40 each. Accompanying the tanks is an ant-like swarm of charging infantry each equipped with mostly a Mosin Nagant while a few others have other firearms. The Red Army seemed to just be endless in size.
Flash Magnus is holding a pair of binoculars. He holds the lenses up close to his eyes. He sees no Tirek, meaning he's at least neutralized, preferably dead. Taking the centaur's place as the flag holder is one of the humans inside a tank of monstrous proportions, definitely bigger than the IS-3's.
A unicorn is seen firing several beams, red beams of magic at the Soviet behemoth. Despite this unicorn being one of the more skilled magic users within the Royal Guard, the magical beams ricochets off the turret and upper plate. Not even the multiple beams hitting the lower plate penetrated. The enormous Soviet tank slowly turns it's turret until the colossal 130 mm cannon is aiming at the unicorn. The unicorn raises a red shield to protect themselves.
KRAKOMBF! The shield stood no chance against the 130 mm cannon. The shell instantly shatters the shield and obliterates the unicorns head clean off their shoulders. The body shortly after feel to the ground, which blood and other bodily fluids leak out of the decapitated-made hole, their throat.
(Sunburst's POV, one of the unicorns on the northern front)
I thought my fate would be deployed to the eastern front with the other conscripted reservists. The only thing that stopped me was my quick promotion to being a trainer for our forces. But the Soviet invasion calls for everypony, and even mares have answered Equestria's call.
Hitler was an evil, evil manipulative individual. But I hate that he was right on one thing, the Soviets are a ruthless bunch. The Soviets are just as cruel, if not more cruel than the Nazis were to their victims. Innocent ponies including fillies being murdered, the bombing of hospitals and citizens and much more- Every other nation have bombed civilian areas too... but the nation that was the most savage about it is the USSR. Yeah, we helped Germany in their Operation Barbarossa, but everypony that fought are presumably 'dealt' with, meaning everypony else is innocent of any potential crime!
I levitate a picture of me and Starlight together infront of my face for the last time. I must rip it to shreds, because if I get caught... not so much the soldiers, but the NKVD will see the picture and go after her. I miss her so much, but I must do what I got to do in holding back the savages that's known as the Red Army.
"I miss you, Starlight..." I whisper one last time. I then rip the picture up.
(No longer in Sunburst's POV)
Charging forward aren't the Soviet behemoths thankfully. But they're being rushed by an armada of T-34-85's with 8 soldiers riding on each of them. Once the battle-proven medium tanks got close, each of the 8 soldiers riding them jump off. The warcries of the charging infantry can be heard, even though they're a mile away.
"UUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
POW! POW POW! POW POW! POW! POW POW POW! POW...
BWOMPF! BWOMPF! BWOMPF BWOMPF! BWOMPF...
Bullets and tank shells began to be unleashed upon the pony forces by the first wave of Red Army tanks and soldiers. Instantly several ponies defending are already dead, either bloody shredded by bullets or unrecognizably obliterated by tank shells.
Everypony responds with a vicious manner back. The pegasuses fly to engage the Soviets while carrying anti-tank mines. The infantry focuses their fire on the pegasuses. But the murdered pegasuses began falling with their anti-tank mines, exploding wherever they landed. The explosions, killing any Soviet infantry caught in the blast as well as sending a mix of pony as well as human blood, guts and flesh outward by the blast. The pegasuses that got lucky drop the mines on their intended targets, the tanks, and then fly back to their positions. 23 T-34-85's are destroyed and are burning. Then the unicorns jump out their defence positions and charge the now largely unsupported infantry. They're going to make the Soviets pay for their push.
The unicorns pushes forward along with the tanks they have left. While they have some Tiger 2's left, they're using just 50 Tiger 1's, and for one reason. The tanks release off some smoke from the smoke launchers on the sides of their turrets.
The unicorns and Tiger 1's then reposition. The Soviets wait for a force of ponies and tanks charge out the smoke. Minutes later, nothing, but then...
The 1,499 unicorns and the 50 Tiger 1's crash into the first Soviet wave consisting of 1,900 infantry and 80 T-34-85's. They have caught the small group off guard.
BWMPH! BWMPH BWMPH! BWMPH! BWMPH BWMPH BWMPH! BWMPH! BWMPH BWMPH! BWMPH! BWMPH BWMPH BWMPH!
The 14 Tiger 1's that fired had hit and penetrated their targets. Each T-34-85 that got hit are set alight. Any of the Soviet tankers that managed to escape their burning tanks are turned to ash by a barrage of magical beams from the unicorns.
The unicorns charge towards the Soviet infantry, many of which get trampled underneath the hooves, their bones get crushed and blood seeps out the sharp cuts and crushed bruises caused by the stampeding unicorns. They use their magic and fire beams, annihlating more of the Red Army.
The Soviet infantry fire back while falling back. Multiple unicorns drop to the ground from bullets piercing through their bodies. Their tanks turn to face the unicorns.
BWOMPF BWOMPF! BWOMPF! BWOMPF BWOMPF! BWOMPF BWOMPF BWOMPF! BWOMPF! BWOMPF BWOMPF! BWOMPF! BWOMPF BWOMPF! BWOMPF! BWOMPF BWOMPF! BWOMPF BWOMPF BWOMPF! BWOMPF! BWOMPF BWOMPF! BWOMPF!
The T-34-85's fires back at the Tiger 1's, which out of the 24 shells fired, 17 penetrated. Of the penetrated Tiger tanks, 8 are still moving while the other 9 aren't, which 5 of the 9 Tiger 1's are burning. Anypony that managed to get out of their burning tanks are shot by the Soviet infantry. Backup from other Red Army soldiers and tanks arrive. The unicorns and their Tiger 1 operators within a blink of their eyes find themselves woefully outnumbered.
Multiple unicorns including Sunburst managed to flee back to their original positions by teleporting. They just about avoided a bloody encirclement. Anypony that weren't able to escape... whether they'd die or be taken as a POW, they are not to be seen again for probably a very long time either way.
Out of the strong 1,500 unicorns, only a few hundred are remaining from their brave charge. Flash Magnus looks ahead and see the rapidly approaching Red Army are ready to make the defending ponies meet the same fate as the fallen. The Soviets have way more infantry, way more and better tanks that are also now accompanied by ISU-152 tank destroyers equipped with a massively huge 152 mm cannon and that they're almost as numerous as the IS-2's. If the Soviets needed, they have uncontested air supremacy.
If Flash Magnus holds and doesn't retreat, they could give the Red Army a very bloody nose. But he didn't want to send any guards to die fighting a battle that has already been lost. Their loss ratio is already appalling. He gives an order to avoid any further terrible losses.
"Everypony, RETREAT! Don't look back- Just RUN! They won this battle but they won't win the war!"
(Time-lapse)
Everypony in their tanks leave behind their tanks. They just wanted to run as much as their fellow ponies do too. It was just a matter to reaching their next main line of defense, Rainbow Falls. With the various buildings that could be used for cover, it was hoped that they could better defend and hold the line.
The Soviet tanks and tank destroyers were able to launch some shells onto some of the fleeing group of Royal Guards, several of which are killed. Any of the injured ponies will also die, either from being hit by shells or getting crushed underneath Soviet steel. But the rest manage to escape including Sunburst.
Estimated losses:
Equestria - 1,150 unicorns, 950 earth ponies, 400 pegasi, 30 tanks destroyed (the remaining tanks abandoned by the unicorn operators are captured. They also get red stars and other Soviet emblems painted onto them).
USSR - 1,310 infantry, 40 tanks destroyed.
Just before sunset, Zhukov's first objective in Equestria has been achieved. The railroads at the top east corner of Equestria that leads to Griffonstone has been secured. The NKVD with the help of Chrysalis and a few unreformed changelings do a full thorough inspection of the rift that connects Equestria with it's old world and Griffonstone. The rift is about 30 feet wide and 30 feet tall. Around 20,000 Soviet infantry, 80 ISU-152's 500 T-34-85's, 100 IS-2's, 50 IS-3's and single experimental Soviet behemoth tank are stationed to prevent potential griffon assistance to Equestria. It is revealed to Chrysalis that the experimental tank is known as the IS-7.