artillery arc

Chapter 124 The Darkest Moment (Additional update from the Alliance Leader)
Prosen Army, forward command post of the Asgardian Knights Amphora Armored Division.

Division Commander Wilhelm Dietrich put down his telescope.

Just one kilometer in front of him, the 88mm anti-aircraft gun position set up on the high ground was firing continuously.

The four 4mm guns fired continuously, and each shot meant that an Ant tank was destroyed.

The 88mm gun is an anti-aircraft gun. In order to hit the shell as high as possible and reach the "interception area" as quickly as possible, the flight speed of the shell is extremely amazing, so the armor-piercing ability is also extremely amazing, and it can shoot at extremely long distances. Penetrates thick armor.

At the same time, in order to ensure sufficient firepower density, the rate of fire of the 88mm gun is quite excellent among artillery of the same caliber. As long as it is equipped with a skilled gun crew, the firepower density of this thing is amazing.

Finally, coupled with the consistently sophisticated sights of the Prossens, this thing became a famous tank killer, which could hit and destroy tanks from very far away.

William Dietrich suddenly said: "The 88mm gun is like sunlight, and the new tanks of the Ant Empire are like soap bubbles, quickly dissipating in the sunlight."

He smacked his lips gently, as if he was savoring the poem he had just composed. The more he tasted it, the more he liked it, so he took out his notebook and wrote it down.

Then he started adjusting the words and trying to rhyme them.

At this time, the sound of submachine gun fire was heard from nearby villages.

Wilhelm Dietrich: "What's going on? An enemy ambush?"

Immediately, a staff officer sent a messenger to check the situation. The messenger who returned five minutes later reported: "The gendarmerie is clearing out inferior ethnic groups and potential resistance elements in the village to make room for the troops in the rear."

Wilhelm Dietrich nodded and continued to study his poems in his notebook.

In the village behind him, the sound of submachine guns echoed one after another.

----

Ant Army, Agsukov, South-Western Front Headquarters. 8 hours on August 2.

The communications staff officer saluted in front of General Skorobo: "Report!"

General Skorobo: "It's news of a counterattack, right? The counterattack was successful, right?"

The communications officer looked embarrassed.

"No, we have not contacted the Sixth Tank Army and the Eleventh Tank Army. The Fifth Tank Army, which is mainly equipped with old models, has retreated and the remnants are retreating towards Aolachi."

"No!" General Skorobo interrupted the staff, "There is no contact between the Sixth and Eleventh Armies. It must be because the progress is too smooth, so they ran crazy and didn't have time to stop and start the radio report! Let the choir urge They stopped and reported!”

At this time, General Skorobo finally discovered that the communications staff officer was holding a telegram, and asked: "What is that?"

Staff officer: "It's a reconnaissance report submitted by the Air Force. A large number of tank wreckage were found along the line from Oldendorf to Shepetovka. Aerial observation believes that they are our new tanks."

Then the staff officer handed over a stack of photos: "These are the photos submitted by the Air Force together with the report."

General Skorobo picked up the photo and his expression became solemn.

Even in the blurry photos taken from the air, you can still see the sloping armor of the wreckage. Proson's tank does not yet have such an advanced design.

General Skorobo stared at the first photo with no intention of turning to the next one.

The Crown Prince stepped forward, took all the photos behind the first one, and looked through them one by one.

"Didn't you say that our tanks have absolute armor advantages?" the crown prince asked softly.

The bishop of the front army stood beside the crown prince and replied: "That should be the case, but Rokossov reported before that the enemy will shoot the tracks and turret seats, paralyze the tanks and then hand them over to the infantry. I'm afraid..."

"What is this?" The crown prince picked out a photo and showed it to everyone.

Chief of Staff: "For example, the Prosen anti-tank gun position. This kind of anti-tank gun with a cross hoe was mentioned in the report on the Castilian Civil War. It is an 88mm anti-aircraft gun, but it replaced the land battle gun. After using the sight, it can also be used as a flat-fire anti-tank firepower."

"These things destroyed our tanks?" The crown prince found another photo and tried to put the two photos together, but the result was always wrong.

The chief of staff directly picked out a photo and handed it to the crown prince: "Insert it in the middle."

The Crown Prince complied, and the edges of the three photos fit perfectly, obviously being connected together.

"I don't know how to interpret photos," the crown prince said, "but I know how to refer to the size of the house next door. This anti-tank gun position is very far from the wreckage area!"

Chief of Staff: "About two kilometers. The enemy penetrated our armor at a distance of two kilometers. What is even more terrifying is the ability to accurately hit the target at a distance of two kilometers. It seems that an order needs to be issued. In the future, bombers and Attack aircraft should give priority to this kind of gun."

As soon as the chief of staff finished speaking, General Skorobo put down the photo and stood up.

"What are you going to do?" shouted the commander of the front army. "As the coach, you must stay calm at all times. You can't make fun of the lives and deaths of hundreds of thousands of people!"

General Skorobo: "What are you talking about? I am about to fulfill my duties as the commander of the front army. Although the counterattack of the armored forces has failed, we have not lost yet!"

General Skorobo picked up his pointer and drew signs on the map:
"The information confirmed so far shows that the enemy has four directions of attack. On the outermost side are the attack spearheads of two armored groups, advancing toward each other hundreds of kilometers apart. On the inside, there are two infantry group armies launching the attack spearheads.

"I think that the armored spearheads on the outer line should be ignored for the time being. The Second Armored Group in the north is blocked by Duke Myshkin's Shepetovka Group, and the front of the First Armored Group in the south is also fortified by several of our army groups.

"Even if they can complete the encirclement, it will be after August 8. Before that, we can first prevent the attack of the enemy's two infantry groups on the inside. We can even annihilate the enemy's infantry groups and consume their troops! "

The crown prince opened his mouth: "So... can we really hold it?" "Of course, we have so many troops and so many supplies! Even if we are really surrounded, we can fight for dozens of days." General Skorobo said firmly.

The crown prince looked at the map and then at the general's resolute face: "I can't find any fault. After all, I graduated second from the bottom in the military academy. Then this is how I report to my father?"

General Skorobo: "We originally received orders to defend. Agsukov is one of the origins of the Ant Empire. It was the capital of Ancient Ant before the first year of Jules. Anyone who gives up lightly will Agsukov’s people will definitely abandon St. Yekaterinburg in the future!”

At this time, the communications staff came in again: "Urgent message from the Supreme Command!"

"Read!" General Skorobo waved his hand, picked up the water glass and started drinking water.

The communications staff officer opened the folder and read: "You are not allowed to give up any inch of our territory. If commanders of the troops at all levels order the troops to retreat without authorization, they will be considered treason, and they and their families will be shot!"

General Skorobo: "Look! We have just been ordered to hold on, and now we have issued an order targeting the entire army. We can only fight to the death with the enemy here! Don't worry, Your Highness, we will stop the enemy's internal attack. "

The crown prince nodded, and then asked: "What should we do if the enemy's outer encirclement is completed?"

General Skorobo was silent for a second and replied: "I said, our ammunition and food are enough to fight for dozens of days. We will fight here for the empire until the last moment."

The front army bishop said: "Although we have to hold on, we can give a general retreat order to the ordinary people of Agsukov. Let the women and children retreat to the rear."

General Skorobo nodded: "That's no problem. Once a siege breaks out, women and children may starve to death due to lack of food. Arrange the execution!"

----

Ante Empire, St. Yekaterinburg, Summer Palace, Jules August 914, 8, 2 hours.

"No, no!" Tsar Nicholas V roared at the generals, "You have sworn before that Agsukov's heavy army group can effectively defeat the enemy! Then let them defeat the enemy now!"

Marshal Kulontsov, chief of the general staff of the headquarters, said: "According to aerial reconnaissance, the tank corps composed of our new tanks is vulnerable to the enemy. We have overestimated the combat effectiveness of this tank. Now, although the enemy's pincer offensive has just Initiated, but..."

"That's not what you said two weeks ago! You said that the T34 can destroy a large number of enemy tanks in the hands of an idiot who came last in the exam and peed his pants!" The tsar banged his hand on the table angrily, and wore it on his ring finger. The ring made a crisp sound.

At this time, the door opened, and the guard outside said in horror: "Your Highness, you can't go in! The highest military meeting is taking place!"

Princess Olga Nikolayevna Antonovna ignored the guards' stops and rushed all the way to the middle of the conference room, stopping only at the map table.

Nicholas V said impatiently: "Olga! I don't have time to play the game of playing Emperor Catherine the Great with you now! We are talking about important things! Military matters!"

Her Royal Highness the Princess glanced sideways at her biological father: "Father, I also want to talk about military matters."

Nicholas V looked back at the shivering maid hiding by the door: "What are you doing standing there in a daze? Take her away!"

Olga Nikolayevna Antonovna looked directly into her father's eyes: "Father, have you ever read the battle report of Upper Penier? I mean the kind of battle report without moisture. The Church Tribunal Since I sent the report to my brother, it should be on your desk as well."

Nicholas V was a little embarrassed and was about to answer when his daughter continued: "There is also Loktov's battle report later. Anyone who has read this report will know that Alexei Konstantinovich... Rokossov is an out-and-out military genius. He has a keen sense of the battlefield and excellent military literacy!

"It is impossible for such a person to be ranked last in the exam, so there is only one possibility! He was ranked last in the exam because of my stupid brother!

"He must ensure that his scores are not higher than those of his brother, and he must ensure that he can graduate. Doesn't such precise control of scores prove that he is actually a military genius?"

The generals and marshals in the room looked at each other.

Only Nicholas V was still scolding the princess: "Olga! This is not your game of house!"

The princess looked directly at her father: "I'm telling you how stupid these generals under your command are! If you think about it carefully, they are just better off taking sides in the civil war. In fact, they are just as stupid as the defeated Chongsheng nobles. !
“And some of them are inextricably linked to the defeated nobles of the Chongsheng Sect!
"Dad! You didn't kill these people completely, which led to the disastrous defeat in the first month of the war!"

"Your Highness the Princess!" Marshal Kulentsov, Chief of General Staff of the Supreme Command and the only remaining prince in the empire, said angrily, "Even a wealthy man cannot speak so openly!"

Princess Olga retorted: "Isn't what I said the truth? You deceived my father with your rhetoric and made him believe that Agsukov was as stable as a mountain! Now you come to tell my father that Agsukov must retreat! You guys …”

"That's enough!" Nicholas V came up and slapped his daughter, "Get off here!"

At this time, Duke Raoul, the youngest person present, stood up and advised: "Your Royal Highness, you'd better leave. Please come this way."

As he spoke, he tugged on the princess's sleeve.

Princess Olga turned around reluctantly and left the room, and Duke Raoul followed.

"Your Highness," he whispered to the princess, "we were confident of persuading His Majesty to issue the order to withdraw the troops. Your Majesty will feel very humiliated by this, and it is unlikely that he will withdraw the troops. At least not today."

Olga: "Is this my fault? Aren't you guys advocating war a few days ago and the situation has reversed? What's the result now?"

Duke Raoul was a little embarrassed: "Yes, we underestimated the enemy. But we are making up for this mistake, and you seriously interfered with our operations."

"Humph!" Her Royal Highness the Princess did not hide her disdain at all.

Duke Raoul continued: "Also, how could you not be smart enough to know that His Majesty relies on us to fight against the church headed by the Patriarch. You'd better not get too close to the church. During the civil war, the Holy Spirit The faction has a certain degree of support among the people, and the church needs us to win over these people.

"Now, after ten years of champagne and caviar, the people are all secular believers. This war is our last chance."

Olga: "But you didn't fight well. I think that in this critical moment, you are still thinking about this. This is Ant's mother's real darkest moment."

　Leader Z Aniu adds more information
　　
　
(End of this chapter)