artillery arc

Chapter 352: The Prosen people missed the best opportunity to attack

On the morning of July 7, after the initial artillery preparation, the battlefield became eerily quiet.

Wang Zhong's side was short of troops, and the battlefield area of ​​an army group was actually entirely composed of infantry squads with radios scattered in the fields.

Wang Zhong’s bird’s-eye view reminded him of the feeling when he played the “Red Dragon” ranking battle back then - Wang Zhong’s Red Dragon rank reached the level of colonel, so he did have some experience.

The battlefield of Red Dragon is like this. The battlefield, which is more than ten kilometers wide, is filled with infantry squads or smaller reconnaissance squads equipped with observation and aiming equipment. A platoon often controls an open area of ​​one or two kilometers.

If the enemy launches an attack, rocket launchers in the rear will immediately cover the battlefield, and the air force will roar in.

This is also the standard configuration in the Cold War era. After all, the Cold War was all about firepower. It was useless to cram too many people on the front battlefield, and there would be nothing left if they were covered.

But in this situation, Wang Zhong felt uneasy when he saw his army's weak front.

The firepower of the army group should be able to destroy the enemy who attacks rashly, but the problem lies in whether the firepower of the army group can fall on the enemy in a timely and accurate manner.

Wang Zhong's artillery did not have a fire control computer, and the artillery had just arrived and had no time to calculate the shooting parameters in advance. Even if the infantry could accurately report the enemy's coordinates, the artillery unit would have to calculate for a while and might not be able to hit the target, so it had to calibrate the shooting.

In these ten minutes or so, the infantry on the front line might be swallowed up by the enemy.

The situation will be much better tomorrow. The artillery regiment will calculate some common shooting parameters in advance and make corrections after receiving reports from the front line.

All in all, Wang Zhong is a little nervous now. The good news is that in addition to the Annihilation Battalion, he also has the battle-hardened 1st Guards Tank Battalion - that is, his old unit, the tank battalion with the most enemy kills, and 90% of the battalion's soldiers are veterans (some of the veterans have been promoted to other units).

When the situation is critical, the 1st Guards Tank Battalion can be deployed to launch a counterattack.

Wang Zhong prayed that this critical situation would not happen. The enemy had the long-barreled Type 34 tank and should have two-thirds of a company of new heavy tanks. These high-threat units should be left to the Vortex. His old unit was still driving the TW and did not even have a Sherman.

However, if the enemy finds out the position of the vortex and sends out armored forces to encircle it, then in order to protect the vortex, only the 1st close tank battalion can be deployed.

Wang Zhongtlinka paced back and forth in his command post, waiting for the enemy to make a move.

----

East of Yeisk, the position of the 1st Guards Mechanized Infantry and Tank Destroyer Battalion.

The commander of the destroyer battalion leaned out of the commander's tower above the vortex fighting room and observed Yeisk in the distance. He muttered as he observed: "The enemy is not moving. If we don't attack, won't they come out to see?"

The gunner of the battalion commander's vehicle said, "Then let's fire at them. I see people moving on their defense line through the scope."

"You're crazy, this is three kilometers, and our scale only goes up to 2200 meters!"

The gunner said nonchalantly: "We can make a rough estimate and then slowly calibrate the fire!"

"No, it will expose our position." The battalion commander scolded.

The Vortex is very suitable for ambushes on this kind of grassland. The height of the grass is just enough to cover the tracks. Although the fighting compartment is higher than the grass, as long as you put on a "straw hat", it cannot be seen at all from a distance.

Last year, Plossen's infantry division often used the low-slung shape of the assault guns to ambush Ant's tank units. Now the situation has changed, and it is Ant's turn to ambush Plossen.

Unfortunately, the enemy hid in the city of Yeisk and did not come out. Only occasionally could one see Proson's infantry popping out of the window through the telescope, but they would soon disappear.

Probably some new recruit from Plossom who was curious about the front line.

----

New recruit Andreas was pinned to the ground by Corporal Kosrek.

The corporal yelled, "Are you trying to kill yourself? All windows are dangerous! My last assistant shooter was shot dead for sticking his head out of a window like this.

“That was the Carolingian Campaign, where we surrounded the United Kingdom’s expeditionary force and tens of thousands of Carolingian troops in a small seaside town.

"The deputy shooter was called Hans, a silly Hessian boy. He just stuck his head out to see the numerous enemies on the beach, and then he was finished!"

After saying that, Corporal Koslake looked up at the window and saw that no one was shooting in this direction.

So he let go of the recruit and sat down against the wall, resting his left hand on the machine gun tripod.

The heavy machine gun was set up on the inside of the wall hole, which was a specially dug hole. There was ivy outside for cover. The Ants probably didn't think that this was a machine gun bunker.

The machine gun and its tripod were all in the shadows of the house. Even if the shooting started, the Ants might not be able to see the location of the machine gun if they were not paying attention - and no one could concentrate when being strafed by a machine gun, as everyone was busy getting down lower.

And those who are not being machine gunned want to see the location of the machine guns - sorry, the wall will block it.

No wonder Corporal Koslake boasted that this machine gun position was the culmination of all his combat experience from the Battle of Melania to the present.

The recruit Andreas turned over, sat up, and looked at the corporal: "The Ants are not good fighters, the quartermaster of the training camp said so." Kosrek: "They are indeed not. Last year, I blocked their breakout outside Agsukov. I fought for a day and fired 20,000 rounds of ammunition. Five barrels were broken. The Ants left at least a thousand bodies in front of my machine gun position.

"They didn't even think of using mortars or anything to counter my machine gun position. I was ready to die there. The backup machine gun group was in the second position, waiting for me to go silent so that they could take over.

"In the end, they didn't wait until the time to open fire. The machine gun eliminated the people in the backup machine gun group, and the others were all moving ammunition and gun barrels for me. The Ants kept dying like this, as if going to the Grim Reaper was just a picnic."

Kosrek shook his head. "I heard that it was because their crown prince personally led the charge and died for his country. That's understandable. Their courage is admirable, but to be honest, they are not good fighters - no, not qualified fighters. Qualified fighters would kill me with mortars or rifle grenades instead of giving me a second-class Iron Cross."

Koslake pointed to the second-class Iron Cross that was slightly exposed at the collar.

Andreas asked curiously: "Then why don't you let me stand at the window?"

"Because you don't need to be a qualified soldier to hit you who are standing stupidly at the window. Your behavior is stupid. On the battlefield, whoever is stupid will die."

Corporal Koslake paused, glanced at the recruit, and changed the subject: "Where are you from?"

"Eastern Styria."

"Eastern Styria is a duchy, it's so big! Where is Styria?"

Andreas: "Tilia, a small town west of the duchy's capital."

Corporal Koslake asked again, "How many months did you train?"

"Six months. Before that, I joined the Imperial Labor Camp and worked on the Carolingian West Wall for four months. When the work was finished, I took a month off. Then the call-up letter came, and I joined the replacement camp near my hometown."

The West Wall, a coastal fortification built by Plossen in the Carolingian, consisted of a series of support points and fortifications, as well as extensive minefields and anti-tank stakes.

Corporal Kosrek was amazed: "Caroline is a good place, the girls are warm and pretty, the food is delicious, except that the bread is a little hard, there is no flaw. It's a pity that their work efficiency is too low.

"You didn't sleep with a Carolingian woman in Carolingia?"

Andreas shook his head. "No. The work at the West Wall was very tiring, and I basically slept during my breaks. I even met Field Marshal Rundstedt, the commander-in-chief of the Western Front. He was an old man like my father. No, maybe even older than my father—"

Corporal Koslake: "What did the Marshal say?"

"The marshal spoke to us and said that the enemy was across the sea and that because of Grand Duke Mayer's negligence, the enemy had been able to gather a million troops and could land at any time. In short, he told us that the West Wall was very important."

Corporal Koslake: "And then?"

"And then? We were building the Western Wall, and from time to time planes from the United Kingdom would come to bomb and take pictures—"

"No, no, I mean you, after you leave the labor camp."

"Then I joined the supplementary soldiers camp. The first month was for housekeeping and queue training. They said this would turn us into real soldiers. In fact, I had already learned these things when I was a child in the Imperial Scout Camp. It was unnecessary." Andreas shrugged. "But from the second month on, the training that was not available in the Scout Camp began."

Andreas talked incessantly about what he had seen and heard in the training camp. It was obvious that he had long wanted to find someone to talk to about these things.

Finally, Andreas described how they boarded the train and said goodbye to their families on the platform.

Corporal Koslake suddenly interrupted him: "Did any girl say goodbye to you?"

"Yes, my sister said goodbye to me. She thought my uniform looked very handsome."

"You've never been in love, have you?" asked the corporal.

Andreas was a little embarrassed. "Is this an important thing? In our place, we never fall in love. The adults of the two families will discuss and we will get married. Then we can borrow oxen and seeds, horses, and mules from each other. Love only happens in books, right? Maybe I will fall in love when I go to university in the capital of Styria, but I won't."

Corporal Koslake shook his head. "Listen to me. Have a chat when you have time. At least find a whore to sleep with. War is a bullshit. Humph."

Andreas stared at the corporal: "The Ants are not as bad as advertised, right? When we came in as reinforcements, we were the 3rd Marching Battalion. At first I thought our reinforcements were divided into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions, but later I found out that the other battalions were also the 3rd or 4th Battalions.

"This is calculated based on the batches of reinforcements, right? Before us, the 1st and 2nd Marching Battalions had already been added to the Said Division!"

Corporal Koslake took out a cigarette and knocked it against the wall to compact the tobacco while answering: "The first battalion is fine, all of them are returning from injury. The second battalion has some technical soldiers. The third battalion is just like what you see.

"Since the Sai De Division joined the war, only three battalions have been lost, which is much better than the Ante people. But... I said, this is the way war is, even the most elite soldiers have to die when they are supposed to."

The corporal handed the prepared cigarette to the recruit, but he refused it.

Corporal: "It seems that the shelling this morning has not yet given you the urge to smoke a cigarette or drink. But believe me, you will need it in the future."

As he said this, he stuffed the cigarette into the recruit's pocket.

(End of this chapter)