artillery arc

Chapter 354 "We met Rokossov!"

New recruit Andreas and Corporal Kosrek were chatting when they suddenly heard the sound of an engine.

The corporal came to the window facing the city of Yeisk, looked out, and saw motorcycles and wheeled armored vehicles of the motorized reconnaissance battalion passing by on the street.

Andreas also came over: "What's going on? Didn't they say the enemy was going to attack?"

"The enemy didn't come, so the higher-ups sent people out to investigate." Corporal Koslake said, "That's the good thing about being a machine gunner, we don't have to do this kind of thing, and it's not our turn to organize patrols."

"Patrol?" Andreas asked doubtfully. "I participated in patrols during training camp."

Kosrek asked in surprise: "Do you organize patrols in the country as well?"

"No, our training camp is in Melania. There are Melania guerrillas around us, called the National Salvation Alliance Army. It is said that in the coastal provinces, there are planes from the United Kingdom that will airdrop weapons to them. They transport these weapons inland and attack us from time to time."

Koslake cursed: "These bitches, when we attacked Melania, many of them were hungry and had no jobs. The Great Depression destroyed everything. We asked them to join the glorious empire, and they are still ungrateful!"

Koslake paused, then asked, "You joined the patrol, and then what?"

"It was a siege on the Allied stronghold. Our patrol was responsible for the outer interception. We found several guerrillas. The second lieutenant in charge fired a flare in the direction of the enemy. We, the new recruits, fired in the direction of the flare. We couldn't see where the enemy was at all.

"Then the lieutenant called for a cease-fire, so we did. I didn't feel like I was in actual combat at all. I thought we must have hit nothing, but later we found four bodies and had no idea how we had hit them."

After hearing what Andreas said, Corporal Kosrek laughed: "It's a good experience for the new recruits. When you are a machine gunner, most of the time you can't see who you hit. Most of the time you just hold the handle of the machine gun and move from one side to the other at a constant speed.

"The aiming is determined by the hand wheel on the tripod. The number of turns of the hand wheel determines the trajectory of the machine gun."

The vertical range of motion of a machine gun fixed on a tripod is actually very small, and the hand wheel is required to adjust the elevation of the machine gun in a large range. The scale on the machine gun is only useful when the machine gun is removed and only shot with the bipod. When it is mounted on a tripod, the hand wheel acts as a scale.

Koslake continued: "A machine gun on a tripod can even shoot people 1500 meters away. Do you know what a person 1500 meters away looks like? It's just an ant, and you can't aim at it at all. It's impossible physically - unless you equip the machine gun with a sniper's scope.

"You just turn the handlebars to the 1500-meter position and shake the handles like this."

The corporal made a motion of shaking the handle of his machine gun left and right.

"That's how it is on the battlefield. Being able to see who you hit is a special case. And to be honest, it's better not to see it. If you can see it, you will realize that you are killing people of the same age as you, and it will give you nightmares. This is especially important for us machine gunners.

"Remember what I said about Agsukov?"

Andreas nodded, "Remember, Corporal, you used more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition to eliminate thousands of Ants."

"Yes, afterwards they went to clean up the battlefield and asked me to go with them, saying that I could take some spoils from the Ants, but I refused."

Andreas: "To stop having nightmares?"

Corporal: "To avoid nightmares. Isn't that a given?"

At this time, the sound of tracks rolling over the road came from below.

Andreas looked out the window curiously.

The corporal said: "It must be the Panzer II. The only reliable fire support for the reconnaissance troops is the 20mm gun on the Panzer II. If they encounter the enemy's armored forces, they will be beaten to a pulp."

Andreas indeed saw the Type 2 tank mixed in with the motorized reconnaissance troops.

He said: "No. 2, they are everywhere in Melania, and there are No. 1 tanks. The National Guard Division is equipped with a lot of them. No No. 1 can be seen on the front line anymore."

"The engineers still use them to hurl explosive charges like trebuchets," the corporal gestured.

Andreas lay on the windowsill, looking at the reconnaissance battalion advancing below, and asked: "Corporal, if the reconnaissance battalion finds that the enemy really has no intention of attacking, will we attack? When we attack, will we operate the machine guns on the tanks?"

"Of course not. We will be sitting in half-track vehicles and following the infantry. When necessary, the platoon leader will yell, 'Get off the vehicle, you pigs, machine gunners occupy the high ground.' Then we will climb the highest building in sight, which may be a barn, a small dirt slope, or a wreckage."

"And then?" Andreas asked.

"Then just go up and shoot until you die." The corporal shrugged. "I feel like I should die in Agsukov. After all, the second machine gun crew is ready. It depends on when the Ants will come to take my life."

Andreas didn't know how to respond, so he could only lie on the windowsill and watch the reconnaissance team approach.

----

Ant army, position outside the city.

The commander of the 1st Tank Destroyer Battalion was observing the enemy: "Strange, how come white smoke like sand and dust is mixed in with the black smoke of the fire?" Then he saw the enemy's motorized reconnaissance team leaving the city.

He immediately picked up the microphone and said, "Genghis Khan, Genghis Khan, the enemy has left the city. They are motorized reconnaissance troops! The direction of leaving the city is not within my attack range."

The scope scale of the Vortex gun was 2200 meters, which was set by Lieutenant General Rokossov himself.

Even if there was a farther scale, Ant's optical lens level would not allow for accurate shooting, so the 1st Tank Destroyer Battalion had no way of controlling the enemy's reconnaissance troops leaving the city and could only report to its superiors.

At this time, a strong voice came from the radio: "Let the armored forces handle it, the First Guards Tank Battalion, it's your turn!"

The tank destroyer battalion commander frowned: "Isn't this a violation of radio discipline? You can't say the number - wait, division commander?"

"Yes, it's me. I just arrived and don't know what your call sign is. Anyway, we have to eat up the reconnaissance battalion. We can't let the enemy find out that we didn't attack because the infantry didn't arrive."

The battalion commander was embarrassed. He could tell that the second half of the sentence was meant to fool the Plossen people, but he kept wondering in his heart: Can the Plossen people believe such a trick?

At this time, the voice of the commander of the 1st Guards Tank Battalion came on the radio: "Division Commander, you are finally here! So we are under your command now?"

"Yes, the general's tank brigade has arrived, all equipped with new tanks. Your duty as the reserve force is over! Now you are back under my command, Yegorov!"

The commander of the annihilation battalion had his brows twisted into knots.

The gunner who also heard the conversation on the radio asked: "With such an obvious flaw, can the enemy believe it? The general said that we should be lenient with the enemy. Isn't this a violation of this principle?"

The commander of the destroyer battalion shrugged. At this time, there was an engine sound from the right rear. He turned his head and saw smoke in the distance. It should be the first close tank battalion that was dispatched.

At this time, the jeep unit responsible for monitoring the other side reported: "There are also enemies coming out of the city on our side, about the size of a reconnaissance company, with Type 2 tanks, and we can't deal with them."

Yegorov: "The 225th Division's tank battalion will handle it, don't worry about it!"

----

"Report."

Major General Witte turned around and looked at the staff officer: "If you have something to say, please tell me."

"We heard the conversation between the Ante Army and the radio monitoring. We have determined that the enemy unit to our northeast is the 225th Division. The enemy unit to our southeast is unknown, but the commander is Yegorov."

Major General Witte's brows twisted into knots: "Egorov?"

His adjutant stepped forward immediately and said, "He is Rokossov's favorite general. According to the communiqué of the High Command, he has been with Rokossov since the city of Roniezh. They have experienced many battles together. He is a very capable and powerful enemy."

Major General Witte: "So the ones in our southeast are Rokossov's direct line of the First Guards Mechanized Infantry? What is the origin of the 225th Division in the northeast?"

Everyone present shook their heads.

"Have not heard."

"Without the title of Guards, it shouldn't be an elite unit, right?"

Major General Witte shook his head: "But Yegorov trusts this unit very much-"

At this time, someone else came in to report: "The reconnaissance unit heading out of the city to the southeast reported encountering an enemy tank unit. After informing us, they lost contact and are estimated to have been destroyed."

Colonel Busey said confidently: "Look! An entire reconnaissance company was defeated in one fell swoop without being able to report. Considering the poor shooting skills of the Ants, there must be at least dozens of tanks firing at the same time!"

"Report," said the communications officer who came in first, "We also intercepted a conversation. A man who called himself Yegorov claimed that there was no attack because the infantry did not come up."

Major General Witte paced around the room with his hands behind his back.

At this time, the chief of staff of the Sad Division said: "We have two complete battalions of armored forces. Although the first battalion suffered some losses yesterday, they were mainly Panzer III tanks. There were 27 Panzer IV tanks in combat readiness this morning. The two battalions together have 58 Panzer IV tanks, plus Captain John's 8 new heavy tanks and Panzer III tanks. We can definitely go out of the city and fight the enemy."

Major General Witte thought for a moment and asked Colonel Busse, "Are you sure it was some assault guns that destroyed our heavy tanks?"

"Yes, it's an assault gun." Colonel Busse said confidently.

"No," Major General Witte said to the Chief of Staff, "Assault guns are good at defense, and our armored attack will be exactly what the enemy wants. Call back the reconnaissance team heading northeast, so as not to lose the scouts in vain. Send a telegram to the army group, saying that my division is under siege by Ante's heavy troops, and ask the follow-up troops to catch up as soon as possible."

After a brief pause, Major General Witte continued: "Also send a copy to the headquarters of Army Group South, especially emphasizing that we have encountered Rokossov, Rokossov!"

(End of this chapter)