artillery arc

Chapter 361 The Thick Fog Dissipates
Yegorov was not at his divisional headquarters at this time, but like Rokosov, he ran to the front line and was with the 1st Guards Tank Battalion.

His chief of staff, Alexander, was as impotent and furious as Pavlov, and after unsuccessful attempts at persuasion the bishop of the army also ran over and said that he was ready to hold him down with his body before he could charge in person.

Boss Yegorov's opinion: "I can't charge in person. I'm not Lieutenant General Rokossov. I know my limits."

The bishop looked at him askance: "Oh yeah, really?"

Yegorov was about to speak when he suddenly frowned: "Wait a minute!"

He looked towards the city. The fog was still very thick and he could not see anything beyond five meters.

Bishop: “What’s wrong?”

"Shh! Do you hear the engine?"

"No, it's the sound of our tank's engine, right?"

"No! Our tanks just keep their engines running without engaging gears, so the noise is not that loud. This is the sound of a tank engine in motion."

If the tank is not in gear and the engine is just idling, the noise is loud, but not as loud as that of a moving tank.

The bishop also held his breath and listened carefully for a while before saying, "Yes, it is the sound of an engine. The enemy in the city is moving and is moving away from us."

Yegorov: "Phone!"

The signalman immediately came over with a portable phone, picked up the receiver and handed it to Yegorov.

Yegorov: "I'm taking over the division headquarters - no, the army headquarters. I can't get used to it."

The bishop smiled and said, "After all, the general is your teacher."

Ten seconds later, a male voice came from the receiver: "Group Army Headquarters, please speak."

"I'm Yegorov, looking for General Rokossov!"

"Hold on."

After another twenty seconds, Rokossov's voice came through the receiver: "This is Rokossov, what's the matter, Yegorov?"

"The enemy has left the city. The engine noise is very loud. I guess the tank troops have all left."

"Got it. Can you guide the bombardment?"

"No, the visibility here is only five meters. We can only hear the sound but can't see anything."

"I see. I'll find a way. Wait a minute, from which direction can you hear the sound coming? I want the specific direction."

Yegorov was about to speak when he suddenly had an idea. He lowered his head and took out a compass. He carefully looked at the scale and said, "It's about 30 degrees west of our north."

"Okay. Keep monitoring... We can adjust the position of the vortex before the fog clears, so we can open fire as soon as the fog clears."

"Yes."

Rokossov hung up the phone.

Yegorov returned the receiver to the signalman and looked at the bishop in confusion: "The general asked me the direction of the sound but didn't ask where I was. What did he want to do?"

The bishop spread his hands and said, "You've been with him for a year, and you don't know. I'm a newcomer, how should I know?"

----

Wang Zhong obtained Yegorov's location through the plug-in, marked it on the map of the army headquarters, and then drew a line to the northwest.

Pavlov: What is this?

"Yegorov heard the enemy's engines. Let me draw. Get me Brigadier General Eugene of the 225th Division."

A few seconds later, Vasily handed over the receiver: "The Brigadier General is waiting."

Wang Zhong took the receiver and said, "Brigadier General Eugene, your troops should have heard the sound of the enemy's engines leaving the city."

"Ah? Did you hear that? Let me confirm."

Wang Zhong cut his vision and found that Brigadier General Eugene was not on the front line, but stayed in his division headquarters. He was a normal commander.

Because the call was connected at this time, the specific situation of the division headquarters appeared in the place where there was originally only a division headquarters symbol in Wang Zhong's plug-in. It can be clearly seen that Brigadier General Eugene is asking his chief of staff.

The Chief of Staff personally picked up the receiver of another phone and began to question the troops.

Then Wang Zhong discovered that he could not see the front line directly in this situation. Obviously, when Vasily was beside him and calling the people below, he could see what was happening below.

Could it be that the key lies in how many communication tools are used in the process of information transmission?

While Wang Zhong was thinking, Brigadier General Eugene got the answer and reported: "I did hear the sound of the engine, in the southwest."

"Understood. Adjust the position of your tank destroyer battalion to ensure that it is facing the enemy when the smoke clears."

For a moment, Wang Zhong wanted to ask the 225th Division to send a reconnaissance team with a radio to find the enemy's position.

But then he realized that this was impossible. Firstly, it would be difficult for the reconnaissance team to figure out where they were in the fog. Secondly, it was unlikely that a single-soldier radio could directly contact the army headquarters - even if the fog had no effect on the radio communication distance, it would not be possible.

Now the army headquarters is too far away from the front line.

So Wang Zhong said to Eugene, "That's all. Be careful."

At this time, Eugene reported: "General, according to the plan, we are making a feint attack, but the front-line report is progressing smoothly, and we have already penetrated deep into Yeisk."

Wang Zhong: "Stop and hold your ground, to avoid running into friendly forces in the fog."

"Yes."

Wang Zhong hung up the phone and drew another line on the map.

He looked at the map for a few seconds and shook his head: "No, the accuracy of determining the enemy's position in this way is too low, and it will only waste artillery shells. I have to go to the front line myself."

Pavlov: "No! There's so much fog, what if there's a car accident?" Wang Zhong: "I'll go on horseback! Bucephalus will take me to the front line smoothly."

"No! Even if Bucephalus is a divine beast that can run wildly in the fog, it won't work. Think about how far we are from the front line now! If you ride over there, the fog will almost clear." Pavlov stared at Wang Zhong, then picked up the receiver of the phone and handed it to him, "You can call the front line. We set up an anti-tank artillery position last night, and the phone is connected to the position."

Wang Zhong curled his lips: "You are right."

He took the phone and said, "Connecting to the Anti-Tank Battalion of the 225th Division."

The destroyer battalion mainly uses vortex and is an armored unit, while the anti-tank battalion mainly uses anti-tank guns and infantry guns. The destroyer battalion does not set up positions, so there are no telephone lines, while the anti-tank battalion's positions can naturally pull telephone lines.

Soon Wang Zhong saw that among the units of the 225th Division, an anti-tank unit suddenly lit up, and he gained the vision of the battalion.

Wang Zhong moved over immediately, only to find a thick fog. He couldn't even see the anti-tank battalion's position clearly, and he couldn't see anything in the distance.

"Who?" the anti-tank battalion commander was still asking.

Wang Zhong: "It's me, Rokossov!"

"General!" The voice on the other end immediately became respectful and rose an octave.

"Did you hear the engine?"

"I heard it. Judging from the distance, it is not our tank and it is moving away from us."

Wang Zhong: "Direction?"

The battalion commander immediately reported the location, using the scale on the compass just like Yegorov.

"Stay alert."

Wang Zhong said this, hung up the phone, and redrawn the map.

Pavlov shook his head. "The accuracy is still too low. If we could hit the enemy like this, we wouldn't need an artillery observation post. Let's wait for the weather to clear up. The folks at the Folklore Research Institute said the fog will last for two hours. There's less than an hour left, and the enemy can't escape."

Wang Zhong looked at his watch and saw that it was indeed less than an hour. Even if he rode Busifalas and set off immediately, he would not be able to reach the front line.

Only by driving can we reach the front line before the fog clears and use plug-ins to determine the enemy's position.

After a brief thought, Wang Zhong made up his mind: "We can't let the enemy escape. Gregory, prepare the car!"

At times like this, we can only trust Gregory's driving skills.

Pavlov: "No! I don't agree! Popov, you also say something about him!"

Popov was sitting nearby watching the show, and was startled when he was suddenly mentioned: "Ah? Me?"

Vasily suddenly shouted: "Look outside!"

Wang Zhong turned his head and found a ray of sunlight falling on the windowsill of the headquarters.

Pavlov was shocked: "The fog dissipated ahead of time. Isn't this 'magic' too unreliable?"

Popov had an expression as if he had seen a ghost - no, it was an expression as if he had seen an apparition of Saint Andrew.

Wang Zhong: "Look! The fog is starting to clear. I won't be in danger if I go to the front line!"

Pavlov: "The fog is beginning to lift, and our artillery observers will be able to see the enemy tanks. You won't have to go to the front."

Wang Zhong was stunned: "Oh, it seems so."

Damn it, my chance to show off with cheats is gone! Where is the promised two hours of fog?

Suddenly, he realized that there was something more important: "No, the fog is gone, the enemy might recover. We only got two regiments and one battalion in, something might go wrong. Order the 401st Provisional Infantry Division to move forward! Into the city!"

Pavlov: "That division is not under our command."

"Who cares? They're in our combat zone. They're our troops. Quick! Use our trucks to get them into the city. Move fast before the fog completely clears."

Pavlov immediately turned around to implement the order, while Popov looked at Wang Zhong and said, "I think this time it's not that the researchers of the Folklore Research Association are not skilled enough, but that a pair of big hands dispersed the thick fog."

What big hand? Hayek's big hand? You, a clergyman, know economics.

While Wang Zhong was complaining in his heart, Popov continued, "The fog helped us when we were attacking. When the enemy left the city and we needed a clear range of fire, the fog quietly receded. General, please allow me to report this to the church headquarters."

Wang Zhong said seriously, "What's there to report? It's just that the magic doesn't work. I even think that this fog is not caused by magic, but natural fog. Didn't the meteorological department find the previous meteorological data? It shows that there will be fog at this time of year."

Popov shrugged. "You're right. Let's report it in that way."

About fifteen minutes later, the phone rang.

Wang Zhong bypassed Pavlov and picked up the phone directly: "This is Rokossov."

Yegorov's voice came from the other side: "The fog has dispersed a little. I think I can see where the enemy tanks are. They have set up a circular defense position outside the city. A circular one! Damn, the enemy commander is quite classic."

Wang Zhong cut his vision. Since Yegorov could see the enemy, he could naturally see it from his bird's-eye view as well.

Seeing the enemy's formation, he wondered if he had seen it wrong.

It’s really a circular formation!
Moreover, the Prosen people turned on their headlights, so anyone who came through the fog would be blinded by the headlights.

No, now is not the time to sigh.

Yegorov: "I have calculated the enemy's coordinates. Please fire at the following coordinates!"

He reported a series of coordinates.

Wang Zhong: "Got it. Let the artillery open fire immediately. You also mobilize the annihilation battalion and the tank battalion, and see if you can open fire while the enemy is under artillery fire and closes to 1500 meters - no, 1800 meters. It's safer to keep it farther away, and it's okay to fire more shells."

"Ok."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Zhong modified the last digit of the coordinates: "Yegorov gave us the coordinates, fire according to these coordinates!"

(End of this chapter)