artillery arc

Chapter 396: Using Your Life to Consume the Enemy's Bullets

Although the cavalry's attack on the enemy's armored forces only destroyed a portion of the tanks, it did serve to delay the advance of the enemy's tank forces.

In order to deal with the cavalry attack, the tank troops were forced to deploy their formation and drove cross-country for more than an hour.

By the time the cavalry was completely defeated and retreated, the number of tanks that had malfunctioned and were damaged exceeded the number that had been destroyed.

Many tanks broke down in rat holes. The most modern war machines were severely damaged by the harsh environment and backward troops such as cavalry.

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Plossen's Tenth Army Headquarters.

Admiral Polk could not help but exclaimed: "We are going to stop advancing just because we are charged by cavalry? I didn't know our armored forces have become so weak!"

The chief of staff smiled bitterly and said, “The 14th Armored Division reported that the cavalry did not destroy many tanks, but many tanks were damaged due to the harsh natural environment.

“If we abandon all these tanks, or leave only the repair troops to repair the tanks, the enemy cavalry will definitely come back and burn these tanks completely with incendiary bombs, or even kill the repair personnel.

"So the division commander decided to stop and wait until most of the tanks that were not seriously damaged were repaired before dispatching again."

Poker shook his head repeatedly: "Nai-nai-nai-yi! Leave one armored company to guard the repair troops, and the other troops continue to rush back to receive supplies!"

The chief of staff nodded: "Okay, I'll give the order right away."

For the next hour, Admiral Polk paced back and forth in the headquarters. Finally, the communications officer opened the curtain and entered the tent: "Report from the 14th Division!"

The chief of staff hurried over to take the telegram. He frowned at the first glance: "The 14th Division reported that it was harassed by cavalry again, and the enemy cavalry laid more mines. Unlike the previous hasty laying, this time they had time to bury the mines in the ground."

General Bock: "Let the engineers clear the mines! Let the 14th Division come back as soon as possible! They are armored units, how can they be afraid of the enemy's sabers?"

The chief of staff was still reading the telegram. When he heard what the general said, he replied: "The enemy cavalry used smoke to cut off the mutual cover between the tanks, and then threw incendiary bombs close to the tanks.

"The enemy suffered staggering casualties, but continued to advance, and the tanks' machine guns were severely depleted of ammunition."

Admiral Poke frowned, "Nonsense! The enemy used up all the tank's bullets with casualties. This sounds like a bad joke!"

Chief of Staff: “But the 14th Mounted Carrier has indeed been fighting for a long time, and machine gun bullets are consumed a lot, so it is possible that they have run out of ammunition.

"Before the launch of Operation Blue, many tank crews mounted a lot of extra machine gun bullets behind the tank turrets based on their experience in the previous year's combat. Otherwise, the ammunition would have been used up long ago."

Admiral Poke held his forehead in distress. "Damn it! How come this damn Ant is so big? We have advanced so far. If it were in Carolingia, we could have completed another Battle of the Ardennes. But in Ant, damn it!"

The chief of staff also smiled bitterly, but he still reminded: "What should we do now? If the 14th tank runs out of machine gun bullets, they can only use high-explosive shells to deal with the cavalry. If the high-explosive shells are consumed to a certain extent, the offensive capability of the 14th tank will be greatly reduced.

"As the army group's chief of staff, I will not agree to the troops launching an attack under such circumstances. They must be supplied." Admiral Bock sighed, "I understand. Then withdraw all the armored divisions and armored grenadier divisions that are preparing for a pincer attack. I don't believe that Ant's cavalry can stop all these troops.

“We only allowed Unit 14 to return because we did not give up the idea of ​​a pincer attack against Rokossov, and as a result, Unit 14 suffered a great loss.

"As long as we give up the idea of ​​a pincer attack and go all out to shrink our forces and rescue the 190th Division, there is still hope!"

Chief of Staff: "Then we must report this decision. Rokossov's previous idea of ​​a pincer attack was praised by the emperor. If it is cancelled now, the emperor will be angry. It would be best to ask Marshal von Bryan for mercy, or directly go to Lieutenant General Giles."

Admiral Poke waved his hand fiercely, "I will never ask for help from the emperor's pedophile!"

----

"Shit!" Emperor Plosson slammed his fist on the table. "Being forced by the cavalry to give up the pincer attack, is this still the glorious Plosson officer corps, or the glorious Junker nobility?"

William Celtic: "The enemy is too cunning and the natural environment is too harsh, which led to this situation. This is not a shameful thing. Poke is still trying to rescue the 190th Division."

Emperor Proson: "Why didn't you investigate the situation in advance and find out that it was so bad? During Barbarossa last year, you misjudged the infrastructure level of Ant and planned the supply according to the average level of western Eurobia. The result was a mess!

"Last year, the staff of the High Command should bear more than half of the responsibility for not taking Ekaterinburg! And then? No one was punished, just transferred out of the staff without any pain!
"Now you have misjudged the badness of the grassland again! Just wait, if Operation Blue fails, I swear someone will be shot, even if it is to offend the Junker nobles!
"I should learn from Rokossov and shoot you all with my pistol! You only learned to eat with a knife and fork at the military academy!"

Several senior generals looked at each other.

General Moltke, who was always highly regarded, said: "The situation is not that bad. It is only one division that is surrounded. As long as this division resists with all its strength and holds out for three to five days, the cavalry horses will not be able to bear it."

The cavalry soldiers could eat captured pleson rations, but the horses could not.

Proson also has military horses, but they are basically pack horses used to carry things, and their consumption is far less than that of military horses.

If military horses only rely on eating wild grass on the grassland, they will quickly lose weight and their physical fitness values ​​will be greatly reduced.

Therefore, cavalry cannot really fight behind enemy lines all the time. A military horse has to carry a strong soldier, a full set of weapons and equipment, and various combat supplies on the saddle bags. If the military horse does not have enough food, it will really be exhausted to death.

Although Proshen no longer has a pure cavalry unit, many of the people present are cavalry officers who have changed careers and are well aware of this.

The emperor glanced at everyone, sighed, and asked a different question: "Where are the Moravian cavalry?"

"It is in transit and will arrive in Shepetovka on the 19th."

"Hurry them up! If they can take out the enemy's cavalry, they will all be awarded honorary citizenship! On par with ordinary Prosentians!"

The emperor paused, and as if making a great concession, added: "It can be hereditary! This qualification can be hereditary!"

(End of this chapter)