artillery arc

Chapter 399 Devastated
The 190th Division's headquarters had not yet been completely killed. The division commander squatted in a large bomb crater, holding the only remaining radio and shouting: "This is 190! 190! I am under heavy attack! We are about to be wiped out! Hello? Hello? Does anyone hear me?"

There was only a rustling sound in the headphones, and no one responded to the commander's call.

The division commander called out several more times, and finally a voice came through the rustling sound: "190, how are you doing?"

"We are about to lose! The enemy launched a fierce attack, and our position was almost destroyed in the first round of shelling! After the shelling, some units suffered casualties of 40%! 40%!"

There was only a rustling sound in the headset again. The division commander suspected that the content had not been sent out, so he repeated again: "After the bombardment, some of our units suffered a 40% loss! It's good that we didn't collapse! We can't stop the enemy!"

Finally, a voice rang out in the headset again: "Hold on firmly, there will be a way! Hold on firmly, there will be a way!"

The division commander shouted in despair: "How long will we have to hold on?"

There was silence over there, with only the rustling static noise responding to the commander's anxiety.

"How long do we have to guard it?"

----

Vasily held the microphone and looked up at Wang Zhong: "How do you answer?"

Wang Zhong: “I need to think about this question.”

Pavlov crossed his arms and said, "No one reminded the division commander about radio communication discipline. Most of the staff around him must have died."

Popov nodded and glanced at the topographic map hanging on the mobile blackboard. "It seems that one of our guesses about the location of the enemy division headquarters based on the aerial reconnaissance photos was correct, but we don't know which one it is."

The pictures taken by the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft modified from the Pei 2 bomber were very blurry. Wang Zhong guessed a total of eight possible locations of the enemy division headquarters, and then selected the three that he thought were most likely to be bombarded.

It is unrealistic to bombard all eight of them, as it will disperse the firepower, and even if they hit, they will not cause much damage.

Choosing three to bombard can at least ensure that all three are completely destroyed.

After all, the locations chosen are all confirmed by aerial reconnaissance to have enemy units stationed there. If you can't bomb the headquarters, it's also good to blow up the units.

Anyway, the enemy's defense depth is limited. The starting line of Melania's 225st Division's attack is only 15 kilometers away from the blockade line of the st Guards Mechanized Infantry, and kilometers away from the blockade line of the th Division.

Looking at the map, the space where the 190th Division is surrounded looks a lot like the pumpkin in Plants vs. Zombies. The 225th Division is responsible for the fat side, and the Guards Mechanized Infantry is the pumpkin head.

There were basically no buildings in this encirclement. Aerial reconnaissance only revealed a few single-family thatched houses that had been bombed flat.

Attacking the 190th Division in this state, Melania, the commander of the 30st Division, patted Wang Zhong's chest and promised to win the battle in hours.

Wang Zhong calculated it for him for 48 hours.

After the attack began, Wang Zhong ordered Vasily to use the previously captured Prosen radio to listen to the enemy's communications, and then received a distress call suspected to be from the commander of the 190th Infantry Division of Prosen.

Based on the mentality of playing memes that no one in this time and space could understand, Wang Zhong asked Vasily to reply, "If we hold on firmly, there will be a way."

Vasily listened for a while and continued to ask: "He is still asking how long we will hold out. It seems that he really thinks I am on their side."

Wang Zhong: "Tell him that the rescue armored divisions have already assembled and are replenishing ammunition and fuel. Soon, forces from several armored divisions will be deployed to form the Cyclops Battle Group to launch a rescue operation. The code name for the operation is Crossing the Rubicon."

Vasily looked at Wang Zhong in surprise: "Does it need to be so specific?"

Wang Zhong gestured to Vasily: "You don't understand. At this time, letting the enemy have a glimmer of hope is my greatest kindness. Then I will completely crush this glimmer of hope. This will not only reflect my kindness, but also realize the cold judgment of the Proson bandits."

Popov: "You just said something that will be recorded in your biography. It's a pity that our friend the United States reporter is not here."

At this time, Vasily said: "The enemy already knows about it, including the battle group, Rubicon and so on. However, saying this on the radio actually violates the radio communication discipline. The other side probably won't believe it, right?"

Popov: "A person who is about to sink will try to grab at even a straw."

Wang Zhong nodded. At this time, the communications staff came in with a telegram: "A call from the front headquarters."

Wang Zhong frowned: "Are you asking us to retreat to the Suhayavili River again?"

Pavlov shook his head. "Probably not. General Gorky is supposed to arrive today. There's no reason to give another order before he is replaced."

Wang Zhong took the telegram and read it: "'Do you need reinforcements? Please let me know. I wish you good luck in annihilating the enemy - General Gorky.'"

Pavlov: "Look!"

Wang Zhong said to Vasily: "Send a telegram to the front headquarters, saying that our troops need the support of the 40th Tank Army in order to defeat or even annihilate part of the enemy's armored division."

Vasily: “Okay.”

He took out his notebook and quickly wrote the telegram. He looked up at Wang Zhong and repeated the contents at a very fast speed.

Wang Zhong: "Confirm, send it out."

Vasily immediately tore off what was in the notebook and handed it to the communications staff officer.

Pavlov: "At this stage, the enemy has two pincers. One armored division has withdrawn, and the grenadier division seems to be running away. The other two divisions have not shown any signs of moving, but since one of the pincers no longer exists, there is no point in staying on the other side. My judgment is that the enemy is going to withdraw its forces, solve the supply problem, and put together a battle group..."

Wang Zhong: "Why do you think I made up the fake information just now? This is what we call great minds think alike."

Popov smiled and said, "Now we are relieved. The general is going to command the small tanks to charge into battle, and we can still get the same level of command."

Everyone else in the room laughed.

Because victory was now imminent, the atmosphere in the headquarters was very relaxed.

In the blink of an eye, the new report was delivered.

Vasily picked up the report and read it, reporting: "Melania's First Division reports that it has completely defeated the enemy's front line of defense. All troops in the division are progressing smoothly. The follow-up echelons are required to advance to receive prisoners."

Wang Zhong looked at Pavlov. Before he could say anything, the chief of staff picked up the phone and said, "Connect the mobile brigade in the rear. You can move forward. Yes, take the hired workers with you."

The mobile brigade is small in number, and its main task is to patrol the rear to prevent small enemy units from sabotaging. With the addition of hired workers, it becomes a large army to clean up the battlefield.

As soon as Pavlov hung up the phone, the communications staff sent another telegram: "The High Command sent a telegram to the various units of the Sukhaviya Front."

Wang Zhong: "I guess it's to inform us of the change of commander of the front army."

Vasily took the telegram, glanced at it, and nodded: "Yes, it officially tells us that the commander of the front has been changed to General Gorky, and the whereabouts of General Andrei has not been informed."

Pavlov took the message, glanced at it and said, "General Andrei should continue to serve in the front. After all, he hasn't made any mistakes yet. Although we fought badly last year, everyone fought badly last year."

Wang Zhong: "What do you mean? We raised the issue over our heads and fired him, but he can continue to harm our army?"

"It was you who gave the suggestion and got him fired," Popov corrected.

"Hey, don't worry about these details." Wang Zhong waved his hand.

At this time, the radio operator shouted: "Report, received the enemy's call."

Vasily immediately took the headset from the radio operator and listened, then directly interpreted: "'Our unit cannot hold out that long. Please start Operation Rubicon immediately. Repeat...'"

Wang Zhong: "The enemy has really grasped at straws. You responded to him like this—"

"No need for that." Vasily took off his headphones and turned up the volume, so everyone heard the Ant language coming from the other side: "Surrender your guns and you won't be killed!"
Wang Zhong touched his chin and thought, how could they be so similar?
When this Proson Chen Xjie comes back, I will ask him how he feels.

(End of this chapter)