artillery arc

Chapter 541 The bright card
At 10 on October 30, Plossen, XXX Corps Headquarters.

The commander of the 30th Army was reprimanding his subordinates when suddenly a submachine gun sounded in front of the army. The commander was a seasoned veteran, and he immediately fell to the ground, shouting, "Find out what's going on, quick!"

Then there was the sound of machine gun fire and explosions outside.

After a while of noise, the nearby gunfire finally died down, and the head of the guard regiment came in to report, "Ante's defeated soldiers wandered around! We have already shot them all dead."

The commander stood up, dusted himself off, and asked, "Will the defeated soldiers attack a military headquarters with a whole guard regiment? This is their combat group! How many casualties have the guard regiment suffered?"

The regiment commander reported truthfully: "Five killed and five injured."

Army Commander: "They are a team of three, right? Then they have made a profit. It's a simple math game. They don't plan to leave this city alive. They only care about how many of our people they can exchange for their own lives. I don't know how many of our people this combat team has killed."

Everyone in the headquarters had a tense expression on their faces. The chief of staff cursed on behalf of everyone: "What a despicable way of fighting! There is no honor at all!"

"How can there be no honor? Soldiers who are ready to die are always worthy of admiration." The commander supported the table with both hands. "When I received the mission from General Frederick, I didn't expect that such a bad battle would be waiting for me."

He stared at the city map on the table for a few seconds and asked, "Do we have enough poison gas? Facing this kind of resistance that is breaking up into small groups and firing everywhere, only poison gas can deal with it."

The Army Chief of Staff shook his head: "No."

"Then is it possible to poison the water source?" the commander asked again.

The chief of staff reminded awkwardly: "The Valdai River is a freshwater river, General."

"Sorry, I shouldn't ask this question." The commander stared at the map of the city and was silent for a long time before sighing, "It's over. Unless we have more troops than the Ants, we can't take this city."

Everyone in the headquarters looked at each other.

Everyone knew that it was impossible for them to have more troops than Ant. The enemy was getting stronger with each passing day. They had railway lines on the east coast and ships on the river to transport troops.

After five minutes of silence, the commander spoke again: "Unless we can break the enemy's will to fight. Where is Rokossov's headquarters? On the other side of the river?"

The army chief of staff replied: "We have not captured any complete city defense map, and most of the prisoners are ready to die. So we don't know where Rokossov's headquarters is."

"That's impossible." The commander shook his head. "If he was here, on the west bank, he would definitely let his soldiers know that he was here, so as to boost morale. You just happened to capture a brave prisoner. There must be a coward who would reveal the location of Rokossov's headquarters."

At this time, the adjutant of the army commander said: "In fact, we don't have to attack Rokossov's headquarters. Now the army's artillery fire has been blocking the ferry on the other side.

"The reason why the Ants can continue to receive supplies and reinforcements is because there are tunnels under the river. We can storm the tunnel entrance and block this major supply artery, and the enemy will be completely restricted.

"Our spies have already collected relevant information about this riverbed tunnel and even took photos of the blueprint. Its exit on the west bank is located here."

The adjutant pointed to the point on the map and said, "Look, it's also marked on the city defense map."

The commander nodded. "Make a plan immediately. Organize a battle group and attack the tunnel entrance. Ignore the enemy's stragglers and casualties. Go straight to the target."

As he said this, he looked up at the time: "We will complete the formation tonight and set off early tomorrow morning!"

----

At the same time, Wang Zhong was also looking at the map.

Popov's voice was full of joy: "The enemy's attack speed is much slower than we thought. It seems that the tactic of breaking up into smaller units is very effective."

Wang Zhong: "No, it is the credit of the soldiers' unity. Without such a strong fighting will, they would not be able to support such tactics.

"If the fighting spirit of the Moravian troops attacking Beach No. 1 was the same, the soldiers would have run away the moment the leading officer died."

Pavlov: "Yes, there is no such tactic in our military textbooks. It may be because we have never had an army in the past where soldiers would continue to fight even if all non-commissioned officers and officers were killed."

Wang Zhong stood up, slapped the map, and turned to look at everyone: "This war is tempering our army into steel. One day this army will destroy the evil Proson Empire with overwhelming force."

As soon as he finished speaking, two senior officers and a military chaplain were brought into the headquarters.

They spotted Wang Zhong and saluted in unison: "General Rokossov! We are the commander, chief of staff, and military bishop of the 62nd Army."

Wang Zhong responded: "Hello, if you want to understand the current situation, you can look at this map. If you don't understand, you can ask Chief of Staff Pavlov."

"There is nothing unclear. We have studied the situation before we came. Commander Rokossov, please give the order."

Wang Zhong: "How is the morale of your troops? Can each soldier stand up to the enemy alone in the city?"

The commander and chief of staff of the 62nd Army looked at each other, and then looked at the military bishop together.

The bishop replied, "I think so. They are all determined fighters, and many of them have relatives who died in the war. They will fight the Prosen until the very end."

Wang Zhong: "Very good, I order you to split the entire army into combat teams. Each company will be responsible for a block. The only goal is to kill as many Prosen as possible before you sacrifice yourself."

The senior officers of the group army exchanged glances again, and then the commander answered: "Yes, we will complete the task." Wang Zhong turned his head and asked Yakov: "Can the kitchen still make hot meals now?"

"No, didn't you eat canned food yesterday?"

Wang Zhong: "Then bring the vodka. I'll have a drink with the commanders."

"Yes." Yakov turned and ran.

----

After seeing off the 62nd episode of senior officers, Wang Zhong sat down and asked, "How many more outstanding commanders do I have to see off? Have we contacted Panfilov's headquarters?"

The headquarters of the 16th Army has been out of contact since yesterday. No matter how many signalmen Wang Zhong sent out to check the lines, telephone contact has not been restored.

They also did not respond to the radio calls from the front headquarters, and the radio stations were completely silent.

In fact, Wang Zhong vaguely realized that at least the headquarters had been destroyed in episode 16. However, aerial reconnaissance showed that the train dispatching yard was still in the crossfire, and the enemy did not control the support point of this first line of defense.

Therefore, Wang Zhong still held a little hope in his heart.

But this flower of hope is gradually withering.

Pavlov: "We have no way of contacting them. But the fighting is still going on in the train yard."

Wang Zhong nodded.

Pavlov continued: "Looking at the enemy's current speed of advancement, I think we can stop sending troops to the city. The enemy can't push. We should gather our forces for a counterattack. In fact, I have ordered the tank and cavalry units that are not suitable for urban mincing to stay on the other side of the river and prepare for a counterattack later."

Wang Zhong: "You are right. There is no point in filling the city with more tanks. What is the loss of the 41st Armored Corps besieging the No. beachhead?"

Pavlov: "Using the most conservative calculation, we believe that they lost 70% of their tanks and armored vehicles and 80% of their troops."

Wang Zhong: "Can they block our attacks?"

"If there are enough artillery, they can't be stopped," said Pavlov.

Wang Zhong crossed his arms, stared at the battle zone map for a while, and asked, "How many troops do you think it would take to completely encircle the Sixth Army in front of us?"

"At least six hundred thousand." Pavlov answered immediately, obviously having thought about it a long time ago.

Wang Zhong: "How long will it take to gather one million troops on the other side?"

Pavlov: “If we only gather our forces, we can complete the attack in ten days, but I think it is safer to set the date of the counterattack on November 11, when the enemy will be more tired and have worse supply conditions, and General Dong may also help.

"And we will be better prepared, with more artillery and more ammunition."

Wang Zhong remained in deep thought for a long time before he sighed and said, "Let's set it on November 11th and make a battle plan based on this. We need to take a big bite and vent our anger."

Pavlov turned to his staff and said, "You all heard it, take action!"

Popov patted Wang Zhong on the shoulder and said, "Although I don't think the headquarters will block our troops, should we make a phone call? To your godsister?"

Wang Zhong thought for a moment, then walked directly to the phone and picked up the receiver: "The Summer Palace, His Majesty the Tsar's office."

"Okay." The operator replied immediately.

What followed was a series of transfers, and finally Olga's voice appeared on the other end - Her Majesty the Queen actually answered the phone in person.

Wang Zhong: "Olga..."

"Alyosha? What happened? The front line was defeated? Tell me, what do you need me to do?" Olga's voice was a little panicked.

Wang Zhong: "No, the front line seems to be stable now. I have to plan a counterattack. Listen carefully, I need about one million troops."

"Okay!" Olga replied immediately, "Is one million enough? I just approved four army reinforcements for General Gorky of the Western Front. Should I come back?"

"No, no, they are attacking and need troops. The reserve army still has troops, so just send them over."

"Is cavalry okay?" Olga asked again.

Wang Zhong: "Yes, the situation here is really suitable for cavalry to perform well."

"Oh, right," Olga suddenly remembered something, "You weren't on the committee, and they couldn't find anyone to review the new equipment, so I went to take a look. They've made the kind of sabotage equipment you want for urban warfare. Can I send it to you? It's just a matter of a few carloads anyway."

Wang Zhong was stunned for a moment: "Uh, okay."

(End of this chapter)