artillery arc

Chapter 695 Crossing the River
The position of the 504th Independent Tank Destroyer Battalion in Plossen.

Battalion commander Major Hausen saw through the telescope that Ant's T34 tank was crossing the river from the shallows.

"There's no weird pot-covered head, and no weird turtle shell. Damn it, we're facing a T34!"

Although the Type 504 tank destroyer equipped by the 70th Battalion was an emergency product, the 75mm long gun with a 34-caliber was one of the few weapons in the hands of the Plossen Armored Forces that could deal with the new Ant tank. Now it has to fight the T that can be easily destroyed by the Plossen Armored Forces, which is undoubtedly a waste.

But the armored soldiers of the 504th Battalion were unaware of the battalion commander's worries. They were cheering:

"It's the T34! We can penetrate them at a distance of 2000 meters or even further!"

"It's time to compete in design skills! Let's have a competition!"

"This is unfair. Tanks don't have turrets. Who can kill more depends on their position in the entire formation and the number of enemies they face!"

"Ah, I'm already missing my G-4."

Battalion Commander Hausen sighed quietly, picked up the microphone and ordered on the radio: "Everyone, pay attention, free fire!"

The moment the order was given, someone opened fire. Even a veteran like Captain Hausen could not catch the trajectory of the shell. He only saw that the T2250 that had just passed the 34-meter mark in the distance was on fire.

An excited voice came over the radio: "Car 405 takes the lead!"

Not to be outdone, the others started shooting.

The T34s caught fire one after another.

The hunt lasted less than three minutes before the Ants began releasing smoke.

The smoke bomb fired by T34 exploded in front of the 504th Battalion's position, and at the same time another column of smoke appeared in front of the Ante tank's assault formation.

Major Hausen looked through the telescope and saw that the smoke was released by the "armored cavalry" riding on the back of the tank.

As a veteran, Major Hausen fought on the Eastern Front for a year and a half before taking command of the 504th Battalion. When faced with Plossen's superior firepower, Ant's tank soldiers would have approached desperately and tried to counter Plossen's shooting skills with close-range fire.

Releasing smoke right after contact and with the damage not exceeding 30% was beyond Major Hausen's understanding.

He was keenly aware that the Ants might have changed the basic principles of armored warfare.

So he immediately used the radio to call the battalion's communications battalion: "Communications battalion, this is the battalion commander, send a telegram to the army group headquarters immediately and tell them that the Ants have changed their armored combat strategy. The T34 troops may start to avoid contact with our armored forces!"

At the same time, the tankmen of the 504th Battalion complained on the radio: "The Panzer IV is good in every way, except that it has no turret and cannot be maneuvered! If we were driving an ordinary Panzer IV, we would have rushed out of the bunker and started to chase and destroy the enemy armored forces!"

"Have the Ants suddenly lost their courage? In the past, they would rush over without regard for their lives, but we would destroy them 1000 meters away."

Major Hausen was about to remind his subordinates not to be too arrogant and look down on the Ants, but he suddenly realized something.

The sound of the tank engine was fading away, but the sounds of other things' engines were still there; they were just drowned out by the tank engine.

"Everyone, pay attention! The enemy's half-tracks and light armor have not retreated! The enemy's mechanized infantry is still approaching!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a Proson half-track vehicle with the Ant logo painted on it rushed out of the smoke, followed by Ant's infantry.

The half-track vehicle immediately released new smoke and rushed towards the infantry positions guarding the 504th Battalion's positions with the infantry.

To make matters worse, a large number of smoke bombs fired from 76mm and even 105mm artillery fell from the sky. Both the positions of the 504th Battalion and the infantry positions covering them were covered in white smoke.

Major Hausen was experienced and immediately gave the order: "Exit the bunker! Exit the bunker! Retreat! We don't have turrets and cannot engage in close combat with infantry units! We will suffer!"

His own vehicle was the first to withdraw from the bunker and reverse, with its tracks leaving clear marks on the soft ground.

Because of the smoke, he couldn't see the movements of other cars, nor did he know the situation behind him.

The enemy's smoke also restricted the retreat of the 504th Battalion!

However, Major Hausen had already ordered the tank commanders of the unit to confirm the ground conditions behind them in advance to ensure that they could evacuate the bunker smoothly.

Now he was extremely glad that he did not cancel the order because of his subordinates' complaints when he arrived.

The more preparation you make in advance, the greater your chances of survival. This iron rule has been proven once again!
Major Hausen's car retreated rapidly and finally got out of the smoke range. He saw that many of his vehicles also successfully retreated.

"Attention everyone! Occupy the reserve position and continue sniping the enemy!" After saying that, he switched the frequency and called for the 340th Infantry Division to cooperate in the battle. "Pelican Pelican! Runwolf calling for Pelican!"

The pelican is the emblem of the 340th Division, so it was also used as the division's radio call sign.

"This is Pelican, please speak, Wolf."

"Our troops will occupy reserve position No. 2."

"Don't go to reserve position No. 2. The assault artillery battalion that was reinforced last night is there. Please go to reserve position No. . We are -"

Suddenly, the radio signal was cut off.

----

Colonel Hoffman, the commander of the 340th Division, looked at the receiver in his hand, confirmed that there was no problem, and continued to call: "Wolf, wolf, the pelican is calling! Wolf, wolf!"

At this time, the commander of the divisional communications company rushed in: "The radio antenna was damaged by a stray bullet."

"Then fix it quickly!"

"Yes!" The division commander threw down the receiver of the radio and turned to the phone: "Is the line still working?"

"Yes, but the 504th Battalion has left the position and cannot be contacted by phone."

The commander cursed, and just as he let go of the receiver, the phone rang.

He picked it up: "I am Hoffman, speak!"

"Division Commander! This is Hill 201! We can't hold on any longer! There are ANT infantry everywhere, there are ANT infantry everywhere! We have fired rounds of ammunition, rounds! We need reinforcements!"

Hoffman: "I will send the divisional guard company to reinforce you! Now, immediately! Hold on!"

Without waiting for a response, he slammed the receiver on the phone.

But just as he took the photo, the bell rang again.

Hoffman picked up the receiver and said, "This is Hoffman! Speak!"

"This is the beachhead, this is the beachhead! We can't hold on any longer! We need reinforcements!"

"There are no reinforcements. The only ones left are the divisional staff and me!"

"That's okay too!"

"Hold on! Hold on!" Hoffman said and hung up the phone.

As soon as he put down the phone, it rang again. He simply unplugged the phone line behind the landline and threw the landline and receiver to the ground: "Enough! I can't conjure up more reserve teams!"

The 340th Division was originally a division at the back of the wave, commonly known as a filling-in division. After withdrawing from the front line at the end of July, it did not receive much reinforcement. It was already highly understaffed, and now it was being attacked as a key target, so it was impossible to expect them to hold out.

The division chief of staff said: "We should not be asked to defend such an important shoal."

Hoffman: "It's not the fault of the Army Group Command. Other troops have more important areas to defend. With such a long front, the enemy will always find a weak point to break through - especially when we are far from recovering from the retreat in July."

"Yes." The chief of staff sighed, "I will organize the staff and the troops directly under the division to go to the front line for support. It will be of some use."

Hoffman was silent for a few seconds before he said, "I'm counting on you. I know you received so much military education not to go to the front line and do the work of a soldier, but now that things have come to this, you can only do your duty."

Then he put on his hat as well: "Give me a submachine gun and I'll go with you."

Chief of Staff: "You should go and join the 504th Battalion--"

"My troops are here, and I will fight with you until the last moment," Hoffman said.

----

Major Housen called many times and finally became sure that he had lost contact with the 340th Division headquarters.

He switched back to the unit communication frequency: "Everyone, we may have lost our covering infantry! The situation has become complicated, and the enemy infantry may sneak up from the bushes to attack us. We should fight and move, and join up with the Loktov city defense forces. The enemy will definitely attack Loktov, and we will be useful there!

"We need to deal with the enemy's Urban siege assault guns, otherwise they will blow up the defending troops and bunkers!"

As soon as he finished speaking, one of his subordinates said, "Didn't they say that the Urban assault guns could be handed over to the Stukas on land?"

"Having one more method is not a bad thing!"

At this time, a strange voice interrupted the communication: "We are the commander of the 144th Assault Gun Battalion. We have 91 Type Assault Guns that can still be used. Do you want to retreat?"

Major Hausen: "We are going to retreat! You should come too, tank destroyers or assault guns. It is too dangerous to fight without infantry cover."

"You're right."

At this time, Major Housen reacted and said clearly on the radio that this violated the principle of confidentiality.

It will definitely be subject to review afterwards.

He didn't care about that anymore: "Retreat to Loktov!"

----

Agsukov, Commander of the 1st Khazaria Front.

Wang Zhong looked at the series of breakthrough signs on the map with satisfaction.

"As we expected, the enemy's defenses were riddled with holes," Pavlov concluded. "Although in some areas, Prosen's elite troops put up a resolute and effective resistance, causing heavy casualties to our crossing troops, we still made progress on the positions of their weaker troops."

Wang Zhong: "General Gorky's tactics are indeed effective, but we should be careful not to suffer heavy casualties like him."

Pavlov: "Don't worry, we have built a pontoon bridge with the materials prepared in advance, and the cavalry and armored troops are crossing the river. Soon the enemy's defense line will collapse, and we will surround Loktov."

Wang Zhong: "Loktov, I really miss you."

At this time, the communications staff reported loudly: "Comrade Marshal, the 1st Guards Heavy Breakthrough Tank Regiment encountered enemy armored forces!"

Wang Zhong: "Is it the 29-pack?"

"The troops have lost sight of the enemy's markings. Engaged in a firefight."

(End of this chapter)