artillery arc

Chapter 708 The Backside of War (6K)

The 711th Supply Center of the Khazaria Front.

The girls finished their morning moving work, got some food and took a nap in the empty cargo yard.

"It's been several days since we've had potatoes and spam again." Aksinya complained as she opened her lunch box. "It would be nice to have some pickles!"

"Here." Natalia next to her took out a glass jar and pulled out the cork.

The smell of pickles spread immediately, attracting the attention of several people.

After Aksinya took a piece of cucumber, Natalia handed the bottle to others, and the group of girls shared the cucumbers in this way.

Aksinya ate boiled potatoes and said, "I heard that the last group of male porters has been taken away by the conscripted priests. Our entire support division is now composed of women and old men."

"I didn't know there were young men in our division."

"Aksinya, your partner is at the front headquarters, go find him and solve your problem!"

"He is a guard for His Excellency the Marshal. He is very busy every day, and I don't want to solve his needs!" Aksinya quickly defended, "I just said that young men are extinct in the logistics troops, and they are probably even less likely to be seen in the rear."

The women were all silent, eating their potatoes calmly.

Suddenly someone said, "Do you think the Prosen people are like this too? I heard from my husband that there are fewer Prosen people than us. We are all like this, so they probably... right?"

"I don't know." Aksinya replied, "We shouldn't be involved in the war. Now we are moving boxes here. Something must have gone wrong!"

After stuffing a whole potato into her mouth, Aksinya chewed and said, "When my grandmother was young, we also fought with Anatolia. At that time, my grandfather was conscripted into the army, and my grandmother was alone at home. It is said that except for missing her husband every day, there was no inconvenience.

"But look at us now. We are wearing ill-fitting uniforms and carrying sacks like dock workers day after day!"

"Cucumber Goddess" Natalia agreed, "Yes, it's more tiring than doing farm work at home. I was tired of doing farm work day after day, so I enlisted in the army and was assigned to the support division. But I still do farm work here."

Aksinya: "Natalia, now that you have finished the tenth grade, you should try to join the medical team."

Natalia lowered her head and said, "No, I won't go. The medical team came to our training camp to recruit soldiers. Many people rushed to go, so I quietly hid behind."

"Why not go?" someone asked.

Natalia smiled bitterly and said, “I was in the women’s labor camp repairing fortifications before, and the enemy planes came and killed 28 girls in one strafing. I remember it very clearly, 28!
"I stood by and watched them. One girl was shot in the stomach. The bullet entered from the back and came out of her stomach. The bullet left a big hole in her stomach and her intestines just flowed out, and there were flies on them.

"I brushed away the flies, held the girl's hand, and she began to speak: 'Natalia, I feel a little cold, my stomach will catch a cold.'"

The women lowered their eyes, and some even stopped eating their potatoes, so absorbed in Natalia's story.

Natalia: "So I didn't dare to go to the front. When our support division was heading to the front, I had a dream for many days in a row in the sealed car. I dreamed that my intestines were flowing out and my man was standing in front of me, looking at me silently.

"I said, 'Help me pick it up, it's all flowing out.'

"Before I could finish my words, my man's head fell off, and blood spurted from his neck. I must have seen a man with a severed head somewhere before, but I just forgot. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so realistic in my dream!"

Aksinya, who was sitting next to Natalia, patted her on the back and said, "Don't be afraid. Didn't your man write back a few days ago? And there's no death notice, so he must be alive and well."

Natalia: "It's possible that he's missing, you know? The priest said that they don't usually issue death notices for missing people because we don't know what happened to them. Maybe they surrendered and are in an enemy prisoner-of-war camp."

A woman said: "There is nothing shameful about surrendering. Just come back and admit your mistakes. Millions of people surrendered in the first year. Can they all be hanged by then?"

……

As everyone was chatting like this, the quartermaster of their support company came over.

This was an old man in his sixties, wearing a boat hat askew, and he shouted from a distance: "Girls! Good news! I got some soap for you!"

The small talk stopped for a moment.

Aksinya: "Is it the soap I was thinking of?"

"Yes! The girls from the 300th Field Laundry Team complained that their skin had aged like that of old ladies due to constant contact with soap and other things. The higher-ups probably thought that the girls should continue to be beautiful, so they gave soap to every female soldier in the support division!"

The women were delighted.

The quartermaster: "Quiet! I haven't finished yet! The depot leader saw that the yard has been emptied, so he decided to give you a day off this afternoon! There is a tributary of the Tiber River nearby, you can go there and take a bath!"

The women cheered, as if they had suddenly turned back into sentimental and excitable little girls.

The quartermaster said: "Come here, Aksinya, you are responsible for distributing soap. It is impossible to give one soap to each person, so three good friends can take one soap each. No more!"

Aksinya quickly completed the distribution of soap - she was very familiar with the small groups in the company and completed the task perfectly.

The quartermaster saw that the soap was in his hands and waved his hand: "Okay, hurry up and take a shower."

The girls excitedly collected the dishes, rinsed them, and then lined up to walk towards the river.

Along the way, girls from other units joined the cargo-moving team one after another. The support company, which originally had only a hundred people, suddenly became bloated. The air defense observers would definitely make sharp noises when they saw this scene.

With so many people crowded together in a long line, they would be either killed or injured by a wave of gunfire.

When passing by the laundry team, Aksinya saw an old lady in her fifties still busy in front of the wooden barrel.

She whispered to the laundry team, "Why don't you let the aunties take a break too?"

"We told her that she could take a break! But she insisted on finishing the last load of clothes. She is the person who works the longest hours per month in the factory! For two years, no one has worked harder than her. And - it seems that she has been working in the laundry team since the Loktov era."

Natalia's words made everyone in the laundry team look at the old aunt - the eldest sister.

Someone else whispered, "I heard that her whole family died and she was the only one left. Before the war was over, she could still wash clothes for the soldiers. She had something to rely on, thinking that the soldiers wore the clothes she washed to fight the enemy. What will she do after the war is over?"

The girls looked at the eldest sister.

The eldest sister seemed to sense something, looked up at them, and then continued to wash her clothes, like a tireless human washing machine.

Aksinya felt heavy inside, with a feeling of resentment stuck in her throat.

----

At the same time, Wang Zhong was waiting for today's distinguished guests at the entrance of the Khazaria Front Command.

Because the progress was very smooth, he had more free time to undertake "propaganda tasks".

A convoy of three jeeps drove into the headquarters. In the middle car, a head of gray hair could be seen from a distance.

Wang Zhong stepped forward and shook Aunt Alexeyevna's hand as soon as the jeep stopped.

"Ma'am, you look well. Where's your son?"

"He has already taken up his post at the school. He said that if he goes to teach the new recruits earlier, perhaps more of them will survive." The old lady replied.

Wang Zhong: "Is that so? Then you can treat me as your son. This is my wife Lyudmila."

Lyudmila went forward and hugged the old lady: "I was also there in that battle, and was saved by your son."

Auntie: "He must have been saved by the tank No. 422 commanded by the marshal. My son was just a gunner."

Wang Zhong: "We are a whole, let's go."

----

After seeing the convoy leaving through the window, Pavlov raised the cup to his mouth and took a big sip of coffee.

Popov: "I heard an interesting news from the United States envoy today. He said that the United States also has a general who specializes in propaganda tasks. Although he does not smoke, he still bought a corn pipe for the sake of his image."

Pavlov: "I've heard that too. This general does nothing except being interviewed and appearing in newspapers every day. His headquarters stayed in Osretria for more than two years and didn't even launch a decent landing. The key Guadalcanal Campaign of the United States was also fought by the Marine Corps."

After Pavlov finished speaking, a staff officer interrupted and said, "That person's troops did fight two battles. One was in New Guinea, fighting against the Fuso Empire's army in the dense forest. The other one... seems to have been forgotten."

"Thank you for your supplement. Don't add anything next time. Just focus on your work." Pavlov said, "Although Vasily seems to be lazy at ordinary times, he actually finishes all the work he should do, and then he is lazy."

"I'm here to report." The staff officer handed the document in his hand to Pavlov.

Pavlov glanced at the cover of the document envelope and his expression became serious. He took the envelope, skillfully untied the rope, and took out the document.

Popov: “What’s wrong?”

Pavlov: "Information about Yegorov, his wife and children, and Dr. Katya's husband and children."

Popov: "Shouldn't I be the one who received this? I am the bishop accompanying the army!"

Pavlov: "I'm just asking for help from an old friend. The church is busy restoring order in the occupied areas and has no time, right? After all, we have just recaptured such a vast occupied area and so many large cities."

Popov: "You are right, but helping to find the wife and children of the marshal's heroic commander will not interfere with our other work. The church is more capable than you think, Comrade Pavlov. So what is the result?"

Pavlov's mouth twitched: "The result... I'm not sure. The spouses and children of both of them should be dead. There is solid eyewitness evidence. Especially Katya's husband, he has a record of being killed in battle, but it was too chaotic and he lost his father's name, so he didn't dare to confirm it was him at the first time.

"The case of Yegorov's wife and children is a little more complicated, but her wedding ring has now been recovered, and there is an engraving on the inside."

Popov: "So there is a possibility that the child is still alive?"

Pavlov: "Even if he were alive, Yegorov would have reason to marry Dr. Katya."

Popov clapped his hands in his swimsuit, "Okay! But before that, I have to give the ring to Yegorov first. Will you do it?"

Pavlov shook his head. "No, no, when he and I were in the same regiment, we had some friction. He felt that I, a noble, was looking down on him, who came from a humble background! It's obviously not appropriate for me to send him back!"

"But this is the second-in-command of the military!"

"This is obviously an ideological work task, and you priests should be in charge!"

The two men were deadlocked for a while, and then gave up together: "Forget it, let Marshal Rokossov come."

"Yes, Yegorov has always respectfully called him division commander, so let him play his role!"

----

Wang Zhong sneezed loudly.

Lyudmila: "General Proson must be scolding you again."

Wang Zhong: "Then I will keep sneezing."

Aunt Alexeyevna, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and said, "Don't catch a cold. Now is not the time to..."

Wang Zhong: "Even if I catch a cold and fall ill, the counterattack will continue. The only thing that can limit us is the logistics situation."

As they were talking, the convoy passed by a row of burnt-out truck wreckages. All the wreckages had been pushed to the side of the road so as not to affect traffic on the highway.

The old lady pointed at the wreckage and asked: "Which side is the missing car?"

Wang Zhong: "The enemy's truck. Look at the logo on the front of the truck. It's Opel, a famous brand in Prosun."

Lyudmila: "The overturned motorcycle over there should be a Daimler Benz, also a Proshen brand."

Wang Zhong continued the explanation: "It should be the masterpiece of our cavalry unit. The prairie is suitable for cavalry infiltration and penetration. They specifically look for enemy supply convoys to burn." There were several old men leisurely digging pits on the roadside, and seven or eight old men were driving ox carts to collect the bodies of Prosen soldiers who fell near the convoy.

Seeing Wang Zhong's motorcade, the old men hadn't realized that it was the marshal's car yet, and they were still joking: "This young man, is he taking his fiancée and mother for a walk?"

Wang Zhong smiled at the old lady and said, "Look, the uncles all say you are my mother."

Aunt Alexeyevna smiled and said, "Marshal Davarich, you'd better not call me mother. Most of the good people who called me mother are dead."

"How could that be? Isn't your eldest son back?"

The old mother sighed, "One person is not enough, no matter how you come back, it's not enough."

After driving for a few dozen minutes, Gregory suddenly braked and slowed down, and the car passed by the road sign.

Wang Zhong clearly saw the words "Upper Penière, 10 kilometers" written on it.

His heart suddenly became nervous.

From a bird's-eye view, he saw photographer Robert Capa in the car behind him holding a camera and taking pictures of the road signs.

Lyudmila gently placed her hand on the back of Wang Zhong's hand: "Don't be nervous, it's just a revisit to the old place."

Wang Zhong: “I’m not nervous.”

Gregory: "The roof in front looks familiar, take a look!"

Wang Zhong stood up and looked forward. He immediately saw the water tower where he had been lying down to command when he had a fever. He smiled and said, "I saw it. The water tower is still there, as well as the brewery building. At that time, I held a gun and forced Master Boye's guards to open the door and took out the wine to make Molotov cocktails."

Lyudmila: "I know, I still remember."

Wang Zhong: "The church's broken bell tower has not been repaired yet. Remember, at the beginning, someone wanted the entire archery team to climb up to the bell tower because the drill manual said that the shooting range was the best there! I strongly opposed it and asked you to set up your position on the first floor."

Lyudmila: "At that time, none of us understood much about war - I mean, except you."

Actually, I don’t understand it either, Wang Zhong thought. I just have some basic knowledge of military games, plus I use a cheat.

As the car approached Upper Peigny, Wang Zhong saw many old-style half-track vehicles abandoned in the fields and said excitedly: "These vehicles! The enemy was trying to encircle us, but we destroyed them! I commanded that T28 tank and did a lot of work."

In Wang Zhong's memory, the only clip related to T28 was the scene of him taking a letter out of the gunner's pocket after being hit.

Only now did he remember that, judging purely by the results of the battle, the crew of that T28 was also a well-deserved meritorious crew.

Of course, this is mostly because I, a hacker, am in charge.

Finally, the jeep entered the village and Gregory slowed down to walking speed.

Wang Zhong pointed excitedly at the house at the entrance of the village: "There is a machine gun on the second floor. It is our only machine gun guarding the rear. After the first generation 422 tanks I commanded destroyed the enemy's outflanking troops, they withdrew, leaving only the machine guns to resist the enemy's scattered soldiers."

Soon, the car arrived in front of the winery. Wang Zhong jumped out of the car, only to find that the person guarding the gate was still the servant of Master Boye from two years ago.

The servant was stunned when he saw Wang Zhong: "Who are you looking for? The local priest is in the church, the one whose bell tower was blown down."

Wang Zhong: "'We have requisitioned this winery!'"

The servant suddenly realized: "You are the lieutenant colonel master! I haven't seen you for two years, and you have become a brigadier general!"

Wang Zhong thought, here he comes again, mistaking my marshal star for a brigadier general star. Have you ever seen a brigadier general star this big?

Vasily jumped down from a car behind and explained beside Wang Zhong: "This person is already a marshal."

The servant was shocked, his eyes widened: "Marshal! But shouldn't the marshal be a double-headed eagle?"

Wang Zhong: "Times have changed. The big star is the new marshal rank."

After all, there will soon be no Tsar.

Suddenly he thought of something and asked, "What's the name of your manager? He's the one who asked me 'Do you have the procedures?'"

Butler: "After the Plossoms took over, Mr. Korszow became the mayor of the town. He committed crimes in the town and was executed by the partisans one night."

As soon as he finished speaking, Aunt Alexeevna, who was left out, said, "It's what they deserve. Huang Gou and An Jian should be killed one by one if they are found. They have killed so many good young men and my sons in the past two years."

Wang Zhong: "That's right, Aunt Alexeyevna, don't be angry."

He stopped and looked at the servant who was guarding the winery: "You are not committing treason, are you?"

"No, no!" The servant waved his hands repeatedly, "I just want to make a living! The guerrillas came in to steal the wine to make Molotov cocktails, and I pretended not to see anything! I didn't contact the guerrillas, so I won't be caught. I have been waiting for liberation all these years!"

Wang Zhong corrected: "Liberation."

"Yes, liberation!"

Wang Zhong: "Has Master Boye come back?"

"No."

Vasily muttered beside him: "Maybe they were killed while fighting the surrenderists."

Wang Zhong looked back at Robert Capa who was filming with him, and then at his partner, reporter Mike: “I want to go to the manager’s office, which was my headquarters during the battle of Upper Peynière.

"I had a fever and was unconscious in bed most of the time. Yegorov's regiment headquarters was set up in the big manor of Mr. Boye over there. When I was unconscious, it was he and Chief of Staff Pavlov who worked together to repel the enemy."

Reporter Mike raised his hand and asked, "Pavlov, is it the current Pavlov?"

The situation of Ant having the same name as others is very serious, so reporter Mike asked this question.

Wang Zhong: "That's him. He has been following me since then. But at that time he was relatively inexperienced and didn't have that many staff officers or level 6 clerks. He couldn't command such a large army."

Reporter Mike: "So I said this is the starting point of your cooperation, okay?"

Wang Zhong shook his head: "It's a big problem. The command of the infantry was actually done by Yegorov and Pavlov. I just proposed my idea and forced them to accept it."

Lyudmila reminded quietly: "And you also raced a tank. You also raced a tank."

Wang Zhong: “Oh yeah, I also raced a tank.”

Lyudmila: "At the most dangerous moment, the tank No. 422 under your command turned the tide, blocked the enemy's attack, and rescued me from being captured."

Wang Zhong scratched his cheek and said embarrassedly: "Let's go visit the manager's office."

----

The four walls of the manager's office were covered with Plossen's recruitment posters, and it was obvious that this place had become part of the Plossen barracks.

The originally empty office area is now crammed with many bunk beds.

Wang Zhong squinted his eyes to admire the posters on the wall.

Vasily: "Let me wash all this off."

Wang Zhong: “No, these are all history and can be visited by people in the future.”

"Is it really appropriate to visit?" Vasily asked worriedly, "These are all records of us being bullied."

Wang Zhong: "Relax, Vasily. Wars come and go, but these records will remain forever."

Wang Zhong paced around the manager's office, and then found that old lady Alexeyevna was a little tired, so he hurriedly said, "Let's go and see the first generation 422 tank!"

----

The T28 was still parked outside the village, maintaining the same posture as it was in when it was confronting the Plossen tank just before it was destroyed.

Wang Zhong pointed to the bullet hole on the front of the tank and said, "Auntie Alexeyevna, the shell that took your child's life entered the tank from here."

The old lady looked at the bullet hole with a sad expression: "It's just such a small hole? My good son is gone just like that."

Wang Zhong: "Do you want to see his battle position?"

The old lady hesitated for a long time, but still shook her head: "No, what's the point of going up to see? I'd better offer flowers."

As soon as the old lady turned around, Lyudmila handed her a wreath.

"You can still find so many flowers in autumn," the old lady exclaimed, "you are very capable, little girl, as capable as the marshal."

Lyudmila smiled widely.

The old lady placed the flowers in front of the tank, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and prayed.

After a while, the old lady opened her eyes and looked at Wang Zhong: "General, I pray for you. I hope you will be able to turn danger into safety in the future."

Wang Zhong: "Thank you."

Old lady: "Is there anything else you want to do?"

Wang Zhong: "I have another tank to present flowers to."

----

The KV tank numbered 67 was still parked quietly at the entrance of the village.

The crater caused by the Stuka bombing has been filled in, and a watchtower-like building has been built next to it, which seems to be Prosen's version of a "gun tower".

The rusty KV just lay there.

Wang Zhong walked around the tank and asked the local bishop who had hurried over: "Where are the tank crew members of this tank buried?"

The bishop pointed to the nearby artillery tower and said, "It's right under the foundation of the artillery tower. The town was always haunted during that period, so the Prosun people wanted to 'suppress' the souls of the fallen soldiers in this way, so they dug up the bodies that were originally buried in the woods over there and buried them down there."

Wang Zhong nodded, then took the wreath from Lyudmila and placed it at the base of the KV tank turret.

The snow-white flowers on the rusty tank are so dazzling.

Wang Zhong moved away and looked at the flowers on the tank.

At this time, the sound of horses neighing was heard in the distance.

Wang Zhong thought, "No way," and turned his head to see Bucephalus running towards him.

"Don't!" Wang Zhong held down his hat, thinking that this crazy horse was going to bite his hair again.

However, the white horse stopped in front of the tank and vomited something on it.

Wang Zhong: "What are you doing? This tank is——"

He suddenly stopped and found that among the pile of grass that Busiflas had vomited out were tiny baby's breath flowers.

The white horse pulled away, faced the tank, raised its front hooves high, stood up, raised its head and let out a long roar.

(End of this chapter)