artillery arc

Chapter 721 The End of the Winter Offensive

On November 11, the snowstorm finally came.

When Wang Zhong entered the headquarters, the first thing he did was to shake off the snow on his body at the door. Vasily also walked forward with a brush and helped him clean it.

Wang Zhong: "Damn it, the weather forecast said the temperature would drop ten days ago, but now the blizzard is coming."

"General Dong has also reached the age of changeability," Vasily teased.

Wang Zhong: "Weather forecast, when will this snowstorm stop?"

It was impossible to carry out large-scale military operations in such heavy snow, but the strategic goal of the winter offensive to level the front line had not been fully achieved.

Vasily replied: "It may not stop for the next week. Right now the headquarters is dealing with the supply difficulties caused by the heavy snow. We have stockpiled a certain amount of supplies on the front line, but we don't know if it is enough. We are calling to confirm.

"in addition……"

Wang Zhong: “What else?”

"In addition, there is a shortage of heating fuel in Roniezh, and the local church is asking us if we can provide some oil or other materials for the people to burn."

Wang Zhong: “Isn’t there enough wood?”

"It's only enough to burn for three days. Locals are organizing people to cut down trees urgently. But most of the strong men have joined the army."

Wang Zhong was taking off his coat. He paused and thought for two seconds before answering, "Let the anti-aircraft artillery troops and air force ground crew help cut down trees. They have nothing to do anyway in such heavy snow."

"Yes." Vasily agreed, taking Wang Zhong's coat and scarf, "I'll dry them both and send them back."

"No, there is no need to bake now that there is such a shortage of fuel."

After saying that, Wang Zhong strode into the map room.

He saw Pavlov reading a newspaper and joked, "The chief of staff, who is so busy, has time to read a newspaper?"

"This is the Proson newspaper." Pavlov handed the newspaper to Wang Zhong.

It was then that Wang Zhong discovered that the pages of the newspaper were densely packed with translations written in pen, and the printed text was all in Prosen language.

Then he noticed the headline on the front page of the newspaper: Rokossov's Great Failure.

"Did I fail?" he asked in surprise.

Pavlov: "No, it was about the failed breakthrough of the St. Andrew Front. But the Prosens knew that you were the commander-in-chief of the front, so they thought that the setbacks we suffered on the entire front were your failures."

Wang Zhong silently gave a thumbs up.

At this time, the flash illuminated the entire map room. Reporter Mike stepped into the flash, followed by a photographer who looked like he had caught a big fish.

Reporter Mike: "I saw the seized Proson newspaper and rushed here immediately. I arrived in Roniezh yesterday. Fortunately, I ran fast. If I had taken a plane today, I probably wouldn't have been able to take off."

Wang Zhong: "You caught me in another exclusive interview."

Reporter Mike laughed heartily: "Yeah, so what do you think of the Plossom people's latest announcement of a great victory?"

Wang Zhong: "They did achieve a partial victory, taking advantage of the mentality of underestimating the enemy and winning quickly that was prevalent in our troops. Also, the Proson Armored Forces did a great job."

Reporter Mike frowned: "Good job?"

Wang Zhong nodded.

In fact, without reading the report, he roughly guessed which of his isotopes from different time and space would be in charge of this armored counterattack. After all, on Earth, he was a die-hard fan of this "Tiger King", and the copy of "Tiger in the Mud" in his home was a very rare replica of the signed copy of the Tiger King himself.

When encountering the legendary Tiger II himself, Ant's armored forces at least killed Tiger II's comrade Kosher, and their performance was better than that of the Russians on Earth.

Reporter Mike looked at Wang Zhong and asked, "Is it really okay to praise the enemy like this?"

"The enemy also built a very grand mausoleum for my close friend, Crown Prince Ivan, and my father, Old Duke Rokossov. Praising the other party's courage and skills is actually elevating ourselves - after all, we are the final winners."

Just like the anti-Japanese drama on Earth, the Japs were portrayed as idiots, which makes people ask: Have you been bullied by such idiots for fourteen years?
It is the West that has always portrayed the Nazis and the Japanese as being very powerful, such as in the "Five Minutes of Destiny", as if the Japanese almost won. But in fact, the Japanese's own War History Research Center had already determined through interviews with the parties involved that it would take at least 30 minutes for the Nanyun Mobile Force to complete the reloading of ammunition, and another 30 minutes after that to complete preparations for the attack.

But Amei did not believe this research result, and kept following the pace of the Japanese right wing, saying that the Japanese almost won, the five minutes of fate, in order to highlight the thrilling victory of the "Heavenly Soldiers".

Later, A-Zhong became a rival, and A-Mei needed to highlight her superiority over the Asians, so she adopted the research results of the devil himself 50 years ago in the book "Broken Sword".

In short, Wang Zhong's words enlightened reporter Mike: "You are right! Devaluing the enemy will only reduce the value of our victory. Only by praising the enemy can we increase the value of our victory!"

Wang Zhongxin was thinking badly, did I teach Amei how to promote?

But on second thought, how could an old imperialist country not know this?

Reporter Mike's partner circled around Wang Zhong and pressed the shutter button continuously - the indoor lighting was good now, so he could probably take good photos without a flash.

Reporter Mike: "So how did the winter offensive work?"

"Very good, we have now flattened most of the battle lines. If you look at the map, the battle lines looked like they were gnawed by rats before, but now they are relatively smooth.

"This way we can save a lot of manpower. These replaced troops will take half a year to rest and train."

Reporter Mike: "You are already preparing for the next battle!"

Wait a minute, why do you sound sarcastic, as if "on the one hand, RNG is the first team to prepare for S9"!

Pavlov: "After a year of fighting, we have consumed a lot of equipment and manpower. After more than half a year of fighting, our artillery shells are less than 10% left. If we continue to fight, our howitzers will run out of shells. If the Prosens attack, it will be a big problem."

Wang Zhong: "But the Plossans may not have any shells left." (This is true. Since the beginning of the winter campaign, the Plossans' artillery fire has been very "restrained.")
Mike Reporter: "It looks like next year's summer offensive will be very grand?"

Wang Zhong: "Yes, we must go straight to Prothenia and end the war once and for all! Just like the Prothenes did in 914! But they failed, and we will succeed."

The first wave of smoke bombs for the summer campaign. Take it, Emperor Proson!

Reporter Mike: "Directly attack Prothenia? Even if we start from the nearest place, it's still several hundred kilometers away, and there are two large rivers in between. Isn't that a bit too aggressive?"

Wang Zhong: "If we launch a large-scale offensive, the Allies will have a chance, right? At the meeting in the capital of Barras, Prime Minister Leonard and President Lao Luo agreed to open a second battlefield to relieve our pressure.

"Although I think we don't really need to relieve the pressure in the current situation, but - just in case."

In fact, judging from the attack on the Prosen defense line during the winter offensive, the enemy's combat effectiveness is very strong when they are holding on. If the enemy continues to increase its forces and transfers troops from the Western Front to the Eastern Front, the battle will become very difficult after entering the Prosen Empire's homeland.

At this time, Wang Zhong actually hoped that the Allies could exert pressure on the Western Front and force the Plossons to leave more troops on the Western Front.

To achieve this goal, he had to pretend that he had no expectations of the Allied landing.

Reporter Mike shook his head. "Several failures in the Kingdom of Sardinia this year have made the Allies very cautious about the landing. Of course, the Allies have not stopped assembling troops. There are already 1.5 million troops assembled in the United Kingdom. By April next year, the number will increase to 3 million - at least that's what the official announcement is."

Wang Zhong: "And the Prosent troops guarding the Carolingian homeland across the strait are less than 500,000!"

Reporter Mike: "We are conducting a landing operation, and a six-to-one force difference is not enough."

Wang Zhong: "When will it be enough? No, there is never too much force. If you want to wait until the force is 'sufficient' before attacking, you will never wait until that moment. The Allies should try to land in Normandy or Jialai now to put enough pressure on the enemy.

"Maybe the Proson people are not prepared at all now and will be caught off guard!"

----

"If the Allies land now, we will be caught off guard!" Marshal Erwin slammed the table, "How can you replace my entire headquarters? The new staff officer doesn't even know how long the West Wall is or how many mines are buried there!"

"We already know it." The new chief of staff said, "We read all the maps and documents overnight - although we haven't finished reading them all, but we have read all the important ones!"

Marshal Erwin: "Look! They are just reading the document now, and they haven't finished reading it yet! What should I do if the Allies land at this time? I give an order, but the staff doesn't know where the troops I ordered are, nor does they know where the place name in my order is, or what the terrain is like!"

The Imperial Household Ministry agent said: "But if you don't replace them, there may be surrender elements among your staff, and they may even secretly pass on information to the Allies!"

Marshal Erwin: "Then are you and the military police just here to eat for nothing? Because it is possible that my entire headquarters' staff and clerks will be transferred away. What is the point of the Empire supporting you?"

Imperial Household Ministry agent: "It is about maintaining the prosperity and stability of the empire, Marshal."

Erwin took a deep breath, and then seemed to compromise: "Okay, although I just yelled a lot, the fact is that the Allies did not notice this opportunity at all, and they did not attack.

"Chief of Staff! The staff officers must be ready within a week!"

Chief of Staff: "Yes! I will let the staff remember how long the West Wall is and how many mines are buried there."

Erwin stopped and stared at the chief of staff's face. "Damn it! Why bother counting the mines on the west wall? They will be destroyed by naval guns in the first two hours anyway! You should count the mines in the minefield behind the west wall. These are not easily destroyed by naval guns."

The chief of staff was also embarrassed: Didn’t you just talk about the mines on the west wall?

Erwin continued: "Our defense zone, such as the Normandy salient, is full of hedges, and the field of vision is very narrow. Officers familiar with the terrain call it the 'Green Hell' because once the war starts, it will be close combat everywhere.

"You must understand every road and every open space in this green hell! This is important!"

The Chief of Staff stood at attention: "Yes!"

"Let's get to work!" The marshal waved his hand, and the staff turned and left the marshal's office.

The marshal came to the door, quietly opened it a crack and looked out, then said to the Imperial Household Ministry agents and military police who were still in the office: "The higher-ups didn't give me enough people! With only more than a hundred staff officers and almost no clerks, how can I maintain the operation of the entire Western Command?"

The Imperial Household Ministry agent pushed up his glasses and said, "We will continue to send staff officers to join us, and the same goes for clerks. You can tell us if you need anything."

"I know that the lack of staff officers is because you want to conduct an investigation, so I won't add to your burden." Marshal Erwin teased, "When the troops of the United Kingdom and the United States launch a landing operation, I will use the excuse that there are not enough staff officers and the troops cannot be mobilized, and surrender directly!"

In fact, the marshal was just complaining, but the Imperial Household Ministry agents and military police officers all widened their eyes.

Erwin immediately realized his mistake and said, "I am teasing you! Do you understand? I will overcome all difficulties and use the 500,000 troops in my hands to stop the Allied forces!

"Damn it! My 500,000 troops are still scattered across the Carolingian and Sardinian kingdoms!"

The Imperial Household Ministry agent pretended to be sincere and said: "We believe that you will create more glory. You defeated the armies of the United Kingdom and the United States in the Mamluks, and later achieved a brilliant victory in the Kingdom of Sardinia.

"Your military career has been one victory after another, and we have reason to believe that you will win again."

Erwin snorted. "It sounds like Proson is going to have his own 'Star of Victory'! Why not transfer me to the East to meet with General Rokossov, the nightmare of the Empire?"

Imperial Household Ministry agent: "Because the Empire has just resisted Rokossov's attack in the East and thwarted his conspiracy."

"Oh? Really?" Erwin suddenly slammed the table and exploded, "Don't bully me! From the battle report, Rokossov is planning to flatten the defense line to save manpower this time. And according to the scale we calculated on the map, he has shortened the defense line by 27 kilometers! Do you know how many divisions of manpower this will save?"

The Imperial Household Ministry agent pursed his lips. This was not his professional area, so he didn't dare to answer casually.

Erwin: "Yes, Lieutenant Karl of the 502nd Company of the nd Heavy Tank Battalion of Army Group North did a good job. He should be catching up with Captain Weidmann who scored a lot of Allied Sherman victories at the Angio landing site.

“Considering that most of the tanks the captain shot were Allied tanks that had fallen into the water and abandoned their vehicles, Lieutenant Carl should have been Plosson’s top ace.

"But the superior performance of individual soldiers, crews or even units does not mean that we have 'won'!
"I think that Ant has gained the upper hand in this winter campaign on the Eastern Front so far, because they have almost completed all their strategic goals.

"The Eastern Front will fall into a state of calm, perhaps even lasting seven months! After that, Rokossov will surely show his ruthless methods!"

(End of this chapter)