artillery arc

Chapter 762: Combat Determination
Looking at the child's frightened expression, Vasily smiled.

Filippov reminded him, "You look like a villain in a movie about the Civil War, like Petliura."

Vasily stopped smiling and looked at his old friend: "Are they similar?"

"It's exactly like that. The child might not be afraid of the marshal just now, but afraid of your smile. This poor child will probably have nightmares about your smile for the next few days."

"That's good." Vasily touched his cheek. "What I want to do is to make all of them dream about me in their nightmares from now on. This is part of the marshal's psychological plan."

Filippov: "Why do we need to attack the hearts and minds? We are ready to attack step by step. Prosinia can be easily defeated - ah!"

After exclaiming, Filippov approached Vasily, pulled him away from the enemy, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "The attack is not in March next year, but now, right? Now is the time to attack and we need to use these unconventional methods."

Vasily: "Don't think too much, the Marshal just wants to reduce casualties."

Filippov: "Based on our recent experience in capturing the enemy, the enemy's defenses are riddled with holes. We can indeed use the method of infantry infiltration to erode the enemy's defenses bit by bit."

Vasily became interested again: "Really? Tell me in detail, do you often cross the river to launch surprise attacks?"

Filippov: “Yes, the ice is very thick, and the enemy’s sentry posts are loosely arranged. Although flares are fired regularly, as long as you have the white cloak for camouflage, you don’t have to worry about being discovered.

"Every time we infiltrate, no one will die during the river crossing stage. The casualties usually occur during the firefight with the enemy's Plossen veterans wearing camouflage uniforms."

"You mean, we can cross the frozen Oder River whenever we want?" Vasily asked in surprise.

Filippov: "It is true in our section. Other sections of the river may be more well-defended. Maybe."

"Okay, I will carefully question all the troops stationed along the river later. Now let me continue to interrogate the prisoners of war." Vasily looked at the frightened "little" prisoner in front of him.

Filippov: "I'll make a special room for you."

The blue hat quickly followed up: "You can also use our interrogation room. I think our interrogation room is more scary."

Vasily: "No, a normal room will do. Please, Filippov."

Filippov nodded, turned and left the room.

----

On November 11, the headquarters of the Ante front was 10 kilometers away from the center of Plosenia.

The first thing Marshal Gorky said when he entered the headquarters was: "You, the commander-in-chief, have fled to a place only 20 kilometers away from the front line, and none of our headquarters dared to move backwards. As a result, we are now all within the range of the enemy's railway artillery."

Wang Zhong raised his head and said, "Were you bombed by railway guns? Our aerial reconnaissance did not find any railway guns above the K5 level near Prothenia?"

Marshal Gorky waved his hand and said, "I'm just saying this. Have you ever considered placing the headquarters farther away from the front? For a headquarters at this level, being close to the front is meaningless except for increasing the risk of being attacked."

As they were talking, Kashukh and Kirinenko came in while chatting. When they saw the two marshals, they stood at attention and saluted together.

As soon as Wang Zhong returned the salute, Kashuh asked with concern: "Should we launch an attack in advance? My troops can't wait any longer."

"Have your troops completed their rest?" Wang Zhong asked.

"No, but Prosinia is right in front of us! It's less than 100 kilometers away! The soldiers have said 'see you in Prosinia' so many times when greeting each other, and now they can't help but want to see you," said Kashuh.

Kashuh's troops are basically from the former St. Andrew's Fort Front. This front had always fought hard, but now it has finally gained some strength and is eager to fight.

Kirinenko also spoke up: "The morale of the troops is very high. Everyone lines up to go on night infiltration patrols just to see what the country of the Prosen people on the other side of the Finger River looks like.

"Many soldiers came back from night patrols confused. They were wondering why the Prosen people, who were so prosperous, wanted to invade us."

Wang Zhong: "Do the soldiers think we don't live a rich life?"

Kirinenko: "Of course not, but in comparison our life seems less satisfying. For one thing, the people of Prosen can still eat white bread, while we are used to eating black bread and only have white bread during festivals."

At this time, General Eugene lifted the door curtain and saw so many generals inside. He immediately saluted: "Hello, officers."

Wang Zhong: "You are also a general, a miner, don't be so reserved."

The word "miner" was originally Yegorov's name for Eugene. Since Yegorov was seriously injured and left the field, Wang Zhong also called Eugene "miner".

In fact, Wang Zhong wanted to call Eugene "Tu Mine Boy" to pay tribute to the protagonist of the "Starry Sky" game, but in the end he continued to call him his right-hand man.

Eugene smiled awkwardly, "I just received the General's Medal, so I'm not used to it. I thought I was the only one called here... so what are we having a meeting for?"

Wang Zhong: "Understand your combat readiness."

Marshal Gorky stopped and looked at Wang Zhong with a cigarette in his hand: "Confirming the war preparations now? Aren't we going to attack in March next year?"

Wang Zhong: "We are prepared to gradually erode the enemy's occupied areas and advance towards the center of Prothenia."

General Eugene: "Is that really all?"

Wang Zhong: "Not entirely. I am also planning to change the commander of the Coburg Front."

The Coburg Front is a front composed of our troops that surrounded the seriously ill enemy group in Coburg.

Because the enemy's million-strong army around Coburg had virtually no offensive power, the number of troops in the Coburg Front was far less than that of other fronts, especially in terms of tank and truck transport units.

But Wang Zhong planned to continue to weaken the strength of the Coburg Front and take over the elite troops of this front to use when attacking Plossenia.

For this purpose, it is necessary to send a front commander who is good at defense to prevent the enemy from breaking through the defense in one go.

The most suitable general on the scene was Eugene.

But at this point in time, it is estimated that every general of the Rokossov faction is unwilling to leave the Oder River line.

Everyone knows that the final chapter of the entire war is about to come. Everyone has been calling for Prosentia for so long, and now it is really time to meet Prosentia. Suddenly receiving a transfer order, everyone would be emotional.

Yegorov has already left with regret. Although Eugene joined Wang Zhong's team later than Yegorov, he is also a fierce general who has fought all the way.

Wang Zhong felt a little reluctant to transfer him from the front line to guard the huge armed prisoner-of-war camp. But there was no one more suitable than him. Eugene was really good at building a defense line, and his troops suffered much less losses in Abavakhan than Yegorov's troops.

Of course, he is not even close to Yegorov in terms of offense.

Eugene took a step back and said, "Marshal, why are you looking at me like that? Are you going to pull out the better-recovered troops from my army?"

Wang Zhong: "No, no, don't worry! This time... this time I need someone who is good at defense, to go to the Coburg Front."

Marshal Gorky: "You want to replace the guards of the prisoner-of-war camp? Are you planning to transfer troops from the surrounding areas of the prisoner-of-war camp? I think you should give up this idea. The quality of those troops is already very poor and we cannot transfer any more."

Marshal Gorky was also the Chief of the General Staff, and he certainly knew the situation of the Coburg Front better than Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong: "Are you sure we can't withdraw troops from the Coburg Front?"

"No. Originally, the Coburg Front still had a certain amount of armored forces, but your previous advance caused our armored forces to be exhausted, so we had to transfer the armored forces from Coburg.

"If the enemy in Coburg were to achieve a breakthrough, they wouldn't even have the strength to counterattack.

"Fortunately, the enemy in Coburg now basically only has light weapons, and it is unlikely to achieve a breakthrough. But the high command opposes to continue to withdraw troops from Coburg, which is too risky."

Eugene: "Then I don't have to be transferred to Coburg to fight the enemy?"

Wang Zhong: "How do you know I want you to come over?"

Eugene: "After all, I have been fighting with you for so many years, so I have some understanding of you."

At this time, Pavlov came in, looked at the generals and marshals in the room, and said, "Since everyone is here, please sit down. Why are you all standing? Are you going to let the stars on your shoulders dazzle our eyes?"

Wang Zhong: "It's not as dazzling as your bald head."

Pavlov touched his head and urged, "Hurry up and sit down. Gathering so many senior generals so close to the front line will be disastrous if the enemy attacks with V2 missiles."

General Kashuh: "V2 missile?"

Marshal Gorky: "The southern front has seized data and a prototype from a research institute near Vilna, and is searching for scientists in hiding."

General Kashuh: "Can that thing reach 20 kilometers behind the battle line? Speaking of which, isn't the Marshal's headquarters too close to the battle line?"

Pavlov snorted, "He wants to go to the front line and drive tanks when he gets the chance!"

Eugene: "That's great. Marshal, if you can fire your tank one more time, we can end the war."

As they were talking, everyone sat down at the long table, and Pavlov began to speak: "We called everyone here, and also called Marshal Gorky from the rear, who was originally in charge of the military headquarters, to discuss the possibility of ending the war before Christmas."

Everyone looked at each other.

Kirinenko spoke first: "My troops are not in the best condition, whether in terms of weapons, equipment or personnel, and we don't have enough artillery shells. It is not appropriate to attack now."

Kashuh also echoed: "My troops were the first to start replenishment. At present, the shortage of troops is not large, and the basic officers are basically well preserved, but we also don't have much ammunition stored.

"If you want my troops to take the lead in the attack, you need to supply us with additional artillery shells."

Wang Zhong: "But the enemy in front of us was also not prepared. They also lacked artillery shells, the trenches were not dug properly, and there were a large number of children, the elderly and women among the soldiers."

Marshal Gorky added: "There were especially many children. Yegorov was too soft on the boy scouts and was almost killed."

Wang Zhong: "If we attack now, our artillery fire can immediately wipe out most of the enemy's manpower. We will cut through their defenses like cutting tofu."

Kashukh: "It will be easier to capture the west bank of the Oder River at first, and the intelligence provided by our night reconnaissance troops also supports this judgment. However, Marshal, the enemy's capital is across the way. When we approach Prothenia, we will face a modern building complex that is even more densely packed than the one around Yeburg.

"The attack will enter a brutal street fighting phase, and the enemy will fight desperately like we did around Yebao. You commanded the Abavahan defense battle, and you know how terrible this kind of street fighting is for the attackers!"

Wang Zhong: "I also know why our army can carry out such street fighting in Abawahan. Because we are defending our country, we are fighting to prevent our land from being ravaged!"

Eugene: "Aren't they enemies?"

Wang Zhong: "It could have been the locals, but Emperor Proson's recent crazy behavior gave us an opportunity."

Pavlov: "We have a series of plans aimed at undermining the enemy's morale. Colonel Vasily is in charge of the specific details. The goal is to destroy the enemy's motivation to resist."

Kirinenko: How?

Wang Zhong: "It includes many aspects, such as publicizing the atrocities committed by the Proson Army in our country, and printing the luxurious life of the Proson nobles that we photographed in Vilna on leaflets and distributing them in large quantities."

Eugene: "Will it work?"

Wang Zhong: “I don’t know either, but when Emperor Prosen snatched the child from his mother and sent him to the battlefield, he and the people of Prosen were no longer on the same page.

"Didn't your night reconnaissance team notice that the enemy, except for the children, was demoralized."

Among the People's Self-Defense Forces, only children maintained high morale. They may have been deceived by the beautiful slogans, or they may have regarded the war as a war game.

The generals looked at each other.

Eugene: “I did receive such a report.”

"You can tell the enemy's low morale without even reading the reports."

Wang Zhong: "This is what Vasily wants to do, to stir up the enemy's war-weariness. If we attack in March next year, they may become numb and may put up a numb but resolute resistance."

Marshal Gorky suddenly said, "But if we attack in March next year, the enemy's Asgard Knights may be on the verge of mental and health collapse due to excessive use of so-called awakening drugs."

Gorky looked at Wang Zhong and said, "We seized the awakening agent, which contained high-purity drug."

Wang Zhong was not surprised at all, because the NC on Earth had done similar things.

"In short," Wang Zhong glanced at the generals, "I personally think that we now have a chance to take Prothenia before our Christmas (January 1), and we should seize it. At least we should give it a try."

(End of this chapter)