artillery arc

Chapter 767: Cannibalization Offensive Begins

November 11, Melania First Front Command.

General Eugene looked at his watch and said, "It's time to start."

The cannibalization operation at the regimental level a few days ago was a complete success. The Ante troops that occupied the town of Luki blocked Prosen's weak counterattack without even calling for support from the tank destroyer unit.

So today, a larger-scale encroachment operation will be launched. Eugene will deploy a total of ten regiments of troops to cross the frozen Oder River with the support of short-term fire raids.

Eugene looked at the artillery commander of the front and sighed, "Only ten regiments are attacking. The number of troops is so small that it seems like we have returned to two years ago."

Two years ago, the total number of troops under Eugene's command was less than ten regiments, and he had to put all his assets into the attack.

The army chief of staff also echoed: "As an army-level attack, it is indeed a bit childish. This number of troops makes the logistics pressure very low. We can accumulate supplies while attacking."

The military bishop of the front said: "Such a force would be consumed in an instant, leaving no trace at all. I am still skeptical about such an infiltration operation. Will it become an endless refueling war, overdrawing the forces we have finally recovered?"

Eugene: "Then we can only hope that Vasily's psychological warfare is effective."

----

On the east bank of the Oder, one of the ten regiments involved in the attack.

Uncle Vanya was comforting the young man who had just come up: "Don't worry, haven't you heard? The friendly forces fought there a few days ago, not only taking the city, but also blocking the enemy's armored division's counterattack with minimal casualties.

"That's a regiment, one regiment against an armored division! Plosson's elite troops are finished, we can easily destroy them in the past!"

One of the new recruits asked, "Uncle Vanya, how many Proson devils have you killed?"

Uncle Vanya showed the butt of his submachine gun: "Look at the scratches on it. I scratched it every time I killed someone. Now there are 35 scratches in total."

“That’s not a lot!” a young man said.

Uncle Vanya's face changed immediately: "I didn't kill the rookie devils now, I killed the elite devils. In the suburbs of Abawahan, I led my squad to defend a house, but they all died, leaving only me.

"The Prosens came up and I shot down two of them. The remaining one rushed in and I pulled out my dagger. We wrestled for a long time and stabbed him several times before I killed him.

"He even grabbed the dagger and stabbed me a few times. Look!"

Uncle Vanya opened his thick military coat, revealing the scar on the side of his body.

"Look! This is the scar that damned Plossom devil left on me! That guy was so strong that he could strangle you little bastards to death with one hand!"

Seeing the scar, the recruits fell silent.

The horrible scars revealed the horror of the battlefield.

Just then, Uncle Vanya heard the roar of tanks.

He immediately looked in the direction where the voice came from: "Here they come, the heavy tank regiment that is cooperating with us is here."

Suddenly, Uncle Warnia froze, staring at the direction where the sound came from.

All the recruits looked over curiously and saw a tank with a red flag on the antenna. The tank driver stuck his head out of the turret, and his exposed upper body was covered with medals.

"Wow, this tanker medal can be used as armor on the chest."

Uncle Vanya suddenly punched the new recruit on the shoulder: "What tank driver! That's Marshal Rokossov! Quick, line up! Be alert! Don't be so listless!"

"What? That's Marshal Rokossov?" All the recruits turned their heads to look at the tank, with curiosity clearly greater than awe on their faces.

Uncle Vanya: “You bunch of bastards, do you know that in Abavahan, at the most critical moment, it was the marshal who personally led the infantry to launch a counterattack and stopped the enemy’s offensive!

"He is the greatest military commander since Suvorov! Bagration, who personally led the charge at Austerlitz, can only rank behind him! Line up! Be serious! Stand tall, hold your chin up, and be impressive!"

The recruits then lined up, held their heads high and saluted the tanks.

The tank came closer in front of everyone.

The commander crawled out from the marshal's abdomen and said to Vanya and others: "Relax, this is a dummy, a psychological warfare of the psychological warfare headquarters!"

Uncle Vanya then realized that the person on the tank was indeed a little strange.

His first reaction was anger: "How could you do such a disrespectful thing to the marshal?"

Tank commander: "It's to intimidate the enemy and reduce casualties. The marshal personally approved it, and his adjutant is responsible for its execution. If you insist, the psychological warfare headquarters is directly under the marshal!"

When Vanya heard that it was the marshal's direct department, he immediately lost his temper, but he still said worriedly: "What if the dummy is damaged? The enemy will think that the marshal is dead, wouldn't that be a bad thing?"

Tank commander: "Don't worry, we have practiced many times to deal with this situation! In the eyes of the Plosson devils, the marshal is invulnerable and immortal! They will be scared to death!"

Before Uncle Vanya could say anything, the artillery fire preparation began.

Countless shells flew over their heads and fell to the other side of the river.

Tank commander: "Okay! Let's go. The short artillery preparation won't last long. We have to take this opportunity to cross the river."

After that, the Rokossov II started again, and the large speakers on the tank began to play music.

Uncle Vanya: "And music?"

"This is part of psychological warfare! The enemy will run away!"

The tank, playing "Symphony of Fate", drove off the beach and onto the ice. The tracks with anti-skid devices left clear tracks on the ice.

Almost at the same time, the whistle for the infantry attack rang out from the starting position. Uncle Vanya pulled himself together and said to his new recruits, "Forward! If you survive, you will be the new backbone of the battle!"

In Uncle Vanya's regiment, many combat backbones have gone out to recuperate, and they are in great need of non-commissioned officers. However, they are already the best regiment, so they were chosen to participate in the infiltration operation.

The skirmishers followed the tanks, stepped onto the ice, and moved towards the other side.

----

On the west bank, the 603rd National Guard Division position in Plossen.

The moment the artillery fire fell, the position immediately turned into an ant nest filled with water. The various recruits fled in panic, not knowing where to hide from the artillery fire.

The few veterans who remained were shouting, "Get into the bunker!"

"Get down if there's no cover nearby!"

"Don't lie flat on the ground when you lie down, or you will be shaken to death!"

The efforts of the veterans paid off, and many new recruits entered the trenches.

However, the trenches dug in a hurry were not up to standard, and the walls of the trenches collapsed when shells landed nearby, burying many people in the soil.

The shelling continued for a while, and then the even more terrifying scream of rocket launchers was heard.

Now even the old soldiers stopped shouting. They all lay on the ground, praying that death would not find them.

The rocket launcher's bombardment was short and fierce. When the explosion stopped, some people on the position stood up and ran back.

Then the military police opened fire, bullets mercilessly shot through the bodies of the deserters. The old soldiers who had recovered from the bombing also shouted to maintain order.

Just then, music floated from the direction of the ice.

Everyone who looked in the direction of the sound saw a tank with a red flag and the tank commander with his upper body exposed.

"Oh my God, it's Rokosov!" someone shouted, crawled out of the trench and ran to the rear.

The supervisory team ran faster than the deserters. They dropped their machine guns and ran backwards. As they ran, they tore off the half-moon shaped "necklace" representing the military police and threw it on the ground.

The new recruits and the People's Self-Defense Forces, who were unaware of the truth, also abandoned their posts and ran away.

The rout began.

The tank, playing "Symphony of Fate", chased the fleeing crowd.

Suddenly, an officer shouted, jumped out of the trench and fired at Rokossov on the tank.

Bullets clanged against the tank turret, and it looked like Rokossov was hit.

But He did not move, still staring at the officer who fired.

The officer collapsed, dropped his weapon and tried to flee, only for the tank's coaxial machine gun to open fire.

The officer was shot in the back, his body tensed up, and he turned around before falling into the snow, spreading bright red.

Several people jumped out of the bunker where the officer had just stayed, and all of them raised their hands in surrender.

----

Uncle Vanya couldn't close his mouth when he saw the Proson Japs who walked out of the trenches to surrender.

"It really worked? These people were frightened by a scarecrow?"

While he was still in shock, the new recruits had already rushed forward to disarm the prisoners.

Uncle Vanya woke up from his shock and reminded loudly: "Be careful not to violate discipline! We can't rob prisoners!"

"I know, uncle!"

----

At 11 hours on November 14, Melania's First Front Command.

Eugene put down the report and asked the chief of staff: "Isn't this going a little too smoothly? Is there a trick?"

Chief of Staff: "What kind of trick could it be? To lure us over and then surround and annihilate us? They couldn't even destroy the regiment that came over a few days ago."

Eugene picked up the report again, flipped through it, and shook his head: “The enemy didn’t even make any counter-artillery preparations, and it felt like there was no one guiding the artillery fire during the defense.

"The defenses everywhere collapsed at the first blow, and our people have been chasing them... If the road to Prothenia was full of troops like this, we could advance all the way with great momentum."

Chief of Staff: "Logistics cannot keep up, so we should proceed steadily and infiltrate step by step. In addition, didn't the Marshal say that some Asgard Knights will put up a resolute resistance?

"We may also need to bypass key points in their defense."

Eugene touched the unshaved stubble on his chin, thought for a while and said, "In any case, let the troops stop first, consolidate their positions on the spot, and find out the scope of the enemy's collapse.

"If there are many positions vacated by the enemy's retreat, let other regiments advance as well. Don't waste a position that is given away for free."

"Yes." The chief of staff picked up the phone.

At this time, the bishop of the front army joked: "You are not going to the front line to command the troops to dig trenches yourself, are you?"

Eugene rolled his eyes: "Don't treat me like Yegorov! Don't treat me like a marshal! My post is here, I can't leave without permission."

After a brief pause, Eugene sighed, "I also want to be as brave as the two of them, but unfortunately, I have long found that I can't do it. I am just a miner. I am more familiar with mines and clerical work. I am not good at fighting and killing."

After General Eugene finished speaking, he lowered his head, picked up another document and started flipping through it.

The medals on his chest, which were no less numerous than those of Yegorov, reflected the light of the electric lamp.

----

Andreas once again asked to work the night shift.

This time Koslake came out to stand with him, bringing with him the deserter - who was now dressed in an ill-fitting infantry uniform.

Koslake: "There are far fewer deserters today than usual. The military police have greasy faces, and it seems that they have made a lot of money from the deserters."

Andreas: "What's the point of scraping all this oil now?"

Koslake: "Enjoy life while you can, or enjoy life after peace. I heard that Grand Duke Meyer is sending the famous paintings he collected from Europa to South America by submarine, as well as gold bars."

Andreas: "Does he still think he'll have a chance to go to South America and enjoy these things?"

At this time, the deserter interrupted and said, "Grand Duke Mayer wears a white uniform all day long, and there is no dust at all. We don't even have soap. How does he keep his uniform spotless?"

Andreas smiled: "If we knew that, we wouldn't be freezing here in the winter."

Suddenly, the sound of some large bird flying was heard in the sky.

The deserter looked up: "Are there still birds flying at this time?"

"It's not a bird, but a night witch from Ant's group." Kosrek put out the cigarette in his hand. "Don't show any light. If they see it from the plane, they will drop bombs directly at the light."

Andreas sighed, "This thing finally caught up with Ant. I wonder if the anti-aircraft gunners in the capital have ever dealt with such a target."

"Definitely not."

Just as he finished speaking, there was an explosion not far away, and the alarm sounded. Searchlights were turned on one by one, and beams of light swept everywhere in the night sky, but not a single beam of light locked onto the biplanes of the Dark Night Witches.

Andreas, Kosrek, and a deserter just watched the chaos in the sky as if it had nothing to do with them.

The deserter suddenly asked: "How far are the Ants from us?"

"I don't know." Kosrek said, "What does this have to do with us? We just need to be loyal to the Empire when the Ants appear in front of us."

Andreas: “That’s not what you said yesterday.”

"Really? Maybe I drank some secretly yesterday. I got some strong liquor from the quartermaster. It tasted terrible."

Andreas complained: "You have wine but you don't share it with me! This is really not nice."

Kosrek took out a flat wine flask and said, "Here you go! Drink it to warm yourself up."

Andreas took a sip and immediately frowned: "Damn, this stuff is even worse than instant coffee that looks like mud."

"But it can make you forget the reality temporarily." Kosrek grabbed the wine jug and took a big gulp.

(End of this chapter)