Arc of Gunfire

Proson Army, Asgard Knights Ampura Armored Division forward command post.

Division commander William Dietrich put down the telescope.

Just one kilometer in front of him, the 88mm anti-aircraft artillery position set on the high ground was firing continuously.

Four 88mm guns fired continuously, and each shot meant that an Ante tank was destroyed.

The 88mm gun is an anti-aircraft gun. In order to make the shells as high as possible and reach the "interception area" as quickly as possible, the flight speed of the shells is extremely amazing, so the armor-piercing ability is also extremely amazing, and it can penetrate heavy armor at a very long distance.

At the same time, in order to ensure sufficient firepower density, the firing rate of the 88mm gun is quite excellent among the guns of the same caliber. As long as it is equipped with a skilled gun crew, the firepower density of this thing is amazing.

Finally, coupled with the Proson people's consistently excellent sights, this thing has become a famous tank killer, which can hit and destroy tanks from a very long distance.

William Dietrich suddenly said: "The 88mm gun is like sunshine, and the new tanks of the Ante Empire are like soap bubbles, which quickly dissipated in the sunshine." He smacked his lips gently, as if he was savoring the poem he had just created. The more he savored it, the more he liked it, so he took out his notebook and wrote it down. Then he began to adjust the words and sentences and tried to rhyme. At this time, the sound of submachine guns came from the nearby village. William Dietrich: "What's the situation? Is it an enemy ambush?" Immediately, a staff officer sent a messenger to check the situation. The messenger who returned five minutes later reported: "The gendarmerie is clearing the inferior ethnic groups and potential resistance elements in the village to make room for the troops in the rear." William Dietrich nodded and continued to study his poems in his notebook. In the village behind him, the sound of submachine guns came one after another. ————Ante Army, Agsukov, Southwestern Front Command. August 2, 1530 hours. The communications staff saluted in front of General Skorobo: "Report!"

General Skorobo: "Is it news of a counterattack? The counterattack was successful, right?"

The communications staff looked embarrassed.

"No, we didn't contact the 6th Tank Army and the 11th Tank Army, and the 5th Tank Army, which was mainly equipped with old models, had already retreated, and the remnants were retreating to Orachi."

"No!" General Skorobo interrupted the staff, "The 6th and 11th Armies have no contact. It must be because the progress was too smooth, so they ran crazy and didn't have time to stop and start the radio report! Let the choir urge them to stop and report!"

At this time, General Skorobo finally found that the communications staff was holding a telegram, so he asked: "What is that?"

Staff: "It's a reconnaissance report submitted by the Air Force. A large number of tank wreckage was found on the line from Odendorf to Shepetovka. Aerial observations believe that it is our new tank."

The staff handed over a stack of photos: "These are photos submitted by the Air Force together with the report."

General Skorobo picked up the photos and his expression became solemn.

Even if it was just a blurry photo taken from the air, it was possible to see the tilted armor of the wreckage. Proson's tanks did not have such an advanced design.

General Skorobo stared at the first photo and had no intention of turning to the next one.

The crown prince stepped forward, took all the photos after the first one, and looked through them one by one.

"Didn't they say that our tanks have an absolute armor advantage?" The crown prince asked softly.

The front bishop stood beside the crown prince and replied: "It should be like this, but Rokosov reported before that the enemy would shoot at the tracks and turret rings, paralyzing the tanks and handing them over to the infantry. I'm afraid this..."

"What is this?" The crown prince picked out a photo and showed it to everyone.

Chief of Staff: "Like the anti-tank gun position of the Prosens, this anti-tank gun with a cross spade was mentioned in the report of the Castilian Civil War. It is an 88mm anti-aircraft gun, but after replacing the sight for land warfare, it can also be used as flat anti-tank firepower."

"These things destroyed our tanks?" The Crown Prince found another photo and tried to put the two photos together, but he couldn't put them together correctly.

The Chief of Staff directly picked a photo and handed it to the Crown Prince: "Insert it in the middle."

The Crown Prince did it, and the edges of the three photos fit perfectly, obviously connected together.

"I don't know how to interpret photos," said the Crown Prince, "but I know how to refer to the size of the house next to it. This anti-tank gun position is super far from the wreckage area!"

Chief of Staff: "About two kilometers, the enemy penetrated our armor at a distance of two kilometers. What's more terrifying is this ability to accurately hit the target at a distance of two kilometers. It seems that an order needs to be issued. In the future, bombers and attack aircraft should give priority to this kind of gun."

As soon as the Chief of Staff finished speaking, General Skorob put down the photo and stood up.

"What are you doing?" the army commander shouted, "As the commander, you must stay calm at all times. You can't joke about the lives of hundreds of thousands of people!"

General Skorobo: "What are you talking about? I am just fulfilling my duties as the commander of the army. Although the armored forces' counterattack has failed, we haven't lost yet!"

General Skorobo picked up the pointer and gestured on the map:

"According to the current intelligence, the enemy has four attack directions. The outermost are the attack spearheads of two armored clusters, advancing towards each other across hundreds of kilometers. On the inner side, there are two infantry armies that launched the attack spearheads.

"I think that the armored spearheads on the outer line should be ignored for the time being. The Second Armored Group in the north is blocked by Duke Myshkin's Shepetovka Group, and the front of the First Armored Group in the south is also fortified by several of our army groups.

"Even if they can complete the encirclement, it will be after August 30. Before that, we can first prevent the attack of the enemy's two infantry groups on the inside. We can even annihilate the enemy's infantry groups and consume their troops! "

The Crown Prince opened his mouth wide: "So...can it really be defended?"

"Of course, we have so many troops and so many supplies! Even if we are really surrounded, we can fight for dozens of days." General Skorobo said firmly.

The crown prince looked at the map and then at the general's resolute face: "I can't find any fault. After all, I graduated second from the bottom in the military academy. Then this is how I report to my father?"

General Skorobo: "We originally received orders to defend. Agsukov is one of the origins of the Ant Empire. It was the capital of Ancient Ant before the first year of Jules. Anyone who gives up lightly will Agsukov’s people will definitely abandon St. Yekaterinburg in the future!”

At this time, the communications staff came in again: "Urgent message from the Supreme Command!"

"Read!" General Skorobo waved his hand, picked up the water glass and started drinking water.

The communications staff officer opened the folder and read: "You are not allowed to give up any inch of our territory. If commanders of the troops at all levels order the troops to retreat without authorization, they will be considered treason, and they and their families will be shot!"

General Skorobo: "Look! We have just been ordered to hold on, and now we have issued an order targeting the entire army. We can only fight to the death with the enemy here! Don't worry, Your Highness, we will stop the enemy's internal attack. "

The Crown Prince nodded, and then asked: "What should we do if the enemy's outer encirclement is completed?"

General Skorobo was silent for a second and replied: "I said, our ammunition and food are enough to fight for dozens of days. We will fight here for the empire until the last moment."

The front army bishop said: "Although we have to hold on, we can give a general retreat order to the ordinary people of Agsukov. Let the women and children retreat to the rear."

General Skorobo nodded: "This is no problem. Once a siege breaks out, women and children may starve to death due to lack of food. Arrange the execution!"

————

Ante Empire, Saint-Ekaterinburg, Summer Palace, Jules August 2, 914, 1630 hours.

"No, no!" Tsar Nicholas V roared at the generals, "You have sworn before that Agsukov's heavy army group can effectively defeat the enemy! Then let them defeat the enemy now!"

Marshal Kulontsov, Chief of General Staff of the Headquarters, said: "According to aerial reconnaissance, the tank corps composed of our new tanks is vulnerable to the enemy. We have overestimated the combat effectiveness of this tank. Now, although the enemy's pincer offensive has just Initiated, but..."

"That's not what you said two weeks ago! You said that the T34 can destroy a large number of enemy tanks in the hands of an idiot who came last in the exam and peed his pants!" The tsar banged his hand on the table angrily, wearing the tank on his ring finger. The ring made a crisp sound.

At this time, the door opened, and the guard outside said in horror: "Your Highness, you can't go in! The highest military meeting is taking place!"

Princess Olga Nikolayevna Antonovna ignored the guards' stops and rushed to the middle of the conference room, stopping only at the map table.

Nicholas V said impatiently: "Olga! I don't have time to play the game of playing Catherine the Great with you now! We are talking about important things! Military matters!"

Her Royal Highness the Princess glanced sideways at her biological father: "Father, I also want to talk about military matters."

Nicholas V looked back at the shivering maid hiding by the door: "What are you doing standing there in a daze? Take her away!"

Olga Nikolayevna Antonovna looked directly into her father's eyes: "Father, have you ever read the battle report of Upper Penier? I mean the kind of battle report without moisture. The Church Tribunal Since I sent the report to my brother, it should also be on your desk, father."

Nicholas V was a little embarrassed and was about to answer when his daughter continued: "There is also Loktov's battle report later. Anyone who has read this report will know that Alexei Konstantinovich Rokossov is an out-and-out military genius. He has a keen sense of the battlefield and excellent military literacy!

"It is impossible for such a person to be ranked last in the exam, so there is only one possibility! He was ranked last in the exam because of my stupid brother!

"He must ensure that his scores are not higher than those of his brother, and he must ensure that he can graduate. Doesn't such precise control of scores prove that he is actually a military genius?"

The generals and marshals in the room looked at each other.

Only Nicholas V was still scolding the princess: "Olga! This is not your game of house!"

The princess looked directly at her father: "I'm telling you how stupid these generals under your command are! If you think about it carefully, they are just better off taking sides in the civil war. In fact, they are just as stupid as the defeated Chongsheng nobles. !

“And some of them are inextricably linked to the defeated nobles of the Chongsheng Sect!

"Dad! You didn't kill these people completely, which led to the disastrous defeat in the first month of the war!"

"Your Highness the Princess!" Marshal Kulentsov, Chief of General Staff of the Supreme Command and the only remaining prince in the empire, said angrily, "Even a wealthy man cannot speak so openly!"

Princess Olga retorted: "Isn't what I said the truth? You deceived my father with your rhetoric and made him believe that Agsukov was as stable as a mountain! Now you come to tell my father that Agsukov must retreat! You guys …”

"That's enough!" Nicholas V came up and slapped his daughter, "Get off here!"

At this time, Duke Raoul, the youngest person present, stood up and advised: "Your Royal Highness, you'd better leave. Please come this way."

As he spoke, he tugged on the princess's sleeve.

Princess Olga turned around reluctantly and left the room, and Duke Raoul followed.

"Your Highness," he whispered to the princess, "we were confident of persuading His Majesty to issue the order to withdraw the troops. Your Majesty will feel very humiliated by this, and it is unlikely that he will withdraw the troops. At least not today."

Olga: "Is it my fault? Aren't you guys advocating war a few days ago and the situation has reversed? What's the result now?"

Duke Raoul was a little embarrassed: "Yes, we underestimated the enemy. But we are making up for this mistake, and you seriously interfered with our operations."

"Huh!" Her Royal Highness the Princess did not hide her disdain at all.

Duke Raoul continued: "Also, how could you not be smart enough to know that His Majesty relies on us to fight against the church headed by the Patriarch. You'd better not get too close to the church. During the civil war, the Holy Spirit The faction has a certain degree of support among the people, and the church needs us to win over these people.

"Now, after ten years of champagne and caviar, the people are all secular believers. This war is our last chance."

Olga: "But you didn't fight well. I think that in this critical moment, you are still thinking about this. This is Ant's mother's real darkest moment."

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