Arc of Gunfire

Agsukov, General Headquarters of the Southwestern Front of the Ant Army, 2330 hours.

"How many kilometers have you advanced?" General Skorobo was so shocked that he stood up.

The staff officer lowered his head to confirm the number on the report, and then cautiously answered: "40 kilometers."

General Skorobo: "Where are our troops? How can we allow the enemy's armored group to advance forty kilometers?"

While the general roared angrily, the operational staff expressionlessly posted an arrow representing the enemy south of Agsukov, near the coast, on the map of the front army headquarters.

The First Armored Group under the enemy's Army Group South, the southernmost pincer of the entire pincer offensive, has penetrated 40 kilometers into the defense line.

Judging from the map, the defense area of ​​the 35th Army, which was originally responsible for blocking the First Armored Group, looked like a sweet potato cut in half by the enemy.

General Skorobo was still venting his anger: "Forty kilometers! Is the enemy planning a marathon in our defense zone?"

"Your Excellency, General," the chief of staff spoke, "it's useless to shout to the communications staff. It's not the communications staff who made the enemy advance so fast."

General Skorobo hesitated for a few seconds and took a deep breath: "You are right. So what exactly is the 35th Army doing? They should have built defensive positions on the front line, right?"

The bishop of the front army said: "We also have fortified areas on the border, but the enemy still broke through."

At this time, the Crown Prince, who had been listening, said: "General, you yourself said that building fortifications is useless. It is outdated."

"When did I say that?"

Crown Prince: "Yesterday, I was commenting on Rokossov's work in Orachi."

The mention of Rokossov at this time made General Skorobo furious: "Don't mention that name!"

Chief of Staff of the Front Army: "The defenses of the Luo-Lin 151st Division may be different from the defenses we generally know. I can ask him to introduce his experience if there is an opportunity in the future."

General Skrobo glared at the chief of staff. At this time, his adjutant said: "It was Rokossov who kept saying that the enemy in the north would go south, so our defense focus is all on the north. There is only one group army in front of the enemy's first armored group. , based on past experience it is definitely not enough.”

The crown prince stood up and said, "That's enough! Rokossov warned you that the enemy in the north will go south, so will he go south? Go south! He also said that the enemy will launch a pincer offensive. I remember what he said. ! Clamped? Clamped!

"He got everything right! So who said it all didn't hit the mark? It was you! You said that a tank army armed with new tanks will crush the enemy! Did it crush it?

"You said you could thwart the enemy's infantry attack. Did you thwart it?"

Chief of Staff: "We actually failed in this. The enemy's infantry group army's attack did not make much progress today. We even counterattacked and took back a town. Our infantry troops are still very willing to fight."

The Crown Prince was a little embarrassed for a moment. He did not understand the status of the infantry attack, but this did not prevent him from continuing: "But your initial judgment was completely wrong! Because the enemy's main breakthrough and encirclement will be achieved by armored groups!

"By the way, the enemy's pliers to the north are currently blocked by Rokosov!"

Chief of Staff: "Rokossov and Duke Myshkin blocked it together. Without Duke Myshkin, his entire division would have been surrounded."

Crown Prince: "Anyway, he blocked it! And his telegram at 2300 also said that more than 60 enemy tanks were destroyed in one day!"

General Skorobo's adjutant said: "It sounds a bit little..."

"Because he really destroyed more than 60 tanks! Look at the 35th Army. It said that it destroyed more than 100 enemy tanks. Then why did the enemy cut through their defense line like butter? It's because the enemy invested a thousand A tank?" the crown prince asked the general's adjutant, knocking on the table.

Chief of Staff: "We can't deploy 1,000 tanks on that front. Judging from the width of the enemy's breakthrough, there should be only more than a hundred tanks on the front. After the breakthrough, they will spread out and sweep across our logistics."

Front Army Bishop: "Episode 35 should be canceled."

The adjutant was speechless for a moment.

General Skorobo put his hands on the map table and covered his forehead with his palms: "Okay, that's enough, Mishka (the adjutant's nickname). There is no point in continuing to maintain my face at this time, my face I’ve already lost it myself.”

The general said and put down his hand.

For a moment, the crown prince thought that the general had a bunch of new wrinkles on his forehead out of thin air.

The general looked at the crown prince: "Your Highness, could you please send a telegram to your father to persuade him to allow us to retreat?"

The crown prince was shocked instead: "Retreat? The enemy's pliers have advanced less than a hundred kilometers in total. There is still a long time before the hole is closed."

General: "Of course we will try our best to delay the enemy, but now we should prepare for the worst. We still have some tank units, both T26 and BT series, but according to reports from the front, these tanks can still penetrate the enemy as long as they are at the right distance. of armor.

“We also have enough Molotov cocktails to destroy enemy tanks in urban mince.

"But, Your Highness, we have a great plain to the south. Even if we can defend one or two cities, the enemy will still flood us like a flood overflowing a dam."

After the general finished speaking, the chief of staff took over: "Unless our air force suddenly becomes as capable as the enemy's air force. I heard that the Air Force's IL-2 attack aircraft are effective, but now only one squadron is assigned to our front army.

"A squadron can delay a division, but it cannot stop an entire armored group."

After the chief of staff finished speaking, the whole room fell silent.

The crown prince sighed: "I'll give it a try. But I think with my father's stubbornness, he won't change his mind so quickly."

General Skorobo: "Then we'll wait until he changes his mind. I suggest you fly back to St. Catherine's Castle immediately to convince His Majesty the Tsar."

The Crown Prince showed a wry smile: "You don't understand my father, he...he is very sensitive. He asked me to supervise the army, but I ran back by myself. He would be furious. In this state, he will not listen to advice."

Silence fell again.

As for the character of the Tsar, the generals have somewhat heard about it.

The crown prince reassured: "Don't worry, I will send a telegram to my sister. She is so smart, she will definitely be able to think of a solution. Unless she happens to anger my father, he will definitely listen to his advice!"

General Skorobo nodded: "Very good, I'll leave this to your Highness. We must brace ourselves now and try to delay the retreat and strive for a situation suitable for retreat."

Chief of Staff of the Front Army: "We can consider an infantry attack. If we can hold back the enemy's infantry and disconnect the armored cluster from the rear, the enemy may stop."

General Skorobo: "You can give it a try."

The Crown Prince sat down, looked up at the mural on the ceiling, and said silently: Olga, you have to work harder. If you can't convince your father, these troops will be buried here.

————

Orachi, the headquarters of the 151st Provisional Infantry Division of the Ant Army, at 0010 hours on August 4.

When Wang Zhong entered the room, Pavlov was shocked: "Why are you back? I thought you were going to sleep with the troops."

"I want to adjust my deployment." Wang Zhong said, "What caused us the biggest loss today was the enemy's bombing, so I want to target the enemy's aircraft."

As he spoke, Wang Zhong came to the table where a detailed hand-drawn map of the surrounding areas of Orachi was placed.

“Our anti-aircraft guns are now used to protect artillery positions, but if you think about it carefully, if the enemy discovers our artillery positions, the 25mm anti-aircraft guns of only one anti-aircraft battalion will not be able to stop them.

"But when this battalion advances to the front, it can cover our tanks, and when necessary, it can shoot the infantry levelly. If the angle is right, it can even shoot the opposite tanks, such as the No. 1 and No. 2 tanks that make up the numbers."

Today - yesterday, August 3, the 151st Division destroyed more than 60 tanks. These refer to the No. 3 and No. 4 tanks. The No. 2 and 38T tanks that made up the numbers were not counted at all.

Pavlov nodded: "I have no objection."

Popov: "Actually, I checked the camouflage of the artillery position. As long as it is not passed by the enemy's reconnaissance aircraft at ultra-low altitude, it should be fine. I am referring to position 152. The B4 is too big and may be detected by the enemy's high-altitude reconnaissance. See."

Previously in Loktov, B4 was placed in the city, making it easier to hide. Although Loktov is small, it is a railway hub and has many factories.

There are two factories in Orachi, one that makes iron pots and shovels, one that produces dairy products such as cheese, and then there are large ranches.

There is really no place to hide something as big as B4.

Wang Zhong: "There is no other way, just burn the tires if necessary!"

"This is the problem," Popov spread his hands. "When I communicated with the local church, I fully understood the local situation. There are not many tires that can be burned in this city. We have worked hard to collect them, but the burning It’s gone after two times.”

Wang Zhong: "Damn it, all we destroyed were tanks and there were no rubber tires to remove."

Popov: "Then let's shoot out as many shells as possible before we are discovered."

Wang Zhong: "You are right, take the B4 position now and give the sleeping enemy a little surprise."

Pavlov: "Which village do you want to hit? Or... throw away all of them?"

Wang Zhong: "Throw them all together, and the rain and dew will catch them all. If they explode, you will make a profit."

Pavlov nodded: "Okay, I'll make arrangements."

Then he called.

Wang Zhong looked at Popov: "In addition to the movement of the anti-aircraft artillery battalion, tomorrow I plan to move half of the Divine Arrow Company to the front line."

Popov: "A Stuka?"

"Yes! It's not about how many aircraft were shot down, it's mainly about making the enemy's pilots worry. I remember very clearly that in Haupenier, the enemy's Stukas wanted to come back and shoot, but one of them was shot down by a divine arrow and then dispersed. ”

Popov: "I'm not in your unit yet at Penier. But I trust your experience."

At this time, Wang Zhong suddenly realized that this is the accumulation of experience!

Visible and tangible experience accumulation!

I'm growing too.

Popov: "General?"

"Oh, I suddenly felt dazed. Tomorrow I will take care of the little one, the one who talks very arrogantly... um..."

He switched to the overlooking view, found the icon of the Arrow Company, and looked at the roster.

"Ekaterina Andropovna Bolancheva, let her and the other two praying hands go to the front, while Lyudmila continues to guard Orachi."

Popov: "It's reasonable. Bolancheva can ensure the shooting down of enemy aircraft. If it is to deter the enemy, you can even just let her guide and fire one shot at a time. This will create a stronger sense of oppression on the enemy."

Wang Zhong: "Yes... indeed, but I want to fire three salvos in the first wave to cause a large attrition to the enemy."

"Can."

As soon as she finished speaking, Nellie opened the door and came in with a basket in her hand: "Want to have a midnight snack?"

"Give me some yogurt." Wang Zhong said.

Nellie looked at him directly: "You only want yogurt? You don't want vodka? In the story, the soldiers all hope that their generals drink wine and eat meat."

Wang Zhong: "I'm not the Khan of Kozalia. Let's have some yogurt."