Arc of Gunfire

Jules 914, at 1230 hours on September 20, the headquarters of the First Army of the Asgard Knights of the Prossen Army.

Siegfried Giles is waiting for the battle report of the second round of attacks.

But what was sent first was the reorganization report of the first round of offensive troops.

A captain staff officer took the report into the division headquarters map room, which was made up of multiple armored command vehicles, and saluted Gil-Ais: "Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, the first round of offensive troops has been reorganized."

Giles: "Read."

The captain immediately raised his writing board to his chest and began to recite: "The four armored battalions that went on the attack early this morning had a total of 160 Panzer III tanks and 65 Panzer IV tanks ready for combat. Now there are 121 Panzer III tanks and 27 Panzer Panzer IV tanks. Vehicle No. 4 is ready for combat.”

Giles didn't say anything, but the chief of staff in the room first exclaimed: "More than 70 tanks were lost in just one morning?"

Captain: "It is not a complete loss. According to the reports of the withdrawn vehicle crews, it is estimated that a considerable number can be repaired. There are also fifteen vehicles that were successfully withdrawn, but they have mechanical problems and cannot be dispatched again."

The chief of staff breathed a sigh of relief and sighed: "Fortunately, we are not as bad at logistics as the Anters. We can repair the lost tanks."

The Ant tanks were abandoned on the side of the road if there was any malfunction. I don't know if their tactics were just like this, or if their morale was simply too low and the tank was broken and they ran away.

Giles asked: "What about the losses of tank crews?"

"In addition to the crews that were withdrawn together with the tanks, thirty-seven incomplete crews were withdrawn. Before retreating, the infantry checked the tanks without crews, but no survivors were found."

Giles frowned: "Have there been so many completely lost crews before? Even if the enemy's 76mm anti-tank gun is used, there are always some members left, right?"

Captain: "This needs to be investigated in detail. However, the troops responded to the enemy's attack very accurately, and the gun positions are all well hidden, making them difficult to detect. I'm afraid it is not the best idea to shoot at the enemy."

After the captain finished speaking, the chief of staff waved his hand: "So in the second wave we used conventional smoke propulsion, which should achieve excellent results."

Giles asked: "What are the losses of the infantry?"

Captain: "The first wave of attacks was accompanied by a report from the infantry unit. There was a vacancy of 471, but people who ran down gradually returned to the team. The specific casualties will not be known until detailed statistics at night, or after the battlefield is occupied and the battlefield is cleaned."

The process of retreating after a failed attack is destined to be very chaotic. Coupled with the enemy's artillery attacks, it is common for people to get separated and go astray during the retreat.

The statistics of casualties is a very complicated science. The most direct way is to clean up the corpses at the battlefield.

This is also the reason why the army maintains so many staff officers and clerks. There are not so many people that even the casualties cannot be counted.

Giles sighed: "There were so many casualties in the first round of attack, and there was no gain. General White Horse is indeed a terrible opponent."

Giles' adjutant took a step forward: "The enemy has such an impregnable defense, so we should avoid its sharp edge and take a detour from the flanks. We, the Asgard Knights, are His Majesty's elite bodyguards. Isn't it appropriate to compromise this place with such a forceful attack?"

"Furthermore, I have objections to the practice of forcibly airdropping chasseurs behind the enemy's strongly fortified rivers. Airborne troops should be used in areas where our army can quickly break through. Otherwise, the airborne troops will become a lone force behind the enemy and be overwhelmed by the enemy's second or even third-line troops. "Eradicate."

Siegfried Giles nodded: "You are right, such a strong defense should not be attacked by force.

"But we are fighting this battle now mainly for strategic reasons. His Majesty the Emperor asked us to crush the enemy's hero. This white-horse general is known as the iron wall of the empire, so we must penetrate him from the front and crush this iron wall.

"As for the use of airborne troops, I guess it is more to appease Grand Duke Meyer. The Grand Duke has a complicated background and his biological father is not a Junker noble, so His Majesty hopes to use him to check and balance the old officer corps."

The chief of staff looked very embarrassed: "Is it appropriate for me to hear such words?"

Siegfried smiled at the Chief of Staff: "For you to serve as Chief of Staff means that you have gained His Majesty's trust."

He turned to the adjutant again: "In short, the Asgard Knights are here to crush the White Horse General and his myth, no matter what the cost. And this is to save us from bleeding in the future.

"If Ante cannot be forced to surrender quickly, the war will enter a protracted war. His Majesty originally hoped to have an armistice with the United Kingdom after the Carolingian surrender, but the wartime Prime Minister is not the one we originally favored, so now the United Kingdom is still fighting.

"It would be bad to have another Ant."

Giles looked at the map on the wall.

"If Ant's will to resist is not destroyed quickly, just like we did in the Carolingians, the entire Prossen may be bleeding out."

As soon as he finished speaking, a crisp sound suddenly came from the ground.

Siegfried Giles looked down and found the lower body of a toy tin soldier lying at his feet.

Feliz frowned: "Isn't this the tin soldier your Majesty gave you?"

Giles knelt down, picked up the lower body of the tin soldier, then took off the key chain from his waist, and looked at the tin soldier's head hanging on the key chain.

Giles: "This is a gift given to me by His Majesty when we were studying in the military academy a long time ago. I have carried it with me as an amulet for many years."

The Chief of Staff was shocked: "Speaking of which, General White Horse seems to like beheading our senior generals! Could it be that the location of our headquarters has been exposed? Damn it, it's obviously not next to any existing building -"

"Calm down!" Gilfis scolded, "General White Horse beheaded the capital twice when our commander was too close to the front line. This place is fifteen kilometers away from the front line. And there are no buildings around. You are so panicked Are you still an imperial soldier if you are in a panic?"

The chief of staff fell silent. Giles carefully connected the tin soldier's head and body.

Feliz: "Leave it to me. This kind of tin soldier is easy to repair. At worst, it can be recast with a mold after it is completely dissolved."

Giles shook his head: "Now is not the time to worry about such things. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are rushing towards the enemy's solidly fortified defense line. As a senior commander, although there is nothing that can be done for them for the time being, but -"

There was the sound of shells breaking through the sky.

————

Wang Zhong frowned and looked at the initials on the map.

At this time, the observing staff officer shouted: "The enemy tank passed the 1000-meter target!"

Wang Zhong cut his bird's eye view and saw that the anti-tank gun that had completed the transfer opened fire, killing enemy tanks as quickly as the first wave of impact.

So he turned his attention back to the map.

Vasily: "Cannonball?"

Wang Zhong: "How to fight? This initial letter covers such a large area. Look at the scale of this map. How many shells do we have to waste to completely cover the range of the initial letter?"

Vasily: "Then let's hit the center point. The rest is left to probability... and the enemy's rigor. I bet that the geometric center of this initial letter will be accurately marked on the enemy's headquarters."

Wang Zhong was speechless: "Okay, let's fire three rounds - two volleys to save some ammunition."

Popov: "Since we are completely betting on probability, let's play one round. This will make us appear more pious, and maybe we will win."

Wang Zhong: "Okay. Call again and ask the praying hands of the Divine Arrow troops to pray that the shells will hit."

Popov was shocked: "As for it?"

Wang Zhong: "Anyway, the girls have nothing to do now. Just pray."

Popov sighed, and his bear companion Pavlov thoughtfully picked up the receiver: "Here."

Wang Zhong turned his head to pay attention to the battle situation.

Sure enough, the enemy discovered ZIS30's bunker again, and then No. 4 used a short-barreled howitzer to fire smoke grenades to cover the position.

As a result, ZIS30 withdrew from its position as soon as it was covered.

There is a row of houses on the east bank, and the street behind the houses cannot be seen from the other side. It is suitable for small vehicles like ZIS30 to maneuver, and it can change positions very quickly.

However, before ZIS30 could maneuver to a new position, the enemy began to use direct fire to cover the buildings on the east bank with smoke.

Since I can't shoot you, I'll cover you completely.

After blocking the firepower on the east bank, the enemy tanks rushed towards the ferry.

The small boat of the naval infantry was still on the shore. Seeing this situation, the small boat came back first, while the naval infantry in black military uniforms and sea soul shirts took cover directly on the shore.

Most of the breakwater on the west bank is now exposed, just enough to form a shelter for one person. The naval infantry lies here like dried salted fish, waiting for the enemy tanks to approach.

Wang Zhong watched the battle nervously.

At this time Pavlov reported: "The artillery regiment has fired."

"Okay, got it." Wang Zhong waved his hand, "Let's prepare our machine gun firepower. When Haibu goes up to attack the tank, we must use overshooting fire to intercept the enemy infantry."

Pavlov picked up the receiver again.

————

The headquarters of the First Army of the Asgardian Knights of the Prosen Army.

Giles pushed Feliz away: "Okay, the bombardment is over. Get up."

Feliz raised his head: "Is the round over?"

Giles straightened his red hair, picked up the hat on the ground and put it on, then picked up the toy tin soldier thrown on the ground, held it in his left hand, then opened the door of the armored command vehicle and came outside.

I don't know where the enemy got the information, but this information was not accurate. More than thirty rounds of heavy artillery all missed and were evenly distributed in the woods next to the military headquarters.

Of course, it was not a complete miss. The canteen of the guard camp was overturned, and a dining cart fell not far from the headquarters. The stewed potatoes on it were scattered everywhere, and the coffee jar also had a hole in it. Gudong leaked mud the color of coffee.

In addition, the tank platoon attached to the military headquarters was also hit by a heavy artillery fire. Two of the tanks parked side by side were burning - the shells probably landed right in the middle of them.

Giles looked down at the toy tin soldier in his left hand.

Feliz also came out and looked at the tragic situation and said angrily: "It must be a spy! We need to have the Imperial Household Ministry investigate thoroughly!"