Arc of Gunfire

On October 12, the east bank of Shostka was controlled by the Plosin Army.

Giles walked off the pontoon and looked at the corpses piled on the beach.

Adjutant Feliz frowned: "I will supervise the logistics staff to clean up the corpses as soon as possible to avoid the plague."

Giles nodded.

At this time, the terrible stench had caused many staff officers to cover their noses, but Giles was unmoved.

He walked onto the Riverside Avenue with a serious expression and looked at the windows and walls that had been blown open by explosives, leaving only the bodies of Prosen soldiers inside.

Giles: "Isn't there any corpse of the Ant Army?"

The chief of staff immediately replied: "Report, we believe that the corpses of Ant Army have been buried by them in the cemetery on the outskirts of the city."

Giles: "The fact that the enemy still had time to do this kind of thing shows that we didn't put much pressure on them at all. They could have continued to defend here, but they retreated."

Giles paused and added: "He continues to defend here. We had hoped to crush his defense."

After saying that, he continued to move forward, following the path opened by the troops who landed earlier, all the way through the first row of buildings along the Shostka river.

The street between the first and second rows of buildings was still filled with the corpses of Prosen soldiers.

"That's the furthest we hit," Feliz said.

"The captain who attacked here the day before yesterday and escaped back reported that the enemy had demolished all the stairs leading to the second floor. We couldn't find the way up to the second floor, so we had to try to rush across the road under the cover of smoke and enter the building behind. , and ended up being killed in large numbers on the streets.”

Giles observed the buildings on both sides and sighed: "This is a trap set here to massacre us. Look at the shooting holes on the second floor. They are specially built to kill our troops from behind."

As he spoke, he took a step forward and looked around in a circle.

At this time, the chief of staff of the army said: "This is an urn city. After the enemy breaks through the city gate, they will be killed by the archers on the urn city."

Giles finally stopped and looked at the row of buildings along the river: "To deal with this kind of fortification, the only way is to blow up the entire first row of buildings. We should use the Buffalo Heavy Infantry Cannon to get close and shoot."

Feliz: "But the bison will be immediately counterattacked by enemy artillery, and also afraid of enemy anti-tank guns."

Giles: "We need thicker frontal armor and weapons that can completely destroy such strong buildings. The current 75mm short-barreled howitzer of the infantry unit's Type III assault gun and the short-barreled howitzer of the Panzer IV tank cannot do this. to this point.”

If Wang Zhong knew about his masterpiece, it might cause the No. 4 Grizzly Assault Cannon and Assault Tiger to appear in advance. I don’t know how he would feel.

Giles looked around again, and then ordered: "Protect all these buildings and carefully measure all fortifications. This should become the standard for our army's future urban fortification and be written into the textbooks."

Feliz: "Is this necessary? The imperial army has been constantly attacking and winning one victory after another."

Gil-Ais was silent for a while and then said: "Just in case. Look at Ant's army. Their doctrine is to focus on offense and light on defense. You have also seen the result. We cannot have such shortcomings."

"Yes." Feliz nodded with a solemn expression.

Giles asked again: "Do you know where Rokossov's troops retreated?"

Feliz: "He walked along the railway. After we advanced about twenty kilometers, we encountered the enemy's blocking force. They didn't raise a red flag, so it couldn't be them. It is said that General Moltke's troops downstream have broken through the enemy's blocking force. but……"

Giles: "But?"

"His oil transportation unit cannot keep up with the tank unit, and now it has to stop because the fuel stock is lower than the warning level." Feliz smiled bitterly, "And in this crazy weather, the failure rate of tanks has soared, and the maintenance unit Still stuck in the mud and unable to get up, it is estimated that it will be impossible to pursue the enemy."

Giles: "The enemy knew this and knew that they could run faster than us in the mud, so they took the opportunity to retreat after the rain."

At this time, the chief of staff of the army said: "The reason why they seized this opportunity to retreat is because they knew they could not stop us. The empire will win."

But his tone was no longer as optimistic and confident as before.

Giles whispered: "I always feel that the reason for retreat is not that simple... The only reason I can think of is to lengthen our supply line. Kutuzov also used the same strategy against the conqueror back then. .

"I have a bad feeling. Feliz, how many winter coats do we have now?"

Feliz: "At present, the troops have only replenished the quilts that can withstand the autumn temperature, and there are basically no winter clothes. But don't worry, the typhoon campaign plan originally included winter operations, so the logistics department has been raising winter clothes as early as September. It should be soon. Will be delivered.”

Giles suddenly felt numbness on the back of his head: "No, Feliz, no, the winter clothes can't be delivered. Because all the mule and horse transportation is concentrated on transporting ammunition, oil and tank spare parts."

Feliz also looked ashen: "This...that should make the logistics department pay attention to winter clothing!"

Giles: "No, Feliz, you also saw the result of their adjustment of transportation capacity allocation yesterday. The fuel and ammunition we received were only 70% of what they were before when the supply was normal. As we move forward, this The quantity will definitely decrease, but the enemy is getting closer and closer to the supply center..."

Gilais held his chin, lost in thought, his face livid.

Finally, he said: "I see the great defeat that awaits the empire in the future. The only way to deal with this defeat is to stop advancing and defend on the spot. The enemy is also unable to attack, so we can mobilize the transport capacity to transport winter clothes.

"But stopping advancing means that the attempt for a quick victory will fail. The war will become a protracted war, and we will not be able to get the fuel and raw materials we urgently need."

Gilais looked up and looked at the sky where the drizzle continued to fall.

"Remember the plain text telegram that Rokossov gave us at the beginning? He even warned us!"

Feliz: "That was just his psychological warfare. He wanted his artillery fire to kill us as much as possible."

Gilais did not answer.

At this time, a messenger ran over and saluted: "Report, the entry method of Rokossov's division headquarters was found."

Gilais: "Let's go and take a look. "————

A moment later, Gilais walked into the White Horse General's headquarters.

The maps and documents had of course been burned long ago, and all the equipment had naturally been taken away. Only tables and chairs were left in the empty bunker.

And a charcoal stove with a teapot on it.

Gilais walked towards the charcoal stove, but suddenly felt that he saw something out of the corner of his eye, so he turned his head to look at the wall.

Then he saw the words written on the wall: "Dear Commander Proson, you have fully demonstrated the art of war to us, so we sincerely congratulate you on your victory!"

The signature was "Your friend Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov".

Feliz was furious when he saw this line of words: "Come on! Scrape this line of words off!"

The chief of staff said: "Don't! We all know that this line of words is mocking us, but others don't know! We should let the Propaganda Department send someone to take a picture of this line of words and publish it on the front page!"

Feliz was overjoyed when he heard it: "Yes, just publicize that the White Horse General has surrendered to us!"

At this time, the communications staff entered the bunker: "Report! His Majesty the Emperor sent a personal telegram!"

Gil Es: "Read it."

Communications staff: "'Congratulations, my dear Siegfried, you captured Shostka within the time you promised, and the Empire will remember your achievements. '"

Gil Es pursed his lips and glanced at the words on the wall again.

"Scrape it off." He said, "No one is allowed to say they have seen this line of words."

Feliz: "Why? Doesn't this just echo the praise of His Majesty?"

Gil Es: "Because I am a soldier. I am not so shameless! Wipe it all off! Don't let those bastards in the Propaganda Department know about this! Don't let them take pictures! "

After saying that, he kicked over the charcoal stove in the room.

Then something started smoking on the floor.

Feliz shouted "Be careful", pushed Giles away, and threw himself on the thing.

Giles fell to the floor, and his head hit the corner of the table, which immediately caused a huge bump.

At the same time, the booby trap exploded, directly lifting Feliz, who was lying on it, up a little bit.

The other staff officers fell to the floor.

When the explosion was over, Giles struggled to get up, ran to Feliz, and turned his adjutant over.

Feliz's clothes were already red, but he was still breathing. He looked at Giles and said, "Lieutenant General... I... I'm so cold."

Then his face tilted.

Giles checked his pulse, and then gently closed his eyes with his hands.

The chief of staff got up: "We should publicize this together and make General Baima a despicable villain! In this way..."

Giles: "Erase the text! Don't you think we are not ashamed enough? I just killed my adjutant! Do you understand? "

The chief of staff shut up, while other staff called the soldiers to start wiping the carbon ash off the wall.

Gil Ace stood up and watched the soldiers wipe off all the words written by the carbon ash.

Then he fell forward.

The chief of staff was shocked and caught the lieutenant general who was about to fall, shouting: "Medic! Medic, come quickly!"

Afterwards, Gil Ace was diagnosed with mild intracranial hemorrhage and had to leave the command post temporarily.

————

October 12, Sukhayaveli, controlled by the Ant Army.

Wang Zhong sneezed several times in a row as soon as he got off the train.

Lyudmila hurried up and asked with concern: "Are you catching a cold? Let the doctor take a look!"

Wang Zhong waved his hand: "Don't make a fuss, maybe the Proson people are scolding me."

Nelly opened the umbrella and handed it to Lyudmila.