Arc of Gunfire

On the morning of July 14, after the initial artillery preparation, the battlefield became strangely quiet.

Wang Zhong's side was short of troops, and the battlefield area of ​​an army group was actually full of infantry squads with radios scattered in the fields.

From Wang Zhong's bird's-eye view, he was reminded of the feeling when he played the ranking battle of "Red Dragon" back then - Wang Zhong's Red Dragon rank reached the colonel, so he still had some experience.

The battlefield of Red Dragon was like this. On the battlefield that was more than ten kilometers wide, it was full of infantry squads or smaller reconnaissance squads with observation and aiming equipment. A platoon often controlled an open area of ​​one or two kilometers.

If the enemy launched an attack, the rocket launchers in the rear would immediately cover the battlefield, and the air force would roar in at the same time.

This was also the standard configuration in the Cold War era. After all, the Cold War era was about firepower. It was useless to have too many people on the front battlefield. If you covered it, everything would be gone.

But in this situation, Wang Zhong felt very uneasy when he looked at the empty front of his army group.

The firepower of the army group should be able to destroy the enemy who attacked rashly, but the problem lies in whether the firepower of the army group can fall on the enemy in a timely and accurate manner.

Wang Zhong's artillery didn't have a fire control computer, and the artillery had just arrived, so they didn't have time to calculate the firing parameters in advance. Even if the infantry could accurately report the enemy's coordinates, the artillery units would have to calculate for a while, and they might not be able to hit the target accurately, so they had to calibrate the firing.

In the past ten minutes, the infantry on the front line might be swallowed up by the enemy.

The situation will be much better tomorrow. The artillery regiment will calculate some common firing parameters in advance, and they can correct them after receiving reports from the front line.

In short, Wang Zhong is a little nervous now. The good news is that in addition to the annihilation battalion, he also has the battle-hardened First Guards Tank Battalion - that is, his old unit, the tank battalion with the most enemy kills, and 90% of the battalion are veterans (some veterans have been promoted to other units).

In critical situations, the First Guards Tank Battalion can be put in to carry out a counterattack.

Wang Zhong prayed that this critical situation would not happen. The enemy had the long-barreled Type 4, and there should be two-thirds of the new heavy tank companies. These high-threat units should be handed over to the vortex. His old unit is still driving the T34W, and there is not even a Sherman.

However, if the enemy finds out the position of the vortex and sends out armored forces to encircle it, then in order to protect the vortex, only the first battalion of close tanks can be deployed.

Wang Zhongtlinka paced back and forth in the command post, waiting for the enemy to make a move.

————

East of Yeisk, the position of the first mechanized infantry tank destroyer battalion of the Guards.

The commander of the destroyer battalion leaned out of the commander's tower above the vortex fighting room and observed Yeisk in the distance, muttering while observing: "The enemy is not moving. If we don't attack, won't they come out to see?"

The gunner of the battalion commander's car said: "Then let's shoot them. I see people on their defense line moving in the sight."

"You are crazy, this is three kilometers, and our scale is only 2,200 meters!"

The gunner said nonchalantly: "We can estimate it roughly and then slowly calibrate the fire!"

"No, it will expose our position." The battalion commander scolded.

Vortex is very suitable for ambushing on this kind of grassland. The height of the grass is just enough to cover the tracks. Although the fighting room is higher than the grass, as long as you put on a "straw hat", you can't see it at a distance.

Last year, Proson's infantry division often used the low appearance of the assault gun to ambush Ant's tank troops. Now the situation has changed, and it is Ant's turn to ambush Proson.

Unfortunately, the enemy is hiding in Yeisk City and doesn't come out. Only occasionally can you see Proson infantry popping out of the window through the telescope, but it will disappear soon.

Probably some Proson recruit who is very curious about the front line.

————

Recruit Andreas was pressed to the ground by Corporal Kosrek.

The corporal scolded: "Are you going to die? All windows are dangerous! My last deputy shooter was shot dead for sticking his head out of the window like this.

"That was the Carolingian Campaign. We surrounded the United Kingdom's expeditionary force and tens of thousands of Carolingians in a small seaside town.

"The deputy shooter is called Hans, a silly Hessian boy. He just stuck his head out to see the numerous enemies on the beach, and then he was finished!"

After saying that, Corporal Kosrek looked up at the window, and no one was shooting in this direction.

So he let go of the recruit, sat down against the wall, and put his left hand on the machine gun tripod.

The heavy machine gun was set inside the hole in the wall. This was a specially dug hole in the wall, and there was creepers outside for cover. The Ants probably didn't think that this was a machine gun bunker.

The machine gun and the tripod were all in the shadows of the house. Even if they started shooting, the Ants might not be able to see the position of the machine gun if they didn't pay attention - and no one could concentrate when being strafed by the machine gun, because everyone was busy getting their bodies lower at that time.

And those who were not strafed by the machine gun wanted to see the position of the machine gun clearly - sorry, the wall would block it.

No wonder Corporal Kosrek boasted that this machine gun position was the crystallization of all his combat experience from the Melania Campaign to the present.

New recruit Andreas turned over, sat up, and glanced at the corporal: "The Ants are not good fighters. That's what the quartermaster of the training camp said."

Kosrek: "They are indeed not. Last year, I blocked their breakout outside Agsukov. I fought for a day and fired 20,000 rounds. Five gun barrels were broken. The Ants left at least a thousand bodies in front of my machine gun position.

"They didn't even think of using mortars or anything to counter my machine gun point. I was prepared to die there. The backup machine gun team was in the second position, waiting for me to misfire so they could take over. .

"In the end, they didn't wait until the time to fire. The machine gun excluded the people from the backup machine gun team. The others were all carrying ammunition and gun barrels for me. The Ant people just kept dying and dying, as if going to the God of Death was just a battle. Outing.”

Kosrek shook his head: "I heard that it was because their crown prince personally led the charge and died for his country. It is understandable. Their courage is admirable, but to be honest, they are indeed not excellent warriors - no, not Qualified soldiers, qualified soldiers will kill me with mortars or rifle grenades instead of giving me a level 2 Iron Cross.”

Kosrek pointed to the second-level iron cross that was slightly exposed at the collar.

Andreas asked strangely: "Then you still won't let me stand at the window?"

"Because you don't need to be a qualified warrior to hit you standing stupidly at the window. Your behavior is stupid. On the battlefield, whoever is stupid will die."

Corporal Kosrek stopped, looked at the recruit, and changed the subject: "Where are you from?"

"Eastern Styria."

"East Styria is a duchy, so big! Where is Styria?"

Andreas: "Tilia, a small city to the west of the duchy's capital."

Corporal Kosrek asked again: "How many months have you been training?"

"Six months. Before that, I joined the imperial labor camp and worked on the Carolingian Western Wall fortifications for four months. At the end of the work, I took a month's leave. Then the call-up letter came, and I Joined the supplementary barracks near my hometown."

The Western Wall, the coastal fortifications built by Plosin in the Carolingians, included a series of strongholds and fortresses, as well as numerous minefields and anti-tank piles.

Corporal Koslake was speechless: "Caroline is a great place. The girls are warm and good-looking, and the food is delicious. There are no faults except that the bread is a bit hard. It's a pity that their work efficiency is too low."

"You didn't sleep with a Carolingian woman in the Carolingians?"

Andreas shook his head: "No. The work at the Western Wall is very tiring, and I basically sleep during my breaks. I even met the commander-in-chief of the Western Front, Marshal Lundsteyer, who was an old man like my father, no. , maybe older than my dad——"

Corporal Kosrek: "What did the marshal say?"

"The marshal spoke to us and said that the enemy was across the sea. Because of Grand Duke Meyer's negligence, the enemy was able to gather a million troops and could land at any time. In short, he told us that the Western Wall is very important."

Corporal Koslake: "And what?"

"Then? We will build the Western Wall, and from time to time, United Kingdom planes will come to bomb and take pictures——"

"No, no, I'm talking about you, after you leave the labor camp."

"Then I joined the Supplementary Barracks. The first month was internal affairs and formation training. It was said that this would allow us to become real soldiers - in fact, I had learned these things when I was a child in the Imperial Scout Camp, so it was unnecessary." Andreas shrugged, "But starting from the second month, training that didn't exist in the Scout camp began."

Andreas talked endlessly about what he saw in the training camp. It was obvious that he had wanted to talk to someone about this for a long time.

Finally, Andreas told how they boarded the train and said goodbye to their families on the platform.

Corporal Kosrek suddenly interrupted him: "Is there any girl saying goodbye to you?"

"Yes, my sister said goodbye to me. She thought my military uniform was very handsome."

"You've never been in love, have you?" the corporal asked.

Andreas was a little embarrassed: "Is this an important thing? We never fall in love there. If the adults of the two families add up, we are going to get married, and then we can borrow cattle and seeds from each other, and Horses, mules, love only happens in books, right? Maybe if I went to university in the capital of Styria, I would fall in love, but I didn’t.”

Corporal Kosrek shook his head: "Listen to me, if you have time to talk, at least find a prostitute to sleep with. War is such a bullshit, huh."

Andreas stared at the corporal: "The Ants are not as bad as advertised, right? When we were supplemented, it was the third line of troops marching into camp. I thought at first that our supplementary troops were divided into 1, 2 and 3 battalions. It was later discovered that the other battalions were also the third or fourth battalion.

"Is this calculated based on the batches of troops that were replenished? Before us, the 1st and 2nd March Battalions had already replenished the Said Division!"

Corporal Kosrek took out a cigarette and banged it on the wall to compact the tobacco. He replied: "The first marching camp is okay, they are all returning from injury. The second marching camp has some technical soldiers. The third marching camp has some technical soldiers." The camp is as you see it.

"The Seide Division has only lost three battalions since it entered the war, which is much better than the Anters. But... I said, war is such a bullshit thing. No matter how elite the soldier is, he will die when it is time to die."

The corporal handed the prepared cigarette to the recruit, but he refused.

Corporal: "Looks like this morning's shelling hasn't given you the thought of smoking a cigarette or a drink. But trust me, you'll need it in the future."

As he spoke, he stuffed the cigarette into the recruit's pocket.