Arc of Gunfire

"What, you can't do it?" Chief of Staff William Celtic stared at Grand Duke Meyer.

The Grand Duke took out a handkerchief with the family crest and gold trim and wiped his sweat: "The air force's current close ground support may not be very effective against the galloping cavalry. We can only use machine guns to shoot. And this area The grassland is very tall, which has a great impact on the air force's detection of enemies. "

Emperor: "You mean the air force has nothing to do with the cavalry?"

"There is a way, just strafing from fighter jets, but -"

"But what?" the emperor pressed.

Marshal Meyer shrugged: "Our fighter jets only have two machine guns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. This firepower is relatively weak when attacking the ground, and the firepower density is not very sufficient.

"The new bomber the Ants obtained from the United States, according to the wreckage we obtained, has eight machine guns, specially designed for ground attacks."

In fact, no, this is a complete air combat firepower configuration. As long as the firepower is strong, even a pilot with poor shooting skills can shoot down an enemy plane.

The emperor stared at Grand Duke Meyer. Although he said nothing, the pressure released still made the Duke sweat like rain.

He hurriedly said: "Maybe we can try to let the BF110 fighter jet fly at low altitude to strafe. This kind of aircraft has enough firepower, but -"

"But?" William Kelt could hardly hide his attitude of watching the fun.

Grand Duke Meyer: "This kind of fighter is currently deployed on the Western Front to deal with the all-pervasive attacks of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. The handsome warriors of the Royal Air Force have excellent damage capabilities. Our 109 fighter jets only have 20 mm cannons that can effectively kill They have only 200 rounds of ammunition for the 20mm cannon."

The emperor waved his hand: "Immediately transfer an air force to search and annihilate the enemy's cavalry troops!"

Grand Duke Meyer nodded: "Yes, right away. But..."

"What happened again?" asked the emperor.

"I suggest that the Army also take action to deal with the enemy's cavalry units, rather than just relying on our Air Force."

William Kelt: "Of course, we will contribute. Once Moravia's cavalry troops are in place, we will immediately send them to fight the enemy cavalry. But now the Ant Air Force is attacking our train stations and various transportation hubs. Strikes are becoming more frequent, and the Air Force does not have full control of the air as promised."

Grand Duke Meyer had been teased for so long, and now his temper was rising. He slapped the table and said angrily: "That's because Ant is too vast. Unless we build more radar stations in Ant, there will be no May effectively guarantee air superiority!

"But when we want to transport materials and equipment needed to build a radar station to the front line, we will be blocked by the army, and priority must be given to transporting ammunition and oil!"

Chief of Staff William Kelt responded tit-for-tat: "You finally shipped the radar station up!"

"So we also guarantee air control in areas covered by radar! If you want more air control, you must transport more radars and build more radar stations!"

At this time, Army Commander-in-Chief Von Bryan came out to smooth things over: "Okay, the front line has been accumulating ammunition and fuel for Operation Blue. There is nothing we can do about it, Ant's infrastructure is so poor!"

Emperor Reinhard suddenly interrupted him: "Then build a highway in Ant according to our standards! And upgrade the equipment at the railway hub."

The entire map room of the Eagle's Nest fell silent.

The emperor frowned: "What's wrong? I should have asked you to build the road last year."

"Yes, we have been building asphalt roads in the occupied areas since last winter. After half a year of construction, we have achieved certain results. The logistics are so smooth this time, and it is also due to the road construction last year, but... highways and other things..."

Emperor: "We did the same in Melania. Building highways can consolidate our rule. The Ant territory we occupy now will always belong to us in the future. There is nothing wrong with building roads to strengthen control! It will also facilitate our rear. Mobile forces to encircle and suppress the guerrillas!”

The generals looked at each other.

Finally, General von Moltke, Director of the Armored Forces, spoke: "Ante will be defeated this year. It is a good thing to build these roads to consolidate our rule. In the future, we will also compete with the United States for world hegemony. Now it seems that the Fuso Empire can defeat the United States alone. Sex is not big anymore.

"We may also support the Fuso Empire through Ant's railway. Building roads and strengthening control will have no harm at all."

After the Director of Armored Corps finished speaking, the whole room was still quiet.

The emperor said angrily: "Or do you all think that the war will not end this year?"

"Of course not, but now the first phase of Operation Blue has begun to experience delays." William Kelt considered his words, "And Rokossov launched an unexpected cavalry attack. We are worried..."

The emperor raised his voice: "There is nothing to worry about! The cavalry's sabers cannot cut down the tanks. The cavalry failed in Melania's case and will fail again now! The blue plan will be completed successfully and we will control Abavahan , blocking the passage of ships on the inland sea directly into the Valdaichu River. Our air force will cut off the route on the inland sea.

“When the time comes, we will get Kuba’s oil fields, and Ant will surrender in hunger and cold!

"They are just some cavalry that have been eliminated by the times. They can't change the overall situation!"

After speaking, the emperor slapped the table heavily, setting the tone for the entire discussion.

————

Headquarters of the 1st Mobile Army of Ant Army, Yeisk.

Because the headquarters was directly in the large warehouse, Wang Zhong could stand next to the radio battalion and watch them call the cavalry.

The signal soldier's loud voice kept echoing in Wang Zhong's ears: "Augustus calls Cassius, Augustus calls Cassius!"

Augustus was the radio call sign of Army Group Headquarters, and Cassius represented the 20th Cavalry Corps.

The signal trooper has been calling for two hours with no response at all.

The commander of the communications battalion came over to salute Wang Zhong and said: "The power of the radios carried by the cavalry is too small and may not be able to receive our calls. When they stop to camp, they may use hand-cranked generators to provide more power. The radio station is powered, and we may be able to contact him then.”

Popov: "Wouldn't it be nice to send a telegram after we stop? I will definitely receive the telegram."

Battalion Commander: "The telegram needs to be decoded. It should be early tomorrow morning when we receive it."

Wang Zhong raised his hand and looked at his watch: "There's not much difference."

At this time, a decoder on the other side of the telegraph stood up, quickly ran to the commander of the communications battalion, and handed the telegram in his hand to the battalion commander.

Wang Zhong: “Where did the telegram come from?”

"From the Air Force." The battalion commander glanced at it and began to read, "'Air Force to the First Mobile Group Army, the Air Force found a large number of cavalry troops advancing on the ground, judged them to be our cavalry, and bombed the enemy units in front of the cavalry. We hereby inform you. .'"

Wang Zhong took the telegram, looked at it, and handed it to Popov: "The Air Force doesn't seem to know that we have temporarily strengthened two cavalry corps."

"Who would have thought that the cavalry would suddenly be entrusted with important tasks, and they are transforming the cavalry units into armored units." Popov replied.

Wang Zhong walked towards the map and looked at the arrows of the cavalry attack on the map: "I hope we can achieve better results this time."

Pavlov, who was signing the document, raised his head: "The key now is not the effect of the cavalry, but the next step. After the cavalry runs out of supplies and retreats, the enemy will inevitably continue to attack. What will happen then?"

Wang Zhong: "That's what I thought. In front of us is the enemy's 190th Infantry Division. Can we eat this infantry division? We originally planned to eat the enemy's armored division of the Asgard Knights, but a wave of attacks occurred in the fog. The enemy was driven out of the city and the opportunity to encircle and annihilate was lost, so the division could only be defeated.

"Now that the 190th Division is in front of us, can we use the mobile forces at hand to take advantage of the chaos caused by the cavalry to launch a small pincer offensive."

Pavlov: "Only one division? Your appetite is quite small."

Wang Zhong shrugged: "There is no way. If possible, of course I would like to eat a big mouth like last year during the Kalanskaya siege. Now it's okay to make do with a small mouth. Don't be too dissatisfied with the small portion. Eat one bite at a time. to eat.”

At this time, from the corner of his eye, Wang Zhong saw a messenger entering the headquarters, saluting Vasily, handing him a letter, and then said a few words.

Wang Zhong: "Vasily, what's going on?"

Vasily immediately reported: "The reconnaissance unit report of the 225th Division confirmed a new enemy sign. After comparison, it was found to be the enemy's 74th Infantry Division. The envelope sent by the messenger contained a photo of this number."

As he spoke, he opened the envelope and took out the photo to show Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong only recognized the emblems of the more famous divisions. He really didn't recognize the photo of the 74th Division. But since the division staff of the 225th Division have compared and summarized the Proson unit signs issued by the headquarters, there should be no big problem.

Pavlov: "Now there are two divisions."

Wang Zhong: "Two infantry divisions can still be eaten. A pincer offensive cuts off the enemy's logistics, and a few days of heavy artillery bombardment should be enough."

Pavlov stared at Wang Zhong: "If you decide, I will make a battle plan."

"Do it and try to end the battle within five days. This is a small-scale, local battle."

Pavlov nodded, picked up the document he had just finished writing, and handed it to the clerk: "Do this. And call all the military staff over."

Wang Zhong watched the staff members rushing from all over the headquarters and began to work on the new battle plan under Pavlov's command, and silently took a step back.

Vasily: "You are so confident in handing over the entire fighter jet transformation to the Chief of Staff?"

Wang Zhong: "I am the last one, and I am not as good at formulating battle plans as they are. If you don't believe me, ask Pavlov, he will definitely say, 'The commander only needs to drive a small tank and charge randomly, but the battle plan requires A lot to think about'.

Just as Vasily was about to reply, someone from the communications camp shouted: "A telegram from the cavalry unit has been received."

Wang Zhong hurried over and found that the telegraph operator was concentrating on recording the telegram and had not even begun the decoding step.

He could only shut his mouth and watch the telegraph operator record a series of dots and lines in his notebook.