Arc of Gunfire

After watching the entire process of receiving and decoding the telegram, Wang Zhong finally understood how troublesome the telegram was.

First of all, the telegram was very long. It took several beeps to get a letter, and it took half a day to get a word.

If the content of the telegram was long, it was normal for the operator to beep for half an hour.

After receiving the message, it was necessary to confirm whether there was any leakage. It was necessary to listen to it from the beginning and proofread it before entering the decoding stage.

A relatively long telegram might take half a day from the receipt of the first message to the final delivery to Wang Zhong.

Fortunately, the telegram of the cavalry unit was very short and it only took an hour to complete.

The decoder handed the converted telegram to Wang Zhong directly: "Telegram from the 20th Cavalry Army!"

Wang Zhong nodded and looked at the content above: "Our army has penetrated to the coordinates... location. The air force's attack has provided us with a lot of convenience. We have determined to defeat part of the enemy's 240th rear mobile brigade and part of the 190th Infantry Division's reconnaissance battalion, and destroyed a considerable number of enemy trucks..."

Wang Zhong quickly browsed through them, all of which reported the results of the battle so far.

He handed the telegram to Popov: "It looks like the results are gratifying."

Popov glanced at it and nodded: "Yes."

Then he turned his head to look at Pavlov, who was organizing the staff to formulate an offensive plan: "Chief of Staff! Report from the front line!"

"Are there any signs of collapse in the enemy?" Pavlov asked.

Wang Zhong and Popov looked at each other, and then Popov replied: "No, at least not in the telegram."

Pavlov: "That means everything is normal. We will definitely destroy some enemy troops and burn some trucks, fuel and ammunition, which are all within the expected range. I still have to formulate a new offensive plan, so I won't look at the specific report. You can hand it over to the clerk in charge of statistics."

Wang Zhong: "I understand, hand it over to the sixth-level clerk - I mean, Colonel Karatayev, a civilian."

As he spoke, a clerk ran over and took the telegram from Popov.

At this time, the telegraph operator who had just finished receiving the telegram suddenly sat up again, adjusted the knob of the radio, and began to record the telegram he heard.

Wang Zhong: "Did you receive telegrams from other troops again?"

"From the 21st Cavalry Army." The telegraph operator reported, while his hands were still quickly recording the dots and strips.

While Wang Zhong was staring at the telegraph operator's work, another decoder stood up with the decoded telegram and handed it to the commander of the communications battalion.

Battalion Commander: "Telegram from the Front Command."

Wang Zhong took the telegram and read the content on it, and was shocked: "The Front Command once again believes that we should retreat to the east bank of the Sukhayaveli River and use the river to block the enemy. What's wrong with the Front Commander? He is thinking about using the river to resist the enemy?

"Giving up the west bank is not the same as selling Duke Myshkin?"

At this time, another decoder stood up and handed the telegram to the commander of the communications battalion.

Wang Zhong didn't wait for the battalion commander to look down, and snatched the telegram. While reading it, he said: "The 60th Army on our flank also received the order to retreat. Damn, the 60th Army gave up the defense zone and our flank was exposed. What is the headquarters doing? Why not replace the commander of the front? "

Popov: "Maybe the headquarters also thinks it is not appropriate to face Prosen's armored forces on the grassland?"

Wang Zhong: "If that's the case, Myshkin should be allowed to retreat at the same time. No, I want to call the headquarters to ask what's going on. ”

As soon as he said this, a new telegram was delivered: "Urgent telegram from the headquarters."

Wang Zhong took the telegram, squinted his eyes and read the first two lines, and cursed: "Damn it, it turns out that Myshkin's rescue efforts have failed, and the remaining troops of the Primorsky Army are all finished."

As he said, he took the telegram to the global map, picked up the map stick, pointed to the pile by the sea and said: "This pile is gone, Myshkin's flank is exposed, and the enemy can flank Borsk at any time. Now Myshkin's chance of survival is to retreat to the south, to the entrance of the Caucasus Mountains, and rely on the mountains for defense."

At this time, the staff responsible for updating the map hurried over and wiped off the pile representing the Primorsky troops.

Wang Zhong ignored the staff and continued to point at the Caucasus Mountains with the map stick: "To retreat to this line, Myshkin's troops have to walk 150 or even 200 kilometers, and he must set off immediately."

Popov folded his hands across his chest: "It's a difficult task at first glance. Myshkin is going to retreat, so the front asked us to return to defend quickly, which is not wrong? "

Wang Zhong: "Bullshit, if we retreat, can Myshkin still escape? We can't let the enemy go all out to stop Myshkin's retreat. We should set an offensive posture on the grassland and attract as many enemy troops as possible."

Popov's expression was very complicated: "If the Ante Army was trained and equipped like us, we could try to attack. Unfortunately, there is no such good thing. Think about the 401st Division. When they entered the field, the enemy was at the end of their strength, but they suffered such heavy casualties. "

Wang Zhong touched his chin: "I think we can use our army to pull out teeth from the tiger's mouth, hurt the enemy's Tenth Army, and then make a posture to eat them all."

"It can't be done with the configuration of our army, right?"

Wang Zhong shook his head: "It is indeed impossible. But if the front army can hand over its reserve force, the 40th Tank Corps, to us, relying on 300 tanks of 40 tanks, there will be no big problem in setting up an offensive posture, and it can even be The enemy armored division, which was short of fuel and ammunition, broke off one.

"In addition to the previously defeated Said Division, the enemy lost two armored divisions here——"

While Wang Zhong was making gestures, Popov grabbed the opportunity and said, "They will have to send more troops to our side."

"That's right!" Wang Zhong tapped Yeisk on the map with a map stick. "The goal of covering Mei Shijin's retreat has been accomplished. We can even deliberately show a lonely posture to attract the enemy to surround us. . We have more trucks and we can run faster.”

Popov smiled: "How about using your reputation to deceive the enemy? I think it can be done!"

Wang Zhong: "Try it and see. Regardless of whether it works or not, get them all first!"

Vasily watched the two army leaders discussing the issue without speaking.

At this time, there was a ringing sound from the phone.

Pavlov rushed over in three steps and picked up the receiver: "This is the headquarters of the First Mobile Army."

"I guess it's the high command," Popov said.

Pavlov put the receiver on the table, turned to Wang Zhong and said: "General Gorky of the Western Front."

Wang Zhong: "I know, come right now."

After speaking, he lowered his voice and said to Popov: "I guess they have just received the notification from the headquarters."

"Well, I should be here to ask your opinion." Popov said, "General Gorky attaches great importance to your opinion. It is obviously two levels behind."

Wang Zhong: "Don't say such things casually, you are a bishop."

After putting down this sentence, Wang Zhong rushed to the table and picked up the receiver: "I am Rokosov, please speak."

General Gorky's voice came from the receiver: "Have you finished decoding?"

"It's over. Meishkin's rescue operation failed."

"It's hard for him. With the quality of our troops now, we really can't attack the Plosen people." General Gorky, who had just suffered a defeat in May, said.

There seems to be some intention of passing the blame.

However, Wang Zhong himself did not use the current ordinary Ant troops to fight a beautiful offensive battle, so he did not point this out.

It is a fact that the quality of the troops is low, and it is indeed impossible to defeat them.

General Gorky: "So what should we do? I see that your troops have moved forward and are confronting the enemy's army. Based on my understanding of General Andrei, what he is thinking about now is how to shrink the defense, and may even order you to retreat. to the east bank of the river.”

What a guess!

Wang Zhong: "He did give such an order, which is equivalent to selling Mei Shijin. This must not be done."

"So you are preparing to attack?" General Gorky asked, "With the current quality of soldiers? When your elite troops are exhausted, the offensive will become a mess, just like I did in May."

Wang Zhong: "I am going to concentrate my efforts to eat two of the enemy's divisions, one of which is an armored division. Currently, the effect of using cavalry units to launch a battle is remarkable. The cavalry can still roam on the grassland for a week. We plan to end the battle within a week. ”

Gorky was very surprised: "Is the cavalry so useful?"

"This is related to the grassland terrain of South Ant. After this battle is over, I will summarize the use of cavalry units in the new era."

"That's it. Then I wish you good luck. I am also preparing to launch some limited offensives to test my ideas."

Wang Zhong: "What are your thoughts?"

"Yes, use a full-scale attack to test the enemy's defensive weaknesses, and then invest a large number of troops at the breakthrough point. Essentially, if you don't fight the Proscenians, and the quality of the troops is not as good as yours, then you will bypass your solid defensive positions and bully the weak rear maneuvers. Brigade and supply troops," General Gorky said, "I told you!"

Wang Zhong thought about it, and it seemed that he had really mentioned it, but he had never paid attention to it before, so he forgot about it.

He hurriedly said: "You mentioned it, I hope you can succeed."

"Whether it succeeds or not, an all-out attack here will definitely attract the enemy's reserve forces and reduce your pressure."

Wang Zhong: "The key point is to reduce the pressure on Duke Myshikin to retreat. If he can safely retreat to the Caucasus Mountains, he should be able to withstand it for a long time."

If the enemy occupies the South Ant grassland, it is true that the connection between the mountainous area and the central area of ​​Ant will be cut off, but Myshkin can rely on the oil fields in Kuba and the Allied transportation line north from Bahara.

The supply of this transportation line is quite high, and it is easy to support hundreds of thousands of Mei Shijin's front troops.

Meishijin can stay on the mountain line until Ant counterattacks and regains control of the South Ant grassland.

The key is to allow Mei Shijin to successfully retreat there.

Therefore, the Suhayaveli Front must not shrink its defenses, but must convince the enemy that the Front is about to launch a large-scale attack.

Wang Zhong said to General Gorky: "In short, I will find ways to delay the enemy and create opportunities for Mei Shijin to retreat."

"With your words, I feel relieved. I don't want to see the news of hundreds of thousands of us being captured again. So, goodbye."

"Goodbye." Wang Zhong hung up the phone.