Arc of Gunfire

At four o'clock in the morning on the 22nd, the first mobile group ambush position.

Yegorov and Eugene stood on a hill of almost negligible height, using telescopes to observe the direction of the Prosons.

The sun had not yet risen, but the light had already illuminated the grassland, and soft light shone from behind the two.

Yegorov put down the telescope first: "There is no dust in the mobilization of any troops. Could it be that they had assembled last night?"

Brigadier General Eugene shook his head: "Didn't I hear the engine sound yesterday? Can the Prosons assemble the armored forces without making engine sounds?"

Yegorov did not answer, but continued to look to the west.

At this time, a major rode up the hill on horseback, saluted on horseback, and shouted: "Report, the tank troops have completed the construction of the bunker."

"Very good." Yegorov nodded and picked up the telescope again, but this time to check his own formation.

From this hill, you can see some hidden bunkers and tank destroyers hiding in the grass.

The anti-tank guns of the anti-tank artillery battalion were so well hidden that they could not be seen at all. Their positions could only be determined by the Studebaker trucks parked on the reverse slope of the position.

After ten minutes of careful observation, Yegorov said to Brigadier General Eugene: "I can no longer see where improvements need to be made. If the enemy really rushes over, they will surely be severely damaged."

Eugene was still checking the position with a telescope. After a long while, he put down the telescope and said: "It's not very clear here. I'll go check the deployment myself."

As he said that, he turned around and said something, and the guard immediately drove up in a Willys Jeep.

Eugene got on the jeep and waved his hand: "Let's go!"

The jeep started, and the messenger who had just come to report let the horse trot and followed behind Brigadier General Eugene.

Yegorov watched them go away, then looked west again: "It's good to be able to hit."

At this time, another Willys Jeep drove over, and a lieutenant general got off the car and saluted Yegorov, the major general, first: "General Yegorov, I am Kosikov from the 40th Tank Army."

Yegorov saluted in return: "Lieutenant General Davarish, you shouldn't salute me first."

"You are General Rokossov's subordinate, and I saluted first when I saw General Rokossov, who is also a lieutenant general. You can regard this as respect for your bravery and fighting skills."

Yegorov nodded: "Then I will accept this compliment. How many tanks in your army can still move?"

Kosikov: "91, most of them were not destroyed, so most of the tank crew members survived. But - damn, I still had nearly 300 tanks when I started the attack yesterday!"

The 40th Tank Army had nearly 300 tanks when it attacked yesterday, all thanks to the strong maintenance capabilities of the First Mobile Army.

As a result, there are less than 100 tanks left after the attack.

Yegorov sighed: "Rokosov is right. Tanks need a lot of people to serve them. They can't be used as cavalry."

Kosikov: "I heard that among the Proson people, each tank company has two welders and an electrical engineer!"

"Oh?" Yegorov raised his eyebrows, "Did General Rokosov say that?"

"No, when we attacked, we caught some Proson tank soldiers who were dying of thirst on the grassland. They were wearing black uniforms. They saw that our tanks were broken and no one was repairing them, so they said that."

Yegorov shook his head: "We don't have enough welders and electrical engineers in the factory. Our group army got them with General Rokosov's face. Ordinary troops don't even think about it!"

Kosikov hesitated for a moment, but still asked: "So the general will become a prince..."

"It will happen, but not by marrying His Majesty the Tsar. He is now His Majesty the Tsar's brother." Yegorov was also carefree and answered casually.

Kosikov's eyes widened: "This... can you just say it casually?"

Egorov: "It's better than you spreading rumors that the general will marry His Majesty the Tsar, right? The general loves his wife very much, and now the child is about to be born."

"Oh, I understand, I understand." Kosikov nodded repeatedly.

At this time, the whizzing sound of shells breaking through the air came from above their heads. The two old hands immediately knew that it was their own artillery bombarding the enemy, so they didn't move.

Kosikov's driver was obviously a rookie, and he jumped down from the Willys Jeep and fell to the ground.

"Come on, Mikhail!" Kosikov shouted, "It's not us! Get up!"

The new soldier named Mikhail got up, not even bothering to brush off the grass on his body, and said in defense: "I... thought it was us. This is the second time I've been bombarded."

Kosikov pointed at Mikhail and said to Yegorov: "My driver was scared when he was bombarded before."

Yegorov smiled: "You'll get used to it. I know a guy who performed very poorly in his first battle, but now he has become a general who can stand on his own."

Mikhail: "Who?"

Kosikov glared at him: "Don't ask."

Yegorov: "You can ask. Our army still has the custom of new recruits killing the first enemy on the battlefield and then peeing on the enemy's pants. The soldiers believe that this will make them like generals."

Mikhail's eyes widened: "Huh? Could it be..."

Yegorov looked at him: "Not bad, your reasoning ability is quite strong, yes, that's the case, so you see, don't give up just because you are scared on the battlefield. The general always says that knowing shame will make you braver, which seems to be an old saying of Seres."

Mikhail nodded: "Then I'll find a dead ghost of Proson to piss on..."

"No, no," Yegorov's guard said, "It will only be useful if you kill him yourself. This is a technical job, because the general hates to torture prisoners. If you think about finding an unlucky guy when the enemy is doomed, but he surrenders before you even shoot, you have to admit your bad luck! The difficulty lies in the fierce battle stage, accurately killing an enemy and remembering where he fell."

Mikhail's eyes widened: "You still think about these on the battlefield?"

Suddenly, Mikhail noticed the medal on the guard's chest. Although it was not a gold star, it also showed his status as a veteran.

Guard: "You have no time to be afraid when you think about these things. People who are afraid on the battlefield die the fastest. Look at our general. He really plays with his life, but he is still fine."

Egorov nodded: "Yes. When he was a lieutenant colonel, he liked to rush forward alone, as if he was looking for death, but he always came back."

"Is that so..."

At this time, the artillery shells that had been whizzing above everyone's heads suddenly subsided. It seemed that the firepower attack on the enemy had ended. The targets reported by the reconnaissance troops should have been destroyed.

However, something new appeared above everyone's heads.

Countless white lines flew in parallel towards the direction of the Proson Army.

Mikhail asked, "What is that?"

"The Air Force. The general asked to reduce the number of Il-2 equipment, give up attacking the enemy's front-line troops, and instead strengthen the bombing of the enemy's supply hubs and rear cities." Yegorov looked up at the cloud trails in the blue sky, "So the Air Force has enough long-range bombers to organize this kind of air strike. The general is always right."

————

"Ha!" Wang Zhong sneezed loudly, and his nose flew onto the map table.

Nellie hurried up, handed him a handkerchief, and then took out a rag to wipe the map table.

While blowing his nose, Wang Zhong asked Pavlov, "Why didn't the enemy come? They completely retreated on the 20th, and they should have been supplied."

The calendar on the wall is now the 22nd. It has been two days since the enemy's armored forces and armored grenadiers retreated.

Pavlov shrugged.

At this time, a group of cavalry entered the warehouse. The general in the lead strode through the entire warehouse, came to Wang Zhong, and saluted with a snap.

It was Rodionovich, the commander of the 20th Cavalry Army.

"General, the 20th Army has successfully completed the mission and returned!"

Wang Zhong hurriedly threw the handkerchief in his hand on the table and stretched out his hand to Rodionovich: "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's what we should do." Rodionovich held Wang Zhong's hand and shook it vigorously, "We are ready to carry out the next mission! I heard that the 40th Tank Army does not have enough accompanying troops? We can accompany them."

Wang Zhong pulled his hand back and said, "I asked the Army Reconnaissance Cavalry Brigade to accompany them. You take a rest, feed the horses, and wait for the next order."

Pavlov came over and said to Rodionovich: "Did your army suffer heavy losses?"

"Very much. In addition to the soldiers lost in the battle with the Prosen people, many people got lost and fell behind in the grassland. In addition, many people got malaria and fought with the disease. , you can go outside and see that many soldiers pulled their own saddles. "

Wang Zhong scolded: "Then you just said that you can continue to fight? Commanders should seek truth from facts and honestly say that they need to rest when they need to rest. "

Popov: "The army hospital has newly shipped quinine from the United States. It is said to be effective for malaria. Give it a try. In addition, the local church will help the soldiers to settle down. Eat some hot meals, take a shower, change all the smelly clothes, and have a good sleep. "

Rodionovich looked very touched: "I have never met a general who cares so much about the soldiers. "

Wang Zhong: "That's now. When you are needed to fill the front line in the future, I will stick you to the defense line like mud. "

"Yes!" Rodionovich saluted, not knowing what he "is". After seeing off the cavalry general, Wang Zhong turned around and discussed with Pavlov and Popov: "The cavalry army also suffered heavy losses, and the 40th Tank Army only has less than 100 tanks left. If we continue to attack at this time and take a bite of Prosen's infantry according to the original plan, it will be bad if we encounter the enemy's fully equipped armored division." Pavlov: "Then wait here? Will the enemy see that there is an ambush? The grassland is so vast, if the enemy takes a little detour and misses our ambush position, won't it be over?" Wang Zhong: "We still have to attack and induce the enemy to counterattack. Then lure the enemy's tanks to our ambush position. "Maybe we can try to attack the enemy's position with pure mechanized infantry after the artillery attack." At this time, an inspiration flashed in Wang Zhong's mind, and he looked at Popov: "Wait a minute, the old ladies of the Folklore Research Institute have been resting for so long, can they summon fog again?" Popov raised his eyebrows: "I'm not the priest in charge of these, but I can go and ask. Just give me a call.”