Arc of Gunfire

75 kilometers north of Raoul Pass, Army Group A headquarters, 0700 hours on January 7, 916.

General Ewald von Steiermark held a coffee cup in one hand and the bulletin that had just arrived this morning in the other.

"Shipling continues to command the Eleventh Army... Is this really appropriate? He is a general, and I am also a general." The silver-haired general sighed, "These young people are promoted quickly. A few years ago, he was a general. A lieutenant general is now a general. After a while, he may become a marshal, and I will still be a general. "

The general's adjutant also sighed: "I remember he was only five years older than me."

"You are a staff officer, which is different, unless you have the opportunity to change from a staff officer to a chief officer like Ludendorff. But back then, he was also looked down upon by many people, who thought that he was just a staff officer and could not hold a big position." Steiermark The general said, taking a sip of coffee after speaking.

The adjutant asked with concern: "How is it? I used coffee beans today, not instant coffee."

General Styria's eyes widened: "Where did the coffee beans come from? We have been blocked to death for a long time. Let me think about it, they were smuggled in from Casablanca through Castile?"

"No," the adjutant shook his head, "It was seized from the enemy's supply truck. It seems that the trademark and text were produced by a United States company on a plantation in Southern America."

General Styria raised the coffee cup, carefully observed the color of the coffee, and then came closer to smell it: "Oh, it is really good. I wonder why the entrance does not look like mud today. Hey, before the war started, we could obviously be very good. It’s easy to drink coffee and tea, but since the war started, you can only drink mud produced in the factory.”

Adjutant: "There is still some tea in the seized items. If you want to drink it..."

"Is it black tea?"

"Yes, produced in Assam, Bahara."

"Then let's have tea today. When did we intercept the enemy's supply convoy? Why don't I remember it?"

"The armed reconnaissance team of the Third Armored Corps did it. They were sent back yesterday."

The general nodded repeatedly: "The Third Armored Army is very good."

At this time, the phone on the general's desk rang.

"Who is it, so early?" The general frowned displeased.

Just as the adjutant stepped forward to answer the phone, the office door opened and the chief of staff entered the room with serious expressions along with a group of staff officers.

Seeing the staff officer's expression, the general's expression became serious. He waved his hand to drive away the adjutant who was about to answer the phone, and picked up the receiver himself: "I am General Steiermark, what happened?"

Then the general's expression became visibly tense: "Is this true? Today is Ant's Christmas, and they should be receiving Holy Communion, praying, and listening to sermons.

"Okay, okay, got it."

Finally the general hung up the phone, his hand still on the receiver, and he looked with a serious expression at the chief of staff and a group of staff who had just entered the room.

"How much do you know?" the general asked.

Chief of Staff: "We just received a call. We didn't know that someone called you directly to report."

At this time, the adjutant was the only one in the huge office. He asked, "What happened? You all look so serious!"

General Steiermark: "The Abavahan Front that is fighting for Arvik is shelling us. The firepower density is very high. Several fifth-echelon infantry divisions deployed at the front have lost contact with the higher command post."

Proson's infantry units are divided into levels according to echelons. Generally, the divisions further forward are better equipped and better trained, while the units further back are cannon fodder divisions used to fill the line.

For example, the fifth echelon division has this attribute. Many of the artillery in the division are still used from 10 to 20 years ago. The machine guns and so on may also be Maxims that have been eliminated by the previous batch of troops.

But even for this kind of division, it would be too outrageous for the entire division to lose contact due to artillery fire.

Adjutant: "Even the fifth echelon should not lose contact immediately after being bombarded. I think the imperial infantry has not reached this point yet, and it is not Moravian."

"That's the problem." General Steiermark looked at the chief of staff, "Send a plane immediately to see what's going on. Remember to send someone with a radio."

Not all aircraft have radios, but heavy bombers and professional reconnaissance aircraft such as the FW189 will carry radios to maintain long-distance communication with the ground.

The chief of staff turned around and winked at one of the staff officers, who immediately turned and left the room.

General Steiermark came to the wall with a map in the room and frowned: "Didn't he say that Rokossov planned to attack Shepetovka? Is it a feint to attack us?"

Chief of Staff: "The telegram from the high command did mention that Rokossov might launch a feint attack on us."

General Styria: "And then beat four fifth-echelon divisions at once until they couldn't even make a sound?"

Adjutant: "It could also be that the radio and radio were damaged."

"Four divisions at the same time? The chance is too low." General Steiermark frowned, and the intuition he had developed during his many years of military service told him that things were not simple.

After thinking for a few seconds, he said: "I want to call His Majesty the Emperor."

After speaking, the general came to the table in three steps and picked up the receiver: "Pick up the eagle's nest for me, now, right away."

While the operator was operating, the general was praying in a low voice: "Can the field mouse let go of our phone line? Can he let our phone line go today?"

In this era, the process of making long-distance calls is quite complicated and requires a long wait.

After about two minutes of waiting, a lazy voice came from the other end of the phone: "Eagle Nest General Office."

"Schneider!" Since they were all old acquaintances, General Styria directly called the man's name over there, "I want to speak to His Majesty!"

Schneider: "His Majesty just took sleeping pills and lay down an hour ago, and he was in a very bad mood, because yesterday several generals jointly requested general mobilization, and he was furious. Now only Giles dares to wake him up, but Giles is not here."

General Styria suppressed his anger: "Then go find Giles! Now I must speak to His Majesty!"

"Did something terrible happen?" Schneider asked doubtfully.

"Rokossov is shelling me, and I have lost contact with the four fifth-echelon infantry divisions on the front line."

Schneider's voice was very relaxed: "The headquarters has predicted that this is a feint attack. As for the four divisions that cannot contact the front line, it may be that the guerrillas reported the location of these division headquarters and then received special attention. Rocco Sov used this method during the offensive at the end of last year, and he is particularly good at it! "

General Steiermark: "You...I suddenly realized that there seems to be no way to refute you. Indeed, this seems like something Rokossov would do. Well, I will contact you when the results of the aerial reconnaissance come in."

After putting down the phone, General Steiermark cursed: "My call was rejected! Just because our Emperor took a small piece of sleeping pills! He wants to sleep!"

Others dare not speak.

The chief of staff forcibly changed the topic: "So what do you say?"

"It's a feint attack, and Schneider... Lieutenant General Schneider believes that this is Rokossov's trick. He used the intelligence provided by the guerrillas to accurately bombard the division headquarters, causing the division headquarters to lose contact. No matter what, what we have to do is Same thing, find out the situation as soon as possible.”

Chief of Staff: "Actually, there is a simple way to judge. As long as the enemy's mountain front army does not cooperate with the attack, it is a feint attack. If Rokossov wants to surround us, the mountain front army will definitely cooperate to contain our army."

As soon as he finished speaking, the phone on General Steiermark's desk rang.

At the same time, a staff officer ran in and reported loudly: "The Mountain Front has begun to shell us!"

The chief of staff's face dropped.

Steiermark picked up the phone: "I am General Steiermark. You were bombarded, right? Well, don't panic. Prepare for defensive operations according to normal procedures. Now we are trying to figure out the situation. It may be a feint attack."

After putting down the phone, General Styria looked at the others: "The Mountain Front also fired artillery, but it cannot be concluded that it was not a feint attack. It may also be a deception to make the feint attack more realistic.

"Before we figure out the situation, we need to prepare for defense. In addition, what is the situation of the 11th Army?"

Chief of Staff: "Yesterday they reported that they had just received a batch of reinforcements, and that an armed cargo ship escorted by the Imperial Navy had sent a batch of supplies. At present, their strength has returned to 60% of full strength."

General Styriamak sighed: "Shipling and I are both generals, and it's not easy for me to command him clearly. The commander of Army Group B is Marshal Gron, so he can legitimately command the general. I... forget it, later. Let me call and ask.

"Now our first priority is to figure out the scale of the attack. If it is a feint, it won't be too big. Move!"

…

An hour later, the communications staff officer came in with a serious expression and the translated telegram, and handed the telegram to the chief of staff.

General Styria: "How's it going?"

The chief of staff's face turned pale: "The aircraft reconnaissance report said that the density of shelling may have reached more than 20 heavy artillery pieces per kilometer. From the air, no active troops on the front line of our army can be seen."

General Steiermark frowned.

His adjutant asked: "Is this... also a feint attack?"

The general picked up the receiver: "Get the Eagle's Nest! Hurry up!"

Two minutes later, Schneider's voice came from the other side of the receiver: "Eagle's Nest."

"Schneider!" General Steiermark said hastily, "Rokossov has invested more than 20 heavy artillery pieces per kilometer on the front! And currently he has not shelled the Tenth Army! This is obvious..."

"Calm down, Rokossov likes to do this. If you think you are the main attack direction, you have been fooled by him."

General Steiermark: "But what if it's not a feint attack? The Eleventh Army is still being replenished. Yesterday they reported that their strength had returned to 60% of full strength. Rokossov has an army of one million!"

Schneider: "Calm down, his million-strong army still has to leave troops to guard against the Tenth Army across the river. The river is still frozen, and the Tenth Army can reach his supply line - the railway - across the river.

"Taking into account the gap in combat effectiveness between the two sides, Rokossov will leave at least 500,000 to 600,000 troops to defend the banks of the Suhayaveli River."

Steiermark hesitated and said, "Okay, I'll check the situation again. Goodbye."

He put down the phone and looked at everyone: "Contact the four divisions on the front line, or find the broken troops. And send out reconnaissance planes again. If Rokossov really wants to attack, we will practice with him!"