Arc of Gunfire

Chapter 646 The artillery fire of liberation (update 44/84)

At 0630 hours on July 9, the Sixty-third Infantry Group came face to face with the defensive position of the Prosen Army.

Howls came from the sky, and the experienced Prossen veterans immediately rushed into the artillery holes, while those who were too far away to enter the holes lay down in the trenches.

Immediately afterwards, the ground began to shake, and the shock waves of the explosion continued to plow through the position, overturning everything that could be overturned.

The former recruit Andreas is already a veteran who has served for one year (the First Mobile Army appears), and he also has the mark of an exempt soldier, so he no longer has to do those miscellaneous tasks.

However, he still partnered with veteran Corporal Kosrek and was in charge of an MG42 machine gun in the heavy weapons platoon.

This rare two-veteran machine gun crew huddled in the shell-proof hole near the machine gun position, sharing the cigarettes they had just received from the chief of staff.

Piaget, a new recruit who was crowded in the same shell-proof cave, asked: "Why are you so calm?"

The old god Andreas said: "Because we have seen many such scenes. Last summer we fought against Rokosov's troops in Yeisk, South Ant, and we experienced his artillery fire at that time. ”

Corporal Kosrek - now a sergeant - sneered and exposed Corporal Andreas' lie: "Corporal was still a new recruit at that time, and he looked disheveled when the artillery fire came. Yes, just like you. Recruit."

Andreas: "Don't expose me, Sergeant."

The recruit looked back and forth between the two veterans and bravely asked, "Are the Ants really a group of fools with nothing but bravery, as the instructor in the recruit camp said?"

The two people who were smoking stopped and looked at the new recruits together.

Sergeant Kosrek: "That's what the training camp said? What a crime."

Recruit: "What?"

Corporal Andreas: "There are two types of Ants. If they look childish and nervous like you, holding a gun that needs to be pulled... Hungry, what is the name of the enemy's rifle?"

"Mosin Nagant," Sergeant Kosrek said.

"Yes, Mosin-Nagant's, that's really just bravery. Just like you! Understand, just like you! But if you are holding a wave of sand, wearing a helmet, and a face with resolute scars, then you are cunning and tenacious. warrior.

"If it's a Guardsman wearing a green rainproof cloak and holding a strange submachine gun that blows when shooting - ah, you can't see such a guy. Before that, recruits like you were just dead."

The recruit's face changed: "Are you so powerful?"

"Yeah, that's how powerful it is." Kosrek smoked hard after saying that.

Andreas said: "Last year we faced Ant infantry equipped with such weapons for the first time in the heavy fog caused by Ant's wizard, and most of them died without understanding what was going on.

"Don't look at officers like the Chief of Staff calling Ant's Guards cloaked cockroaches, as if they are weak. In fact, they are just using this method to embolden themselves."

Recruit: "Are you brave?"

"Yeah, who told you that the Ant people are just gray animals that rely on numbers to win? Just let him come to the front line and face those terrible warriors." Kosrek blew out a smoke ring, "They have been fighting for two years. ”

At this time, an artillery shell fell very close to the anti-cannon hole. The anti-cannon hole was suddenly collapsed, and a large amount of soil was directly pressed down.

The two veterans were squatting at the entrance of the cave, but they rolled out the moment the cave collapsed. As a result, Andreas rolled too slowly and was half buried in the soil.

Sergeant Kosrek was so shocked that he collapsed to the ground. It took more than ten seconds before he got up and forcefully pulled his old partner out.

Andreas shouted in pain: "My waist is about to break! You should dig it and pull it out again!"

Kosrek suddenly noticed that there was an engineering shovel that had been blown up from nowhere by a shell next to him, so he picked it up and started digging hard.

Andreas screamed like a slaughtered pig: "Don't be so fast! Ah! Be careful and break my one!"

"Stop making noise! ​​I didn't dig it! Wait until I dig it and then call again!"

After struggling for a while, Andreas was finally dug out. Kosrek dropped the engineer shovel and collapsed in the trench.

In fact, you should also adopt a defensive posture at this time, otherwise if a shell falls nearby, you will definitely be shocked and cause internal injuries.

Recently, the Ants seem to have changed the formula of the warhead charge, and the overpressure caused by the shells has become even more terrifying.

Andreas picked up the engineer's shovel, turned around and continued to dig the hole he had made. After a few digs, he dug out the recruit's hand.

Sergeant Kosrek: "Don't bother, I'll be suffocated already. The new recruits are inexperienced, so they think they're safest when they hide in the deepest part of the cave."

"Fuck it." Andreas shoveled the sapper to the ground and collapsed on the ground.

Sergeant Koslake stared at the hand stretched out from the soil: "You can either take his ring away and return it to his wife or fiancée when the time comes, or you can bury the hand and the ring together."

Andreas turned his head and glanced, and after a brief hesitation, he took off the ring, put it in his pocket, and muttered: "Who knows if we can still go home."

"But for the enemy, they are about to go home." The sergeant raised his head and listened to the constant explosions. "In my hometown, spring starts to thunder like this, which means that spring plowing is about to begin. The busy year has begun.”

Andreas shook his head: "I don't want to hear this sound again in my life. I bet that I will have nightmares when there is a thunderstorm in the future. I can only sit tremblingly on the edge of the bed and smoke. Damn, where is the cigarette? ?”

Kosrek took out his cigarettes and threw one to Andreas.

The corporal took out a match and struck it, and the two of them borrowed fire from each other to light their cigarettes.

The lingering smoke seems to be able to isolate the surrounding mountains and tremors.

Sergeant Kosrek suddenly said: "For those Ant people living in our occupied areas, this is the artillery fire of liberation, and they will miss this artillery fire for the rest of their lives."

Andreas didn't answer, thinking only about smoking.

————

Proson's First Land Stuka Camp, five minutes after the artillery fire of the Ant Army was ready to stop.

Amidst the whistles, Land Stukas drove out of the bunker one after another and drove to the long-marked launch position.

"Remember the pre-calculated shooting Zhuyuan!" The officer rode past the rocket launcher converted from a half-track vehicle and kept shouting, "As long as you fire according to the shooting Zhuyuan, you can accurately cover Ant's attack. troops, completely disrupting the enemy’s first wave of offensive, causing a large number of casualties!”

The operators were busy adjusting the tilt angle of the launch frames hung on both sides of the SDKFZ half-track vehicle.

Soon, a signal flare was launched into the air, and the command to fire spread throughout the firing position.

Rockets that looked like gas tanks rushed into the sky with their tail flames trailing, and rushed towards the "Ante attacking troops".

I don't know who laughed wildly: "Hahahahaha! Now the Ant people are in trouble! Maybe this morning's attack will be collapsed like this!"

————

Five minutes later, Ant attacked the starting position.

After the earth-shaking explosion stopped, Sergeant Anton poked his head out from the departure trench and looked at the messy ground in front of him: "Hey, dear, the Prossens are planning to blow up the ground so that we can't attack. ”

Captain Sergei patted his head: "Idiot! This is preparing to cover us! Fortunately, General Rokossov changed the attack process and included the enemy's counter-artillery preparations!"

As soon as they finished speaking, a whistling sound came from above the two of them.

Captain Sergey looked up at the sky: "This is probably a second strike against the enemy's artillery units. It will also kill all the Prosin fools who have foolishly entered the position."

After listening to the whooshing sound for a while, Captain Sergey seemed to finally get tired of it and looked away.

Anton: "So when do we attack?"

"Wait for the whistle."

As soon as he finished speaking, a whistle sounded from the west of the trench.

Captain Sergey also blew his whistle and waved to the soldiers squatting in the trench to stand up.

Then, a classic scene appeared, with the military chaplain rushing out of the trench and waving a small pistol: "Everyone, move forward!"

After saying this, the priest walked first with a pistol.

Captain Sergei also jumped out of the trench and shouted to the priest: "According to the church's order, the priest cannot be the first!"

Priest: "To hell with orders! I just want to be the first!"

Behind the two men, rows of infantry emerged from the trenches and marched forward in unison with submachine guns in hand.

The priest waved his hand: "Filipov, start singing!"

"What are you singing?"

"You are from here, so sing your popular songs!"

Filipov was silent.

Captain Sergey turned back: "What's wrong, Filipov? Sing!"

Then a vicissitudes of voice began: "I remember a small town in my hometown, peaceful, quiet and melancholy."

No one noticed that the singer changed the lyrics and changed the word "countryside" to "hometown".

"There's a church, a station and a tree-lined avenue

"Sometimes I can see in the crowd

"That familiar dear figure...

"She was wearing a blue sunhat

"Wearing a blue blouse

"The figure of a girl in a dark skirt

"Ah, my fleeting love!"

In the chorus, everyone who can sing this song sings in unison:

"Tanya! Tanyusha! My Tatyana!

"Do you still remember that hot summer?

"I can't forget that time

“That time to love!”

Two summers ago, young people sang this song to fight here and then left their hometown.

Today, two years later, young people are still singing this song and walking on the land of their hometown.

Sparrows flew up from the grass and buzzed over the skirmishers, as if welcoming the returning warriors.

Many people who left their hometowns back then have never been able to come back, and the "Tanya" in their dreams may have faded away.

Everyone understands that everything in their memory may no longer exist, but they still cannot stop this exciting pace.

Over the heads of the advancing infantry formations, artillery preparations continued.

You can hear the vengeful artillery shells constantly exploding on the Prossen position, like the thunder of spring.