Arc of Gunfire

At 1100 hours on July 20, one hour before the Ante cavalry began to attack, the headquarters of Army Group South of Plossen.

When Marshal Gron saw General Shipling walking into the headquarters war room, he went directly to greet him: "My old friend, you should know the reason for calling you to the army group headquarters, right?"

Shipling: "Are you asking me to clean up this mess?"

Marshal Gron: "How can we call it cleaning up the mess! The high command and His Majesty the Emperor are the stage where the talents of every Prossen general can be put to good use.

"You are very good at conducting retreats. Last winter you took Army Group B out of the hands of Rokossov's million-strong army and the vicious General Winter.

"Now the empire needs your talents to rescue the empire's warriors from the dangerous situation of Shepetovka. But you lingered in the coastal fortress and delayed your arrival for several days!"

Shipling hurriedly explained: "I didn't delay on purpose. It's just that the coastal fortress has many defense issues that need to be dealt with, which is why it has been delayed until now."

"Don't worry about these." Marshal Gron waved his hand, then made a "Follow me" gesture, and walked to the map. "Now all signs indicate that the troops who have eaten the broken rear troops we left in Oboyang will Rokossov is about to outflank our army in this direction."

Shipling squinted at the contact line between the Prosen Army and the Ant Army on the map, and suddenly interrupted the marshal: "Why don't I see the zigzag line representing the defensive position on the dividing line between the two armies?"

The so-called zigzag line is the nickname of the legend representing the defensive position, because the legend looks like a smoothed jagged line.

Marshal Gron: "Because there is no continuous defense line yet, our troops only had time to consolidate the defenses of each village. Before I came back from the Eagle's Nest, the 52nd Army reported that there was a series of disconnected forest areas along the boundary of the control area. Set up a defense line in the forest area.”

Shipling: "Where's the defense?"

"The 52nd Army reported that the Ant observation posts have been directing artillery fire to interfere with the defense line setup. Currently, only 30% of the forestland has been fortified."

Shipling found the defense area of ​​the 52nd Army on the map and opened his mouth: "Does this mean that such a large area is full of loopholes?"

Marshal Gron: "We control the highway. Even if the enemy has troops infiltrating through these places, it is impossible to obtain supplies."

Shipling: "Are you serious? Marshal?"

Marshal Gron sighed: "What can I say? Of course I know that after the Ant cavalry infiltrates, they can replenish food on the spot, because the people of Ant have long been looking forward to liberation, and they would rather go hungry than feed themselves. army.

"As for weapons, they can get them from the guerrillas and rob our military depots. The situation is terrible now, of course I know! But can I say this? If the people below hear it, the situation will be even worse!"

Shipling: "Where's the armor?"

Marshal Gron: "The 48th Armored Corps was transferred from Army Group Center, but they also went through the fierce battle that started in June.

"Their best condition is the 8th "Ghost" Armored Division, which has been serving as the military reserve. The combat readiness reported this morning is 4 command type 3 vehicles, 7 short-barreled type 3 vehicles, 32 long-barreled type 3 vehicles, and 22 The commander is in charge of number four.”

Shipling raised his eyebrows: "Not bad. According to past experience, such a unit can destroy at least 300 Ant tanks."

Marshal Gron added: "As long as we don't encounter Ant's new tanks, currently we only have new tank destroyers equipped with 105mm anti-tank guns that can deal with these new tanks."

Shipling: "How many of these destroyers do we have?"

"21 vehicles." Marshal Gron immediately replied, "I have strengthened all of them to the 8th Armored Division. Make good use of this armored force."

Shipling: "Wait a minute, is the new tank destroyer the 70-ton thing I know?"

"No, the 70-ton gadgets can indeed deal with the enemy's new tanks. They will either scratch each other or penetrate each other. But these bulky gadgets are now all the trophies of the Ants.

"What we are telling you now is a thin-skinned and stuffed thing made by the rear, a pure artillery carrier. It may not be able to penetrate the enemy's tanks. The enemy will definitely be able to destroy it with one shot if they find it!"

Marshal Gron stopped and took a deep breath: "But the good news is that the Kratt Bureau in Rabbeville reported that the production of Ant's new tanks was insufficient, and only Rokosov's troops were equipped with a certain amount."

"We are facing Rokossov's troops." Shiplin reminded him word by word.

Marshal Gron: "But the last time this kind of tank was confirmed was ten days ago. We have reason to believe that all new tanks have malfunctioned or been damaged. The Ant people's maintenance capabilities are very poor. It is estimated that they will not see these for half a month." A sharp thing.

"Before that, the Eighth Armored Division is the nemesis of all Ant armored forces and will destroy them all!"

Shipling: "I understand, I will make good use of the 8th Armored Division. But it is really sad that the Armored Division, which now has less than 100 tanks in total, has become the savior of the entire army group."

Marshal Gron: "The other divisions of the 48th Armored Corps have 100 vehicles put together. In addition, they were mobilized from Army Group Center. Army Group Center controlled most of the tank battles and ultimately controlled the battlefield, so many tanks are now recycled. , under maintenance.

"Theoretically the longer we wait, the more armor we'll have on hand."

Shipling: "Do you think Rokossov will wait?"

"No." Marshal Gron shook his head, "He will not miss the opportunity."

As if echoing Marshal Gron's words, the communications staff officer entered the headquarters nervously and whispered a few words in the ear of the Chief of Staff of the Second Army.

Because the original staff team of Army Group South is almost finished, and now the staff team of Army Group are basically from the Second Army.

Prossen's army group is relatively large. When there are many army groups, there can be 3.4 million people. The staff team is not enough to command and support the operation of the entire army group.

Marshal Gron was already the commander of the Second Army, so everything went smoothly.

As for the temporarily promoted acting chief of staff of the Army Group, of course he was pushed aside to accumulate experience.

The marshal looked at the Chief of Staff of the Second Army: "What's wrong?"

"Just now, Ant's cavalry troops crossed our defense line."

General Shipling: "It seems that 70% of the undefended area has been used."

Marshal Gron: "Even if all the forests are fortified, the cavalry still has room to slip through. This is the grassland. If you want to form a stable front, you have to build trenches on the vast plains. There is no time for this."

Shipling: "So the cavalry assault was expected? What about the response plan?"

Marshal Gron: "Strengthen the walls and clear the fields, stick to the supporting points."

Shipling: "Are there enough troops?"

"Not enough." Marshal Gron said frankly, "And the enemy can destroy our supply team even if he ignores our fortified villages. The only solution is to armor the supply team, and equip each supply retreat with at least 20 half-track vehicles. and a corresponding number of Panzergrenadiers.”

After the marshal finished speaking, he glared at General Shiplin.

Apparently both men were aware of the biggest problem with this "solution".

General Shipling: "How many more troops will this increase?"

"We have calculated that we need at least four panzergrenadier divisions before we have enough armored vehicles and panzergrenadiers to protect all convoys."

General Shipling: "The four Panzergrenadier divisions do not consolidate the front line of defense or participate in counterattacks, but simply serve as escorts for the truck convoy. Then these four divisions also consume fuel supplies and the vehicles will wear out... What should I do? It feels like a dead end.”

"No!" Marshal Goron retorted, "The root of the problem is that the grasslands of Kozalia are too vast, our troops are too scattered, and the supply lines are too long. As long as we retreat to the Tiber River, our troop density will increase and the supply lines will become Short, and then there is a coherent line of defense, and all problems are solved.”

Shipling: "It seems so."

Marshal Gron: "This is your responsibility. I came back from the Eagle's Nest and brought your letter of appointment. His Majesty the Emperor also asked me to bring a message. As long as you can successfully complete the retreat, the marshal's scepter will belong to you. "

Shiplin smiled bitterly and said: "You are putting me on the fire to roast."

Marshal Gron: "How can you say that? This is the trust of the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor. Then, I will take my leave. My chief of staff and staff are all worthy of trust. Of course, you can also transfer people from the Eleventh Army. "

Shipling shook his head: "No, it's too late. The enemy cavalry has already broken through, and we can no longer throw the command system into chaos. Chief of Staff, show me the current retreat plan. Also, how many panzergrenadiers do we have?" "

"We have six Panzergrenadier divisions, but 60% of their half-track vehicles have been lost. And we have not been able to control the battlefield, so the lost vehicles can basically be regarded as complete losses." The chief of staff reported quickly. Come up with a string of numbers.

Marshal Gron was drinking coffee nearby.

Shipling: "Which division is the most elite among the six divisions? The 16th Panzergrenadier Division?"

"This 'most elite' is difficult to define. Theoretically speaking..."

When the chief of staff hesitated, Marshal Gron said: "The 16th Panzergrenadier Division is the best, and you are familiar with them."

Shipling: "Greyhound, then use the Greyhound division as the backbone to form a battle group responsible for resisting the enemies attacking us from the east - I mean, the enemies who are predicted to pursue us.

“All the Panzergrenadier divisions except for the 16th were dismantled into platoons and dispersed along the entire retreat path, allowing them to deal with Ant’s cavalry.

"In addition, with the Eighth Armored Division as the core - wait a minute, I remember that the commander of the Eighth Armored Division is Adel?"

"Yes, Panzer Schultz," the chief of staff replied.

Shipling: "I want to see him, now, right away."