Arc of Gunfire

Wang Zhong stayed in Upper Penier for another day, taking a lot of photos and finishing all the video tapes that Robert Capa had brought.

When he returned to the headquarters, Pavlov and Popov looked at him seriously.

Wang Zhong looked confused: "What's wrong? Did the Prosen people take out a secret weapon? Or did they use poison gas?"

At the beginning of the war, the Pulosen people used poison gas on a large scale, and Wang Zhong had encountered it.

Later, both the United Kingdom and the United States showed their poison gas reserves, and the Prossens promised not to use poison gas again. The United States had not yet entered the war at that time, and everyone believed that Prosin's promise not to use poison gas was to appease the United States and keep it "gloriously isolated."

Who knew Fuso launched a sneak attack.

But it is true that since then, the Plosans have not used highly lethal poison gas.

No one can guarantee that they will not use it again if they are cornered.

Pavlov: "No such thing happened, but... you can see for yourself."

The chief of staff handed the document to Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong understood after looking at the cover of the document that it was an investigation report on Yegorov's family, and perhaps a report on Dr. Katya's family, so he did not open the document, but looked up and asked: "Are you sure? "

"It's confirmed, we also found a relic." Pavlov put the ring in Wang Zhong's palm, "We all agree that you should tell them both."

Wang Zhong: "You... ask me, the commander of the front army, to do one thing after another!"

Pavlov: "Yes, yes. Now I will arrange a car for you to go to Yegorov's headquarters. Doctor Katya is also in their group military hospital."

Wang Zhong did not answer immediately, but raised the ring and looked at the fluorescent lamp of the headquarters.

"This ring also has initials engraved on it," he said.

Pavlov: "Yes, it is the abbreviation of Yegorov and his wife's names. It has been confirmed. Yegorov also has a similar ring. You can go over and compare it."

Wang Zhong stared at the ring for a while, then put it in his pocket solemnly, and looked at Pavlov: "I'll be back as soon as I go. When will the headquarters start moving?"

These days the front army headquarters has to move forward every few days, which also reflects how smoothly the front army is progressing now.

Pavlov: "Anyway, we won't move tomorrow. In fact, the advance has slowed down now. All the troops are tired. And as we get closer to Melania's border, the entire front is shortening. The Prosin people The troop density has been greatly increased.”

Wang Zhong looked at the large map in the headquarters. The density of enemy numbers had indeed increased significantly, which intuitively showed the status of the battlefield.

"The inquisitors discovered that some new numbers have appeared. According to the information previously shared with us by the Allies, these numbers belong to the Prosen Western Front Command." Popov said, "It seems that Emperor Prosen is still continuing. Move troops from the west."

Wang Zhong: "I understand, can Naronezh be recovered as planned?"

Pavlov: "Roniezh is already an empty city. The Prosins have withdrawn the troops originally stationed here, which means that on the defense line in front of us, the enemy has about 200,000 more new troops.

"These troops are the so-called fortress defense troops of Ploson, also called fortress defense infantry divisions. They are characterized by the fact that they are equipped with fewer motor vehicles than the normal Ploson infantry. There are almost no armored personnel carriers such as half-track vehicles, and there are no field artillery. .

“But their infantry is well-trained and equipped with a large number of submachine guns, weapons suitable for close combat in narrow tunnels, and the proportion of veterans is also high.

"Placing such a division in the enemy's fortification zone will greatly increase the difficulty of our next phase of attack."

Wang Zhong: "The next stage of matters will be considered in the next stage. I will leave first."

"OK."

"Bon Voyage."

After Wang Zhong left the headquarters, Pavlov and Popov looked at each other.

Popov: "Actually, why don't you call Egorov to the headquarters? The commander of the front army, the dignified marshal, goes to present a ring. It doesn't make sense in terms of etiquette, right?"

Pavlov: "The marshal's first reaction was to send the ring himself, which shows that he has no awareness of his noble status. Hasn't he always been like this? Before, he sat at the same table with the guards in the canteen and cut it for the recruits. The sausage scares the new recruits."

Popov: "That's it. After I said something, a new joke started to become popular in the guard camp, 'I don't know that young man, but I know he must be extremely noble, because I saw Marshal Rokosov cutting meat for him. intestinal.'"

Pavlov laughed.

————

Prosen Army, Temporary Depot No. 200.

Sergeant Andreas looked at Sergeant Major Koslyk: "Now we are partners again."

The sergeant major took a sip of the hot soup in the lunch box and cursed: "Why is this soup like mud? It's so unpalatable!"

"It's good to have hot food." Sergeant Andreas took a sip of his soup, and then he was surprised to find that he actually thought the soup was pretty good.

At this time, several trucks drove into the military station. The Ploson soldiers on the trucks had rosy faces and talked and laughed loudly.

Andreas and Kosrek looked at them with serious expressions.

Kosrek: "It seems that the military uniforms are important ground guard troops. How come these guys withdrew from Ronezh? They should be allowed to defeat the mermaids in Ronezh and Ant! Let's see if they can still laugh."

Andreas: "Victory troops?"

"Yes, those who specialize in garrisoning various fortresses are of the same nature as the coastal defense divisions you encountered at the Western Wall."

Andreas: "Have the troops guarding the important areas also withdrawn? Who is guarding Ronezh?"

"I don't know, maybe it's the navy, maybe there's no one guarding it. It's not our turn to worry about this kind of thing, we just need to work hard to survive."

Andreas: "Just alive?"

"Yes, do you still have the idea of ​​​​serving the glory of the empire? We have already been loyal to the empire, and now we continue to fire with machine guns because the probability of survival is higher in comparison, isn't it? "

As he spoke, Kosrek took a sip of the soup. It was obvious that he still couldn't accept the taste of the soup and frowned.

Andreas was just about to comment sharply on what the sergeant major had just said, when he saw a trio of military policemen approaching.

He shut his mouth.

The gendarmes were wearing black leather jackets with silver breastplates and carrying MP40s. They had rosy faces and looked nothing like Andreas and the other unlucky guys who had traveled thousands of miles away.

Andreas couldn't help but think that there must be cigarettes, chewing gum and other good things in the bags carried by the gendarmes. After all, they had been staying in the rear where there was a sufficient supply.

And Andreas hasn't smoked for a long time.

The military police came to Andreas. The second lieutenant who led the team looked at their machine guns and said: "It is well maintained, it is worthy of praise!"

Andreas just nodded and the sergeant major continued to drink the broth he hated.

Gendarmerie Second Lieutenant: "Come on, we are about to reach the new defense line. This time we will not retreat again. We can fight against the Ant people! This time we have reinforced concrete fortifications, and we will definitely let the Ant people have a try." sharp!"

Kosrek finally spoke: "Yeah, I can't wait anymore. I've had enough of running away! We fought very well on the Tiber River and blocked the Ant attack for a whole day. As a result, the upper reaches of Mora The Weiya people lost their control and let the Ant army pass!"

The military police second lieutenant scolded: "These damn second-class citizens! If you want to become a first-class citizen of the empire, you have to show results! If you fail all day long, I think the empire will be destroyed by these second-class citizens!"

The Ploson soldiers who were sharing soup on the roadside heard the military policeman's words and all made a sound of agreement.

"That's right!"

"These Moravians have better equipment than us! I saw it with my own eyes. They have half-tracks equipped with 20mm machine guns, which our division doesn't even have!"

"There are also cannons. If we had the equipment of the Moravians, Rokosov would not have been able to break through the Tiber River so easily!"

"That's right, old Hansen, we all know that as long as you have the equipment of the Moravians, you can capture Rokossov alive!"

The last sentence is obviously a joke.

The second lieutenant of the military police said: "Rokosov likes to go to the front line to investigate the enemy. Maybe it is possible to capture him alive. In that case, the outcome of the war will be reversed, and maybe a duke can be made!"

After the military police lieutenant finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

Although most of the soldiers here are big-headed soldiers, Proson's education is highly popular, and quite a few of the big-headed soldiers have graduated from high school, and many have even learned some military cartography themselves.

Most of them knew that even if Rokossov was captured alive, it would be difficult for Prosen to win this war.

The military police lieutenant himself was embarrassed, scratching his head and trying to break the silence.

Just at this time, the chief secretary came over with a large stack of letters: "These are letters rescued from the Ronezh Post Center. Don't think about the letters that have been sent to the front line. They will definitely not be found. I will come as soon as I read the name. Get the letter.

"Hanson Redwick!"

"Old Hansen" who had just been teased raised his hand: "Here he is, still alive!"

The Bursar threw the letter at Old Hansen like a Frisbee and read the next one: "Hyloc Pulmas."

No one answered.

"Shirlock!" The chief of staff raised his voice.

At this time, someone raised his hand: "He is dead. I saw with my own eyes that he wanted to use a magnetic grenade to destroy the enemy's Rokosov-1, but he was hit by a tank. From my point of view, it looked like he was hit by the tank body." Killed by the sharp corner in front.”

The chief of staff glanced at the military policeman and cursed: "Watch what you say, there is no way the sharp corner of the Rokossov-1 could kill someone!"

As he spoke, he stuffed the unaccepted letters into his bag and continued to read names.

Suddenly, Andreas heard the chief clerk shout: "Andreas!"

"Here!" He raised his hand high, and the movement was so big that he spilled the broth, and the bits of bone and residue in the soup fell to the ground.

The chief of staff still regarded the letter as a Frisbee, and as soon as he waved the object, it went straight to Andreas's face.

The sergeant caught the letter and opened it happily, finding that in addition to the letter paper, there were photos inside.

Kosrek came closer: "Girlfriend?"

"No, my sister. This is her child, my nephew, who is six years old."

Kosrek: "Where's her husband?"

"I don't know, maybe farming." Andreas opened the letter and began to read.

“Dear Andreas, I know it’s not yet time to write my monthly letter, but I can’t help but write.

"They took your brother-in-law away, saying that the empire needs every man. Your brother-in-law is over forty, and his legs hurt when it rains and he can't move. What can he do on the battlefield?

“But they still took him away. Your brother-in-law comforted me, saying that he was a corporal when he was young, and he didn’t have to take on daily duties in the army.

“That’s fine. Now bread is being rationed, and the supply of vegetables has also become less. The radio says that we are always winning…”

There are large sections of text that are blacked out and cannot be recognized at all.

Andreas glanced at Kosrek.    Sergeant Major: “Recently, such situations have obviously become more frequent. Just get used to it.”

Andreas continued to read the unblacked-out part, but the text was obviously not connected to the previous part.

“You remember the cousin in the city, the one who runs a watch shop, his wife suddenly ran away to the countryside with the children. We asked what happened, but she just cried and couldn’t say anything.

"Later we found out that the city was bombed and the fire lasted for three days and three nights. Many people's bodies have not been found until now. The Imperial Air Force--"

Andreas stopped because he found that the handwriting of the following text was obviously different. There was a clear cursive on the letter A, which was a font that only well-educated people would use.

"The Imperial Air Force put up a resolute resistance and shot down a large number of bombers. The enemy's pilot reserves will soon be exhausted."

After reading this paragraph, the font turned into the ugly look that Andreas was familiar with again: "Although there are so many bad things, I am actually okay. Whenever I receive a letter from you from the front, I will feel a lot better.

"I can tell myself that my brother is still alive and well, and my husband will definitely be fine. They always say that the war will end soon, and I sincerely look forward to the day when you come home.

"Love your sister, Freya."

Andreas folded the letter in half, stuffed it into his bag, and then took the photo and looked at it carefully.

He discovered many details that he had not noticed before reading the letter, such as his sister's deep crow's feet, his nephew's fanatical expression and the Youth League logo on his sleeve.

Andreas stuffed the photo into the pocket closest to his heart and said to Kosrek: "Sergeant, I must go home, no matter what happens, I must go home!"

"Really, me too." The sergeant replied, "Me too."

The military police lieutenant was next to the two of them and listened to Andreas's words just now. He said nothing, but turned around and left with his men.

————

When Wang Zhong got off the car, he found that the guards of the army headquarters had a look of seeing a ghost on their faces.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" he asked.

The guard immediately said: "No! Salute to you, Marshal Davarishi!"

Wang Zhong waved his hand: "Is Yegorov here?"

"Yes, Marshal Davarishi!"

Wang Zhong: "Okay, go to the military hospital again and find Doctor Katya! Tell her that Marshal Rokosov has something important to tell her."

"Doctor Katya?"

At this time, the battalion commander of the guard battalion ran out in a hurry, wearing a hat while running: "Comrade Marshal! Why did you come without notifying me!"

Wang Zhong: "In my front, do I have to report where I go first?"

"No, Comrade Marshal."

"Go and notify Doctor Katya to come over." Wang Zhong strode into the headquarters.

The expressions of the people he met along the way were all the same as the guard at the beginning, first shocked and then standing at attention to salute.

Wang Zhong went all the way to the map room. As soon as he entered the room, he heard Yegorov say, "Since the enemy's resistance is not worth mentioning, why can't we advance faster?"

"Yegorov Davarish," the army chief of staff said with a wry smile, "The troops are very tired, and most of the vehicles are broken down. We need to stop and rest."

Yegorov: "The muddy period is coming. We will have plenty of time to rest. Now we should move forward as soon as possible while the road is still passable!"

Wang Zhong: "Yegorov! When fighting, we must take into account objective laws. Our current advancement speed is much faster than expected. If it is faster, there will be problems."

Yegorov turned his head sharply: "Suka is not ——Division Commander? Why are you here? You didn't even call to let us know! Did Filippov not treat you well? I'll punish him now!"

Wang Zhong: "No, I'm here for something else. Let's wait for Dr. Katya. Please report to me about the situation of your army group. The chief of staff just said that many cars are broken down?"

Chief of Staff: "Yes, only 50% of our transport vehicles are still functioning normally. The situation of tanks and armored units is even worse. Some tank brigades have only a few tanks that can be driven, a few!

"The 31st Guards Brigade, which is in the worst situation, only has the commander's tanks that can move. They just blocked the enemy outside Volsk. The 382nd Regiment that cooperated with them has only 100 people left to fight."

Wang Zhong: "I can understand that the tank brigade has so few tanks left, but how can a regiment have so few people left? I haven't received any reports of heavy casualties from you?"

Chief of Staff: "There are no heavy casualties. People are lost. We are advancing too fast. Many people have fallen behind. It will take at least half a month for us to return these people to the organization. ”

Wang Zhong: “It seems that when we formulate combat plans in the future, we need to limit the speed of advancement.”

In fact, Wang Zhong also understood that it would be impossible to advance so fast in the future, because the East Yoroba Plain is not so vast, and there are many settlements, a high level of development, and reinforced concrete buildings everywhere.

And as we get closer and closer to the enemy's homeland, the enemy's supply problem will be completely solved. On the contrary, our own supply problem will become more and more obvious.

But this does not prevent him from saying this now. The effect of this sentence is very obvious. All the staff present smiled and looked quite proud.

Yegorov: "You can't do anything to restrict me. Commander, I will push as much as you ask me to push in a day, and I will never push more!"

Wang Zhong: "That's what you said! When I came in just now, you were still clamoring to move forward faster!"

"That was just now."

"Report!" the guard at the door shouted, "Dr. Katya is here."

Yegorov looked towards the door.

Wang Zhong also turned his head and saw Dr. Katya entering the headquarters wearing a white coat.

"Who is sick?" she asked.

Wang Zhong: "No one is sick, Dr. Katya, I called you here. Yegorov, let me borrow your conference room."

Yegorov: "Can't you say it here?"

Wang Zhong: "No."

At this time, the bishop accompanying the army group suggested: "You can go to the chapel next to it. There should be no soldiers confessing now."

Wang Zhong: "Very good. Let's go."

————

The chapel was very plainly decorated, with only a large table, a few chairs, and a wooden icon. 12 candles were inserted in front of the icon, and the candlelight swayed gently.

After Wang Zhong came in, he suddenly thought that he was a saint and should express himself, so he performed a simple ceremony in front of the icon according to Lyudmila's instructions.

"Amen!" he shouted loudly, then turned to the two of them, "come on, sit down."

Yegorov and Dr. Katya looked at each other, and they sat down next to each other in a tacit understanding.

Wang Zhong took the stack of documents from Vasily and placed them on the table.

Yegorov's eyebrows twitched.

Doctor Katya covered her mouth.

Wang Zhong: "Actually, we have been looking for your family members and used some personal connections."

Yegorov: "It's not necessary. In fact, we -"

Wang Zhong put the ring on the table.

Yegorov immediately shut up and stared at the ring.

Wang Zhong: "I'll give you ten minutes to deal with your emotions."

After saying that, he was about to turn around when Yegorov called out: "Wait a minute! Commander! I might feel better if you are here."

Wang Zhong: "Really?"

"Yeah, I feel much better when I think about you losing your father and your best friend too."

Wang Zhong: "Has anyone told you that you are not very good at talking?"

"People often say this, I am just a rough guy, everyone knows it." Yegorov stood up and reached for the ring. He hesitated midway, took his hand back and rubbed it vigorously before reaching out again.

Then he realized he couldn't reach it.

Wang Zhong pressed the ring with his index finger and gently pushed it towards Yegorov.

The ring slid to the other side of the table, where Yegorov could reach it.

Yegorov picked up the ring and first checked the engraving on the inside.

The ring on his hand reflected the light of the chapel's candles.

After a long time, Yegorov asked: "Where did you find it?"

"A village called Kulinka, you can go there to pay homage to them in the future." Wang Zhong said softly.

Yegorov asked again: "Are they all there?"

"Yeah, it's all there."

Yegorov held the ring in both hands and put it in front of his nose, as if praying.

Dr. Katya stood up and put her arms around his shoulders, like a mother comforting a sad boy.

Wang Zhong: "Dr. Katya, the information about your husband and family members is also on the document."

"Where should we go to pay homage to them, right?" Dr. Katya asked calmly.

Wang Zhong nodded lightly.

"Thank you, Comrade Marshal." the doctor said softly.

Wang Zhong: "I came...to say -"

I mean it’s time to move on to a new life.

But Wang Zhong couldn't say this.

After all, he was not an experienced cleric yet, and he was still very young, so he was really not sure whether he should say this at this time.

He could only look at the two people hugging each other.