Arc of Gunfire

Filipov came out of the headquarters and was immediately stopped by the second battalion commander Makarov.

"What do you think of this battle?" Makarov asked.

Filipov: "I promise to complete the task."

"Infantry infiltrates with only the light weapons they carry. What should they do if they encounter the enemy's armored forces?"

Filipov: "Didn't we issue such a detailed map? Each battalion's attack route was carefully planned to avoid difficult enemies. According to the map, the enemies we encounter must be able to deal with the weapons we have. ”

Makarov took out a cigarette and held it in his mouth, without even lighting several matches.

Filipov took out the lighter, opened the lid with a click, and helped Makarov light a cigarette.

Makarov took the lighter and asked, "Seized?" while playing with it.

"Yes, it was seized from a dead officer Prosen."

"Is he really dead?"

The Ant army prohibits robbing prisoners, so sometimes Ant soldiers will kill prisoners who have good things in their hands, and then take away the things they like.

Sometimes Ant soldiers would kill captives out of hatred and plunder the loot just by the way.

Filipov: "We are the Guards and the direct troops of the Marshal. We cannot disgrace the Marshal. Of course we took this from a dead person, and I reported it and said that having a portable fire source is helpful in combat. Priest Agreed."

"Damn it, does it mean it's good for combat and it's easy to light a fire bottle?" Makarov complained.

The Ant troops no longer use incendiary bottles for anti-tank use. Even if they really want to burn tanks, there are better incendiary grenades.

After the brief interlude, Makarov continued to talk about business: "If the map is correct, there won't be much problem with our infiltration like this, but what if there is a problem with the map? What if we encounter armored forces?"

"Are the rocket launchers in our hands just decorations?"

"Of course not, but this thing only has so much range-"

"You can use buildings. There are villages everywhere on the map. When encountering enemy tank troops, just hide in the villages and prepare to counterattack." Filipov said.

"But--"

Filipov patted the second battalion commander on the shoulder: "Don't worry, think about the cavalry. Didn't they penetrate behind the enemy's rear like this in previous offensive operations? We are doing the same job. The cavalry can complete it task, we can do it.

"Before, in the grasslands of Kozalia, there was no place to hide when encountering tanks. Now if you look at the wilderness of Melania, there is a village just a short walk away."

Makarov: "That's true of you, but the cavalry can run fast, and we only have two legs. That's all, being able to catch the enemy is better than anything else."

Filipov's unit had a relatively large number of non-commissioned officers surviving, so he was transferred to join the Vistula Battle Group and attack eastward.

No other unit in their group army has this honor. It is said that for this reason, other units held soldiers' meetings to provide opinions to their superiors, and collectively petitioned for war.

Makarov took a step forward, turned around and saluted Filipov: "I wish you good luck tomorrow."

"See you in Prosonia," Filipov returned.

After the second battalion commander left, Filipov suddenly slapped his thigh: "Sukabulie, he took the lighter away!"

He chased after him for a few steps, and when he left the headquarters gate, he saw the jeep of the second battalion commander running away in a hurry. Makarov waved to him in the car.

"Sukabu!" Filipov cursed.

"What are you scolding?" A majestic voice came from behind.

Filipov turned around and saluted: "General!"

Yegorov came over: "You have to work hard tomorrow! Except for Melania's People's Army, my troops have transferred you. Don't embarrass me!"

"Sukabule, I want to personally command your regiment, but that bald Pavlov won't let me!"

Filipov glanced at Yegorov's head and thought, "You don't have much hair?"

"What are you looking at! Come to me tomorrow! Do you understand? Don't be embarrassed! Try your best!" After speaking, Yegorov patted Filipov on the shoulder hard, and then grabbed the map while he wasn't paying attention, "I Look at the battle plan. Oh my gosh, it’s more detailed than I thought. I didn’t expect it to be so detailed when I saw the map at the headquarters. If I had this map, I could rush to Prosen directly! Go Nia!”

Yegorov looked like a child who got a new toy, laughing so hard that his muscles twitched.

"Let me take a look at the attack route - this route is more suitable for cavalry, right? Do you want you to intersect like this?"

Filipov nodded: "Yes, and the attack is divided into stages in weeks. It seems that the accumulated supplies can only maintain high-intensity firepower for one week, and then it has to stop to replenish."

Yegorov stared at the map for a long time and nodded: "It's the marshal's handiwork. It's very imaginative. You have to execute it well! Otherwise, you won't do it well and the marshal will take the blame. This is not okay. Do you understand? We must complete the Marshal’s plan no matter what!”

After speaking, Yegorov patted Filipov's shoulder hard: "Come on tomorrow, drummer!"

Filipov: "Huh?"

"I remember you, you are the veteran who survived Loktov, the one who played the drum! Where is your drum?"

Filipov: "It's rotten."

Yegorov immediately turned around and said to the guard: "Where is your harmonica? Take it out and give it to Filippov."

Guard: "Huh? The harmonica was given to me by my sister."

Egorov: "I'll give you one later. When you go back, you can tell your sister that it was sent by the general. She won't blame you. Come on, take it out. People are going to fight under the command of the marshal, so they need to have a musical instrument."

Filipov stuck his head behind Yegorov and asked: "Is there any cause and effect relationship?"

"This..." Yegorov stopped, thought seriously for a few seconds and said, "You can play a song beside the Vistula River in Melania's capital! Can you play it?"

Filipov: "Yes, I can..."

Yegorov touched the guard's pocket and forcibly took out the harmonica and slapped it on Philipov. Lipov said: "When you reach the destination, stand by the river and play the harmonica. This is the task I gave you! You must complete it! Complete it alive!"

At this time, a shout came from a distance: "Egorov!"

Marshal Rokosov came over angrily: "As soon as I heard you were here, I knew you had no good intentions. You are not allowed to steal other people's uniforms and sneak into the attacking troops!"

Egorov slapped his thigh: "Yes! Why didn't I think of it!"

The marshal shouted: "You dare? A man who wants to be a general is a battalion commander. What kind of words! Go! Before the attack is launched, you are forbidden to approach the front line within 30 kilometers!"

Egorov ran away.

The marshal is obviously much younger than him, but now it looks like the marshal is an old father and he is a son.

The marshal turned around and saw Filippov, his eyes widened: "Hey, Filippov!"

Filippov: "Yes, it's the drummer, Marshal Davarish."

The marshal looked at the harmonica: "Changed to playing the harmonica? That's fine. Let me ask you, have all the extra radio equipment in your troops been distributed?"

"Yes, Marshal, the operators are in place. But-"

"But what?"

Filippov scratched his head: "There are so many female comrades among the radio operators..."

"They all graduated from high school! They are valuable talents for the future of Ant! We must protect them Good! Of course, they have also received submachine gun shooting training, don't worry. "

The marshal paused and reminded: "When you hear my direct order on the radio, don't hesitate, just execute it. I must have been above you or near you at the time. It is to directly command you that the chief of staff of the front tried his best to get so many radio equipment and talents! This is the key to whether we can successfully break through this 150 kilometers!"

Filipov: "Yes!"

————

At 0400 on September 1, the headquarters of the Vistula River Battle Group.

Wang Zhong looked at his watch and nodded to the commander of the cluster artillery.

The lieutenant general commander picked up the phone: "Fire!"

Because it was much closer to the front line, the sound of artillery firing came from outside the window after the order was issued.

The headquarters was very quiet.

This time Pavlov selected a large number of young staff with good performance to form this headquarters, but most of them usually had no experience of being in the same room with Wang Zhong, and now subconsciously lowered their voices.

Vasily suddenly said: "I'm not used to not having Pavlov's bald head in the room."

All the staff officers looked up in surprise.

Wang Zhong: "He is responsible for arranging our logistics plan. If the offensive is to succeed, the supply must be smooth. He, the chief of staff, can't leave."

Wang Zhong used to have the impression that staff work can be completed by a few people, and the staff department is like the staff department in the movie, with a total of ten people.

Now after four years of fighting, his cognition has long changed.

Staff work is very complicated and requires a lot of manpower. The staff department of the front level starts with 10,000 people, and there are thousands or tens of thousands of staff members, as well as a large number of clerks and errands.

It can only be said that Wang Zhong's staff department was so small before, but it could still operate normally, entirely because of Pavlov's outstanding ability.

Just like Napoleon would have suffered Waterloo without Berthier, Wang Zhong might not have come this far without Pavlov.

Now that Pavlov is not in charge of the staff department, Wang Zhong still feels a little guilty.

This time, a new tactic was adopted, using infantry to perform the infiltration mission that was previously performed by cavalry.

Moreover, this time, the infantry had a specified infiltration target, which was very different from the previous cavalry's rushing past and then wandering on the grassland, acting according to circumstances.

Whether his troops can complete such operations is still a question mark.

Pavlov also understood this, so the troops selected this time were troops with better preserved basic officers and higher fighting spirit.

Wang Zhong had personally confirmed the fighting spirit of the troops yesterday, and also drove away General Yegorov, a brigadier general, who was trying to snatch the clothes of the grassroots officers to go to the battlefield.

And Wang Zhong's personal inspection further boosted the morale of the troops.

Wang Zhong listened to the sound of artillery outside the window, thinking that if his offensive failed this time, it would prove the gold content of the strongest light infantry in another time and space from the side.

At this time, Emilia entered the headquarters: "I saw Lyudmila at the God Arrow post."

"Yes, this time my headquarters is too close to the front line, and Pavlov requires that there must be a God Arrow responsible for air defense." Wang Zhong replied.

Emilia smiled and said: "Isn't this the case that you and your wife are going to the battle together? Is that lovely maid also there?"

"Yes, she is also there."

"Hey~ Then when do we take off?"

Wang Zhong: "Twelve hours after the infantry set off, when the enemy deployment changes are discovered, the infantry units in the interspersed can be directly commanded."

Emilia: "So what should we do now?"

Vassily: "Generally, the first half of the day after the offensive is very boring. The feedback from the front line has not come back yet, and the marshal can only pace back and forth in the room."

Wang Zhong stood up: "You are right, I will start pacing back and forth now."

After that, he stood up and began to pace around the room.

Vassily: "Look! Am I right?"

————

At the newly formed Vistula Army Group Headquarters in Plossen, the commander, Admiral Steiner, was awakened by a phone call.

Generally speaking, a commander of an army group must be at least a general, but Plossen's generals and marshals were either purged because they showed up at the Valkyrie Club, or were dismissed for "incompetence", or were besieged in the "armed prisoner-of-war camp" around Coburg, and then refused to come back, so Steiner became the commander of the army group.

Originally, this position was to be given to General Hawke of the Melania occupation army, but General Hawke declined on the grounds that he was "busy suppressing the Melania uprising."

Marshal Mendel, the "hero" who commanded his old army, the Ninth Army, to break through the siege, has now been sent to the Western Front to face the fierce attack of the Allied forces.

So now Admiral Steiner, with the rank of general, faces the millions of Ant troops who are resting on the front line.

Under his command are: first, the complete Ninth Army - but there is a serious shortage of personnel and equipment and it needs to be replenished; second, the less complete Second and Third Armies; third, the newly formed 33rd Army - this army is basically composed of new recruits.

Even if these troops are in good condition, it is a difficult task to resist Ant's army.

Fortunately, the Ants have just finished a large-scale battle and also need to rest and replenish.

According to the intelligence obtained by Admiral Steiner from the headquarters, he is about to face an attack from a patchwork Ant battle group.

His Majesty the Emperor believes that this is the elite mobilized by Rokossov. As long as Admiral Steiner can severely damage this group, the next large-scale attack of the Ants can be postponed to May next year.

Marshal Celtic privately told Admiral Steiner that the High Command believed that this might be the Ants' response to international urging, and even if they attacked, it would only be a tentative attack.

Steiner personally tended to agree with the High Command's opinion.

After all, he personally went to Prosinia to meet His Majesty, and felt that His Majesty was already - already hysterical.

So after being woken up, Admiral Steiner was still a little angry: "Damn it! The enemy is just a tentative attack, don't make a fuss!"

The Chief of Staff of the Army Group answered loudly: "No, General, the various units were extremely heavily bombarded, and our telephone lines were also cut off.

"This looks like a large-scale attack."

Admiral Steiner stood up from the bed helplessly. After all, the enemy started bombarding, and as the chief officer of the unit, it was a bit unreasonable for him to still sleep in bed.

He asked while getting dressed: "Have any troops reported that the enemy's reconnaissance activities have suddenly become intensive recently?"

"No."

Admiral Steiner: "How is it possible! If they really want to attack, they will definitely conduct intensive reconnaissance. ”

Chief of Staff: “The air defense forces reported that Pei San frequently conducted aerial reconnaissance.”

Admiral Steiner: “Don’t you know how effective aerial reconnaissance can be? Think about the blurry photos brought back to us by the Air Force’s Nightingale reconnaissance plane. No, there must be a small team to catch the tongue before the attack, and we must have many officers and soldiers missing.

“Bring the missing list, the unit with the largest number of missing may be the enemy’s main attack direction.”

The chief of staff immediately turned around and gave an order.

Admiral Steiner put on his clothes and sighed: “Rokossov’s encirclement really seems to have hurt us.”

“What?” The chief of staff turned around.

"No, nothing, give the order."

Fifteen minutes later, Admiral Steiner entered the map room of the headquarters, and the staff came over with a document: "We checked the number of missing people, which is almost the same as usual, and it is consistent with the number of losses our army suffered during the confrontation on other fronts."

Admiral Steiner sneered: "Sure enough, the judgment of the headquarters is correct. This is just a show to give an explanation to the allies. What is the situation in the capital now? The latest report should be delivered, right?"

"It was delivered at three o'clock." The chief of staff replied immediately, "The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions of the Asgard Knights have been put into combat, and the 36th Grenadier Division joined the battle yesterday. At present, Asgard in the combat area The Knights have more than 50,000 people, and there are 50,000 Wehrmacht soldiers. The police and the National Guard have also deployed three divisions, 50,000 people. "

General Steiner: "150,000 people, to suppress the uprising. Isn't it too much? At least transfer the armored division to us, after all, we have been attacked."

Chief of Staff: "You said it was--"

"I said it was a tentative attack, but the attack was indeed a fact, and how can the armored division suppress guerrillas in the city?"

————

"Tanks!" Hermann turned around and shouted, "Retreat! The tank gun is coming!"

The next moment, the shock wave hit him from behind, pushing him to the ground, and a large amount of broken bricks and sand fell down.

Hermann was shocked and his ears were ringing, and his head hurt so much, as if a pair of invisible big hands were squeezing his skull hard.

He turned his head and looked at the street through the big hole made by the tank gun.

The coaxial machine gun in the turret opened fire, and the bullets whizzed past Hermann who was lying on the ground and hit the guerrillas who wanted to come over to pull him.

"I'm fine, go!"

Hermann had just finished speaking when a loud shout came from the machine gun outside the window: "Melania will be liberated!"

Then there was the sound of a bomb exploding.

The machine gun stopped abruptly, Hermann got up, staggered out of the room, and waved to the guerrillas who were about to come in to support: "Retreat!"