Arc of Gunfire

On September 12, Prosun Melania occupied the army headquarters.

General Hawke let out a long sigh when he heard the phone ringing.

"After hiding for so long, what is supposed to come has finally come." He picked up the receiver of the red phone on the table, "I'm Hawke."

"Is your condition so bad that you can answer the phone now?" Emperor Prossen asked.

"Yes, our situation is very chaotic. We didn't organize a counterattack until yesterday." General Hawke tried to make his voice sound as candid as possible.

Emperor: "None of you guys have a good heart! Several generals and marshals in Coburg all said that they cannot abandon their troops and never come back! Everyone knows that Rokossov will not attack Coburg. He He didn’t attack when he took Melania’s capital, and he won’t attack now!”

General Hawk: "We believe that Rokossov will not launch a large-scale offensive in recent months."

"Of course he won't attack on a large scale. Look on the map how far he has advanced since starting from the border of Khazalia! First he walked 500 kilometers north, and then 150 kilometers west. Kilometers, in less than three months, he is almost at our door!

"Why did we attack Melania back then? It was for the living space and the buffer zone! Now the buffer zone is gone! Now that he has stopped to take a breath for three months, he can directly threaten Prosonia!

"Our only hope is that you can drive him back to the other side of the Vistula, so that we can defend against the river! But can we? Can you?"

There were some inconsistencies in the emperor's words. General Hawke recalled the rumors recently brought by officers from Prosonia: The emperor was using the "awakening potion" newly developed by imperial scientists.

It is said that the Academy of Sciences is distributing this potion to the Asgardian Knights.

No one knows what this potion is. Dr. Heisenberg, who developed the potion, claims that it is the result of studying the Berserkers of Barras and is the key to human evolution.

But General Hawke sensed a dangerous aura from the emperor, and this awakening potion might not be a good thing.

It was causing the emperor to become hysterical and lose his ability to think.

Faced with the hysterical emperor's question, General Hawke considered it for a moment and replied: "If the quality of our troops is the same as when we occupied Melania six years ago, I have no doubt that we can take advantage of our unstable foothold and huge troop losses at the same time. Still short of ammunition, Rokossov rushed back to the other side of the Vistula.

"But, Your Majesty, it took so many days for our troops to recover from the chaos. The new troops are all new recruits, and there is no guarantee that the basic non-commissioned officers will have enough combat experience.

"With such troops, there is no way to drive Rokossov back to the other side of the river."

Emperor: "Admiral Steiner has experienced troops there! I'll ask him to support you!"

General Hawke: "That would leave the remaining stretch of the Vistula defenseless."

The emperor was silent for a long time and hung up the phone directly.

General Hawk looked at the red receiver in his hand, sighed, and put it back on the phone.

————

Prosen Western Front Headquarters.

Marshal Mendel explained his plan to all the officers: "We need to abandon the defense near Falaise and shrink the defense line to the border of the Low Countries and the Maginot line. We should mobilize the troops from South Carolinian back as quickly as possible. The troops in the Kingdom of Sardinia can fortify themselves along the Alps——"

At this time the red telephone rang.

Marshal Mendel sighed and nodded to the adjutant.

The adjutant picked up the receiver: "Western Front Command, please speak."

After a few seconds, he handed the receiver to Mendel: "It's Your Majesty."

Mendel took the receiver: "Your Majesty."

"I heard you're giving up the Carolingians?"

Mendel: "Yes, our best way now is to fortify ourselves along the Carolingian and Low Countries and our country's national borders. We no longer have the troops to fight the Allies on the vast Carolingian land."

"Aren't there a few more rivers? You can set up defenses along the rivers!"

Mendel said patiently: "Your Majesty, these rivers can prevent our army from capturing the Carolingian capital, which means that they generally flow east to west.

"Now, the enemy is advancing along the river, and our reconnaissance planes even saw them driving warships into the Seine.

"At the same time, our aerial reconnaissance also shows that Qinbao's scorched earth operations have achieved remarkable results, and the enemy is currently not able to make good use of Qinbao's port.

"Under the current situation, the enemy must capture the port of Anwerp in the Low Countries to completely solve the supply problem. We can retreat to the border and block the enemy while executing scorched-earth operations in Anwerp and blowing up all the ports."

"No," the Emperor shouted, "Carolingian military production is of great significance to us continuing the war! You must drive the Allies into the sea! What Romell can do, you should also do!"

Mendel: "What about the Romelles? Ah, he was captured. Was he really captured?"

Some people in the army have been whispering that Romell just knew that the fight could not go on, so he made an excuse to go to the 21st Armored Division. In fact, he had already discussed with the guerrillas and surrendered directly.

Considering Romell's situation at the time, it is indeed understandable - not to mention whether he could drive the Allied forces into the sea if he stayed, His Majesty the Emperor had never stopped doubting him, and even did not hesitate to stuff a large number of them into his headquarters. Piling up "consultants" who can do nothing but make small reports.

Mendel glanced at the staff in the room and was not surprised to find that many people were not interested in working and were listening to what was going on here.

How can we fight a successful war with these insects?

Emperor: "Romel... Let's not mention him. Are you worse than Romel?"

Mendel: "In terms of organizing offense, I am indeed not as good as Marshal Romell."

Mendel's "frankness" directly silenced the emperor.

He also "pursued the victory": "Your Majesty, it seems that the Allied forces are planning to surround us in the Falaise area. Retreating as soon as possible can leave precious seeds for the Western Front. We can at least block the enemy at the national border so that you can concentrate on Respond to Ante’s attack.”

Your Majesty is different now from when he just started the war against Ant.

At the beginning, he regarded the Allies as the main threat and refused to mobilize the troops stationed in the Carolingians to the Eastern Front. As a result, these troops were left idle - even though the Eastern Front was inextricably fought at the same time.

At that time, graduates of the military academy called being assigned to the Western Front a "vacation", which was undoubtedly a lucrative job.

Now, the best soldiers and the latest equipment are given priority to the Eastern Front. The Prosen Empire is doing its best to resist that "steamroller". The Emperor of Prosen is most worried about the Eastern Front.

So now, Mendel mentioned that "you can concentrate on dealing with the Eastern Front", which was an "unrejectable offer" for the emperor.

Finally, the emperor spoke: "Okay, let's retreat. But we can't leave like this. I want to transport all the artworks in the Carolingian capital and light a fire that will never be extinguished! I want to carry out a complete scorched earth operation." ! The Allies had to use their precious logistics power to support the tens of millions of people in the Carolingians! "

"Yes," Mendel replied.

The emperor hung up the phone.

Mendel put down the receiver, glanced at the staff, and then said to the adjutant: "His Majesty has agreed to our plan and is preparing to retreat immediately. In addition, His Majesty has requested a scorched-earth operation against the Carolingians, and you will carry it out personally."

The adjutant immediately understood. He was still engaged in scorched earth warfare in the Carolingians at this time. Was it because he thought the rope used to hang him during the trial was not thick enough?

Even if Mendel himself couldn't escape the hanging, he should think about his men.

When the emperor asked, he said that the Carolingian resistance was wreaking havoc in the Scorched Earth War, and that their leader, General Dago, was as strong as a monster and could not be defeated despite all his efforts.

After Mendel watched his adjutant leave, he suddenly felt a sense of sadness. Even General Prossen, who was as "loyal" as himself, had begun to make such plans. It was probably only a matter of time before the Prossen Empire would perish.

Mendel came to the window, looked out at the Carolingian sky, and let out a long sigh.

————

United Kingdom mainland, official residence of the Prime Minister.

Leonard looked at Marshal Mago who came to report to him: "Rokossov asked our special correspondent to bring me a message, laughing at your slow advance as a tortoise! ​​He also said that if you continue like this, he will be in Alsace. Join us! Alsace!"

Marshal Mago: "Our army is making good progress and will be able to regain the Carolingian capital before the end of the month. Our landing operation in South Carolingian will also be launched soon, and we will regain the entire Carolingian by October."

Leonard: "Rokossov has captured Prosonia!"

Marshal Mago: "I don't think so. Rokossov should take a rest for more than half a year before he can continue the attack. The final forced advance must have cost him many valuable veterans."

Leonard: "Really? You mean his next offense will be in March next year?"

“February is also possible, depending on when he completes his preparations, and we think the eastern front will remain firmly in its current position until then.

The error-free version is being read! 6=9+Book_Bar debuts this novel.

"In addition, the Ant Army's attack on the southern front has also stopped. Their current round of offensive has ended."

Marshal Mago reported confidently.

"And our offensive has just begun, Your Excellency Prime Minister. I have already formulated a battle plan. We will spend seven days passing through the Low Countries and reaching the core industrial area of ​​Plosen. We will end the war before Christmas!"

Leonard: "What kind of plan? Landing in Hamburg? The Navy Department has rejected this idea, thinking that a direct landing in Hamburg is too risky, and we don't have enough transport ships."

Marshal Mago unfolded the map: "No, we are not landing in Hamburg. We are going overland. You see, there is a wide road here that passes through the Low Countries and directly reaches the border of Plossen. This road was built by the Plossen people. Built to better rule the Low Countries.

"We can use this high-standard road to seize three crucial bridges on the road with paratroopers. Once the bridges are captured, our 30th Army can have unimpeded access! Unimpeded access!"

The military establishment of the United Kingdom is actually equivalent to Prosen's army group, which is a very large battle group.

Leonard stared at the map for a few seconds and asked, "Where is the defense of the Proscenians?"

Marshal Mago said with confidence: "The Low Countries are inherently undefendable, so the Prossens can march straight in when they attack. On the other hand, the same situation happens when they defend. The only thing they can rely on is It's the river.

"As long as the bridge is captured, the river has nothing to fear."

Leonard thought for a long time and then asked: "How long will it take to prepare for this battle?"

"Seven days, Prime Minister." Marshal Mago patted his chest and said, "Seven days to prepare, seven days to complete the combat plan, from now on blitzkrieg will not be a term exclusive to the Prosen people! However, there is still a problem..."

"What problem?" Leonard asked hurriedly.

Marshal Mago: "Allied Commander-in-Chief Ike did not agree with my plan, thinking that the plan was too risky."

Leonard: "He wanted to take all the credit to the Third Army of the United States, and I put pressure on him personally. No, I will directly lobby his immediate superior, their President!"

————

United States, Presidential Palace

The president put down the receiver and said to the secretary of state: "That old sly guy came up with a very fantastic idea, saying that he could end the war and ensure that the Proson Empire would be dismantled according to our wishes."

Secretary of State: "According to our meaning, no Ants are involved? This is inappropriate, right? After all, the Ants have tied down and eliminated so many Proson troops, otherwise we would not have been able to land so smoothly."

President Luo nodded: "That's what I mean. That old sly guy is still thinking about playing the balance game. He might agree that Proson should maintain the imperial system and the emperor who committed heinous crimes should continue to stay in his position."

The people in the room looked at each other.

The security assistant said: "We can't let them carry out this plan!"

President Luo: "I think this plan is full of possibilities of failure. It's better to do them a favor. When the plan fails, we will have full say in our military operations against Europa."

The Secretary of State asked worriedly: "You are not a professional military strategist, how can you determine that this plan will fail?"

President Luo smiled and said: "Because seven days of preparation time is a bit too little for such an ambitious plan. I don't understand military affairs, but I know how much preparation is needed to launch an attack that far into the enemy's territory."

The Secretary of State asked He raised his eyebrows: "Seven days? I think he is crazy. No battle can be prepared in just seven days."

"Yes, so let him try. Let them put our paratroopers on the bridge close to the starting position, and let the United Kingdom paratroopers seize the distant bridge!"

At this time, his secretary came in with a newspaper: "Today's special edition."

The President: "Anyway, Rokossov is on the front page again."

"Yes, but today's special edition is a special edition of pictures, all of which are pictures of Melania and her people welcoming Rokossov's troops."

President Rokossov took the newspaper and looked at the huge picture on the front page.

It was a picture of Melania's guerrillas playing the piano in the ruins, with other guerrillas next to them, and an Ante army officer holding a harmonica.

The guerrilla holding a rifle seemed to be singing. Judging from his body shape, he was probably a singer.

President Rokossov praised: "This photo is good. It's Robert Capa again. He has been in Ant for so long. How many times has he won the Pulitzer?"

Secretary: "No, this time it was taken by his partner, the reporter Mike."

President Rokossov raised his head and looked at the secretary in surprise: "Really?"

"Yes, it seems that there are Pulitzer-worthy scenes everywhere in Melania now."

The president stared at the photo again for a few seconds and said: "I can only say that Rokossov did a great job this time, but he did a great job every time. Congress is expected to pass a bill to extend the Lend-Lease Act again, and the whip of the opposition party will be so angry."

After that, the old man laughed from the bottom of his heart.

————

On September 15, Chief of Staff Pavlov arrived at the Melania Capital Defense Command.

After hugging Wang Zhong, he said seriously: "If you jump on the small tank and charge forward again, I will resign immediately and go home to live with my wife and children."

Wang Zhong: "But our raid received a very good response from the Allies, didn't it?"

Pavlov: "Yes! But there won't be a next time! There won't be a next time!"