artillery arc

Chapter 411 Waiting
At 22 a.m. on the nd, the First Mobile Group ambushed the position.

Yegorov and Eugene stood on a small hill of almost negligible height, observing the direction of the Prosen people through binoculars.

The sun had not yet risen, but its rays had already illuminated the grassland, with a soft light shining from behind the two men.

Yegorov put down the binoculars first: "There is no troop mobilization, Yangchen. Could it be that they had already assembled last night?"

Brigadier General Eugene shook his head. "Didn't you hear the engine sound yesterday? Have the Prosons been able to assemble the armored forces without making engine sounds?"

Yegorov did not answer, but continued to look west.

At this time, a major rode up the hill on horseback, saluted, and shouted: "Report, the tank troops have completed the construction of the bunker."

"Very good." Yegorov nodded and picked up the telescope again, but this time he was checking his own formation.

From this hill you can see some hidden bunkers and tank destroyers hiding in the grass.

The anti-tank guns of the anti-tank artillery battalion were hidden so well that they could not be seen at all, and their position could only be determined by the Stepunk trucks parked on the reverse slope of the position.

After ten minutes of careful observation, Yegorov said to Brigadier General Eugene: "I can no longer see where we need to improve. If the enemy really rushes over, we will surely inflict heavy damage on them."

Eugene was still checking the position with a telescope. After a while, he put it down and said, "It's not very clear here. I'll go check the deployment myself."

As he said this he turned around and greeted the guard, who immediately drove up in a Willys Jeep.

Eugene got on the jeep and waved his hand: "Let's go!"

The jeep started moving, and the messenger who had just reported put his horse into a trot and followed Brigadier General Eugene.

Yegorov watched them go away, then looked to the west again: "It would be great if we can get there."

At this time, another Willys jeep drove over, and a lieutenant general got out of the car and saluted the major general Yegorov first: "General Yegorov, I am Kosikov from the 40th Tank Army."

Yegorov saluted in return: "Lieutenant General Davarich, you shouldn't have saluted me first."

"You are General Rokossov's subordinate. When I met General Rokossov, who is also a lieutenant general, I saluted first. You can regard this as a respect for your bravery and fighting skills."

Yegorov nodded: "Then I'll accept the compliment. How many tanks does your army still have that can be moved?"

Kosikov: "91. Most of them were not destroyed, so most of the crews survived. But - damn, I still had nearly 300 tanks when I started the attack yesterday!"

When the 40th Tank Army attacked yesterday, it had nearly 300 tanks, all thanks to the First Mobile Army's strong maintenance capabilities.

As a result, at this point in the attack, there were less than 100 vehicles left.

Yegorov sighed: "Rokosov is right. Tanks need a lot of people to serve them. They can't be used as cavalry."

Kosikov: "I heard that among the Prosen people, each tank company has two welders and one electrical engineer!"

"Oh?" Yegorov raised his eyebrows. "Did General Rokossov say that?"

"No, when we were attacking, we captured some Proson tank soldiers who were lying on the grassland and dying of thirst. They were wearing black uniforms. They saw that our tanks were broken and no one was repairing them, so they said that."

Yegorov shook his head. "We don't have enough welders and electrical engineers in the factory. Our army got this with the help of General Rokossov. The ordinary troops can forget about it!"

Kosikov hesitated for a moment, then asked, "So the general will become a prince..."

"It will work, but not by marrying the Tsar. He is now the Tsar's brother." Yegorov was also very bold and answered casually.

Kosikov's eyes widened: "This... can you just say that?"

Yegorov: "It's better than you guys spreading rumors that the general will marry the Tsar, right? The general loves his wife very much, and now the child is about to be born."

"Oh, I understand, I understand." Kosikov nodded repeatedly.

At this time, the two men heard the whizzing sound of artillery shells breaking through the air above their heads. The two veterans immediately knew that it was their own artillery bombarding the enemy, so they didn't move.

Kosikov's driver was obviously a rookie. He jumped out of the Willys Jeep and fell to the ground.

"Come on, Mikhail!" Kosikov shouted, "it's not us! Get up!"

The new soldier named Mikhail finally got up, not even bothering to brush off the grass on his body, and said in defense: "I... thought it was bombarding us. This is the second time I have been bombarded."

Kosikov pointed at Mikhail and said to Yegorov: "My driver was frightened by the bombardment before."

Yegorov smiled and said, "You'll get used to it. I know a guy who performed very poorly the first time he went to the battlefield, but now he has become a general who can stand on his own."

Mikhail: “Who is it?”

Kosikov glared at him and said, "Don't ask."

Yegorov: "You can ask. In our army, there is still a custom that new recruits kill the first enemy on the battlefield and then pee on the enemy's pants. The soldiers believe that this will make them become people like generals." Mikhail's eyes widened: "Huh? Could it be that..."

Yegorov looked at him and said, "Not bad, your reasoning ability is quite strong. Yes, that's right. So you see, don't give up just because you are scared when you first go to the battlefield. The general always says that knowing shame will lead to courage. This seems to be an old saying of Seres."

Mikhail nodded: "Then I'll go find a dead Proson to pee on..."

"No, no," Yegorov's guard said, "It will only work if you kill him yourself. This is a technical job because the general hates to torture prisoners. If you want to find an unlucky guy when the enemy is doomed, and he surrenders before you even shoot, then you're out of luck! The difficulty lies in killing an enemy accurately while the battle is still fierce, and remembering where he fell."

Mikhail's eyes widened: "You are still thinking about these things on the battlefield?"

Suddenly, Mikhail noticed the medal on the guard's chest. Although it was not a gold star, it also showed his status as a veteran.

Guard: "If you think about these things, you won't have time to be afraid. People who are afraid on the battlefield die the fastest. Look at our general, he really plays with his life, but he's still fine, isn't he?"

Yegorov nodded. "Yes. When he was a lieutenant colonel, he liked to rush forward alone, as if he was seeking death, but he always came back."

"That's it..."

At this time, the artillery shells that had been whizzing above everyone's heads suddenly subsided. It seemed that the sudden fire attack on the enemy had ended. It should be that the targets reported by the reconnaissance troops had been destroyed.

However, something new appeared above everyone's heads.

Countless white lines flew in parallel towards the direction of the Proson Army.

"What is that?" Mikhail asked.

"The Air Force. The general requested that the number of Il-2 equipment be reduced, and that the attack on the enemy's front-line troops be abandoned. Instead, the bombing of the enemy's supply hubs and rear cities be strengthened." Yegorov looked up at the cloud contrails in the blue sky. "So the Air Force has enough long-range bombers to organize this kind of air strike. The general is always right."

----

"Hush!" Wang Zhong sneezed loudly, and snot flew onto the map table.

Nellie hurried over, handed him a handkerchief, and then took out a rag to wipe the map table.

While blowing his nose, Wang Zhong asked Pavlov: "Why aren't the enemies coming? They retreated completely on the 20th, so they should have been well supplied."

The calendar on the wall now showed the 22nd, two days after the enemy's armored forces and panzergrenadiers had withdrawn.

Pavlov shrugged.

At this time, a group of cavalry entered the warehouse. The leading general strode across the entire warehouse, came to Wang Zhong, and saluted.

It was Rodionovich, commander of the 20th Cavalry Army.

"General, the 20th Army has successfully completed its mission and returned!"

Wang Zhong quickly threw the handkerchief in his hand onto the table and extended his hand to Rodionovich: "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's what we should do." Rodionovich held Wang Zhong's hand and shook it vigorously. "We are ready to carry out the next mission! I heard that the 40th Tank Army does not have enough accompanying troops? We can accompany them."

Wang Zhong pulled his hand back and said, "I've asked the Army's Reconnaissance Cavalry Brigade to accompany them. You guys take a rest, fatten up the horses, and wait for the next order."

Pavlov came over and said to Rodionovich: "Did your army suffer heavy losses?"

"It's huge. In addition to the soldiers who died in the battle with the Prosen people, many people got lost in the grasslands. In addition, many people have malaria and are fighting while sick. You can go outside and see that many soldiers pulled their own saddles."

Wang Zhong reprimanded, "Then why did you just say that we can continue to fight? Commanders should seek truth from facts and honestly say they need to rest when they need to."

Popov: "The Army Hospital has some newly shipped quinine from the United States. It's said to be effective against malaria. Let's give it a try. In addition, the local church will help the soldiers settle down. Have some hot meals, take a shower, change their smelly clothes, and have a good sleep."

Rodionovich looked touched: "I have never met a general who cares so much about the soldiers."

Wang Zhong: "That's for now. When I need you to fill the front line in the future, I will stick you to the defense line like mud."

"Yes!" Rodionovich saluted, not knowing what he "was" for.

After seeing off the cavalry general, Wang Zhong turned around and discussed with Pavlov and Popov: "The cavalry army has also suffered heavy losses, and the 40th Tank Army has less than 100 tanks left. If we continue to attack at this time and take a bite of Prosen's infantry according to the original plan, it will be bad if we encounter the enemy's fully equipped armored division."

Pavlov: "Then wait here for a while? Will the enemy figure out that we have an ambush? The grassland is so vast. If the enemy takes a detour and misses our ambush position, then we're done for."

Wang Zhong: "We still have to attack and lure the enemy to counterattack. Then lure the enemy tanks to our ambush position.

"Perhaps we can try to attack the enemy's position with purely mechanized infantry after the artillery attack."

At this time, an idea flashed through Wang Zhong's mind. He looked at Popov and said, "Wait a minute, the old ladies at the Folklore Research Institute have been resting for so long. Can they summon the fog again?"

Popov raised an eyebrow. "I'm not the priest in charge of this, but I can ask. Just make a phone call."

(End of this chapter)