artillery arc

Chapter 434 Taking the bait
At 27:1230 noon on the th, in Yeisk, the square in front of the headquarters of the st Mobile Army of Ante.

It is called a square, but in fact it is just a warehouse yard.

Wang Zhong looked at the already formed death squad with satisfaction.

"They were fully aware of the nature of the mission, and all of them were carrying honor bullets," Popov said.

Wang Zhong nodded. He indeed felt the determination and fanaticism in the soldiers' eyes.

But Wang Zhong felt that he still had to say something.

"No casualties, only Tashan" is one thing, but letting the officers and soldiers eat before leaving is another.

So Wang Zhong said: "I'll tell you the truth, we are now stuck in a dilemma. On the one hand, we must retreat, otherwise we will be surrounded and drag down the brother troops responsible for blocking.

"On the other hand, if we run away, the Borsk Front will suffer heavy losses. Of course, some of you will ask, why not defeat the enemy? Why not wipe out the enemy in its entirety, just as we did with those few enemy divisions?
"Regarding these issues, I'm telling you all from the bottom of my heart that I want to do the same, but I can't win. Our army can indeed have a decent exchange ratio with the Prosen, but other troops are like butter hitting a red-hot iron rod when facing the Prosen.

"We have tried. The 401st Division has only been in the battle for a short time, but it has reversed the exchange ratio between us and the enemy. The losses have not been made up yet.

“The 50 episodes that our left wing was responsible for blocking did not last even a day before they collapsed.

“We have too many recruits, and they are indeed brave, but modern warfare is no longer the same as it was in the days of the conqueror, and courage alone cannot win a war.

“The troops need training and need to accumulate combat experience, and so do the commanders. I think this year—or even next year—we won’t be able to have a one-to-one exchange ratio with the Prosen people.

"But I can predict to you that next year! Our well-tested army will overwhelm the enemy like a huge wave!"

Wang Zhong was so confident when he said this! Knowing the course of history, he was confident in what he said!

The soldiers were infected by Wang Zhong and all showed expectant expressions. They were already fantasizing about the day when they would destroy the enemy with overwhelming force.

Wang Zhong changed the subject: "But now we have no choice. We cannot defeat the enemy. This is a fact. A good commander needs to admit the fact, admit that the enemy is strong and we are weak, and then find a way to break the deadlock under such circumstances.

"My solution is you! I can't tell you the specific details of the mission, I can only say that for the success of the mission, none of you can be captured by the enemy! If you can't escape, I ask you to fire the glory bullet!"

Wang Zhong paused, and then he suddenly noticed that the chest mount of the soldier in front of him was not hung properly, so he reached out to help the soldier adjust it, and then patted the soldier on the shoulder.

Wang Zhong: "I usually don't ask you to do this. We have already fought to the point of running out of ammunition and food, so surrender is understandable. Although I wrote that song, 'I still have one last grenade.'"

The others smiled; it was obvious that everyone knew how to sing this song.

Wang Zhong raised his hands, placed his palms flat, and pressed down gently. He waited until the laughter died down before continuing, "This song is just my own choice. If I encounter such a situation, I will detonate the last grenade and die together with the enemy."

This is true, and now Wang Zhong is confident that he has enough action and courage to do so.

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers rushed to shout: "I will do the same!"

"I can do it too!"

Wang Zhong pressed his palm down again, and when the noise died down, he continued, "But I didn't force you to do this before. This time is different. This time I hope that each of you will detonate the grenade when you are about to be captured, so as not to let the enemy catch you alive, and not to let the enemy interrogate you!
"I believe you can withstand the interrogation, and I believe you have the willpower to do so, but this mission is too important to allow any mistakes."

Everyone fell silent.

Popov said at this time: "They all know this. They volunteered to participate knowing this, and they have already written to their relatives and handed over their personal belongings to the department that specializes in these matters."

Wang Zhong nodded and was about to continue speaking when someone suddenly shouted, "Look, it's the general's horse!"

Everyone turned their heads together, including Wang Zhong, and saw Bucephalus being led out and tied together with the other horses participating in the operation.

The soldiers were furious. Someone shouted in the yard, "General, you can't go!"

"Yeah, we'll just go and do something to get ourselves killed!"

"If you are killed, the morale of the troops will collapse!"

"Everyone says that it was you who led us into Prothenia!"

Wang Zhong originally planned to make gestures to suppress the noise, but this time it didn't work because everyone was shouting.

So he had to use his loud voice and shout: "Quiet! Quiet!"

But everyone was so excited at that time that most people did not realize that it was Wang Zhong himself who shouted for silence.

Those who noticed Wang Zhong was calling for quietness began to shout, "The general wants to speak, be quiet!"

The chaos lasted for more than a minute. Finally, the situation was under control again. Everyone shut up and looked at Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong: "This operation is too risky, so I will not participate. A volunteer with a similar body shape to me will play me, but for the sake of authenticity, my horse Bucephala will participate in this operation. It will be with you, and when the situation gets bad, remember to just follow it. After all, it has escaped so many crises." After he finished speaking, Bucephala neighed.

Wang Zhong suddenly had an idea: "Yes, Bucephalus, you are right!"

Everyone laughed.

This time, Wang Zhong and the others' laughter naturally subsided, and then he saluted everyone: "Mother Ant is with you. If you can survive, we will see you in Prothenia!"

When saluted by a general like Wang Zhong-Rokosov, all the death squad members raised their chins.

The Ants are just like the Russians on Earth. When they salute, they like to look up with their noses in the air, as if they are not afraid of anyone.

Now they used this gesture to return the greeting to Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong put down his hand: "Let's go!"

----

At the first line of defense of the 16th Armored Grenadier Division in Plossen, Battalion Commander Hans, who was stationed here, was hiding from the sun under a shed made of tarpaulin.

The cigarette in his hand was half smoked, and there were seven or eight cigarette butts thrown on the ground in front of him.

Since the 16th Armored Grenadier Division was forced to stop the attack and switch to defense, it has been engaged in small-scale firefights with Ant's reconnaissance troops every day.

Every other day, the regiment would request to organize a patrol team to go to Ant's place to catch the tongue.

But after catching Ant's tongue so many times, it seems that the higher-ups still haven't figured out why Ant didn't attack.

I heard that on the right wing (the left wing for Ant), the newly transferred army had begun the attack and was tearing apart Ant's position with great force. Rokossov's doom was approaching.

Battalion Commander Hans thought about this and took another long puff of his cigarette. The long cigarette was completely smoked out, leaving only the filter.

He threw away the cigarette butt, stood up and picked up the binoculars - as the battalion commander Hans, he had to be on guard against possible attacks by the Ants at any time.

Suddenly, Captain Hans froze, as if he had been petrified.

He saw a red flag! A red flag!
Isn't this the red flag that only Rokossov would raise?

Battalion Commander Hans put down his binoculars and ran wildly along the communication trench, passing through the soldiers with surprised faces, and ran to the artillery observation post.

He pushed aside the observer who was using the gun telescope and adjusted the direction and magnification of the gun telescope. After a few seconds, he found the target and immediately adjusted the magnification and zoomed in again.

There is no doubt about it, it is definitely Rokossov. The man riding on the tall white horse must be Rokossov!
Battalion Commander Hans had heard rumors that Rokossov would personally go to the front line to conduct reconnaissance and gather intelligence for the armored assault he would personally lead.

In other words, Rokossov really intended to attack, otherwise why would he come in person to collect intelligence?
Battalion Commander Hans was in a terrible state. He handed the artillery telescope back to the observer and picked up the phone at the observation post: "Hello! Hello! Division headquarters! What? Damn field mice! Have the people checking the line set out? Send another group! Otherwise I'll hit you with a sand can (referring to shooting)."

After scolding the communications platoon leader, Battalion Commander Hans threw the phone back on the landline.

He thought about it and felt that he could not miss this opportunity, so he shouted: "Captain of the First Company! Quick! Gather thirty half-track vehicles, five motorcycles, and ten Type 2 tanks! Let's rush out and kill Rokossov!

"Mortars and mountain guns, get ready. Fire as soon as I give the order via radio! Quick!"

The entire Plossen position became active.

Battalion Commander Hans pushed aside the artillery observer again and used the gun telescope to observe Rokossov and his guard troops.

There were no tanks, but there were some armored vehicles and jeeps - well, all of which were targets that could be easily dealt with by the machine gun of the Type 2 tank.

I wonder what medal a famous general like Rokossov could get for being a prisoner.

Battalion Commander Hans felt that his First Class Iron Cross was heating up, as if it was about to be upgraded to the Iron Cross with Diamonds, Swords and Oak Leaves!
At this time, the company commander entered the artillery observation post and said, "Ready!"

Battalion Commander Hans: "Very good, you must hurry. Rokossov is less than two kilometers in front of our position. After the artillery fires, you must rush over at full speed! Hit hard! It would be better if you can survive, but it is also fine if you are killed! Go! Today is the day to make a contribution!"

The company commander saluted, turned around and ran away.

Battalion Commander Hans once again used his gun telescope to look at the duck that was about to be caught.

The mortars and infantry guns began firing!

Led by the Type 2 tank, the armored convoy rushed out of the bunker and rushed towards the chaotic enemy with murderous intent.

"Rokossov! I'm coming!" Battalion Commander Hans's eyes were almost embedded in the eyepiece of the artillery telescope. He called out in a low voice, "Come on, Rokossov!"

(End of this chapter)