artillery arc

Chapter 618: Disagreement with the High Command

The Ant Command in Yeburg received the telegram at three o'clock in the morning and completed the decoding.

At the imperial court meeting the next morning, General Turgenev handed the telegram to Olga.

After quickly reading the telegram, Olga said loudly: "Then attack, what's the problem?"

General Turgenev: "So far, our attacks on the well-prepared and better-conditioned Plossen Army have not yielded good results. You see, General Gorky has been attacking for a week, and although he has achieved some results, the enemy's strongest Ninth Army has not moved at all, and even cleared out our troops that had penetrated the defense line through counterattacks.

“We have suffered heavy casualties here in the Ninth Army, and preliminary estimates suggest the exchange ratio could be as high as three to one, three of us.

“Under these circumstances, it would not be appropriate to have Rokossov attack, because if he were frustrated, it might allow the enemy to regain confidence, or it might cause us to lose confidence.

"Now, for the troops, Rokossov is like a totem. We know he has had failures and embarrassing moments, but the soldiers don't know. Or rather, the soldiers hope that Rokossov will be invincible.

"If Rokossov was frustrated at this time, the soldiers would feel that they had been deceived. Even though they had expected such things from him without authorization.

"By the way, we gave a copy to the church as soon as we finished decoding it in the early morning. The church's response came before the imperial meeting today, and Archbishop Belinsky also disagreed with the attack."

Olga: "Don't you trust his judgment?"

"It has nothing to do with whether we believe in his judgment or not. Not attacking now is the best course of action. The enemy's Central Army Group is in danger and will definitely mobilize troops from the Southern Army Group to reinforce. The enemy cannot launch an attack in the direction of Oriel for the time being.

"Once they have stopped General Gorky's offensive, they will have to withdraw their troops to launch an offensive. By then, we can wait for them to tire themselves out and use the extra two months of preparation to stop the attack. Then, we can launch a winter counterattack like we did last year."

General Turgenev said confidently: "This way it will be foolproof!"

Olga stared at Turgenev for a few seconds and said, "I'm going to call him and ask for his opinion in person."

Turgenev pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then made a "please" gesture to the phone.

Olga picked up the phone: "Connecting to the First Kozalia Front Headquarters."

While waiting for the operator to connect, she tapped the table with her slender fingers, her eyes fixed on Turgenev.

Finally, the call was connected, and Pavlov's voice came from the other end: "Front Command."

Olga: "I want Rokossov to answer the phone."

"Your Majesty? Please wait a moment."

Then someone could be heard calling out from the other end, and soon a familiar voice came through the receiver: "I'm Rokossov, Olga, what's going on? Did you receive the telegram we sent?"

Olga: "Got it. Both Turgenev and Belinsky suggested not to attack, but to delay the attack, wait for the enemy to attack, and prepare for a defensive counterattack."

Rokossov: “General Gorky’s offensive has paid off. The enemy has begun to withdraw troops from the Southern Army Group, which shows that they do not have sufficient reserve forces.

"The enemy is mobilizing. Their troops will increase in number. In three months, there may be one million newly formed troops deployed to the front line. No, Olga, we can't take this risk. We must attack now. This will make the enemy lose sight of the big picture."

Olga glanced at Turgenev and repeated his words verbatim: "General Gorky's attack shows that the enemy still has considerable combat effectiveness. The counterattack of the Ninth Army in particular has caused us heavy casualties. The exchange ratio may be as high as three to one."

Rokossov: "The enemy's fully equipped armored forces still have considerable combat effectiveness. Such results are not surprising, but not every enemy army can gather such forces to launch such a counterattack."

Olga: "So what do you do when you encounter such a counterattack?"

“Our armor is stronger than Gorky’s front,” Rokossov said, “and we have a large number of new heavy tanks that can challenge the enemy and perhaps achieve the same amazing results as some of the heroic KV crews achieved in the first year of the war.”

Olga: "What reasons do you have for insisting on attacking now? Tell me all at once!"

After saying that, she pressed the button on the table, and a rustling sound came from the speaker on the table.

In this way, Rokossov's answer could be heard by the entire conference room - even though General Turgenev was the only one in the conference room at that time.

Rokossov thought for a moment and replied: "First of all, the enemy's engineering troops are now mainly building fortifications to hide the departing troops. They know very well that I like to conduct anti-artillery preparations, so they built these bunkers for this purpose.

"These can only serve as shelters from artillery fire at best, and cannot be used as defensive fortifications. According to our aerial reconnaissance, the enemy has already begun digging real defensive bunkers. Once they are dug, our attack will definitely result in heavy casualties.

"Secondly, we detected that many of the enemy's new tanks that had just arrived at the front line were sent to the repair factory for repairs as soon as they arrived at the front line.

“Waiting until they have repaired the weapons before fighting may also increase our casualties.

"Finally, the enemy certainly didn't expect us to take the initiative to attack, so this attack would be unexpected. The grassland in July is very suitable for horse racing. The three Guards Cavalry Corps in our hands can't wait to gallop on the land of our homeland."

Olga: "I understand. I will convey these opinions to General Turgenev. Please wait."

After saying this, His Majesty the Tsar covered the end of the receiver with his hand and looked up at Turgenev: "He said this, are you convinced?" Turgenev: "I still stick to my judgment. Now we just need to keep calm and don't need to take any risky actions."

Olga: "But you are not at the front. When I was a child, you taught me that sometimes the generals at the front have a much better understanding of the situation than the masters far away from the front."

Turgenev: "I did not say that I knew more about the front. I just made a logical analysis in front of you. You can see that my logic is correct."

Olga: "Yes, the logic is sound, even I can see that this is a sound plan. But Turgenev, you have to admit that my brother has a point, right?"

Turgenev nodded: "Yes, he has a point."

"That's it. If you are afraid of taking responsibility, I will sign the order to approve their modification of the battle plan."

Turgenev sighed: "Your Majesty, this is really not a good idea."

Olga: "But I can't stop the soldiers from going home. They have been away from home for more than two years."

Turgenev: "But His Majesty Belinsky might be dissatisfied. What if he comes to question us?"

Olga: "I'll give him a call."

Before she finished speaking, she picked up the receiver and said, "The secular cathedral."

This time the call was answered immediately. A voice Olga didn't recognize answered the phone: "Church, who is this?"

Olga: "I am Tsarina Olga Nikolaevna. I want to speak to His Majesty Belinsky."

"Then please wait a moment, it will be ready soon." As soon as the church staff answered this, Belinsky's voice changed.

Belinsky: "Your Majesty, it should be time for the imperial meeting now? What's the matter?"

Olga: "You know my brother - I mean Rokossov, asked to change the battle plan, right? Turgenev said you disagreed?"

"Yes, there is no need to risk attacking a fully equipped Plossom army."

Olga: "Even though General Gorky has already attacked a second time?"

"It is precisely because General Gorky suffered huge casualties in his two attacks, but did not achieve results that matched the casualties, that I suggest not to take the initiative to attack."

Olga: “You have no confidence in Rokossov?”

"If confidence can win the war, then the Prosens should have won in 914, and you and I would have been prisoners." Belinsky replied bluntly.

"But Rokossov's arguments have convinced Turgenev."

"Then tell me his reasons, maybe you can convince me."

Olga immediately relayed what she had just heard word for word.

Belinsky was silent for a few seconds. "To be honest, I don't think these reasons are particularly sufficient, but I am just a secular pope, and it is not easy for me to interfere in the command. I can only consider how to maintain the confidence of the vast majority of the people of Ante after Rokossov's offensive was frustrated."

At this time, Olga was still turning on the loudspeaker on the table, so Turgenev could hear it very clearly. The Minister of Military Affairs frowned and muttered a few words.

Olga: “Thank you for your understanding.”

She hung up the phone and said to Turgenev: "Look, the problem has been solved. Just trust Rokossov. Anyway, if you really get frustrated, there is also the church propaganda agency to back you up."

Turgenev: "Okay, I will issue an order now to agree to their change of battle plan. I hope that Rokossov's attack and General Gorky's attack will have different results."

----

Wang Zhong: "I think it may be because Gorky fought twice but didn't achieve much success, so the command became timid."

Pavlov: "It cannot be said that there were no results. Last year he attracted a large number of enemy reserve forces. If the enemy had not stuffed these forces into Army Group Center, he might have made a breakthrough.

"In the end, he laid the foundation for our victory."

Wang Zhong: "That's exactly what happened. The Proson people can hold them off because they still have enough troops and the average quality of each soldier is high. Once the old Proson soldiers die, they won't be able to hold them off. There is nothing wrong with General Gorky's tactics."

Popov: "What should we do now? His Majesty will call us, which means the High Command is going to reject our proposal. How about you take advantage of the fact that the front line is very idle now and fly back to Yebao to do some activities?"

Wang Zhong: "No, we will make plans for an immediate attack first, and then make plans based on the official response from Yebao."

(End of this chapter)