artillery arc

Chapter 633 Rokossov's Red Flag Shines on the Revenge

52nd Armored Battalion, Ampura Division, Knights of Plosson Asgard.

This battalion was equipped entirely with the new Type 5 tank, also known as the Panther tank.

Of course, like other Panther tank battalions preparing to participate in the summer campaign, this battalion was also plagued by mechanical failures, and it was only this morning that it was able to barely gather 28 Panthers to launch the attack.

These 28 vehicles performed very well and all of them were successfully driven into the battlefield.

It may be because all the ones with mechanical structural defects have been sent to the repair shop, and the remaining ones just happen to have no major problems.

The 28 Panthers now came face to face with the attacking Plossen armored forces.

The Plossom people's radio was full of joy:
"Hit! T34 is burning!"

"The new anti-tank gun can penetrate the inferior armor of the T2000 at a distance of 34 meters!"

"The damage effect seems to be not as good as the 88mm gun. Some tanks stopped and did not burn, but who cares? Just penetrate them!"

Of course there are also dissonances:
"What the hell is this new turtle shell of the Ants? How come the tank guns of the new tanks can't penetrate it?"

"Be careful, that turtle shell cannon can penetrate us!"

The battle lasted for about five minutes, and the commander of the 52nd Battalion announced to the entire battalion on the radio: "Don't worry about that turtle shell. Before the turtle shell kills us all, kill as many T34s as possible! One turtle shell can't do much. Those T34s are the real danger. They will massacre our infantry and supply troops!"

Just then, someone shouted something on the radio in an angry voice.

It's Ant language.

The radio communications of the 52nd Battalion suddenly fell silent.

The battalion commander asked: "Ferdinand, do you understand what this is saying?"

The call came from the battalion staff officer of the 52nd Battalion, Ferdinand, who was born into an old Junker noble family. He knew a little Ante and was often responsible for communicating with the locals.

Ferdinand's voice was very uncertain: "If I heard it correctly, it said, 'I am General Rokossov, fire at me'."

There was silence on the radio for two seconds, then someone shouted, "It's true that the turtle shell is flying a red flag!"

"It was Rokossov himself who came to attack with a tank!"

"As long as we surround it and destroy it, we might be able to get the Diamond Swords and Golden Oak Cross directly!"

The commander of the 52nd Battalion: "Wait a minute! Calm down! Destroy the enemy's T34 first! Then surround the helpless turtle shell! And that may not be Rokossov, it may be a trick of the cunning enemy!"

The Proson soldiers who followed the order had no objection - there should have been no objection, but this time someone on the radio raised an objection: "But if it is really Rokossov, maybe we can change the outcome of the war! This passive situation is caused by Rokossov!"

For the Plosson soldiers, the temptation to change the current situation of the war is too great.

Originally, they were ready to give Ant another good beating in the summer campaign and taste the fruits of victory like they did in the previous two years.

Then the Ants attacked first, and the Central Army Group was under great pressure all of a sudden. Many troops that were originally prepared for the summer offensive were withdrawn. Then Rokossov also launched an attack. The defense line was breached within a day, and Ant's armored forces and cavalry drove straight in.

The key is that the Ants’ counterattacks had made breakthroughs before, but as long as the Plossen armored forces launched a counterattack, most of the Ants’ attacks would be disintegrated and the front line would quickly return to its original state.

But this time the armored forces' counterattack lasted for the third day, the losses were getting bigger and bigger, and the front line showed no sign of recovery. The same was true for Army Group Center. The enemy's offensive had begun almost two weeks ago, and the situation had not improved at all.

Although the official information shows that the Central Army Group is steadily gaining victory, the soldiers on the front line all have their own channels of information.

If the battle situation is unfavorable, news will leak out through various "gaps" and reach the ears of more soldiers.

Maybe an adjutant said something wrong while drinking to drown his sorrows, or maybe the guard at the door of the communications company heard a few words, but bad news always finds a way to leak out.

Therefore, the Plossen soldiers were a little anxious. They instinctively thought that war should not be like this, at least the war in summer should not be like this. The failure in winter was because the Ants had an ally, General Winter.

This anxiety was now beginning to affect their battlefield judgment. The commander of the 52nd Battalion was well aware of this.

"No, obey orders! Destroy T34 first!"

At this time, a Panther platoon leader said, “If we destroy the T34 first, by the time we are done with the T34, we will only have a few left, and we may not be able to deal with this turtle shell at all!
"We still have more than 20 tanks. The enemy's T34 can't penetrate our armor at all. We should destroy the turtle shell first. No matter if there is a Rokossov inside, the threat can be eliminated. The remaining T34s are just moving targets!"

The battalion commander was about to emphasize the need to obey orders, but stopped when he heard this.

It seems reasonable.

After a brief hesitation, he gave the order: "Use smoke to block the T34's vision, surround the enemy heavy tank with the red flag, get close, and shoot! There's no need to capture Rokossov alive, but it will be fine if we can capture his body! Attack!"

"Yes!"

There was a jubilation on the radio.

The battalion commander raised his binoculars and watched as the small number of Leopard tanks split into two groups and began to encircle the tortoise shell with the red flag flying.

At this time, the distance was much closer and the battalion commander could see the tactical number on the turtle shell.

It’s not No. 422, which means this is not Rokossov’s car - but what if?
The battalion commander himself was seized by the desire to change the situation of the war.

What if it was Rokossov? The war situation could be changed because of this, and maybe the peace promised by the emperor would come, and he could go home.

The 52nd Armored Battalion was originally the 11th Armored Battalion of the 15th Armored Division. In last year's battle, most of its tanks were lost. After retreating to Shepetovka, only 9 tanks were left in combat readiness. In addition, most of the tank crews were also killed or wounded. The battalion had actually been destroyed.

The remaining personnel were transferred back to the country. The original 15th Armored Battalion's number was given to the newly formed Tank Battalion. The old and young members of the original 15th Armored Battalion served as the backbone of the 52nd Armored Battalion.

The battalion commander argued and preserved the original emblem of the 15th Battalion.

When the 52nd Armored Battalion was undergoing equipment replacement training in the country, the battalion commander took some time to return home, and found that the entire city was in ruins. The Allied long-range bomber forces had bombed the world he was familiar with into ruins.

His parents also died in the bombing, leaving only his wife and two sons alive by hiding in the countryside.

No one wanted the war to be over more than the battalion commander.

If killing Rokossov can end the war, then let him die!

While the battalion commander was thinking this, a cry of alarm came over the radio: "Enemy infantry! Enemy infantry ambushed around the turtle shell! The enemy has...Ahhh!"

The battalion commander quickly drew his attention back and quickly found the enemy infantry with a telescope.

The infantrymen lying in the grass stood up and fired a rocket launcher, hitting the weaker side armor of the Leopard tank.

The tank immediately caught fire, and the tank crew jumped out of the tank, only to be shot into a hornet's nest by the anti-aircraft machine gun on the turtle shell.

"There are infantry here! How many infantry are there in this bush?"

Along with screams, another Panther was destroyed in the telescope, and the Ant infantry used submachine guns to shoot at the Proson tank soldiers who jumped out of the car.

At this time, the enemy's T34 also rushed up, with the infantry sitting on the back of the T34 carrying a rocket launcher.

This was a tactic the Prosen people had never seen before. The Ante infantry were like armored cavalry, and the T34 seemed to have become their iron warhorse.

The rocket launcher was like a lance, accurately hitting the Leopard tank.

In order to besiege the turtle shell, the Panther exposed its vulnerable sides to these armored cavalry!

The besieged tortoise shell seemed to have lost power, but the turret was still turning slowly. The brave commander on the top of the turret stuck his head out and operated the anti-aircraft machine gun.

Could that man be General Rokossov? He doesn't look like that. He doesn't have many medals.
However, the battalion commander felt that it was Rokossov, because under the light and shadow of the red flag, he seemed to be the symbol of victory.

(End of this chapter)