artillery arc

Chapter 689 Returning with a Full Load
In the early morning of August 8, Wang Zhong got up very early.

The talks, which lasted nearly a week, ended yesterday, and Luo and Leonard left Balas by plane at noon yesterday.

Wang Zhong and his companions left a day later, mainly because the local secular church wanted Wang Zhong, a newly minted living saint, to preside over a mass.

In short, on the 18th, Wang Zhong and his party also boarded the return flight.

On the plane, Olga suddenly stood up from her seat, leaned on the backrest and looked at Wang Zhong in the back seat: "How do you feel?"

Wang Zhong: "Not bad, we gained a lot. But it's obvious that after we made progress, the United States has become stingy."

Lyudmila said, "When noble children fought in groups when we were young, the last person to join the fight would usually make the loudest noise. Maybe the United States and the United Kingdom intend to make both Proson and us lose, and then come and reap the spoils."

Wang Zhong: "Lao Luo is fine. I feel that Lao Luo is determined to kill Proson. But Prime Minister Leonard is different. He must be happy to see that both we and Proson are defeated and become weak."

Olga: "Leonard still wants to land on the Moravia Peninsula. I can tell from the first glance that he has bad intentions. Fortunately, Lao Luo and I are against him!"

Wang Zhong: "Of course Lao Luo will oppose him with you. In the eyes of the United States, Plosson deserves to die, and it would be better if the United Kingdom could die together."

After all, among the many color plans formulated by the Americans on Earth, there is a plan specifically to go to war with Daiying, and there is even a plan to join forces with Sandezi to kill Daiying first.

Olga switched to a kneeling position, leaning on the back of the chair. “Are they really going to be ready to attack next year?”

Wang Zhong: "Almost the same. Look at the Pacific Ocean now. Although the Fuso Empire Navy has been crippled, the United States Navy has few large warships capable of combat. All the battleships are damaged and need repair. A large number of heavy cruisers and destroyers sank in Iron Bottom Bay. Various small-scale naval battles and night battles have also suffered a lot of losses.

"Before the end of this year, the United States Navy's advantage in the Pacific is not that great - except for the submarine force."

On Earth, the U.S. Navy's submarine force has also achieved fruitful results, but that is mainly due to the Navy's weak anti-submarine capabilities.

American submarines can even freely enter and exit the Seto Inland Sea, and sank the Shinano aircraft carrier during its sea trial.

Wang Zhong racked his brains and told Olga the knowledge from another time and space, disguising it as information from this time and space.

Olga: "Hey, I thought the Fuso Empire was a terrible fighter, but I didn't expect them to perform so well?"

Wang Zhong: "In fact, it's mainly because their opponent, the United States Navy, is in a state of great help - I mean, it's like God is helping them. If the enemy of the Fuso Empire is a little weaker, they will be beaten by them. Look at the performance of the United Kingdom Navy in the Pacific."

In fact, not only the United Kingdom Navy, but also a large number of navies of the so-called old naval powers at that time formed a combined fleet in the Southeast Asian fleet, but were severely beaten by Xiaozi.

Olga: "Then will the United States definitely be able to gain an advantage next year? I mean, given that Fuso is such a strong fighter?"

Wang Zhong: "Fuso's ability to fight is due to hard training, but a full-scale war is a war of attrition. If their most experienced crew members are used up, their level will drop drastically.

"The number of pilots from the Navy Air Force like Fuso is basically gone now."

During the Battle of Midway, the Japanese pilots did not suffer too many losses, as most of them escaped. But in the subsequent naval battles, such as the Battle of the South Pacific, the most elite pilots were either shot down by F4Fs or fierce anti-aircraft fire. Some of them could not find a place to land because their aircraft carriers sank, and thus disappeared.

After the first year, there were still many seamen who were experienced in daily life, but the pilots suffered heavy losses.

Their promotional slogan often mentions "3000 Sea Eagles", which means that there were hard-trained pilots, but more than half of them had been lost by the end of the first year.

Olga: "So next year, the United States' pressure in the Pacific will be reduced, and we can mobilize more fleets to Europa, right?"

Wang Zhong: "Yes. In addition, large-scale landing operations also require a large number of landing craft and transport ships. These things are now being produced at a rapid pace. Next year, Proson will see a huge landing fleet that they themselves can't believe.

"But not this year. The landing that the Allies can organize this year is on the scale of attacking Sicily."

Olga nodded like a primary school student and listened very carefully.

"Right," she asked, "so what exactly did we discuss? I haven't looked through the list carefully yet, can you introduce it to me?"

Wang Zhong: "Machine tools, trucks, airplanes, etc. - the total amount is less than last year, and I found that the United States is particularly willing to give us things that we don't really need, such as canned Spam. Our domestic food supply has almost recovered, and the land in Khazaria that was just liberated this year can still raise cattle, sheep, and horses. We will definitely not lack food next year.

"But you see, they were giving away cans of Spam like crazy, and chocolate and Coke.

"On the contrary, we were very reluctant to provide the machine tools, radio production equipment, and electron tube production equipment we needed. We threatened not to provide the new Prosun tanks, and they only gave us a little."

Olga: "Will it affect the production of T54 and Rokossov-?"

"Yes, but it won't reduce our production. It will only limit our expansion of production." Olga: "Will it have an impact on the war situation?"

Wang Zhong: "Not this year, but next year, it depends on what monsters Proson can come up with. In order to deal with these monsters, I have issued the technical indicators for the next generation of tanks."

Wang Zhong stopped and suddenly grinned: "The good news is that this time we negotiated and got the authorization for a higher horsepower engine. The full set of technical drawings and experts to guide us in production will arrive at Ant in October.

"Our next generation tanks will definitely be able to run faster and have more armor while ensuring mobility!"

----

At the same time, on the special plane flying to the United States, Ike put a report in front of Lao Luo.

"What is this?" Lao Luo looked at the general.

Ike: "This is the survey result of our team in Barras on the new tank provided by Proshen. According to the survey data, our latest M26 Pershing tank prototype is not as good as Proshen's new tank.

"For this purpose, I have telegraphed the Army Ordnance Bureau to start designing the Super Pershing based on the Pershing. George Jr. is very happy with this order."

President Luo laughed and said, "Ah, with his temper, it's normal for him to like big and hard things. That's enough. The Navy has a bull, and the Army must have one too. Are you guys competing with each other?"

"So when will the Super Pershing be delivered to Europa? Or should we try to attack Fuso in the Pacific first?"

Ike laughed: "Fuso tanks, hahahahahaha, our Sherman can carry Fuso tanks on his shoulders. When the tank soldiers first encountered Fuso tanks, they thought they had some amazing armor, because the armor-piercing shells had no effect on them.

"In the end, we found that the fuse of the armor-piercing bullet was not triggered, and the rubber iron rod went through the other side and hit the ground."

Lao Luo also laughed, and then asked seriously: "When can we put Super Pershing into use?"

Ike: "By the end of this year, I guess. Until then, it would be more realistic to improve the bazooka as Rokossov suggests, and to level our 90mm anti-aircraft guns and use them as anti-tank guns.

"The Army thought it would be a good idea to try out the new armor-piercing round we've been testing, which has a cap on the warhead that greatly increases the armor-piercing capability."

Lao Luo: "Let's try them all. There is also Rokossov's suggestion that our air force attack railway stations and supply centers, as well as front-line maintenance plants.

"Rokosov said that the Plossen tanks are very dependent on maintenance capabilities. As long as the maintenance factory is bombed and the front-line technicians are killed, these tanks will break down on their own."

Lao Luo paused, stared at the ballpoint pen in his hand for a few seconds, and then continued: "We can't expect these tanks to break down by themselves, no, that's too passive, but attacking the enemy's maintenance facilities is a new idea.

"Rokosov is the general who has killed the most enemies among us so far, and he is also the general who knows Proson best. What he said must make sense."

Ike: "In fact, after the emergency survey, our staff also criticized the strange design of Proson. For example, the double-row road wheels. Our survey engineers couldn't understand why it was designed this way. The suspension system on the No. 3 and No. 4 is simple and efficient."

In fact, Proson was obsessed with Ant's bad road, but no one told Ike and Lao Luo this.

Ike continued, "Also, after our engineers finished surveying, they thought that if we wanted to have the same protection capability, we only needed about 50 tons. The Prosens came up with 70 tons, which is incomprehensible.

“The only thing that received high praise was the ergonomic efficiency of the Plosson tank, and all testers said that this tank was very comfortable to drive.

"By the way, the T34 that was tested in Aberdeen before, the testers generally thought that driving this tank was a torture. In addition to constantly hitting their heads, the car was terribly hot, the noise was amazing, the space was small, and the too many shells would always scratch their arms when driving the tank."

Lao Luo's eyes widened. "The pointy tip of the cannonball? This is the first time I know that the pointy tip can scratch people!"

Ike shrugged. "Maybe it's just a metaphor."

Lao Luo: “Maybe.”

He suddenly changed the subject: "Do you think Rokossov will really wait until winter to cross the Tiber?"

Ike: "No, I think he will attack in September. I have no basis for this, but I have this feeling after chatting with him more."

Lao Luo: "Attack in September. If he really wants to retake the entire Khazaria this year, he will have to reconsider many things."

As he spoke, President Luo looked out the porthole.

(End of this chapter)