Arc of Gunfire

March 20, 916, Germania, 11 o'clock at night (from now on, the time expressions of the front and rear will be distinguished by military time and civilian time, and 2300 is the military timekeeping method).

The car of Marshal Goron, commander of the Southern Army Group, was stuck in the middle of the road.

"What's going on?" he asked.

The adjutant immediately opened the door of the co-pilot seat and got out of the car: "I'll go to the front to see."

The marshal waved his hand.

The adjutant immediately trotted forward along the road.

At this moment, the door of the back seat where the marshal was suddenly opened, and an officer wearing a motorcycle unit leather jacket got in.

The motorcycle unit's leather jacket is very handsome, so many officers will prepare it at their own expense, especially in Germania, where colonels are like crucian carp crossing the river and generals are everywhere, and there are a lot of officers who will spend money to buy handsome custom-made military uniforms.

Marshal Goron glanced at the person who got on the bus and said, "I don't think I know you, young man. Did you get on the wrong bus?"

"No, I'm Colonel Berg of the Reserve Military Personnel Administration of the Command. I'm here to see you."

Marshal Goron raised his eyebrows: "Why does the Reserve Military Administration want to see me? Now that the general mobilization has begun, isn't this your busiest time?"

"Yes, that's why we came to see you, for the future of Proson."

The marshal was silent for a second, then said to the driver in the driver's seat: "Hank, go to the boutique cigarette store on Marion Street ahead and buy me a box of cigarettes."

"Yes." The driver immediately opened the door and got out of the car, trotting away.

The marshal and Colonel Berg were the only ones left in the car.

Marshal Goron: "He will be back in at least five minutes. My adjutant will go with him when he sees him, so you have five minutes."

Colonel Berg: "Marshal, I believe you already know the latest plan. How many troops did His Majesty promise to give you?"

Marshal Goron hesitated for a moment, but still said truthfully: "He said he would give me three times the number of troops that Rokossov has."

"Rokossov has at least 1.1 million people. Even if we use this lowest and most conservative estimate, they will have to give you 3.3 million people. Even if so many people are really mobilized, can they fit on the front line? Rokossov still likes generals who use heavy artillery. Isn't such a high-density army the result of heavy artillery?"

Marshal Goron remained silent and looked forward.

Colonel Berg sighed: "We have a small gathering at the Valkyrie Officers Club, if you are interested..."

Marshal Goron: "It is indeed impossible to deploy 3.3 million troops on the front line. Even if these troops are deployed in echelons, there are not enough supplies to supply them. We all know that even with the enhanced transportation capacity of Khazaria, it can only support two million troops at most.

"Rokossov's million-strong army is not all deployed around Borsk. His army started from Yarvik and was deployed all the way to Borsk. For this offensive operation, it is enough to invest about one million troops."

Colonel Berg looked at Marshal Goron: "So what do you think of the promise to give you three times the troops?"

Marshal Goron fell silent again.

Colonel Berg continued: "This shows that someone - I mean, His Majesty has lost the most basic judgment ability. He has been hit by last year's failure and lost his mind!"

"Don't say it anymore. "Marshal Goron interrupted Colonel Berg, "My adjutant and driver will be back soon, you go down, I will pretend that I have not heard your lofty theory."

Colonel Berg: "Have you thought about the consequences of the failed attack? Have you thought about Proson's fate in a few years?"

When he finished speaking, the adjutant and the driver had already arrived, but the adjutant realized something and grabbed the driver, and the two stopped outside the marshal's Mercedes-Benz luxury car.

Marshal Goron: "The duty of a soldier is to obey orders. Since His Majesty asked me to attack Rokosov, then I will attack. As for why Marshal Celtic made such an outrageous promise in front of His Majesty, I think he also has his difficulties."

Colonel Berg: "I am a colonel in the Reserve Administration. I know the situation best. 50 divisions can be organized, but there are many people in them who have never participated in reserve training since they retired! They have been away from the army for many years. How can they recover their combat skills in just three months of training? The most important thing is that they are old! Gaining weight in daily life!

"After three months of training, we can lose the fat on their stomachs!"

Marshal Goron: "I know, I have been in the army for so many years, you don't need to tell me this."

Colonel Berg: "There are also tanks. Look up at the sky now. Do you think the night is illuminated by lights? No, it is the fire ignited by the enemy's bombing. The fire from the daytime bombing has not been extinguished yet, and the night bombing of the United Kingdom is coming soon!"

As soon as the voice fell, the piercing air raid alarm sounded, and the sound of anti-aircraft guns sounded together.

Looking out the window, you can see the beams of searchlights lighting up the already red night sky.

Colonel Berg: "It's true that we have a large number of fighters, but the enemy has hundreds of bombers at a time, forming a new formation called a box formation, and fighters can't rush in at all! General!"

Marshal Goron: "You should get off the car. I remember your meeting address, the Valkyrie Club. Let's go now."

Colonel Berg opened the car door and got out of the car. Finally, he looked at the marshal and made up his mind to close the car door.

Seeing this, the adjutant got into the car with the driver and reported: "The fire brigade has blocked the road ahead. We have to take another route."

The driver turned around and said: "Marshal, the cigarette you asked for."

The marshal took the cigarette and put it directly into his pocket, without any intention of smoking.

At this time, an explosion was heard in the distance.

Adjutant: "It sounds like they are bombing the factory area. The output of tanks will be reduced again."

Marshal: "This is Prosinia. If you told me this two years ago, I would never believe it. Why would the Fuso Empire provoke the United States?"

Adjutant: "Why should we provoke Ante?"

"Don't say these things that will cause the Imperial Household Ministry to arrest you. Think about your wife and children." The marshal said lightly.

"You are right to remind me." The adjutant took a deep breath and looked at the driver worriedly.

The driver looked as if he had heard nothing.

Marshal: "Can we change the route?"

"Yes, I found a road on the side that is accessible. It is blocked by military police, but you should be able to pass with your ID."

"Then take this road." Marshal Goron hesitated, "Let's go home directly, not to the officers' club!"

"Aren't you going to play bridge tonight?"

Marshal Goron: "Looking at the burning city outside and the crying people, you want me to play bridge and dance? No, no, I can't do it."

Adjutant: "Shouldn't you be careful about the Imperial Household Ministry when you say this?"

"Then retire like Marshal Brian? I think it's a good idea." Marshal Goron sighed, "This responsibility should be handed over to Shiprin, who is less than 50 years old. He can at least run away with the Southern Army Group."

Adjutant: "General Shiprin now has a nickname of the escaped general. Last summer, he was still known as the annihilation minister."

Marshal Goron smiled, but the smile was a bit awkward.

Adjutant: "By the way, what about the Colonel Berger who looked like the one from the Reserve Management Bureau?"

Marshal Goron picked out some things that didn't matter even if the adjutant and the driver knew: "He told me about the 50 divisions promised by Marshal Celtic, saying that it was impossible to have an elite division composed of 50 veterans, and most of them were actually only different from the new recruits in age."

Adjutant: "Is that so? Actually, we didn't expect to get elite troops. It would be good enough to just replenish our divisions that suffered heavy losses. But... have you read the ten-day report just sent back from the front line?"

Each division of the Proson Empire will report the combat readiness of military equipment every day, and the higher-level command will report the overall situation to the higher-level department every ten days.

Marshal Goron: "Look, if Rokosov launches an attack now, we may not be able to stop him at all, and can only rely on the mud to delay his advance."

In the daily report just delivered, each armored division of the Southern Army Group has only about 20 Type 4 long-barreled combat-ready tanks, and the others are either waiting for repairs in the front-line maintenance plant or sent back to the rear factory for long-term repairs.

Generally, this kind of return to the factory for long-term repairs takes several months.

As for the newly added tanks, the answer is that there are no additions. The command promised that the first batch of supplementary tanks will arrive at the front on the 22nd.

The Plosson Empire has indeed mobilized, but it will take time for the mobilized power to be felt by the front line.

Just like the United States, it switched to a wartime system of total mobilization at the end of 914, but it was beaten by the Fuso Empire for the whole year of 915 and was left with only one aircraft carrier to support it. Its air force has only recently begun to bomb the Plosson Empire on a large scale.

The total mobilization of the Plosson Empire will gradually take effect at least in the second half of 916.

While Marshal Goron was talking to his adjutant, the driver drove into the alley and ran into the gendarmerie's blockade.

The gendarmerie holding a flashlight bent over and shone it into the car. Seeing the marshal's rank, he immediately stepped back and gestured: "Let it go!"

The temporary roadblock was removed, and the gendarmerie guarding the checkpoint saluted the marshal. Only the military dog ​​kept barking without knowing what was good for it.

After passing the checkpoint, the Flying Speed ​​car drove in the empty alley.

The adjutant suddenly said: "The Equipment Bureau seems to have developed a medium tank. It is estimated that His Majesty and senior generals in the capital will be invited to visit the first test in a few days."

Marshal Goron: "I hope what they make this time is lighter. The 70-ton heavy tank and the nearly 70-ton assault gun I saw a few days ago really made me worry whether they can fight on the grasslands of Khazaria.

"Too heavy."