Arc of Fire

Chapter 71

In the early morning of July 5, 914, in the Julian calendar.

Wang Zhong had already taken his position at his "wartime command post": in reality, it was just the office building of a fertilizer plant, a sturdy reinforced concrete structure perfectly suited as a frontline command post, doubling as a defensive strongpoint.

More importantly, the fertilizer plant already had telephones, greatly reducing the workload for the communications company.

The brigade headquarters was overseen by Pavlov, and the radio was also stationed there with the brigade command.

Pavlov strongly opposed Wang Zhong's decision to personally go to the front, but his objections were ignored.

Yegorov, on the other hand, quite liked this arrangement: "This was originally my wartime command post. If you want to use it, I'll let you have it, and I'll go down to the troops!"

Wang Zhong: "You can go, but you have to stay somewhere I can reach you by phone."

Yegorov sighed: "Then I won't go anywhere."

This frontline command post was already the farthest point the telephone lines could reach; the communications company, which had been pulled over from the supply depot headquarters, couldn't extend the lines any further, and it would take at least another day to ensure the lines reached the battalion command posts below.

Ignoring Yegorov's sighs, Wang Zhong walked to the window and raised his binoculars.

In truth, raising the binoculars switched his perspective; binoculars couldn't compare to an overhead view for clarity.

The plains to the southwest were completely silent, with no sign of the Prossenian forces.

After scanning around, Wang Zhong switched back and saw Dimitri and another soldier from the third company carrying an artillery theodolite into the room.

The command post had the best visibility, so naturally, the artillery observation post was set up here as well, allowing them to share the telephone lines with the command post.

Dimitri, who had the best performance among the artillery cadets supplemented to the 31st Guards Regiment, was naturally reassigned to the artillery observation position.

The walkie-talkie was now manned by Vasily, who also understood Prossenian.

Dimitri set up the theodolite, unfolding the two tubes into a V-shape, then pressed his eyes to the eyepiece, adjusting the knobs while focusing on a distant reference point.

The reference point was a fake minefield wooden sign that Vasily had planted with others the day before.

Wang Zhong watched Dimitri operate but realized he didn't understand a thing.

After all, the extent of his military training was just university drills.

However, he suddenly realized there was one thing he could "advise" the professional artillery cadet Dimitri on: placing the theodolite like this might allow enemies in the distance to spot the reflection off the lens!

So Wang Zhong said: "Dimitri, positioned like this, the enemy might notice your location through the reflection. I suggest you cover the lens with a piece of gauze with large mesh."

Before Dimitri could respond, Vasily spoke up: "Wouldn't that make it impossible to see anything?"

Wang Zhong: "Are you dumb? The gauze is so close to the objective lens that the imaging point is far ahead of the eyepiece. Through the eyepiece, you won't see the cloth; it'll just affect the amount of light coming in."

"What?" Vasily looked puzzled, "What are you even talking about? Dimitri, did you understand that?"

Dimitri: "The General is right; it indeed won't significantly affect the observation!"

Unlike binoculars, which you only raise when looking, the theodolite stays in place once the settings are adjusted, so there's indeed a risk of the enemy noticing the position due to reflection.

"How did I not think of this... They didn't teach this in school!"

Wang Zhong: "Well, now I've taught you."

Dimitri glanced at Wang Zhong, seeming to want to say something but holding back.

But Vasily had no such reservations and asked directly: "Brigadier General, how did you end up ranking last in exams? Your military knowledge seems pretty high!"

Wang Zhong felt a bit awkward; at this point, he couldn't admit that this knowledge came from watching *Red Sea Operation*.

Dimitri turned to the cadet who had helped carry the theodolite and said: "Mishka, go ask the medic for some gauze, the kind with the largest holes used for securing bandages."

Mishka nodded and ran off.

At that moment, the telephone rang, and Yegorov, who was closest to it, picked it up: "Hello, frontline command, go ahead. What? You should have notified the Divine Arrow company first, Monk Petro! You did? Alright, we've got it."

Yegorov hung up the phone and turned to Wang Zhong: "Monk Petro heard through that makeshift sound array that there's a reconnaissance plane heading toward us. The Divine Arrow company is already prepared."

Wang Zhong: "Order three soldiers who can drive to be assigned, equipped with a jeep and a DShK machine gun. Once the reconnaissance plane is shot down, they must immediately head to the crash site to ensure the enemy cannot retrieve any reconnaissance data."

Vasily: "I'll go!"

"You stay put!" Wang Zhong glared at him, "Have you heard any valuable information?"

Vasily shook his head: "No, the enemy is very cautious. They never say where they are, only things like 'progressing smoothly' or 'reached the first target.' This notebook only has the call signs of various units and codes for a few locations, nothing about which target is which."

"Also, some of the conversations are in dialects with heavy accents, basically impossible to understand."

Wang Zhong clicked his tongue: "Dialects, huh..."

It reminded him of the movie *Windtalkers*, where the Americans used Native Americans as radio operators, speaking in their native language as a "code" that the Japanese couldn't understand.

So, Native Americans were useful to the Americans for more than just scalps.

Vasily continued to complain: "What's the point of listening to this... Just let me go to the front line..."

Wang Zhong pressed his index finger to his lips and made a shushing gesture: "Listen, all of you!"

Engine sounds, and they were different from a bomber's engine noise.

Wang Zhong moved to the window, crouching low, and looked up at the sky.

Switching to the overhead perspective, he finally spotted the plane-it was a Focke-Wulf 189 reconnaissance aircraft.

This was a specialized reconnaissance plane, capable of mounting a camera gun, with an excellent cockpit view that allowed the pilot to clearly see the ground ahead of the aircraft, ensuring precise passes over reconnaissance targets.

Moreover, due to its survivability and decent low-altitude performance, it often conducted low-altitude reconnaissance and could even carry a few small bombs on the side.

In short, it was a highly threatening dedicated reconnaissance aircraft.

However, because it was lightweight and twin-engined, it was also relatively easy for Monk Petro's sound array to detect.

Wang Zhong stared at the plane, watching it pass over the minefield and fly into the airspace above the city-

The Divine Arrow was launched!

The Prossenian pilot immediately banked left in an attempt to evade, but the Divine Arrow turned and caught up, and after a flash of explosion, the enemy plane's right engine burst into flames, trailing a long plume of black smoke.

It spiraled awkwardly toward the ground.

Wang Zhong: "Well done! Yegorov, the plane is falling toward the police station. Quickly dispatch a search team. There are three people on that plane, and they might be armed. Be careful!"

"Yes, sir!" Yegorov picked up the phone, "Search team, move out. The enemy plane likely crashed near the police station."

Wang Zhong added: "Make sure to destroy the film!"

Vasily laughed: "If we can keep blocking their reconnaissance, maybe our clunky tractor fleet cannons will survive until the end of the battle!"

Dimitri glanced at him: "Don't jinx it!"

Yegorov relayed the orders over the phone, then hung up.

Just as he put down the receiver, the phone beside him rang again, and he picked it up casually: "Frontline command, go ahead. What? Alright, I've got it."

After hanging up, Yegorov said to Wang Zhong: "Monk Petro heard the sounds of many tactical bombers and Stukas! Possibly over 20 aircraft."

Wang Zhong: "Everyone, get into cover!"

As Yegorov issued the order, Dimitri asked worriedly: "Do we need to go in?"

Wang Zhong patted Dimitri's shoulder: "This building is made of reinforced concrete with thick outer walls. Don't worry."

As he spoke, Wang Zhong spotted the enemy aircraft. He counted them-there were 15 Stukas, 12 Do 215s, and several escorting Messerschmitt 109s.

As the formation approached the city, the city's anti-air defenses opened fire, creating a net of firepower ahead of the aircraft.

The Do 215 formation dove straight into the firepower net, heading to drop bombs over the train station, while the Stukas performed their signature "flip" maneuver into a dive, the piercing "death screech" tearing through everyone's eardrums.

That screech instinctively made people want to duck and lie flat on the ground.

But Wang Zhong saw clearly that all the enemy aircraft were targeting the local garrison's bunkers.

It was only then that he noticed his overhead perspective only covered the 31st Guards Regiment's visibility; the local garrison's area was dark, with only a unit icon floating over the map's real-time view.

This situation was strikingly similar to when Wang Zhong first gained command of the 31st Guards Regiment-back then still called the Third Amur Regiment-in Ronezh.

Could it be that calling the local garrison on the phone would grant shared visibility, just like back then?

The enemy aircraft completed their bombing run, with all bombs landing on the local garrison's positions, but Wang Zhong couldn't see the specific damage effects, only the blossoms of smoke and dust from the explosions.

Wang Zhong: "Yegorov, call the local garrison!"

"Yes, sir! Hello, connect me to the local garrison!"

After a few seconds of waiting, Yegorov said: "It's connected!"

As he said this, the local garrison's area "lit up," and Wang Zhong gained visibility over their zone.

So that's how it works.

Units I [personally][directly] command have visibility, but for units under my command yet led by their own officers, I can only see their position. Only by connecting via phone and establishing direct command can I gain visibility over their troops.

At that moment, Yegorov came over to Wang Zhong and handed him the receiver.

Wang Zhong took the receiver: "What's the status of your losses? I saw the Stukas targeting you."

The local garrison's Regiment Commander, Alexander Alexandrovich, said: "Two bunkers were completely destroyed. All the engineering work from these past days was for nothing, but we hadn't entered the positions yet, so we only lost the machine guns and other equipment inside the bunkers."

Wang Zhong: "Just the bunkers?"

"Also, seven or eight bombs landed on our positions, destroying the fake anti-tank cannons we made out of wood."

At that moment, a shout came through the phone, "The enemy planes are back!" Wang Zhong switched to the overhead perspective and saw the Stukas, having finished bombing, circling back to strafe.

However, most of the local garrison was still hiding in bomb shelters, so they didn't suffer significant casualties.

Wang Zhong: "As soon as the enemy planes leave, restore your positions immediately. The enemy's vanguard might arrive today."

"Understood."

Wang Zhong handed the receiver back to Yegorov, and the moment Yegorov hung up, the local garrison's visibility disappeared again.

So that's it-visibility of non-directly commanded units is only available during a call. Looks like I'll need to frequently call the frontline units from now on.

Wang Zhong thought to himself.

At that moment, the phone rang again.

Yegorov picked it up, responded a few times, then hung up and reported: "Monk Petro heard enemy mechanized units, likely including a significant number of light tanks."

Wang Zhong nodded.

This Monk Petro and his sound array are more useful than I imagined, almost like that ground-listening vehicle from *Gundam 08th MS Team*-they can hear everything.

Vasily took off his headset, excitedly asking: "Are we getting ready to use the B4 to bombard the enemy?"

Wang Zhong: "Listen to your walkie-talkie! If you miss critical information, I'll have you shot!"

Hearing that the punishment was to be shot rather than cleaning latrines, Vasily shrank his neck and put his headset back on.

Wang Zhong looked outside again, waiting for the arrival of the Prossenians.

At this time, Mishka, who had gone to get gauze, returned with some rope for securing things; together, they draped a layer of cloth over the artillery theodolite and tied it down with the rope.

Dimitri pressed his eye to the eyepiece to test it and said with delight: "I can see clearly!"

At that moment, Wang Zhong spotted the enemy from his overhead perspective.

A Type II tank appeared on the main road to the southwest.

It seems that in this timeline, the Prossenian forces also assigned the outdated Type II tanks to reconnaissance units.

Following the Type II tank was a wheeled reconnaissance vehicle, and behind that, a half-track loaded with soldiers.

Clearly just a reconnaissance team, yet they came up in such a grand, overwhelming manner...

Suddenly, Wang Zhong noticed that this group looked like they hadn't rested well; their expressions were utterly exhausted, their clothes wrinkled and covered in grass blades, as if they had slept outdoors all night.

Could it be... the booby traps worked?

At this moment, the second and third Type II tanks entered his field of view; this advance team's strength was quite formidable.

Seeing so many of them, Wang Zhong decided to give them a little surprise and shake up the enemy forces.

He said to Yegorov: "Get me Artillery Position A."

After deciding yesterday to split the B4 into two positions, they took action overnight, moving four cannons to different locations, and the original position was renamed Artillery Position A.

Of course, this 'A' is in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Yegorov picked up the receiver while complaining: "I've become the phone operator!"

Vasily: "Then let me handle it!"

"You listen to your walkie-talkie, or the Brigadier General will get angry again. Connect me to Artillery Position A."

Dimitri quickly started calculating the enemy's coordinates.

Yegorov: "Connected. Here!"

Wang Zhong took the receiver and immediately began reporting the coordinates.

Dimitri, who had only calculated halfway, was shocked and stared at Wang Zhong with wide eyes.

----

Captain Hank poked his head out of the turret, observing the city through binoculars.

The air force's bombings seemed highly effective; it was clear that the positions on the city's outskirts had been severely damaged.

The Ant people were busy repairing the destroyed fortifications; perhaps this was a chance for a swift attack?

As Captain Hank thought this, he let out a big yawn.

Last night, the reconnaissance battalion didn't dare camp in Kalinnovka because the engineers hadn't arrived, and they couldn't deal with the booby traps.

Camping in the open field meant Captain Hank hadn't slept well at all.

He hadn't slept properly in days; he had hoped yesterday to take a bath and sleep well in a clean bed, but it all fell through!

Damn that White Horse General! So cunning, so vile!

As he was thinking this, a sharp screech suddenly pierced the sky-it was the sound of artillery shells tearing through the air!

The moment the screech rang out, the reconnaissance battalion around the tank, which hadn't yet deployed, scattered and hit the ground.

Those still on the half-tracks scrambled to jump off, rushing down the road shoulder to lie flat in the fields.

Captain Hank immediately ducked back into the turret and slammed the hatch shut-it had become muscle memory.

Only after doing all this did he realize that the piercing sound was clearly from heavy artillery, at least 122mm.

With the armor of a Type II tank, resisting such heavy artillery would be quite difficult-

At that instant, the shell landed.

----

Wang Zhong called for a salvo, a total of four rounds.

The first round landed at the very front of the enemy formation, about four or five meters from the leading Type II tank; the blast wave directly flipped the small frame of the Type II onto the road.

As the tank flipped over, Wang Zhong clearly saw two infantry soldiers lying on the ground get crushed underneath.

The dust cloud from the explosion immediately engulfed the surrounding enemies lying on the ground.

The second round landed in the fields, a bit far from the enemy column, but the clumps of dirt it kicked up flew dozens of meters, smashing onto the road and clanging against the enemy's helmets.

The third round overshot, landing at the rear of the formation, flipping over the half-track at the back.

The fourth round landed right in the middle of the formation, where countless soldiers were densely packed on the ground around the impact point.

Wang Zhong clearly saw a Prossenian soldier, along with his gear, get launched dozens of meters into the air, literally taking flight.

A conservative estimate suggested that this enemy advance team had lost half its strength to these four 203mm rounds!

No wonder they say artillery is the god of war!

Is it really this powerful?

Wang Zhong couldn't help but recall the day he first transmigrated, when he was greeted by 381mm heavy artillery in Ronezh; thinking back now, it was a miracle he didn't die.

There must have been around a hundred people in the room at the time, and only two survived; unbelievably, he was one of those lucky ones.

At this moment, cheers erupted from outside.

The soldiers didn't have binoculars, and their visibility wasn't as good as Wang Zhong's, but the dust cloud created by the four shells rose over ten meters high, clearly visible even without binoculars.

"Ura!"

Dimitri didn't cheer; instead, he calmly recited: "Firing adjustment, elevation angle correction to..."

The artillery cadet nicknamed Mishka quickly jotted down notes on a writing board nearby.

Wang Zhong: "No, there's no need for another shot."

Dimitri: "No need to fire again? A more accurate strike could cripple..."

"This is enough. The key is to let the enemy know we have this kind of weapon; from now on, they won't dare to be careless."

Wang Zhong spoke in the tone of an elder educating a younger person.

----

Captain Hank crawled out of the tank through the hatch at the bottom-though now it wasn't the bottom hatch; it should be called the top hatch.

He looked around.

Five vehicles were burning, and at least 80 motionless Prossenian soldiers lay on the ground.

They had taken the correct posture to avoid artillery by lying flat, but they still couldn't withstand the localized overpressure caused by the heavy artillery.

Even more soldiers lay on the ground moaning, cries of "Mama" echoing everywhere.

Captain Hank wanted to comfort his troops; he decided to stand on the overturned tank, but as soon as he dragged his leg out of the hatch, he realized it was bent at an impossible angle.

The moment he realized his leg was broken, the pain, previously masked by adrenaline, finally hit him.

Captain Hank screamed at the top of his lungs: "Saniteta (Medic)!"

(End of Chapter)