Arc of Fire

Chapter 9

On the side of the Prossenian Empire's military.

Lord von Dietrich, Lieutenant General and Commander of the 25th Prossenian Infantry Army Group, was suspiciously observing the smoke rising from the city.

His headquarters was on a small hill outside the city, offering an excellent view, even allowing him to see the battleship Frederick the Great on the distant sea.

Because of this, he could clearly see the smoke spreading through the streets at this moment.

After a brief moment of thought, the Lord sought the opinion of his Chief of Staff: "Is there a white poisonous gas?"

The Chief of Staff shook his head: "I haven't heard of any. Phosgene... isn't this white."

The Lord gripped his binoculars with both hands, his fingers nervously adjusting the knobs on the device, a habitual action when he was deep in thought.

The Chief of Staff said: "Could it just be ordinary smoke?"

"The defenders using smoke?" the Lord clicked his tongue, "Wouldn't that prevent them from utilizing machine gun firepower? The range advantage of Divine Arrow would also be nullified! During the Carolingian Campaign, our smoke troops used smoke grenades to cover tanks rushing through the Divine Arrow's effective range. Smoke is a friend to the attackers, a nightmare to the defenders!"

The Chief of Staff shook his head: "Perhaps the enemy commander is an amateur?"

The Lord shook his head: "The enemy commander is the experienced Duke Vladimir. He has received a complete military education and wouldn't make such a basic mistake..."

Just as he was speaking, a staff officer rushed in: "This is bad!"

The Lord: "Report first!"

The staff officer snapped to attention, his heels clicking loudly: "Report!"

The Lord was still unsatisfied, lecturing him: "As an officer, no matter how urgent the situation, you must appear composed. Your subordinates are watching, do you understand, Captain Hoffman!"

"Understood!"

Lord von Dietrich nodded with satisfaction: "Good. Now, speak. What's the matter?"

"The 54th Division reports via radio that the Anton Empire has launched a counterattack. They've lost contact with their subordinate 353rd Regiment, and retreating soldiers have appeared near the division headquarters!"

Lord von Dietrich was stunned: "A counterattack? It's only been two days since the war started, and we're already at the gates of Ronezh. Wherever we go, the Anton Empire's forces collapse like a house of cards. Do they still have the morale to launch a counterattack?"

The Chief of Staff reminded him: "You just said that the enemy commander, Duke Vladimir, is quite capable."

"Yes, I did say that!"

The Lord turned to the map.

But if the enemy has the morale and organization to launch a counterattack, why not retreat instead? I mean, break out to the rear?

"Even if they manage to break through our lines by charging at us, they can't escape. From here to the border, there's a million-strong army on the march!"

As he spoke, he slammed his cane hard on the map between Ronezh and the border, repeating: "A million-strong army, do you understand? Even if Duke Vladimir's troops break out intact, all that awaits them is annihilation!"

After speaking, the Lord stared at the map for a few seconds, shaking his head: "No, it can't be an offensive. It's just a counterattack, an attempt to disrupt our formation and create an opportunity for retreat."

"General Holt's armored corps will soon complete the encirclement of Ronezh. This is futile for them."

As he spoke, the Lord turned to the flustered staff officer: "Order the 54th Division to immediately send someone to stabilize the scattered regiment and locate the dispersed regimental headquarters... No, I'll speak to the 54th Division myself. Is the telephone connected?"

"Not yet, sir. We've only just learned the location of the 54th Division headquarters, and the communication vehicle has just been dispatched," a nearby communications staff officer immediately replied.

Radio communication requires decoding, which causes transmission delays, and there's a high chance the enemy could intercept it. Telephones are much safer, and the communication quality is far superior to radio, but telephone lines need to be laid, which can only be done when both sides are stationary.

The Lord waved his hand: "Fine, radio it is then. I need to speak with the 54th Division."

With that, the Lord strode toward the door.

The staff officer by the door hurriedly opened it, then stood at attention, chest out, watching the Lord leave.

In the adjacent communications room, the communications staff officer shouted into the radio microphone: "Rhine, Rhine, respond if you hear me!"

"Rhine" is the radio call sign for the 54th Division.

After several calls, the staff officer handed the microphone and headset to the Lord: "It's connected, Brigadier General Hausen of the 54th Division."

The Lord took the equipment, cleared his throat, and said: "This is von Dietrich. What's the situation on your end?"

"I don't know, it's very chaotic, lots of retreating soldiers," Brigadier General Hausen's voice came through intermittently with static, "The retreating soldiers say it was Antonov's guard troops who attacked, while others claim the Eastern Holy Church deployed Holy Knights."

The Lord frowned: "Figure out the situation as soon as possible! I believe this is a limited counterattack by the enemy!"

"But, sir, the enemy used heavy artillery to launch smoke shells. There's no wind now, and the smoke is covering the ground. We can't see anything. Using so many smoke shells just for a probing attack doesn't make sense."

Dietrich looked out the window. Even from the communications room, he could see the thick smoke in the distant city.

The Lord raised his voice: "No, no, attacking at this moment doesn't make sense! This is just a defensive counterattack! Where would they attack to? Behind us are countless Prossenian troops!"

"But, Lord, the enemy... the retreating soldiers... what's going on?"

Dietrich's brows furrowed tightly: "Brigadier General Hausen! Brigadier General Hausen! There's gunfire on your end, what's happening?"

However, all he got in response was static noise.

Dietrich handed the headset and microphone back to the communications staff officer: "Fix the issue as soon as possible!"

The communications staff officer immediately checked the state of the radio itself, then inspected the hand-crank generator before reporting: "Lord, there's no mechanical failure."

The Lord: "Then keep calling!"

The communications staff officer didn't dare slack off, immediately shouting into the microphone: "Rhine, Rhine, respond if you hear me!"

The Lord began pacing in the communications room, tapping his cane against his palm as he walked.

After a while, the Lord pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it: "Five minutes already, what's going on?"

"It might be on Rhine's end-I mean, the 54th Division might have a mechanical failure. But..."

The communications staff officer hesitated.

The Lord: "But?"

"But the division headquarters has several high-powered radios. It's hard to imagine them all failing at once."

The Lord pursed his lips, his expression growing darker by the moment. He ordered: "The 54th Division might be in trouble. Our assessment of the enemy situation may have been too optimistic. Where is the army group's reserve force now?"

"They've reached Shulshevka."

The Lord: "Isn't that still over ten kilometers away from us? Why are they moving so slowly?"

The Chief of Staff looked helpless: "Traffic jam. The road conditions in the Anton Empire's territory are far worse than we imagined. The operational plan treated 'highways' as modern asphalt roads, but they're actually just compacted dirt roads."

The road capacity is very low, and it's also hard on the vehicles.

"So the troops advancing by vehicle are all stuck on the roads."

The Lord's expression looked as if he'd eaten something vile: "There are always problems on the battlefield. If it's not one thing, it's another. There's always something. Is there any other way to contact the 54th Division? Keep calling!"

The last sentence was directed at the communications staff officer, who hurriedly picked up the microphone to continue his mechanical task.

The Lord turned to the other staff officers.

The Chief of Staff spoke up: "The army group's reconnaissance battalion has cavalry. We could consider sending them."

The Lord pointed his cane out the window: "Although we're outside the city, the 54th Division is already inside."

At that moment, the still-trying communications staff officer suddenly stopped calling and said: "I have an idea. We can call the armored units assigned to our offensive. The tanks have radios inside."

The Lord: "Next time, remember to say 'report' first."

"Report!"

"No need to make up for it now! I've already heard your suggestion. Let's do it. Do you know the frequency for the armored units?"

The communications staff officer nodded: "Of course, we've picked up communications from the armored units before."

"Then call them."

The communications staff officer leaned close to the microphone again: "This is Eagle Nest, this is Eagle Nest, calling the armored unit commander."

The Lord continued pacing, his cane tapping against his left palm.

"Sir, it's connected!" The communications staff officer was overjoyed, handing over the microphone and headset.

The Lord took the equipment for the second time: "This is Lord Dietrich. Who am I speaking to?"

A voice in broken Prossenian came through: "It's your Anton grandpa!"

After that, it was all in the Anton language.

As a noble, the Lord spoke not only Prossenian but also Carolingian and Anton languages. In fact, before the war, there were frequent exchanges between the Prossenian and Anton courts, which led to the signing of a non-aggression pact.

So the Lord fully understood the insults from the other side, then responded in nearly accent-free Anton language: "So, you're an Anton soldier? You're not speaking from the 54th Division headquarters, are you?"

The other side clearly hadn't anticipated this situation and fell silent.

A moment later, the voice replied: "I don't know what this headquarters is. I can't read your Prossenian writing! Anyway, there are plenty of maps and documents here, all captured. Naturally, there will be staff who understand your language to study them thoroughly!"

The Lord's brows twisted into a knot. He immediately decided to extract more information and asked: "Brave Anton commander, may I know your name?"

"Do you think I'd reveal such information to you? Go to hell! Wash your neck and wait. I may not understand your writing, but I can read maps! I know where your headquarters is! Just wait and see!"

The Lord: "Wait a moment! This Anton officer!"

He shouted a few more times, but all he got in response was static noise.

The Lord turned to the Chief of Staff: "Have the guard battalion, reconnaissance battalion, and special battalion prepare for combat. Bring the headquarters' tanks up to the hilltop to prepare for an enemy attack!"

The Chief of Staff nodded: "Understood!"

The Lord looked at the thick smoke that had already engulfed a quarter of the city, clicking his tongue: "Is this really Duke Vladimir's command style? But I remember during joint military exercises between our two countries, the Duke was a stickler for convention..."

"In a situation like this, to take out one of our division headquarters, the person who launched this counterattack is a military genius!"

(End of Chapter)