Cannon Fire Arc

Wang Zhong's side had just managed to radio the advancing 225th Armored Division.

As soon as he switched over, he saw T34 tanks chasing down Prosen's PAK38 anti-tank guns. It appeared that the Prosen gunners were scattering and fleeing, only to be mowed down by the tank's machine gun fire.

Watching the tanks crush the enemy, Wang Zhong suddenly realized the Prosen's anti-tank capabilities were not that great; after all, they hadn't yet started using 'Iron Fist' and magnetic mines, and this infantry division seemed to be without even the PAK40.

He guessed that the PAK40s were given priority to the Panzergrenadier Divisions, while the infantry divisions were still stuck with outdated PAK38s, which were no match for the T34s.

Wang Zhong watched his tank units rush through the Prosen positions, and then seven strong men jumped off an accompanying M3 Grant tank, swept the panicked Prussians clean, jumped back on the tank, and caught up with the advancing armored forces.

It had a bit of a modern combined-arms operation flavor.

Unfortunately, the M3's lethality against infantry wasn't high enough; they should put Bofors 40mm guns on the heads of the infantry fighting vehicles. The 40mm could kill infantry and occasionally also serve as anti-aircraft defense for the tank units.

While Wang Zhong was pondering these things, his communication with the armored troops ended, and he took a final look at the advancing units, particularly enjoying the sight of the Prussians who lacked anti-tank means scurrying like rats.

Very good.

The image vanished.

Then the screen from the Motor Rifle Guards lit up, and without delay, Wang Zhong switched over, only to see the assault spearhead of the Motor Rifle Guards passing by destroyed 88mm guns.

These 88mm anti-aircraft guns seemed to have been placed alongside the artillery battalion's 105mm and 150mm howitzers, presumably with the anti-aircraft battalion providing coverage for the artillery battalion.

Judging by the impact points of the explosions, Wang Zhong thought these were not the result of their own artillery fire, but rather the Air Force's impressive work in an air raid.

No wonder the 190th Division hadn't been artillery-barraged for several days, the guns had been destroyed.

The Air Force did a good job!

Wang Zhong recalled that the Soviet Air Force on Earth never achieved such high attack efficiency because during World War II their average training level was too low, making many attacks inaccurate.

This lack of training was even more obvious on the IL-2, which could not dive at steep angles.

Now, Wang Zhong had equipped the elite pilots of the Ant Air Force with the most suitable planes for the time, so it was normal for the attack efficiency to be greatly improved.

By the time his communication with the Motor Rifle Guards tank battalion also ended, Wang Zhong took one last look at the big guns left behind by the troops before contentedly ending his oversight.

The troops were making good progress and should be able to successfully insert themselves into position today.

According to aerial reconnaissance, the frontline of the First Mobile Group Army consisted entirely of infantry, and no matter how strong the Prosen infantry's attacking ability was, they were just infantry units after all.

It was quite a foolish idea to use infantry to attack across the open fields.

In other words, as long as he held the enemy's neck, the 190th Division, like a tasty snack, was as good as Wang Zhong's.

————

"Damn it!" General Boke stared at the two new lines on the map, which were the attack routes of the enemy forces identified by aerial reconnaissance, "They're executing a pincer movement! The enemy's goal isn't to break through our lines but to devour our 190th Division positioned at the front!"

If they broke through the lines, it would mean that after crossing the 190th Division's defensive area, the attacking pincers would continue on to strike the next division's defense area.

The pincer movement only needed to surround the 190th Division.

General Boke cursed, "I was misled by exercises with the Emperor on the map! Rocossov doesn't want to break through the center at all; he wants to devour us bit by bit! And he's not picky—He'll even eat infantry divisions!"

Chief of Staff: "What do we do now?"

General Boke thought for a moment and said, "Call back an Armored Division for a counter-attack to re-establish contact with the 190th Division."

The Chief of Staff shook his head, "That won't work. The Armored Troops are low on fuel. It was already disrupted because of enemy air raids on Shepetovka station, and now the enemy cavalry has burned a part, with what's left not yet delivered to the Armored Troops.

"The Armored Troops had already made a long advance for many days, and it was time for them to resupply."

General Boke stared at his Chief of Staff: "We've run completely out of fuel?"

"We have some, but there won't be much left if they return."

General Boke: "What if they come back and then resupply?"

The Chief of Staff's expression was grave: "Our supply plan is to postpone everything, every depot in the Army Group's control area is short on fuel. The enemy cavalry and air force have even burnt so much of our fuel, we're soon not going to have enough even for our trucks."
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General Boke cursed and paced back and forth in the tent. After walking a few steps, he stopped and furiously picked at his collar, finally flicking off a louse and a big chunk of skin onto the ground, where he crushed it with his foot: "Damn it! These godforsaken fields, the goddamn Ante People, and that cursed Rocossov!"

Chief of Staff: "Each of them we could handle alone, but together they're hard to manage."

General Boke paced around the tent a few times, then sighed deeply: "Request air drops of supplies from the air force, especially fuel, to at least get our Armored Troops moving and smash the enemy hard."

At that moment, the Chief of Staff reminded him with a serious face: "The enemy has new assault guns. According to reports from armored troops of the Sedd Division who escaped, those assault guns can perfectly conceal themselves in the grass and ambush from a long distance, penetrating our armor."

General Boke clenched his fists, then slowly relaxed them, saying, "Smoke bombs will allow our brave soldiers to close the distance with the enemy and engage the assault guns in close combat. Last year when the enemy's prayer men were not thoroughly defeated, we dealt with it in this manner, just continuing the old battle tactics from the past!

"Should we refrain from even attempting an attack because we know the enemy has new weapons? No, Prosen soldiers are not such cowards, and neither are Prosen generals!"

General Boke clenched his fists again: "Last year we were also at a loss against the T34s and KVs, but in the end, didn't we also achieve a glorious victory?"

The Chief of Staff thought for a while, then nodded vigorously: "I agree, we have to try no matter what. Let's have the 14th Armored Division come back. If the air drop is arranged quickly, by the time the Armored Division arrives tomorrow, the fuel will already be there."

"That's the plan!" General Boke banged the table.

———

The commander of the 18th Division of the 21st Cavalry Army watched the distant cloud of dust: "Is the enemy deploying armored troops to encircle us? Such a big cloud of dust?"

His Chief of Staff and the Military Bishop also stood upright on their horses, observing the distance.

The Chief of Staff spoke first: "They're not in an attack formation, more like they're rushing on their way."

The division leaders exchanged glances.

The Division Commander slapped his thigh: "Use the landmines we've captured! Attach the fuses and throw them on the ground, no need to bury them. The grass is so tall, the tanks won't see them! Get the smoke bombs ready. As soon as the leading tank is stopped by an explosion, throw the smoke bombs for cover, and then close in with Molotov cocktails to finish them off!"