Cannon Fire Arc

Wang Zhong rushed back to find the city under bombardment. Venturing in now might just get him blown up by a shell.

Moreover, Wang Zhong knew that during a bombardment, there was nothing one could do except lie flat on the ground to avoid the shells—those who didn't usually ended up dead, and the surviving few might have used up a lifetime's luck.

Thankfully, there were still plenty of troops outside the city: The armored division hadn't entered the city and was resting in place outside, as were the anti-tank gun units.

Now the commander of an army group, Wang Zhong couldn't possibly cram all his troops into the city.

Standing on a hill, he looked out towards the bombarded city, sincerely hoping that those familiar faces wouldn't meet misfortune.

At that moment, he suddenly understood something: When he first returned home from university, his grandmother would call every hour to ask about his situation, which irritated him. Now, he understood her feelings, as he too wanted to call over the radio soon to confirm that the army group headquarters was safe.

So that's how grandma felt, anxiously waiting for me to return home from the provincial city.

Amidst the enemy's bombardment, Wang Zhong suddenly spotted a jeep in the distance. Instinctively feeling it was for him, he switched his view and, sure enough, the visitor's tag was that of Major General Eugene, the commander of the 225th Division.

When the jeep stopped in front of Wang Zhong, Eugene got out of the car and saluted: "The armored battalion said you were here, so I came as fast as I could. I was planning to enter the city and report to the headquarters."

Wang Zhong pointed at the city, "It's to your fortune you didn't enter. Otherwise, you might have ended up getting bombed like Yegorov."

Major General Eugene glanced at the city, "If the enemy's artillery can hit inside the city, that means they are very close. Tanks could make a direct assault."

He looked to Wang Zhong expectantly, "Shall we give it a try?"

Wang Zhong pointed at Eugene and said to those by his side, "Look at this—before the battle started, Major General Eugene came to me saying, 'Why don't you replace me? I'd rather be a regiment commander again' 'I really don't know how to attack' and now he's the one suggesting we go on the offensive! A single battle has transformed Major General Eugene from that mine superintendent turned colonel into a hardened warrior!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Major General Eugene scratched his head, "I just thought it was an opportunity, so I made the suggestion."

Wang Zhong remarked, "I think by the time we finish this series of battles around the big bend of the Suhaya Weili River, we should promote the Major General to Lieutenant General and put him in command of an army!"

Other soldiers, in good spirits after their victory, immediately joined in the rousing chorus, "An army, an army!"

Major General Eugene was embarrassed, "The enemy is still bombarding us, it doesn't seem appropriate to discuss this now, does it, General?"

Wang Zhong replied, "We have no way to make the enemy stop their artillery fire, so there's no use wearing a mournful expression! You'll have to bear it, just be our happy clown!"

Everyone joined in the teasing, and Major General Eugene simply showed a kind smile, suggesting he wasn't the kind of fierce, tyrannical mine overseer during his days as a mine superintendent.

Then Wang Zhong shifted the topic: "But I cannot agree to launch an attack."

Eugene's smile froze, "Why not?"

Wang Zhong pointed to the distance, "According to the maps we captured, those are the artillery of the enemy infantry division."

He took out the captured map board, on which Vasily had penciled in Ante translations next to each Prosen word en route back.

Wang Zhong, pointing at the map board, said:

"Look, all infantry divisions are in front of us. The Prussians are very rigid in their use of various divisions: their infantry primarily defends, occasionally expanding occupied territories behind armored units, but they never use them to attack."

This was Wang Zhong's biggest takeaway from reading military history; in World War II, whenever the Sturmtiger attacked, the main force always had the "Panzer" element—like armored grenadier divisions, armored divisions.

Historically, the Sturmtiger usage of different divisions was like playing a game of matching pieces—armored divisions and armored grenadier divisions were responsible for attacks, counterattacks and the like, while the infantry was mainly trailing various units with "Panzer" elements, reinforcing occupied areas—in other words, defending.

Once in a while, an infantry division would spearhead a limited offensive to widen a breakthrough or retake lost positions, but these were local and confined—massive offensive operations at the campaign level would always consist of units with "Panzer" elements.

Armored divisions could also partake in defense battles but generally as a counter-attack; essentially, they took part in offensive operations.

Only heavy tank battalions acted as fire brigades, thrown into purely defensive operations.

It was for these reasons that Sturmtiger's infantry divisions were highly proficient at defense.

Wang Zhong now believed that the Prosen would likely follow the same "doctrine"—these infantry divisions probably wouldn't attack but would instead hunker down after taking in the fleeing troops from the routed armored divisions to establish defensive positions, such as deploying 88 mm anti-aircraft guns at ground level.

Wang Zhong was aware of this, but the others were not, so right after he mentioned "the Prussians will defend," Major General Eugene showed a puzzled look, "Why? Just because they are infantry divisions?"

Vasily interjected, "That famous Prosen General Erwin even wrote a book called 'Infantry Attack'!"

Wang Zhong pointed at the endless grasslands and meadows in front of him, "Look at this plain! Not all grasslands are like the tall grass we've seen—you can drive a jeep through this kind of grass. How could infantry mount an attack here?"

Vasily and Major General Eugene turned to scan the vast grasslands together.

Vasily responded, "Indeed."

Wang Zhong continued, "But if enemy infantry stops and defends, they can hide their positions in the grass. PAK40 and the even more terrifying 88mm guns. No, we cannot rashly attack now, we must at least wait for our own artillery to come up first."

The First Mobile Group Army's artillery now only reaches Yeisk, and it wasn't until after the city was taken that the artillery positions started moving forward. They aren't in place yet.
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Vasily: "So, we're just waiting here now?"

Brigadier General Eugene suddenly lit up with excitement, "We're starting garrison duty, right? Time to dig trenches?"

The call of blood suddenly rose within the General of the Miners!

Wang Zhong, however, stroked his chin and fell into deep thought while looking at the map board seized from the pilot's hands.

————

"Order the four infantry divisions to halt and set up defenses, and accommodate the remnants of Sturmtiger Division," commanded General Boke. "We had hoped for Sturmtiger Division to hold Yeisk, but as expected, armored divisions are not suited for defense, hence the current disastrous defeat."

He picked up the goblet from the map table and took a sip of vodka, his brow furrowing at the spirit's sharpness: "Damn, I'm still not used to this stuff. For a Prussian's taste, it's a bit too spicy. Maybe the people of Melania would like it."

General William von Frederick, the commander of the Sixth Army Group, also raised his glass, "I quite like it, as long as I don't drink too much. The Ante People drink this like water, which I really can't understand."

General Boke finished the last of his vodka, put down the glass, and refocused his attention on the map:

"There's still a chance to salvage the situation. Rocossov definitely wants to break through the center! That was Emperor Reinhard's favorite tactic during map exercises!"

General Boke paused and chuckled, "And because of that, every one of us has become very proficient in dealing with this tactic."

General Frederick laughed too, "Yes, it's all too familiar. The center defense forces take the brunt of the attack, and the flanks encircle. That's all there is to it."

General Boke nodded, "The problem now is how we can hold off Rocossov's offense on the vast grasslands. Fortunately, we learned from the retreating Sturmtiger Division members that Rocossov doesn't have many armored forces."

"And among his armored forces, the mainstay is a kind of assault gun! Although named for assault, assault guns are actually not suited for offense; we all know this very well!"

General Frederick: "Rocossov will pay for his misplaced faith in assault guns! Of course, according to descriptions from the front, these assault guns have very strong front armor. We might have to order our forces to conceal the anti-tank gun positions as much as possible and fire at close range."

General Boke: "Our infantry divisions will show the Ante People what true indomitable defensive spirit is!"

————

"If we station our defense here, wouldn't that be exactly what the enemy wants?" Wang Zhong suddenly said. "They plan to pincer us!"

Vasily: "But advancing also fits into what the enemy wants. You said they will concentrate their forces for defense."

"True."

Wang Zhong, looking at the map, said, "But look, when we scouted in this direction, we encountered a vast meadow, where vehicles can hardly move. Tanks can pass, but logistics can't follow easily, at least not without difficulty, right?"

Vasily: "We could use bulldozers to make a road."

"But that would be troublesome. We need to find a herdsman from the grasslands to figure out how big this meadow is and where its boundaries lie."

Brigadier General Eugene looked confused, "What are you planning to do?"

Wang Zhong: "I'm not sure yet, but something tells me it's important to find out the size of the meadow. And we already know there's a marsh here; the size of the marsh is also important. We need to find a herdsman on the grasslands and ask."

Vasily: "Why not ask the Parish Priest? He surely knows where to find the herdsmen."

Wang Zhong nodded.

Just then, the rumbling sound of artillery that had been in their ears stopped.

Wang Zhong: "Let's go and find the Parish Priest!"

————

"This is the Parish Priest," said the local village elder, pointing to the row of bodies hanging from the streetlamp ahead. "We urged the Priest to leave quickly, but he insisted on staying with the young priests, to be with us. Then the Prussians killed them all."

Wang Zhong looked at the bodies swaying in the breeze, listened to the creaking sounds from the lamp post, and clenched his fists in silence.

"Take them down and bury them properly."

The soldiers, not waiting for orders from Vasily and other officers, took the initiative and climbed up to the lamp post.

Wang Zhong then asked the village elder leading the way, "Where do we go to get in touch with the herdsmen? The herdsmen of the grasslands."

The elder: "There are herdsmen settled in the city, lived here for just over five years, moved in when the church began using price guidance to buy wool and milk. He's the liaison for the herdsmen in the city."

Wang Zhong asked an important question, "Is he still alive?"

"He was alive before the enemy bombardment; at least, when I saw him last, he was alive."

Wang Zhong: "Can you take me to find him?"