Cannon Fire Arc

"What, you can't do it?" Chief of General Staff William Kyle stared at Duke Meyer.

Duke Meyer pulled out a handkerchief edged with gold and bearing his family crest to wipe his sweat and said, "Our Air Force's close air support effectiveness on fast-moving cavalry troops is likely to be inadequate; we can only resort to machine-gun strafing. Furthermore, the high grass on this prairie greatly hampers our ability to search for the enemy from the air."

The Imperial Emperor asked, "You mean to say that the Air Force has no way to deal with cavalry?"

"We have a way; fighter strafing will do the job, but—"

"But what?" the Emperor pressed.

Meyer Marshal shrugged, "Our fighters are only equipped with two machine guns and 1,000 rounds of reserve ammunition; this firepower is quite weak for ground attacks, and the density is not sufficient.

"The new bombers obtained by the Ante people from the Federation, according to the wreckage we've retrieved, are equipped with eight machine guns, specialized for ground attacks."

In reality, that was not the case; this was purely a configuration for aerial combat. As long as the firepower was ferocious, even pilots with poor shooting skills could bring down enemy aircraft.

The Emperor looked at Duke Meyer, and although he said nothing, the pressure he exerted made the Duke sweat profusely.

He hurriedly suggested, "Perhaps we could try letting BF110 fighters fly low to conduct strafing runs; these aircraft have sufficient firepower, but—"

"But what?" William Kyle now hardly concealed his mood of enjoying the trouble.

Duke Meyer said, "These fighters are currently deployed on the western front to counter the pervasive attacks of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force. The rugged Royal Air Force fighters bear destruction well, and our 109 fighters can only effectively damage them with 20mm cannons, but those cannons only have 200 rounds of reserve ammunition."

The Emperor waved his hand, "Immediately transfer an air squadron specifically to search and annihilate the enemy's cavalry troops!"

Duke Meyer nodded, "Yes, right away. But—"

"What now?" the Emperor asked.

"I suggest that the Army also take action to counter the enemy's cavalry troops, rather than just relying on the efforts of our Air Force."

William Kyle interjected, "Of course, we will contribute. Once Moravia's cavalry troops are in place, we will immediately send them to face off against the enemy's cavalry. But now, the Ant Air Force's attacks on our train stations and various transportation hubs are becoming more frequent. The Air Force has not completely secured air supremacy as promised."

Duke Meyer, having been ridiculed for so long, was now also losing his temper. He slammed the table and exclaimed angrily, "That's because Ante is too vast! Unless we establish more radar stations across Ante, we basically can't guarantee effective air supremacy!

"But when we go to transport materials and equipment to the front lines to establish radar stations, the Army interferes, insisting on prioritizing ammunition and fuel!"

Chief of Staff William Kyle sharply retorted, "But you still managed to get those radar stations up there!"

"So we also secured air supremacy over areas covered by radar! If you want more air supremacy, you must transport more radar and construct more radar stations!"

At that point, Army Commander-in-Chief Von Bulein intervened as a peacemaker, "Alright, the front has always been accumulating ammunition and fuel for Operation Blue, which can't be helped given the poor infrastructure in Ante!"

Emperor Reinhard suddenly cut him off, "Then build highways in Ante according to our standards! And upgrade the railway hub equipment."

The entire map room at Eagle's Nest fell silent.

The Emperor frowned, "What's the matter? I should have asked you to start building roads last year."

"Yes, starting last winter, we began constructing asphalt roads in the occupied territories. After half a year of construction, we've made some progress, and the efficient logistics this time owe much to the roadwork from last year. But—highways and such—"

"We did the same in Melania. Constructing highways solidifies our rule. The territories in Ante that we now occupy will belong to us forever. There's nothing wrong with building roads to strengthen control! It will also facilitate the maneuvering of our rear forces to suppress guerrilla warfare!" the Emperor stated.

The generals exchanged glances.

Finally, the head of Armored Troops, General Moochi, spoke up, "Ante will be defeated this year, and building these roads to strengthen our rule is a good thing. In the future, we'll still have to compete with the Federation for world hegemony. It now seems unlikely that the Empire of Fusang will be able to defeat the Federation alone.

"We may also need to use Ante's railways to support the Empire of Fusang. Building highways to enhance control is all benefit and no harm."

After the head of Armored Troops finished speaking, the entire room remained silent.

The Emperor angrily declared, "Or are you all saying that you think the war cannot be ended this year?"

"Of course not. But now the first stage of Operation Blue has already begun to experience delays," William Kyle chose his words carefully, "and Rocossov has launched a surprise cavalry attack, we worry—"

The Emperor raised his voice, "There's nothing to worry about! Cavalry sabers cannot cut through tanks; the cavalry failed in Melania, and they will fail again now! Operation Blue will certainly be completed successfully; we will control Abawahan and shut off the passage for inner sea vessels to directly enter the Valdai Hills River. Our Air Force will cut off the maritime routes over the inner sea.

"By that time, we'll have seized the oil fields of Kuba, and Ante will surrender in famine and cold!

"They're just some cavalry that have been eliminated by the times; they cannot change the overall situation!"

Having said that, the Emperor slammed his hand down on the table, putting an end to the entire discussion.

————

Ante Army First Mobile Group Army Headquarters, Yeisk.

Since the headquarters was directly located in the large warehouse, Wang Zhong could stand beside the wireless radio company and watch them calling the cavalry troops.

The signal corps' loud voice kept echoing in Wang Zhong's ears, "Augustus calling Cassius, Augustus calling Cassius!"

Augustus was the radio call sign of the Army Group Headquarters, while Cassius represented the 20th Cavalry Army.

The signal corps had been calling for two hours now, with no response whatsoever.

The signal company commander came over to salute Wang Zhong, saying, "The radios carried by the cavalry are too low powered, they probably can't receive our calls. When they stop to camp, they might power a higher-wattage radio using hand-cranked generators, then maybe we can establish contact."

Popov, "Wouldn't it be better to just send a telegram once they stop, they're sure to receive that."

Company Commander, "Telegrams need to be decrypted, and by the time we receive it, it will probably be tomorrow morning."

Wang Zhong glanced at his watch, "It's not much of a difference then."

Just then, a cryptographer stood up at the telegraph station and dashed over to the signal company commander, handing over a telegram.

Wang Zhong, "Where's the telegram from?"

"The Air Force." After taking a quick glance, the commander started reading, "'Air Force to First Mobile Group Army, Air Force troops have discovered a large number of advancing cavalry units on the ground, judged to be our Cavalry. Bombed the enemy units ahead of the Cavalry, hereby informed.'"

Wang Zhong took the telegram and glanced at it, handing it over to Popov, "The Air Force seems unaware that we've temporarily reinforced with two additional cavalry armies."

"Who would've thought that the cavalry would suddenly be given such an important task, when everyone's reorganizing the cavalry into armored troops," Popov replied.

Wang Zhong walked toward the map, looking at the arrows indicating the cavalry's advance, "I hope we can achieve good results this time."

Pavlov, looking up from signing documents, "The key now is not what outcome the cavalry achieves, but what comes next. When the cavalry exhausts its supply and retreats, the enemy will surely continue their advance. What then?"

Wang Zhong, "Here's what I'm thinking, we are facing the enemy's 190th Infantry Division upfront, can we consume this division? We originally planned to annihilate the enemy's Asgard Knights and Suvorov's Armored Division, but an unexpected foggy assault pushed the enemy out of the city, losing the chance to surround and annihilate them and only managing to rout that division.

"Now the 190th Division is in front of us, can't we deploy our maneuver forces to launch a small pincer movement amidst the confusion created by the cavalry?"

Pavlov, "Just one division? Your appetite seems quite small."

Wang Zhong shrugged, "No choice, if possible, of course, I would like to devour something big like last year's Karanskaya encirclement. For now, nibbling on something small isn't that bad. Don't complain about the portion, we must eat one bite at a time."

At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, Wang Zhong noticed a messenger entering the headquarters, saluting Vasily, handing him a letter, then saying a few words.

Wang Zhong, "Vasily, what's the situation?"

Vasily immediately reported, "The recon unit of the 225th Division has confirmed a new enemy badge, after comparisons, it's found to be the enemy's 74th Infantry Division. The envelope brought by the messenger contains a photograph of this unit number."

As he spoke, he opened the envelope, pulled out the photograph, and showed it to Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong only recognized the insignia of the more famous divisions; he didn't recognize this one for the 74th Division. But since the staff officers of the 225th Division had already compared it against the badge summary issued by High Command for the Prosen troops, there shouldn't be any major issues.

Pavlov, "Now it's two divisions."

Wang Zhong, "Two infantry divisions, still manageable. The pincer move will cut off the enemy's logistics, then after shelling them heavily for a few days, that should be about it."

Pavlov, looking at Wang Zhong, "If you've made your decision, then I will start working on the operation plan."

"Go ahead, aim to finish the campaign within five days. This is a small-scale, localized battle."

Pavlov nodded, picked up the document he had just finished, and handed it over to the clerk, "Handle it like this. Also, call all the military staff over."

Wang Zhong watched as the staff rushed from various parts of the headquarters, busy working on new battle plans under Pavlov's direction, and silently took a step back.

Vasily, "You're that confident in leaving the entire combat plan to the Chief of Staff?"

Wang Zhong, "I finished last in the class; they're better at devising operation plans than I am. If you don't believe me, ask Pavlov; he'll definitely say, 'The commander just needs to charge around in his little tank; operation planning requires considering a lot more.'"

Just as Vasily was about to reply, someone from the signal company shouted, "We've received a telegram from the cavalry troops."

Wang Zhong hurried over, only to find the telegraph operator intently recording the telegram, not even beginning the decryption step yet.

He could only close his mouth, watching as the telegraph operator recorded a string of dots and dashes in his notebook.