Arc of Fire

Chapter 649: Chapter 91: Bewitching Maze

January 7, 916, at 1031 hours, Kiriyenko rode his horse to the summit of Hill 361.

This was the core defensive position for the Prosen people, but now not a single Prosen was alive.

After reaching the summit, his deputy officer said, “With the amount of ammunition fired, this hill should perhaps be renamed Hill 360, or even 359.”

Kiriyenko replied, “That’s not bad at all; one more ton of ammunition, one less liter of blood spilled—it’s a bargain.”

The deputy officer nodded, “Yes, quite the bargain indeed.”

At this moment, on the highway beside Hill—no, Hill 359, tanks and trucks were driving along the road, flanked by quickly advancing columns of infantry.

And the cavalry charged directly across the vast snowy plains.

Kiriyenko lifted his binoculars and peered ahead, “I don’t see the flash of gunfire. Has the enemy’s infantry division truly collapsed?”

The deputy officer said, “Whether they have collapsed or not doesn’t concern us, our mission is to infiltrate… General, this tactic is indeed strange, sending us so deep behind enemy lines; no such method exists in the history of cavalry warfare.”

Kiriyenko replied, “That’s Rocossov for you, promoted from lieutenant colonel to general in just over a year. He’s a living legend; none of his peculiar ideas surprise me.”

Kiriyenko lowered the binoculars and sighed, “But I myself have no confidence in this tactic. When Rocossov had the cavalry cross the frozen river to attack, I could still understand.

"In that situation, beyond the river were the enemy’s supply units and rear guard, not many troops capable of combat. Now we’re supposed to insert ourselves among enemy units that are capable of fighting.”

The deputy officer reassured him, “Take it easy. The general only tasked us with disrupting communications, killing messengers, and, depending on the situation, destroying supply units. He didn’t order us to hold ground against enemy combat units.”

Kiriyenko conceded, “Indeed, but… never mind, a soldier’s duty is to obey orders and do our best to accomplish the mission. Let’s go!”

With that, he gently spurred his horse’s flanks, and the horse trotted down the slope. A large group of followers descended the hill with Kiriyenko, merging with the westward advancing army.

Pavlov hung up the phone and reported to Wang Zhong, “The enemy’s front line positions have completely collapsed, and now we will see the effect of your new cavalry infiltration tactic.”

Wang Zhong stated, “It will be effective.”

The cavalry infiltration tactic was developed by Wang Zhong after summarizing experiences from November, drawing some inspiration from a tactic of the “strongest light infantry.”

Yet, Wang Zhong did not task his cavalry with holding critical nodes to delay the enemy, as cavalry is not suited for such tasks. Thus, he assigned them the mission to disrupt enemy communications and create chaos in their rear.

In any case, after these tens of thousands of cavalrymen penetrate deep into enemy territory, their sole mission is to keep marching forward—cutting down telephone lines, killing messengers, and bombing supply points.

As long as they can disrupt the enemy, cause destruction, and interfere with enemy headquarters’ decisions, they would have served their purpose.

In truth, Wang Zhong did not know how effective this tactic would be.

But it was worth a try. If it proves ineffective, he could think of improvements, like assigning three horses to each commando team member so they could gallop across the great plains, dismount at their destination, and infiltrate to cause havoc.

Popov observed, “A year ago, we thought cavalry was an outdated branch, not much use. Now, the number of cavalry is nearly back to pre-war levels.”

Wang Zhong replied, “There’s no such thing as a useless branch, only useless commanders. I only realized the value of cavalry on the vast plains of Nan’ant last summer—well, the summer before last.”

Though a week had already passed into the new year, Wang Zhong still occasionally forgot that it was already the new year.

Vasily commented, “I wonder how long it will take for the enemy to realize we are actually advancing towards Bolsk.”

Wang Zhong wagered, “24 hours.”

January 7, Eagle’s Nest, local time 0830.

The Prosen Emperor Rheinhardt burst into the command room and, seeing the assembled generals, exclaimed, “Damn it, why didn’t you wake me up? How long has Rocossov been in action?”

The Celtic Marshal, Chief of the General Staff, responded, “There’s a three-hour time difference; it’s almost noon there, the attack has been underway for five hours.”

The Emperor asked, “What’s the situation?”

The Celtic Marshal reported, “It’s chaos. The Eleventh Army Group and four miscellaneous divisions deployed on the front line have lost contact, along with a series of depots and supply stations.

"The Eleventh Army Group reports being harassed by cavalry. A massive number of cavalry bypassed their positions and advanced deep into the battle line.”

The Emperor suddenly looked up, “Cavalry? Did you say cavalry?”

"Yes, cavalry,” Celtic Marshal nodded.

The Emperor sneered, “When I sent Xiplin to rescue the Sixth Army Group, he claimed that Rocossov was going to encircle him and that if he didn’t retreat, even his Army Group would be surrounded.

"After the retreat, it turned out that Rocossov had only sent some cavalry to make it look like an encirclement! Now, it’s cavalry again! Always cavalry!

"Where are Rocossov’s armored troops? Where are those terrifying new heavy tanks that terrified our soldiers?

"Right here!”

The Emperor picked up the map stick and slammed it down on the city of Yarvik.

"This is his real direction of attack, creating such a spectacle just to deceive us, making us divert our frontline defense troops! He still hasn’t forgotten about Shepetovka!”

Celtic Marshal looked towards Marshal Bryan.

Army Commander Bryan spoke up, “Your Majesty, even if we don’t divert troops towards the direction of Shepetovka, we should still send reinforcements to Bolsk, in case Rocossov’s thinking is the same as General Gorky of the Western Front Army, deploying troops wherever they break through our defenses.”

"That means he would attack both directions at the same time!” the Emperor said decisively, “But currently, he has only attacked Army Group A, assuming the posture of recapturing Bolsk! Therefore, this is certainly a feint; the real attack direction is Shepetovka!”

After speaking, the Emperor was silent with a frown, as if he too began to fear the consequences should Bolsk fall.

At that moment, Giles suggested, “We could have the navy move its ships to the waters near the Coastal Fortress. With support from the naval artillery, it won’t be so easy for Rocossov to seal the ‘pocket,’ and we could start mobilizing transport ships. If truly surrounded, we could emulate the United Kingdom’s great evacuation and sea-evacuate the Army Group A.”

The Emperor was delighted, “Good, that would be perfect. All we have to do is wait for Rocossov to fall into the trap and decimate his troops on the plains of Nan’ant!”

Prosen Army Group A Headquarters.

General Steiermark was holding the receiver, waiting for the operator to connect the line.

He had now moved his office from its isolated location to the bustling main operation room.

Before the call was connected, his Deputy Officer reported, “All telephone lines with the frontline units in the direction of the enemy’s breakthrough are out of contact, but we still have phone contact with the Eleventh Army Group Headquarters.”

General Steiermark signaled for quiet with a gesture just as the call connected, and he shouted, “This is Steiermark! I need to speak to the Emperor!”

Before Schneider could say much on the other end, his voice changed (it seemed the phone was snatched away).

The voice of the Emperor of Prosen transmitted over the phone, “Do not panic. I’ve sent naval forces as your backup. Even if Rocossov truly intends to encircle you, you can still escape by boat.

"At the moment, the High Command assesses that Rocossov is still intending to attack Shepetovka. The noise from your side is just a feint.”

Steiermark replied, “I’ve already lost contact with many units!”

"It’s the doing of Rocossov’s cavalry!” the Emperor asserted confidently, “It’s a trick he’s used before. Actually, your units are all right; it’s just that communications are cut off! Don’t let him scare you. Of course, if you’re really worried, you can launch a counterattack. The scale of a feint won’t be very big. Deploy your Armored Division; they’ll quickly show their true nature. Moreover, from general military principles, you should also deploy an Armored Division to counterattack during defense!”

Steiermark countered, “Are you asking me to confront the enemy’s new assault guns on the open fields? They call that assault gun Whirlwind, and even our Panzer IV tanks, if fitted with an additional 30mm armor plate, would be easily penetrated by its main cannon!”

"Last year’s method of dealing with the KV tanks will work against this Whirlwind too! Just hold firm, and there’ll be a way!”

With that, the Emperor hung up.

General Steiermark slammed the receiver on the desk, “Damn it!”

Deputy Officer: “Does the Emperor still not believe our main direction of offensive?”

"Yes, he insists it’s a feint, but he assured us the navy has mobilized, and since we control the White Sea, even if we’re encircled by land, we can escape by sea.”

The Deputy Officer frowned, “But the Allied Forces’ aircraft have already sunk the flagship of the White Sea fleet. Can a few cruisers really suppress the Ante navy entirely?”

General Steiermark took a few seconds to think and responded, “We don’t understand naval matters, best not to worry about it. We need to figure out how to reallocate our remaining commandable forces to assist the Eleventh Army Group; that’s the proper course of action. Whether or not this is a feint, that’s what we should do. If there’s blame later, I have a clear conscience! Chief of Staff!”

The Chief of Staff immediately put down his receiver and stood up, “Yes, sir!”

"Have the Army Group reserve forces move north—no, advance north and attack, destroying all encountered Ante forces, whether they are cavalry or armored troops.”

The Chief of Staff, with a troubled expression, said, “As reserves, both armored divisions reported yesterday that together they have only a hundred tanks combat-ready.”

General Steiermark asked, “How is it so few?”

"Because the last time we received reinforcements was last September, and those were inadequate too; at that time, those divisions had only the strength of one armored battalion.”

After a few seconds of silence, General Steiermark made a firm decision, “Still, let them move north!”

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