Arc of Fire

Chapter 680: Chapter 18 Rocossov Returns to the Front Line

Wang Zhong’s plane had just entered the Front Army Air Force’s combat area when he saw Amelia leading a squadron of fighter jets to escort them.

Amelia even flew close enough to nearly collide with the special plane, waving her wings outside the porthole.

Wang Zhong suddenly felt something and turned his head to Ludmila, “Last October, when I just came back from Balas, I was almost shot down by the Prosens—it ended up being our own Army’s anti-aircraft fire that took me down. Amelia is probably worried something like that will happen again.”

Ludmila, “Hmm, you should really thank her for the enthusiasm.”

Wang Zhong stared at Ludmila for a few seconds before nodding, “Of course.”

Dozens of minutes later, the plane began its descent, with Amelia’s squadron of fighter jets still vigilant in the sky.

However, this time there was no disturbance from Prosen fighter jets, and the plane landed smoothly.

The moment the cabin door opened, Wang Zhong felt a hint of warmth, as the vanguard of summer had quietly arrived.

Facing the warm breeze of the steppe, Wang Zhong exited the cabin, descending the gangway to meet with the high-ranking officers of the Front Army who were already waiting.

Pavlov, “I’ve compiled a report on the enemy’s current activities, much more detailed than what’s been submitted to the High Command, which you can review on the way back to Headquarters.”

Wang Zhong, “Dumping work on me as soon as I get off the plane?”

"Anyway, you should have had plenty of rest in Yeburg.” Pavlov shrugged his shoulders.

Wang Zhong took the folder, casually asking, “Has the new equipment been distributed to the troops?”

Pavlov, “For the rocket launchers, we’ve established core training squads within various units to first learn the methods of use. Once the training squads have completed their instruction, they’ll then train the rest of the troops. However, the training squads report that the new weapons are very simple to use and some steps could be skipped.”

Wang Zhong, “When designing it, we emphasized that it should be easy for the troops to get the hang of quickly. It shouldn’t be more complicated than a grenade.”

"The training squads say it’s simpler than using grenades, and some even suggest that we could replace the warhead with a standard grenade for use as a hand grenade.”

"Let’s solve the anti-armor problem for individual soldiers first, then consider the rest.” Wang Zhong said as he got into a jeep, “What about the new tanks?”

Pavlov, who had intended to answer standing by the jeep, was instead invited on board by Ludmila, and she and Nelly got into another car behind.

As the car started, Pavlov replied, “The heavy tank battalions equipped with the Rokossovsky Type Heavy Tanks have already been assigned to both flanks. Once the defense phase is over, they will be thrown into a pincer offensive against the enemy.”

Wang Zhong, “How’s the concealment going?”

"Before the tanks arrived, we specifically excavated tank shelters according to the standards you wrote in the textbooks: double-layered ones where the tanks can be completely hidden and covered with camouflage nets.”

Pavlov paused, his face showing difficulty, “It’s feasible to hide the few heavy tanks this way, but hiding the enormous numbers of T34Ws would be a huge undertaking. For now, we’re just covering them with camouflage nets to obscure the real numbers from the enemy.”

Wang Zhong, “No matter, it’s fine if the enemy sees. After being tricked by us so many times, they’re probably paranoid to the point of sickness.”

The co-driver, Vasily, looked back, “In that case, how about I cook up some more trouble for the Prosens? I feel like I could write a book called ‘Art of Strategic Deception’ once the war is over. I’m not sure about other countries, but the Prosens would surely buy a lot to study… uh, will there even be a Prosen after the war?”

Wang Zhong, “Of course, there will be, but it’ll be a Secular faction’s Prosen, without the Emperor and the Junker Nobility.”

Pavlov, “All in all, our war preparations are proceeding methodically, and so are the enemy’s. The only question now is when the enemy will attack.

From our reconnaissance, the enemy has completed their troop assembly and can attack now. June 22nd also marks the exact two-year anniversary of their brazen invasion, and my staff and I are inclined to believe they will attack on this date.”

Wang Zhong, “We’ll have to see the status of the enemy’s new weapons. They certainly don’t want to go up against our Whirlwinds and Rokossovsky Type heavy tanks with just their Panzer IV’s long barrels.”

Pavlov, “The prisoners we’ve captured have mentioned a tank called the Tiger King, officially numbered as the Tiger VI, and another called the ‘Leopard,’ numbered as the Panther V.”

Wang Zhong, “One heavy and one medium, how many have we spotted on the front line?”

"We haven’t spotted any yet; we only got the model numbers from prisoner interrogations.”

Wang Zhong nodded, “We can’t be sure of when the enemy will attack, but General Gorky’s counterattack is set to launch on June 20th. It’s certain to disrupt the enemy’s deployment, and might even delay their advance.”

"Exactly how, I’ll know once I personally take to the skies for reconnaissance.”

Pavlov said, “I knew for sure you’d want to go up personally again. However, it’s strange to say, but according to our observations, the number of enemy fighter planes seems to have decreased.”

Wang Zhong replied, “A large number of fighter squadrons must have been called back to their homeland for air defense operations. This is good news.”

Pavlov nodded, “Yes, transport hubs lacking air cover are very vulnerable to surprise attacks by bombers like the Pe-2. We have already destroyed many trains transporting armored units.

"Compared to the past two years, the situation at the front has never been better.”

"Compared to the past two years, the situation at the front has never been worse!” Celtic Marshal said with a grave expression, “The impact of the return of air force fighters to the homeland is gradually showing. The Ante Air Force has begun to attack our logistics nodes without any scruples. Although the anti-aircraft artillery troops fight desperately, they can only disperse the enemy planes, with limited actual damage inflicted.”

Most of the time, anti-aircraft guns simply force the enemy planes to abandon precision attacks. Actually shooting down an enemy plane depends on luck.

Celtic Marshal said, “Also, the Elephant tank destroyers encountered significant problems during transport. Because they’re so heavy, they’ve outright crushed the flatbed cars. We’ve had to remove the armor and some of the load-bearing wheels, and transport them on separate flat cars.

"The Tiger King heavy tanks are facing similar issues. These super-heavy pieces of equipment are greatly delaying our ability to transport equipment to the front lines.

"The new Leopard tanks are also suffering from not being acclimated after reaching the front. Of the two Leopard Camps that reached the front, only half the tanks are combat-ready, the rest are under repair. The third Leopard Camp… is stuck on the road.”

Celtic Marshal put down the documents in his hand and looked towards the new Army Commander, Marshal Rundstedt.

Marshal Rundstedt pushed up the monocle clamped in his eye socket, “Your Majesty, given the current situation, launching an attack on June 22nd seems unrealistic. It would be better to stick with the original plan and attack on July 10th. We have the latest Land Stukas that will surely destroy the enemy’s constructed defenses!”

The Emperor said, “I wanted the attack in July. Who was it that suggested moving it up? Who said it would catch Rocossov by surprise? And someone advised to attack before Rocossov returned from Yeburg—why didn’t anyone consider the issues related to troop assembly then?”

Celtic Marshal said, “The staff officers who made these suggestions meant that we should not wait for new equipment and attack directly. As long as we start early, Rocossov won’t have time to deploy new equipment on a large scale.”

The Emperor said, “But it’s already mid-June now. Let’s consider how to maximize the advantage of the new equipment. How are Rocossov’s front-line defenses?”

Marshal Rundstedt said, “Our close reconnaissance is limited in effectiveness. Front-line troops report that the enemy are masters of camouflage. Barbed wire and land mines are all hidden in the fields, making them hard to detect.”

The Emperor said, “Then why not set fires? I don’t believe Rocossov’s troops will extinguish fires under our artillery fire. Burn the grasslands and whatever is hidden beneath will be exposed!”

"Your Majesty, it’s still too moist right now to start fires. If we truly want to burn the grasslands, we have to wait until July,” Marshal Rundstedt explained.

Giles stood up and suggested, “Your Majesty, since we’ve waited until now, it’s not too late to attack when we are fully prepared. Besides, the Ante Army has also been quiet, with no major military actions taking place.”

At this point, Duke Meyer spoke up while wiping sweat, “However, our aerial reconnaissance indicates that Ante’s Western Front Army is preparing to launch an offensive. The two Front Armies to the north and south of the Western Front Army are also clearly preparing to support it. This could be like the large-scale ‘floodwater’ attack last October.”

The Emperor waved grandly, “Don’t worry. The permanent defensive line we’ve constructed in the Central Army Group’s sector has been completed by fifty percent. It’s as impregnable as the West Wall.”

Marshal Rundstedt said, “The Carolines also claimed the Maginot Line was impregnable. But Carolingian ultimately surrendered. Even the most fortified position has its weaknesses. For us, lacking reserve forces, General Gorky’s attack tactics are even more dangerous than Rocossov’s pincer movements.”

The Emperor, frowning, said, “Then what do you want me to do? Pull part of our assembled fist to the center? No, we can’t do that! Withdraw well-trained new divisions from the homeland and reinforce the Central Army Group.

"Even new recruits can do well when firing from fortified positions! Our goal remains to consume Rocossov and force Ante to stop and negotiate with us! It would be even better if we could capture Rocossov alive!”

The generals in the operations room looked at each other with blank expressions.

At that moment, Giles spoke, “An attack, of course, is necessary. No war is won through incessant defense. But even if Rocossov is taken down, Ante is unlikely to cease hostilities, right?”

The Emperor said, “Then what do you propose? How should we end this war?”

Giles pursed his lips.

Suddenly, the entire meeting room fell silent.

Army officers exchanged glances, while Duke Meyer wiped the sweat away frantically.

Due to the repeated failures of air defense operations on the Prosen mainland, the Duke had already slid towards the edge of disfavor.

However, at this moment, neither the Army nor the Air Force officers could come up with a solution.

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