Cannon Fire Arc

Harlamov entered the room and saluted Wang Zhong first, "Greetings to you, General Rokossovsky."

Wang Zhong, "How are you adjusting? After all, there are no capital soirées or girls here. I know about you pilots, always quickly hooking up with girls whenever you're on the ground."

"That's a prejudice, General. We would rather dance in the sky with the enemy than with the girls on the ground."

Wang Zhong, "And how did that dance go?"

"Shot down three," Harlamov said with a smile, "and all of them were Stukas we caught at low altitude, just like you suggested. They often use their high speed after diving to escape, but we cruise at 3,000 meters to gather speed. Once we spot an enemy plane diving, we are faster, and a simple crossing can secure a victory."

Wang Zhong, "Didn't their 109s engage with you?"

"I didn't encounter any, but my squad mate Semyon said he took them down with a slight maneuver."

Wang Zhong chuckled. The performance of the Yak-1 was far inferior to the Yak-3, but it wasn't a problem to take on the current 109s at low altitude.

The key was low altitude.

Harlamov, "General, how are you so familiar with air combat?"

Because I play War Thunder—but sadly I can't say that, so Wang Zhong casually said, "Vasily told me."

Vasily was shocked, "Me?"

Wang Zhong, "Uh, another Vasily. He's in the flying club."

Vasily, "Did he also pick dung?"

Wang Zhong was embarrassingly off-topic, forcibly changing the subject, "Where are the photos? The aerial reconnaissance photos?"

Harlamov took out an envelope marked "Top Secret", "Here. After submitting it to the intelligence agencies of the Church and the Front Army, the Church said they could give you a copy. This is the first time I've encountered such a situation."

Wang Zhong, "Because I'm quite familiar with his excellency the Grand Patriarch."

Wang Zhong wasn't lying; he really was familiar.

The Grand Patriarch even toasted to me.

But everyone else clearly took it as a joke and laughed heartily.

Pavlov took the envelope and passed it to Popov, "You open it. If something goes wrong, you're less likely to crash and burn."

Without hesitation, Popov tore open the envelope and dumped the photos onto the map table.

Wang Zhong picked up a photo and then confirmed his cheat was of no use with photos.

His cheat could only highlight enemies within his own field of view, and it had been like this from the start.

So Wang Zhong gave up on deciphering those very blurry photos and directly asked Harlamov, "Is there anything notable?"

Instantly, Harlamov picked out several photos by their numbers, "These are enemy supply depots discovered by reconnaissance, located at these places."

Harlamov took a pencil and marked on the map the corresponding photo numbers.

Wang Zhong, "Can our artillery reach them?"

Pavlov picked up a pair of compasses and measured on the map, "No, it's beyond max range."

Harlamov continued, "Judging by the supplies the enemy is stockpiling at these depots, there are two main directions for their next attack: the first is here, and the second is the ford defended by General Kashuk's troops downstream."

Pavlov, "We have a bridge here, but the water is relatively deep. Even if the enemy uses technology to attack from the riverbed, it's difficult to pass here. But General Kashuk's position is shallower due to the dry season. They're likely under more pressure than we are."

Wang Zhong nodded, then asked Harlamov, "What about the enemy's troop deployment? Are there enemy defenses on the roads to these depots?"

"Yes." Harlamov quickly pulled out new photos, "Look, these are trenches; clearly, there are already enemy forces in front of us. And this village, see here."

He laid a photo in front of Wang Zhong, pointing at a courtyard, "This is the enemy's truck, and here. It's clear that the enemy has occupied this village."

Wang Zhong, "Can our artillery hit it?"

Pavlov picked up the compasses, but upon realizing Harlamov hadn't marked the map yet, he looked up at the Air Force lieutenant colonel.

Harlamov wrote the photo number on the map.

"Tuhaka..." Pavlov muttered the name on the map and measured with the compasses, "We can hit it. We've actually scouted the area; there's a slight discrepancy with the map coordinates, but it doesn't affect targeting."

Wang Zhong, "You've actually scouted it?"

"We scouted ahead before the enemy got here as you suggested when you summarized your experiences. Naturally, we took over when you were away."

Wang Zhong, "Good, fire away. Wait, have we resupplied our artillery?"

Popov, "A portion has arrived; now, we have 18 operational 152mm heavy artillery. We've also received one and a half base loads of shells."

Wang Zhong snapped his fingers, "Then open fire!"

Pavlov immediately picked up the phone, "Connect to the Artillery Corps."

————

In the barracks of the Artillery Corps, the sudden assembly whistle sounded.

The transferred artillery operator, Dmitri, exclaimed, "I knew it! As soon as the general returns, we'd be firing the cannons! And in the middle of the night, no less!"

The curious recruit asked, "What are we blowing up?"

"The enemy," was the reply.

"The enemy is here?" the recruit was shocked, "I didn't see them!"

"Fool, we're hitting the enemy miles away, aiming to send them to heaven in their sleep. Hurry up, hurry up, get moving!"

————

Pavlov hung up, "The Artillery Corps needs time to assemble, after all, they are not in a pre-battle state. And it's so late now, many of the recruits have probably gone to sleep."

Wang Zhong said, "Get them used to it as soon as possible. Any other intelligence?"

Harlamov reported, "Currently, our front seems to be facing enemy infantry units. We didn't see any armored units, that's all."

It seemed that the efficiency of aerial reconnaissance at this time could only go so far.

Wang Zhong pondered when he could take a plane ride himself and light up all the enemy positions.

Looking at the map, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "With enemy infantry on our front, is the railway to Shepetovka cut off? How will they manage their supplies?"

Pavlov answered, "Currently, the route to Bolsk is maintaining supply lines. And it looks like they will retreat in that direction, joining the Bolsk Front Army. Currently, the duke is trying to break the encirclement, but with little success. The enemy has reinforced the front with infantry, and in the current state, it's unassailable."

Everyone on site, except for the Air Force, knew just how powerful the Prosen infantry's combat strength was.

Wang Zhong inquired, "Do we have contact with the enemy on our front?"

"Our patrols have made contact with the enemy," Pavlov marked two crosses on the map, "Neither side gained the upper hand in the exchange of fire. Just yesterday afternoon, we also spotted a small motorized unit within sight of our bridgehead."

The entire western bank was controlled by just one Guard Division in a bridgehead.

Wang Zhong asked further, "How's the construction of the bridgehead fortifications?"

"They are permanent fortifications cast with concrete. However, the concrete needs time to harden, and if the enemy attacks right now, 152mm artillery could easily breach the bridgehead," Pavlov clicked his tongue, "Luckily, the enemy won't attack right away."

Wang Zhong deduced, "The enemy's armored units should have completed their mission; they are currently resting and reorganizing. I wonder how long they need to recuperate."

————

"We expect the rest and reorganization to last until mid-September," Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch of the Second Armored Cluster told Plathen Emperor Reinhard, "We have two divisions that suffered heavy losses, with combat-ready tank numbers falling to less than five percent. This is all thanks to the notorious General Rokossovsky's doing."

Von Mauch saw his majesty frown and immediately added, "Fortunately, after driving Rokossovsky's forces out of Orachi, our battlefield repair units have fixed some of the tanks. We expect to restore more tanks in the next 30 days.

"The two heavily hit divisions' combat-ready tank numbers will recover to 50%, plus they have some redundant tank operators, just awaiting tank reinforcement; those divisions could fully regain their strength."

Having finished, Field Marshal Von Bock immediately supplemented, "The enemy abandoned many tanks on the battlefield, which can be brought back into service with minor repairs. This shows the enemy's logistics support is very poor; they have practically no repair capabilities.

"We can utilize these tanks, turning their weapons against them!"

Von Mauch nodded, "Yes. The troops have already received some of the enemy's tanks, and they hold a high opinion of the heavy tanks, in addition to the T34 tanks, which are quite good. However, they find it uncomfortable to use them without a commander and radio.

"They only want to use the platoon leader's tanks from among those. Additionally, the poor aiming devices and accuracy of the Ante People's cannons have been widely criticized."

The Plathen Emperor shook his head, "If these tanks are so deficient, how did they achieve such brilliant victories? Especially the heavy tanks; I've read many reports of them destroying large numbers of our tanks, which were ultimately taken down by infantry."

Von Mauch answered, "That must refer to the KV-type tanks. At present, the troops' evaluation of these tanks is quite good, with no bad feedback except for serious mechanical failures. I've already sent a KV tank back to the Imperial Tank Research Center.

"To counter the enemy's armor advantage, we urgently need a type of heavy tank equipped with an 88mm cannon, and with armor comparable to the enemy's."

The Plathen Emperor stood up, shaking his head, "No, no, gentlemen. You are overly concerned. Although it took us longer than expected to eliminate Argesukov's forces, we have already, heavily battered the Ante People!

"The elite Ante troops have been encircled and wiped out by us! Since the beginning of the war, we have destroyed three million enemies, and our army has exhibited surprising efficiency!

"Ante is now like an old house, merely needing a kick to collapse!"

At this point, Siegfried, the Grand Commander of the Asgard Knights, who had been silent, spoke up, "Your Majesty, the enemy has just rallied the nation's morale with a national funeral; perhaps making such an optimistic assessment is not very wise?"

Reinhard waved his hand dismissively, "That's just a flash in the pan! One kick is all it takes to bring down this old, backward country, and its fertile lands will become the granary of Prosen.

"The blockades by the United Kingdom and Federation will fall apart on their own; we will gain everything we lack, oil, rubber, all kinds of minerals! In the end, we will emerge victorious, we will have the whole world!"