Arc of Fire

Chapter 165: The Darkest Hour (Alliance Hierarch Bonus)

Prussian Army, Asgard Knights Ampula Armored Division frontline command post.

Division commander William Dietrich set aside his binoculars.

Just one kilometer ahead, positioned on high ground, an 88mm anti-aircraft gun emplacement was firing continuously.

The four 88mm guns kept up a relentless barrage, and each shot meant another Ante tank was destroyed.

The 88mm gun, designed as an anti-aircraft weapon, had an exceptionally impressive projectile speed to ensure shells could reach the “interception zone” as high and as quickly as possible. This also resulted in an astonishing capability to penetrate armor, even at very long distances.

To ensure a sufficient rate of fire, the 88mm gun boasted an excellent firing rate among cannons of the same caliber. With a well-trained crew, the weapon’s volume of fire was formidable.

Add to this the Prussians’ customarily superior sighting equipment, and this device became a renowned tank killer, able to hit and destroy tanks from great distances.

William Dietrich suddenly said, “The 88mm gun is like sunlight, and the Ante Empire’s new tanks are like soap bubbles, quickly dissipating under it.”

He smacked his lips lightly, savoring the poetry of his own creation, growing fonder of it the more he reflected, and then took out a notebook to write it down.

At that moment, the sound of submachine gun fire came from a village nearby.

William Dietrich asked, “What’s the situation? An enemy ambush?”

A staff officer immediately dispatched a messenger to check, and five minutes later, the returning messenger reported, “The gendarmerie is clearing the village of inferior races and potential resistors to make room for the troops’ encampment in the rear.”

William Dietrich nodded and continued to ponder his poem in the notebook.

The sound of submachine guns continued sporadically in the village behind him.

————

Ante Army, Argesukov, Southwestern Front Army Headquarters. August 2nd, 1530 hours.

The communications officer saluted in front of General Skorobo: “Report!”

General Skorobo said, “It’s news of the counterattack, isn’t it? The counterattack was successful, wasn’t it?”

The communications officer looked embarrassed.

“No, we haven’t made contact with the Sixth and Eleventh Tank Armies, and the Fifth Tank Army, primarily equipped with outdated models, has collapsed. Its remnants are retreating towards Orachi.”

“No!” General Skorobo interrupted the officer, “The Sixth and Eleventh Armies are out of contact because they’ve advanced too swiftly, running so rampant that they haven’t had time to stop and report via radio. Have the praise choir hasten their report!”

At that moment, General Skorobo finally noticed the telegram in the communications officer’s hand and asked, “What’s that?”

The staff officer said, “This is a reconnaissance report from the Air Force, spotting a large number of tank wrecks on the line from Odenodorf to Shepetovka. Aerial observations suggest those are our new tanks.”

As he spoke, the staff officer handed over a stack of photos: “These are the photos submitted with the Air Force’s report.”

General Skorobo took the photos, his expression turning grim.

Even the blurred images taken from the air showed the wrecks’ sloped armor, a design not even the Prussian tanks had yet adopted.

General Skorobo stared at the first photo, not intending to flip to the next one.

The Crown Prince stepped forward, took all the photos behind the first one, and began to flip through them.

“Weren’t our tanks supposed to have absolute armor superiority?” the Crown Prince asked softly.

Standing beside the Crown Prince, the Front Army Hierarch answered, “That should be the case, but Rocossov previously reported that the enemy aimed at the tracks and turret rings to immobilize the tanks before leaving them for the infantry to deal with. This might be… ”

“What’s this?” the Crown Prince picked out a photo and showed it to everyone.

The Chief of Staff said, “It looks like a Prussian anti-tank gun position. This type with cross-shaped anchors was mentioned in reports from the Castilian Civil War—88mm anti-aircraft guns, which can also be used as direct-fire anti-tank firepower after replacing the sights for ground combat.”

“These things destroyed our tanks?” the Crown Prince found another photo, trying to piece it together with the first, but he couldn’t quite fit them correctly.

The Chief of Staff selected a photo and handed it to the Crown Prince: “Fit this one in the middle.”

Following the instruction, the Crown Prince did so, and the edges of the three photos fit together perfectly—they clearly belonged together.

“I’m not knowledgeable in photo interpretation,” the Crown Prince said, “but I understand size comparisons with the nearby houses. The anti-tank gun position is super far from the wreckage area!”

The Chief of Staff said, “About two kilometers. The enemy managed to penetrate our armor from two kilometers away. More alarming is their ability to accurately hit targets from that distance. It seems we need to order that bombers and ground-attack aircraft should prioritize targeting these guns.”

As soon as the Chief of Staff finished speaking, General Skorobo set down the photos and stood up.

“What are you planning to do?” the Front Army Hierarch demanded, “As the commander, you must remain calm at all times; you can’t make a joke out of the lives of hundreds of thousands!”

General Skorobo said, “What are you talking about? I’m about to fulfill the duties of a Front Army Commander-in-Chief. Although the armored counterattack has failed, we have not yet lost!”

General Skorobo picked up a pointer and began to gesture on the map:

“Based on confirmed intelligence, the enemy has four directions of attack. On the farthest flanks, two armored groups are driving towards each other over hundreds of kilometers. On the inside, two groups primarily made up of infantry Army Groups have launched offensive spearheads.

“I think we can leave the outer armored spearheads for the moment. Duke Meishikin’s Shepetovka Group is responsible for blocking the northern second armored group, and the southern first armored group is faced by several of my Army Groups in layered defenses.”