Arc of Fire

In the year 914, at 2030 hours on August 2nd, Orachi, the headquarters of the 151st Temporary Infantry Division of the Ante Army.

Wang Zhong stared at the operational map on the wall, lost in thought.

Next to the map, a staff member was setting up a new candelabrum—the sunlight outside was still present, but much diminished, so the division headquarters used candelabra to supplement the lighting.

Orachi had electricity, but lights had to be controlled at night, and the light could be concealed by drawing the curtains if using candelabra.

Wang Zhong sighed, “The battle has already started, yet why have I been idle all day?”

Popov approached him, “Isn’t that a good thing? We’ve strengthened our fortifications for another day, and buried an additional 1,000 mines today!”

The locations of the mines Wang Zhong selected this time were places where enemy artillery fire was unlikely to reach, and they were widely spaced apart, emphasizing a “psychological warfare” approach.

Using sappers to lay the mines, with such spacing, it would take half a day to lay just a dozen or so. It’d be even more wasteful to use tools like mine-laying cords, as one cord wouldn’t detonate many mines.

Without using sappers, people would regularly be blown up into the sky.

In terms of vexing the enemy, Wang Zhong was quite confident.

Just then, Yegorov entered, and Wang Zhong asked, “Why have you returned from your forward command?”

“Came to check the overall situation. It’s about to be night, and it’s very likely the enemy won’t reach us today. So, what’s the situation now?” Yegorov said as he made straight for the water jug in the room, lifting it to his mouth to pour.

Wang Zhong pointed to the map, “Take a look for yourself. The general direction of the enemy’s attack is as I predicted. The Army Group led by Duke Meishikin to our northeast is engaged in fierce battle with the enemy. I thought we’d be up against at least a division of the enemy, but I’ve been idle and anxious all day.”

Pavlov briefly put down his pen, picked up the cold coffee on the table, and joined the conversation, “It must be the counterattacks of the Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh Army that have had an effect. They may not have eliminated many enemy forces, but they certainly disrupted the enemy’s offensive sequence.

“Reorganization and such takes hours. By the time they start moving again, they won’t get far before it turns dark.”

At this point, Wang Zhong felt mixed emotions. Allies were being sacrificed needlessly; he should be grieving, but when he thought about the method by which the allies were delaying the enemy—forcing them to reorganize—it seemed absurdly comical.

Ante Army soldiers were brave, but who knows how many more would fall victim to these pig-headed generals.

At that moment, Vasily, who was listening to a captured radio set in the corner, suddenly shouted, “I’ve picked up the Prussians’ radio transmission!”

Wang Zhong and the others immediately gathered around, even the staff officers involved in other tasks stopped to look toward Vasily.

Vasily listened intently with both hands on his headset, “There’s no call sign, I might have missed it. The content being said is… Our force’s advance is unimpeded, unimpeded!”

Upon hearing the words “unimpeded,” Wang Zhong couldn’t help but imagine various implications, but he restrained himself from making any sarcastic remarks.

Vasily, “There’s a new location code! ‘Berry Orchard’, I’m not sure where it refers to, but some unit has reached Berry Orchard.”

Wang Zhong, “Too bad, if we could have captured another one of the enemy’s codebooks, we might know exactly where to fire our artillery.”

Wang Zhong currently had 4 B4 heavy howitzers and 24 152mm heavy guns. If he knew where the enemy was camping for the night, he could give them a little surprise.

Yegorov, “Didn’t you personally scout the villages to our north? Just firing blindly might get you a hit.”

Wang Zhong, “No, we must use our firepower prudently to ensure every shot inflicts effective damage on the enemy.”

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves and the voices of the division’s guards could be heard outside.

Soon, a captain was escorted in by the guards, “The mounted reconnaissance team has returned from its mission!”

Wang Zhong, “What’s the situation?”

The captain reported, “General, we discovered the enemy’s advance recon team at Kirileyev village, but since they had Mark II tanks, we took out one sentry and withdrew without engaging further.”

Wang Zhong immediately moved to the table with the detailed map of the nearby area and located Kirileyev village.

Yegorov, “If the scouts have already been there, we are bound to engage the enemy tomorrow!”

At that point, Vasily, who had been all ears, chimed in, “Why wait until tomorrow? Deploy the T34s now, take them out, and snag a codebook today!”

Wang Zhong, “No, I’ve inspected the roads to Kirileyev, and the T34s might break down mid-assault. Captain, how long would it take for your cavalry to return to Kirileyev?”

The captain immediately answered, “Half an hour, Excellency.”

Wang Zhong, “Then in half an hour, we will commence artillery bombardment on Kirileyev village, and after the shelling, see if you can pull something off. Try to find a briefcase belonging to the officer leading this armored recon unit, a map case would do as well!”

The captain smiled, “General, I’ll strive to bring back both.”

Wang Zhong snapped his fingers, “Good! Go!”

The captain saluted and left.

Yegorov was surprised, “You’re not leading the mission yourself?”

It seemed that in Yegorov’s eyes, Wang Zhong had become someone who enjoyed charging into battle himself.

However, that wasn’t the case for Wang Zhong; he simply chose the method that maximized the use of his ‘Golden Finger’. He could destroy a multitude of enemy tanks by personally commanding a single tank.

But as an infantryman or a cavalryman—that is, as himself—the results he could achieve would be quite limited.

He had tried it in Ronied, not just by himself, but also with his fiancée Liu Da, and the wounds from that time had not yet fully healed.

Wang Zhong, “I am simply choosing the most effective method. As an infantryman, or as a cavalryman, my combat effectiveness is very limited.

“Pavlov, order the artillery to… ”

He glanced at his watch.

“At 2100 hours, commence firing at Kirileyev village! One shot per gun should suffice.”

“`

Four 203mm rounds and twenty-four 152mm rounds, I guess that little village of Kireyev is going to be turned inside out.

Pavlov immediately picked up the phone and began giving orders.

Just then, Nelly came in pushing the food cart: “Mealtime!”

All the staff officers, orderlies, and clerks in the room turned their heads to look at Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong: “Let’s eat!”

The next moment, everyone in the headquarters rushed over like pigs to a trough, forming a long line in front of Nelly’s food cart.

Vasily: “It smells like a Kalcho soup, have the cattle from the ranch been slaughtered?”

Nelly: “To boost morale, the factory manager slaughtered eight cows. He said it’s better for us to eat them than to let the Prussians take them.”

“Oh, beef soup!”

The staff officers all got excited.

“The sausage produced by the Church Meat Union is not bad either, but I definitely prefer beef!”

Wang Zhong, smelling the aroma, felt his appetite surge. Just as he was about to jostle with his men for food, the telephone rang.

He could only turn his head to answer the phone: “Hello? This is Rocossov, what’s up?”

“This is the artillery observation post on Hill 153. We see tanks approaching from the northern plains.”

Wang Zhong frowned.

Pavlov immediately said, “Take positions, there’s a situation!”

The young men who had just crowded around Nelly’s cart swiftly returned to their stations.

Wang Zhong: “Keep calm, have you identified which side the tanks are from? Ours have sloped armor, while the enemy’s tanks are more boxy.”

“The light isn’t good right now, and they’re too far away to see clearly,” the artillery observation post replied.

Wang Zhong held the receiver and exchanged opinions with others: “153 says they’ve spotted tanks to the north. But the cavalry scout team just reported that only the enemy’s armored vanguard has reached Kireyev, right?”

Popov: “Could it be the remnants of the defeated 5th, 6th, or 11th Tank Armies?”

“Hmm…”

Vasily said, “Shall I try calling them on our armored forces’ frequency?”

“Go ahead,” Wang Zhong just finished speaking when another phone rang.

Pavlov picked it up: “This is Pavlov. What? Hold your fire for now!”

After speaking, Pavlov covered the receiver and looked towards Wang Zhong: “The anti-tank gun positions also see these tanks and are asking whether to open fire.”

Yegorov: “Fire a flare. It might help us get a clearer view. Let the infantry do it to avoid exposing the anti-tank gun positions.”

“Agreed.”

After Wang Zhong nodded, Pavlov immediately ordered the anti-tank gun positions: “Hold steady, stay hidden. Wait for orders.”

Then he rapidly pressed the receiver hook several times: “Operator, connect me to the 3rd Infantry Battalion.”

At that moment, Vasily called out: “I’ve got them!”

Wang Zhong hurried over: “What did they say?”

Vasily: “Our division commander wants to speak to you.”

After saying that, he handed over the headset and microphone to Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong then imitated a pose from the movies, pressing the headset to one ear while holding the microphone with his other hand.

“This is Major General Rocossov from the 151st Division. Report your unit, we almost opened fire on you!”

The other side was shocked: “Rocossov? As in the White Horse General Rocossov?”

Wang Zhong’s first thought was at least they didn’t call him ‘Diarrhea General Rocossov,’ which was acceptable.

Wang Zhong: “Yes, it’s me. Which part are you from?”

“We are the 13th Armored Battalion of the 5th Tank Army. Our organization is relatively intact, and we have plenty of ammunition. We can still fight.”

Wang Zhong: “What tanks are you equipped with?”

“T26, we have 30 intact T26 tanks!”

Wang Zhong thought to himself that he really couldn’t escape the fate of using all those junk vehicles from the early days of the war, but given the situation, he couldn’t complain too much: the light tank still had a 45mm gun and two machine guns, which could effectively kill enemy infantry if used correctly.

Wang Zhong: “Head south and you should see a high ground. We’ll have the infantry fire a flare to guide you and have the infantry lead you through minefields and anti-tank barriers. Welcome to join us.”

Pavlov immediately translated what Wang Zhong just promised into orders for the infantry battalion and conveyed them over the phone.

Just then, at 2100 hours, thunderous roaring came from the direction of the artillery positions.

Wang Zhong: “Don’t be afraid, we’re striking the enemy’s forward units.”

The other side was silent for a second before replying through gritted teeth: “Good! Hit them hard!”