Chapter 77
When Wang Zhong arrived at the forward command, the enemy engineers had already been bombed into retreat.
Though, to say this isn't entirely accurate, because those breaching vehicles modified from Tank Number One, after losing three of their own, still managed to launch the rockets dragging explosive charges.
From Wang Zhong's overhead perspective, he could clearly see the traces left by the explosive charges in the middle of the road.
After observing for a while, Wang Zhong clicked his tongue and said: "Now the enemy knows we haven't planted mines on the main road."
Yegorov: "If the enemy attacks from the main road, isn't that just asking for a beating? We've already destroyed three of their engineers' Tank Number One vehicles. If they attack via the road, we can definitely destroy even more.
"When that happens, they'll be stuck on the road as sitting ducks, unable to even scatter. The sides of the road are real minefields."
Wang Zhong nodded: "Indeed, let's see what the enemy does next."
----
Major General Randolph, commander of the 15th Armored Division, stood atop his armored command vehicle, observing the destroyed Tank Number One vehicles through binoculars.
"The enemy has already calculated the firing data, able to damage our engineers' tanks even through the smoke." Randolph lowered his binoculars, "Although the Ant Army has long been nothing more than useless cannon fodder, this time they've done well. Attacking through the main road will cause us severe losses."
The division's Chief of Staff echoed: "We absolutely cannot take the main road. The engineers also reported that both sides of the road are minefields without warning signs. If the assault troops get stuck on the road, they'll truly be sitting ducks.
"How about deploying smoke more thoroughly to let the engineers start clearing the mines?"
Major General Randolph let out an "Hmm," stroking his chin as he sank into thought.
----
At this moment, Wang Zhong noticed something-the enemy's mortar vehicles were within his field of view.
Back in Upper Peniye, he could already see the enemy's mortar vehicles. It seemed this was a standard operation in the Prossenians' tactical manual; the mortar vehicles were meant to advance to this distance to open fire.
Back in Upper Peniye, Wang Zhong had no curved firing power at hand, and the enemy had parked their vehicles on the reverse slope behind a high ground, so there was really nothing he could do about those artillery vehicles.
But now the situation was different. Firstly, the southwest was a vast plain with no reverse slope. Secondly, Wang Zhong now had curved firing power.
From his overhead perspective, Wang Zhong looked at the enemy's mortar vehicles: it seemed to be a vehicle-mounted mortar battalion. Besides twelve artillery vehicles, there were various ammo trucks and half-tracks transporting gunners, all densely parked on the plain.
The enemy's other units were spread out very wide to avoid being hit by 203mm artillery, but this mortar battalion, perhaps for operational convenience, had a limited combat formation.
And really, who would have thought that someone here had clairvoyant vision, able to see the mortar vehicles through so much smoke?
Of course, Wang Zhong's current position was relatively high, and it wasn't entirely impossible to see the half-tracks equipped with mortars, but with such poor visibility, it was hard to accurately determine the target's position.
So, the only option was to fire test shots and then adjust the impact points.
By then, the enemy mortar battalion would have long fled, since they were all half-tracks with decent maneuverability.
However, if he didn't bother with test shots and just unleashed a massive barrage right away, this mortar battalion would likely be mostly wiped out.
Wang Zhong was quite confident in the power of the B4 heavy artillery.
So, he directly picked up the phone receiver-after yesterday's "field test," the phone had been moved near the window.
"Connect to Artillery Position A."
After the connection was made, Wang Zhong reported a series of coordinates and requested a salvo.
Dietrich, standing in front of the artillery theodolite, asked curiously: "What are we shelling? These coordinates are much further back than where we shelled the enemy yesterday... Can we even hit anything?"
Before Wang Zhong could speak, Yegorov chimed in: "Shelling the enemy's mortars, right? Just now, when the enemy released smoke, I saw the trajectory of their shells in the air. The mortars shouldn't be too far from the front line."
The mortar shells did indeed fly relatively slowly, but being able to confirm the shell trajectory with normal vision was a bit too terrifying.
Thanks to Yegorov, shelling the enemy's mortar position now seemed reasonable. Anyway, there was no way to know if they hit the target from here; it looked like pure guesswork on their side.
As for why the guess was so accurate, well, of course, it was Saint Andrew showing his divine power!
After hanging up the phone, he felt that a salvo from one position wasn't enough, so he picked up the phone again and said: "Connect to Position B!"
Eat my eight massive 203mm shells, invaders!
----
After a brief moment of thought, Major General Randolph made his decision: "The mortar battalion will continue deploying smoke to completely obscure the enemy's line of sight. Engineers, prepare to clear mines."
No sooner had he spoken than a whistling sound came from the sky.
Major General Randolph, being a veteran, knew from the whistling that the shell would land behind him, so he immediately turned around-
At that very moment, the engine hood of a half-track carrying a 105mm heavy mortar suddenly caved in, the edges of the hood curling up under the stress.
Randolph couldn't see the culprit behind this phenomenon, because the next moment, the half-track exploded violently.
A handbrake flew over Randolph's head, and the gust of wind blew off his tilted blue cap.
The Major General dove forward, leaping straight down from the top of the command vehicle.
With his hands covering his head, he didn't see the second shell land.
When the third shell hit, the Major General remembered he should prop up his body to maintain distance from the ground to avoid internal organ damage from the shockwave.
The explosions continued, and amid the deafening roar of the heavy artillery, smaller explosions mixed in, likely the mortar shells being triggered.
The shelling came quickly and ended just as fast; it seemed the enemy's heavy artillery regiment had fired only one salvo.
After the whistling and explosions ceased in his ears, Major General Randolph got up.
The orderlies immediately rushed over and began brushing the dust off the Major General, only for one of them to slap right on the knee he had injured when diving off the command vehicle.
Randolph roared in anger: "Be gentle! That hurts like hell! Call the medic! Damn it, my leg..."
Randolph already suffered from bone hyperplasia, and this impact opened the floodgates of pain, so excruciating that he couldn't stand steady and sat back down.
Two guard soldiers rushed over, helping the Major General lean against the nearby command vehicle.
Only then did the Major General have the chance to assess the losses to his troops.
Scattered across the fields were numerous burning half-tracks, and some half-tracks seemed to have tried escaping the shelling zone, only to have their tracks broken, now lying askew in the fields.
The bodies of the artillerymen were strewn between the half-tracks. Without even counting the casualties, Randolph knew this mortar battalion wouldn't be combat-ready for a long time.
Just as he was about to give an order, an ammo truck suddenly underwent a sympathetic detonation. The exploding shells fell around it, triggering secondary explosions, and orange-red fireballs rose into the sky, outshining even the sun.
Randolph, as a noble, rarely swore, but at this point, he couldn't hold back: "Damn it! Reconnaissance battalion! Sweep all the high points outside the town. We must find the enemy's artillery observation team! Use radio detection vehicles if you have to, but find them!"
Randolph naturally assumed this was artillery fire guided by a cunning Ant Army observation team hidden on a high point outside the town. He never considered the possibility of someone on the other side cheating.
It should be said that he had made the most correct judgment within the bounds of common sense.
At this time, the Chief of Staff limped over, clearly having hit the ground pretty hard just moments ago.
"General, should we wait for the division artillery to come up before taking action? Once the division artillery arrives, with the help of observation planes, we can locate the enemy's artillery positions. According to our intelligence, the enemy's heavy artillery isn't easy to move, and they won't be able to escape our artillery counterattack."
Randolph nodded and added: "Also, have the 223rd Regiment prepare to seize Nizhny village and outflank Loktov from the side. I'll reinforce them with a tank battalion to make up for the losses they suffered last night."
Chief of Staff: "No problem. And... what about the frontal assault?"
Randolph glanced at the gray urban area of Loktov visible through the gaps in the smoke and shook his head: "Unless we take out the enemy's heavy artillery, a frontal attack on this city would result in losses we can't afford.
"We still need to make a dash for Agsukov. We must cherish the army His Majesty the Emperor has entrusted to us! Withdraw three kilometers and set up sentries to prevent the enemy's observation team from infiltrating out of the city."
The Chief of Staff nodded and shouted to the messenger: "Withdraw three kilometers!"
----
Wang Zhong was the first on the scene to notice the enemy starting to withdraw, and perhaps the only one who did.
He couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Are the Prossenians so path-dependent? Did blowing up your smoke generators mean you can't fight anymore?
Speaking of which, this external view combined with artillery is really useful. I can already foresee myself becoming renowned for my masterful use of artillery in the future.
In the future, if I write an autobiography, I might just call it 'Arc of Artillery Fire.'
Unfortunately, this external view only extends a little farther than a person with binoculars. In the future, I might have to personally board a reconnaissance plane, circle over the enemy's head to see their entire deployment, and then command the troops via radio-ah, with the Ant Army's radio capabilities, dropping handwritten orders might be faster.
......
At this moment, the phone rang, and Yegorov picked it up: "Forward command, speak. Are you sure? Hmm, hmm, I got it."
Wang Zhong had already guessed who was calling, and sure enough, after hanging up, Yegorov said: "Monk Petro heard the sound of enemy vehicle engines fading into the distance. The enemy might be retreating."
Although Wang Zhong already knew, he still put on a surprised expression: "Really? That's great!"
The others in the room also let out a sigh of relief.
Vasily, who was guarding the walkie-talkie, stretched lazily: "The enemy is just too weak! This? I never knew war could be this easy. Just bombard with B4, and the enemy runs away!"
Popov's face hardened, about to fulfill his duty as Bishop to curb the soldiers' complacency, when the phone rang again.
This time it was Pavlov.
"I couldn't get any 203mm shells. Since these weapons are deployed at the border, so is the ammo. The rear told us they have plenty of 122mm and 152mm shells."
Wang Zhong: "Then why don't they give me 122mm or 152mm howitzers!"
In fact, the 152mm cannon has better overall performance than the B4. The range is similar, the power is only slightly less, but the firing rate is significantly faster.
Loading the B4 howitzer requires a crane attached to the ammo truck, as manpower alone can't do it, whereas the 152mm can be manually loaded by strong Ant soldiers.
"They don't have any." Pavlov's sigh came through the phone, "And the supply train that was supposed to arrive today was destroyed by enemy bombers on the way. The wreckage has blocked the railway, and it's unclear when it can be repaired."
Wang Zhong: "What about our reinforcements? We're supposed to hold until 8 p.m. on the 11th. We need reinforcements!"
There was a long silence on the other end before Pavlov said: "I'm working on it."
Wang Zhong clicked his tongue.
He also knew this wasn't Pavlov's fault. With the current situation of total collapse, stabilizing the front line was already a feat.
The good news was that the enemy's actions this morning had been repelled.
The bad news was that today was only July 6th, and the order from above was to hold until July 11th.
(End of Chapter)