Chapter 114
Originally, Pavlov was smiling happily, but the moment he heard Wang Zhong's words, his smile vanished.
No*his smile had transferred to Wang Zhong's face!
Wang Zhong: "Don't you dare decline! Back when you didn't have any staff, you still managed to get us an endless stream of supplies. You can definitely do it now!"
After saying that, he turned to Vasily: "Don't you agree?"
"I do!" Vasily gave a thumbs-up. "Chief of Staff Pavlov can turn decay into magic!"
Wang Zhong: "Exactly! Pavlov even told me before*outside of Agsukov, there's a witch......"
Pavlov cut him off: "Alright! Instead of teasing me here, why don't you go beg your old butler more!"
Wang Zhong: "He's already been working nonstop. But we can't put all our hopes in one place! You have to step up too! As for me, tomorrow I'll head over to the tractor factory and ask for a few hundred skilled workers to form a repair team!"
Just as he finished speaking, amid the beeping of telegrams and the thumping of stamps, came the sound of a door opening.
Wang Zhong and Pavlov turned their heads toward the door and saw Popov walking in.
Wang Zhong: "You've been like a dragon whose head we see but not the tail*uh, the dragon is......"
Popov: "An evil being from Prossenian mythology that devours the world. I know."
No, no, that one's not a dragon, it's a giant serpent. It's also long and snakelike, but it doesn't have claws!
Popov: "Guess what I brought back?"
As he finished speaking, several girls wearing monk robes entered. Their armbands had one more wing than Monk Petro's, indicating they were all Prayer Hands.
After the Prayer Hands entered, more than thirty female Protectorate Army members also came into the room.
The last one to enter was Deputy Knight Yatsemenko, commander of the Divine Arrow company. He didn't seem quite used to being the lone green in a field of flowers.
Wang Zhong lit up with delight: "The Divine Arrow company is full again?"
Popov smiled: "Yes. When the Grand Patriarch makes a promise, he keeps it*it just takes a little time."
Wang Zhong nodded, then asked a critical question: "Weren't Prayer Hands supposed to be half male, half female? Why are they all women?"
Popov looked a bit awkward too: "Because only women were left. The men were all taken. I wanted some men too*since most of the guard units and vehicle personnel are men. Having all women soldiers is a real hassle. But everyone else thought the same."
That actually made sense.
At that moment, the shortest girl among the new Prayer Hands became unhappy: "What's wrong with women? If men can fight, so can we! Crawling over ice and snow*what's so hard about that!"
Wang Zhong: "Yo, small size, big mouth. It's dry now, sure, but when the mud comes in September, can you lie down in the wet dirt?"
The little girl hesitated visibly, but immediately put her hands on her hips: "Of course I can! If men can, I can too!"
Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow, lowered his view to read her name, and saw the girl was named Yekaterina Andropovich Borantcheva.
Speaking of which, Yekaterina's nickname is Katya, and her pet name sounds like Katyusha!
Wang Zhong gave the girl another look up and down, just about to speak when she beat him to it: "Are you going to ask how old I am?"
"Uh......" Wang Zhong, "You guessed it!"
Yekaterina: "I look this small because of the blessing I received! My guiding ability is super strong! The strongest! Got it? I can even guide when I can't see the enemy*this is a rare ability across all of Ant!"
Wang Zhong was truly shocked this time. Guiding without seeing the enemy? Isn't that basically calling shots on the battlefield?
He had to get to the bottom of this!
Wang Zhong: "How do you manage to guide without seeing? Do I tell you which vehicle to hit and you can do it? Or do you need a photo of the target?"
Yekaterina froze: "What are you talking about? Who can attack using just a photo?"
"Eh? You can't?"
"Of course I need to see the target first! But if the target leaves my sight during guidance, I can still ensure a hit! That's something no one else can do!"
So that's how it is... In other words, as long as she catches a glimpse of the target and the missile is launched, it's a guaranteed hit?
That's pretty impressive, but also not overly powerful*a subtle ability.
Wang Zhong gave a thumbs-up: "Really impressive!"
Yekaterina: "Why do I feel like you're brushing me off?"
Because I am brushing you off.
Pavlov interjected: "I've already arranged lodging. Let the staff officer take you there. Welcome to the 151st Temporary Infantry Division."
Deputy Knight Yatsemenko immediately said: "Alright girls, settle in first. If there's time, clean up your rooms and head to the quartermaster for personal supplies! Move it, move it!"
Popov: "They're soldiers too*you should command them like soldiers, not like a tour guide."
Deputy Knight Yatsemenko took a deep breath, cleared his throat, tried to hide his awkwardness, and raised his voice: "All personnel! Attention!"
All the female soldiers, whether Prayer Hands or Protectorate Army, stood at attention.
"Right face! Forward face! Right**turn! March!"
The female soldiers marched out in neat steps.
Wang Zhong scratched his head: "I've seen several groups of female soldiers today, and they're all tied to the church. I can really feel how much the church promotes gender equality."
Popov: "Hmph, you think that's a lot? You'll be seeing even more soon. Our assigned medical personnel are arriving this afternoon*each company gets a military doctor and a medic. Along with the division medical station, that's over a hundred female soldiers."
Wang Zhong: "I knew there'd be many female soldiers, but I didn't expect this many."
At that moment, Wang Zhong suddenly realized*this was the first time since arriving in Agsukov that the military commander, Chief of Staff, and regimental bishop had all gathered together.
Just as he was about to comment, Popov asked: "General, how much time do you think we have to rest?"
Wang Zhong pursed his lips. Regarding Earth's events, he only vaguely recalled one timeframe: the German pivot started around mid-August and completed the encirclement by mid-September.
Based on that schedule, they had about a month to rest.
But Wang Zhong felt they wouldn't have that much time*mainly because Prossen was much stronger than the Third Reich.
So, to be cautious, he said: "We can probably rest until July 22nd. After that, we'll likely start to see signs of enemy movement. By then, we should think about mobilizing."
Pavlov: "Using one division to block the Central Army Group? Even you can't pull that off, right?"
Wang Zhong: "Of course not. But we can at least delay the enemy's assault and buy time for a breakout."
Pavlov: "Buy time for a breakout... So you're already convinced the enemy will pivot? What's your basis? As things stand now, the gap between the Central and Southern Army Groups is over 400 kilometers*that's four hundred kilometers!"
Actually, in terms of latitude difference, it wasn't that far*but the Central Army Group was advancing too quickly, making it oblique distance.
And because the central advance was so fast, a large-scale encirclement became possible.
Wang Zhong: "Look at the Carolingian Campaign. People develop path dependency*so do armies. Prossen pulled off a brilliant encirclement in Carolingian, so of course they'll try the same here."
Popov had been quietly listening to the two military commanders. Seeing Pavlov fall silent, he said: "The General is usually right. This must be battlefield instinct. Also, I heard someone in High Command held the same view*he was dismissed and sent north to command the Saint Andrew Front."
Pavlov shook his head: "It seems His Majesty the Tsar trusted General Skorobo and even sent the Crown Prince here."
Wang Zhong: "Didn't the Crown Prince come to find me?"
Pavlov and Popov both looked at Wang Zhong with a "What are you talking about?" expression.
Pavlov: "He's here to supervise the army. His Majesty originally planned to lead the campaign personally, but the High Command stopped him. Times are different now. In the past, artillery could at most reach the fifth line of infantry on the front, and His Majesty wouldn't be in danger. Now artillery and bombers can easily strike the rear."
Wang Zhong clicked his tongue: "So that's how it is. Either way, let's make the most of our downtime and prepare multiple contingency plans."
The other two nodded, and thus the division leadership reached a consensus.
****
Jule 914, July 22nd, 1130 hours.
Wang Zhong was in the division HQ studying the latest developments when the communications officer walked in from the adjacent room carrying a telegram into the map room.
As the door opened, the beeping from next door pierced Wang Zhong's ears.
Wang Zhong: "Leave the door open. Hearing the beeping makes it feel more like a command post."
After all, in Wang Zhong's favorite "The Final Battle," every time our command post appeared, there was always beeping.
The communications officer immediately turned around, opened the door, then walked over to the map and handed the telegram to the operations officer.
These kinds of messages, not addressed directly to the division, were usually not read aloud to the commander*they were handed to the operations officer to update the map.
Wang Zhong looked at the new info: "The 26th Armored Division didn't move at all today?"
Operations officer: "Correct, that's what the telegram says."
Pavlov stood up and came to Wang Zhong's side: "Stopped to replenish?"
"Seems like it." Wang Zhong stroked his chin. "The war's been going on for a month*enemy armored divisions should stop to resupply."
If Prossen's tanks had the same traits as those on Earth's Third Reich, then their armored units should have significant non-combat attrition and need to wait for repair crews.
There's also the need to replenish ammo, fuel, and food*and soldiers need rest too.
Pavlov stepped forward, picked up the pointer next to the map, and pointed as he spoke: "So far, among the enemy's strongest Second Armored Cluster*six armored divisions plus one independent armored brigade*three armored divisions have already stopped to rest.
"Recon cavalry at the front report that the enemy's infantry is building defensive positions directly in front of Balagyma and Borsk. I believe this confirms their intent to encircle southward*those positions are to prevent our Balagyma-Borsk Forces from attacking.
"Once the enemy finishes resupplying, the encirclement will begin."
Wang Zhong: "Let's report it to the Front like this. Though I doubt it'll help."
Pavlov: "General Skorobo won't admit it aloud, but he's preparing*he's placed three tank corps right along this line."
As he spoke, Pavlov drew a line across the map with the pointer, sweeping past the three tank corps scattered north of Agsukov.
Popov joined in: "General Skorobo came from the armored corps*he often calls himself a 'tank crew.' He's probably been itching for a tank showdown with Prossen for a long time."
Wang Zhong shook his head: "But if we attack, the Prossenians will just release smoke and retreat*until they fall back to their 88mm guns."
Wang Zhong paused and sighed: "It'll fail."
****
"We'll win!" General Skorobo strode back and forth excitedly in front of the map.
"Among our three tank corps, the 6th Tank Corps is fully equipped with T34s! And the 11th Tank Corps has plenty of KVs!
"The enemy will be crushed beneath our armored iron fist!
"Their Second Armored Cluster is led by none other than their director of tank crews, Heinz Wilhelm von Moltke! The very founder of blitzkrieg theory!
"Now we'll finally shatter the myth of their blitzkrieg!"
The Front's Chief of Staff said: "So, even you admit the Major General's prediction was right?"
"No! He was just making wild guesses without any basis! If he had presented this evidence back then, I would have supported him too!" General Skorobo waved his fist. "The enemy won successive battles but then halted*that proves they've reached the end of their strength! Our armored iron fist will crush them! The war will end this winter!"
After a brief pause, General Skorobo added: "His Majesty the Tsar thinks the same way! That's why His Highness the Crown Prince was sent! Our victory will mark the beginning of a reversal!"
****
Wang Zhong slapped the table: "We can't keep waiting like this*how many troops do we have right now?"
Pavlov immediately began listing: "For infantry, we have the 31st Guards Infantry Regiment and the Fifth Beshensk Regiment, totaling 4,500 combat personnel.
"The current designation of the tank crews is the 422nd Independent Armored Battalion, with 30 T34s in combat readiness and 4 under repair.
"339th Anti-Tank Gun Battalion, 12 45mm anti-tank guns ready.
"155th Artillery Regiment, 24 152mm heavy guns ready. (Each heavy gun requires extensive logistics*on average, 53 personnel to service one gun.)
"One independent B4 company, 4 B4 heavy howitzers ready, plus one under repair.
"55th Anti-Air Artillery Battalion, 12 72K anti-aircraft guns.
"There's also the Divine Arrow company, the sound array specialist company, and other church auxiliary units. Total: 9,800 combat personnel and 12,000 logistics support staff."
Wang Zhong: "Do our best and leave the rest to fate. Our target is here!"
He jabbed his finger at a place on the map called Olachi.
Popov: "Why here?"
Wang Zhong: "First, the highway passes through here. If the enemy's armored units head south, they'll have to fight here for supply reasons. Second, aside from this area, it's all vast grassland*here we have hedgerows and forests, ideal for concealed defensive positions.
"Third, if we delay the enemy here, their First Armored Cluster will take more time to maneuver from the south. Our troops can seize the chance to break out via the highway at Olachi. Besides the highway, look over here*this patch of grassland is still passable before the muddy season hits. Many units could escape that way."
In truth, Wang Zhong based all this on his experience playing games.
Whether it would actually work, he didn't know either.
But right now, he was a commander burning with determination. He decided to give it a try.
Pavlov sighed: "Your idea is great, but how are we supposed to get the order to mobilize? We're part of the Southwestern Front. Even though we haven't been assigned to any army or army group, we're still under the Front's command."
Wang Zhong: "We'll just have to go find my old man."
Alliance leader ukazul adds more. See you tonight.
(End of Chapter)