Chapter 119
"Alright, enough chit-chat." Wang Zhong put down the binoculars. "Although there's not enough time left today to scout the proposed combat zone in detail, doing a loop around Olachi to assess the surrounding situation should be fine."
Yegorov said, "Indeed. I'll go with you for a loop."
"Then I'll go... wrestle with all sorts of trouble." Pavlov said as he grabbed Popov. "You're not the chief military officer, so you're coming too."
Popov looked at the sky. "Alright, I'll come. But I'm mainly responsible for liaising with the church!"
Lieutenant Colonel Eugene looked at the familiar faces and asked, "Do I... as the chief military officer, have to go too? I am the military officer, right? Or maybe you should replace me with a real lieutenant colonel*I'm really not up for this..."
Wang Zhong said, "You're a proper mine manager, why are you so timid?"
"If you gave me a mine to manage, I'd definitely get it done. How about this*assign me someone who knows military stuff, I'll put on the act while he advises me, that works too."
Wang Zhong: "Pavlov?"
The Chief of Staff scratched his head. "I barely have enough staff officers myself."
Wang Zhong: "Here's the deal*find a staff officer, you take over his duties, and send him to the Fifth Beshensk Regiment."
Pavlov looked at Wang Zhong with the expression of a bitter wife. "So you think I'm looking healthier now, huh? You just won't rest until I have panda eyes?"
Wang Zhong replied, "That's because I believe in your abilities."
"Fine, fine*one staff officer, just one, no more!"
Wang Zhong laughed and called back to Grigori, "Grisha, bring the car over!"
"I suggest going by horse!" Yegorov said. "Look east*it's all plain, no problem for driving. But look northeast*the road's rough. Riding is better; you can even get through the woods."
Wang Zhong: "Alright then, Grisha, bring the horses!"
****
After circling halfway around Olachi, Wang Zhong understood why the old man he'd met earlier specifically mentioned that the market there sold horses and milk cows.
Lately, a massive breeding ranch had cropped up nearby, raising a ton of horses and cows.
Yegorov even joked, "Now that we're digging fortifications here, we'll have all the milk we want every day."
Wang Zhong said, "These cow sheds and such aren't really suitable as fortifications, right? Plus, they'd block the firepoints set up in solid buildings..."
Yegorov: "Exactly. If the enemy attacks from this direction, it'll be hard for us to defend*too many man-made obstructions. If we want to defend, we'll have to dig tank emplacements here as you suggested, use tanks as strongpoints, and coordinate with trenches. But we only have thirty tanks."
Wang Zhong: "Twenty-five. Five broke down on the road. I requisitioned some workers from the tractor factory*they're rushing repairs now."
Wang Zhong used to think T34s were as rugged as AK47s*run them however you like and they'd never break. Now he finally understood*T34s are tough, but only compared to the Third Reich's tanks.
Tanks, after all, tend to break down when driven long distances. Not even T34s are immune. That's why they're usually transported by heavy trucks during maneuvers and only drive on their own once on the battlefield.
So it turned out Wang Zhong really made the right call by requisitioning those workers from the tractor factory.
Yegorov said, "The enemy's not coming right now anyway. As long as they can be repaired, we're good. Let's dig the emplacements here first*even if we don't use them, it's still better than being caught unprepared when the enemy attacks from this direction."
Wang Zhong nodded and took out his notebook to jot that down.
"Let's go. We continue."
****
The other directions around Olachi were all quite defensible, especially the ironworks in the town's northern part, which mainly produced iron pots and shovels. The factory buildings looked very sturdy and could serve as strongpoints.
Plus, the factory's water tower was the second-best artillery observation post around Olachi*the best one was up on Hill 153.
After completing the perimeter reconnaissance, Wang Zhong returned along the road he came and saw the B4 heavy howitzers entering the town.
Wang Zhong counted them and sighed, "I thought the heavy artillery would be the ones to break down, but they made it safely into town. It's the T34s that broke*five of them."
Yegorov: "Exactly. I also thought this delicate stuff would be the first to fail. Who'd have thought they'd hold up? If these things weren't at the tail end of the column, they definitely would've slowed down the whole division."
Wang Zhong nodded. After all, in this world, the B4s were self-propelled and not easy to tow*the self-propelled version was just too heavy.
And yet these four B4s actually managed to cover nearly 100 kilometers under their own power, arriving in Olachi.
Just as Wang Zhong was thinking this, an old lady stopped him. "General sir, I heard lots of tractor rumbling*they said it's tanks and cannons. Are the Prossenians really coming here?"
"Yes. Madam, you should hurry and take your children and flee."
Old lady: "Oh my, General, you're such a good man, still worrying about us. Don't worry, my daughter-in-law already took the grandchildren to Saint Yekaterinburg!"
Wang Zhong: "Then why haven't you left?"
"My eyes, they're nearly blind. I'm useless now*I'll just stay here." The old lady gestured at her eyes. "See, I can't even clearly see your rank anymore. I can only tell you're a general by the color of your insignia!"
The Ante Empire's general epaulettes were orange-red, unlike all the other ranks*very easy to recognize. Apparently, they copied this from the Prossenians.
Wang Zhong didn't know how to respond to this half-blind old woman and could only say, "Madam, I still have work to do. If you need help, talk to the church priests*they'll assist you."
Half-blind old lady: "I just want to ask*my son, is he in your unit? His name is..."
The old woman gave a name, but Wang Zhong didn't recognize it at all.
Just like in Loktov, he had collected the names of all the new recruits. But Ant names were long and repetitive, too hard to remember.
A thousand people were already hard to memorize. Now with nearly ten thousand combatants, Wang Zhong truly couldn't possibly remember that many names in such a short time.
So Wang Zhong could only say, "I'll keep an eye out. I'll be going now."
"Alright, alright!" The old lady stepped aside and made a triangle gesture on herself. "Bless you, kind general."
****
Pavlov had placed the division headquarters, senior officers, staff officers, and clerks all in the large estate owned by the local Lord Boye.
The local Boye was a count, and the mansion matched his rank. Pavlov converted the reception room directly into a map room, and the adjacent dining hall became the telegraph room.
He even left the door between the map room and telegraph room open, so the beeping of the telegraph could be clearly heard from the map room.
Wang Zhong actually liked this setup. The beeping sounds gave the place the feel of a real command post.
The staff officers who had arrived early with Popov had already completed a detailed topographic map of the area around Olachi. It was laid out on the big table in the map room, and the entire southern front's situation map was hanging on the wall.
Wang Zhong took out his notebook and began pointing things out on the map. "For artillery positions, I think these spots will work. The forest isn't too dense, so it won't hinder the guns' fire. But it's dense enough to block aerial reconnaissance. Add some camouflage nets and it'll be even better."
Yegorov: "We can dig artillery emplacements to further improve concealment. Also set up some fake artillery positions nearby."
Wang Zhong continued: "If the Divine Arrow company handles anti-air, we can split them among these four directions. Monk Petro's sound array should go here."
"No objections from me," Pavlov said. "I haven't done any actual surveying anyway."
Yegorov: "Put the reserve forces around the artillery positions. That way, we'll have one battalion on Hill 153, and one near the artillery. Two reserve battalions should be enough."
Wang Zhong: "Besides these areas where we need to dig fortifications, we also need to dig emplacements near the eastern pasture that can hold two tank platoons. Let's start tonight!"
Popov scratched his head. "Some of the local folks have night blindness. If we work at night, we'll need lighting*but we don't have enough torches right now."
As he spoke, the group looked out the window. Night had fully fallen.
Yegorov: "We can wait for dawn to start construction*it's not like the nights are long right now."
Wang Zhong: "We need to lay phone lines between the artillery positions and headquarters. Better install a radio as well."
Since Vehicle 422 was equipped with a radio, if Wang Zhong was in the vehicle, the artillery group could be contacted for precision strikes.
But Pavlov immediately looked troubled. "Radios are really scarce. How about having Vasily bring one of the captured Prossenian walkie-talkies?"
"That works too," Wang Zhong replied.
Actually, there was another option*leave behind a platoon leader's tank.
But tanks with radios were too valuable. Wang Zhong couldn't bear to part with one.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll lead a team to scout Olachi's northwest, northeast, and due north*probably advancing around twenty kilometers." Wang Zhong tapped the top edge of Olachi's map on the table. "Bring the staff officer who drew this map with me. Ideally, we should have maps of the proposed combat zone too."
Pavlov: "Captain Andrei! Tomorrow you'll take your adjutant and go with the General."
"Yes, sir!"
Wang Zhong looked at Captain Andrei's boots and realized they weren't riding boots, so he asked, "Can you ride?"
"I learned at the club," the captain replied.
Wang Zhong: "Club? You're not a noble?"
"No, but don't worry. My riding skills are solid*I trained at the club for three years."
Wang Zhong: "Good. I'll have Grigori pick a horse with a gentler temperament for you."
Yegorov said, "General, are you really going to advance 20 kilometers to intercept the enemy?"
Wang Zhong: "Yep. Don't worry. Just like you never expected me to do this, the enemy won't either. Surprise and unpreparedness*that's the key to victory."
At that point, Vasily couldn't help but look back. "General, aren't we 'planting' fake mines this time?"
Wang Zhong: "This time we've got plenty of real mines."
(End of Chapter)