Chapter 122
Jule 914, August 2nd, 0430 hours, Prossenian 2nd Armored Cluster Headquarters.
General Heinz Wilhelm von Moltke glanced at his pocket watch and nodded to the staff officer holding the telephone receiver.
The staff officer immediately gave the order: "Begin artillery preparation!"
As the staff officer hung up the phone, the distant rumbling of thunder could faintly be heard--it was the sound of the artillery belonging to the armored cluster opening fire.
General von Moltke stood in front of the map, staring at Saint Yekaterinburg marked on it.
After a long silence, he said, "It's true that continuing to advance eastward is dangerous. Our supply lines would stretch to 600 kilometers, and the infantry of the Central Army Group is scattered along that long supply route-it'll definitely be weak everywhere.
"If the enemy's heavy troop clusters move north, we could find ourselves in a dangerous situation."
The cluster's Chief of Staff said, "The Southern Army Group is advancing way too slowly. It's all flat plain out there, and they even have naval support, yet their progress is embarrassingly slow.
"To cover up their failure, they even made up a White Horse General, calling him some kind of defensive genius who has repeatedly delayed the advance of our armored cluster."
General von Moltke frowned: "Defensive genius? How come I've never heard of him?"
Chief of Staff: "Higher-ups suppressed the news, even scolded the Southern Army Group. The Empire's Minister of Propaganda was furious and personally called to ask whether the Southern Army Group was trying to undermine the propaganda that Ants are an inferior race."
General von Moltke already had many wrinkles between his brows; now they deepened as if they could hide a flea: "Bring me all battle reports related to this White Horse General, preferably the original versions without exaggeration."
Chief of Staff: "Well... after all, this enemy wasn't encountered by our own Army Group, and the relevant matters were suppressed by the Empire, so we don't really know the specifics."
General von Moltke cursed: "What the hell! Sharing the tactical styles of competent enemy commanders can effectively reduce casualties in our troops-don't they understand that?"
No one in the room responded.
After holding it in for a while, the Chief of Staff said, "Maybe we'll run into him ourselves. Then you can assess his capabilities in person."
General von Moltke: "Hmph, perfect. This war is already turning into an armed parade just like the one in Carolingian. If things go on like this, even if we encircle and annihilate a million Ant troops at Agsukov, people will still say we just beat a bunch of savages!"
--
Southern Front, Prossenian 1st Armored Cluster Headquarters, 0430 hours.
"Open fire." Commander of the 1st Armored Cluster, General Ewald von Steiermark, said.
The staff officer immediately picked up the phone.
Moments later, distant muffled thunder rolled in.
Steiermark: "Has the intelligence department still not located the deployment position of that General Rokosov?"
"Just received a telegram, Commander. The Empire's intelligence agency in Libreville reports that Brigadier General Petro Konstantinovich Rokosov is currently serving as Senior Operations Staff Officer at the Southwestern Front's staff headquarters."
General Steiermark frowned: "What? Why assign such a battle-hardened general to the staff headquarters? Is this transfer even proper?"
Everyone in the command room looked at each other in confusion.
The Chief of Staff spoke: "Could it be someone with the same surname? Maybe an older brother or something?"
"Hmm... forget it!" General Steiermark shook his head, "If such a troublesome figure has actually been stuffed into the staff department, then our victory is practically guaranteed. The largest encirclement and annihilation battle in human history-this will go down in the military history books no matter what!"
--
Ant Army, Agsukov, Southwestern Front Headquarters, Jule 914, August 2nd, 0510 hours.
All the telephones were ringing, and every time a receiver was put down, the bell rang again immediately.
And every receiver picked up had a staff officer shouting into it without exception:
"Hello? Louder! Speak louder!"
Amid the overlapping shouts of "speak louder," General Skorobo frowned as he stared at the Southwestern Front deployment map.
On the map now, there were already six markers indicating "suspected enemy offensive intentions."
More could be expected in the future.
The Front's Chief of Staff walked over: "Currently confirmed, at least ten divisions' positions have been hit by enemy artillery preparation. The actual number of bombardment sites is definitely higher. I believe the enemy has indeed launched a large-scale pincer offensive."
The Chief of Staff suddenly paused, as if deliberately stopping himself from saying more.
General Skorobo: "You want to say that that incompetent Rokosov was right? Fine, I admit he did predict the enemy's actions a bit earlier than us, but his pessimistic ideas are completely unacceptable!
"The enemy's offensive is an opportunity! As long as our three tank corps launch attacks during the day, the situation will reverse! We'll drive the enemy back to their starting positions and even reclaim territory they had occupied!
"The defenses that Rokosov built with his cobbled-together temporary unit in Olachi won't make any difference!"
After speaking, General Skorobo slammed his fist onto the table, denting the wooden surface.
He used so much force that the skin on his fist cracked open, blood spreading across the table and even dripping down the edge.
The Chief of Staff looked at General Skorobo's hand and said, "The enemy's air superiority might make our armored counterattack..."
"We have a newly supplemented interceptor squadron! Let them cover our young men! The enemy will be reduced to ashes before the tide of our steel!"
Chief of Staff: "Yes, sir."
Army Group Bishop: "There's another option-withdraw the tank corps to Olachi. From what I've gathered, Brigadier General Rokosov has built a great number of fortifications there."
General Skorobo: "Don't you remember what happened in the Carolingian Campaign? Fortifications are useless! Nowadays, air force bombs can destroy bunkers, and heavy artillery can flatten minefields! The era of relying on fortifications is over-it's the era of head-on armored clashes!
"Who uses tank forces for defense anyway!"
Army Group Bishop: "Brigadier General Rokosov did just that, and he did it well. The Church believes he's an expert in using armored forces for defensive operations."
"His results only came because our tanks have superior armor-it's not that he's particularly capable! After today, no one will care about his so-called results, because with our advanced tanks, those results are as easy as pulling something out of a sack!"
General Skorobo paused, wrapped his bleeding hand in a handkerchief: "Have the three northern tank corps enter combat readiness! Be prepared to launch a counterassault at any time!"
--
Shepetovka, Jule 914, August 2nd, 1030 hours.
Lieutenant General Chesnokov, commander of the 6th Tank Corps, personally jumped onto a tank and said to the tank commander: "You, get out! Let this old tank crew take the wheel!"
The tank commander immediately got out. Chesnokov had once been the president of the Armored Troops Academy, and many of these men were his former students-they obeyed without hesitation.
Standing atop the tank, Chesnokov turned to the entire tank corps and shouted: "Everyone! The time to build our legacy has come! Numerous front-line battle reports show the enemy can't handle our T34 tanks! All they rely on is their air force! But today!"
As he spoke, a V-formation of LaGG-3 fighter planes swept across the sky-15 of them!
Chesnokov saluted the planes and continued only after they had completely passed: "This is just part of the 5th Air Army supporting our operation. There'll be more combat aircraft joining in. Today is one of the rare days in this war when our forces don't have to worry about enemy air power!
"Without air support, our tracks will crush the enemy's skulls! Today marks the moment of counterattack! Move out!"
After speaking, Chesnokov jumped into the tank, put on his tank helmet and headset microphone, and ordered: "Driver, advance!"
Accompanied by a loud duang, Chesnokov's tank rumbled onto the main road, heading north.
They would soon directly encounter the enemy's newly arrived armored division on the battlefield.
--
Asgard Knights' Amplar Armored Division, Division Headquarters, 0830 hours.
Division Commander Wilhelm Dietrich said to vanguard commander Lieutenant Colonel Müller, "According to current intel, there's at least one enemy tank corps directly ahead, equipped with the highly troublesome T34 tanks.
"So our plan is simple-after breaking through the enemy's first line of defense, immediately deploy the 88mm anti-air guns. The anti-aircraft gun positions will be set up here."
Wilhelm Dietrich tapped a small hillside on the map with his riding crop.
"This spot offers a good line of fire, but the bad news is, there aren't many obstacles to conceal our heavy anti-tank guns. So once you lure the enemy armored forces to the front of the 88 positions, don't just stand there watching. You must flank the enemy from both sides.
"Your job is to draw the enemy's attention so the 88mm guns can annihilate them en masse.
"Of course, under normal circumstances, the enemy's tank forces will have already been blown to bits by our air force before they even meet us. Still, better safe than sorry.
"Don't underestimate this tactic-we used a similar method in Carolingian to deal with charging B1 heavy tanks.
"It's a simple but very effective tactic!"
Wilhelm Dietrich stopped and looked at Lieutenant Colonel Müller: "Do you understand? If so, repeat it!"
Lieutenant Colonel Müller nodded: "When we encounter an armored counterattack from the enemy, we lure them toward the ambush site of the 88s. While the 88s destroy them, we flank from both sides to draw attention for the 88s!"
Wilhelm Dietrich nodded and continued with a simple pep talk: "You're all elite troops, handpicked for this. Look at the Zeus on your collar holding lightning-you are the guardians of the divine kingdom of Asgard! You should fight to the last man!
"Of course, this offensive might not require us to fight to the last man. Alright, let's move out!"
Lieutenant Colonel Müller saluted and turned toward the command room door.
Wilhelm Dietrich followed, continuing his instructions: "The weak points of the enemy's two new tank models are marked in the manual. Cripple them and let the infantry finish them off-it'll work too."
The two walked out of the headquarters into the yard, just in time to hear the division's armored guard platoon soldiers preparing the tanks to depart while loudly singing:
If the goddess of fate abandons us once again,
If we can never return to our hometown,
If bullets are fired at us,
Ending our destiny,
Halting our lives,
At least our faithful tanks
Will give us a steel grave.
(End of Chapter)