Chapter 132
Wang Zhong didn't have time to worry about the other tanks-he figured since they were all in emplacements, unless a 500-kilogram bomb landed directly inside, they shouldn't suffer too much damage.
Now that the smoke completely covered the position, even a 500-kilogram bomb could be dropped precisely into an emplacement-this was a real-life version of "Final Destination." They were doomed. Just accept fate.
Wang Zhong urged the driver: "Belyakov, hurry! Once we're out of the bomb zone, we'll be safe."
The Stukas in the sky were aiming at the colored smoke used by enemy tanks.
Vehicle 422's engine roared as it burst out of the smoke and into the bushes on the other side of the main road-this was originally a fake position made of dummy tanks and dummy anti-tank guns.
The T34s with radios, along with a few alert ones, followed Vehicle 422 and all hid in the fake position.
Next came the sharp, deathly whistle from the sky.
The explosion came very fast. The 500-kilogram bomb made such an earthshaking noise that even Wang Zhong, already hiding beside it, instinctively shrank into the tank, letting the open hatch shield most of his body.
The smoke columns from the explosion looked like giant cabbages, turning the ambush position into a giant's vegetable garden.
The gunfire from the ambush position nearly disappeared-but that might've been because the infantry's smoke blocked the tanks' line of sight.
Even though Wang Zhong knew the tanks left behind had no radios, he still asked over the radio: "Is everyone okay?"
"First platoon leader-platoon leader's tank is fine. Also, the other tanks from our platoon came over too. Our platoon is fine."
"Second platoon leader's tank is fine."
"Third platoon leader......"
Just as the radio was reporting everyone's safety, a T34 drove over from the ambush position. The tank commander poked his head out of the turret, still visibly shaken, and shouted from afar: "That was a Stuka? That was terrifying."
Then more tanks drove out from the ambush position, and someone brought bad news: "Vehicle 448 was flipped over by a bomb. When I passed by, I didn't see any tank crew alive."
Wang Zhong was just about to respond when someone reported in his headset: "Commander! Enemy tanks are attacking!"
----
The 2nd Armored Battalion Commander Stauhofens was observing the effects of the bombing.
He asked the Deputy Commander over the radio: "What do you think of the enemy's condition now? I think we can launch an attack. We'll flank the enemy from the side-it's perfect that they released smoke to confuse the Stukas; it'll also cover us."
Deputy Commander: "I think it'll work. Should we coordinate with the 3rd Armored Battalion? Have them move right and occupy the cover position."
"Also, have the armored grenadiers charge up and pin the enemy infantry-I think this plan is feasible."
With that, Stauhofens adjusted the radio to the frequency for talking with higher-ups: "Lynx calling Wolf, Lynx calling Wolf."
----
"The 2nd Armored Battalion Commander has assessed the situation and believes an attack is possible," the communications soldier handling the walkie-talkie turned and reported to Acting Division Commander Kluze.
"Alright. Let him try. If they hit a hard nut, pull back. Have the 3rd Armored Battalion and the Armored Grenadier Battalion assist him."
As a staff officer, Kluze was well aware of what he was made of. Since the frontline officer judged it was worth trying, then let them try.
Still, he had to show his value, so he added, "If the attack is blocked, remember to fake a retreat and lure the enemy into the firing range of the 88 guns."
----
Although Wang Zhong wasn't the first to detect the enemy's attack, thanks to the cheat, he was the first to grasp the overall situation.
The enemy had split into two tank groups. The first group looked like it was going to directly break through the flank of the ambush position and occupy the flanking fire position.
The second group took a wider loop-seemingly trying to occupy a distant firing position to cover the first group.
Meanwhile, the enemy's armored grenadiers had detached from the tank units and began advancing-clearly planning to use the smoke-obscured vision of the ambush position to launch a banzai charge and engage in close-quarters combat with the 1st Battalion of the 31st Regiment in the trenches.
After grasping the situation, Wang Zhong immediately said to a messenger who had withdrawn with the tanks: "Go tell the 1st Battalion to retreat from the position! The enemy is coming for a melee-have them move to the reserve position!"
Over the past ten days, the 151st Temporary Infantry Division and the Olachi laborer camps had dug a large number of preset positions and repeatedly drilled moving between them.
Wang Zhong had no intention of letting his mostly rookie unit get ground up by the enemy.
As for the enemy tanks flanking around, although the position Wang Zhong's group now occupied didn't have tank emplacements, it had many trees and lots of cover left behind from the fake position-fighting the enemy here was still to their advantage.
Besides, the T34 already had an upper hand when it came to armor-piercing duels-as long as the tracks were protected from being crippled, the enemy would struggle to gain an advantage-with so much cover, it would also be hard for them to precisely hit the T34's "neck."
It was kind of like War Thunder-using camouflage grass to block a tank's weak points, making it hard for the enemy to aim.
At that moment, three more T34s left the ambush position and came to join Wang Zhong's group.
That brought the total number of escaped tanks to twenty-one. Of the nine remaining, Vehicle 448 was confirmed lost, and the status of the others was unknown.
"Form up! Find your platoon command vehicles!" Wang Zhong shouted while gesturing to the three newly arrived tanks.
The commander of the lead tank nodded-whether he truly understood or just nodded to play along was unclear-but he directed his tank to turn ahead of Vehicle 422 and drive along the current tank formation.
The other two tanks followed behind, passing in front of Vehicle 422, with their commanders all giving Wang Zhong a respectful salute.
Wang Zhong: "Quit staring at me! Get into formation-the enemy's coming!"
He couldn't take it anymore. From now on, capturing radios would be the top priority.
At that moment, Wang Zhong, from an overhead vantage point, saw the infantry retreating along the communication trench to the preset positions, while the enemy infantry was still about 200 meters from the ambush position's trench.
Good-the results of all that formation-changing practice were showing.
Since the enemy was entering the position--
Wang Zhong adjusted his radio frequency to one commonly used by the Prossenians.
The Prossenians were monitoring this frequency-though "monitoring" wasn't quite right. They used it to communicate, so of course they were always listening.
And there was someone else always listening to this frequency-Vasily, who was stationed with the captured walkie-talkie.
Wang Zhong: "The long sobs of the violins of autumn, repeat, the long sobs of the violins of autumn."
----
Vasily put down the headset: "The code's here! Artillery, lock onto the second ambush position!"
"The second one?" Pavlov confirmed.
"Yes! I'm sure the code refers to the second ambush position," Vasily said firmly.
Pavlov picked up the phone: "Connect me to the artillery regiment! Hurry!"
----
Prossenian forces, Knights' Amplar Armored Division Headquarters.
Acting Division Commander Kluze heard a sudden voice on the radio and shouted: "Who understands Ant language?"
"I do! That's the first line of Verlaine's poem, 'Autumn Song,'" a staff officer said.
Commander Kluze: "Why recite poetry all of a sudden? Is this some kind of code? Is something about to happen?"
Another staff officer asked nervously: "Could it be an artillery strike on us?"
Clearly, the precise strikes on other division commanders had left serious psychological pressure on the staff.
Kluze waved his hand: "Don't scare yourselves. If they were going to bomb us, they would've done it already-why wait till now? No, this must be another kind of code. The Ant Army doesn't have enough radios-they rely on phones. The person giving the order must've left a phone node for some reason.
"He has a radio... he must be inside a tank."
Suddenly, Kluze rushed to the desk, grabbed the White Horse General's combat dossier, flipped through it rapidly, and shouted: "Tank! That White Horse General likes to command from his tank, and his tank always has the regimental flag on the antenna! Tell the 2nd Battalion-the enemy's White Horse General is in a tank with a flag on the antenna!"
----
Wang Zhong was still watching the enemy infantry when Vasily's voice suddenly came through the headset: "General! The enemy knows you're in a tank-and that your tank has a flag! Quick, take the flag down!"
Wang Zhong glanced at the red flag on the antenna and shook his head: "Let them come. And you kid-stop speaking in plain language!"
Actually, for this kind of radio communication, the only way to ensure secrecy now was through codes or ciphers.
Basically, both sides could hear each other's radio traffic. Those advanced things like frequency hopping and encrypted comms didn't exist yet.
That's why the Americans came up with the idea of using Native American languages as codes.
Wang Zhong had just finished scolding Vasily when he saw enemy infantry entering the second ambush position.
Just then, armored unit symbols suddenly appeared in the ambush position!
A T34 that had just been knocked out by a big bomb "woke up"!
It started reversing and firing at the same time, withdrawing all the way to the simple road.
Then more tanks "woke up"-no, three of them woke up, forming an armored platoon with the first one.
But Wang Zhong quickly saw that one tank's track had been destroyed and couldn't move.
He watched as the tank crew jumped out and used their weapons to shoot at the elite armored grenadiers.
But the enemy's machine guns opened up immediately.
The German tradition-infantry used 98Ks with bolt actions, relying entirely on machine guns for sustained suppressive fire.
The light machine guns' storm-like firepower instantly cut down all the tank crew.
Wang Zhong watched with a heart like a knife being twisted.
Fortunately, at that moment, the remaining three tanks successfully crossed the hedgerow into the open plains. The tanks' firepower pushed back the enemy infantry trying to approach.
Now's the time!
Wang Zhong: "With the dull melancholy that pierces my heart. Repeat, with the dull melancholy that pierces my heart!"
"Got it!" Vasily responded.
Wang Zhong: "Damn it, don't respond!"
Though Vasily was a bit of a blockhead, Wang Zhong wasn't worried he'd mess it up.
A few seconds later, the whistling of shells cutting through the sky could be heard.
The first volley of 152mm heavy guns landed.
The hedgerow position that had just been plowed by the Stuka's 500-kilogram payload was once again blanketed in steel and fire.
The birch trees forming the hedgerow swayed wildly, yet stood firm like bamboo-"beaten a thousand times, still unyielding."
Let the winds come from east, west, south, or north!
(End of Chapter)