Chapter 133
The barrage from the 152mm heavy guns continued, and Wang Zhong also saw fiery orange balls created by the even more powerful 203mm heavy guns.
Wang Zhong could see the enemy infantry rapidly thinning out, with clusters of glowing figures vanishing all at once.
If this were in a game, one shell like that would earn the artillery Brother an extra star in proficiency-fire a few times and he'd be max-star artillery.
Sadly, reality has no such mechanic.
Although the infantry assault had been halted by artillery, the enemy's tank units were still maneuvering around.
And now a problem had arisen-the three remaining tanks were right between the armored battalion's main force and the enemy!
Wang Zhong: "Open fire! Cover them! And you, fall back quickly!"
In the heat of the moment, he forgot that those three tanks had been bombed by a 500KG bomb precisely because they didn't have radios.
Vehicle 422 fired first-Alexander was doing great! The shell passed between the large flanks of the three friendly tanks and struck a Type 3 tank on the move.
The other tanks also began firing sporadically, but the hit rate was worrisome. After all, there were no markers for distance reference-they had to rely on the crew's experience.
The enemy returned fire too, but their targets were the three tanks retreating frantically.
After the first volley, Wang Zhong saw friendly tanks 438 and 440 stop moving-likely their tracks were broken.
However, thanks to Wang Zhong's earlier organization of a combat experience-sharing session, the green crews in those tanks didn't abandon them but instead stayed and fired back.
Tank 431 continued to fall back, and at that moment, its tank commander seemed to finally realize where the friendly forces were, so he ordered the driver to turn the hull.
But whether the driver panicked and turned the wrong way or the commander gave the wrong order in confusion, in any case, the tank turned its front toward the friendlies and exposed its rear to the enemy.
How could the Prossenian tank elites miss such an opportunity? Wang Zhong watched as three or four shells struck the rear of Tank 431.
The engine of 431 immediately went dead, and the thick smoke rising from its radiator was clearly visible to Wang Zhong even from that distance!
The tank crew of 431 scrambled out of the vehicle-after all, with the engine gone, the turret would soon be immobile and only operable by hand crank. No one would blame them for abandoning it now.
The Prossenians began machine-gunning, cutting off the tankers' escape route, forcing them to take cover behind the tank.
Tanks 438 and 440 were still resisting, but the second wave of Prossenian fire came, all aimed at the turret rings.
At this point, the attacking enemy armored cluster had also suffered heavy losses-Wang Zhong's side had 21 tanks, and after several volleys, they had knocked out more than a dozen enemy tanks.
But the problem was, the enemy still had dozens more!
Just then, Wang Zhong noticed that Tank 430 had come back to life from the treeline.
Goodness! That thing had been stunned by the enemy's 500KG bomb, then hammered several times by friendly 152 and 203 shells, and now it was alive again!
More crucially, it could still move! It backed out of its tank emplacement, turned around, and charged outward.
Yes, Tank 430 was charging along the hedgerow toward the enemy armored group's flank.
It burst out from the hedgerow, and somehow none of the enemies noticed it!
Tank 430 had just reached the enemy's flank!
That maneuver-it was so familiar to Wang Zhong-it was exactly like how he used to flank in War Thunder with the M18 Hellcat!
Reaching the flank, it began delivering powerful 76mm HE rounds to each German bastard one by one.
But the T34's notorious lack of visibility once again became apparent-Tank 430 didn't see the distant Prossenian armored group providing cover.
It had just come to a stop when three Type 3 tanks in the distance opened fire.
But in their haste, the Prossenians missed-the armor-piercing rounds hit the ground, bounced up, and grazed the front armor of Tank 430.
Tank 430 fired back and scored a hit on a Type 4. It appeared the gunner had deliberately chosen the rarer, more valuable Type 4 as a target.
Then more distant enemies opened fire-Tank 430 was hit repeatedly, yet still managed to fire a second shot.
Flames burst from the hatch of a Type 3 tank.
Seeing this scene, Wang Zhong couldn't sit still anymore.
At least he should move his own tank next to the three disabled friendly tanks-to avoid blocking the firing lines of allied tanks, and to close the distance so his rookie tank crews could aim better and waste fewer shells.
Wang Zhong: "All units, follow me forward! Belyakov, advance!"
The exhaust pipe of Tank 422 spewed a thick cloud of black smoke, and it roared forward, red flag fluttering on the radio antenna.
Wang Zhong's command vehicle burst out of the treeline, charging across the open plains!
The other tanks followed close behind, rushing to the aid of their comrades stranded on the grassland!
--
Second Armored Battalion commander Stauhofens still had his upper body exposed from the turret, so he was the first to see the T34 tank charging out of the treeline.
"Lynx calling Wolf, Lynx calling Wolf! Visual confirmation of the enemy command vehicle-it's a specially modified T34, with a larger turret than other T34s.
"There's a red flag on the radio antenna, repeat, red flag on the antenna! Tactical number 422, repeat, tactical number 422, and it has a white horse emblem, white horse emblem!"
After reporting, Stauhofens immediately switched to the battalion command frequency: "Target the enemy tank with the red flag and tactical number 422!"
His command vehicle was the first to respond, turning its gun to aim at that T34.
At that moment, a command came over the radio from division headquarters: "Remember the tactics arranged by the commander!"
Stauhofens: "But the enemy only has one battalion; I think we can handle it!"
"And how much have we lost?"
Stauhofens fell silent.
Acting commander: "Execute the scheduled plan!"
"Understood. All vehicles, you heard it-execute the scheduled plan!"
The Second Armored Battalion began deploying smoke and turning to retreat.
It was only then that most of the Prossenian tanks noticed Tank 430 on the flank.
After a round of concentrated fire, Tank 430 was disabled on the grassland.
--
Just after charging past the three disabled friendly tanks on the plains, Wang Zhong gave the order: "Stop! Stop!"
After the tank jolted to a halt, Wang Zhong raised his binoculars-it was just for show, as the smoke released by the enemy had already completely blocked the view ahead.
Wang Zhong used his overhead cheat view to see the enemy retreating.
Not only were the tank units retreating, but the bombed-out infantry in the ambush positions were retreating too.
What does this mean?
Wang Zhong suddenly thought of that classic scene from the comedy skit by Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao:
"But I haven't even fired a shot yet!"
"Well, that just shows how accurate your aim must be!"
Wang Zhong thought, I just rushed out and was about to set up and duel with you-now you're leaving?
I didn't even try and you're already down?
At that moment, the other tanks also reached the line of Tank 422. Most stopped, but a few oblivious ones kept going.
You couldn't really blame them-when the commander doubles as the gunner, it's easy to stay fixated on what's ahead.
Wang Zhong also heard a platoon leader blowing his whistle-this was originally planned by the Ant Army's armored command as a method of coordination, but it was completely useless.
In fact, after the previous battle at Loktov, Wang Zhong had realized that whistles and flag signals didn't work, so he arranged for someone to open the tank hatches and use the most direct methods to communicate.
Hearing the whistle, Wang Zhong pressed his throat mic: "Alright, stop blowing. Use the anti-aircraft machine gun and shoot them in the back of the head-that'll let them know it's time to stop!"
As soon as he said that, the platoon leader's vehicle opened fire, and the tracer rounds of the AA machine gun hit the backs of the heads of the crews still charging ahead.
Finally, all the tanks came to a stop.
Wang Zhong peered through the smoke, observing the enemy's movements.
-Wait a second, didn't he see this exact thing at Loktov? So, was there another 88 gun position set up behind?
Wang Zhong pulled out the map-just like at Loktov, he had carefully scouted the battlefield. However, the northern terrain near Olachi was too flat; there wasn't a spot particularly suited for anti-tank gun placement.
Or rather, the best defensive position in the area was already occupied by Wang Zhong himself.
Damn, that means there's no way to steal the enemy's artillery now.
Facing 88s head-on in the open plains? I'm not in such a rush to die.
At this point, the 1st Battalion of the 31st Guards Infantry Regiment re-entered the position they had just abandoned.
Wang Zhong began thinking about the next phase of defense.
With the enemy retreating like this, it would likely take some time for them to reorganize for another offensive.
Organizing an armored assault is far more complex than an infantry one, and the enemy had suffered heavy losses-even the tanks that managed to retreat likely had casualties and would need to reshuffle their crews.
Wang Zhong continued studying the map-where would the enemy regroup?
The regrouping site should be close to the highway for easier resupply. It should also be near a medical station, since some lightly wounded people would need simple bandaging.
The hospital must be around the well-
By using the process of elimination, Wang Zhong quickly identified three possible regrouping locations for the enemy.
In fact, during earlier terrain scouting, he had specifically paid attention to these spots and even gave each a codename.
Let's fire a round at each of them and take a gamble. If lucky, we'll hit the jackpot, and the enemy won't be launching any attacks today.
--
"The enemy didn't take the bait!" Kluze picked up the file documenting the White Horse General's past battles. "At Loktov, he didn't take the bait either-and immediately shelled all likely anti-tank positions. Tch, have the anti-air battalion relocate!"
The communications officer saluted and left.
Kluze turned to Stauhofens: "What are our losses?"
"Heavy. My battalion lost thirty tanks."
"How many can be repaired?"
Stauhofens clicked his tongue: "Acting commander, sir, if we don't control the battlefield, there's no way we can repair the tanks abandoned there. The enemy currently holds the front line."
"Alright. Looks like we'll have to wait until tonight, have the infantry attempt a night assault to retake the position."
As soon as he finished speaking, the howling of shells cutting through the sky echoed above.
Kluze: "Have they arrived? Is that anti-air fire?"
He strode to the armored command vehicle's door, pulled it open, and looked outside.
However, the artillery battalion was completely intact and in the process of relocating.
The sound of explosions came from far away.
Kluze looked into the distance: "What are they bombing?"
Another staff officer frowned: "Judging by the direction, it's the field hospital's position... those inferior races!"
Kluze shook his head: "No, they're bombing our logistics nodes and assembly points! Get the people evacuated quickly!"
Just then, another howling came from overhead, and even Kluze, who had little front-line experience, could tell it was landing close.
He immediately dove to the ground!
But the shell didn't hit the command vehicle; instead, it landed in the nearby threshing yard.
The retreating 2nd Armored Battalion hadn't regrouped in the threshing yard, but there was a food truck parked there, distributing meals and some incredibly disgusting coffee.
Kluze looked up and saw the giant pot of coffee flying through the air.
Like many Prossenian officers who had encountered the White Horse General before, Kluze cursed furiously: "Damn you, White Horse!"
Alliance leader Zhanbo Monk Fenglin Extra update
(End of Chapter)