Chapter 135
Prossenian forces, Second Armored Cluster Headquarters, August 3rd, 2330 hours.
When acting division commander Kluze entered the headquarters, armored cluster commander Heinz Wilhelm von Moltke was studying a map.
Acting division commander Kluze stood at attention and saluted: "Commander, sir!"
"Mm, relax a bit." Moltke raised his right hand slightly in return. "I had you ride a bucket car-that is, a German jeep-over here to understand what your division experienced today. Thanks for enduring the trip."
Kluze remained at attention: "At His Majesty the Emperor's service!"
"Very good." Moltke waved his hand. "Go ahead, tell me-what happened today? Start with how Major General Wilhelm Dietrich got severely wounded. Wasn't he a valiant general who performed excellently in the Bohemian and Carolingian campaigns? Why did he fail against the Ants?"
"Major General Wilhelm planned to personally scout the enemy, so he swapped clothes with a tank platoon leader who was in reserve and rode the platoon leader's vehicle forward. Then... he was hit by 72 shells from enemy heavy artillery. Only one tank from that platoon remained intact."
Moltke clicked his tongue: "A targeted bombardment on a disguised scouting division commander?"
The cluster's Chief of Staff said: "Was there a spy who leaked it?"
Kluze immediately replied: "That's absolutely impossible. The military police have already eliminated all potential hostile informants in our garrison area."
Moltke frowned, but ultimately refrained from commenting on the military police's actions and instead continued, "If it were a spy, it's unlikely they'd be in direct contact with a frontline division commander. Intelligence organizations usually don't have such a flat structure for security purposes."
"I'm more inclined to believe there's a hidden observation post. Your division HQ might be within enemy line of sight. Even if they changed uniforms, once an observation post sees who gets saluted, they'll understand everything."
Kluze: "If that's the case, why not bomb the staff HQ directly? That doesn't add up. Before the attack began, all officers at or above platoon level in my division gathered for a meeting-if a shell had landed then, my division would've been paralyzed instantly."
Moltke nodded: "You make a good point. So how was this achieved? This White Horse General also-uh, was responsible for Major General Randolph's death."
"That incident is somewhat understandable," said the cluster's Chief of Staff. "The White Horse General's vehicle charged right up to Major General Randolph's headquarters. That was entirely due to Randolph's excessive recklessness. That star general from the Carolingian campaign also liked driving tanks at the front line."
Moltke: "Ah, the young Elvin. After being praised by His Majesty for his aggressive spirit, it seems all the young generals now like to charge ahead."
Moltke shook his head: "A general should have a grasp of the overall picture. Back to your experience today-anything else to add regarding Major General Wilhelm's injury?"
Kluze hesitated for a moment and said: "There was also a voodoo ritual..."
"No need to mention that. Leave it to the scientific department of the High Command. Before you arrived, the cluster staff leaned more toward it being coincidence. That White Horse General may have deduced the presence of an important figure through formation patterns or other subtle clues."
Moltke paused after speaking, then changed the subject: "What's your impression of this 'White Horse General'?"
Kluze's face tightened: "He's a cunning, despicable, yet extremely meticulous guy. He must've surveyed the battlefield thoroughly and knew exactly where we'd place our logistics nodes. His shelling was somewhat of a gamble, but it still killed over forty of our experienced soldiers-who were having coffee at the time!"
"The only fortunate thing is that our tank crews were still repairing tanks and hadn't gone to eat! Otherwise, we would've lost an elite tank battalion for nothing!"
Moltke: "Bombing dining areas, huh. That reminds me of the old days in trench warfare, when we'd bomb each other's latrines. You just get used to it. What other traits does he have?"
Kluze thought for a moment and said: "It seems he had his troops dig a very strange kind of emplacement. Our infantry went up to inspect it, but before they could get a good look, enemy artillery covered the area."
"But it seemed to be a very advanced and complex emplacement. Our tank emplacements are usually just square pits dug for tanks to drive into. Theirs are far more intricate and require much more earthwork."
"Our tank emplacements can even be dug by the tank crews themselves-just push with a bulldozer blade and it's done."
"Theirs might require mobilizing a large number of laborers and engineer units to dig over a long period."
Moltke asked solemnly: "Emplacements?"
"Yes, emplacements. These emplacements are extremely hard to detect-even when tanks open fire, the smoke and dust they generate obscure visibility and disrupt our return fire."
"If it weren't for the Ant tank crews' poor gunnery skills, our losses might have been even worse."
Moltke exchanged a glance with the Chief of Staff and asked: "Shouldn't he be a reckless brute? After all, he once charged straight up to General Randolph."
"No, he's definitely not a brute. He ambushed us, pulled most of his tanks and infantry back before our Stukas bombed, and then used artillery to blanket the position after our infantry pushed forward. That's clearly the strategy of a cunning expert in defensive warfare!"
Moltke: "A cunning defensive warfare expert, huh. But in the Ant Army, armored officers all praise offense. In Castilia, they even charge our anti-tank gun positions with tanks-like a bunch of porcupines rushing human arrow formations and dying on the open plains."
"Then he's the exception!" Kluze said firmly. "Today's attack was a major loss for us! And I-and all my officers-believe they didn't even use their full strength!"
Moltke rubbed his chin in thought, while the cluster's Chief of Staff said: "But the intelligence from Laboville indicates he's just... a last place graduate playboy."
Kluze: "Does this look like something a last place graduate could pull off? I refuse to accept being defeated by a last place! No, I didn't even make the attack plan-I refuse to believe Major General Wilhelm Dietrich's plan was completely outmatched by a last place! Absolutely not!"
The Chief of Staff raised an eyebrow and looked down to reread the intelligence from Laboville: "Wait a second! There's another line here-Laboville's own assessment. 'Considering the second to last place was the Crown Prince of the Ante Empire, it's possible that Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov deliberately lowered his grades.'"
The Chief of Staff looked up at the others.
The entire headquarters fell into silence-as if even the typing sounds from the neighboring clerks' office had quieted.
Moltke concluded: "So, we're facing a supremely intelligent, cunning expert in defensive warfare?"
"We?" Kluze keenly caught the word. "Duke Meshkin's troops were crushed?"
"No. In fact, they built a large number of fortifications-it's quite a headache. That's why the cluster plans to bypass the strong fortified region and complete the encirclement through your front."
Moltke paused, then continued: "Tomorrow, the 16th Armored Division will join you. Additionally, the corps' artillery will also move in your direction and is expected to arrive in the combat zone tomorrow night."
"Furthermore, the 8th Air Army will do its best to support your operations."
Kluze: "All these forces... will be under my command?"
"Yes, because... the Emperor wants you to perform well. After all, you're the Asgard Knights."
Kluze grinned, and the lightning-bearing Zeus on his collar tab reflected the light from the lamp.
At that moment, the air raid siren suddenly sounded.
Everyone in the headquarters looked up in confusion.
Moltke demanded: "What's going on?"
"I'll find out right away." A staff officer immediately left the headquarters.
As soon as he left, the phone rang.
The Chief of Staff picked it up: "Headquarters. What? What? Understood."
After hanging up, the Chief of Staff said: "The troops heard the sound of aircraft passing overhead-everyone heard it-and confirmed it was heading toward us."
Moltke: "Aircraft? At night? Didn't the air force say night bombers are still in testing? How did the Ants pull this off?"
The Chief of Staff shook his head.
At that moment, an explosion was heard outside.
Moltke quickly walked to the window and saw a biplane fly over the headquarters, dropping something.
It landed in the yard and exploded the next moment.
Rather than an aerial bomb, it looked more like a grenade.
Moltke looked puzzled: "What the heck?"
The Chief of Staff also looked bewildered.
Time passed in confusion for five minutes.
Then the phone rang again, and the Chief of Staff immediately answered: "Headquarters. How many? Why didn't the anti-air guns fire? Ultra-low altitude? Got it."
After hanging up again, the Chief of Staff reported: "Six biplanes were observed flying at ultra-low altitude over our heads, dropping small grenadelike bombs. The total casualties were six dead and eleven injured."
Moltke was silent for a few seconds before asking: "What's the point of such an air raid?"
"No idea. The Ants' understanding of the art of war is quite different from ours." The Chief of Staff paused and added, "Unless... they plan to do this every night. If so, it would cause immense psychological pressure on our soldiers-even sleep wouldn't feel safe."
Moltke: "Sending out old biplanes on bombing runs just to ruin our sleep? What kind of bizarre strategy is that?"
"You can't understand the Ants with common sense."
Moltke shook his head and turned back to Kluze again: "In any case, you're in charge of organizing tomorrow's attack. Don't let that White Horse General succeed again! You're a top graduate of the Imperial Military Academy! Even if you've never fought a real battle."
"Seize this opportunity! I believe His Majesty the Emperor expects nothing less!"
Kluze shouted: "I will not betray His Majesty's high expectations!"
Just realized the previously used military time format was being read aloud by the Qidian AI as 'two thousand three hundred and thirty hours', so starting this chapter, time will be written in uppercase Chinese characters. See you tomorrow.
(End of Chapter)