Chapter 136
Agsukov, Ant Army Southwestern Front Headquarters, 2330 hours.
"How many kilometers have they advanced?" General Skorobo was so shocked he stood up.
The staff officer lowered his head to confirm the number on the report, then cautiously replied: "40 kilometers."
General Skorobo: "What about our troops? How could we let the enemy's armored cluster advance forty kilometers?"
As the General roared, the map officer at the Front Headquarters expressionlessly placed a red arrow representing the enemy near the southern coast of Agsukov.
The enemy's Southern Army Group's First Armored Cluster, the southernmost pincer of the entire envelopment, had already driven 40 kilometers into the defensive line.
From the map, the defensive zone of the 35th Army Group, which was supposed to stop the First Armored Cluster, now looked like a sweet potato sliced in half by the enemy.
General Skorobo was still venting his rage: "Forty kilometers! What is this, a marathon in our defensive zone?"
"General, sir," the Chief of Staff spoke up, "yelling at the communications officer is useless-he didn't cause the enemy to advance so fast."
General Skorobo hesitated for a few seconds and took a deep breath: "You're right. So what exactly is the 35th Army Group doing? Haven't they already built defensive positions on the front line?"
The Army Group Bishop said: "We also have fortification zones on the border, but the enemy still broke through."
At this moment, the Crown Prince, who had been listening all along, spoke: "General, you yourself said fortifications are useless and outdated."
"When did I say that?"
Crown Prince: "Yesterday, when evaluating Rokosov's work in Olachi."
Mentioning Rokosov at this point made General Skorobo's anger flare up instantly: "Don't mention that name!"
The Army Group Chief of Staff: "Ro-the 151st Division's fortifications might not be the same as our conventional understanding of fortifications. We could have him share his experience sometime."
General Skorobo glared at the Chief of Staff. At this moment, his adjutant said: "It was Rokosov who kept warning us the northern enemy would move south, which is why our defenses were focused in the north. The First Armored Cluster only faced one army group head-on, which by past experience is definitely not enough."
The Crown Prince slammed the table: "Enough! Rokosov warned you the northern enemy would move south-and did they? They did! He also said the enemy would launch a pincer attack-I remember clearly that's what he said! Did they use pincers? They did!
"He was right about everything! And who got everything wrong? You! You said the new tank-equipped corps would crush the enemy! Did they?
"You said the infantry attack could be repelled-was it?"
Chief of Staff: "Actually, we did repel that. The enemy infantry army group's attacks made little progress today-we even counterattacked and retook a town. Our infantry still has strong fighting spirit."
The Crown Prince was momentarily embarrassed-he really hadn't grasped the status of the infantry assault-but that didn't stop him from continuing: "But your initial judgment was completely wrong! The main breakthrough and encirclement by the enemy was done by armored clusters!
"By the way, the northern pincer of the enemy is still being held off by Rokosov!"
Chief of Staff: "It's Rokosov together with Duke Meshkin holding it off. Without the Duke, his division would have been surrounded."
Crown Prince: "Whatever, he held it! And his 2300-hour telegram said they destroyed over sixty enemy tanks in a single day!"
General Skorobo's adjutant said: "Sounds a bit low..."
"Because he really did destroy over sixty tanks! Now look at the 35th Army Group-they claimed to have destroyed over a hundred tanks, so why did the enemy cut through their defensive line like slicing butter? Was it because the enemy deployed a thousand tanks?" The Crown Prince pounded the table and questioned the General's adjutant.
Chief of Staff: "That front can't fit a thousand tanks. Judging by the width of the breach, it was probably just over a hundred tanks. Once they broke through, they branched out and swept through our logistics."
Army Group Bishop: "The 35th should retreat."
The adjutant was momentarily speechless.
General Skorobo placed both hands on the map table, palms covering his forehead: "Enough, Mishka (his adjutant's nickname). There's no point saving face at this point-I already lost all my face myself."
With that, the General lowered his hands.
For a moment, the Crown Prince thought the General had rubbed a whole new set of wrinkles onto his own forehead.
The General looked at the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, may I ask you to telegram your father and persuade him to allow us to retreat?"
The Crown Prince was actually shocked: "Retreat? The enemy pincers have only pushed less than a hundred kilometers combined-there's still a long way before the jaws close."
General: "Of course we'll do our best to delay the enemy, but we should prepare for the worst. We still have some tank units, mostly T26s and BT series, but according to frontline reports, as long as the range is right, they can still penetrate enemy armor.
"We also have enough Molotov cocktails to destroy enemy tanks in urban meat-grinder combat.
"But, Your Highness, the south is a vast plain-even if we hold one or two cities, the enemy will still flood over us like water breaching a dam."
After the General finished, the Chief of Staff continued: "Unless our air force suddenly becomes as competent as the enemy's. I heard the Il-2 attack aircraft are effective, but we've only been assigned one squadron for our army group.
"One squadron can delay a division, but it can't stop an entire armored cluster."
After the Chief of Staff finished speaking, the room fell silent.
The Crown Prince sighed: "I'll try. But knowing how stubborn Father is, he's unlikely to change his mind so quickly."
General Skorobo: "Then we stall until he does. I suggest you fly back to Saint Yekaterinburg immediately to persuade His Majesty the Tsar."
The Crown Prince gave a bitter smile: "You don't understand my father. He... he's very sensitive. He sent me to supervise the army-if I just run back, he'll fly into a rage. He won't listen to advice in that state."
Silence fell again.
By now, the General had at least heard rumors about the Tsar's temperament.
The Crown Prince reassured: "Don't worry, I'll send a telegram to my Younger Sister. She's smart-she'll think of something. Unless she happens to have angered Father, he'll definitely listen to her!"
General Skorobo nodded: "Good, we'll leave that to you, Your Highness. For now, we must stay focused and do our best to buy time for a proper retreat posture."
Army Group Chief of Staff: "We could consider an infantry assault. If we can pin down the enemy infantry and separate them from the armored cluster, the enemy might stall."
General Skorobo: "Worth a try."
The Crown Prince sat down, looked up at the ceiling mural, and silently muttered: Olga, you'd better come through-if you can't persuade Father, these troops will be buried here.
----
Olachi, Ant Army 151st Temporary Infantry Division Headquarters, August 4th, 00010 hours.
When Wang Zhong entered the room, Pavlov was startled: "You're back? I thought you'd gone to sleep with the troops."
"I need to adjust the deployment," said Wang Zhong. "What hit us hardest today was the enemy's bombing, so I'm going to target their planes."
As he spoke, Wang Zhong walked to the table laid with a detailed hand-drawn map of the Olachi area.
"Our anti-air guns are currently protecting the artillery positions, but think about it-if the enemy finds them, a single anti-air battalion with 25mm guns won't be enough to hold them off.
"But if the battalion moves forward, it can cover our tanks-and when necessary, even fire directly on infantry. With proper angles, it could even shoot directly at enemy tanks-like those Type 1 and Type 2 tanks that are just filler."
Today-or rather, yesterday, August 3rd-the 151st destroyed over sixty tanks. Those were Type 3 and Type 4 tanks; filler tanks like Type 2s and 38T models weren't even counted.
Pavlov nodded: "No objections from me."
Popov: "Actually, I checked the camouflage on the artillery position-as long as enemy recon planes don't do ultra-low flybys, it should be fine. I mean Position 152. The B4s are too big-might get spotted by enemy high-altitude recon."
Back in Loktov, the B4s were placed within the city, easier to hide. Loktov may be small, but it's a railway hub with lots of factories.
Olachi only has two factories-one makes iron pots and shovels, the other produces dairy like cheese-and then there's a big ranch.
There's really no place to hide something as huge as a B4.
Wang Zhong: "No choice-if necessary, burn tires!"
"That's the problem," Popov spread his hands. "I've talked with the local church and got a good understanding of the area. This city doesn't even have many tires to burn-we've worked hard collecting them, but we'd run out after two burns."
Wang Zhong: "Damn it, and all the tanks we destroyed don't even have rubber tires to salvage."
Popov: "Then we'd better fire off as many shells as we can before we're spotted."
Wang Zhong: "You're right. Link up with the B4 position-give the sleeping enemy a little surprise."
Pavlov: "Which village do you want to hit? Or... just bomb them all?"
Wang Zhong: "Bomb them all-share the love. If we hit anything, it's a win."
Pavlov nodded: "Alright, I'll take care of it."
Then he went to make a call.
Wang Zhong turned to Popov: "Besides moving the anti-air battalion, I'm planning to redeploy half of the Divine Arrow company to the front line tomorrow."
Popov: "To shoot down Stukas?"
"Exactly! It's not about how many we shoot down-it's about making their pilots think twice. I clearly remember: back in Upper Peniye, their Stukas came back for a strafing run, but after one was shot down by the Divine Arrow, the rest scattered like birds."
Popov: "I wasn't in your unit back in Upper Peniye. But I trust your experience."
At that moment, Wang Zhong suddenly realized-this is what experience accumulation is!
Tangible, visible accumulation of experience!
I'm growing too.
Popov: "General?"
"Oh, just zoned out for a second. Tomorrow, I want that little one-you know, the one with the snarky mouth... uh..."
He switched to the overhead vantage point, found the Divine Arrow company's icon, and checked the roster.
"Yekaterina Andropovna Bolancheva. Send her and two other Prayer Hands to the front. Lyudmila will continue holding Olachi."
Popov: "Makes sense. Bolancheva can guarantee downing enemy aircraft. If it's just about deterrence, she could even just guide and fire one shot-it might actually pressure the enemy more that way."
Wang Zhong: "Hmm... true. But I want to salvo three shots in the first round-cause some real losses."
"That works."
Just then, Nelly pushed the door open, carrying a basket: "Want some midnight snacks?"
"Give me some sour cream," said Wang Zhong.
Nelly stared at him: "Just sour cream? No vodka? In stories, soldiers always want their generals to drink hard and eat heartily."
Wang Zhong: "I'm not the Khan of Kosalia. Just give me sour cream."
(End of Chapter)