Arc of Fire

Returning to Headquarters, the first sight was a map riddled with red.

Wang Zhong: "How many positions have we lost?"

Pavlov gave him a sidelong glance: "Although it’s the truth, don’t be so blunt about it, it’s bad for morale. Currently, on the first line of defense, almost all the positions without reinforced concrete structures are gone.

"Several support points based on the original reinforced concrete buildings are still resisting, we can even reach them by phone."

Pavlov said as he picked up a map stick and quickly pointed on the map a few times: "Here, here, and here, three support points in total. We’ve dispersed most of the 21st Tank Regiment’s KV tanks into the alleyways surrounding these three points."

Wang Zhong pretended to look at the map, but his bird’s-eye view had already clarified the terrain—of course, without establishing contact with the frontline troops, he could only see the topography, with enemy and friendly troop markers stuck on the terrain like plasters.

You wouldn’t believe it, but it’s quite like a game, Wang Zhong thought. Before he time traveled, he used to like playing games like SGS, which felt somewhat the same before zooming in.

Since he couldn’t see where the tanks were specifically placed, Wang Zhong called out, "Phone contact with these three support points."

Pavlov: "The fight is still ongoing, I’m afraid even if you call through, you won’t be able to adjust anything."

Wang Zhong had no choice but to change the subject: "Besides the support points, are there no other positions defended?"

"There are, the Nameless Highlands defended by the temporary 510th Division are still in our hands. This high ground overlooks our second and third lines of defense, so the temporary 510th put all their reserves into it, including cooks and the division guard. According to them..." Pavlov paused, adjusted his expression, "it’s down to the division staff and the division commander himself."

Wang Zhong: "What about their reinforcements?"

Pavlov pointed the map stick at the arrow toward the Nameless Highlands: "One division from the 56th Infantry Army is en route, but the 56th’s equipment isn’t great, with low motorization, they can’t catch up for now."

Wang Zhong stared at the map, switched his view, and looked at the actual topography of the high ground: "This highland, our Whirlwind can be put to use, send the 225th Division’s Whirlwind troops. Do we have any infantry that could go with the Whirlwind right now?"

Pavlov: "The 393rd Brigade of the Naval Infantry has asked to fight for the fourth time."

Wang Zhong hesitated for a moment but then decisively said, "Have the 393rd Brigade mount the Whirlwind and head over! With the mobility of the Whirlwind, they’ll be faster than the 56th Army on foot!"

"Yes!" Pavlov immediately turned to make the call.

Just then, another phone rang. The staff officer picked it up and immediately shouted, "No, you have to hold on! Night falls in three hours. The Prosens do not have strong night combat capabilities, hold until nighttime and then we’ll see!"

The Prosens relied heavily on long-range firepower, especially the firepower provided by the machine guns issued to their squads. It was common knowledge among the Ante Troops that the Prosen combat effectiveness would decline at night.

Wang Zhong watched the staff officer shouting into the handset, "No! We have absolutely no other troops to send out. Do you want to pull troops from the second and third defense lines? Then if the enemy breaks through, isn’t that completely exposed? No! No retreat!

"High casualties? Casualties are heavy everywhere! You..."

Wang Zhong walked over and extended his hand.

The staff officer glanced at him, then immediately said to the handset, "Admiral Rokossovsky, the Front Army Commander, wishes to speak to you!"

After that, he handed the handset to Wang Zhong, adding, "It’s the phone from the support point at the peripheral repair shop."

Wang Zhong nodded, took the handset, "This is Rokossov."

"General!" The voice from the handset shouted anxiously, even over the sound of machine gun fire, "We’ve suffered too many losses! Some units are down to just a few men! If the fight goes on, we’ll be obliterated!"

Wang Zhong: "I don’t want your casualty figures, I want the support point. If you want reinforcements, I am the only one left. I’ll come personally!"

There was sudden silence on the other end, only the intense sound of machine gun fire could be heard.

Wang Zhong: "Hello?"

A voice from the other end, as if snapping out of a trance, responded: "Understood, Commander Davarish, as long as there’s one of us, the position stands. When we have all sacrificed, you would be the only hope for defense."

Wang Zhong: "Good luck, Commander Davarish."

"See you in Plowsonia, Comrade Commander."

The other side resolutely hung up the phone.

Wang Zhong: "Who opened a window? It’s a bit windy."

All the staff looked at the tightly closed windows as the howling wind rattled them.

Wang Zhong turned to Pavlov: "I order you, even if you have to scrape them together, get troops to the front line!"

Pavlov: "The capacity of the railway line is such that it can deliver three divisions each day, but the bombing from the Ploson Air Force has caused huge losses. To have sufficient troops, we must eliminate the Prosen artillery positions and observation posts on the West Bank, so that the Valdai Hills River can be navigable throughout its basin."

Pavlov said this while running a map stick over the map, tracing the entire course of the Valdai Hills River.

Wang Zhong: "Good, this is exactly what we need to do. Here are the reconnaissance results."

He took out a map board from his chest: "The photos are being developed, they should be ready by midnight. I’ve found three suitable landing spots along the entire West Bank. One of those spots is perfect for setting up a pontoon bridge. After the Naval Infantry lands, we can send the 51st Tank Army across using a pontoon bridge. With the rapid mobility of the tank units, we can clear the enemy artillery positions on the riverbanks."

Wang Zhong gestured over the map.

"I’ve found the artillery positions and observation posts at these locations." He circled several marked positions on the map with a pen.

Pavlov: "Your reconnaissance is miraculous. I suddenly have absolute confidence that we can defeat the enemy—even though our forces are currently insufficient."

As soon as he finished speaking, a staff officer muttered, "Even though our troop numbers are nearly on par with the enemy’s, why do we still feel like we’re at a disadvantage?"

Wang Zhong: "The enemy’s quality is better than ours. Don’t worry. Veterans are an irreplaceable resource. Once we have significantly reduced the enemy’s veteran forces and forced Prosen to begin total mobilization, we’ll be able to thrash them with the same number of troops."

Staff Officer: "How long will that take?"

Wang Zhong: "You’ll see by next year, I mean, in some areas."

"You..." The staff officer looked at him with respect, "have you already grasped the entire context of the war?"

Wang Zhong poked the staff officer’s shoulder with the map board in his hand: "You haven’t been studying hard enough. If you read the booklets I wrote, you’d understand too."

"I have read them!" Yakov suddenly interjected, "Indeed, after reading them, my whole mind became clear, and I was instantly filled with confidence in the future."

Yakov almost became a professional salesman for the booklets Wang Zhong wrote, always carrying three sets with him—one to read, one to give away, and one to spare.

Wang Zhong, embarrassed by the praise, forced himself to turn back to the map: "Anyway, let’s get this right hook going. Call the Inland Fleet Commander and the Naval Infantry Division Commander right now. Also, have the Pontoon Bridge Troops ready."

Pavlov: "The Pontoon Bridge Troops have been preparing to build bridges; we’ve even imported large-scale bridging equipment from the Federation. Now, they’re practicing bridge construction daily on tributaries without real-world application.

"Besides, there’s also the option of car ferries. We’ve tested them before, and they can transport tanks across if we limit it to two tanks per ferry."

Wang Zhong shook his head: "We still need pontoons, ferries are too slow, and they’re an easy target for enemy bombers."

Just as he spoke, the Inland Fleet Commander and the Naval Infantry Division Commander walked in.

"How did you get here so quickly?" Wang Zhong was surprised.

"We heard that you had returned from reconnaissance and came straight over, bringing along a staff officer skilled in organizing landing operations," said the Inland Fleet Commander, indicating the staff officer behind him, "If the distance isn’t too great, we can land tomorrow. Of course, if we’re talking about landing 100 kilometers upstream, that’s more complicated—we’ll need to form a convoy of transport ships... Anyway, we can launch an assault within three days."

Wang Zhong: "Within three days?"

"Yes, since it’s just an inland landing. Tides and such are fairly straightforward, and we’re familiar with the conditions on both banks of the river," the Inland Fleet Commander explained, "but the Prosens have fortified likely landing spots."

The Prosens didn’t spread their troops thin but instead fortified the easy landing spots and set up artillery positions to blockade the river.

Wang Zhong: "Come take a look, the landing site is here."

By then, the staff had already marked all the locations Wang Zhong identified on the big map.

Wang Zhong, pointing to those spots: "After my personal reconnaissance, I’ve chosen a landing site where the enemy forces are weak and it’s easy to attack the artillery positions on the shore."

"Here, huh," the Inland Fleet Commander shook his head, "there’s a sunken ship in that area, and the currents are quite strong—it’s not an ideal landing spot. Perhaps that’s why the enemy hasn’t fortified it."

The Naval Infantry Division Commander immediately said, "I think it’s worth trying. Catch them by surprise. If the landing craft get stuck, we’ll wade ashore. We’re all swimmers anyway, and we can even swim across the river fully armed without the landing craft."

Wang Zhong: "We still need the landing craft; the enemy has heavy firepower onshore."

"We can capture the enemy’s heavy firepower," the Division Commander said confidently. "We’re all trained to operate the enemy’s artillery, tanks, and armored vehicles."

Wang Zhong felt a twinge of envy; an entire division trained to drive tanks, operate half-tracks, and manage artillery—what kind of infantry are you? You should be in a technical service!

Fifteen thousand skilled Tank Operators, how many tanks could they man!

But then he reconsidered, realizing that truly reliable tanks hadn’t yet been produced; sending the elite Tank Operators to man T34s and KVs would be like delivering themselves to defeat, so he quickly regained his composure.

Wang Zhong: "In any case, I have completed the reconnaissance, and we can get the photos by midnight. You should finalize the plan quickly, aiming to launch the assault before the 25th. That’s when the muddy season starts, making it harder for the enemy to counter the landing."

"Yes, sir!" the two senior Naval officers saluted in unison.

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