Arc of Fire

Major General Schneider didn’t return to the 9th Armored Division headquarters of the 14th Armored Army of Prosen until two in the morning.

Major General Hoppe of the 9th Armored Grenadier Division had already been waiting at the division headquarters.

Hoppe, a contemporary of Schneider, was shocked to see him come in looking so disheveled, his eyes wide with surprise, "Did you come across a night raid?"

"I survived the artillery attack. Rocossov must have used a thousand guns to fire at me. My armored battalion commander and the first group command team of your division are all gone because they were having a meeting when the bombardment came!" Schneider paused, then continued, "Hurry up and leave my headquarters! We can’t let Rocossov take out the headquarters of both of our divisions!"

Major General Hoppe frowned, "He doesn’t know where the division headquarters is, and besides, your headquarters are fifteen kilometers from the front line. The enemy shouldn’t have too many guns that can reach our artillery positions.

"Remember our instructor Erwin from the military academy? He always stressed that the distance between division command posts and the front line should not exceed ten kilometers. If it’s more than that, the division commanders can’t get a clear picture of what’s happening at the front.

"We’ve already violated the instructor’s teachings."

Major General Schneider shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, no, Instructor Erwin was always at the forefront every day with the Africa Corps. He’d definitely be the first on Rocossov’s trophy rack."

Major General Hoppe raised his eyebrows, "Trophy rack?"

"Yes, Antean nobility like to hang bears or deer they’ve hunted themselves on the walls as trophies. And since Rocossov is of the highest Junker Nobility, he might melt down the medals and ranks from the Prosen generals he has killed, inscribe their names and ranks, and display it on his trophy rack."

Major General Schneider said "might", which was speculative, but since it was such a horrifying thought, Major General Hoppe turned pale, completely missing the conjectural tone, "Would he really do such a thing?"

It was then that Schneider realized his friend had misunderstood, and he quickly corrected, "I mean, possibly! There’s something sinister about this Rocossov; he definitely has a way to know the positions of the high-ranking officers entering artillery range. Remember how the division commander Major General of the Asgard Knights died?

"He rode up to the front line in a tank to see what was going on, and then he got obliterated by Rocossov’s heavy artillery."

Major General Hoppe shook his head, turned to his orderly, and said, "Bring over my treasured whiskey, I think my old friend needs a drink."

Orderly: "The whiskey that Carolingian brought over?"

"Yes, that’s the one, and also bring the carved cups I brought from Florence. Florentine craftsmanship, you really should see it. These Sardinians might be awful at warfare, but their artistry is truly exceptional," said Major General Hoppe to Schneider, half the statement directed at his friend as he reached to pat his shoulder.

But Major General Schneider waved away his old friend’s hand, "I haven’t lost my mind, nor have I gotten hysterical from shell shock. It was just too coincidental that the bombardment came right when I reached the front line."

Major General Hoppe: "Actually, just now, all of our army’s starting points for attack and assembly areas were bombarded. Rocossov must have guessed the locations of the assembly areas based on the day’s attacks, got it right on the first try, and you just happened to be there."

"Can it be that coincidental?" queried Major General Schneider, skeptically.

Major General Hoppe: "Of course, it can. Are coincidences so rare on the battlefield? I could wander around the troops and collect a basket full of stories about amulets, how someone’s amulet went missing one day, and then they got shot in the head.

"Are all those stories true? No, it’s probability and survivorship bias; only the ones that happen to come true are remembered, and countless people who went into battle with amulets have been killed. The amulets didn’t help at all.

"What happened to you is the same. Rocossov just happened to shell the front line, which is his standard operation. In fact, many units that moved first and then set up camp after dark were not hit by him.

"You were just careless, letting your troops rest right at the assembly area, and that’s why you suffered heavily."

Major General Schneider stroked his beard, gazing at his friend.

Major General Hoppe: "That’s the way it is, old friend!"

At that moment, Major General Hoppe’s orderly arrived with the whiskey and the carved cup.

"Come on, you should have a drink to steady your nerves. You’re just scared after escaping death, and now you’ve started to worry and imagine things." Hoppe took the whiskey and cup from the orderly, filled the cup, and handed it to Schneider.

Schneider grabbed the cup and gulped down the drink in one go.

After finishing, he seemed to calm down a bit and, after breathing deeply a few times, said, "On second thought, you make sense. I just coincidentally encountered the bombardment. I shouldn’t be scared like this; it’s an embarrassment to the Imperial Military Academy."

Major General Hoppe nodded, "Indeed, if people who are dissatisfied with our Junker nobility saw you like that, they would say that we went to the military academy just to learn how to eat with a knife and fork."

"The hell with them!" Schneider seemed to regain his confidence and courage through the alcohol, "Let’s plan tomorrow’s attack. My first battalion took such a beating from the bombardment, we can’t attack tomorrow without repairing the tanks. When I was there, I saw many tanks with their tracks blown off. And a lot of the radios and other equipment were also damaged."

In fact, Schneider had omitted an important detail: the tank sighting system.

After such bombardment, nearly all the tank sighting systems had to be readjusted, but that issue could be resolved by the tank operators themselves once daylight broke. Most sighting systems did not require repairs, only recalibration.

As a professional tank officer, Schneider subconsciously assumed this to be a non-issue and overlooked it.

It was precisely because Prosen’s Armored Troops were elite that he didn’t worry about such matters. Should the training level of the troops be diluted by replacement soldiers, Schneider might have to pay a price for his oversight.

Now, Schneider issued commands on his own initiative, "Tomorrow, the second battalion will replace the first battalion in launching the attack. All tanks from the first battalion must be towed to the maintenance camp for preliminary inspections. Any that need major repairs should be transferred to the Armored Army’s maintenance factory."

"Yes," the Division Chief of Staff quickly noted Schneider’s orders.

"Hoppe, my old friend," Schneider turned to his friend, "it’s about time your First Armored Grenadier Corps was replaced too. Only a few lucky chaps remain among the senior officers above company and battalion levels."

"Don’t worry, my troops are up to the task. Even the second echelon in command sequence consists of experienced officers. No problem," Major General Hoppe confidently stated.

Schneider nodded, "Good. My reconnaissance mission today was fruitful indeed. I’ve seen through Rocossov’s ruse. Tomorrow, I’ll use up all the smoke bombs assigned to us, cover the entire Nameless Highlands, and then engage in close-quarters combat."

Hoppe asked, "Doesn’t that mean it’s all up to my Grenadiers?"

Schneider waved his hand, "No need to worry. We’ve been attacking all day and the positions are full of mobilized soldiers. The units with ’Temporary’ prefixes in their designations are exceptionally trashy, as are all such Antean units."

"You were held back by a temporary force for a whole day?" Major General Hoppe widened his eyes in disbelief. "How is that possible? I thought these highlands were held by Ante’s Imperial Guard when I arrived — like Rocossov’s elite, the Guard First Red Flag Infantry Division."

Schneider shook his head, "When the attack stumbled at noon, I specifically asked. The troops resisting us did not carry the Red Flag, nor did the reinforcing tanks. We were held back for a whole day by Ante’s regular forces — no, by Ante’s temporary infantry forces."

Hoppe pursed his lips and after a few seconds of silence, he remarked, "It seems that after more than a year of combat, the gap in quality between our forces and the Antean forces isn’t that large anymore."

Schneider replied, "Don’t be so gloomy. We’ve just made such a long advance in the last three months! So long!"

He pointed at the giant map on the wall of the Division headquarters and repeated, "Look! So long, so far!"

Major General Hoppe looked towards the map and nodded gently, "Yes, we’ve advanced further and secured more territory than last year. Except for not annihilating as many enemy units as we did last year, we can say that our summer offensive has been a glorious victory."

The mention of not destroying as many units as the previous year fell into an uneasy silence.

Schneider grabbed a bottle of liquor from Hoppe’s orderly, filled his glass, and downed it in one gulp.

After finishing, he slammed the glass on the table and declared loudly, "Regardless, this offensive will end the war. Soon we can return home in triumph and focus on preparing for an assault on the United Kingdom."

Major General Hoppe nodded, "Indeed! Tomorrow, we’ll take this Nameless Highlands in one swoop, and then push all the way to the outskirts of Abawahan City."

The 14th Armored Division’s objective was to push the frontline from the open spaces on either side of the city straight into the densely built-up areas.

After taking the Nameless Highlands, the 14th Armored Division would enter a region resembling the suburbs, where the number of brick structures increased but was still considered open terrain.

According to the attack plan, the 14th Armored Division was supposed to reach the Abawahan City area by the 23rd.

Now, a minor issue had arisen in this attack plan.

Major General Schneider was determined to rectify this slight snag tomorrow. Experience tales with

He muttered to himself as if seeking reassurance, "It’s just some temporary infantry, definitely no problem!"

"The enemy surely didn’t expect us to take over from our brother unit," Brigadier Aromeyev of the Naval Infantry 393 Brigade said. "According to intelligence from prisoners taken, an Armored Grenadier Division has just arrived. It’s a good time to clash with these elite forces. They always boast about being the strongest light infantry! Let’s see how strong indeed!"

With that, Brigadier Aromeyev patted his chest, where the solid muscles underneath his naval shirt thudded audibly.

The staff and soldiers gathered in the small bunker of the 393 Brigade shared knowing smiles, "Let’s show them!"

Brigadier Aromeyev continued, "General Rocossov has always had high regard for us! We all can feel it! We’ve also fought side by side with the elite Tank Destroyer Battalion of the 225 Division! Tomorrow, we will make sure the enemy has no chance of return!"

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