Arc of Fire

The mission of the 51st Tank Army’s 120th Tank Brigade was to break the enemy’s supply lines.

Captain Ivan was calling the brigade headquarters on the radio, "Brigade Command, Brigade Command! This is Company One, Platoon One calling Brigade Command!"

All he heard in his headset was static.

"Sukabule." He threw down the microphone, looked up at the tank commanders standing on their tanks, and said, "We’ve lost contact with the brigade command, shall just the four of us continue the mission?"

"Do we still have to continue the mission?" the commander of Tank No. 2 asked with a wry smile, "Haven’t you noticed? All of the enemy’s main supply nodes are guarded by anti-aircraft guns. What do we have to counter 88mm anti-aircraft guns? We can’t even see where the guns are, yet their shells are already flying at us."

The commander of Tank No. 3 immediately agreed, "Yes, and the 88 guns fire too quickly. The Prosen artillerymen are well-trained. They destroy one of our tanks and immediately re-aim. Just one anti-aircraft battalion with four 88 guns can wipe out an entire tank platoon."

Everyone’s faces were grim.

Captain Ivan’s face was also bitter.

At that moment, the commander of Tank No. 2 suggested, "Let’s not attack any supply stations or depots anymore. We’ll just intercept the enemy’s trucks on the road, taking them one by one."

"Right," the other commanders immediately agreed, "We can sweep along the highway and smash every Prosen truck and cart we encounter! Kill everyone!"

Captain Ivan nodded, "That might be a solution..."

At that moment, a tank operator on guard duty shouted, "Platoon leader! Quick, look, a local is running over here!"

Captain Ivan immediately looked up and indeed saw a railway worker dressed like an Antean running towards them, shouting as he ran, "Hey! Tank operators! Don’t shoot, I’ve brought information!"

Captain Ivan quickly put away the map, climbed out of the tank in three steps, and jumped to the ground, just in time to shake the local’s hand, "Hello, who might you be?"

"I am employed by the Prosens at the freight station. I’ve overheard that our tank troops are attacking the supply lines on the highway. The Prosen’s anti-aircraft guns are all laid flat! If you go there, the anti-aircraft guns will definitely punish you harshly!"

Captain Ivan grimaced, "We’ve already had that experience."

"But a few of us workers thought of a way!" the local took a deep breath, "The enemy’s anti-aircraft gun positions are fixed, we could use trucks to block their big guns! Even drive trucks into the gun positions to stop them from reloading!"

Captain Ivan was stunned, and after a few seconds, he asked, "And what about you lot?"

The local smiled, "If we can crash and kill one, it’s worth it, no, make it two, since my wife might also get dragged into this."

Captain Ivan took a deep breath, "No, we can’t let you sacrifice yourselves. Our platoon only has a few tanks left, but luckily, we still have many tank operators. You take us to the parking lot, and let us drive to crash into them!"

A tank operator immediately said, "We also have Papashas and grenades, not just using the vehicles to crash, but we can sneak in and severely harm the enemy. The enemy won’t realize it was your workers who led the way."

Captain Ivan was overjoyed, "That’s the plan. Once you control the 88mm guns, our four tanks will charge in and strike big!"

"Ready!"

The local was also delighted, "Great! Follow me, I ran here, it took an hour and a half. Going back should take about the same time..."

Captain Ivan said, "Get on our tank, we can drive until the enemy almost hears our engine, then stop."

"Alright, I’m quite familiar with where the enemy’s checkpoints are along the way, I’ll direct you to bypass them!" The local adjusted his felt hat.

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"Board the tank!" Captain Ivan waved his hand, but then remembered something and asked, "Are you a follower of the Secular faction?"

"Of course, but I’ve hidden away the Secular insignia and the Scripture. They came to search, the palace guards, but didn’t find them. I also passed the Transport Corps’ inspection." The local looked very proud, "Actually, before the occupation, I wanted to join the military, but the troops collapsed too quickly, and I was left behind."

Captain Ivan asked, "So, was it from that time that you wanted to give them a big blow?"

The local’s expression suddenly stiffened, and after a moment he said, "No, to tell you the truth, at first I only wanted to scrape by, after all, a man’s got to eat, I still have a wife and an old father to support. Even if it meant serving the invaders, it’s better to be alive.

"But a few days ago, the Prosens insisted that we let the guerrillas in, which caused their supply to be blown up, then they started executing one out of every ten of us.

"They did not investigate or provide any reasons; they just killed us for fun. Then I realized, in the eyes of the Prosens, we are not human, not of their species.

"They feel no guilt in shooting us, and might even enjoy it. There may be some good Prosens, but too many are demons in human skin, so I have to fight these demons and take back my homeland.

"All my coworkers feel this way."

Captain Ivan patted his shoulder, "It’s not too late. Have you ever read Admiral Rokossovsky’s booklet? Victory will surely come, what we’re in now is just the long night before dawn."

The local replied, "Never seen it, those are banned in the occupied area."

"Then you should read this." Captain Ivan took out a small booklet, "Whenever I lose confidence in the future, I read this. Let your coworkers read it too! It will fill them with confidence in victory!"

The local took the crumpled booklet, read the cover out loud, "On Ante’s Victory and Prosen’s Defeat—"

"You can read it on the tank, let’s go!"

Some time later.

The local on the tank suddenly shouted, "Stop! If we go any further, the enemy will hear the engine."

Captain Ivan quickly shouted into the radio, "Stop!"

The four tanks stopped one by one.

Villager: "From here, it’ll take just twenty minutes to reach the station. I’ll take you along the route I sneaked out, and we’ll get straight in."

Captain Ivan nodded, "Then we’ll start the tanks in thirty minutes to draw enemy attention and cover you."

The temporary strike team leader said, "For safety, let’s make it forty minutes, just in case."

"Alright!" Captain Ivan saluted the strike team, "Good luck, Davarish."

"See you in Prosennia," the members of the strike team responded.

Villager: "What’s this ’See you in Prosennia’?"

"It’s a farewell promoted by General Rocosov. We used to say ’See you at the military academy.’"

"I see," the villager nodded thoughtfully, "Alright then, let’s move!"

Forty minutes later.

Major Hans of the Anti-Aircraft Battalion heard the sound of tank engines from a distance and immediately raised his hand to stop the conversation with two officers.

As their chat ceased, the engine sound grew clearer.

"Arau!" Major Hans shouted, "Take positions! Quick! Turn the cannon toward the direction of the engine noise."

Gunners from every direction rushed to their posts, ripping off the tarps covering the cannons.

The closest 88-cannon to Major Hans bore a silver and two white kill rings on its barrel, while the commander next to the cannon wore an Iron Cross medal on his collar.

Major Hans also possessed an Iron Cross, earned during his time as a pilot. But soon after receiving it, he was struck in the eye, became a cyclops, and could no longer fly planes.

After that, Major Hans joined the Anti-Aircraft Artillery, a common destination for many Air Force pilots grounded from flying. The higher-ups seemed to believe that their experience as pilots was beneficial for commanding anti-aircraft guns.

However, in the Antean Anti-Aircraft Artillery in Prosennia, they generally had to flatten and shoot at tanks—just as they were doing now.

Major Hans bellowed, "Prepare quickly! The first gun crew to spot and hit an enemy tank gets a case of beer today!"

"That’ll be us for sure," the Iron Cross clad commander smirked.

None of them noticed an Antean, wielding a Papasha, sneak up behind the artillery position.

The Antean first pulled the pin of a grenade and tossed it into Gun Position No. 2.

At that moment, Major Hans turned around and locked eyes with the Antean.

"Guerrillas!" he yelled.

The Antean opened fire, inexperienced, his initial bullets hitting the floor near Major Hans’ feet.

Soon after, Major Hans was hit in the legs and then in the waist.

He grunted in pain, kneeling on the ground while struggling to pull out his pistol.

At that moment, the grenade in Gun Position No. 2 exploded, knocking down all the gunners who had been watching.

The commander at Gun Position No. 1 then remembered to grab the MP40 placed by the position, the only personal defense weapon of the crew.

However, his first trigger pull failed to fire. As he fumbled to find out what was wrong, the Antean turned his gun toward him.

By then, more Anteans had surged out, lobbing grenades at the gunners.

Explosions occurred one after another, accompanied by the rattle of Papasha gunfire.

From a distance, a squadron of Constitutional Guards, armed with submachine guns, ran towards them, only to be met by machine-gun fire from the Anteans, the green tracer bullets weaving a deadly net through the ranks of the guards.

The firing Antean was wearing a Tank Operator’s leather cap, and the two Prosen machine gunners beside him had already been shot dead.

Then, a T34 tank appeared outside the entrance of the station.

The tank’s hull machine gun and the turret machine gun fired simultaneously, mowing down all the Prosen Garrison soldiers preparing to attack the anti-aircraft artillery site.

A second T34 rammed through a wall of fuel tanks, opening fire as it charged into the station, firing a round at a large fuel pump inside.

The pump immediately spewed a high flame, lighting up the originally dim sky like a torch.

The third tank appeared, firing at the station’s main building upon emergence, blasting off a quarter of the wooden structure.

The last tank arrived late, firing at the cars in the station’s parking lot.

The Prosens concentrated all their firepower on the tanks, but without the 88-cannons, their efforts could only polish the T34’s armor.

A Prosen Soldier fetched a funnel-shaped, new anti-tank weapon, but before getting close to the tank, he was cut down by machine-gun fire; the funnel rolled away, forming a semicircle on the ground.

The fire spread to every corner of the station, with constant explosions casting orange-red fireballs.

The Prosen laborers, as if anticipating this, all hid in safe places, watching indifferently.

Some even brought out their treasured liquor to share with everyone.

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