Arc of Fire

Chapter 710: Chapter 48 Avalanche

General Weidel angrily slapped the table, “Where is my backup? Where are the other Armored Armies? The Armored Grenadiers? They said that these troops would be in place today, we just needed to launch the attack with ease, but what happened?”

"We did attack, but where is what the Army Group Command promised?”

Chief of Staff, “Now, the enemy cavalry is wreaking havoc everywhere, and Headquarters suddenly lost almost all of its staff officers and clerks. We should be thankful that the supplies are still coming in normally.”

Weidel shook his head, “I never knew that our Prosen staff system was so fragile.”

Chief of Staff, “I think I should shrug my shoulders now, but that doesn’t seem like something an officer of the Asgard Knights would do.”

Weidel sighed, just then a communications officer entered the armored command vehicle and whispered a few sentences in the ear of the Chief of Staff.

"What’s going on?” Weidel asked.

Chief of Staff, “We’ve lost contact with the 505th Heavy Armored Battalion that’s equipped with Panzer VI tanks. They just reported encountering Antean’s new medium tanks.”

Weidel’s eyes widened, “New medium tanks? Could it be a mistake in the heat of battle, mistaking Ante’s turtle shell for something else?”

The Chief of Staff looked at the communications officer who had brought the report. The latter shook his head, “I don’t know. Before communications cut off, I kept confirming with them, and they were talking about new-style medium tanks and even emphasized that these tanks were very fast!”

Weidel, “Fast? According to reports from other units, the new Antean turtle shells are also not slow, considering they’re said to be less than fifty tons.”

"Damn, our Panzer V tanks are the same weight as those turtle shells! But the protection capability is a whole different story! What are the designers in the rear doing?”

Chief of Staff, “They managed to come up with that load-bearing wheel, so we shouldn’t have high hopes for them.”

Weidel cursed and did not continue.

He paced back and forth in the Headquarters, then suddenly had an idea and asked, “Has the front line reported where those new-style tanks are heading?”

The Chief of Staff answered for the communications officer, “They’re heading here, no, to put it more precisely, if the enemy wants to complete a pincers movement to encircle our forces, they need to come our way.”

Weidel immediately ordered, “The Headquarters Anti-Air Artillery Corps must switch to direct fire mode immediately, prepare the Guard Corps for combat, and everyone who has undergone combat training should pick up a weapon!”

"Our tanks are depleted, but it doesn’t matter, we still have more traditional ways to deal with the Anteans breaking through! The speed of the enemy armored forces indicates that they definitely have no accompanying artillery support, we’ll make them regret advancing so rashly!”

"Yes!” the officers in the room responded in unison, then began to check their own weapons.

Weidel went to the window and watched the soldiers hustling outside. After brief contemplation, he issued a new order, “Send out the motorized reconnaissance battalion, search along the main road for the enemy tank columns advancing towards us, we must clarify their numbers and models.”

The messenger acknowledged the order and turned to run out at breakneck speed.

The Chief of Staff approached Weidel with a worried look, “We only have one Armored Grenadier Division, which has just established contact. It will take them several hours to reach the Military Department. Now, around the Military Department, there is only one regiment of regular troops, the Guard Corps, and the rest are logistics.”

"Under these circumstances, shouldn’t we temporarily avoid the enemy’s edge? After all, as long as the green hills are there, we need not worry about firewood.”

"Where would you suggest we go?” Weidel glared at the Chief of Staff.

The Chief of Staff took a step back under his stern gaze.

Weidel spoke almost word-by-word, “They should have sent me a braver Chief of Staff. You can run if you want, I can even issue an order for you so that you won’t face a military trial.”

"And I will stay with my tank units. My warriors vanished like soap bubbles under the sun in the face of the enemy’s steel torrent. Under these circumstances, I cannot turn tail and flee!”

The Chief of Staff retorted, “What can be done? The 88mm guns mounted on the Panzer VI tanks are longer than the ones our Anti-Air Corps has, and you must know that the same shell will be significantly more powerful when fired from a longer barrel!”

"You’re thinking of relying on the Anti-Air Corps’ 88mm guns to create a miracle against the ‘Evil Spirit’ that even the long-barreled 88 on the Panzer VI couldn’t handle?”

Weidel stared at the Chief of Staff, “No, no, we don’t choose to defend because we have all-powerful 88mm guns.”

"Look at what the Anteans did! Their T34s couldn’t even penetrate the upgraded frontal armor of our Panzer IVs, and the long-barrel gun of the Panzer IV could target them safely, creating a very exaggerated exchange rate.”

"Did the Anteans back down? No. They chose to fight with courage and blood until the last moment, and they succeeded, which is why we are here.”

"It’s time for the Anteans to witness the courage and tenacity of the Prosens, my Chief of Staff.”

The Chief of Staff hesitated for a long time before finally adopting a resolute expression as if to say ‘I’ll stake my life for this cause’, and sighed heavily, “Alright, General, then let’s

Before the Chief of Staff could finish his sentence, Weidel’s Deputy Officer came in carrying two anti-tank ‘funnels.’

Weidel waved them away, “Take these two things away! I’d rather use the vodka from Headquarters’ kitchen to make incendiary bottles than use these shameful items.”

The Deputy Officer looked slightly awkward, “This… after all, this is specialized anti-tank weaponry, at least we should alternate their use with incendiary bottles. It looks more professional that way, just using incendiary bottles seems to… you know

The Deputy Officer trailed off, perhaps not even he knew what it would seem like.

Weidel snorted.

At that moment, the sound of a motorcycle came from outside. Weidel quickly lay at the window to look out and saw a motorcycle, riddled with bullet holes, stop in front of the door.

The Prosen Soldier in the sidecar was already shot dead. The soldier driving the motorcycle staggered off and rushed into the room, “Report! We encountered enemy armored troops less than a fifteen-minute drive from headquarters!”

Weidel said, “Battle alert. The enemy must have been setting up a strike formation, hence the delay, let’s hit them hard!”

As he finished speaking, another messenger burst in, “Report, the anti-air observation post saw a large amount of dust to the southwest, it looks like a large-scale tank unit is advancing.”

"Understood, get the 88 guns ready to fire.”

The messenger saluted, dropped an “Understood,” and turned to leave.

Weidel picked up an anti-tank grenade that his deputy officer had just brought; he weighed it in his hand and shook his head, “No, it would be absurd for me, the commander of an armored army, to go against enemy tanks with this club. Get me a submachine gun; I’ll take that to battle.”

Deputy Officer, “I brought these two just in case! You’re going into battle yourself?”

"Why not? The Anteans have been claiming for half a year that their General Rokossovsky held up a Red Flag on the front line in the most dangerous times to stop our advance. Can I not go to the front line?”

At this time, the Guard Corps commander came over with a submachine gun and a magazine bag.

Prosen formal magazine bags were still worn on the waist, but soldiers in actual combat generally preferred to use the chest rigs of Antean warriors, especially those of the Imperial Guard.

However, Prosen’s logistics system did not acknowledge the Antean chest rigs, and what was issued was the waist magazine bags that everyone disliked.

Weidel paid no attention to the magazine bag, just picked up the submachine gun, and walked outside with it in his hand.

As soon as he stepped out, the firing sound of 88 guns came from the anti-air defenses, indicating that the enemy’s armored troops had already entered the direct fire range of the anti-air guns.

Weidel didn’t think twice, heading straight in that direction.

On his way, the four 88 guns had already fired several rounds.

Seeing Weidel approach from a distance, the commander of the Anti-Air Artillery Corps came forward, “General! What brings you here? It’s dangerous, the enemy has not yet confirmed our position, but once they do, this will become the front line of the firefight!”

The headquarters of the Second Armored Army had been stationed here for a while, and the Anti-Air Artillery Corps had constructed very professional defensive fortifications. Each 88 gun emplacement was protected with a parapet and camouflage net, so even when firing, it was not easy to reveal the position.

At least for those enemies over a kilometer away, it was very difficult to pinpoint these big guns.

Weidel asked, “What’s the damage report?”

"No results,” the commander of the Anti-Air Artillery Corps shook his head, “We hit several targets, and a few of them stopped briefly after being hit, but they quickly recovered; it must have only been the crew inside getting stunned. The enemy’s new tanks are very well armored!”

Weidel, “Didn’t you try aiming for the tracks?”

"The new enemy tanks are too low, it’s hard to hit the tracks, especially when there’s grass cover.” The commander explained, “The grass out there is knee-high, so it’s really hard to aim for the enemy’s tracks. Especially at distances over one and a half kilometers, the enemy is just a tiny speck through the optical sights.”

Weidel frowned slightly, “How so, shouldn’t we have switched to high-magnification optical sights?”

"We did switch, but only the parts excluding the lenses were delivered; the lenses didn’t reach us. So, we’re still using the old sights—we can’t fool ourselves with new sights without lenses.”

Weidel touched his forehead, “I understand, you keep firing until the enemy takes you out. Are you still well-stocked with shells?”

The commander nodded, “That’s one of the few pieces of good news, General.”

Weidel nodded and moved over to the Artillery Mirror beside the cannon.

He hadn’t even looked when an enemy shell hit the flank of the position, and the exploding sand and stones trickled down on the camouflage net.

The commander explained, “The enemy is shooting blindly and hasn’t discovered our exact position.”

Weidel glanced at the crater left by the explosion, then turned to look at the fiercely firing anti-air gunners, and only then did he put his eye to the eyepiece.

Through it, he saw the silhouettes of tanks filled with people.

Weidel commented, “Hmm, like the chariots of ancient Romans.”

Deputy Officer, “The Anteans like to make these armored cavalry charges. They’re incredibly efficient, though the infantry casualties on board are high.”

Weidel, “Admirable courage, worthy opponents.”

He straightened up, looking with his bare eyes at the thick smoke drawing near.

"We are not only an army that relies on technological superiority! It’s time to show the Anteans that we too are outstanding warriors!”

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