Cannon Fire Arc-Chapter 916 - 29: Prosen Strikes Back
Chapter 916 -29: Prosen Strikes Back
The Prosens were not ready for a counterattack until September 11.
This was mainly because the time it took to regroup the scattered soldiers and restore the units was longer than expected.
However, this also allowed the arrival of three divisions coming from the rear.
After all, the current position of the Prosen line is already very close to the national border before the invasion of Melania, along with a newly built and labor-intensive railway.
General Hawke was brimming with confidence, with three fresh divisions, they could certainly drive back the unsettled Rocossov.
In addition to the three reinforcement divisions, two newly formed armored brigades were also dispatched from the rear.
Furthermore, a fierce general who had just recovered from injuries and returned to the unit, Colonel Shrifen, a Knight and Iron Cross recipient, was also dispatched from the rear.
On the morning of September 11, General Hawke accompanied Colonel Shrifen to the 3rd Independent Armored Brigade.
The armored brigade was stationed in a stables that had been requisitioned, with all the horses driven out and dozens of sleeping bags laid out; the entire armored brigade’s crews slept here.
Before General Hawke entered, the tank operators had already tidied up, standing in a circle against the wall, so the General could see all their faces as soon as he stepped inside.
“Attention!” shouted the brigade Chief of Staff.
General Hawke gestured to Colonel Shrifen.
The Colonel then stepped forward from behind the General, looking at each tank operator’s face.
He stopped at the third one and asked, “How old are you?”
“Sixteen, General Sir!” the boy answered spiritedly.
Colonel Shrifen frowned and walked to the next tank operator: “And you?”
“Fifteen, General Sir!”
Colonel Shrifen: “How long have you been trained with the armored troops?”
“Three months, General Sir! I have driven a tank for 120 hours!”
General Hawke: “That’s much better than the Anteans’ sixty hours.”
Colonel Shrifen: “These people are still children!”
General Hawke: “One battle will turn them into men.”
Colonel Shrifen: “In the past, when I joined a new unit, I would live with them for six months to understand what kind of people they were! Now, these people only have six months of training! And today is the first time I have seen them.
“They are all just kids!”
General Hawke: “They have never been defeated.”
Colonel Shrifen: “Do they know what awaits them? In Upper Penie, I almost defeated that Rocossov, and now he has become a nightmare for the entire Eastern Front, no, for the entire Prosen Army. Are these kids really ready to face that Demon?”
“They are prepared to die for you!” said General Hawke.
Colonel Shrifen: “That sort of death is meaningless and changes nothing in the battle!”
General Hawke: “We stand before the national border, you also participated in the offensives of the first two years, you know what we did in Ante territory, imagine what the Anteans would do entering our homeland!”
Colonel Shrifen bit his lip and did not reply.
Just then, the boy who had just introduced himself as sixteen started singing the Prosen military song “Song of the Armored Troops” loudly:
“Whether it’s storm or snowflakes, or the sun smiling upon us.
“Whether in the sweltering daytime or the cold night.
“As the dust hits our faces, we relish this delight, yes, this delight!
“Our tanks roll forward, raising billows of sand!”
The other kids joined in singing, pacing their right feet as they sang:
“With the roar of the engines like thunder, we bolt forth like lightning!
“Under the armor’s shelter, we charge the enemy!
“Marching alongside comrades, we independently face the enemy, yes, independently face the enemy!
“We drive straight forward, aiming for the enemy’s heart!”
General Hawke watched the young kids for a few seconds, then turned his gaze to the still silent Colonel Shrifen: “Sing along!”
Colonel Shrifen obeyed the order, but couldn’t fully let loose, his voice was almost inaudible.
General Hawke: “Louder!”
Colonel Shrifen had to raise his voice; his mature male voice drowned out the children’s tender voices:
“Should enemy tanks suddenly appear before us during the attack.
“I will step on the throttle; the brave one wins when paths cross.
“What is the value of our lives? Is it to fight for Prosen? Yes, to fight for Prosen!
“To die for Prosen is our highest honor!”
General Hawke raised his hand, signaling that they could stop there.
But the youngsters didn’t care, driven by the fervor the song instilled, they continued singing:
“If the goddess of fate abandons us!
“If we can no longer return home!
“If artillery ends our lives, if we are doomed, yes, doomed!
“At least that loyal war machine will give us a steel tomb!”
The song ended, Colonel Shrifen looked around the room once more and said, “Alright, gentlemen, prepare for the attack. I will lead you.”
The young kids all smiled, as if about to attend a school party and dance with the girl of their dreams.
They rushed out of the farmhouse, dashed towards their tanks.
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The formation of the armored brigade was said to be modeled after the Anteans’ advanced experience, but in essence, it was because Prosen could no longer form luxurious armored divisions like before.
In the second year after Barbarossa, many Prosen armored divisions were reduced from two-battalion to one-battalion, with the entire armored division having only one armored battalion.
The further downsizing now led to the armored brigade.
The entire armored brigade had fewer than one hundred tanks; theoretically, such a unit would still have considerable combat power if fully equipped with auxiliary units, but many of these improvised brigades’ auxiliary units existed only on paper.
