Cannon Fire Arc-Chapter 917 - 29: Prosen Strikes Back_2
The armored grenadiers attached to the armored brigade are fully equipped, but many armored grenadiers lack half-track vehicles (equivalent to later infantry combat vehicles) and can only ride on Opel Blitz trucks to follow the tank units.
Colonel Shrifen stood at the door of the farmhouse, anxiously watching the children prepare for the raid.
General Hawke took the radio from his deputy officer and said: "Artillery unit, you may begin!"
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Upon hearing the gunfire, Wang Zhong stopped, feigning a listening posture, but actually switched to an overhead view.
He counted the impact points of the shells, and after a minute, he switched back to his own perspective and asked Vasily, "The enemy's firepower is quite sparse. Their supplies should be better than ours, so what's going on?"
Vasily: "It might be due to insufficient artillery production. The documents we captured show that the recent gun barrels produced in Melania's factories are all anti-aircraft cannon barrels being sent to the Prosen territories for making anti-aircraft cannons."
Wang Zhong: "You still have time to study these things?"
"Well, yes. Originally, we expected a tentative counterattack on the 9th, but everything was calm. We had a lot of preparation work unfinished, and I thought we would have to let the enemy into the city to fight street battles."
"But on the 9th, the enemy did nothing, and we managed to complete most of our preparations. The troop formations have been restored considerably. On the 8th, our soldiers couldn't find officers, and officers didn't know how many men were still alive in their units. By the night of the 9th, at least each officer had some men available."
"On the 10th, I expected a tough battle, but the enemy didn't even scout. With nothing else to do, I could only join the Tribunal's intelligence analysts in examining enemy documents."
Wang Zhong frowned: "The enemy didn't conduct reconnaissance yesterday? No informant capture?"
Vasily: "I organized a night patrol, but we didn't encounter enemy informant capture teams. However, there are many civilians and guerrilla fighters in the city. Perhaps a guerrilla fighter was captured. In such chaos, it would be normal if the guerrillas were too missing to report."
Vasily suddenly showed a disdainful expression: "The guerrillas nowadays give me the feeling that the brave and reliable patriots have all died under the enemy's knives, leaving only a bunch of cowards."
Wang Zhong: "When the war is over, we can transform the battle-hardened Melania People's Army officers and soldiers into police and municipal officials. They will take good care of their country."
"But for now, we must end this damn war."
After speaking, he smoothly shifted the topic back to the enemy's patrol: "The enemy didn't capture any informants, so how do they know about our defensive arrangements? This means they don't even know where to focus their artillery preparations."
Vasily shrugged: "I'm not the enemy, how would I know what happened? But isn't this a good thing for us? Perhaps the enemy's artillery preparation didn't destroy our minefields, and today they'll waste the day in front of them."
Wang Zhong: "How could that be? The Prosen engineers are very professional."
Vasily: "But it's a fact that they are recruiting more and more new soldiers."
At this point, a shell hit the building housing the Headquarters, causing a large amount of dust to fall from the ceiling.
Wang Zhong looked up at the ceiling: "Judging by the hit on the headquarters, that shell seems to be only 105mm. Has the enemy's firepower decreased this much?"
Vasily: "Considering we've captured many of the enemy's 150mm and 210mm heavy artillery, that's possible."
Vasily's words left the temporary staff in the Headquarters exchanging glances.
Everyone sensed that the Empire of Prosen was weakening. The frontline Prosen troops still held considerable strength, but the troops beyond the frontline were another story.
This empire is collapsing.
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Colonel Shrifen led his troops forward, expecting mostly urban combat, so his brigade was assigned to the newly arrived 600th Infantry Division at the front.
After seeing the ragtag soldiers of the 600th Infantry Division, Colonel Shrifen felt at ease about his troops' "youthfulness."
At least the teenagers in his unit still looked like soldiers. The dad-age soldiers of the 600th Division, those in their forties and fifties, looked like they were in the wrong place, as if they came to a movie shoot.
The Prosen troops generally maintain a neat appearance, with interior organization being an important means of maintaining military discipline.
Shaving hair and beards also reduces complications for medics assessing battlefield injuries.
Yet most of the uncles of the 600th Division sported full beards; if they got a neck wound, it would be extremely hard for a medic to find it.
These beards directly reduced the efficiency of the Prosen Army medics.
Looking closer, these "infantry" weren't even dressed right; many uncles had pants that were too short and weren't wearing standard military boots.
Colonel Shrifen shook his head, recalling the elite troops he led at the start of Barbarossa.
Back then, the battle-hardened veterans who fought in the Melania and Carolingian campaigns were worth ten of these misfits.
Those veterans demonstrated the superiority of the Prosen nation, but these old men are just cannon fodder.
At this point, Colonel Shrifen's headset relayed the vanguard's report: "We found a sign by the roadside, written in Prosenese, saying 'Minefield ahead, do not approach.'
Colonel Shrifen: "It's a trick! If there were truly a minefield ahead, would they notify us with a sign? Isn't that alerting us? Knock down the sign and continue forward."
Vanguard: "But I've read about facing Rocossov before. When Rocossov's units put up signs saying there was a minefield ahead, it often proved to be true, with numerous booby traps specifically targeting our engineers."
Colonel Shrifen: "Then why put up a sign to tell us? A contradiction, perhaps? Would there really be such nonsense? This is a battlefield, not a riddle! Knock down the sign and move forward."
"But..."
Colonel Shrifen: "Think positively, maybe it's a contradiction within a contradiction. Rocossov charged through with no supplies or mines, exploiting our preconceptions with just a sign to deceive us."
"Alright, we'll knock down the sign and proceed." The vanguard commander finally agreed to Colonel Shrifen's order.
Colonel Shrifen felt complicated; Prosen's junior officers typically executed his colonel-level orders without question.
Many professors at the military academy believed this was detrimental, restricting junior officers' initiative.
But now, Colonel Shrifen felt excessive initiative wasn't good either—
A loud explosion was heard ahead.
Colonel Shrifen looked forward to see a column of sand and dirt rising into the sky from the mine explosion.
His mouth formed an O shape, having long heard of Ante's mines being powerful, but had not expected them to be this powerful.
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Through binoculars, Wang Zhong watched the massive sand and dirt column and asked, "How much explosive did you bury?"
"This is a special version, prepared six, each packed with 500 kilograms of TNT." Vasily chuckled, "I understand the Prosens too well; you have to make a big noise to intimidate them. Now they'll be extra cautious while clearing mines."
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Wang Zhong: "Did you put up signs too?"
"Yes, we prepared several real minefields at the perimeter and planted these big boys in places the enemy is likely to pass.
"Then we placed signs in other areas, creating lots of fake minefields."
Wang Zhong laughed: "You crafty guy, I felt like it was the beginning of the war again, such familiar tactics."
Vasily: "Unfortunately, we no longer have pickled cucumber cans. I used collected Prosen cans, some having Prosen grenade fuses attached, making simple booby traps."
Wang Zhong laughed heartily: "Lucky there's no pickled cucumber cans; I don't want to eat any more pickles for days."
