Cannon Fire Arc

Chapter 746: Chapter 3 Gentlemen’s Lofty Discourse

Wang Zhong finished speaking, and General Gorky immediately said, “During the summer offensive, this approach towards the Central Army Group’s defensive line wasn’t very effective. The enemy invested a large number of armored troops to counterattack us. Our armored troops had difficulties crossing the river, and those that did lacked effective anti-tank measures.”

Kiriyenko immediately replied, “In the summer, the production of rocket launchers was still too low. My Cavalry Army Group only received 1,000 rocket launchers. It seems like a large number, but these rocket launchers are consumables, used up and then discarded.

“In less than three days, these 1,000 rocket launchers were all used up. The troops reported significant battle achievements and requested more rocket launchers.

“So what exactly is the official model name for this type of rocket launcher? The documents all refer to it as ‘New Rocket Launcher.’ The soldiers have nicknamed it Molotov sausage and even ‘Mother’s Feather Duster,’ but surely there must be an official designation?”

The name “Molotov sausage” likely evolved from “Molotov cocktail” since both are infantry anti-tank weapons. As for “Mother’s Feather Duster”—Wang Zhong hadn’t realized that Russian kids also got smacked by their mothers with feather dusters when they were little.

In Wang Zhong’s childhood, there was no feather duster at home, so his mother used the next best thing—a broom—which left red marks all over his backside whenever she struck.

…

Wang Zhong: “The official production model, I’ve decided to call it ‘Divine Arrow.’”

In fact, Wang Zhong had initially planned to name the new rocket launcher “Iron Fist,” a historical joke that no one else in the world would understand. However, one night, a jest from Ludmila sparked a new idea in him.

After two and a half years of war, Ante hardly had any God-guided ‘Divine Arrows’ left, and there was a significant shortage even of ‘Prayer Hands’ like Ludmila. Such ‘Prayer Hands’ were in high demand everywhere, all being used for aerial defense of critical locations.

Thus, the new ‘Divine Arrows’ descended from the altar and were distributed to every soldier, who could then blast the enemy’s once invincible tanks into scrap metal.

The symbolic meaning was just too perfect.

Having shared his plans, the generals looked at each other, and General Gorky laughed, “Excellent, excellent. A newly canonized saint distributing the ‘Divine Arrows’ to every soldier—I like this development.

“My Front Army has already started issuing ‘Divine Arrows.’ If we launch another offensive in the fall and winter, the infantry forces will not be completely helpless against the enemy’s armored might. Moreover, the enemy’s armored forces have been heavily depleted in the summer campaign, and we might be able to achieve a breakthrough in the fall offensive.”

Wang Zhong: “Whether or not a breakthrough can be achieved, the Western Front Army should firmly attract the enemy’s Central Army Group.”

General Gorky: “I’ll be responsible for the containment, you focus on the offense, just like before.”

Wang Zhong couldn’t help but take another look at General Gorky. His words were quite skillful, and if there truly was a ‘Rokossovsky Faction,’ then his position as the second-in-command was well solidified.

However, Wang Zhong’s success in the past two years was indeed closely linked to the immense pressure General Gorky exerted on the Prosen frontline. No one could complain about him claiming the second credit.

The only issue was that General Gorky’s pressure was literally achieved by filling in with manpower.

Wang Zhong’s troops burgeoned with veterans as the war progressed, whereas units like the Tank 51st Army and Infantry 16th Army Group of the Abawahan Front Army were literally decimated, but when restructured into the First Kazarlia Front Army, a significant number of Guards units were promoted.

Now that the summer offensive had concluded, over fifty percent of the units under the Kazarlia Front Army were Guards.

In Earth’s history, the Soviet Army’s Guards made up a third of the entire army following their victories.

It must be noted that in the latter half of the war, the Russians were on a winning streak, and the Sturmtigers were weakened, which allowed many units to accrue a great deal of battle honors.

Wang Zhong’s troops had always adhered to a strict standard for the promotion of Guards units; every unit that bore the title of Guards had fought through blood and carnage and retained a core of veteran soldiers.

In contrast, General Gorky’s Western Front Army was an embodiment of the idea that ‘troops could be spent like mud,’ suffering tremendous casualties with every offensive.

Of course, General Gorky had his own argument: “What kind of troops am I leading? What kind of troops is Wang Zhong leading? You, Wang Zhong, get all the new equipment, even your Cavalry is being equipped with rocket launchers, while my infantry haven’t even seen them. They were only starting to be issued equipment after the summer campaign.

“And those new tanks—I haven’t even laid eyes on them. Your armored troops can deplete the enemy’s armored forces, all thanks to those new tanks with their tortoise shells and 100mm guns. My guys could only ride T34s and add to the Prosen’s kill counts. Unable to stand up to the long-barreled Mark III and IV, and now with the Tigers and Panthers to contend with, there’s even less of a chance.

“You need to understand the equipment disparity first. I’m using inferior equipment and still managing to put such pressure on the enemy, which isn’t bad at all!”

All these were Wang Zhong’s own thoughts, but they indeed reflected the reality; hence, he had never criticized General Gorky for heavy losses of troops.

Wang Zhong: “Currently, the production capacity for new medium tanks can only equip one brigade per month, but the Rokossovsky Type Heavy Tank can now equip three battalions per month. My Front Army’s heavy tanks are already at full capacity; any more and we won’t be able to sustain them.

“The newly organized breakthrough heavy tank battalions will be supplemented to various Front Armies, especially the Western Front Army, which bears the main burden of containment.”

General Gorky’s face beamed with joy: “That’s wonderful news! Rumors about the Luxor Type Heavy Tanks have already spread throughout the entire Western Front Army. They say its armor protection is so strong that a single tank can eradicate an entire Prosen Armored Division!”

(Though Prosen calls it the ‘Armored Division,’ General Gorky still used the Ante term. In fact, Ante no longer had the designation of ‘tank division,’ as their army structure goes straight from army to brigade.)

Wang Zhong: “That is a misconception. The truth is, a Rokossovsky Type was surrounded by the enemy and drew all their fire. It itself was plagued by a mechanical failure, causing the turret to rotate extremely slowly, which basically made it unable to effectively return fire.”

“But the friendly forces that attacked alongside this tank managed to eliminate the enemy. We too suffered losses in this battle, it was not at all as easy and leisurely as implied.”

General Gorky: “When has there ever been a time of ease and comfort on the battlefield? We all understand that!”

Admiral Kashuk: “In my opinion, the introduction of the new Divine Arrows is more substantial than new tanks. The infantry needs this anti-tank firepower.”

“With the current sequence of our equipment, anti-tank rifles can only take out armored vehicles, and the 45mm anti-tank guns are somewhat powerless against the enemy’s thicker tank armor. The 76mm anti-tank guns are too heavy and not easily maneuvered, and our anti-tank gun units are not fully motorized like the Ploson’s.”

“Our Front Army can’t be fully motorized, and I’m guessing the situation is even worse for the other Front Armies.”

Kashuk had always been commanding troops under Wang Zhong, similar to Kiriyenko, but he specialized primarily in infantry units, leading several of Kazarlia Front Army’s most pivotal Infantry Army Groups.

These infantrymen were the most traditional, with a very low level of motorization, relying on their feet to keep up with the advancing tank forces and mechanized infantry divisions.

General Gorky: “Don’t worry, Admiral Kashuk. Tanks are limited by industrial capacity and can’t be produced in large quantities, but Divine Arrows are light weapons! The production capacity should quickly become as common as the Papashas, right?”

He looked to Marshal Rocossov, the Chairman of the Equipment Innovation Committee.

Wang Zhong: “Reaching the production volume of Papashas is a bit challenging. The key lies in the Concentrated Explosive Warheads, which not many factories can produce. On my return flight, the equipment department officials reported to me that by the end of the year, we could achieve a production capacity of 3,000 units per day.”

General Gorky pursed his lips: “Considering it’s a disposable item, that’s not a high output.”

Kiriyenko: “Indeed, my Cavalry Army Group used up a thousand units in just a few days. Keep in mind, when we attacked, the Prosens hardly had any armored forces left.”

Wang Zhong: “During my trip to Balas for the Allied Nations conference, I will try to get the Federation to support us with more production equipment and raw materials.”

General Gorky: “With our progress so rapid now, they might actually reduce our assistance.”

Wang Zhong: “Then we’ll have to think of solutions with the engineers and workers of the production department.”

General Ivan Stepanovich: “The Allied Nations are not doing well in the Kingdom of Sardinia. They should be in great need of sharing our experiences and intelligence. We can use those for exchange when the time comes.”

General Gorky: “That’s for the diplomats to deal with, though considering Rocossov’s influence in the Federation, perhaps he can persuade the Federation’s lame-legged President.”

Wang Zhong: “I will do my best.”

The generals nodded together.

General Gorky continued on the topic of the Federation: “Marshal Rocossov, what is your opinion on the situation in the Kingdom of Sardinia?”

Wang Zhong: “Considering the terrain of the Kingdom of Sardinia, I think that the front line might enter a stalemate. It will be difficult for the Allied Forces to advance into Rome.”

General Gorky: “Maybe they could land in Northern Sardinia?”

Wang Zhong: “First, they’d have to take Corsica—and even if they captured it, there’s a long journey from Corsica to Northern Sardinia, and the whole route falls within the operational range of the Ploson Air Force.”

“The current Allied Forces aren’t ready for such a long-distance, large-scale landing operation.”

A major reason for Operation Overlord not starting until ’44 on Earth was that the Allied Forces really weren’t ready. The U.S. had only just finished industrial reallocation in ’43, and their troops were not fully trained, which made it hard to support large-scale landing operations.

In fact, the several landings carried out by the Earth’s Allied Forces in ’43 were already the maximum scale they were capable of at the time.

Predicting in front of the generals with Earth’s history in mind, Wang Zhong said: “I believe that the Allied Forces may land on the outskirts of Rome—”

Just then, Vasily entered the room and quickly approached Wang Zhong, whispering in his ear: “Journalist Mike sent a note through someone, the Allied Forces have been chased into the sea by the Prosens.”

Wang Zhong: “What?”

Vasily raised his voice: “The Allied Forces landing on the mainland of the Kingdom of Sardinia have been driven into the sea by the Sardinian Army Group commanded by Marshal Prosen Erwin Jonas Eugen Rommel.”

Wang Zhong’s eyebrows twisted into knots.

—I knew meddling with history like this would derail it!