Novel Full Chapter 93 Allies in Trouble
Yegorov cursed as soon as he saw the first Smoke Bomb explode, “More smoke bombs! I’m sick of smoke bombs! Why doesn’t the general have them develop something to deal with the smoke!”
Brigadier Eugene put down his binoculars as well, “The Prussians are also being forced out… Is it about time to move the hunter-killers?”
Yegorov nodded, “Yes, the vortex is a precious thing; let the tank troops and anti-tank gun troops hold the enemy back until the vortex is in position—huh?”
Brigadier Eugene was also puzzled, “What’s wrong?”
Yegorov didn’t answer and lifted his binoculars to observe the southwest.
Brigadier Eugene looked in the same direction too.
A few seconds later, he said, “Is it… the smoke hasn’t covered it all?”
Yegorov: “Yes, the vortex is still firing; there’s clearly a gap in the visibility. What’s going on? The Prussians couldn’t possibly make this kind of mistake.”
No sooner had his words fallen than he saw several smoke bombs hit the gap, but the smoke plumes they created were too small.
The battlefield was in disarray due to the exchange of fire and the air currents were turbulent, plus the wind over the grasslands in this season, so the little smoke clouds dispersed quickly and couldn’t effectively obscure the view.
Yegorov muttered, “Could it be they don’t have enough smoke bombs?”
Brigadier Eugene: “It’s possible. When transport capacity is limited, I’d also prioritize resupplying Armor-Piercing Shells and High-Explosive Shells.”
Yegorov put down his binoculars and turned to issue orders, “The guard regiment’s hunter-killer battalion stays put, continue sniping the enemy from the current position, the 225th Division’s hunter-killer battalion abandons the original plan, maneuvers to the enemy’s flank, bypass the smoke obscuring the northern view.
“The 225th Division’s Armored Battalion follows the hunter-killer battalion in maneuver, acting as a defensive force. Tank Corps 40 stays put for the time being.”
The signalman on the communications vehicle responded loudly and began relaying the orders via radio, repeating continuously, “Guard regiment’s hunter-killer battalion stays put…”
Yegorov continued to observe the battlefield with his binoculars, “Even the smoke on the northern side is very thin. The enemy definitely doesn’t have enough smoke bombs. Those small clouds of smoke just now must have been fired by the number three tanks. We’re about to face a major onslaught!”
Brigadier Eugene: “Indeed. Deprived of the cover of smoke bombs, our hunter-killers greatly showcase their advantage at long distances. It’s just a pity we can’t see the enemy discarding their helmets and armor from our angle.”
The enemies’ smoke couldn’t fully block the line of sight of the “sniper positions” to the north and south but did manage to block Yegorov and Eugene’s view quite effectively.
That’s why Yegorov could only issue a rather vague encirclement order just now; how to encircle was left to the battalion chiefs of the 225th Division’s tank and hunter-killer battalions to decide.
After watching for a while, Yegorov turned his binoculars to look at the 225th Division’s hunter-killer and tank battalions.
The tank battalion was just leaving its tank shelters, while the hunter-killer battalion, as it was lying directly on the ground without shelter, had already begun maneuvering.
Because the vortex moved faster than the T34W model, the vortex squadron was already running far away, dragging thick smoke with it.
Brigadier Eugene noticed this and asked, “Should we ask the vortex to stop?”
Yegorov: “No, if the enemy targets the vortex, they’ll be hit from the side by the tank battalion; let’s keep it this way.”
Eugene: “It’s a shame we can’t see the enemy movements. Should we move ourselves?”
Yegorov hesitated but finally shook his head, “No, having one general who rushes ahead in a tank on the frontline is enough. If we were to do what the general does, the chief of staff would go mad.”
The division commanders were both directing special combat groups in ambush at the front, leaving the other units of their divisions to be commanded by their division staffs.
The chiefs of staff of the two divisions probably have their hair numbers flying towards matching Pavlov’s by now.
About ten minutes later, Yegorov saw the maneuvering vortex squadron stop, turn, and start firing.
Although Yegorov couldn’t see the results of the firing, he trusted the members of the vortex. To eliminate Prosen tanks at a distance of 1800 meters, all member groups had undergone rigorous training. Continue your journey on empire
The sound of the vortex’s guns overpowered that of all other artillery firing, showing the dominance of their caliber.
Yegorov didn’t know how many times he had looked toward the smoke obstructing his view.
At that moment, the signalman came forward with a field telephone, “Tank Corps 40 is calling.”
Yegorov took the field telephone, “This is Yegorov. What is it?”
Kexikoff’s voice came through the field telephone, distorted, “My tank troops don’t have visibility; let us join in the fight! Let us charge through the smoke!”
Yegorov: “No! You have a two-man turret; once you start moving, your battlefield awareness is not good enough. You’d be taken advantage of by enemy Tank Operators!”
Brigadier Eugene muttered under his breath, “Battlefield awareness is a term the general likes to use.”
Although Yegorov and Eugene were both generals, the Kexikoff speaking on the radio was still a lieutenant general, but clearly, in the First Mobile Group, only one person could be referred to simply as “the general.”
Kexikoff couldn’t hear Eugene’s words but continued to plead, “The opportunity for military honors is right before us; the soldiers can’t hold back anymore, Dawasili, let us join the battle!”
Yegorov: “No, the general expects not only a victory but also a favorable casualty exchange ratio, do you understand that! So…”
“Wait a minute,” said Brigadier Eugene, “I remember the general gave instructions, we need to draw the enemy’s attention now to provide cover for the Bolsk Front Army—that is, Duke Meishikin’s troops! Wouldn’t it be better to engage Tank Corps 40 now to make some noise?”
Yegorov thought for a moment and nodded, “You’re right.”
Kexikoff hadn’t heard Eugene’s words from beginning to end and was now confused, “I’m right? Are you talking about the soldiers being on the verge of breaking ranks?”
Yegorov: “No, I’m saying you should launch an offensive. Major General Kexikoff, in the name of the commanding officer of the ambush battle group, I earnestly implore you to commit to the attack.”
After all, Kexikoff was a Major General; it was only because of General Rokossovsky’s resounding reputation that he accepted the command of Yegorov, a Brigadier General.
Therefore, Yegorov “earnestly implored,” rather than commanded.
Kexikoff: “Not at all! As long as we can secure victory, it doesn’t matter who commands. Didn’t General Rokossovsky command many higher-ranking officers than himself during the first stage of the counter-offensive last year? I’ll launch the attack right now.”
Yegorov: “Good luck to all of you!”
The tanks of the 40th Army were plagued with obvious flaws; they needed luck on their side.
————
Major General Karl anxiously surveyed the state of the battlefield.
The shortage of Smoke Bombs allowed the Ante Army to fully utilize its long-range firepower advantage.
The enemy’s new assault guns were exceptionally deadly, claiming lives with each shot, and also almost entirely negating the armor-piercing shells of the Prosen Army.
And these cursed machines were also fast, appearing to have good reliability as well.
How could something so unreasonable exist?
After thinking it over, Major General Karl concluded that the vehicle’s sides must be as thin as paper; only then would it make sense.
So as long as one could flank it, they could attack it with ease.
The problem was that flanking was impossible.
Major General Karl now firmly believed that, aside from assault guns, he was also facing at least one battalion of anti-tank guns and several battalions of T34 tanks directly in front of him.
Although the long-barreled guns of the Mark IV tanks easily took care of the T34s, they struggled against the fierce firepower of the enemy’s other units.
Now, Karl’s headset was filled with screams, and the hysterical roars of tank operators.
The enemy was encircling them, with an unknown number of assault guns occupying the north side of the 14th Armored Regiment’s frontal charge, popping open tanks one after another.
The enemy on the southern side, while not encircling, had a clear line of fire and had been shooting since the battle started.
Karl estimated that his division had already lost more than half its strength. If the enemy continued to commit armored units, the situation would be dire.
Just then, Major General Karl heard the roaring engines and the clattering of gearboxes coming from right in front of him.
The enemy had deployed their tank units!
In the blink of an eye, a T34 burst through the smoke in front and charged toward the already battered ranks of the 14th Armored!
More T34 tanks followed suit, rushing through the smoke like waves of iron cavalry!
Karl made a split-second decision, switching the radio of his command tank to the frequency for calling other units, and shouted, “Schultz! Pull the brothers back! Pull the brothers back quickly!”
————
Wang Zhong listened to the sounds on the radio. Although he didn’t understand Prosen, and the translator, Vasily, was outside playing in the mud, he felt something oddly familiar about the phrase.
The Prosen language translator said, “The phrase means, ‘Pull the brothers back!’ The name at the beginning is Schultz.”
Wang Zhong looked at Pavlov: “If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t Schultz the commander of the 16th Armored Grenadier Division?”
“Right, the enemy’s getting desperate; they’re calling for help,” replied Pavlov.
Wang Zhong: “Can this Schultz do anything to immediately assist the armored division that we are about to severely damage?”
Pavlov and Popov exchanged glances and both shook their heads: “No idea.”
————
“Order the artillery battalion to deploy right here, load Smoke Bombs,” Schultz said. “For coordinates, uh…”
He looked at the map and finally jabbed it three times with his riding crop.
“Hit these three spots. How much coverage we’ll get, we’ll just leave it to the fate of the 14th Armored. We’ve done all we could.”
The chief of staff of the 16th Armored Grenadier Division nodded, “Yes. Being an armored grenadier division, naturally, our armored strength is not as powerful as the 14th Armored’s. Fighting a tank battle on the plains with the enemy is a bit of a stretch for us.”
At this moment, a communicator called out, “General! The commander of the 14th Armored is shouting that hundreds of tanks are assaulting his position!”
Schultz furrowed his brows: “Hundreds? That’s impossible. Air Force reconnaissance didn’t notice a trace. The aerial photos from yesterday showed everything was normal. It’s impossible to miss so many tanks!”
The chief of staff remarked, “Maybe… they exaggerated the number to urge us to rescue them?”
After mulling it over briefly, Schultz said, “Charging head-on into enemy tank formations is dangerous. Order a halt and establish defenses in our current position, prepare to receive the retreating troops from the 14th Armored!”