Cannon Fire Arc

On November 9 at 0600 hours, the artillery bombardment began.

By this time, Wang Zhong was already in the command bunker of the division. It usually got light around four in the morning, so he was accustomed to waking up at that time.

His daily routine was entirely in "summer time"; he would start feeling sleepy as soon as it got dark after ten at night and would wake up at four in the morning.

Now, the nights were as long as the days had been during the summer.

At six o'clock, it was still pitch-dark – such was the north.

But Wang Zhong's daily routine remained the same as before, so he ended up yawning and making his way to the division command bunker in the pitch-dark as if it were still four in the morning, and then he would chat with Popov, who was on the night shift.

It was when the enemy's bombardment began that Pavlov stumbled into the division command bunker.

Wang Zhong, "You don't have to rush over like this; you could wait for the enemy artillery preparation to end before coming."

Pavlov, "How could I? That preparation lasts as long as two hours; I had to come over. Without me here to break down orders for implementation, you'd be no different from a commander without troops. Besides, the enemy's focus is not on us here but on the front line positions; it was quite safe for me on the way here."

Just as Wang Zhong was about to speak, the artillery fire suddenly changed.

Being an experienced soldier himself, he could instantly tell when the artillery preparation shifted to Xu Jin's barrage.

The others in the room lifted their heads sharply as well.

Popov, "Has it shifted to Xu Jin's barrage? Is it finishing up a bit early?"

Wang Zhong, "The enemy doesn't have that many shells! My prediction is correct; their logistics haven't caught up, and they will be met with bloody noses on our positions."

Having said that, Wang Zhong moved to the observation window.

In fact, from the division command bunker's observation window, you couldn't see the front lines, because the defensive area wasn't like Shostka.

Shostka had the Duva River, and the division command bunker was on the riverbank, so you could observe the battle.

Suhayaveli was a road intersection and a railway junction, located on a plain.

So the defensive positions of the Guards First Motor Rifle were layered, and couldn't be seen from the division's position.

In fact, during Orachi, Pavlov, who had been stationed at the division, couldn't see the front lines either; that Wang Zhong had been able to see the frontline was mainly because back then, his forces were weak, and he had to personally drive a small tank to the front to hold the line.

Now, joking aside, Wang Zhong's division alone had been supplemented with 36 towed 57mm anti-tank guns, which could fire every 3 seconds. As long as the enemy did not completely cover the anti-tank positions with heavy artillery fire, their armored forces would surely suffer heavy losses.

Even if the anti-tank position was covered, it would be fine; Wang Zhong still had 30 ZIS-30s as a mobile anti-tank force.

The Guards First Motor Rifle had already been outfitted like a completely wealthy division, so much so that Wang Zhong could reserve all 36 of the Armored Division's ceremonial T34s – no, now called the T34Ws – as a reserve force.

Of course, when it was time to deploy the armored battalion for a counter-attack, Wang Zhong would certainly command his own small tank personally.

If the armored battalion had to be committed to the attack, Pavlov probably wouldn't mind if Wang Zhong temporarily left the division command bunker.

Additionally, Wang Zhong still had three KV tanks; this number had not changed from before.

Now, these three KV tanks, one for each position, were treated by Wang Zhong as defensive anchor points and stationed in tank shelters at the front lines.

Moreover, to ensure that these heavily armored turtle shells could attract enough firepower, he had used a forward placement of anchor points in his defensive layout and specifically concealed veterans armed with submachine guns near these points, waiting for Ploseni veterans to approach for close combat.

Now Wang Zhong, with his bird's-eye view, waited for the enemy to test the strength of his defenses.

Without direct communication with the front line, Wang Zhong could only see the markers of his own units; to his surprise, he noted that next to the frontmost two battalions, there were sawtooth lines on the military map, indicating defensive positions.

While still marveling, the enemy markers appeared.

The enemy's symbol was a red square, which should contain an icon representing the type of troops inside, but now there was a square with a question mark instead.

Was this because the front hadn't determined what type of unit was attacking?

Wang Zhong, "Call the 31st Regiment, 1st Battalion."

Pavlov exclaimed in surprise, "Why call them?"

Wang Zhong, "I need to understand the situation. Once you get through, hand me the handset."

Pavlov immediately picked up the handset, "Connect me to the 31st Regiment, 1st Battalion. Is this the 1st Battalion? The division commander wants to speak with you! Yes, here you go."

Wang Zhong took the handset to his ear, switched the view to the 1st Battalion's perspective, and it lit up; he could see every member of the 1st Battalion and also the attacking enemy.

But first, the enemy wasn't highlighted, and second, the enemy's organization was still unclear.

So the previous direct view of the enemy's organization, knowing if the enemy was an armored battalion or grenadiers, was because I saw the enemy with my own eyes – thus Wang Zhong thought.

That means in an emergency, he would still need to go to the front line to see the situation for himself.

At this moment, the battalion commander on the phone said, "Division Commander, please speak!"

Only then did Wang Zhong realize he had taken the handset but hadn't spoken.

Wang Zhong, "Ah, what's the situation with you guys?"

"The enemy is coming. Currently, they haven't crossed the 1,000-meter mark, so we haven't opened fire."

Wang Zhong, "Good, try to capture some prisoners and find out the enemy's unit designation, as well as the forces involved in this attack."

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"Understood. Once the enemy is repelled, we'll try to dig a few lightly wounded prisoners out of the dead for you. Anything else?"

"No, see you in Ploseni."

"See you in Ploseni!"

Wang Zhong had just come up with that line, and the battalion commander said it as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

After hanging up the call, Wang Zhong realized he had a view of the front for another fifteen seconds before it disappeared and turned back into icon clashing.

This cheat is interesting, it demands that even if I hold a high position, I still have to run to the front line.

Hmm?

Wang Zhong suddenly remembered that on Earth, the Sturmtiger also had a general who was very fond of going to the front line. He even made it to the commander of the African Army and would still jump into his beloved little tank to rush to the front.

His most famous battle—no, skirmish—was when he commanded two Armored Divisions to push forward and got surrounded by the British force, and then he fought hard to create a bloom at the center, making the British force, prepared to annihilate his troops, retreat in complete disarray.

Desert Fox, you also had a cheat! I've found you out!

Wang Zhong was so familiar with this battle because in his childhood, "Tank and Armored Vehicle" magazine had used it as a "question" for the reader participation column, inviting readers to submit their battle plans to break the situation.

Of course, Wang Zhong wrote one, and naturally, it sank without a trace.

Later, the published standard answer turned out to be just the historical battle plan of the Desert Fox, and they also featured a few readers' plans, commenting in the end that even with a God's-eye view, no reader came up with a better combat plan than the Desert Fox.

Since then, Wang Zhong became a little fanboy of the Desert Fox and always felt Montgomery was nothing special.

Of course, a sign of growing up is graduating from one's idols, and Wang Zhong, after reading numerous biographies, no longer worshiped the Desert Fox.

But now, I am the Desert Fox of this world!

Watch me wage a couple of battles that will become legendary, making military magazines use my strategy as the standard answer!

Wang Zhong suddenly got fired up.

He didn't care about the frontline, returning to the defense area map, and stuffed the handset into Pavlov's hand, focusing on studying the map.

Pavlov asked curiously, "What's up?"

Wang Zhong: "The enemy is attacking us under such hasty preparations for artillery support... Do you think they would act so recklessly?"

"Hmm, indeed," Pavlov returned the handset, "I think it's more like an action to pin us down. If that's the case, their attacks will be continuous. Though they may not threaten the fundamentals of our defensive line, they'll never stop."

Wang Zhong nodded, "Right, judging from this offensive, the enemy is likely targeting Karanskaya. They're taking this small path."

He pointed to the small path he had pointed out the day before.

Pavlov: "So what's your plan?"

Wang Zhong: "We need to advance, at least up to the previous position of Hill 391. This way, our artillery can move forward and bring that small path within firing range."

Pavlov: "An attack? But you've said before, we have a decisive gap in tactics and techniques with the enemy. Without our prepared positions, even our best troops can't beat the enemy's regular forces."

Wang Zhong: "I also said that we are not at a disadvantage in artillery. Make a call to Kiriyenko."

The call quickly connected, and Pavlov handed the handset to Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong: "Kiriyenko, it's Rocossov."

"What's up? Are you under a lot of pressure?"

"No, I'm under no pressure at all. I surmise the enemy's main attack direction is not here. I think it's probably Karanskaya."

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Kiriyenko: "I judged the same way. The pressure on our front is too mild; even the artillery preparation this morning didn't last half an hour. So, what are you planning to do?"

Wang Zhong: "I'm going to launch an offensive. But because our techniques and tactics aren't up to par, the offensive will need your artillery support."

Kiriyenko: "I'll reinforce you with the Army Group's artillery brigade. You decide how to use it. This brigade just got a new artillery battalion, all equipped with 152mm heavy guns."

Wang Zhong: "No rocket artillery?"

"What is that?" Kiriyenko was shocked.

Okay, still classified.

Wang Zhong: "Never mind. When will the artillery brigade arrive here?"

"If they set out now, they should arrive by tomorrow. You can start preparing their positions, laying camouflage nets, and such."

Wang Zhong: "I already have four pre-set positions reserved for my artillery battalion. Just have them move into these positions."

"Wow, four pre-set positions?"

Wang Zhong: "Not just pre-set positions, but also wooden dummy cannons. When they arrive, just remove the dummies. We'll find somewhere else to build new dummy artillery positions."

Kiriyenko: "You sly dog, with your dummy positions, false mines, surprise barrages—whatever doesn't work the usual way, that's what you use."

Wang Zhong: "I'm forced to, aren't I? We can't win head-on in combat. We only win in tank gun confrontations. What can I do? Reinforce my artillery brigade, and I'll throw something big at the enemy."

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