Cannon Fire Arc

As the Ante's 40th Army launched its attack, the vast steppe skies near the Prosen 10th Army Group Command were dotted with countless parachutes, drifting gently down like dandelions.

Below each parachute hung a gasoline barrel cushioned with sandbags, the fuel airdropped by the Prosen Air Force for the 10th Army Group.

General Boke personally stepped out of his tent to watch the "dandelions" slowly descending from the sky.

"Damn it," he cursed, "how can the Air Force drop so off-target? So many are drifting kilometers away—kilometres at least!"

The Air Force colonel liaison officer standing next to General Boke replied awkwardly, "The wind is strong today. There was severe turbulence reported before the airdrop, so we had to increase the drop altitude slightly."

General Boke glanced at the Air Force colonel: "All you know is to increase the drop altitude. If there's ground anti-aircraft fire, you raise the bomb altitude; if there's wind turbulence, you also raise the drop altitude, and if enemy aircraft intercept, you abandon the drop and scram for your lives!"

The Air Force colonel was about to speak when an observer on the ground shouted, "Look!"

Everyone hurried to look up and saw eight white trails approaching from the east, heading towards the Junkers supply planes mid-airdrop.

The Air Force colonel looked very tense: "Oh no, the 'Iron Annies' (nickname for the transport planes) have hardly any defensive firepower. Where are the escort fighters?"

General Boke: "You're asking me? You're actually asking me?"

The colonel, very embarrassed: "Uh, I was just thinking out loud. Maybe the fighters are at a higher altitude, so they can swoop down when the enemy attacks the transport planes."

General Boke: "So you're using the transport planes as bait?"

"Uh... yes."

The general shook his head: "That's the Air Force for you."

At that moment, a barrel truck came over and the officer on board jumped off to salute General Boke: "We've received a communication from the Air Force. Because of enemy interception, they will dump all their loads at once."

General Boke snorted and looked up at the sky: "At least they're still dropping it."

Then he saw a transport plane jettison a string of supplies in quick succession; because the dropping interval was too short, the supplies' parachutes seemed to tangle together, squeezing into a lump on its way to the ground.

The cloud of dust kicked up upon landing was almost like that from a heavy bomb.

General Boke waited a few seconds and, seeing no fire, breathed a sigh of relief: "At least it didn't catch fire."

The Air Force colonel swallowed hard, clearly also dead worried.

Soon another barrel truck came by, and the officer aboard didn't even get off before reporting: "By the time we got there, the barrels were almost empty, General. Please lodge a protest with the Air Force; this is the fuel we need for tomorrow's attack!"

General Boke turned to the Air Force liaison officer: "You heard our complaint?"

A group of senior officers from the Army Group Command, along with the couriers on two barrel trucks, all watched the Air Force colonel.

The colonel nodded: "I've heard it, we've all heard it. I will include this in the after-action review."

By now, the aerial combat had begun above, with Ante fighters diving into the transport fleet.

Soon, a transport plane was hit in the engines, veered off course trailing flames and smoke, plummeting to the ground, drawing a smoky arc in the sky, like a rainbow turned black.

Suddenly, the fire severed the plane's wings, and the transport, which was slowly descending, pitched forward and plummeted to the ground like a javelin.

Meanwhile, more transport planes broke formation, gliding slowly to the ground.

The Prosen fighters finally appeared, and as the Air Force colonel had said, they dove from above, pouncing on the enemy aircraft like eagles to rabbits.

In the blink of an eye, several more fireballs plunged toward the ground.

General Boke shouted, "Quickly collect the cargo that has landed! Otherwise, the enemy planes falling from the sky will ignite the prairie, and that would be terrible!"

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At 2100 hours on the 21st, Wang Zhong finally received the battle report from the 40th Army.

Of course, he had already made periodic radio calls to ensure the attack was proceeding smoothly.

But without reports from the frontline, he couldn't show off, so he could only pretend to be anxious, pacing nervously next to the radio team.

After Pavlov read the telegram, Wang Zhong no longer feigned concern and voiced the thoughts he had been deliberating on until now, "We've successfully crushed the enemy's second Infantry Division. If we now advance the artillery to prepare to continue attacking the next division's position, we might encounter a counterstrike from the enemy's armor."

"Hm, that's a possibility," Pavlov said. "So what do you suggest?"

Wang Zhong, "We should push our tank destroyers and anti-tank guns to the front to set up an ambush alongside the 40th Army's tanks."

Vasily clapped his hands, "Play defense... let the enemy witness the might of the Empire's iron wall!"

Popov, however, worriedly asked, "But what if the enemy's counterattack doesn't come? For example, what if they can't complete their counterattack preparations in time? Wouldn't we then miss the chance to destroy another one of the enemy's divisions?"

Pavlov, "According to the 40th Army's report, they haven't encountered significant anti-tank firepower, but a considerable number of tanks were put out of action due to mechanical failures during the assault.

"They are currently tallying the number of functional tanks. I reckon the outlook isn't optimistic." Explore stories on empire

Wang Zhong declared, "Then we set up an ambush. Let's not be greedy. If we run into a Prosen armored counterattack during our advance, our losses will be huge. It's frustrating, but their Armored Troops are far superior in quality to ours.

"Therefore, we mustn't engage them head-on. If we can ambush them, we ambush; if we can sneak attack, we sneak attack."

Pavlov, "You don't need to persuade us; we all know how you conduct warfare. Ambush positions—are you going to choose them personally?"

Only then did Wang Zhong remember he could select the ambush locations himself and quickly adopted a serious expression, "Of course, I've always planned to do this. That's how we can ensure the best ambush effect."

Popov spoke up, "I think we could trust the abilities of our subordinate commanders. We can't rely solely on you to fight the war."

Wang Zhong instinctively wanted to object but immediately felt that Popov was right; he had to give his subordinates practical opportunities.

After thinking it over, he said, "Then let's appoint Yegorov of the Guards Motor Rifle as the overall commander of the ambush, with Eugene, the acting division commander, as his deputy. Let them put into practice what they've learned from me."

Pavlov, "In terms of ability, Eugene is more suited for directing the ambush."

"But Eugene is a brigadier general; it's not appropriate for him, a Major General, to serve under Yegorov," Popov said.

Wang Zhong, "Let's do it as I just said. If Yegorov is sensible, he will let Eugene take charge of arranging the tank entrenchments. Also, tell the 40th Army to halt their advance, not to recklessly charge into enemy anti-tank positions that haven't been plowed through by our artillery."

No sooner had he finished speaking than another thought flashed through his head, prompting another order, "Send the reconnaissance troops forward, small groups equipped with radios to make discreet contact with the enemy. And snipers, send them up to probe and identify as many of the camouflaged anti-tank positions on the next line of defense as possible."

Issuing this order made Wang Zhong feel as though he was back playing "War Game: Red Dragon," with the main forces squatting at the extreme firing range of the enemy, while reconnaissance troops quietly advanced along the treeline.

Wang Zhong made up his mind; if the enemy didn't attack the next day, he himself would carry out a limited offensive to crush at least one battalion of the Prosen forces.

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