Arc of Fire

He spoke up, “I might indeed be the last in my class, but I can still read a map. The so-called inability to read maps must be a rumor spread by my classmates, yes, a rumor!”

The Army Group’s Priest looked toward Duke Vostrom.

The Duke said, “How can you be sure that the front is a defensive gap in the enemy’s line?”

Wang Zhong: “I wasn’t sure; initially, I only ordered a smoke screen to block the enemy’s superior firepower. As a result, the third wave from the Amur Group charged and went straight to the enemy’s front-line headquarters.

"At that time, my judgment was that the enemy must have deployed heavy troops to the east to block the breakout forces, so why not reverse the thinking.”

A few senior officers looked at each other once again.

The Duke asked again, “Why did you decide to defend at Peniye? That was not an order given to you.”

Wang Zhong: “At that time, we were riding in a captured Prussian truck, and as soon as we saw Lubokov’s troops, we got shelled. Continuing to ride in Prussian trucks would undoubtedly result in more shelling.

"We had no choice but to dismount and proceed on foot. And there were only a few T28s responsible for guarding Peniye, thin-skinned and filled with fillings; the enemy could take the village in no time and then continue to advance.

"We would be caught up with; the enemy is mechanized troops!”

Those beside the map table exchanged glances, and finally, the Duke said, “Then tell us about the defense at Peniye.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the staff brought out a new map, which surprisingly detailed the layout of Peniye village, with the position of every house marked on it.

Upon seeing the map, Wang Zhong immediately said, “This map is wrong here; this house should be directly south of the machinery mill.”

He was all too familiar with Peniye, having overlooked it for two days, with many of his soldiers having valiantly sacrificed their lives there. Perhaps even when Wang Zhong grows old, he will still remember this little village, remembering every brick and tile, every blade of grass and tree.

The Army Group’s Chief of Staff said, “Just make do with it and talk. This is drawn by the staff based on aerial photographs. It’s not precise, but it’s usable.”

Wang Zhong nodded and began to recall the battle that lasted for 38 hours.

30 minutes later.

The Alliance Hierarch spoke first, “Well done, Aleksei Konstantinovich, well done!

"After you have rested, go and repeat this to the Priest of the propaganda department! Make sure they promote it well; we can defeat the Prussian Army with courage and wisdom!”

The Army Group’s Chief of Staff chimed in, “With close-quarters city fighting, you destroyed so many of the enemy’s tanks! You have destroyed more tanks than many tank armies!”

Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow: “So, I’ve passed?”

He could tell that these senior officers didn’t believe he could command and win a battle; they were testing him on purpose.

The Duke walked around the map table and patted Wang Zhong’s shoulder, “Aleksei Konstantinovich, I admit we were a bit incredulous initially about you fighting a splendid battle, but now we are completely convinced. Perhaps you’re just not good at taking tests at the military academy!”

Wang Zhong responded seriously, “Your Grace, it wasn’t I who fought the amazing battle, it was my soldiers who fought the amazing battle. I only…”

I only cheated.

But Wang Zhong couldn’t say that, so he stopped there.

Yet the Duke seemed to understand everything with an “I get it, I get all of it” expression, turned to the Priest and said, “Nikita, apply for the honorific of guards for the third wave of Amur Group. And that tank regiment too, the thirty-first tank regiment, right? Apply for them too!”

The Priest looked troubled: “The Amur Group is easy to say, but the thirty-first regiment is completely wiped out; there’s no precedent for granting the title of guards to a unit that has been destroyed without leaving a number.”

Wang Zhong was deeply distressed when he heard these words, remembering the letter from Gunner 422 in his pocket and Lubokov’s smiling face.

Just then, a staff officer came in, “Report, aerial reconnaissance results are in. The enemy has not yet occupied Upper Peniye, the pilot saw a number 67 heavy tank still in battle.”

Wang Zhong was shocked, “They’re still fighting?”

"Yes, they’re still fighting,” the staff officer nodded.

Wang Zhong stepped forward, grabbing the Duke’s hand, “Quickly send armored troops to their aid!”

The Duke looked troubled, “Aleksei Konstantinovich, the Fourth Tank Army is the last armored unit we have.”

Wang Zhong’s shoulders slumped, but then he remembered something and asked, “What is the situation of the defenses, I mean, here at this location?”

The commander of the 63rd Army said, “We have constructed a basic trench system, but… there wasn’t enough time, and due to a lack of cement, there are not many anti-tank piles and strong defensive positions built, the situation is very bad. If only we had one more day.”

Having received the answer, Wang Zhong became more certain that Tank 67 must have known this.

A mechanical failure was just an opportunity, because of the mechanical failure, these brave people decided to simply stay and delay the enemy for another day, to buy time for the defensive line.

Wang Zhong once again tightened his grip on the Duke’s hand, “Please apply for… apply for the highest honor for Tank 67’s crew!”

He was initially going to say ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’, but halfway through he remembered there was no Soviet Union here and he didn’t know what the highest honor of the Ante Empire was.

The Alliance Hierarch nodded, “We will apply for the Gold Star Medal, the highest honor for them.”

The Army Group Chief of Staff chimed in, “As for you, Aleksei Konstantinovich, we are preparing to send you and your troops to Loktov for rest and reorganization. You’d be in charge of reorganizing the disarrayed soldiers from the front. How about that?”

Wang Zhong, “No! I can still fight, give me troops, I can kill more Prussian devils!”

The Duke shook his head, “No, I have a premonition that this war is going to be long and nasty, there’s no need for you to hurry to kill Prussians. You look very pale and extremely exhausted, without a trace of color. You and your troops need to rest.

"We will hold the enemy at Bogdanovka for at least three weeks, by then, after you have rested, I assure you, you will be sent to the most dangerous place.”

Wang Zhong thought about it and felt that with the Duke’s confidence, there must be ample troops at his disposal, so taking a rest might be good.

With personnel and equipment replenished, they could better deal with the Prussian devils.

So he changed his request, “Then, I want to replenish personnel and equipment, I want tanks, artillery…”

At this moment, he looked at the Alliance Hierarch and, remembering something, said, “And, don’t transfer my Divine Arrow squad!”

The Hierarch, “The Divine Arrow squad currently assigned to your division, the prayer hand is your childhood friend, right, Aleksei Konstantinovich?

"I won’t transfer this Divine Arrow squad. Although we are short of Divine Arrows at the front, I think Yeca Neiko Monk’s squad also needs to rest.”

Wang Zhong felt relieved.

"What about the tanks?” he continued, “I want T-34 tanks, the more the better!”

The Duke interrupted Wang Zhong, “You will definitely get personnel reinforcements, but as for equipment, we are all short on equipment now.

"Loktov is our supply center, go there and ask the logistics department for what you need.

"You’ll rest in the city today and leave tomorrow morning, taking the empty cars heading back,”

The Duke turned to the Chief of Staff, “Tell the logistics department to send good wine and good cigarettes to the 3rd Rear Amur Group! And of course, beef, as much as they can eat, give them all they want!”