artillery arc

Chapter 45 Reinforcements Arrive
Wang Zhong hurriedly slid down the position and looked at the gunner.

The gunner's arm was bandaged, but it didn't seem to be of much use. The bandage soaked the uniform and then soaked the bandage.

The gunner's face was covered in blood, except for his lips, which were pale.

His breathing was very weak and his speech was feeble, as if he had exhausted all his strength in operating the main gun.

He stared at Wang Zhong, raised his right hand tremblingly, and pointed at the pocket on his chest.

Wang Zhong understood and quickly reached out to open the button of his pocket and pulled out the blood-covered letter paper.

He often saw scenes like this in various movies and TV dramas, but he never dreamed that he would experience it himself.

The letter in my hand seemed to be of great weight.

Gunner: "Agsukov, 43 Krugen Street, Alexeyevna..."

After finishing speaking intermittently, the gunner's hand slipped to the floor.

Wang Zhong didn't know whether Alexeyevna was his wife or his mother.

Wang Zhong didn't even know the gunner's name. As far as he could remember, he had never asked their name.

Not only the gunner, but also the loader's name was unknown to him.

A huge guilt gripped Wang's heart, as if he had done something wrong.

If you know their names, you can at least say goodbye to them properly.

Soon enough, an explosion woke up Wang Zhong - not when he was thinking about this, the battle was still going on!

Wang Zhong raised his sight and confirmed that the explosion just now seemed to be from an enemy tank.

Two of the eight tanks that entered the village had been destroyed, and both of them were concentrated on one street.

Wang Zhong searched eastward along the street, and sure enough he saw Brother Ye Tsemenko's group shifting positions, with the ammunition hand carrying the last divine arrow.

A signal flare was launched into the air. It was fired by Proson's officer. Its purpose was probably to indicate the direction of the divine arrow's attack.

Immediately after seeing the signal flare, the Proson infantry began to lay smoke to block the view of the Arrow team.

At this time, Wang Zhong felt that these well-trained enemies were really abominable.

We must find a way to kill the remaining enemy tanks, and then the 422 crew can clean up the enemy infantry that lacks anti-tank firepower as before.

To make vehicle No. 422 move, a gunner is needed.

Wang Zhong first thought of himself as the gunner, but then he thought of the enemy's amazing proficiency. If he, a fledgling, was the gunner, he might not be able to harm everyone in the car.

A trained person has muscle memory, and even if he is in a panic, his body will act according to muscle memory. Wang Zhong has no training at all and does not know how to operate the tank's main gun.

He suddenly remembered that he had read in his memoirs that a tank driver must be familiar with every position, otherwise he would not be able to become a tank commander in the end.

So he asked: "Pilot, can you operate the main gun?"

"No! And I have to drive!"

Wang Zhong remembered that the memoir he was reading was that of Otto Karius, which said that German tank drivers need to be versatile and can play in any position.

In addition, this is not the earth, and the tankers of the Ant Empire obviously do not have such requirements.

Wang Zhong refused to give up and asked again: "Where are the electromechanical personnel? Can you operate the main gun?"

No one answered.

"Mechanical and electrical man?"

"He also died." The driver whispered, "We are the only ones left in the car."

Wang Zhong was stunned. He originally thought that the 422 crew was very lucky, and only the loader died when hit from the front.

In fact, the only ones left in the car were the driver and Wang Zhong, who was the commander.

Intense loss and sadness suddenly filled Wang Zhong's chest.

He finally realized what comradeship is - even though he didn't know the names of those deceased comrades at all.

So he whispered quietly: "I don't know your names yet, but your achievements will last forever."

But the battle still had to be fought. After a short silence, Wang Zhong shouted: "Is there anyone who knows how to operate a cannon?"

The infantrymen were silent.

At this time, the noncommissioned officer who had been following Wang Zhong's orders said: "It's better to abandon the tank. We can all see that its condition is terrible."

Wang Zhong: "No, it can still fire. It's great. As long as it has a gunner, it can still fight!"

"But none of us have received relevant training. It's okay for us to drive a tractor, and we can make do with a tank." The sergeant shook his head.

Wang Zhong bit his lip.

He was still unwilling to give up. Even if he couldn't use the tank's artillery, there must be something he could use——

Suddenly, it occurred to him.

Wang Zhong: "Engine! The enemy attaches great importance to radio communications. They must know that we used the engine to fool them. So they will pay special attention to the sound of the engine!"

As he said this, Wang Zhong glanced at the bird's eye view. At this time, the smoke released by the enemy infantry entered his eyes.

Wang Zhong: "There is still smoke! Sergeant! How many more smoke bombs are there?"

The sergeant replied: "There are many more, your lord. In addition, we also captured a complete flamethrower."

Wang Zhong: "That's it. I'll give you a task. Release smoke along the street immediately and let the smoke engulf the entire village!"

Sergeant: "Wouldn't it be impossible to use the machine gun's firepower?"

"It doesn't matter! The core of this operation is to exploit the enemy's fear of us!"

Sergeant: "Are you afraid, Your Excellency?"

Wang Zhong hesitated. He didn't know if the enemy was afraid of the No. 422 vehicle after he destroyed so many tanks. If not, it would be over.

But, you gotta give it a try.

The enemy now has direct fire support from tanks. If the machine gun can't hit a shuttle, it has to change its position, otherwise it will eat a 50mm large piece of fruit.

And after the smoke is laid, it might be possible to launch another bayonet charge.

After making up his mind, Wang Zhong ordered: "Deploy smoke, and after throwing away what you have in your hands, look for it from the enemy's corpse. Let the smoke fill the entire village! Quick!"

The sergeant saluted, turned and began to execute the order.

Wang Zhong let out a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know if this method was reliable, he finally had a method. That alone made him feel a lot more relaxed.

He touched the pocket that contained the gunner's letter and whispered: "Agsukov, 43 Krugen Street, Alexeyevna."

Of course, Wang Zhong didn't know about this place, and he had never been to Agsukov. He heard that it seemed to be the capital of this region of the Ant Empire, and the entire Southwest Front headquarters was now located there.

However, I don’t know if I can still go to this Agsukov.

Maybe this is the last time he will have after traveling through time. With the cruelty of the Prosen Japs, he probably won't be able to survive.

Wang Zhong was thinking about it when he suddenly saw smoke rising in the distance, and his plan was being implemented in an orderly manner.

He cheered up: "Driver, hit the accelerator!"

Now let's see if we can scare these Prosens.

If that doesn't work, you can just use the cover of smoke to hit him.

My own tank is the last artillery shell - Wang Zhong, an outsider, thought so. He didn't think there was anything wrong with this at all, and it seemed that he couldn't remember the life-saving goal he set at the beginning.

----

Major Schlieffen frowned as he looked at the large amount of smoke rising from the village of Haupenier.

The chief of staff put down the telescope and said nervously: "The enemy likes to release smoke and then charge with bayonets! That's what happened before!"

Major Franz, commander of the 351st Regiment, said: "Our army is not afraid of hand-to-hand combat."

"No, Your Majesty Major," the chief of staff of the battle group turned to Franz, "If the enemy dares to charge with a bayonet under such circumstances, he must have put in reserves. We have lost half of the tanks, and the infantry casualties are also heavy. We continue to fight with the enemy's The reserve team’s hand-to-hand combat is not good for us!”

Major Schlifen was speechless: "The enemy...does he still have reserves? We haven't encountered any defenders with reserves until now. And this village is not an important village! Will they put so many troops on defense? "

Chief of Staff: "Here are the Arrow troops and the ace tank crew! That tank crew has destroyed eight of our tanks!"

Major Schlieffen pursed his lips, while Major Franz looked at him with a "you decide" expression. Schlieffen always felt that this old Junker noble was waiting to laugh at him.

Finally, Major Schlieffen looked at the sun and said: "If we continue to fight, we will have to fight at night. Night fighting is beneficial to the defenders who are familiar with the terrain. Retreat. Let the mortar troops release smoke again to cover the retreat of the troops."

----

Wang Zhong looked at the retreating enemies in confusion. What did he mean? He was really scared away by the sound of the engine?
Isn't it?

Something else must have happened. Did their king also order to stop the attack and rest in place?

Even if this is the case, does this have anything to do with the small place of Haupenier?
Regardless, the enemy retreated.

The soldiers went from initial astonishment to ecstasy. This time there was no hurrah, instead there were cheers celebrating the survivors.

Su Fang in the tank didn't know what was happening outside, and asked blankly: "What's going on? Why are you cheering? What happened? Reinforcements are coming?"

"No, the enemy retreated." Wang Zhong whispered.

----

Thirty minutes later, night had begun to fall.

Wang Zhong stood next to the church in the center of the village, looking at the body pulled out of the tank.

The only surviving driver was actually injured, with a large piece of shrapnel inserted in his back, so he was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Now only Wang Zhong, the temporary commander, was seeing them off.

More bodies were removed and taken to the church. In today's two battles, at least two hundred people were killed and countless others were injured.

Yegorov came to Wang Zhong, looked at the tank crews on the ground, and said nothing.

Wang Zhong took the initiative to speak: "Report the situation." "Currently, there are only 105 uninjured people in the combat force. Counting you - lightly wounded people like you, we still have a total of 400 people who can fight."

Wang Zhong: "Are there only so many people left in the group?"

Yegorov: "Yes. It's a regiment plus a tank battalion. I don't have many experienced non-commissioned officers here anymore, and the army's organization should be abolished. And the tank battalion of the Fourth Tank Army has disappeared ”

Yegorov emphasized the word "has disappeared".

Wang Zhong: "What do you mean?"

"Standing for 36 hours in Upper Penier was an order given to the tank battalion of the Fourth Tank Army. Now they have destroyed all the tanks for this order." Yegorov looked at Wang Zhong, "My Lord Count, retreat. . Such troops that have experienced fierce battles, whether they are replenished to other troops or reorganized in the future, are valuable forces. Even if it is for the sake of the empire, they should retreat."

Wang Zhong: "With so many sacrifices and so many comrades, wouldn't it be in vain?"

"We have delayed the enemy for at least twenty-four hours. They were supposed to camp in this village tonight and let the girls in the village sleep with them! We have..."

Yegorov could not speak any more.

Aunt Ilinichna and her family have already shown what will happen to those who remain in the village if they retreat.

But this is not the only thing Wang Zhong cares about.

He turned to Yegorov and asked: "Now that we have retreated, how will military history record us in the future?
“Those professors, those jackasses who don’t know what the battlefield is like, and those public intellectuals with ulterior motives will say that the 31rd Rear Amur Regiment and the nd Battalion of the st Tank Regiment of the th Tank Corps are cowards.

“They won’t treat those who died in battle separately from us!

"We have to stay here until eight o'clock tomorrow night! Yes, our troops are insufficient, but we can think of ways to use mines, explosives, anything!"

Yegorov: "But we didn't. We didn't find any defensive materials at the enemy's military station. They didn't think they needed to defend."

Wang Zhong pursed his lips and looked at the increasing number of corpses in front of him. The residents were bringing all the Ant soldiers who had died in the city to the church.

He sighed. "We could try calling for reinforcements. Isn't there a telegraph office here?"

Wang Zhong actually had no impression of using telegraphs. No one used telegraphs when he remembered, so he only remembered now that telegraphs should be a very common means of private communication in this era.

Yegorov: "Yes, but the telegrams from the telegraph office are wired telegrams, just like telephones. They are all disconnected now. Maybe even the main telegraph offices and telephone offices in big cities have been hit by enemy bombers. No one can send messages. .”

Wang Zhong frowned. At this time, he saw Su Fang hesitate to speak, and suddenly an idea flashed: "We still have hymn monks. Now that the battlefield has calmed down, there are also props for mass in the church. Is it okay? Mass?”

"Okay!" Su Fang nodded repeatedly, "But I need someone who understands the mass process to help me."

Wang Zhong: "Let Lyudmila come. Is one enough?"

Su Fang: "The smallest mass requires three people. One for me, one for Lyudmila, and a priest."

Wang Zhong: "Then there is only Brother Yetsemenko. What is the content of the mass?"

"Prayer, sermon, Holy Communion." Su Fang shrugged. "The Mass is very simple, but it takes a long time, and there is no guarantee that the other person can hear it. I have to keep kneeling, recite hymns, and convey the message. The content will be released tomorrow morning, so don’t expect me to shoot machine guns tomorrow.”

Wang Zhong: "Do it."

Su Fang jumped away.

Wang Zhong looked at Yegorov: "If there is no response tomorrow morning, we will withdraw."

Yegorov: "Can we evacuate it tomorrow morning? It's best to evacuate overnight."

Wang Zhong was very determined: "Wait for the response first."

----

After making the decision, Wang Zhong ate some beef and pickles, and then chose to take a nap.

He was about to faint before he remembered that he still had a low fever. It seems that adrenaline can also temporarily combat the pain.

He didn't know how long he slept, but when he got up, it was completely dark outside and still a bit chilly.

After waking up, his first reaction was to touch the letter addressed to Ms. Alexeyevna, 43 Agsukov Kruggen Street.

He had vowed to deliver this letter to the lady as long as he was alive.

After confirming that the letter was still fine, Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and put on his coat.

He heard singing outside and thought it was part of the mass activity, so he walked out the door with the idea of ​​​​seeing what happened.

When he went out, the guard slapped him in salute, and the sound of the heels of his shoes coming together startled Wang Zhong.

He looked at the guard carefully and found that the private held his head high and his eyes were as blazing as fire.

From this look, Wang Zhong felt the soldiers' trust in him.

At this time, he suddenly remembered that when he had just traveled to this world, all he thought about at that time was to save his life in troubled times, nothing more.

Really, when did you become able to regard yourself as the last bullet? Obviously I don’t even know what the whole country looks like.

Although he is somewhat self-deprecating, Wang Zhong has no intention of changing his current determination.

Because of this trust, and because of the blood shed with them.

Of course, there is also justice and pride - see, now I, like Spain's International Brigade, are fighting for justice and justice in the world.

After walking out of the winery manager's office, Wang Zhong stood on the steps at the door of the factory and looked at the soldiers gathered in the yard.

It was a group of wounded soldiers, probably because the hospital ran out of beds, so they gathered here to warm themselves over the fire and share a barbecue.

It's them singing.

Wang Zhong actually recognized the melody of the song. It was "On the Other Side of the River", which was once selected as the theme song of the Chinese version of "How Steel Was Tempered".

A baritone hums: The distant river bank is lit with lights
The sunset disappears into the clear night sky
Mount your horse and shoulder your spear

Young soldiers gear up and set off

When the baritone sang solo, the others actually harmonized together, as if everyone had been trained in chorus.

There is silence in the vast wilderness

The soldiers searched for the enemy vigilantly
There is a bayonet shining coldly in the darkness
They encountered an enemy ambush
The song soon entered the passionate chorus, and someone brought out an accordion to accompany them, and everyone sang in unison:
The warriors shouted and charged towards the enemy group
A desperate struggle unfolds on the grassland

This chorus feels very suitable for today's situation. No wonder the soldiers sing it at this time.

While Wang Zhong was thinking about it, the chorus ended, and the baritone from the beginning continued to sing solo:

A soldier was shot and rolled off his horse
He sacrificed his life heroically for the benefit of his motherland
The baritone voice fell, and everyone was still humming the harmony, as if they were paying tribute to the comrades who died today in this way.

Wang Zhong stood on the steps, savoring the sadness flowing freely in the night sky.

At this time Yegorov appeared.

Wang Zhong asked: "Did you receive a response to the mass?"

Yegorov shook his head: "No. If we want to retreat, we should do it now. It will be dawn in two hours."

Wang Zhong glanced at the soldiers who were still humming sad songs and felt a little soft-hearted.

At this moment, he vaguely heard the sound of an engine in the night sky.

"Enemy?" This was his first reaction.

Yegorov looked to the east: "No, the sound is coming from the east."

Pavlov, who hurried over, said: "It must be an enemy who is deliberately trying to get around us!"

Wang Zhong ignored him and directly switched the perspective, only to find that he couldn't see anything in the darkness. It wasn't his own field of vision that wouldn't highlight the enemy.

So Wang Zhong went straight to the water tower.

After running for two steps, he thought for a moment that it would be better to go to the entrance of the village to see more clearly, so he shouted: "Bucephalas!"

The white horse inherited from Captain Lubokov ran directly out of the stable, already saddled.

Hey, why did you get on the saddle?

Wang Zhong looked towards the stable and found that the original commander of car No. 422 was hiding behind the stable door.

It looks like this guy secretly saddled Busifaras and prepared to ride away on it!

Wang Zhong pointed to the stable: "Catch that deserter! Shoot him on the spot!"

The 422 crew is a good team, and Wang Zhong will not allow anyone to tarnish their courage.

After saying that, he got on his horse and rode the white horse with ease - it seemed that this body already had muscle memory for riding.

Buscephalas was almost like a flash of lightning in the dark night.

Arriving at the entrance of the village, Wang Zhong raised his sights.

By now the roar of the engine was very near.

First of all, there's no highlighting, so it's not the enemy coming.

Wang Zhong carefully identified the things driving along the road in the dark, and suddenly laughed out loud.

In World War II, there were actually many "myths" that were "played out", such as the "zero war myth." In fact, the results of the zero war were achieved on fighter jets such as the F2A that were already a generation behind. The US military's cutting-edge models such as the P38, F4F has never allowed Zero War to take advantage.

There is also the armor myth of the German army.

In fact, at the beginning of Barbarossa, most of the German army's results were achieved with light tanks and backward tanks such as BT7. Once they encountered the T34, they were immediately defeated. Guderian even suffered from "T34 phobia" .

Later research showed that Guderian actually mistakenly identified other tanks as T34.

This kind of tank, which frightened Guderian, created many one-to-many miracles many times during the initial period of the war, and even one vehicle blocked the attack of a German division.

In front of it, the father of German armor shouted "Our armored superiority no longer exists."

Now, the "culprit" who frightened the blitz hero of another time and space is heading towards Penier.

Although there was only one car, Wang Zhong, who was familiar with war history, saw it as if he saw a life-saving straw.

This was the first time that he felt that the stocky appearance of this tank looked so wonderful.

He saw a KV1 heavy tank.

(End of this chapter)