Arc of Fire

Chapter 65

Wang Zhong was overjoyed and dancing with excitement when he suddenly noticed something: "Wait a minute! Why do I only see ammo cars and no towing vehicles?"

The B4 howitzer looks like a self-propelled artillery piece, but in reality, it has no power of its own.

Even though it uses a tractor chassis, it can't move on its own and needs another tractor to tow it.

On Earth, they tried making a self-propelled version of this thing, but found it was too heavy. The small tracks of the tractor couldn't support it, and it would sink into many types of terrain, so they eventually gave up.

Could it be different in this world?

Indeed, in this timeline, the tracks on these heavy artillery pieces look longer than those on Earth's tractor chassis.

So Wang Zhong tentatively asked: "This cannon... is it towed by the ammo car? It can't pull it, can it?"

Popov once again cast a disdainful glance: "Alexei Konstantinovich, what were you doing during the parades?"

Wang Zhong shrugged and answered boldly: "Staring at beautiful women's chests, so what?"

"Pfft." Vasily, who was serving as Grigori's guard, let out a laugh, but was immediately glared at by Popov. He quickly stood at attention, eyes fixed straight ahead.

Popov withdrew his gaze and said to Wang Zhong: "These things are for parades, and towing them with the barrel facing backward looks bad, so they were given their own power."

Wang Zhong was shocked: "How heavy must it be with the added power?"

"Twenty or thirty tons, I suppose. I'm a clergyman; for specifics, ask the artillerymen. Anyway, it's not light."

Wang Zhong: "So, how fast can it go?"

If this thing could hit 30 kilometers per hour on the highway, it might be more useful than its Earth counterpart.

The reason Earth's B4 howitzer got such an intimidating nickname from German soldiers wasn't without cause. Actually, 203mm large-caliber artillery was fairly common on the Eastern Front; the Germans had it too, but you didn't see the Soviets giving theirs nicknames like 'Hammer of XXX.'

The main thing was that the Germans used their 21cm howitzers as actual howitzers, bombarding enemies over ten kilometers away, where the targets couldn't even see the firing cannon.

But the Soviets were different. Though the B4 heavy howitzer was technically a howitzer with a curved firing range of up to 17 kilometers, the Soviets liked to push this thing right up to 500 meters in front of German bunkers to fire.

They even rolled it into cities for urban combat.

The Germans could clearly see this thing slowly rolling up, aiming right at them.

That was absolutely terrifying-one shot and if you didn't die, you'd be crippled by the shockwave. Over time, it earned the nickname 'Steel Hammer.'

Later, this thing became so infamous, but its deployment speed was so slow that often by the time it was in position, the people in the bunker had already fled.

If this thing could achieve a highway speed of 30 kilometers per hour, the people in the bunker probably wouldn't have time to escape. After all, its kill radius is truly massive.

Popov shrugged: "Don't get your hopes up. When this thing moves on its own, its speed is the same as the parade march pace. The movement mechanism was specifically designed for parades."

Wang Zhong was utterly shocked; he hadn't expected them to tinker with this thing just for parades.

He sighed and asked: "So, can this thing be towed by a vehicle for rapid mobility?"

Popov: "I'm just a bishop. You might want to ask the ceremonial artillery regiment's soldiers."

By this time, the train had come to a complete stop, and the ceremonial artillery regiment disembarked, lining up on the platform.

Wang Zhong's first impression of these ceremonial troops was that a bunch of nutcracker toy soldiers had arrived.

The uniforms the ceremonial troops wore gave a sense of temporal dislocation; people dressed like this should be sparring with Napoleon, not appearing on a modern battlefield like this.

Wang Zhong asked Popov: "Can I order them to change into regular military uniforms?"

"As long as you can get that many uniforms, then sure."

"Hmm, in that case," Wang Zhong smiled, "I believe Pavlov can definitely get them!"

At this moment, Wang Zhong noticed several railway workers in the southwest looking tense as they crossed the tracks and began operating the switch located between the parallel rails.

From what he remembered, since he brought his troops to Loktov, he hadn't seen the railway workers touch that switch. In fact, the tracks between the two platforms were rarely used, likely reserved for passing trains during busy times.

However, with so many locomotives lost near the battlefield, the railway had never been able to operate at full capacity, so there was no need for extra passing tracks.

Wang Zhong watched the workers as they completed the switch operation and raised a green signal light.

Soon, a train sounded its whistle and slowly pulled into the station.

This train wasn't equipped with track repair cars or anti-air cars. The entire train was a chaotic mix of various cars-boxcars, regular passenger cars, and freight cars all hooked together with no regard for order, giving the impression that they were in a rush to assemble and depart as quickly as possible.

Wang Zhong muttered: "Why do I feel like this train looks like the result of 'let's send one more before the encirclement closes'?"

Popov: "I feel the same."

The train slowly came to a stop, and before it had fully halted, the engineer opened the boiler's steam release valve. White steam immediately billowed out from the front, engulfing the wheels of the locomotive.

A driver jumped off and shouted: "The cylinder on the engine is leaking! This engine can't go fast anymore! We need to switch engines!"

Wang Zhong didn't pay much attention to the driver's words, instead focusing on the passengers of this train.

Civilians.

And most of them were women and children, with many small faces pressed against the windows of the cars, looking outside.

None of the faces bore a smile.

Railway workers dragged over a hose to supply water to the train, offering it to each window. Countless hands holding all sorts of water bottles stretched out from the windows, scrambling for the water meant for the boiler.

Wang Zhong saw a little girl clutching a water bottle, gulping down water as if she hadn't drunk in a long time.

"This is about getting as many women and children out as possible before the encirclement closes," he muttered softly.

Popov: "Holding out for half a month... looks like they won't be able to hold out."

Wang Zhong suddenly snapped to attention: "This isn't the time for sentiment! If they can't hold out over there, we need to take action!"

He leaned over the overpass railing and shouted to the ceremonial troops below: "I'm Brigadier General Rokosov! No time for formations-unload the artillery now and move it to the No. 3 storage yard over there! Then go to the nearby anti-air battalion and get camouflage tarps. I want you to turn the No. 3 storage yard into an artillery launch position by this afternoon!"

The major of the ceremonial troop saluted: "Yes, General!"

Popov looked at Wang Zhong in surprise: "How do you know the No. 3 storage yard is suitable for an artillery position?"

"I checked it out."

Though it was from an overhead perspective.

Wang Zhong: "Right next to it is the anti-air battalion protecting the station, which offers some defense against enemy air raids. If camouflaged well, it can survive for a long time. That's not important-come with me to the supply depot headquarters!"

"Given the current situation, the ammo supplies and equipment meant for Bogdanovka definitely can't be delivered. We need to requisition them immediately!"

As Wang Zhong spoke, he turned back along the overpass they had half-crossed, and the others quickly followed.

Once outside the train station, Wang Zhong got into the seat next to Grigori and urged: "To the supply depot headquarters!"

As soon as Popov got in, Grigori started the engine.

Vasily had intended to get in but hesitated for a moment before deciding against it, turning to sprint back to the base.

----

At the supply depot headquarters, as soon as the jeep arrived, Wang Zhong strode inside and ran straight into the regiment commander of the Loktov garrison.

Wang Zhong stopped him: "Where are you rushing off to, Alexander Alexandrovich?"

Hearing his name, the regiment commander paused, as this was the first time Wang Zhong had spoken to him, and the voice was unfamiliar. He looked up, saw the general's stars and the Guards' cape, and immediately stood at attention and saluted: "Sir!"

Wang Zhong casually returned the salute and repeated his question: "Where are you rushing off to, Alexander Alexandrovich?"

"The supply depot headquarters has ordered my regiment to build defensive fortifications outside the village."

Wang Zhong: "Haven't you been building them before now?"

"We dug some, but not enough." The regiment commander looked frustrated. "Our main focus was on constructing concrete bunkers. Now they want us to dig anti-tank trenches. How could we possibly dig a trench shielding the entire southwest of the village in just one day?"

Wang Zhong: "You can mobilize the civilians in the village to dig."

Alexander: "Three laborer camps have already been organized in the village, but they've all been sent to repair the railway. Now, only women are left in the village."

"Women can hold up half the sky. Have them dig-it's better than not completing the task."

As he spoke, Wang Zhong patted Alexander on the shoulder.

The latter nodded and strode off briskly.

Popov asked: "Someone you know?"

"No, I just happened to remember his name. After all, he's the regiment commander of the local garrison."

Wang Zhong continued into the headquarters and, upon entering the map room, was greeted by a scene of chaos.

The supply depot commander was on the phone, shouting: "What? What? How many engines are left?"

It seemed he was on a call with someone at the station.

Wang Zhong strolled over to the map, looking at the latest updates-at least as of this morning, Bogdanovka on the map hadn't yet been encircled, and the enemy's pincer movement still appeared to be some distance from closing.

Popov also came over to look at the map, his expression serious.

The supply depot commander finally finished his call, muttering "Everything's going wrong" before looking up at Wang Zhong: "Good afternoon, General, sir."

Though it was still a little before noon.

The Loktov supply depot was quite large, so the commander here was also a brigadier general. In such a working environment, officers of equal rank could skip saluting to save time.

Wang Zhong: "Bogdanovka is about to be encircled. I assume the supplies meant for there can't be delivered now. I believe the Prossenians' next target will be Loktov. I need to requisition these weapons and ammo immediately to prepare for defensive operations."

The supply depot commander asked: "Do you have orders?"

Wang Zhong: "The enemy is coming! If we don't distribute the weapons and ammo now, are we going to let the enemy seize them to use against us?"

"I haven't received any notification that the enemy is coming," the supply depot commander said. "They're working hard to break the encirclement at Bogdanovka."

Wang Zhong: "Break it with what?"

"The 23rd Tank Corps is attacking," the supply depot commander replied. "It's a newly deployed unit."

Wang Zhong: "I didn't see them pass through here."

"They didn't take the railway. Tank units can maneuver through most rural roads."

Wang Zhong: "And most of those tanks will break down on the way due to mechanical failures! Plus, the enemy has an air force-any tanks that don't break down will be destroyed by enemy aircraft!"

"I wouldn't know about that. In any case, these weapons and ammo are to be sent up after Bogdanovka is relieved. Without orders, no one can move them," the supply depot commander said firmly.

Wang Zhong cursed under his breath. Just then, a staff officer rushed in, shouting: "Bad news, Commander, look outside!"

The two "commanders" in the room both turned to look out the window the staff officer was pointing at.

Several large trucks drove into the yard of the headquarters. Soldiers wearing Guards' capes and carrying brand-new Tokarev semi-automatic rifles jumped out of the trucks and lined up in the yard.

The flag of the 31st Guards Infantry Regiment fluttered in the wind in the yard.

The supply depot commander turned his head and glared at Wang Zhong: "General Rokosov, what are you trying to do?"

Wang Zhong felt a headache coming on; he hadn't given any orders to mobilize the troops, had he?

Then he spotted Vasily in the lineup.

Understood.

But this situation-perhaps he could use it to pressure the supply depot commander.

Wang Zhong looked at the supply depot commander: "I've fought against the Prossenians and defeated them! No one understands them better than I do! My instincts tell me that Loktov will soon be under attack!"

"You think so too, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have ordered the garrison to dig anti-tank trenches!"

The supply depot commander pursed his lips, offering no rebuttal.

Wang Zhong: "Likewise, you know the supplies for Bogdanovka can't be delivered! They might never get to use these supplies!"

The supply depot commander: "Even if that's the case, I can't hand over the supplies without orders!"

Wang Zhong wanted to punch this bureaucratic fool, but he quickly came up with an idea.

"I can write you an IOU!" Wang Zhong paused, seeing that the supply depot commander wasn't budging, and added, "In the name of the Crown Prince!"

The supply depot commander blinked a few times, then nodded: "Fine, write the IOU. Take whatever you want. I see you've already brought the trucks, so I can't exactly stop you."

(End of Chapter)