Arc of Fire

Ludmila took a bandage from her body, tore off a part, wrapped the starflowers on the ground, and cradling the severed hand, she approached the laundry girls.

She could not recognize the girl lying on the ground since it had already been dark last night.

But the girl’s severed hand said it all.

Of course, there were also these starflowers.

The laundry girls were crying, “The captain only ordered us to come get soap! How could this happen…”

Ludmila stood silently.

At this moment, Brother Yeca Neiko rushed to her side, “You must return to your post! Without you, Divine Arrow cannot be guided!”

The Monk glanced at the girl on the ground, sighed, took the severed hand and starflowers, “I’ll take care of this here, you go back to your post!”

Ludmila nodded her head, walked towards the bathhouse, looking back with every step she took.

Wang Zhong withdrew his gaze, came to the telephone, and placed his hand on the receiver, ready to answer the call at any moment.

If the artillery positions suffered damage, they would report to Wang Zhong immediately.

He was waiting for that call.

Thirty seconds passed, and the telephone did not ring.

Wang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief, “It seems our artillery is alright.”

Yegorov said, “Moving the artillery positions away from the targets that would be bombed was really a smart move.”

Popov asked, “Should we change the artillery positions? Could the enemy pilots have spotted that they are artillery positions?”

Wang Zhong replied, “No, the enemy never flew directly over the artillery positions. They probably finished dropping bombs and turned away right above our heads.”

As he said this, he made a circling gesture overhead.

At that moment, the telephone rang again.

Wang Zhong still picked up the receiver himself, “This is Rocossov, speak.”

“This is the Fifth Byshensk Battalion, we spotted enemy armored scout vehicles on the small road southeast of our position.”

The Fifth Byshensk Battalion had not received reinforcements, and their equipment had not been replenished much, so Wang Zhong had disbanded them and mixed them with local militia to monitor the two main roads leading out of the city to the southeast and northwest.

Loktov might only be a small town, but it was impossible for Wang Zhong’s small force to encircle the city in a tight defense. He could only focus on defending the front and let less important forces monitor the roads on both sides.

Wang Zhong inquired, “Southeast? Half-tracked vehicles?”

“Both half-tracked vehicles and a Panzer II. On the suggestion from workers at the tractor station, we disguised a tractor as a tank, which scared the enemy away.”

Wang Zhong burst out laughing, “What? A tractor disguised as a tank?”

“Yes, and it worked brilliantly. As long as we piled up straw in the front, it looked just like a tank cannon turret camouflaged with straw. We drove this thing out, let the gearbox clatter, and the enemy immediately ran away.”

Wang Zhong laughed heartily, and the others, who hadn’t heard the conversation through the receiver, looked at him with puzzled expressions.

“You’ve done very well, keep scaring the enemy and don’t let them discover our actual weakness here! Great job!” Having said this, Wang Zhong hung up the receiver and relayed the Byshensk Battalion’s method to everyone.

Vasily laughed out loud and then was stared down by Popov, “Do your job well!”

Yegorov remarked, “But a fake tank can only scare people after all. I still hope we get real tanks soon. Then His Excellency the General will be able to showcase his talent in tank command.”

It seems in Yegorov’s eyes, Wang Zhong has already become a genius tank commander.

Wang Zhong, “I saw from the brigade headquarters that we have remnants of the 23rd Tank Army to our north, and I don’t know if we can get them to come over. No matter what tanks they are equipped with, they should be able to play some role.”

The role he referred to involved own cheat-like personal command of a tank to sneak behind the enemy’s blind spots, a staple for the “War Thunder” ground combat gamers.

Popov, “They should be equipped with the fast series of tanks.”

Upon hearing this, General Wang frowned. Although the T28s had thin armor, at least their guns were decent. The BTs didn’t even have decent firepower; at this time, many of Prosen’s tanks had been reinforced on the front, following the experiences of the Carolingian campaign, and the small guns of the BT7 might not be able to penetrate the enemy’s armor.

The BT7 itself was exceedingly fragile; even heavier machine guns with slightly higher penetration could pierce its sides.

The only commendable feature of this tank was its mobility. It utilized the famous Christie suspension system, so during high-speed maneuvers, it could even have its tracks removed and speed along the highway on wheels.

As he spoke, Wang Zhong began to ponder whether he could do something remarkable with the BT7 once he got it, thanks to its astonishing mobility.

Just then, the phone rang again.

Vasily, “I never knew before that war was about playing cards in the command post, and then constantly answering the phone.”

“Cut the chatter,” said Wang Zhong before picking up the receiver, “This is Rocossov, go ahead.”

“This is Brother Peter. I heard a lone Do 215, possibly at high altitude. And there’s also a Focke-Wulf 189 at low altitude.”

Wang Zhong frowned. In this era, bombers generally flew in clusters, forming a dense formation convenient for mutual defense with their machine guns, intercepting enemy aircraft. A lone Do 215 at high altitude…

Wang Zhong, “One at high altitude and one at low?”

Brother Peter answered, “Yes, if you count the time it takes for sound to travel from high altitude, the Do 215 is ahead. It’s flying particularly high, only the MiG-3 could intercept it. And obviously, we don’t have any MiG-3s.”

Perhaps they had been available at some point, but they were all destroyed on the airfields on the first day of war.

Wang Zhong, “Got it, thank you.”

After hanging up the phone, he looked towards the others, “A lone Do 215 at high altitude, likely a reconnaissance plane. And there’s a 189 at low altitude. What do you make of it?”

Yegorov and Popov exchanged glances.

Vasily, “I know! The enemy has been losing 189s over Loktov, so they want to see what’s been happening!”

Wang Zhong and the others exchanged glances.

————

Major General Rundolf of the 15th Armored Division heard the sound of the aircraft overhead and looked up.

His chief of staff said, “It’s flying very high, must be a recon plane. Perhaps observing the effect of their recent carpet bombing?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a Focke-Wulf 189 flew closely past their heads.

Because the Focke-Wulf 189 had an advanced appearance, the soldiers saw it as a symbol of Prosen’s cutting-edge technology and cheered, taking off their hats.

The chief of staff frowned, “I heard the Air Force has lost several reconnaissance planes over Loktov, and these are very hard to shoot down. Could it be… they want to see what’s been shooting down their own planes?”

Major General Rundolf cursed, “We’ve mentioned the artillery positions so many times! Those B4s have already caused us more than a thousand casualties, and the Air Force does nothing! They raise a fuss over losing a few recon planes!”

After speaking, the general sighed.

“Let’s wait for our division’s artillery to arrive, then think of a plan,” said the chief of staff.

The general nodded, “That’s all we can do for now. When will our coordination between the Air Force and ground forces be as good as what Duke Meyer claims?”