Wang Zhong’s tank unit quickly maneuvered to a flanking firing position and opened fire before even coming to a stop.
The other tanks also opened fire after turning to face the enemy.
The Prussians reacted quickly as well.
Previously, they were merely caught off guard by the overly scientific tank fortifications created by Wang Zhong, but now the T34s firing in the open field were naturally spotted immediately.
In fact, before long, both sides on the Eastern front would learn to dig a pit to hide the lower half of their tanks, leaving only the turret exposed to fire.
At this moment, the distance between the two sides was less than five hundred meters, and the fierce exchange of fire began.
The enemy needed precise aiming to hit the turret of a T34, whereas the T34 could fire as soon as its scope was set.
Moreover, in terms of armor, the T34 had a clear advantage; even if the turret was jammed, the crew inside remained alive. A hit from the T34’s 76-caliber gun could kill at least half of an enemy tank’s crew.
After twenty minutes of exchange, the enemy began to release smoke to retreat.
Wang Zhong, seeing the enemy release smoke, took a long breath of relief.
This exchange was different from before, his side had no terrain advantage, at best only slight cover provided by the forest and underbrush.
This was a real artillery duel, and in the end, Wang Zhong’s unit held the upper hand.
Wang Zhong, “Report from each vehicle, how many have their turrets jammed?”
“First command vehicle, all clear.”
“Second command vehicle, all clear.”
“Third platoon reporting, my tracks are off.”
…
After checking the command vehicles with radios, Wang Zhong ordered an assessment of the tanks without radios.
During the tally, he shifted his focus to Yegorov’s position.
Because Wang Zhong had moved out of the direct command range of Yegorov, the headquarters of the 31st Guards Regiment, the Second and Third Infantry battalions all became military symbols on the map.
Fortunately, Wang Zhong’s vision covered almost half the battlefield, allowing him to clearly see the carnage within the smoke—the tank unit’s flank fire had only cut off the enemy’s reinforcements; the tanks and infantry that had charged the positions needed to be dealt with by Yegorov’s troops.
A fierce mixed combat of infantry and tanks was underway.
Yegorov split his troops into multiple combat groups, first using grenades to suppress the infantry around the tanks, and then directing grenadiers to throw Molotov cocktails.
The fight was extremely fierce, but fortunately, Yegorov’s troops were “thick” enough to sustain the casualties of the meat grinder.
While Wang Zhong was focused on that side, the tally here was completed. The platoon leader reported via radio, “A total of 6 tanks have their turrets jammed, and 2 have broken tracks. The ones with broken tracks are being rapidly repaired; the jammed turrets will probably have to wait for the mechanics from the tractor factory to fix them tonight.”
“Good,” Wang Zhong had just started speaking when soldiers called out from the distance, “The enemy is coming from the woods!”
Wang Zhong hurriedly turned his head, relying on the light-up mechanism to see a large number of Prosen soldiers approaching from the woods; these were the enemies who had just taken the First Ambush position, pressing on along the woods.
The infantry platoon reporting to Wang Zhong looked to be on sentry duty in a communication trench between positions.
Wang Zhong, “Are the mines activated?”
“Activated, General! But we didn’t plant many mines between positions because we were afraid of friendly fire,” the squad leader leading the team said.
Wang Zhong, “All tanks, change formation. The enemy is pushing from the woods, prepare to intercept with machine gun fire!”
Saying this, Wang Zhong himself picked up the anti-aircraft machine gun on top of the turret and started firing at the Prussians in the woods.
Then the Prussian machine guns opened fire, forcing Wang Zhong to duck back behind the cover formed by the tank’s hatch.
It was then that Alexandria opened fire, a high-explosive shell broke a birch tree and exploded before hitting the enemy machine gun, the shrapnel instantly felling five enemies.
But the machine gun was still firing, bullets dinging against the turret.
It was at this moment that the driver-operator started firing the hull machine gun, the tracer bullets counterattacking the enemy machine gun’s tracer fire, reminiscent of the slapdash special effects kung fu movies Wang Zhong had watched as a child, with both sides exchanging blasts.
Then the enemy repeated their old trick and released smoke.
Wang Zhong immediately ordered, “Establish a fire sector, just like we’ve practiced!”
Indeed, because the enemy liked to use smoke, Wang Zhong’s troops, whether infantry or armored forces, had trained to weave a web of fire even without visibility.
The enemy tried to surge forward, but upon realizing that penetrating the dense fire would result in too many losses, they decisively chose to retreat.
However, Wang Zhong’s side had only one platoon of infantry from the initial withdrawal and two additional platoons that came later to support; they did not dare to pursue.
Tanks were too vulnerable to close-range infantry attacks in the forest.
The standoff continued on both sides.
Once it was confirmed that the enemy infantry could not advance, Wang Zhong turned his attention to Yegorov’s situation and found that the 31st Guards Regiment had also repelled the enemy’s attack. Seven Panzer IVs were burning near the defensive trenches of the Third Battalion, and three more tanks had crossed the first trench line but were destroyed before the second trench line.
In addition to ten Panzer IVs, the enemy also left behind about 200 bodies—Wang Zhong was estimating since his ability did not highlight corpses.
Once it was confirmed that the enemy had completely retreated, Wang Zhong took a breath of relief.
“`
But the problem wasn’t resolved, as the enemy still occupied half of the forest. If later the enemy’s artillery groups start their fire preparation again and force Wang Zhong’s troops out of their positions, it’s likely the position might be completely lost.
The only solution was to carry out a fire strike on the lost positions immediately, and then send in the first battalion, which had been kept in reserve, to counterattack.
Wang Zhong raised his head and looked at the reconnaissance aircraft that had been circling in the sky, the Dao 215.
Damn, this was the first time Wang Zhong found reconnaissance aircraft so annoying.
Or should half of the artillery battalion fire, sacrificing half of the artillery to take back the position?
What would happen afterward? Their own artillery firepower would have been depleted, while the enemy remained unharmed…
Wang Zhong was mired in a dilemma.
Alas, he wondered how much fuel the enemy aircraft had left.
————
The Prosen Army, 141st High-altitude Reconnaissance Squad, Aircraft No. 229.
The pilot looked at the fuel gauge and reported to the commander, who was also the navigator of the aircraft, through the intra-plane communication, “Fuel has gone below the warning level, we should head back or else we’ll be forced to make a rough landing on those bad mud roads.”
The commander said, “No, the army below needs us, just because we’re up here, the Ante Army wouldn’t dare to use heavy artillery. Let’s stay a bit longer, or request our squad to send a plane to replace us. I’ll request the squad for the replacement, radio operator!”
The radio operator started calling, “Eagle’s Nest, Eagle’s Nest, Vulture 29 calling, Vulture 29 calling.”
The squad’s response came immediately, “Vulture 29, this is Eagle’s Nest. Your fuel should be at the critical level, return immediately.”
The squad’s response was heard by everyone in the aircraft through the intra-plane communication circuit.
The pilot and co-pilot exchanged glances.
“Commander, the squad said so,” said the pilot.
The commander directly contacted the radio, “Eagle’s Nest, Eagle’s Nest, my aircraft is suppressing the enemy’s defensive fire, requesting someone to replace my aircraft.”
After a brief silence, the response from Eagle’s Nest came through, “No go, all reconnaissance planes have been deployed, all reconnaissance planes have been deployed. Return immediately, over.”
In the cockpit, the commander-cum-navigator sighed, took off his glasses, and began massaging the Jingming acupoint.
After a moment of silence, he said, “Radio operator, call Wolf.”
“Wolf, Wolf, this is Vulture 29 calling. Wolf, Wolf…”
“This is Wolf, have you spotted the enemy artillery positions?” The voice was distorted through the radio, but the excitement on the other end was still discernible.
The radio operator fell silent, turning to look at the commander—their seats back to back.
The commander picked up the handset, “No, the call was to inform you we are leaving. Over.”
“What?” The response on the other end came immediately, dismissing any radio communication protocol, “If you leave now, their artillery will start firing! We will have many, many casualties!”
“I apologize for this,” the commander replied, “but we’re running low on fuel and must return immediately.”
“Isn’t there another reconnaissance plane that can take over?”
“All reconnaissance planes are on missions; no one can replace us,” the commander said, temporarily turning off the microphone and letting out a long sigh.
The ground fell silent.
The pilot reminded him, “The fuel keeps dropping, and although we have reserve fuel tanks for emergencies, they won’t last long. I’m not confident about making a forced landing on Ante’s terrible roads.”
If the landing gear hit a single pothole or stone during landing, it would be a disaster for both the aircraft and the crew.
And Ante’s “roads” were only about a quarter the quality of the standard roads within the Prosen Empire, filled with potholes and stones.
Therefore, even the most experienced Prosen pilot wouldn’t dare to make a forced landing on Ante’s roads.
The commander didn’t answer the pilot, but waited patiently for Wolf’s reply.
Eventually, everyone’s headset relayed Wolf’s voice, “Understood, wish you a safe journey.”
The commander said, “I also wish you victory.”
After cutting off the communication, the commander looked at the navigator’s station in front of him and ordered, “Turn to a new heading of 200, we’re returning.”
While the pilot repeated the order, the aircraft tilted and began a counterclockwise spiral.
————
Kluge looked up at the reconnaissance plane turning to leave and cursed, “Damn it, I thought the Air Force was reliable for once!”
The commander of the 16th Armored Division asked, “What do we do now? My unit has suffered heavy casualties and we’re currently stopped in front of Hill 153. The enemy has dug some strange tank entrenchments, and we’re not getting anywhere in a shootout.”
Kluge’s lips pursed, his palm clenched into a fist, then released.
Finally, he made up his mind, “One last try. Order the artillery to begin fire preparation, targeting the enemy’s current defensive positions! The second and third battalions of armored grenadiers in the forest are to organize a new wave of attacks during the artillery preparation!”
————
Once Wang Zhong confirmed through the bird’s-eye view that the enemy reconnaissance aircraft had indeed left, he decisively ordered through the radio transmission, “This is White Horse, target the first preset position, fire!”
“`