After leaving Orachi, the situation greatly deviated from Wang Zhong’s expectations.
There were no enemies on either side of the road; all of them were encamped more than a hundred meters away from the road.
Why?
Not only were there no people on either side of the road, but also the villages along the road had no enemy presence, the empty villages were like ghost towns.
As Wang Zhong puzzled over this, the Prussians encamped away from the road seemed to have noticed them and shouted something from a distance.
Wang Zhong turned his head to ask Ludmila, “What are they yelling?”
The girl furrowed her brows, “It seems like they’re reminding us that the Ante Army likes to bombard the highways and villages at night, warning us to be careful.”
Wang Zhong was alarmed, “But my artillery has already left their positions, the cannons are destroyed!”
Ludmila spread her hands, “Perhaps… the Prussians forgot to pass this information on to other units.”
Wang Zhong was utterly astonished: Had he groped around in the dark several times only to find a miraculous path?
This was indeed hitting the jackpot.
Wang Zhong suddenly couldn’t suppress his laughter.
Ludmila looked at him, then exchanged a glance with Nelly.
If possible, Wang Zhong wanted to issue orders to advance silently, but now the entire organization of the 151st Division was almost completely disrupted, and even if he used the radio to send orders, it would not be possible to successfully reach every unit.
Moreover, using the radio now might alarm the Prussian forces on both sides of the road.
In any case, only distant gunfire was heard, so the troops that had fled the city were probably not detected.
As for how many units had actually made it out, that would have to wait until they regrouped at Shepetovka to count heads.
Such a retreat was bound to lead to disarray, and the current state of the 151st Division could be described, using the words of “The Great Battle,” as a “three-dimensional tumbling retreat.”
He had the feeling that nothing major would happen before dawn.
The problem was after dawn.
At the speed of the T34s, if they were to race at full speed, they should arrive at Shepetovka by tomorrow morning, but around four a.m., the sky would start to lighten.
At that time, the Prussian forces on both sides of the road would not be as oblivious to them as they were now.
More to the point, the few who could rush ahead in tanks were in the minority; the main force of the 151st Division was on foot, which, if spotted by the enemy’s armored units on the main road — not to mention armored units, even being discovered by a large number of semi-tracked armored grenadier units would be troublesome.
The machine guns on the half-tracked vehicles were not to be trifled with, and the same went for the machine guns assigned to the enemy infantry squads.
Thinking of this, Wang Zhong’s recently relaxed mood instantly turned serious.
Maybe it’s not a good idea to just run wildly? Perhaps they should strike the enemy first and throw them into chaos?
But the only reliable force he had on hand was six T34 tanks.
That there were six was thanks to the mercy of the tank engines’ souls for not breaking down until now.
After all the trouble tonight, it wouldn’t be surprising if the six tanks broke down at any moment — their motors were out of hours.
Apart from the enemy on the steppes, the enemy’s Air Force would be deadly after dawn.
Now, with no trees in sight, Wang Zhong, looking from a bird’s-eye view, could see that even in the middle of the night, the six tanks were very conspicuous.
Moreover, the highway they were on was in such bad condition; it was just a flattened dirt road, and the tanks stirred up clouds of dust as they moved. It was only because there was a new moon and no moonlight that the dust clouds weren’t too visible.
Once it was light, the billowing dust would be visible to airplanes flying at altitudes of six or seven thousand meters.
Damn it, the more he thought about it, the more worried he became.
He didn’t know whether they would receive Air Force support from the Grand Duchess after dawn.
The most crucial point was, the Grand Duchess might not know that the 151st Division had abandoned Orachi; perhaps Air Force support would still head straight for Orachi.
Wang Zhong’s brows twisted into knots.
Ludmila, watching beside him, had the look of wanting to console him but dared not interrupt his thoughts.
————
August 6th, Argesukov, within the Rocossov Duke’s manor.
Old Duke Rocossov had only been asleep for two hours when he was woken up by the hurried footsteps — the Duke was old, his sleep light, the slightest disturbance would awaken him.
He sat up, intending to turn on his bedside lamp, but then remembered the blackout restrictions; the power district had cut the electricity to the urban area.
At that moment, the old butler Mikhail entered, holding a candlestick, its light illuminating the bedroom: “Master, the second young master has abandoned Orachi and broken through.”
Old Rocossov was shocked, “Which way did he break through?”
“Shepetovka! And he also sent a telegram requesting support from Duke Meishikin.”
The old man heaved a sigh of relief, “That’s good then. He held on for less time than I thought!”
“According to intelligence passed back from Front Army headquarters by the eldest son, the enemy’s second armored Army Group’s main force attacked Orachi.”
“The main force of the second armored Army Group? Is the information reliable?” The old Duke raised his voice again.
“Yes, now the enemy’s armored Army Group main force has crossed Orachi and advanced 30 kilometers to the south.”
The old Duke hurried to the map table in his bedroom.
The old butler immediately followed with the candlestick to provide illumination.
“Thirty kilometers…” Old Rocossov wore a serious expression, “This is bad, Alyosha might not be in immediate trouble, but now the danger is upon us. The First Army Group to the south is moving so quickly, and now the Second Army Group is speeding up too. We will be encircled within a week, and this is the last window of opportunity to retreat.”
The old butler didn’t speak, waiting for the old duke to sort out his thoughts.
Pacing near the map table, the old duke walked a few laps, then said, “Even if Alyosha makes it out, it will be very dangerous during the day tomorrow.”
The old butler couldn’t help but say, “You just mentioned that we are the ones in danger now.”
“Oh, our danger is unavoidable, but Alyosha’s side, we can make an effort. How many air force units does the Front Army still have?”
The units commanded by Ante’s Front Army included the Air Force, which was different from the Prosen “Army Group.” The commander of the Front Army could also direct the Air Force under his command and give them instructions.
“There are three fighter squadrons left, all newly transferred.” the old butler said, “The source of the signal…”
“Never mind the source of the signal, I need to make a phone call. Bring me the phone.”
The old butler placed the candle on the table and fetched the telephone from the desk, handing the receiver to the old man.
The old man picked up the receiver, “Connect me to the Front Army headquarters. This is General Rocossovsky, please put the chief of staff of the Front Army on the line… General Skorobo, are you still insisting on your opinion? Retreat immediately! What? His Majesty the Tsar won’t allow it?”
With a twist of his mouth, the old man cursed, “Suka! Oh no, no, I didn’t call you specifically to order a retreat, but my second son is retreating to Shepetovka, could you provide some air cover for him? You’re covering tomorrow’s offensive? Towards where are you launching the attack?
“Nonsense! It’s not the old days anymore, don’t you know the outcome when infantry attacks on the plains? The enemy has machine guns in every infantry squad! Each one has them! Do you realize how terrible the density of frontal machine guns is?
“No, I think that regardless of whether you send air support or not, the infantry attack will fail. We should be retreating now, while the jaws of the trap are still open. Retreat doesn’t need artillery fire, doesn’t need an offensive formation, just the rapid patter of feet will do.
“You…”
Suddenly, the old man pulled the receiver away and stared at it with furrowed brows: “The bastard hung up on me! Hung up on me!”
The old butler suggested, “Shall we try calling Lieutenant General Andreyev of the Air Force?”
“No, I have retired, and it wouldn’t be right to interfere excessively with the military command of active personnel.”
After hesitating momentarily, the old butler still said, “In that case, you should leave Argesukov, while the airport is still able to handle passenger planes. Your staying here is of no help…”
Old Rocossov smiled, “No, no, Mikhail, my old friend, I can’t leave. I have the most important thing to do here. Very, very important. In fact, calling the Air Force for Alyosha and such, are merely icing on the cake. It’s not my main purpose.”
Frowning, the old butler said, “I don’t understand, even after serving you for so many years, I still don’t comprehend…”
“You don’t have to understand, or maybe you will in time.”
Old Rocossov sat down on a chair, leaned back, and stared at the ceiling: “Now let me pray that Alyosha can escape to safety. That’s all I can do now.”
————
Wang Zhong suddenly saw headlights on the road ahead!
Oh no, the enemy!
He switched to the overhead view and noticed there were no highlights.
It was friendly BT tanks, each carrying infantry.
Wang Zhong was overjoyed, then it dawned on him, the last time he encountered friendly forces at night like this, he had been fired upon by them.
So he hurriedly adjusted the microphone at his throat and turned on the radio to call out, “This is General White Horse—it’s General Rocossov! Calling the approaching friendly forces.”
He suddenly remembered that he had not arranged any call signs with the approaching friendly forces.
Simply saying General White Horse might not make the person on the other end realize who it was.
He didn’t have to wait long, the response came through his earphones, “This is Major General Skudzheski of the Tenth Tank Army, Lieutenant General Rocossov? Where are you?”
Wang Zhong temporarily turned off the radio: “Beliyakov, turn on the headlights.”
The order was executed without hesitation.
Tank 422’s headlights flicked on, brightly illuminating the road ahead.
“I’ve turned on the lights, can you see them?”
“I see them, General… how did you know we aren’t Prussians?”
Because I have a unique trick… unfortunately, I can’t reveal it.
Wang Zhong responded, “I was just trying it out, had you not responded, I would have started firing!”
“Good thing you called us first and didn’t fire right away. We’ll see you soon, Your Excellency!”
“See you soon!”
Wang Zhong cut the communication. Ludmila asked with concern, “Are the forces up ahead friendly?”
“Yes, they’re troops from the Tenth Tank Army. It must be because Duke Meishikin ordered them to come meet us! Since the Prussians are all camping far from the road, they managed to safely make their way here!”
————
Moments later, Tank 422 screeched to a halt on the dirt road.
The approaching BT tanks also stopped, with both tanks nearly colliding.
Wang Zhong climbed out of the hatch, leapt excitedly from the tank, approached, and shook the hand extended by the Major General from the other side.
“We’ve finally caught up with you,” chuckled the Major General. “Duke Meishikin ordered us to rescue you—at all costs!”