On September 29, at the Second Armored Cluster Command of Prussia, General Heinz Wilhelm von Mauch had just entered the command center when his adjutant hurried over and said, “A call from Marshal von Bock of the Central Army Group.”
General Mauch: “I know. Make me some coffee.”
After speaking, he walked over to the maps table and picked up the receiver: “This is Mauch, what’s the matter, Marshal?”
“Being able to actually ring through to your command post is quite the novel experience.”
Previously, General Mauch’s armored forces had been attacking very swiftly, always advancing, and thus their cluster command post also had to be moved forward constantly, without enough time to lay phone lines.
The current scenario, where the command post had remained in the same place for nine days, was indeed unprecedented.
General Mauch explained: “We’ve encountered firm resistance at the Duva River. We have been relentlessly attacking the 51st Army of Ante; they’ve taken heavy losses, but they received reinforcements from the 55th Army, and additionally, the enemy’s army artillery has been taking good care of us.”
“If the First Army of Asgard could launch an attack, and share some of the pressure of our assault, I believe it’s only a matter of time before we break through the enemy’s defense.”
Marshal von Bock sighed, “His Majesty is very displeased; after all, the offensive on the northern front is going very smoothly, yet you are at a standstill. Yesterday a newspaper from the Federation was delivered to His Majesty, then he was so furious that he sent it to us by plane overnight.”
“I dispatched a motorcycle to bring it to you, it should arrive shortly. You’d better push Giles to launch an attack as soon as possible.”
General Mauch: “I will.”
“If you cannot spur the Emperor’s favorite into action, you’ll just have to break through the defense line and then strike General Rokossovsky’s division from the flank.”
“Wouldn’t there be political consequences?” General Mauch asked, puzzled.
Marshal von Bock: “You just need to let that young brat Giles have the credit, for instance, surround Rokossovsky and then move your forces forward. As long as Ye Fort is conquered in the end, the glory will go to the Defense Army!”
General Mauch put his heels together, “Yes. I will strive to break through the defense line within a few days!”
No sooner had he finished than the other party hung up the phone.
Putting down the receiver, General Mauch turned to his adjutant: “The Marshal mentioned a Federation newspaper. Have we received it?”
The adjutant: “No, not yet. It takes time from the Central Army Group Command to get here.”
General Mauch raised an eyebrow: “Never mind, forget about it. Today we continue the assault—”
At this moment, the staff officer came in with two military officers wearing motorcycle corps leather jackets.
Upon seeing General Mauch, the two officers snapped to attention and saluted: “General! Marshal von Bock has sent us to deliver this newspaper to you.”
“Hand it over to me.” General Mauch said while picking up a pair of tongs, opened the sugar jar, took a cube, and tossed it into his coffee cup, then gently stirred with a spoon.
The leather-clad officer took out a newspaper from a briefcase and handed it to the adjutant.
The adjutant frowned upon seeing the front-page photo and began to read the headline news.
General Mauch: “What does it say?”
“These prisoners, looking as if they are not in fact captives, but rather conquerors of this city. These are the first group of Prussian soldiers to enter Ye Fort.
“General Rokossovsky captured them and assured that they will be the last Prussians to enter Ye Fort.
“Our reporters have learned that these Prussian soldiers come from the Asgard Knights, so hyped by the Prosen Imperial Propaganda Department, and they were annihilated by General Rokossovsky acting in full formation.
“While paraded through the streets, the prisoners tried hard to maintain morale, but at the mere mention of General Rokossovsky’s name, they immediately shrank like frightened mice.
“They attempted to sing to chase away the fear, but this effort clearly failed. Rokossovsky has shattered their will to fight.
“These soldiers, they dubbed General Rokossovsky as Surtur, the king of the Fire Giants who brings about the destruction of the Aesir in Ragnarök…”
The adjutant could no longer read: “The Asgard Knights is our army composed of civilians drafted from the cities, right? They would never utter such things that swing enemy morale and sap our own prestige!”
General Mauch clicked his tongue: “Not everything in newspapers must be true. Especially not the ones from the Federation. Let me have a look.”
The adjutant unfolded the newspaper and smoothed it out on the desk in front of the general.
The general looked at the photo on the front page: “Hmph, the uniform of the Asgard Knights has indeed been captured very clearly.”
The adjutant: “Won’t many in the Defense Army be happy?”
“How could this possibly be cause for joy? You said it yourself, the Asgard Knights are also part of the Defense Army, this is our brothers being insulted! It’s time to launch a decisive attack. We must break through the enemy facing us today!”
General Mauch lifted his head: “Attack, a determined attack!”
———-
On the morning of September 29, General Kashuk’s army was subjected to a ferocious attack by the enemy.
Of course, the enemy’s attacks these days had never been anything but ferocious.
Yesterday, the Prussians had attempted to build a pontoon bridge over the river, and Kashuk’s artillery had struggled to prevent the enemy’s bridging efforts.
Today, it seemed, the enemy was trying the same tactic again.
With the arrival of smoke, Kashuk ordered his Chief of Staff: “It’s another bridging operation, send in the dare-to-die squad.”
The suicide squad’s mission was to crawl to the river with a telephone and wire, observe the enemy’s bridge-building location on the opposite side, and direct artillery fire.
Kashuk’s military defensive front was very wide, and the entire ferry crossing area was suitable for building a bridge. If they were to cover the entire area with artillery fire, the consumption of ammunition would be too much.
Taking into account that they still had to hold this position for more than ten days, Kashuk resorted to this desperate measure.
After the suicide squad set off, Kashuk’s chief of staff whispered to him, “The engine noise of the enemy tanks has been constant across the river. Will there be any significant moves today? At our section of the defense line, there are no breakwaters like Shostka, so if the enemy troops come across the river under the cover of smoke…
Should we arrange a barrage of blind firing, just like General Rocossov did?”
Kashuk thought for a moment, then shook his head, “No, our ammunition supply is already critically low. Prepare for hand-to-hand combat. If the enemy attempts an armed river crossing, their heavy machine guns won’t keep up with them, so the pressure on us won’t be that great.”
Just then, the telephone rang. The chief of staff picked it up, “Hello? What? Suicide squad members killed? Enemy infantry emerging from the river? Then open fire!
Open fire!”
As the chief of staff roared, the sound of gunshots popped like firecrackers on the defense line.
The chief of staff had just hung up the phone when it rang again. He answered, shouting, “Hello? Corps Command! The 27th Division? You need reinforcements? The reserve forces went up there yesterday!
If you call for reinforcements again, all that’s left will be us!”
After slamming the receiver onto the phone, the chief of staff looked up, “Maybe we should call Major General Kiriyenko. Have his army group send a few more divisions up here.”
Kashuk was still hesitating when engine noise came from outside.
Right after that, guards from the division headquarters ran in, “Commander! The reinforcements have arrived, it’s a tank!”
Kashuk immediately rushed to the bunker’s door, pushing past the guard to step outside, and indeed saw the dust raised by advancing tanks.
A behemoth T34 tank halted in front of Kashuk’s command post, and the tank commander popped out of the hatch, “General sir! We’ve come to reinforce you on the orders of Major General Kiriyenko!”
Kashuk: “How come your tank is different from the other T34s?”
The tank commander laughed, “This is a secretly produced commemorative model tank, just like General Rocossov’s Number 422! And they all have radios! Although the radios occasionally go haywire, they all have them! Let us go and fight the enemy!”
Kashuk: “Good! The enemy is currently attacking the 27th Division’s position. Go and support the 27th Division!”
————
Armored Cluster Command.
“Report! Our offense is stalled, the enemy has engaged tank forces in a counter-attack, and for now, we only control the beachhead position,” said the communications staff officer, standing in place waiting for orders.
General Mauch: “The infantry need not insist on occupying the entire riverside position; just hold the beachhead until the bridge-building troops complete their mission.”
Chief of staff: “What tanks counter-attacked us?”
Communications staff officer: “It’s a model not seen in the identification chart; suspected to be a T34, but with a larger turret.”
General Mauch lifted his head, “A T34 with a larger turret? Rokossovskiy has come to our front? Shostka isn’t under pressure, so he’s come straight over here?”
Communications staff officer: “The front lines didn’t report seeing the red flag. Shall I have them confirm it?”
“Have them confirm.”
Mauch finished speaking, and the communications staff officer turned and left.
General Mauch’s adjutant said: “General Rokossovsky’s forces are in Shostka; him coming over here, does it make sense? Could it be that after Rokossovsky achieved success using a T34 with a large turret, the Ante side urgently produced some tanks with larger turrets?”
General Mauch: “That’s possible. Bring up the 88mm guns to the riverbank, ready to fire. The smoke should be dispersing soon.”
————
Riverbank, 27th Division position.
The division commander laughed heartily, watching the enemy forces retreat under the power of tank fire, “This is fantastic! Now it’s your turn to feel the burn!”
The division chief of staff patted the commander on the shoulder, “The smoke is about to clear.”
The division commander promptly turned his binoculars, “Indeed, once it clears, our tanks will be able to unleash their firepower and completely obliterate the enemy’s bridge-building troops!”
As the smoke gradually dissipated, a loud boom suddenly came from the opposite side.
The commander of the 27th Division had never heard the sound of an 88mm gun firing, so he looked on in confusion. Read today on m,v,l,e,mpyr
But an oval orb of light had already struck a “new model” T34.
The tank’s turret immediately stopped rotating.
No tank operators ran out of the tank.
The division commander thought the tank operators had just been stunned and even breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment, the tank’s engine caught fire, followed by a fierce explosion that sent the turret flying into the sky.
The commander’s eyes widened, and before he could speak, another shell came flying in.
With the supporting tanks being blown up one after another, the infantry of the 27th Division also began to waver.
Fortunately, at that moment, new troops arrived from behind.
“We are the 210th Infantry Division! We’ve come to support you by order of Major General Kiriyenko!”
The reinforcements steadied the troops’ morale, and the fierce beachhead struggle continued.