On the morning of October 31, Suhayaveli.
Grigori was startled as soon as he arrived in front of Rocossov’s bunker.
He saw Major General Rocossov sitting on a chair at the door, looking completely burned out.
After hearing Grigori’s footsteps, Rocossov raised his head and, glancing at his own guard, said, “Reflecting on history, every time Ante has been ruled by a queen, the nation has made leapfrog progress. The great rulers in the history of Ante have either been tyrants or queens, or even tyrant queens. That must be our national character.”
Grigori peeked inside the bunker, then took a sniff, showing an expression that he understood something, and said, “There are deer in the nearby forest. I’ll go hunt one. Some deer meat will do.”
With that, Grigori left, supporting his submachine gun with one hand, and headed for the stables.
At that moment, Ludmila came out saying, “I feel like it’s happening. It’s kicking my belly!”
“How could it be so soon!” Wang Zhong had no strength left to complain, “You, have you ever considered my feelings? Conceiving a new life is supposed to be an event filled with a sense of ritual, do you understand?”
Ludmila replied, “In times of war, where can there be so much sense of ritual?”
Wang Zhong sighed, “Look on the bright side, you will stay in the rear in the second half of next year. That’s a good thing, definitely a good thing.”
The next year would mark the second year of the war. So far, the entire course of the war had followed the script of Earth. Although Wang Zhong’s efforts had eliminated one annihilation battle, since the enemy was Jude, the progress probably wouldn’t differ too much.
Next year, there would likely be a massive meat-grinder city battle in some place.
At this time, Wang Zhong still didn’t know that Prusso, because of the strong defensive fortifications he had crafted that frustrated them, planned to produce Grizzly assault tanks andTiger assault tanks ahead of schedule.
After all, on Earth, the Grizzly was developed after summarizing the second year’s urban meat-grinding experiences.
Wang Zhong introduced the Prussians to the most advanced urban defense positions right in Shostka, making the Prussians consider abandoning room-by-room fighting.
The Grizzly had a 15-centimeter caliber and could even fire a short-range, boosted charge shell, emphasizing a single shot that wipes out any fortification.
Of course, Wang Zhong had also considered how his own troops would deal with cities fortified with reinforced concrete.
On Earth, the British developed a specialized tank known as the Churchill AVRE, mainly for dismantling sturdy reinforced concrete structures, with its main armament being a 290-millimeter spigot mortar.
That beast had a range of only about 100 meters—yes, 100 meters—and because it sounded like a spring shooting out its shells when fired, it also earned a nickname: the Dustbin Launcher.
In actual combat, it successfully destroyed many strongholds, but its reload required the radio operator to climb completely out of the tank, making them easy targets, hence it typically had to be reloaded in safe areas.
Because its range was only 100 meters, it often meant the tank would be loaded safely, then driven up to face the enemy, fire a devastating shot, and retreat to reload safely.
Besides its thick armor, the Churchill AVRE was particularly slow, which led to terrible combat efficiency.
Following city grinds, the Soviet Army’s solution on Earth was to drive B4s onto the streets and shell enemy buildings.
The Soviets also equipped their su152 self-propelled guns with special concrete-breaking shells, designed for close-range direct fire against concrete structures.
After much thought, Wang Zhong concluded that leveling the concrete buildings might be his only option.
Fuel-air explosives were an option too, but Wang Zhong didn’t know if Ante was capable of developing such sophisticated weaponry at present.
To determine this, the industry of Ante would need a thorough investigation.
All in all, given the current situation, Wang Zhong was uncertain whether he could obtain efficient urban combat weapons before the massive city battle in the war’s second year.
So if Ludmila could give birth in the rear and not participate in the battle, that would be best.
Of course, if push came to shove, they could try asking the Federation for weapons; the Federation had napalm and white phosphorous bombs, both suited for urban combat.
As Wang Zhong was lost in thought, Ludmila nudged him hard, “What’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing, I’m just glad you could conceive. We just received new lands in Charon where you can stay. It’s far from the front and even out of Prussian Air Force’s attack range.”
Ludmila objected, “I really don’t want to leave you at the front alone, my love. Waking up this morning, I began to doubt whether my decision was wrong. I should be on the front lines with you, being your praying hand.”
“Thinking back, it was the Crown Princess’s kiss that startled me…”
Wang Zhong summoned his last bit of energy to stand up, grabbed Ludmila by the shoulders, and used his Xun Zong’s ultimate technique on her.
After finishing, Wang Zhong managed a smile, “Feeling reassured now? I’ll be honest with you, when Olga went all out in her attack, saying I wasn’t shaken would be a lie. But you are the one I love the most. Olga is just the sister entrusted to me by Ivan, and no matter what she does, that won’t change.”
Ludmila cracked a smile.
Just then, the air raid alarm sounded again.
Wang Zhong pulled Ludmila with him and entered the bunker.
Ludmila asked, “Did Grigori go hunting?”
Wang Zhong confirmed, “Yes, he should be safer in the forest than us, nobody bombs the woods.”
While speaking, Wang Zhong leaned against the observation window of the bunker, using an external device to gain a complete view of the outside.
He easily spotted the enemy aircraft and saw that the bomb bay was open.
A large number of leaflets fell from the bomb bay.
Leaflets?
Suddenly, Wang Zhong remembered what Olga had said about the situation in the capital, how a large number of surrender supporters were restless. These leaflets were probably meant to bolster the confidence of the surrender faction.
After triple checking that there were only leaflets, Wang Zhong opened the bunker door.
Ludmila: “What are you doing? It’s dangerous outside!”
Wang Zhong: “The bombing has ended.”
With that, he walked out of the bunker.
“What? We haven’t heard any explosions! How could it have ended?”
Wang Zhong looked at the sky: “Because what’s being thrown are not bombs for assaulting the city, but bombs for assaulting the heart.”
Ludmila also stepped out of the bunker and looked at the leaflets falling from the sky.
At this time, the sound of the air raid alert being lifted rang out, so more people emerged from the bunkers.
The leaflets also began to fall to the ground at this time.
Wang Zhong directly caught one from the air and read the printed text: “The besieged Saint Andrew Fort has been captured, the enemy has advanced to Markikov 100 kilometers away from Ye Fort and will soon reach Ye Fort. This is merely a pleasant armed parade, the organized resistance of the Ante Army is on the verge of collapse.
“The Ante People may have only one million troops left, Ante has no more troops to deploy!”
Ludmila stretched her neck to read the words, and her eyebrows furrowed tightly at this sentence: “One million is too few, isn’t it? There are more troops than that just on the Ye Fort defensive line.”
Wang Zhong: “Indeed. Of course, this may be propaganda material written by the Prussians. Let’s go to the command bunker to confirm the situation at Saint Andrew Fort, and then check on Markikov.”
Ludmila nodded her head.
————
As usual, Popov was on the night shift at the division headquarters. Seeing Wang Zhong come in, he said, “Saw the leaflets?”
Wang Zhong waved the leaflet in his hand and asked, “So, what’s the situation with Saint Andrew Fort and Markikov?”
Popov turned toward the map: “Both cities are under our control. The Front Army at Saint Andrew Fort still has considerable strength, and has repelled the enemy’s attack on Manahaim, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.
“Because Manahaim itself is short on troops, this level of attack is sufficient to prevent Manahaim from coordinating with the Prussian Army Group’s offensive operations in the north.
“The Front Army at Saint Andrew Fort has already redeployed most of its strength to the forefront, directly facing the Army Group.”
Wang Zhong clicked his tongue: “It seems Saint Andrew Fort is in a fairly good situation!”
Popov nodded: “It should be fine, but I think they encountered the same problem as us—our troops are as fragile as dregs, especially the tank units. Blindly expanding from 18 tank armies to 95 tank armies resulted in nothing substantial in the ranks.”
Wang Zhong: “We are nothing but an edematous fat man, who nearly fell over from a strong push by the Prussians.”
Popov’s gaze shifted to Markikov: “Markikov has indeed been shelled, and enemy reconnaissance units have been spotted. But so far, it has not been subjected to a strong attack, and it’s likely the Prussians are accumulating supplies for a siege.”
Wang Zhong: “Then there’s not a single truth in these leaflets!”
At that moment, Pavlov entered: “What, nothing true? Are you talking about the leaflets? Rest assured, leaflets are for those who are willing to believe. Those capital’s surrender advocates must be ecstatic.”
————
October 31, noon, Saint Ekaterina Fortress, outskirts, anti-tank trench construction site. Ante-controlled area.
Leaflets dropped by the Prosen Army fell, and many people, just like Wang Zhong, grabbed and read the content directly.
At this time, the Priest walked among them, calming everyone: “Saint Andrew Fort is still fighting, Markikov is still fighting! Don’t fall for the enemy’s deception!”
This section of the construction site was managed by the 515th Labor Camp, an all-female labor camp. Now, there were many such women’s labor camps around Ye Fort.
Hearing the Priest’s words, the women in the camp echoed: “Don’t fall for the enemy’s deception! It must be a trick.”
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While the young girls, already somewhat shaken by the leaflets, settled down after being shouted at by the older women and the Priest.
Just then, a bespectacled man rushed over holding a leaflet and shouted, “Ladies! What are you busying yourselves for? Run for your lives! The Prussian Army is about to arrive here!”
“Don’t listen to his nonsense, girls! Capture him!” an older woman yelled.
“Catch him! Don’t let him spread false rumors!”
By the time the women had subdued the bespectacled man, the Judges hurried over and took the traitor away.