November 18, The Prussian Army’s Second Armored Cluster Command Headquarters.
Walter Mendel dismounted his horse, handed the reins to a guard, and then strode briskly toward the headquarters, turning left after entering the door, heading straight for the hall — now serving as both the map room and command center.
Upon entering, Mendel glanced at the fireplace and said, “You actually dare to stay in an intact house, aren’t you afraid that Rokossovsky will open fire?”
Von Maqi replied, “Unless his artillery can hit at twenty-five kilometers. Right now, he’s busy dealing with our troops in the encirclement. Currently, it looks like we have approximately one hundred thousand troops still capable of fighting and resisting.”
Mendel raised his voice, “Isn’t that all of them inside? These seven divisions have already suffered heavy losses after two months of depletion, and more than half of the combatants have been sent back to the hospital!”
Von Maqi frowned deeply, “That’s because most of the units volunteered to stay behind to cover the retreat of the main forces. They actually refused the plan to retreat from the frozen ground, which is why we have to initiate a breakout operation.”
Mendel retorted, “With my division!”
“It’s the emperor’s division,” Von Maqi corrected him.
Mendel argued, “But it was pulled from my army group, I know their situation. Although they didn’t suffer in the vanguard assault, which means their supply state is relatively good and every person received a blanket, they are lacking ammunition—no, they lack everything!
“I am opposed to the counterattack, and I want this on record!”
With that, Mendel looked toward the staff officer responsible for recording the various decisions made by the command.
Von Maqi laughed dryly, “Your behavior reminds me of my old rival, Duke Xiplin. He always does this, as soon as there’s a defeat, it’s never his fault.”
Mendel countered, “Do you think I’m passing the buck? No, I’m just telling you that attacking at this time is meaningless, it won’t make an impact. The opposition are experts in defense, and our current supply state is a mess; we simply cannot make progress!
“And you, you launch an attack just to have an excuse for the emperor, isn’t that so? How are you any different from him? Not at all!”
Von Maqi turned to his adjutant, “It seems that General Mendel is tired from his journey…”
“No! I won’t be staying overnight! I just came to express my opinion, and now that I have, you should retreat quickly too. The Ante People are going to launch a large-scale counterattack, my reconnaissance units have detected more and more unit numbers, and I believe a massive offensive is about to arrive. The key now is not offense, but defense! Understand?
Defense!”
After finishing his words, Mendel turned and briskly walked away.
The others in the command looked at Von Maqi.
The general sighed, “Proceed with the attack as originally planned.”
————
After the Prussian artillery barrage preparation ended, Yegorov got up, “Wasn’t that too quick? Are the enemy actually determined to attack?”
Vasily, who was sent here to establish communications, said, “I don’t know, it could be that the enemy knows we can’t dig any significant fortifications in this ground within a day and night, so they just bombarded us haphazardly to finish the job.”
At that moment, an artillery observer yelled, “Enemy tanks, southwest direction!”
Yegorov quickly lay down at the edge of the makeshift cover made of wood and sandbags, lifted his binoculars, and while observing, said, “About sixty tanks, but there are a lot of infantry. What’s going on?”
Vasily suggested, “Maybe they’re all broken. We have so many tanks that have broken down, and even if the enemy’s maintenance and support are good, it’s not possible to ensure the condition of the tanks under these circumstances.”
Yegorov clicked his tongue, “Regardless, our tactic doesn’t change, cut off the infantry first, order the mortars to fire.”
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After speaking, he turned around to look at the 88mm flak gun position right next to the command post — in fact, this command post was originally a Prussian built supportive fortification, which had a three-layer wooden roof that had been blown off by Ante artillery preparation.
Then the position was completely taken over since the 88 guns and machine guns had been frozen.
Of course, now these guns and machine guns had been properly thawed by fire and could be used normally.
The first wave of mortar shells had already fallen among the enemy lines.
At this time, an observer with the range finder shouted, “Passing the one thousand five hundred meter mark!”
Dmitri Ivanovich, who was temporarily in charge of this anti-aircraft position, commanded, “Aim at the target, fire!”
The gunners, who had been transferred from the anti-tank gun units, didn’t have a high level of education among the ordinary Ante infantry, so operating big guns required a longer learning period.
Due to unfamiliarity with the big guns and short-staffedness, the four 88 guns fell silent temporarily after the first round of firing.
Yegorov observed the impact points through his binoculars, only to see the shells bouncing off the ground like ping pong balls.
Not a single Prussian tank was hit.
At this moment, an even more intense barrage of mortar shells separated the Prussian infantry from their tanks.
And finally, the 88 guns launched their second round of attack.
Yegorov saw a hole appear in the front of a Prussian tank’s body, then flames burst from the engine hood, and two tank operators climbed out of the tank, rolling on the ground.
Yegorov exclaimed, “Good! Well done! Continue!”
At this time, the Prussian smoke finally settled.
Yegorov: “This is what I call normal, this is the Prussian Army I know.”
He had just finished speaking when he heard the sound of engines from his own position, turning around to see the ZIS-30 battery, previously hidden from his view, beginning to move.
“Oh, those things really move fast. Can they maneuver around the enemy’s smoke to provide fire support? That would be great.”
Yegorov, with a look of delight, said: “Things have changed, all changed. We’re not the same old army that begged for equipment everywhere.”
After finishing, Yegorov himself drew his pistol and said to the infantry: “You lot need to perform well, too! Back when we had no equipment, we still won battles purely with infantry! Show the spirit of the 31st Guards Regiment!”
“But we are from the 5th Belinsk Regiment,” someone said.
“It’s all the same! The 5th Belinsk Regiment also fought hard battles in Loktov! Don’t dishonor our fallen predecessors! Let them see what we’re made of! Machine guns, open fire! Form a fire network!”
The machine guns on the position immediately opened fire. These machine guns were grouped according to the method of fire zones proposed by General Rokossovsky, creating a fire net without any dead angles, which could effectively organize against enemy attacks even in smoke—it was just quite ammunition-consuming.
General Rokossovsky’s style was to bury the enemy in ammunition, whether it was bombardment or “fire zones.”
At this moment, the ZIS-30 that had moved into position opened fire again.
Yegorov couldn’t see the effects of the ZIS-30’s fire and could only crane his neck in frustration: “Damn it, I can’t see anything through this annoying smoke.”
It was then that Vasily said, “I don’t know if it’s just my impression, but I always feel like General Rokossovsky can see through the smoke.”
Before Yegorov could reply, Popov, who had come to the front line to supervise the battle, spoke up: “It’s understandable that you think this way. When a general stands out so much, your perception of him changes, and you keep idealizing him. That’s what Saint Andrew said; he claimed he’s just an ordinary person, but we’ve mythologized him.
“Saint Andrew was very against being mythologized his entire life.”
Vasily frowned: “But… I really feel like the General can see things I can’t. Even though we’re looking from the same observation post, he seems to have control over the whole situation.”
Yegorov laughed: “Isn’t that obvious? The man attended advanced command courses, graduated from the Suvorov Military Academy. You only went through the Warrant Officer course. If you want to be a senior staff officer, you’ll have to attend further studies at the Suvorov Military Academy.
“I don’t even understand the things the General studied!”
Vasily opened his mouth to speak but ultimately didn’t say that General Rokossovsky was at the bottom of his class.
————-
November 19, at 0800 hours, the Prussian Army Central Army Group Headquarters.
Field Marshal von Bock looked at the communications officer who had entered: “How’s the situation?”
The staff officer looked at the telegram in his hand: “The readiness rate of the armored vehicles for all units has been compiled. Should I start from the beginning?”
Field Marshal von Bock nodded: “Please do.”
Staff officer: “The 1st Armored Division, number of tanks ready for combat, 1 Panzer III, 1 Panzer IV. The 2nd…”
“Hold on!” Field Marshal von Bock raised his right hand, “The 1st Armored Division only has two tanks that can move out?”
“Yes, the severe cold has destroyed the drivetrains of the tanks, and even after defrosting, they don’t operate perfectly. All armored units have reported a surge in fault rates. The good news is, more than half of the tank operators are alive.”
Field Marshal von Bock waved his hand: “That’s enough, no need to continue. We must retreat, else we can’t even protect these tank operators. Experienced tank operators, just like pilots, are a precious asset. It’s time for a full retreat.”
Chief of Staff: “What about the hundred thousand men who are surrounded?”
Field Marshal von Bock gazed at the small patch of blue on the map, surrounded by the markers of the enemy.
“I actually… doubt if there are any units still resisting inside the encirclement. The enemy hasn’t devoured this force in order to bait us, so that their troops can be ready to launch a large-scale counterattack, and then devour more of our forces.”
————-
Wang Zhong, holding the phone receiver, said to the other side: “As long as the enemy is still attacking, still attempting to break the encirclement, we should encircle them but not annihilate them. We can even shout out to the Prussians within the encirclement, inviting them over for food, keeping them here, so that when our forces are ready, we can carry out a large-scale annihilation operation.”
Belinsky: “Your idea is good, but right now we urgently need to showcase the results of a counterattack. This matter can’t be considered purely from a military perspective.”
Wang Zhong: “Then why not launch the attack as soon as possible?”
Belinsky: “The severe cold affects us as well. Discuss the specifics with Chief of Staff Tukhachev.”
Wang Zhong frowned slightly, wondering how this bootlicker of the Tsar was still here—could it be… to ensure overall unity…?
At that moment, Tukhachev’s voice came through the receiver: “The forces we’re committing to the counterattack are already all we have. Other units won’t be ready until December 5 at the earliest. Plus, you’ve used almost all of our ammunition. We have logistical issues… er, General Tugenev will tell you.”
What, are you playing hot potato?
A moment later, Tugenev’s voice came on: “The impact of the factory evacuations is severe, we are now running short on even the chemical raw materials to produce explosives since the factories have been relocated. We are short on everything and need to show results soon. This is… for diplomatic considerations.”
I get it, we need the Federation to pass the lend-lease act, or else we can’t continue fighting here in Antwerp.
Wang Zhong stood up straight: “Tomorrow, that is, November 20, I will launch a comprehensive attack and annihilate the enemy within the encirclement.”