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“Very good, very good,” he laughed heartily, “taste what I learned at the Suvorov Military Academy! The general personally answered my questions!”
At this time, the chief of staff asked, “Is the general really that young? There’s a theory that it was actually his elder brother Petro who accomplished the deeds, and the younger brother was chosen to be the figurehead because of his outstanding appearance.”
The division commander shook his head, “No, no, I swear it was the young Rokossov I met, because during the classes, his eyes sparkled with understanding as he had truly grasped war, answering every question I posed with ease.”
In fact, all this was present stock from various military writings in another time and space, of course, no one here could know.
The division commander leaned on the edge of the division headquarters’ shelter observation window, looking out at the battlefield filled with explosions and gun smoke, and sighed, “Unfortunately, General Rokossov has not studied offensive tactics, so we can only defend like him.”
The chief of staff chuckled wryly, “A general who has achieved the only organized annihilation of the enemy in all of Ante, to say that he does not know how to attack doesn’t seem quite right, does it?”
“No, no, that’s what General Rokossov said himself; he claimed that the enemy at Karanskaya actually lost to General Winter and General Mud, not to him. He also said that the attack was basically like giving a kick to a dry tree already riddled with termites, hardly a testament to his skill.”
“That’s why he only taught us defense, waiting until he had experience with attacking an enemy that had ample supplies and had established fortified regions before writing a book to teach us how to attack.”
He looked again at the defensive line, “See, this is the defense constructed in the manner of General Rokossovsky! Unfortunately, by the time I returned from my studies, the enemy had already occupied the front, preventing me from personally scouting the regions possibly controlled by the enemy like the general did.”
The chief of staff said, “You mean, based on firsthand reconnaissance, anticipating where the enemy’s command post and supply center might be and then shelling them at night and during mealtimes as a kind of harassment tactic?”
“Yes,” the division commander bit his lip, “no matter, when we move to another place, we can give it a try.”
————
At noon on May 1st, the headquarters of the 11th Army Group in Prosen, General Erik von Xiplin held the phone, talking to the commander of the First Armored Corps, General Ewald von Steier-Mark.
“The first attack was halted, and the casualties were much higher than expected,” Xiplin said, “The enemy at least has shown a marked improvement in defense compared to last year.”
General Steier-Mark said, “One of my armored division commanders mentioned that this defensive method is very much like what we’ve seen in the summary reports of Rokossov’s defensive tactics at Orachi.
The Ante People no longer insist on holding the same position to the death against us, but prefer covering newly occupied positions with artillery fire, inflicting heavy casualties and then counterattacking to take back the position.”
General Xiplin responded, “Exactly, the infantry also reported that the anti-shell bunkers in the positions were very hidden, there were booby traps, and our forces, unfamiliar with the terrain, couldn’t find the bunkers or dared not enter them, resulting in heavy losses under enemy fire.”
“The trenches in the positions were also cunningly designed, not conducive to defending against their bombardment.”
General Xiplin paused and added, “It seems the intelligence from Rabowell was correct about Rokossov being reassigned to the rear as a teacher, but whether it was due to a political struggle and a demotion in disguise, that’s unknown.”
General Steier-Mark said, “Getting half of that kind of intelligence right would be good. So, what are your plans? Attacking such defensive positions head-on will result in heavy casualties.”
General Xiplin: “Didn’t Tsar’s favored courtier Giles demonstrate it? Trench warfare. Otherwise, let’s make the navy work harder and completely cut off the Coastal Fortress’s supply from the sea.”
“I don’t really want to rely on the other branches of the military,” Steier-Mark said, “I’ll try to maneuver around as much as possible, you continue with the trench warfare.”
Xiplin: “Good luck to you.”
“And to you as well.”
————
The conference at the Tsar’s court in Saint Ye Katerina Fortress was scheduled for 11 a.m.
Wang Zhong and General Gorky arrived at the Summer Palace at 10 a.m., and first met with the officers designated to attend the court meeting in the waiting room.
Upon entering the waiting room, they immediately saw General Tugenev adorned with new epaulets.
“Oh, have you finished being decorated?” Wang Zhong, having recently become quite familiar with these “literary giants,” had reached the stage where he could directly address them with an informal “hey,” teasing in such a manner.
General Tugenev glanced at his epaulets: “Another star doesn’t feel much different. I’ve objected many times, but His Majesty still insisted on appointing an old man like me, who only understands clerical work, as the chief of staff.”
Wang Zhong: “If you don’t want it, you could let General Gorky take over, right?”
After all, they were all literary giants.
General Gorky: “Don’t even think about it. I’m still working on my offensive plan; right now, I certainly don’t want to relinquish command of the Western Front Army.”
While they were speaking, [General] Chekhov came over.
Wang Zhong: “You got promoted too?”
Chekhov said, annoyed, “Who keeps clamoring to send Sergey’s son-in-law to the front to let him see how terrible his own designs are? They planned to retire together to the countryside, so I kept getting pushed up for more training.”
Wang Zhong: “My fiancée mentioned he had health issues.”
Enjoy new adventures from empire
“Isn’t that the same thing?” Chekhov sighed, “You should try to change this impulsive way of doing things.”
Then he abruptly changed the subject, “So, what’s the situation at the front really like?”
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