The village of Trinka wasn’t very big, and the two female pilots quickly made their way to Wang Zhong.
Possibly due to the cramped cockpit, both women were very svelte, and even seemed a bit shorter than the average Ante woman.
Of course, they were still taller than Nelly.
The pilot walking in front was a Lieutenant Colonel, her brown hair tied up at the back of her head, exuding a “divorced three times with two kids” vibe.
The girl walking behind her was clearly a young maiden, whose eyes wandered curiously around the room upon entering, eventually resting on Wang Zhong.
Then, she noticeably hesitated.
Wang Zhong joked, “What’s the matter, I don’t look like someone who could blow up 40 tanks and capture 50 generals, do I?”
The pilot nodded fervently, “Yes, yes,” but she quickly realized that this might not be the appropriate response, since no one could really blow up 40 tanks; she immediately shook her head, “No, no!”
At that moment, the Lieutenant Colonel with the “divorced three times with two kids” persona spoke up, “General sir, I know you’re used to playing the field, but you have children, don’t you?”
Wang Zhong replied, “You’re right. Where are the photos?”
The Lieutenant Colonel opened her briefcase, took out an envelope, and placed it on the desk.
Wang Zhong immediately went forward, tore open the envelope, and began to closely inspect the photos.
“I see at least two—no, three—new model tanks, and here’s another one that looks like a new model tank.” He flipped to the next photo as he spoke, “The crater from the previous photo is still in the same spot; the four tanks haven’t moved. Clearly, these were taken at the same location, but why haven’t the tanks moved? Vasily, why do you think that is?”
Vasily replied, “They must be broken, which is pretty normal for tanks, especially heavy tanks. Maybe the tracks were blown off, or there could be other issues.”
Wang Zhong nodded, “You’re absolutely right; the Air Force’s bombing was effective.”
In World War II, Tiger tanks were rarely destroyed by the Air Force; on the Eastern Front, in fact, only two—yes, two—Tigers were definitively lost to air raids, and that was when two train cars transporting Tigers were bombed and flipped over while bombing a train station.
Actually, World War II-era planes weren’t very effective against Tigers and Panthers; most of the time they just broke the tracks, which could be repaired and put back into use.
Now, it would seem that the tracks are broken.
To give an example, at Upper Peniye, KV number 67 was attacked by Stukas, which resulted in mechanical failure, yet it was still able to continue combat.
However, the air attack caused KV to lose its mobility, and in the end, Wang Zhong had no choice but to have the newly mixed in Tank Operators stay behind to cover the retreat of the remnants of his forces.
Remembering this, Wang Zhong’s resolve to eliminate this group of Prussians was strengthened.
Consider it a yearly tribute to the comrades of Tank 67—though the timing might be a bit off, Wang Zhong thought that the heroes of Tank 67 wouldn’t mind.
Wang Zhong passed the photos to Alexandria, then asked the female Lieutenant Colonel, “Have the exact locations of these people been confirmed?”
The Lieutenant Colonel opened her map case, took out a map, “The captain of the reconnaissance plane confirmed it carefully; it’s right here. He also saw some wreckage nearby and what might be the enemy on alert, all marked on this map.”
Wang Zhong nodded, “Excellent!”
He turned to the acting chief of staff, Alexandria, and ordered, “Immediately gather all the battalion commanders; I want to plan tomorrow’s operations. Vasily, take these two ladies to eat.”
Vasily didn’t move but reminded Wang Zhong, “General, you haven’t even asked their names. Isn’t that a bit impolite?”
Wang Zhong glanced at Vasily, then turned to the two pilots, “I apologize, I’ve been neglectful. How may I address you two?”
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The Lieutenant Colonel with her hair up said, “On the battlefield, military intelligence takes precedence. Your approach wasn’t wrong, and I personally quite admire it. However, I’d still prefer not to be addressed simply as ‘hey,’ so when you need to call me, you can call me Smijanovna.”
The younger girl said her name in a low voice, “Katya.”
Wang Zhong replied, “Rocossov.”
“We’re all aware of your name,” Vasily interjected, then introduced himself to the two ladies, “I’m Vasily.”
Wang Zhong said, “He’s the son of a music professor, sworn to renounce music, the reinventor of impromptu tunes hummed by Rocossov, and the one who uses tales of his commanding officer for flirting!”
Just as Wang Zhong was about to continue fabricating stories, Vasily interrupted, “And the terminator of the latrine.”
Katya couldn’t help but burst out laughing, but she quickly composed herself, pretending to be an innocent duck who knew nothing.
Wang Zhong said, “See, you made the girl laugh; now promptly take care of them.”
Vasily, all business, said, “Ladies, this way please.”
As he led the two female pilots out, the commanders from various units walked in, brushing past each other. One of the platoon leaders joked, “Vasily, how’s it going with the miller’s daughter? I saw you two the other day by the watermill. That day, the sound of the water wheel was particularly loud!”
Wang Zhong was greatly startled; he hadn’t expected Vasily to have succeeded in getting on base at all. Good grief, that guy had previously claimed he’d failed, not having picked up a single girl!
Vasily kept a straight face and left with the two female pilots.
The platoon leaders laughed as they entered the map room.
The acting chief of staff, Alexandria, spread out the newly delivered map and pinned it to the wall of the room.
Wang Zhong, “Gentlemen!”
As he began to speak, all the whispers in the room fell silent.
Wang Zhong picked up a photo from the table and held it vertically for everyone to see, “This is a photograph just sent by the Air Force. According to the photo, the Air Force has paralyzed at least three of the enemy’s new tanks with their airstrikes. These new tanks have just thrashed our KV and T34s with a very dramatic outcome. It’s said that they achieved a 30 to zero result in battle!”
Even Wang Zhong couldn’t suppress the immediate buzz of conversation.
He could only spread his hands and press them down, “All right! All right! That’s what all the defeated Tank Operators say! We must assume the enemy’s strength, understand? And indeed, the Prussians’ military technology is very advanced; they probably had a very hard time with the Carolingian’s heavy tanks during the Carolingian campaign!”
“It’s within reason that they would develop a heavy tank of their own. Now this type of heavy tank has penetrated the armor of our KV, which we previously thought impenetrable, and has blocked most of our anti-tank fire—except for Molotov cocktails.”
Assuming the throw was accurate, virtually no tank of that era could defend against it, not even a Tiger’s fault.
Wang Zhong’s words caused the infantry platoon leaders to burst into laughter, while the tank crews could only offer a bitter smile.
“Anyway, there’s such a big piece of cake in front of us tomorrow; do you think Rocossov would let this great opportunity slip away? Tomorrow we have to not only destroy these new tanks but also figure out a way to capture one. We still have some unused tractors that could tow one away!
“Remember, our task is not to snipe at the approaching large enemy forces but to snatch a tooth from the tiger’s mouth!
“Tomorrow’s battle must be swift, swiftly annihilate the enemy’s accompanying infantry and destroy three out of four new tanks, and then tow one away.”
Wang Zhong paused, scanning the whole room, noticing that many platoon leaders weren’t taking the perilous mission seriously, and once again emphasized: “The enemy’s main force has already reached Yeisk, and they are only 55 kilometers away from Yarvik! Once the battle starts tomorrow, it’s very probable that the enemy will immediately rush to their aid! And this is the Sed Division of the enemy’s Asgard Knights!”
“Think about when we were in Orachi; we barely held off the Asgard Knights’ attack by relying on solid positions. This time, we have no fortifications to rely on!”
The majority of the fighting men who survived Orachi are now the core force of the Guards Mechanized Infantry, which is why Wang Zhong used the battle of Orachi as an example.
Wang Zhong, “There must be no complacency; we have to assume the enemy’s strength! Understand what it means to assume the enemy’s strength?”
He scanned the entire room, ensuring that most people had put away their arrogant expressions, then said, “Therefore, based on our direct encounter this afternoon and the Air Force’s photographic reconnaissance, I have made the following arrangements!”
Wang Zhong held a pointer and tapped the map on the wall.
“The enemy is here, at 4:30 tomorrow morning, the reconnaissance teams driving Willis jeeps must set off. You’ll need to drag two big brooms behind the vehicles, raising dust on the road as you speed along and create a lot of dust clouds.
“In this way, we can mislead the enemy about our troop strength, making them more cautious and uneasy when reinforcing.”
A platoon leader said, “If it were any other general, we would start questioning. But you, sir, you fooled the Prussians with a simple wooden sign, making them think there really was a minefield! So these old-fashioned tactics of yours, we actually think they might work.”
Wang Zhong smiled slightly, not responding to the compliment, but continued to gesture on the map, “We still have a total of 31 Vortexes …”
“30,” Alexandria interrupted Wang Zhong, “Another one has mechanical problems, it’s uncertain if it can participate in tomorrow’s battle.”
Wang Zhong, “30! That’s perfect; we can split them into two halves. One squad will be tasked with destroying the enemy’s new tanks, testing the power of our 100 guns. The other squad will set up an ambush here.”
He drew a line between the enemy and the larger enemy forces further behind.
“The main sniping will be done by the Vortexes, but a certain number of infantry will also be deployed. After all, the Vortex is not efficient against infantry because it only has one anti-aircraft machine gun.”
Wang Zhong paused, then continued, “The attack on besieged enemies will be left to the infantry. After the Vortexes have destroyed all enemy armored vehicles, they will support the infantry with high-explosive shells.”
At that moment, a platoon leader below asked, “But you just mentioned capturing one of the new tanks!”
Wang Zhong, “I will not let my soldiers die in vain just to capture a tank!”
This resounding statement elicited looks of admiration from many of the veterans.
Wang Zhong asserted with a leader’s presence, “Any other questions? If there are any issues, speak up now.”
People looked at each other, and eventually all shook their heads.
Wang Zhong, “Good, then let’s proceed with the plan tomorrow!”
“Yes!” The crowd answered in unison.