Cannon Fire Arc

Lieutenant Karl looked around: "This is indeed a suitable place for defense." The private asked: "Lieutenant, how many tanks do you have?" "Eight," Lieutenant Karl answered. "Our entire platoon is here. The other tanks are being repaired." Prosen's Armored Battalions are large, so their Armored Platoons are also large. If it is a medium tank platoon, one platoon could even have 25 tanks. The 502nd Battalion is an independent heavy tank battalion, with a total of 48 heavy tanks. Aside from the tanks directly belonging to the battalion headquarters, each Armored Platoon has 14 tanks. Currently, six of Lieutenant Karl's tanks are undergoing major repairs, so all eight operational tanks are here. The private said: "Then you better run quickly. The Antean tank forces that have occupied the village ahead are equipped with their new tanks, including the Turtle Shell heavy tanks and Pot Lid head medium tanks." Lieutenant Karl was very calm: "It doesn't matter. We are also equipped with new heavy tanks. Our 105 mm guns can deal with Antean's Pot Lid heads and Iron Turtles. The key is how many they have." The private said: "That's what the Lieutenant intends to find out. You should ask him." Lieutenant Karl: "Thank you for the information." Having said that, he walked towards the hilltop. The private looked at the tank operator who was panting with his head out of the tank: "Your Lieutenant is a good man." "Yes, he often says to maintain good relations with the accompanying infantry." The gunner of the 217th vehicle replied, "He also has a principle that commanders must personally conduct reconnaissance to understand the condition of every road. You'll soon see him speeding through the enemy's gunfire on a BMW motorcycle." The private: "Really? Is this habit learned from that Marshal of Ante?" "Marshal Rocossov," the driver of the 217th vehicle said, "Actually, this marshal is very famous among us Armored Troops. After all, we have suffered consecutive defeats at his hands. Those pamphlets he issued are also available in Prosenese, and everyone secretly reads them while hiding from the Chain Hounds, learning the experiences written inside." The private: "I see." ———— Lieutenant Karl climbed to the hilltop and without much effort found the infantry Lieutenant lying in the bushes observing the enemy. "How's the situation?" he asked quietly as he lay down next to him. The Lieutenant glanced at him, his eyes lingering on his Armored Troops black uniform and skull badge (the Prosen Armored Troops' symbol is a black uniform and skull badge, while the Asgard Knights' symbol is lightning and a knight badge). "The village ahead, Marinka Village, we can see 11 Turtle Shell heavy tanks. In such a regiment, there should be 21 tanks, but we don't know how many broke down on the way." Lieutenant Karl: "The enemy's tanks are easy to maintain, and overall reliability is passable, but they're prone to issues on the road. Maybe out of 21, only 11 have made it here." The infantry Lieutenant casually asked: "And ours?" Lieutenant Karl chuckled wryly: "Ours is exactly the opposite. Maintenance is very troublesome, minor repairs take 24 hours or even thirty hours, medium repairs need a week at a frontline repair shop, and major repairs require returning to a large rear repair shop, usually starting from three months. "But once our tanks are repaired, they rarely have problems before the next minor repair." The infantry Lieutenant: "Just tell me how many tanks we have now." "Eight, with six undergoing repairs and unable to make it here." Lieutenant: "That's not much better than the enemy's! Their tanks can still serve as stationary gun platforms even if they break down on the road, while our tanks can only become the enemy's trophies in the repair shop." Lieutenant Karl: "Alright, continue with the situation report! The infantry below told me there are Pot Lid heads." "Yes, there seems to be a brigade of medium tanks, we can see 9 of them, and the rest are parked behind the village in the threshing yard, recently seen by the retreating skirmishers." Just then, Lieutenant Karl suddenly noticed movement along the left side forest line—there are many such forests in the Northern Army Group's combat area. "There's movement over there!" The infantry Lieutenant followed Lieutenant Karl's pointing hand: "Indeed... but the trees are blocking the view, it's not very clear, and we can't hear engine noise, it might be local people cycling." While they were still speaking, a bicycle rushed out from behind the forest line and was then stopped by Prosen Infantry hidden at the foot of the hill. The cyclist looked to be a Prosen Officer. Five minutes later, the officer was brought up the hill by the same private who had spoken to Lieutenant Karl earlier. This person was wearing an infantry's gray military uniform and directly addressed upon seeing Karl: "Lieutenant, I am from the 101st Assault Gun Battalion. Our battalion was blocked in the forest behind by the enemy's Armored Troops. We dare not confront the enemy's new tanks head-on, so we tried to take a detour, but two assault guns sunk into a swamp. "We are trapped, Lieutenant. If you can launch a frontal assault on the enemy's Armored Troops to divert their attention, we can strike from behind. Half of our crew are operating the Mark III G-type assault guns, which can pierce the rear armor of the enemy's Turtle Shells!" Lieutenant Karl shook his head: "That won't work. The Rokossovsky Type's rear armor is also very robust. These breakthrough tanks aim for all-around defense; your shells won't pierce them. Don't worry, we'll rescue you. First, I need to borrow your bicycle." Assault Gun Officer: "Ah? The bicycle? I borrowed it from a local, Lieutenant, you can use it." Infantry Lieutenant Hansen said: "Are you planning to do a close reconnaissance yourself? It's too dangerous!" "Don't worry, I've done this dangerous thing many times." Lieutenant Karl got up, "Take me to get the bicycle."