Cannon Fire Arc

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On the night of July 17 at nine o'clock, the First Mobile Army Headquarters.

Pavlov came to Wang Zhong with a thick stack of documents.

Wang Zhong: "My God, you're actually asking me to sign documents at a time like this?"

"No, these are summaries of the situation, I think you should need a detailed understanding of the battlefield conditions—or trust my and the staff officers' capabilities, and just listen to my summary."

Wang Zhong looked at Pavlov and said seriously, "I trust you and the staff officers' capabilities."

Pavlov glanced at the moved junior staff officer next to him: "He's just too lazy to read through it himself, you all need to get used to the commander's inaction as soon as possible, and try to handle every detail well, because the commander won't take care of these things."

The junior staff officer nodded repeatedly while Wang Zhong protested, "I'm still going to scout the front line personally!"

Pavlov: "Right, he often scouts the front line personally, and then leaves the entire headquarters miles away, as if he's still that hands-on division commander, happy to just close his eyes and ride his little tank around the ground."

Wang Zhong corrected him seriously, "Closing one's eyes is not a way to command a tank."

Pavlov: "Occasionally the commander will do such childish things that match his age, don't mind it, most of the time he is an excellent commander who can lead us to victory. But the foundation of him making judgments and winning victories is our hard, efficient, and precise work."

Vasily listened with a stern face, counting on his fingers as he listened, and finally he said with great assurance, "The Chief of Staff is praising you."

Wang Zhong: "Are you sure?"

"Certain, although he has many complaints about you, he does recognize your military capabilities."

Pavlov: "Now at Ante, nobody doesn't recognize Rocossov's military capabilities, but they only observe from a distance, not knowing the specifics.

"The fact is, only when all of us do our duty diligently can Rocossov harness his military capabilities.

"For Rocossov to harness his military capabilities, we sometimes have to make independent military decisions as well."

Damn it, the things Pavlov was saying sounded like some rule-obsessed nonsense.

The phrase "rule-obsessed nonsense" suddenly made Wang Zhong feel a bit homesick—before he crossed over, rule-obsessed nonsense was all the rage, and Wang Zhong had also written a few stories to join in the fun, but they sank like stones without causing the slightest ripple.

He had no idea what the flow of time was like in the world he came from compared to this one, and whether rule-obsessed nonsense was still popular after a year of refinement.

Wang Zhong quickly suppressed this feeling of homesickness and said to Pavlov, "Alright, tell me what happened."

Pavlov immediately reported, "Today's operations, though they encountered a few minor surprises, went generally smoothly.

"The minor surprises mainly occurred with the cavalry troops responsible for breakthrough battles when the enemy dispatched the 14th Armored Division from the force designated to pincer us from the reserves.

"Our cavalry troops engaged in brave delaying actions, and after suffering heavy casualties, they successfully halted the enemy.

"There are still over three thousand from Cavalry Army 21 who are capable of fighting."

Wang Zhong was shocked, "They were only one division, but along with the augmented troops from Army 20, there were ten thousand cavalrymen! And now only three thousand are left?"

Pavlov's expression turned serious: "This is mainly because they fought deep within enemy territory, and the steppe conditions were extremely harsh; wounded soldiers could only let their horses carry them out, and many died by the time they reached the field hospital.

"Additionally, there were incidents of warhorses being injured or killed, and in such situations, the fallen riders were usually seriously injured as well and often died."

Wang Zhong pursed his lips and took a long time before he sighed, "Gather the information, award more Gold Star Medals liberally. Send someone to ensure that their families are properly cared for."

Pavlov: "Of course, you don't have to worry about this; we never make a mistake in this regard."

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Wang Zhong nodded, and with a change of topic said, "With such heavy casualties, how effective has the enemy's delay been?"

"Reconnaissance indicates that the enemy's 14th Armored Division has stopped in place, likely running out of ammunition soon."

Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow, "Really? Then can we try a nighttime raid?"

Pavlov reminded him, "With what troops? The elite mechanized first division and the 225th Division are our main forces, and they're already committed on two fronts. The first division of Melania, holding the center of our forces, is to be committed to tomorrow's offensive; they have already reconnoitered the terrain and prepared for the attack.

"It's not really appropriate to change their objectives at this time, and as the chief of staff, I would definitely advise against it."

Wang Zhong fell silent for a few seconds, then tentatively suggested, "We could move up the divisions on rear guard duty..."

"Bringing up such reserve divisions would serve no purpose but to undermine morale," Pavlov reminded.

Scratching his head, Wang Zhong looked at Pavlov, "Could it be... that we can only send the cavalry for a night raid?"

Pavlov: "Is a night raid necessary?"

Wang Zhong: "They delayed their armored forces during the day, suffering six thousand casualties. It's worth trying at night, don't you think? Their armored forces definitely won't be as powerful at night as they are during the day, and people—our side doesn't have many with night blindness, do we?"

"Indeed." Vasily was the first to agree with Wang Zhong, coming over to the calendar, glancing at it and saying, "The moonlight is not bad tonight, suitable for a sneak attack."

Popov: "Rather than dying in vain tomorrow during the day, let's give it a try at night."

Pavlov nodded, "Okay, as long as we make contact with the 21st Cavalry, let them give it a try."

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Actually, at this moment, the 21st Cavalry was already attempting a night raid.

The survivors of the day's battle all had friends who had perished under the enemy's iron hooves. The proud cavalry had long been champing at the bit to deal the enemy's Armored Division a "heavy blow."

Before nightfall, they had dismounted, concealing themselves in the bushes with their warhorses, cautiously edging toward the enemy's position.

The enemy probably never imagined they would be attacked in the middle of the night, so they set up sentries as usual and started to rest.

No, it wasn't entirely rest; the division's repair teams were still working hard to fix tanks that had broken down in the day's fighting, so faint flashes of light could be seen in the distance.

These flashes became the "beacons" for the cavalry hidden in the bushes.

When the troops of the 21st Army came within a few hundred meters, they remounted and gradually picked up speed in the cover of night.

The sentry heard the hoofbeats, picked up his submachine gun and shouted, "Halt!"

But with a whoosh, the sentry was snared by a rope, yanked away violently, vanishing without a trace, without any time to fire a warning shot.

The cavalry battalion surged into the Prussians' camp amidst the night.

As the first incendiary bottle shattered into flames, the night sky was abruptly lit by a blood-red glow.
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The Prussians struggled to organize a defense, while tracers tore through the sky, but were still unable to prevent more and more tanks from catching fire!

The warriors of the 21st Cavalry dashed about on horseback, recklessly throwing incendiary bombs, sowing destruction.

They seemed to be fighting for a breath of revenge for their comrades fallen in the daylight.

And indeed, they succeeded!