Cannon Fire Arc

Chapter 959: Chapter 14: Disintegration

Seeing the giant tank has been destroyed, the Prosen Armored Grenadier Corps began their retreat.

Filippov then rode in a jeep to inspect the spoils of war.

Mike, the reporter, having completed his “interview” with the surrendering armored troops, pointed at Filippov and said, “Come on, talk with the Comrade Colonel, who also began as a student on the battlefield.”

The two Prosen Armored Troops looked at Filippov, their faces filled with fear as they eyed the medals on his chest.

Filippov had felt the imposing strength these medals carried more than once.

Indeed, everything the Marshal did had its purpose.

“Hello, introduce this massive beast to me!” Filippov said.

“Uh, this is our No. 7 Tank, codename Maus, weighing 188 tons in total.”

Filippov: “Oh, you’ve really created a colossal piece of junk.”

The Prosen armored troop, visibly infuriated, rebuked loudly: “No, this is the pride of Prosen technology; it even withstood your Divine Arrow!

You used despicable tactics to achieve victory. If you deployed tanks to face us head-on, we would’ve destroyed all your tanks without suffering a single scratch ourselves!”

Filippov: “But this is war. At the beginning, you taught us the value of multi-force integration, and Marshal Rocossov even wrote a book discussing your combined arms tactics.

Now, you’re emphasizing one-on-one warfare with singular troop types. Looks to me like Prosen’s military theory has regressed to infantile levels!”

Mike, the reporter: “The Comrade Colonel is absolutely right!”

The Prosen armored troop opened his mouth but ultimately failed to utter a word in rebuttal.

At that moment, Filippov heard the sound of tank engines.

Turning around, he saw a tank convoy in marching formation moving through the village toward this side.

Filippov muttered, “I didn’t receive any notification about our tank forces coming this way!”

Moreover, they were medium tanks. After crossing the river, all battles took place in densely populated areas, so the participating tank forces mainly consisted of heavy tanks. Armored Brigades equipped with medium tanks should have been stationed upstream on the Oder River or further south along the border, preparing to encircle Plowsonia from behind after breaking through the front lines.

This plan was the backup for the current infiltration occupation initiative. If the gradual infiltration method failed to seize control of Plowsonia smoothly, a formal offensive would commence next March, first encircling the entire region then striking inward.

Leaving the prisoners, Filippov walked toward the incoming medium tank force.

The lead tank stopped only when it reached Filippov. The commander, his upper body visible from the turret, asked, “Comrade Colonel, is the front path leading to Plowsonia?”

Filippov: “Yes. Which unit are you from?”

“Guards 18th Armored Brigade. You’ve probably heard of us; we belong to General Voz’s forces.”

Filippov: “Never heard of you. There are too many battle heroes to keep track of them all.”

The commander was about to reply when the sound of a jeep caught his attention. He turned and said, “The General is here. He’ll certainly leave you with an impression.”

A jeep with general markings pulled up in front of Filippov, and a brigadier stepped out, looking at Filippov. “Why are you blocking us?”

Filippov: “I haven’t received any notice about an armored unit coming through.”

“We heard you encountered an armored counterattack, so we hurried over,” said the General, glancing behind Filippov. “Looks like you repelled the attack—what is that?”

Filippov: “The enemy’s new weapon.”

“My God, it’s enormous,” said the medal-covered General.

Apparently, everyone’s first reaction to seeing Prosen’s new weapon was, “It’s enormous.”

Filippov suddenly noticed that the brigadier only had one hand and couldn’t help but say, “Comrade Brigadier, you’ve lost your left hand, yet they still sent you back to the front lines.”

The brigadier smiled faintly: “They didn’t want me to return, but I spoke to Marshal Gorky, telling him that when the war first started, in the 32nd Armored Division’s First Battalion, I was the only one left. Someone has to enter Plowsonia, right? The Marshal agreed!”

Filippov: “You’ve been fighting since the war began?”

“Yes, on June 22, I led my T-34 against the Prosens. Our combined force was poorly integrated, and though we destroyed many enemy tanks, we were forced to retreat by infantry and artillery.”

Stopping, the brigadier looked at the Prosen’s new weapon and sighed, “Now it’s our infantry relying on integrated tactics to outmaneuver Prosen’s armored units. Amazing how times change.”

The phrase “how times change” was a difficult one, possibly incomprehensible to most Anteans who had only completed a tenth-grade education.

Filippov: “You’re quite poetic.”

“I originally wanted to be a teacher,” the brigadier chuckled. “Maybe I’ll still do that once everything ends. So, Comrade Colonel, are you going to keep blocking us? We’ve brought accompanying infantry and can handle all situations ourselves.”

Filippov glanced at the tanks filled with infantry, thinking, of course, I knew you brought accompanying infantry.

Brigadier: “Look, we’ve even got the latest infantry fighting vehicles, equipped with autocannons to mop up enemy infantry, and dual-barrel 37mm autocannon-equipped anti-aircraft vehicles. We can handle whatever comes our way.”

Filippov: “I see, Brigadier, but I still need to wait for notice from division headquarters—”

A messenger ran up and saluted Filippov: “Report! Division headquarters orders: Guards 18th Tank Brigade and accompanying units are to move to support your unit. Once the enemy’s counterattack has been repelled, Guards 18th Tank Brigade will continue advancing.”