Arc of Fire

Wang Zhong saw a little girl gulping water from a flask as if she had not had a drink in a long time.

"They’re trying to send the women and children out before we’re completely encircled,” he muttered quietly.

Popov, “Hold out for half a month… looks like we can’t hold out anymore.”

Wang Zhong suddenly got a jolt, “Now’s not the time for lamenting! If they can’t hold out there, we have to start moving!”

He leaned over the railing of the overpass and shouted to the troops below, “I’m Brigadier General Rokossovsky, stop forming up, quickly unload the cannons and move them to the No. 3 stockyard over there! Then go to the nearby air defense camp to get camouflage nets. I need you to turn No. 3 stockyard into an artillery firing position by this afternoon!”

The guard of honor’s major saluted, “Yes, General!”

Popov looked at Wang Zhong with surprise, “How do you know No. 3 stockyard is suitable for artillery positions?”

"I’ve looked into it.”

It was just a bird’s-eye view.

Wang Zhong, “Next to it is the anti-aircraft battalion protecting the station, with a certain defensive capability against enemy air raids. If well-camouflaged, it can survive for a long time. That’s not important, follow me to the military station command!”

"Given the current situation, the ammunition and weapons supplies sent to Bogdanovka definitely can’t get through, we must requisition them immediately!”

As he spoke, Wang Zhong walked back along the halfway crossed overpass, and the others quickly followed.

After leaving the train station, Wang Zhong sat down next to Grigori and urged, “To the military station command!”

Popov had just gotten into the vehicle when Grigori started the engine.

Vasily was about to get in the car but hesitated, didn’t get on, and turned to sprint back to the garrison.

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At the military station command, as soon as the jeep arrived, Wang Zhong strode inside, only to run into the commander of Loktov’s defense battalion.

Wang Zhong stopped him, “Where are you rushing off to, Aleksandr Alexandrovich?”

Hearing his own name, the commander was startled; Wang Zhong was speaking to him for the first time, and the voice was unfamiliar. He looked up, saw the general’s stars and the cloak of the Imperial Guard, and immediately stood at attention and saluted, “Your Excellency!”

Wang Zhong waved his hand casually and repeated his question, “Where are you rushing off to, Aleksandr Alexandrovich?”

"The military station command has ordered my battalion to build defensive fortifications outside the city.”

Wang Zhong, “Haven’t you been building them up until now?”

"We dug, but not enough,” the commander said with a somber face. “We were mainly focused on concrete pillboxes, and now they want us to dig anti-tank ditches. How can we possibly dig anti-tank ditches to shield the entire southwest of the city in one day?”

Wang Zhong, “You can mobilize civilians in the city to dig.”

Aleksandr, “Three labor camps have already been organized in the city, but they’ve all been sent to repair the railroad. Now, there are only women left in the city.”

"Women can hold up half the sky; let them dig. It’s better than failing to complete your task.”

With that, Wang Zhong patted Aleksandr on the shoulder.

The latter nodded and strode away.

Popov asked, “You know him?”

"No, just took note of his name. After all, he’s the commander of the local defense battalion.”

Wang Zhong continued toward the command center and upon entering the map room saw a scene of flurry and chaos.

The military station commander was shouting into the phone, “What? What? How many locomotives are left?”

It seemed he was on the phone with the station.

Wang Zhong paced over to the map and looked at the most recent updates—not that long ago, Bogdanovka on the map had yet to be encircled; the enemy’s pincer movement still had some distance before closing in.

Popov also came over to look at the map, his expression serious.

Finally, the quarter-master finished his phone call and muttered “Everything is going wrong” before looking up at Wang Zhong, “Good afternoon, General.”

Actually, it was still a while before noon.

The quarter-master’s station at Loktov was quite large, hence, the quarter-master here held the rank of brigadier general. In such work settings, officers of equal rank could skip saluting to save time.

Wang Zhong said, “Bogdanovka is about to be surrounded; I guess the supplies scheduled to be delivered there can no longer get through. I believe Loktov will be the next Prussian target, and I need to requisition these weapons and ammunition immediately to prepare for defensive operations.”

The quarter-master asked, “Do you have orders?”

Wang Zhong replied, “The enemy is coming! Are we not to issue weapons and ammunition now and let the enemy capture them to use against us?”

"I have not been notified of the enemy’s approach,” the quarter-master said, “Bogdanovka is trying to break the encirclement.”

Wang Zhong asked, “With what?”

"The 23rd Tank Army is launching an attack,” the quarter-master answered, “These are freshly committed troops.”

Wang Zhong commented, “I didn’t see them passing by us, did I?”

"They didn’t take the railway; tank units can maneuver through most rural roads.”

Wang Zhong said, “Then most of the tanks will break down on the road due to mechanical failures! And the enemy has an Air Force too, those that don’t break down will be destroyed by the enemy’s Air Force!”

"That I do not know,” the quarter-master said resolutely, “Anyway, these weapons and ammunition will be transported to Bogdanovka after the breakout. Without orders, no one can move them.”

Wang Zhong cursed under his breath, and just then, a staff officer rushed in, exclaiming, “It’s bad, Commander, look outside!”

The two “commanders” in the room turned to look outside the window as the staff officer had pointed.

Several large trucks drove into the headquarters’ yard, soldiers wearing Imperial Guard cloaks and brandishing brand-new Tokarev semi-automatic rifles disembarked from the trucks and lined up in the yard.

The 31st Imperial Guard Infantry Regiment’s flag flapped in the wind in the courtyard.

The quarter-master turned and glared at Wang Zhong, “General Rokossov, what are you planning to do?”

Wang Zhong was also perplexed; he hadn’t ordered any troop movements.

Then he saw Vasily in the formation.

Understood.

However, given the situation, he could probably use this to pressure the quarter-master.

Wang Zhong looked at the quarter-master, “I have fought and defeated the Prussians before! No one understands them better than I do! My intuition tells me that Loktov will soon be under attack!

"You think so too, don’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have ordered the garrison to dig anti-tank ditches!”

The quarter-master pursed his lips, offering no rebuttal.

Wang Zhong said, “Similarly, you know that the supplies for Bogdanovka can no longer be delivered! They might never be able to use these supplies!”

The quarter-master replied, “Even so, I can’t give you anything without orders!”

Wang Zhong felt like punching the bureaucratic idiot but then had an idea.

"I can give you an IOU,” Wang Zhong paused, saw that the quarter-master remained unmoved, and added, “In the name of the Crown Prince!”

The quarter-master blinked, then nodded, “Alright, you write an IOU, and then take whatever you want. I see that you have brought the trucks, I don’t feel right about stopping you.”