Arc of Fire-Chapter 756: Returning Fully Loaded

Chapter 756 -13: Returning Fully Loaded

On the morning of August 18, Wang Zhong got up early.

Nearly a week of talks had concluded the day before, and President Luo and Prime Minister Leonard had left Balas by plane at noon yesterday.

Wang Zhong and his party were leaving a day later, mainly because the local Secular faction Church wanted this newly minted Living Saint to preside over a Mass.

All in all, on the 18th, Wang Zhong and his group boarded the plane home.

On the plane, Olga suddenly stood up from her seat, leaned on the backrest, and looked at Wang Zhong sitting behind her, “How do you feel?”

Wang Zhong, “Not bad, quite fruitful. However, I clearly felt that the Federation became stingier after we made progress.”

...

Ludmila said beside him, “When I was a child, in fights involving nobility’s kids, it was usually the last one to join in who shouted the loudest. Maybe the Federation and the United Kingdom plan to let us and the Prosen mutually weaken each other, and then come in to pick up the pieces.”

Wang Zhong, “President Luo is alright; I feel he is dead-set on suppressing Prosen, but Prime Minister Leonard is different; he would be very happy to see us and Prosen wear each other down until we’re both weak.”

Olga, “Leonard also wants to land on the Moravia Peninsula; I knew he was up to no good the moment I saw him. Thankfully, President Luo opposed him with me!”

Wang Zhong, “Of course President Luo opposed him with you. In the eyes of the Federation, if Prosen must die, it would be even better if the United Kingdom died along with it.”

After all, among the plethora of color-coded war plans the Americans on Earth had drawn up, there were those specifically for making war with Ying, even one that involved teaming up with Sturmtiger to first take down Ying.

Olga shifted to kneeling, leaning her entire body over the back of the seat, “Do they really need to prepare until next year to attack?”

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Wang Zhong, “Pretty much. Look at the Pacific right now—the Imperial Navy of the Empire of Fusang is already crippled, but the Federation Navy doesn’t have many large vessels ready for action, either. Battleships are all damaged and in need of repairs. Ironbottom Bay is littered with sunk heavy cruisers and destroyers, and in various small-scale night battles at sea, they usually come out worse for wear.

"Before the end of this year, the naval advantage of the Federation in the Pacific is actually not significant—except for their submarine force.”

On Earth, the American Navy’s submarine force also achieved tremendous results, but that was mainly due to the weak anti-submarine capabilities of the Japanese Navy.

American submarines could even freely enter and exit the Inland Sea of Japan, sinking the Shinano, an aircraft carrier in trial navigation.

Wang Zhong racked his brain to disguise this knowledge from another universe, presenting it as information from this one to Olga.

Olga, “Eh, I thought the Empire of Fusang fought terribly, but it turns out they’re performing quite well?”

Wang Zhong, “Actually, it’s mainly because their opponent, the Federation Navy, is now in a godlike—I mean, divinely assisted state. If the enemies of the Empire of Fusang were any weaker, they would have them hanging and beaten, just look at the performance of the United Kingdom Navy in the Pacific.”

Actually, not just the United Kingdom Navy, but at the time, a whole group of so-called traditional naval powers had their fleets in Southeast Asia combine into an alliance fleet, only to be utterly defeated by Japan.

Olga, “So next year the Federation is definitely going to have an advantage? I mean, even with Fusang being so capable?”

Wang Zhong, “Fusang’s capability comes from their rigorous training, but a total war is a war of attrition. Once they lose their most experienced crew, their level of competence will plummet. ŔΆɴǑ𝔟ΕŜ

"Like the maritime pilots of Fusang, they’re almost completely worn out now.”

During the battle at Midway Island, Japanese pilots actually didn’t suffer many losses, as most of them escaped. However, during the subsequent battles in the South Pacific and others, Japan’s most elite pilots were either shot down by the F4F or overwhelmed by ferocious anti-aircraft fire, with some disappearing because they had no carriers to land on.

By the end of the first year, Japan still had quite a few experienced seafarers, but the loss of pilots was truly severe.

Their propaganda often spoke of “3,000 sea eagles,” indicating three thousand rigorously trained pilots, but by the end of the first year, more than half had been lost.

Olga, “So next year, the pressure in the Pacific on the Federation will drastically decrease, and they can move more fleets to Europa, right?”

Wang Zhong, “Correct. Besides, large-scale amphibious operations require a lot of landing craft and transports, which are currently being urgently produced. Next year, Prosen will face an incredibly large landing fleet that they themselves wouldn’t believe to be possible.

"But this year they can’t. The scale of landings the Allied Forces can organize this year is like the attacks on Sicily.”

Olga, like a grade school student, nodded repeatedly, listening intently.

"By the way,” she asked, “so what exactly did we negotiate? I haven’t had a chance to look over the list yet, can you give me an overview?”

Wang Zhong, “Machine tools, trucks, airplanes, and so on—the total amount is less than last year, and I noticed that the things we don’t really need, the Federation is particularly willing to provide, like Spam Cans. Our domestic food supply has mostly recovered, and this year the newly liberated land of Kazarlia can raise cattle, sheep, and horses; we definitely won’t be short of food next year.

"But look, they give us Spam Cans as if they couldn’t care less, as well as chocolate and cola.

"On the other hand, the machine tools, radio production equipment, and vacuum tube production equipment we need are all doled out sparingly, and only when we threatened to withhold the new Prosen tanks did they cough up a bit more.”

Olga: “Will it affect the production of the T54 and Rokossovsky Type?”

"It will, but it won’t reduce our production, only limit our ability to expand it.”

Olga: “Will it have an impact on the war situation?”

Wang Zhong: “Not this year, but next year, it will depend on what kind of devilry the Prosens come up with. To counter these devilries, I’ve already issued the technical specifications for the next generation of tanks.”

Wang Zhong stopped, then suddenly grinned and said, “The good news is that in these negotiations we secured the rights to a more powerful engine ― the complete technical blueprints and the experts to guide us in production will arrive in Ante in October.

"Our next generation of tanks will definitely be able to move faster, ensuring they can carry more armor while still being maneuverable!”

Meanwhile, on the special plane still en route to the Federation, Eck placed a report in front of President Luo.

"What’s this?” President Luo looked at the Admiral.

Eck: “This is our team in Balas’s cartographic results of the new Prosen tank provided by Ante. According to the calculations based on the cartographic data, our latest M26 Pershing prototype tank is less protected than the Prosens’ new tank.

"For this reason, I’ve already sent a telegram to the Army Ordnance Bureau to begin designing the Super Pershing based on the Pershing. Little George was quite pleased with this order.”

President Luo laughed and said, “Ah, with his temperament, it’s normal for him to like big and tough stuff. Enough with that, the Navy has its bull, now the Army wants one too. Are you all competing?

"So when can the Super Pershing be shipped to Europa? Or are you thinking of testing it against Fusang in the Pacific first?”

Eck laughed: “The tanks of Fusang, hahaha, our Shermans could carry their tanks on their shoulders. The first time our tank crew encountered a Fusang tank, they thought it had some surprising armor, because the armor-piercing shells had no effect when they hit.

"Turns out that the fuse of the armor-piercing shells wasn’t triggered; they just went through the other side like an iron rod poked into the ground.”

President Luo also laughed, but then he asked seriously, “When can the Super Pershing be put into action?”

Eck: “By the end of this year, I guess. Before that, following Rokossov’s suggestion, we’re realistically improving the Bazooka and considering flattening our 90mm anti-aircraft gun to use as an anti-tank gun.

"The Army thinks it’s worth trying the new armor-piercing bullet we’ve been testing, which covers the tip with a ballistic cap that significantly improves its penetrating power.”

President Luo: “Try them all. And Rokossov’s suggestion to have our Air Force attack train stations and supply centers, along with front-line repair shops.

"Rokossov says Prosen tanks rely heavily on their repair capabilities, and if we blow up the repair workshops and kill the frontline technicians, those tanks will break down on their own.”

President Luo stopped, stared at the ballpoint pen in his hand for a few seconds, and continued: “We can’t hope for those tanks to break down on their own, no, that’s too passive. But attacking the enemy’s repair facilities is a new idea.

"Rokossov is currently the general among us who has destroyed the most enemies and knows the Prosens best, so his words definitely make sense.”

Eck: “Actually, after the emergency cartography, our people have also been critically reviewing the weird designs of the Prosens, like that dual-row road wheel setup, which our cartographers just can’t understand why it was designed that way since the suspension systems on Panzer III and IV were simple and efficient.”

But nobody had told Eck and President Luo that the Prosens had been driven crazy by the poor roads in Ante.

Eck continued: “Also, after the cartography concluded, our engineers believe we could achieve the same level of protection with only about 50 tons, while the Prosens came up with 70 tons, which is puzzling.

"The only thing that received high praise was the ergonomics of the Prosen tanks, all the testers felt very comfortable driving them.

"By the way, the T34 tested previously in Aberdeen was universally regarded by testers as torture to drive. Aside from constantly hitting their heads, it’s terribly hot inside, deafeningly loud, cramped, and if you bring too many shells, you’ll always scrape your arm while driving.”

President Luo widened his eyes: “By the tip of the shells? It’s my first time hearing that the tip could scrape someone!”

Eck shrugged: “Perhaps it’s just a figure of speech.”

President Luo: “Maybe.”

He then suddenly changed the subject: “Do you really think Rokossov will wait until winter to cross the Dibo River?”

Eck: “No, I think he’ll attack in September. I have no basis, but after so many conversations with him, I just have that feeling.”

President Luo: “An attack in September, huh? If he really recaptures the whole of Kazarlia this year, we’ll have to reconsider a lot of things.”

With that, President Luo turned his gaze toward the airplane’s window.