Cannon Fire Arc-Chapter 648 - 90 Rocossov’s Right Hook

Chapter 648: Chapter 90 Rocossov’s Right Hook

75 kilometers north of Mount Raoul Pass, Army Group Command, January 7, 916, 0700 hours.

General Ewald von Steyr-Mark held a coffee cup in one hand and a report delivered that morning in the other.

“Xiplin is still commanding the Eleventh Army Group… Is this really appropriate? He’s a general, and so am I.” The silver-haired general sighed, “These young men get promoted so quickly. Just a few years ago, he was a vice admiral, and now he’s a general. In a little while, he might even become a marshal, while I will still be a general.”

The deputy officer also sighed, “I remember he’s only five years older than me.”

“You are a staff officer, it’s not the same unless you get an opportunity like Rudendorf did, transitioning from a staff officer to a chief officer. But even then, many looked down on him, thinking he was just a staff officer, unfit for greater responsibilities,” said General Steyr-Mark before taking a sip of his coffee.

The deputy officer asked with concern, “How is it? Today I used coffee beans, not instant coffee.”

General Steyr-Mark’s eyes widened, “Where did you get the coffee beans? We’ve been blockaded for a long time. Let me think, smuggled in through Casablanca from Castilia?”

“No,” the deputy officer shook his head, “captured from the enemy’s supply truck, the brand and labels are from a company in the Federation, produced in South America.”

General Steyr-Mark raised his coffee cup, carefully observed its color, and then sniffed it closely, “Oh, it is good stuff indeed, I was wondering why it didn’t taste like mud today. Ah, before the war, we could easily enjoy coffee and tea, but since the war started, we’ve only had factory-produced mud.”

Deputy officer, “There are also some teas among the captured goods if you’d like some…”

“Is it black tea?”

“Yes, produced in Assam of Bahara.”

“Then let’s have that this afternoon. Speaking of which, when did we intercept the enemy’s supply convoy? I don’t remember it.”

“The Armored Army’s reconnaissance unit did it, they only sent it back yesterday.”

The general nodded repeatedly, “The Armored Army, eh? Very good.”

At that moment, the telephone on the general’s desk rang.

“Who is it so early?” the general frowned displeasingly.

As the deputy officer stepped forward to answer the call, the office door opened, and the Chief of Staff walked in with a group of stern-faced staff officers.

Seeing the expressions on the faces of the staff officers, the general’s face also turned grave. He waved off the deputy officer attempting to answer the phone and picked up the handset himself, “This is General Steyr-Mark, what has happened?”

Then the general’s expression visibly tightened, “Is that accurate? Today is Ante’s Christmas; they should be taking communion, praying, and listening to sermons.

“Uh-huh, understood.”

Finally, the general hung up the phone, his hand still lingering on the handset, his face stern as he looked at the Chief of Staff and the staff officers who had just entered.

“How much do you know?” the general asked.

Chief of Staff, “We too just received the phone call; we didn’t know someone had already reported directly to you.”

At that moment, the vast office felt isolating for the deputy officer, who asked, “What exactly has happened? You all look so serious!”

General Steyr-Mark, “The Abawahan Front Army contending for Yarvik is bombarding us, the firepower is extremely dense, and several of our infantry divisions in the fifth echelon positioned at the front have lost contact with the command.”

In Prosen, infantry troops are divided into echelons by ranking, generally, the closer to the front, the better equipped and trained the division, those farther back are often used to fill in gaps as cannon fodder.

Like those in the fifth echelon, which are characterized as such, many of the division’s artillery pieces are decades old, and their machine guns might also be ones that front-line troops have discarded.

But even for such divisions, completely losing contact after a shelling was utterly unusual.

Deputy officer, “Even the fifth echelon shouldn’t just lose contact after a shelling; I don’t think the Imperial infantry has degraded to that extent, they’re not Moravians.”

“That’s exactly the issue,” General Steyr-Mark looked to the Chief of Staff, “Send a plane immediately to see what’s going on, and make sure it’s equipped with a radio.”

Not all planes carry radios, but like heavy bombers and the FW189 reconnaissance aircraft, they come with radios capable of maintaining long-distance contact with the ground.

The Chief of Staff turned to one of the staff officers, signaling with his eyes, and the latter immediately left the room.

General Steyr-Mark walked over to the wall where a map was mounted, his brow furrowed, “Wasn’t Rocossov supposed to be attacking Shepetovka? Attacking us… Is it a feint?”

Chief of Staff, “Indeed, the telegram from the High Command mentioned that Rocossov might launch a feint against us.”

General Steyr-Mark, “And then suddenly silence four divisions of the fifth echelon to the extent that they can’t even make a sound?”

Deputy officer, “It’s possible that their radios and telecommunications were destroyed.”

“All four divisions at the same time? That probability is too low,” General Steyr-Mark’s brow furrowed tightly, his years of military experience alerting him that the situation was not straightforward.

After a few seconds of thought, he said, “I need to call the Emperor.”

After speaking, the General took three steps to the desk, picked up the receiver, “Connect me to Eagle’s Nest, now, immediately.”

As the operator worked, the General muttered a prayer under his breath, “Can the field mouse spare our telephone lines, just for today, could it spare our telephone lines!”

Making long-distance calls in this era was quite a complex process and required a long wait.

After waiting for about two minutes, a lazy voice came through from the other end, “Eagle’s Nest Administration Office.”

“Schneider!” Since they were all old acquaintances, General Steiermark directly called out the name of the person on the other end, “I need to speak with His Majesty!”

Schneider replied, “His Majesty took a sleeping pill and lay down an hour ago, and he’s in a very bad mood because several generals jointly requested total mobilization yesterday and he flew into a rage. Now only Giles dares to wake him, but Giles isn’t here.”

General Steiermark suppressed his anger, “Then go find Giles! Right now I must speak with His Majesty!”

“What happened that is so serious?” asked Schneider, puzzled.

“Rocossov is bombarding us; I’ve lost contact with four battalions of the fifth echelon on the front line.”

Schneider’s voice was very relaxed, “High Command had already anticipated this as a feint. As for not being able to contact the four battalions on the front line, it’s possible that guerrillas reported their locations, which were then specifically targeted. Rocossov has used this tactic during last year’s offensive; he is particularly skilled at it!”

General Steiermark, “You… I suddenly find I can’t refute you. Indeed, this seems like something Rocossov would do. Alright, I will contact you again after I receive the results from the aerial reconnaissance.”

After hanging up, General Steiermark cursed, “My call, actually denied! Just because our Emperor took a tiny sleeping pill! He wants to sleep!”

The others dared not speak.

The Chief of Staff forcefully changed the subject, “So what’s the situation?”

“It’s a feint, and Schneider… Vice Admiral Schneider believes this is one of Rocossov’s tricks, using intelligence provided by guerrillas to precisely bombard headquarters, causing them to lose contact. Regardless, what we need to do remains the same, to quickly clarify the situation.”

The Chief of Staff added, “Actually, there’s a simple way to judge, if the enemy’s Mountain Corps doesn’t coordinate with the attack, it’s a feint. If Rocossov intends to encircle us, the Mountain Corps would definitely participate to pin down our forces.”

As soon as he finished speaking, General Steiermark’s telephone rang.

At the same time, a staff officer rushed in and loudly reported, “The Mountain Corps has begun bombarding us!”

The Chief of Staff’s face fell.

Steiermark picked up the phone, “This is General Steiermark, you are being bombarded, correct? Hmm, don’t panic, prepare for defensive operations following the normal procedures, we’re currently trying to clarify the situation. It might be a feint.”

After hanging up, General Steiermark looked at the others, “The Mountain Corps has also started shelling, but we can’t conclude it’s not a feint based on this alone; it might be a deception to make the feint appear more realistic.”

“Before we clarify the situation, we must be ready to defend. Also, what’s the situation with the Eleventh Army Group?”

The Chief of Staff responded, “They reported yesterday that they just received a batch of reinforcements, and an armed cargo ship escorted by the Imperial Navy brought them a batch of supplies. Their strength has recovered to sixty percent of full capacity.”

General Steiermark sighed, “Xiplin and I are both Generals, I can’t really command him openly, and since Marshal Geron commands Army Group B, he rightfully commands the Generals, I… nevermind, I’ll make a call in a bit.”

“Right now, our primary task is to understand the scale of the attack, if it’s a feint, the scale won’t be too large. Let’s get moving!”

…

An hour later, the communications officer came in solemnly holding a translated telegram, handing it to the Chief of Staff.

General Steiermark queried, “How’s it looking?”

The Chief of Staff, with a face ashen, said, “Aerial reconnaissance reports say that the bombing density could reach more than 20 heavy artillery pieces per kilometer, and from the air, none of our first-line troops are seen to be active.”

General Steiermark’s brows were tightly furrowed.

His Deputy Officer asked, “Is this… also a feint?”

The General picked up the receiver, “Connect to Eagle’s Nest! Make it quick!”

Two minutes later, Schneider’s voice came through the receiver again, “Eagle’s Nest.”

“Schneider!” General Steiermark spoke briskly, “Rocossov has committed more than 20 heavy artillery pieces per kilometer on the front! And currently, he’s not shelling the Tenth Group Army! This is clearly…”

“Stay calm, Rocossov likes to play these games. You think you’re the main target and you’ve fallen for his trick.”

General Steiermark, “But what if it’s not a feint? The Eleventh Army Group is still reorganizing; they just reported yesterday that their troop strength has recovered to sixty percent of its full capacity, while Rocossov has a million-strong army!”

Schneider replied, “Keep calm, he’s still got to keep troops back to guard against the Tenth Group Army across the river. The river is still frozen, the Tenth Group Army can cross it to reach his supply lines—the railways.

“Considering the disparity in combat capabilities between the sides, Rocossov would have to leave between five to six hundred thousand troops to defend the banks of the Suhayaweili River.”

General Steiermark hesitated momentarily then said, “Alright, I’ll watch the situation, goodbye.”

He hung up, looking at the crowd, “Contact the four battalions on the front line or find some routed soldiers. Also, send out another reconnaissance plane.”

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