Cannon Fire Arc-Chapter 751 - 8 Military Advice Provided by Rocossov

Chapter 751: Chapter 8 Military Advice Provided by Rocossov

While Olga and Prime Minister Leonard Spencer were inspecting the guard of honor, Wang Zhong and the Allied generals had already taken their places on the nearby viewing platform.

Standing next to Wang Zhong was a four-star Admiral from the Federation. As the ceremony began, he whispered, “How do you deal with Prosen’s formidable armored troops?”

“Ah?” Wang Zhong cut his viewpoint down to confirm that he had not met this four-star Admiral during his visit to the Federation. The title was Allies Supreme Commander of the Aegean Sea, and the man’s name included his nickname “Eck,” which was placed in double quotes in the middle of his full name.

Admiral “Eck” repeated the question.

Wang Zhong, “Prosen’s Armored Troops excel at long-range combat. Once they switched to long-barreled guns, our regular T34 units were no match for them and were often defeated at exchange rates like 10 to 170.”

Eck, “So how did you win?”

...

“First, dig shelters to hide the tanks and fight an ambush war. Second, create a Tank Destroyer that piles on frontal defense to cope with immediate problems. Third, the new tanks’ overall performance surpasses Prosen’s tanks.”

Eck, “Their new tanks, your new tanks won against those? Our front lines can’t handle those tanks at all.”

Wang Zhong, “Try using the United Kingdom Army’s seventeen-pound guns or your 90mm anti-aircraft guns.”

Eck, “Did you look at the arms data we sent over?”

The Allied Nations share most of the performance parameters of their weapons and equipment with each other, and main combat equipment samples are even provided to their allies. Thus, Ante had received the Federation’s 90mm guns and accompanying shells, which they tested and were very satisfied with the performance of these weapons.

Wang Zhong, “Not only have I seen them, but the tests were also organized by people I trust. I am the Chairman of Ante’s Equipment Review Committee. These two weapons in the Allied arsenal will comfortably deal with the enemy’s new tanks. Of course, you could also choose to improve the Bazooka Rocket, enhancing its penetration abilities.”

On Earth, the U.S. Military ultimately improved the Bazooka Rocket into the ‘Super Bazooka,’ which had no problem dealing with the Tiger King, though it required the infantry to risk approaching within 200 meters to fire.

Thus, in the Kingdom of Sardinia, this tactic probably wouldn’t work. The Prosens could use terrain for long-range shots, preventing the Allied infantry from getting close.

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But in Normandy’s “Hedge Hell,” it was the Prosens who were in trouble.

Eck, “Any other suggestions?”

Wang Zhong, “Yes, don’t think about outgunning the enemy’s armored troops. Capitalize on the artillery and Air Force’s advantages. Even the most powerful armored troops become scrap metal if their field repair shops and supplies are destroyed. That’s what we did when we didn’t have the means to counter Prosen’s armored advantage.

“Use mustangs with rockets to attack trains, P47s with bombs to strike train stations. You could even use liberator bombers to target enemy train stations and supply depots.”

Eck laughed, “That’s actually a good idea.”

At this moment, a Vice Admiral from the Army Air Corps who had been listening in spoke up, “Easier said than done. Our Eighth Air Force is struggling to keep up the bombing missions, the losses are too great, and Prosen pilots are going mad trying to shoot down our bombers.”

Wang Zhong immediately cut his viewpoint and discovered that this Air Corps Vice Admiral was named Dulite.

He hurriedly asked, “Are you the Dulite who bombed the Empire of Fusang?”

“Yes, that’s me. And I am about to take command of the Eighth Air Force. I’ve heard that Marshal is somewhat knowledgeable about aircraft. Do you have any suggestions for the Air Force’s upcoming operations?”

Wang Zhong, “My suggestion is to let the fighter squadrons’ guys stop escorting those damned bombers and instead have them seek out duels with Prosen Air Force pilots.

“Fighter pilots are cowboys; they want to go head-to-head with the enemy’s top aces. Having them accompany the bombers as escort gunners is a huge blow to their morale.”

Dulite laughed, “That’s what I think too, but everyone thinks I’m crazy. I also want the fighter guys to strafe the enemy’s airfields. The planes undergoing maintenance at the airfields and the ground crews are very good targets as well. Continuous attacks will steadily diminish Prosen Air Force’s effectiveness, making our bombing runs smoother!”

Wang Zhong, “You might also let the guys attacking the airfields carry some timed bombs to drop on the runways.”

Dulite, “That makes sense. We can mix timed bombs with real bombs. Real bombs to damage the runway, timed bombs to obstruct the enemy from repairing it.”

Wang Zhong, “Exactly.”

Admiral “Eck” sighed, “Haven’t you thought about the young men flying bombers?”

Wang Zhong, “Your Excellency, having fighter squadrons escort bombers is very inefficient, whereas having fighter squadrons enter the airspace ahead of the bombers to attack enemy airfields and engage in knightly battles with enemy fighter pilots is far more efficient for protection.”

Vice Admiral Dulite added, “Yes, mixing fighters and bombers actually burdens the fighter pilots. They can’t take better positions or reach higher speeds – because they have to accompany those cumbersome bombers.

“Marshal Rocosov’s advice is sounder.”

Wang Zhong thought to himself, damn it, you just said you thought the same, but the others disagreed. What now, you’re pulling my weight?

Now the United States had not yet established an independent Air Force, and the Eighth Air Force responsible for bombing Prosen was a part of the Army Air Corps, with Vice Admiral Dulite also a vice admiral in the Army Air Corps, still under the jurisdiction of high-ranking Army officers such as Eck.

Eck glanced at Wang Zhong’s profile, “Well, you can try going to the Eighth Air Force, but if the bomber forces suffer heavy losses, we might call off the bombing of the Prosen mainland.”

Wang Zhong said, “That’s not acceptable! The bombing is spilling your pilots’ blood, that’s true, but it’s also bleeding the Ploson Air Force. On the Eastern Front, we have rarely suffered air raids from the Ploson Air Force. The Ante Air Force is gradually gaining air superiority, and that is the significance of your bombings.

“War is like that, Vice Admiral Davarish, losing pilots is not important, what’s important is to eliminate more pilots on the other side.”

Eck remained silent.

Wang Zhong continued, “Think about our situation if we fail.”

Eck said, “I know, we must win, and we will surely win.”

At that moment, the ceremony had progressed to the segment where the leaders of both sides delivered speeches. Wang Zhong watched as Olga stepped onto the podium and began to make her speech by the book.

Eck suddenly said, “I’ve heard you brought over the repaired Prosen tanks?”

Wang Zhong replied, “Yes, they should be unloading at the port now. Then, they’ll be transported to the front line on ‘Dragon’ trailers. But they aren’t easy to transport; the Prosens have a knack for wasting tonnage. A heavy tank weighs seventy tons empty, and even the medium ones weigh over forty tons.”

Eck frowned, “Our heavy tank test vehicles only weigh 40 tons! How did they do it?”

Wang Zhong said, “That you’ll have to ask the Prosen engineers. So, you have a new tank project?”

Eck hesitated.

At that moment, President Luo, who was listening in the front row, turned around and said, “Speak your mind, standing before you is a Marshal who has defeated those Prosen tanks.”

Eck nodded, “Alright, Mr. President. Before we joined the war, we had examined Prosen’s tanks. At that time, we believed that Prosen’s Mark III and Mark IV tanks had no advantage when facing our Shermans.”

Contrary to the impression of many, the Sherman was actually quite a decent tank, and its protection was fairly reliable in its debut year on the battlefield. Many Prosen tanks would struggle against its large sloped armor.

On Earth, the Sherman was considered rubbish only when faced with the Tiger, Tiger King, and Panther.

Eck continued, “But at that time, newspapers controlled by people of Prosen descent were all hyping up the notion that Prosen’s technology was number one in the world and their tanks were invincible. So, the Army proposed a new tank project, planning ahead.

“However, as you kept winning and the M4 performed well in Mamluk, achieving a good exchange ratio against Prosen tanks, the research and development got delayed.”

Wang Zhong was a bit surprised, how could they blame this on me?

Eck said, “But after the failure of the Sardin landing operation, the Army increased the project’s priority and lowered some technical specifications to expedite the production of the finished product.”

Wang Zhong said, “Instead of doing that, you might as well fully improve the Sherman.”

As an avid military game enthusiast, Wang Zhong knew “Juggernaut” modifications of the Sherman tank received rave reviews from players in games like War Thunder and World of Tanks.

Wang Zhong continued, “Changing the gun is tricky, but adding armor to the front isn’t difficult. After stopping the enemy’s gunfire, paste the enemy’s tank with your mass-produced white phosphorus shells, and you might render the enemy’s tank combat ineffective.”

At that time, tanks didn’t have NBC protection systems, unable to maintain positive pressure inside the vehicle, so they were basically defenseless against white phosphorus shells and poison gas bombs.

White phosphorus paste to the face, not to mention anything else, but the Prosen tank commanders looking out of their viewports would probably be blinded for good.

Eck said, “White phosphorus paste to the face?”

Wang Zhong said, “That’s right, then use infantry to flank. Your infantry are all equipped with semi-automatic rifles, which are more powerful than the current Prosen infantry. The firepower of a Prosen infantry squad depends entirely on the squad’s machine gun. Except for the machine gun, the only automatic firepower is the squad leader’s MP40.

“Even if the white phosphorus shells don’t damage the tanks, they can clear out the surrounding infantry. Tanks without accompanying infantry are vulnerable, especially in urban areas.”

Eck fell into thought, “That does make sense.”

Wang Zhong said, “The Prosens have strong armored forces, so find a way to prevent them from using that advantage. You need to avoid their strengths and exploit their weaknesses, and leverage your strengths. This is all stated in the Ceres military book ‘The Art of War by Sun Tzu.’ I suggest your West Point Military Academy make this ancient book required reading.”

Before Eck could respond, a United Kingdom General wearing a beret spoke up, “Is Marshal Rocossov implying that he defeated Prosen because he read that ancient Ceres military book?”

What else?

I am a Ceres, after all!

But Wang Zhong smiled and said, “Of course not, I’m just saying that reading this military book can provide inspiration.”