Cannon Fire Arc

Journalist Mike: "You're already preparing for the next battle!"

Wait a minute, the way you say that sounds rather sarcastic, like there's a sense of "On one hand RNG is the earliest team to prepare for S9"!

Pavlov: "After a year of fighting, our consumption has been enormous, whether it's equipment or soldiers. Our artillery shell reserves have dwindled to less than a tenth after half a year of battling. If we keep fighting, our artillery will run out of shells. If the Prosens attack then, we'll be in big trouble."

Wang Zhong: "But it's possible the Prosens have also run out of artillery shells."

(This is true, ever since the winter campaign began, the Prosens' artillery fire has been very "restrained.")

Journalist Mike: "It looks like next summer's offensive will be quite grand?"

Wang Zhong: "Right, we're going to strike directly at Plowsonia and put an end to the war once and for all! Just like the Prosens attempted in 914! They failed, but we will succeed."

The first volley of smoke bombs for the summer campaign, brace yourself, Plathen Emperor!

Journalist Mike: "A direct attack on Plowsonia? Even from the closest point, it's several hundred kilometers away, and there are two major rivers in between. Isn't that a bit rash?"

Wang Zhong: "We launch a large-scale invasion so that the Allied Forces have a chance, don't we? At the meeting in Balas Capital, Prime Minister Leonard and President Luo have promised to open a second front to ease our pressure.

"Although I feel that under the current situation, we no longer need to ease the pressure, but—just in case."

In fact, based on the winter offensive and how it hit the Prosen defenses, the enemy's combat strength is very strong when they are entrenched. If the enemy continues to strengthen its forces and move troops from the Western Front to the Eastern Front, the battle will become extremely difficult after entering the Prosen Empire's mainland.

At such times, Wang Zhong actually hopes that the Allied Forces can exert pressure on the Western Front to force the Prosens to keep more troops there.

To achieve this goal, he must pretend that he has no expectation for the Allies' landing.

Journalist Mike shook his head: "This year's several failures in the Kingdom of Sardinia have made the Allies very cautious about landings. Of course, the Allied Forces have never stopped assembling troops, and already 1.5 million troops are assembled in the United Kingdom mainland. By April next year, that number will increase to three million—at least that's the official announcement."

Wang Zhong: "And the Prosen Army stationed across the channel on the Carolingian mainland numbers less than five hundred thousand!"

Journalist Mike: "For amphibious operations, a six-to-one advantage in troop strength isn't enough."

Wang Zhong: "When will it ever be enough? No, you can never have too many troops. If you wait until you have 'enough' troops before attacking, you'll never reach that moment. The Allied Forces should try landing in Normandy or Jialai right now to put enough pressure on the enemy.

"Who knows, the Prosens might not be prepared yet, and they might be caught off guard!"

————

"If the Allied Forces land now, we will be caught off guard!" Marshal Erwin slammed the table, "How can you replace my entire Headquarters staff? The new staff don't even know how many kilometers long the West Wall is or how many mines are buried there!"

"We already know that." The new Chief of Staff said, "We've read all the maps and documents overnight—although we haven't finished them all, we've read the important ones!"

Marshal Erwin: "Look! They're only reading the files now, not even finished! If the Allies land at this time, what am I supposed to do? When I issue an order, the staff don't know where the troops I'm ordering are, or what the places in my orders are, or what the terrain is like!"

Imperial Ministry spy: "But if we don't change personnel, there might be surrender elements among your staff, they could even secretly pass intelligence to the Allied Forces!"

Marshal Erwin: "Then what are you and the Constitutional Guards doing? Just because there might be a risk, you transfer away all the staff and clerks from my Headquarters, what's the point in the Empire supporting you?"

Imperial Ministry spy: "Our purpose is to maintain the prosperity and stability of the Empire, Marshal."

Erwin took a deep breath, then seemingly compromised: "Fine, although I just ranted and raved a lot, the fact is that the Allies have not noticed this opportunity, and they have not launched an attack.

"Chief of Staff! The staff officers must be ready within a week!"

Chief of Staff: "Yes! I will make sure that the staff officers memorize exactly how long the West Wall is and how many landmines have been buried."

Erwin paused, staring at the Chief of Staff's face: "Damn! What's the point of memorizing the number of mines on the West Wall? Those will be destroyed by naval gunfire in the first two hours! They should be memorizing the mines behind the West Wall's minefields, which are not so easily destroyed by naval gunfire."

The Chief of Staff was also embarrassed: Wasn't it you who mentioned the landmines on the West Wall just now?

Erwin continued: "Our defense sector, like the Normandy salient, is all hedgerows with very narrow visibility. Officers familiar with the terrain all call this place 'Green Hell' because once the war starts, it will be filled with close-range combat everywhere.

"You must get clear on every single road in this Green Hell, every open field! This is crucial!"

Chief of Staff stood at attention: "Yes!"

"Start working!" The Marshal waved his hand, and the staff officers turned and left the Marshal's office.

The Marshal came to the door, quietly opened a crack to look outside, then turned to the Imperial Ministry's secret agent and the Constitutional Guards who were still in the office: "The higher-ups haven't given me enough manpower! With only a little more than a hundred staff officers and nearly no clerks, how is it possible to maintain the operation of the whole Western Command?"

The Imperial Ministry's secret agent pushed up his glasses: "We will continue to send staff officers and clerks alike. If you need them, just ask us."

"I know there are few staff officers because you need to screen them, so I won't be adding to your burden," Marshal Erwin quipped, "When the United Kingdom and the Federation forces launch their landing operations, I might as well use the excuse of not enough staff officers to mobilize the troops and just surrender!"

Actually, the Marshal was just complaining, but the eyes of the Imperial Ministry's secret agent and the Constitutional Guards officers widened.

Erwin immediately realized his slip of the tongue and quickly said, "I'm jesting with you! Do you understand jesting? I'm going to triumph over all difficulties and stop the Allies with the five hundred thousand troops I have in hand!

"Damn it, my five hundred thousand troops are still dispersed in Carolingian and the Kingdom of Sardinia!"

The Imperial Ministry's secret agent said with feigned sincerity: "We believe you will create another glorious victory. You have defeated the armies of the United Kingdom and the Federation in Mamluk before and also achieved a resounding victory later in the Kingdom of Sardinia.

"Your military career has been from one victory to the next, and we have every reason to believe you will be victorious once again."

Erwin snorted: "It sounds like Prosen is going to have its own 'Star of Victory'! Then why not transfer me to the Eastern Front to meet with General Rocossov, the Empire's nightmare?"

Imperial Ministry's secret agent: "Because the Empire has just repelled Rocossov's assault in the East and foiled his scheme."

"Oh? Really?" Erwin suddenly slammed the table in outburst, "Don't joke with people! Judging from the battle reports, this time Rocossov's intention was to flatten the defensive line to save manpower, and by our calculation on the map scale, he has shortened the frontline by 27 kilometers! Do you know how many divisions' worth of troops this will save?"

The Imperial Ministry's secret agent pursed his lips; this was not his area of expertise, and he dared not answer rashly.

Erwin: "Yes, Lieutenant Karl of the Northern Army Group's 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion did a good job; he should soon catch up with Captain Weidmann who racked up a bunch of Allied Sherman tanks at the Angio landing site.

"Considering most of the tanks Captain fought were abandoned by the Allies in the water, Lieutenant Karl should already be Prosen's top ace.

"But individual warriors, vehicle crews, or even an entire unit's superior performance does not mean we've 'won'!

"I think that up to now in this Eastern Front winter campaign, Ante has gained the advantage as they have almost achieved all their strategic objectives.

"Next, the Eastern Front will fall into calm, maybe even lasting up to seven months of calm! After that, Rocossov will surely show his thunderous methods!"