Cannon Fire Arc

Chapter 729: Chapter 67: The Steps of Liberation

Southern Group Army Headquarters.

General Erik von Xiplin rubbed his temple. “Damn, I now suspect Marshal Geron knew how bad the situation was going to get when he hurriedly passed command to me.”

His old subordinate from the Coastal Fortress, Colonel Fischer, replied, “It must be so. However, our situation is not yet desperate, the Greyhound Division successfully delayed the enemy’s offensive from the Shepetovka Front Army.”

“That’s because the Central Army Group is coordinating with us, putting considerable pressure on the Antean Shepetovka Front Army,” General Sheeplin looked at the map. “Fortunately, the Central Army Group blocked General Gorky’s offensive. If the central line collapses, we can’t even bear to think about it. How many of our troops have already managed to retreat?”

The Chief of Staff left by Marshal Geron immediately answered, “Twenty percent of the troops have reported reaching the Dibo River.”

Xiplin: “Five days, twenty percent.”

“General, considering the lengthy distance and the continuous harassment by enemy cavalry, this number is not bad,” the Chief of Staff defended.

“I know,” General Xiplin waved his hand. “I’m not blaming you. How long until these troops can join the defenses at the Dibo River?”

“The units report that they need about a week to regroup; many soldiers have dispersed in the long retreat—and some may have been annihilated by cavalry.”

General Xiplin: “Tell them no rush, Rocossov won’t be able to launch an attack soon after capturing Shepetovka. Have them carefully check how many are missing, and enable as many veterans as possible to return to their original units.”

“We may not get reinforcements for our line at the Dibo River before Rocossov launches his attack, so keeping the original structure of our current troops is extremely important.”

General Xiplin was well aware of the slowness of Prosen in replenishing troops at the front line. By September, it would be a blessing if each division could get a new battalion.

He was most likely going to use the troops at hand to defend the Dibo River.

Fischer asked, “What about the eighty percent of the troops that have not yet reached the Dibo River?”

“No, no, the remaining eighty percent of the troops haven’t reached the Dibo River yet, but they’ve already been on the road for five days. Look at the outside of Shepetovka, aside from our rearguard forces and our headquarters, what troops do we still have? None.”

Fischer: “Indeed, I see even the anti-aircraft battalion protecting the train station has been withdrawn, and the engineers are placing explosives on the abandoned anti-aircraft guns.”

Just as he finished speaking, a series of explosions were heard outside.

Fischer: “That should be the engineers destroying the anti-aircraft guns and locomotives in the train station.”

General Xiplin: “Destroy as much as possible; the destruction we inflict on Shepetovka will all be converted into future advantages! The longer Rocossov takes to restore Shepetovka’s functions, the more time we have to build our defenses on the Dibo River!”

Suddenly, intense gunfire erupted from outside.

General Xiplin demanded, “What’s going on?”

The staff officers burning documents inside the room looked at each other, none knowing the source.

At that moment, a Captain entered the room and saluted General Xiplin, “General, guerrillas are preventing us from destroying the Shepetovka textile factory, and textile workers have organized themselves!”

General Xiplin: “We kept the Flamethrower Tanks exactly for this situation. Deploy the Flamethrower Tank unit, burn the factory and the Anteans together to ashes — not a single loom or thread for the Anteans!”

“Yes!” The Captain saluted again and left.

Fischer, worriedly asked, “Isn’t that too much? What if the Anteans counterattack into the Empire’s territory and do the same things to us?”

General Xiplin looked at Fischer, “Have you forgotten the situation when the invasion first started? Do you think showing pretend mercy to the Anteans now will make them give up revenge?

“No, they won’t. It’s better to be ruthless and disrupt their production as much as possible to slow down their advance.”

At that moment, a communications officer came in with a telegram: “Report, we’ve just received a telegram from Schultz’s combat group; General Adel Schultz believes collapse is imminent—we should prepare early.”

“Collapse?” Xiplin snatched the telegram, frowning intensely as he read the text. “Is there an error in the decoding?”

“No, the Enigma Machine settings are completely correct; there couldn’t be an error.”

Xiplin asked further, “Can we make contact with Adel Schultz?”

“No, and we’ve also lost contact with the 332 Division; most units near Pochayev aren’t responding to our calls.”

Xiplin’s face lengthened: “Pochayev is lost, Schultz’s combat group is destroyed, our line is finished. It’s happening too fast; Rocossov is moving too quickly!”

Fischer: “Does that mean the troops left to deal with the rebellion are essentially abandoned?”

Xiplin shook his head, “No, the situation has changed. All units, including the Constitutional Guards, engineers, and Flamethrower Tanks, begin the retreat. Rocossov won’t wait for us; his troops will push towards Orachi at top speed, and with Schultz’s combat group gone, nothing can stop him.”@@novelbin@@

As he spoke, Xiplin looked at the staff still burning documents, “Stop burning documents, let the engineers set a fire; whether it completely destroys everything is left to chance. Retreat immediately!”

Fischer: “There’s a Junker airliner at the airport waiting; we can leave by that.”

Xiplin shook his head: “If I leave by plane, everything below will fall into chaos. No, I’m leaving by an armored train.”

“Enemy cavalry…”

“The enemy’s cavalry has been galloping across the plains for five days, slashing for five days; their swords must be blunt by now! It’s precisely not the time to worry about their cavalry!” Xiplin paused, looking at the long road leading to the Dibo River on the map.

“Hunger and thirst are the biggest enemies of the soldiers now. It’s unrealistic to provide supplies to everyone, but at least when they see our armored train pass by, they know they haven’t been abandoned.”

After a brief silence, Xiplin told Fischer, “This is crucial. Whether we can hold the Dibo River, whether we can defend Argesukov, depends on this. Without morale, even the most experienced warriors can’t bring out their combat effectiveness!”

Fischer: “Just for this, are you placing yourself in jeopardy?”

“Yes, Rocossov did exactly that; he took risks time and again to save the situation. I think a good commander needs to learn from the enemy’s strengths.”

General Xiplin paused, as if convincing himself, repeated, “Learn from the enemy’s strengths! Yes, the strengths!”

As he said this, the gunfire outside intensified, as if the city couldn’t wait for liberation to come and was liberating itself.