Chapter 323 The End of the Coastal Fortress

On June 5, 915, Wang Zhong received a call from General Gorky from the Western Front Headquarters early in the morning.

Wang Zhong: "Don't attack my home, maybe the secrets will be leaked. Don't tell military secrets."

General Gorky: "Then you quickly go to the city defense headquarters. You can call us at any time."

Then General Gorky hung up the phone.

Wang Zhong put down the receiver and looked at the map in the bedroom. Since Proson and the Western Front started attacking respectively, Wang Zhong moved the map to the room so that he could stare at the map while accompanying his fiancee, who had grown pregnant. Thinking.

There didn't seem to be any major problems with the battle lines on the map. The update time written in pencil on the edge of the map was 11 o'clock last night, which should have been updated just before going to bed.

Lyudmila asked curiously: "What's going on?"

Wang Zhong: "I don't know, but it's probably not an emergency on the front line. In that case, the caller wouldn't be General Gorky, but Olga."

Lyudmila: "Then why did you call so early?"

Wang Zhong: "I guess his breach was filled in by the Prossens. It took so long to fill it in, which shows that our army performed well, much better than last year's tofu dregs that fell apart in a single blow."

Lyudmila smiled and said: "You said tofu again. Do you like this kind of Seris food that much?"

Wang Zhong: "Butter, I mean, our army's performance last year was the same as butter, or cheese."

Lyudmila smiled happily: "Okay, okay, let's see if we can get some canned tofu from the United States."

Wang Zhong smiled bitterly, because he knew that there were no canned tofu in the United States at this time, and maybe people didn't know what tofu was.

He kissed Lyudmila who was still about to say something, and then touched her belly: "I'm leaving."

Lyudmila pretended to be disappointed: "You only touch your belly now. I am no longer attractive in your eyes."

Wang Zhong quickly made up for painting the front armor: "I was wrong, I was wrong, you are interested, you are interested!"

Lyudmila pushed him: "Let's go, the front line is waiting for you."

Wang Zhong nodded, and just then Nelli appeared with a military cap and polished leather shoes.

————

When Wang Zhong walked into the city defense headquarters, the staff were surprised: "You didn't go to the imperial meeting?"

"As a lieutenant general, I always attend those meetings and serve as a staff officer like you. Do you really think I can influence any decisions?" Wang Zhong said, "Has the confidential secretary gone to work? Let him squat at the switchboard."

"Yes, General." The staff officer immediately executed the order.

Wang Zhong went directly into his office, took off his hat and hung it on the coat rack, and then opened one of the buckles - the weather was starting to get hot, and he would definitely be sweating if he kept buttoning the buckles.

On the other hand, the heat can only be dealt with by turning on the wind. It's a joke.

As soon as Wang Zhong sat down behind his desk, the phone rang, and the confidential secretary answered: "I'm at the switchboard."

Wang Zhong: "Go to the Western Front Headquarters. General Gorky is waiting for me."

A moment later, General Gorky's voice came from the receiver: "Rokossov?"

Wang Zhong: "Yes, what's going on?"

"The enemy killed all our troops who broke through to the other side of the river. Our troops disintegrated faster than expected. The good news is that this time it was not a retreat. In addition to the scattered troops, many people from other troops were able to withdraw. "

Wang Zhong: "Did you order the retreat?"

"Yes, the engineering troops originally told me that the pontoon bridge could be erected at midnight on June 3, but the pontoon bridge has not been completed so far, so I ordered a retreat at four o'clock this morning and used army-level artillery to cover the retreat of the large forces.

"The retreat is not over yet, but the Plosans are already sweeping along the east coast, trying to drive us away from the ferry completely."

Wang Zhong: "Invest the troops who have not yet crossed the river. There should be many troops who did not cross because of the delay on the pontoon bridge, right?"

"You guessed it right, we are currently working hard to hold at least one bridgehead."

"I already know the situation, but I still don't understand why you called me."

General Gorky: "Did you know the result from the beginning?"

Wang Zhong: "I just made an inference based on the situation of our army and the enemy's army, but in war, we won't know the outcome until we actually fight it. And..."

Wang Zhong's mood suddenly dropped because he was about to say something very cruel.

"And what?" General Gorky asked.

Wang Zhong: "We need to use this method to train our commanders and check for leaks and fill them. The Prosen Army was not so strong from the beginning. They have maintained their military tradition for so many years. Do we have a military tradition?" "

Ant said that there is a military tradition, and indeed there is, but the gap between it and Prossenby is a bit big.

A sigh came from the receiver: "It's really uncomfortable to hear that sacrifices are needed to train commanders."

Wang Zhong: "I look forward to your experience summary."

General Gorky smiled bitterly and said: "If someone else said this, I would take it as a sarcasm, but you, I suspect you are planning to take me to class as a counterexample!"

Wang Zhong: "Yes, and you are required to speak to the students in person and analyze it yourself. When you go on stage, I will also provide you with powerful music."

"Suka Bule, you guy. Okay, when the battle here comes to an end, I will go back to Ye Castle to give you a good summary!"

Wang Zhong: "As for the ferry, if the casualties caused by defending it are too great, we can consider abandoning the defense. There is no need for unnecessary sacrifices."

General Gorky: "I heard your opinion, and I will consider it, I promise. But now I have to guard it for a while and try it out. Maybe it can consume some of Proson's vitality and reduce the pressure on the coastal side.

"However, the coastal side may... No, it's always good to relieve a little pressure."

Wang Zhong nodded: "Yes."

He knew what Gorky meant. The coastal area had already begun to retreat, but the only way was within the enemy's naval gun coverage. He had no choice but to retreat at night. Duke Myshkin was also working hard to launch an attack, trying to get through to Bor. Land passage from Sksk to Primorye Fortress.

However, just like the problems encountered by General Gorky, the quality of Ant Army's current soldiers is too poor, especially the level of grassroots commanders, resulting in a mess in the offensive organization.

The poor level of commanders is due, on the one hand, to the fact that too many experienced commanders were sacrificed in last year and a half of the war, and on the other hand, the quick-victory faction and the capitulation faction purged away many experienced commanders.

Now the military headquarters is discussing reactivating some of the repentant Quick Victory faction, but Belinsky blocked it.

Belinsky firmly believed that the trainees taught by Wang Zhong in the crash course held for half a year could grow into independent officers after being trained in actual combat.

Moreover, a new batch of students will soon graduate from the Suvorov Military Academy. These people will first go to the front line to serve as deputy positions to gain experience, and after one year they will grow into cadres at the division and brigade level.

That is to say, before they can grow up, Ant's army will have to bleed a lot.

It seems that the hundreds of thousands of people in Coastal Fortress were the first wave of sacrifices.

General Gorky suddenly said: "If you transport your First Mobile Army there, can you rescue the troops in the Coastal Fortress?"

Wang Zhong: "I don't know. Regardless of whether my First Mobile Army can be transported there now, even if it is transported, the logistics will be no problem, and I don't know if we can achieve results.

"You know my first attack was a pure downwind game - meaning sailing down the river with the wind. I had to actually play it to know if my attack would work."

General Gorky: "Now I always feel that you are taking my face into account when you say this."

Wang Zhong: "If you don't want me to take away the title of the most offensive person, you should learn from your experience, Georgil."

Here Wang Zhong deliberately used Gorky's nickname to call him.

The general responded: "Be careful, don't let me take away the title of Imperial Iron Wall! I have some experience in defense now."

Wang Zhong: "The fire captain said he has some experience in defense? Okay, stop talking. See you in July."

————

On June 29, 915, General Eric von Shipling, commander of the 11th Army of Plossen, boarded the Peter the Great I fort at the core of the fortress.

Standing on the top of the fort, he looked down at the huge crater left by the armor-piercing bomb of the giant cannon and exclaimed: "It's really bottomless, as if it goes straight to hell."

The commander of the 191st Division who accompanied him on the tour said: "We are in hell, general."

It is understandable that the 191st Infantry Division was left alone in the fierce close combat.

General Eric von Shipling patted the 191st Division Commander on the shoulder. Without saying anything, he turned to the fortress city.

Just like the Burning Sun Fortress, the Coastal Fortress also has an urban area where 150,000 civilians live, most of whom work in the fortress' shipyard and affiliated factories.

At this moment, fighting is still going on in the city, and fierce gunfire can be heard.

Looking down from the Peter I Fortress over the city, all I could see was black smoke pillars everywhere, as if the entire city was burning.

Shipling took out a postcard from his pocket and looked at the coastal fortress area as usual: "I don't know how long it will take before this city will regain its beauty on the postcard."

The commander of the 191st Division was obviously a little irritable because of the high casualties, so he said directly: "Such words coming from the people who destroyed this city will only make people feel hypocritical."

Shipling looked at the postcard and nodded: "Indeed."

At this time, the communications staff officer led a communications soldier carrying a radio and said: "Report to the commander, the 1st Battalion of the 222nd Infantry Regiment of the 65th Division reported that the coastal fortress garrison headquarters was captured."

Shipling: "Good, very good."

The chief of staff of the group army asked: "Want to go into the city to spend the night?"

Shipling shook his head: "No, just find a house for the night near the fort. It will be inconspicuous. The Ant people like to grab our headquarters and bombard it too much now."

"Please come this way." His adjutant immediately made a gesture of invitation.

"Oh? Already found it? Okay, take me to have a look."

After a while, the group came to a wooden hut, but the person who was supposed to live here was nowhere to be seen.

Judging from the decoration, this should be the hut of the Tatars who have lived here for generations.

Shipling entered the hut, looked at the decoration in the house with satisfaction and said: "Okay, very good, let's set up the headquarters here and set up the antennas quickly. I can't wait to send His Majesty the news of victory." "

————

On July 2, 915, Shipling and his staff were drinking coffee in the room. Suddenly a staff officer walked in and stood at attention and saluted: "Your Excellency, please turn on the radio!"

Shiplin raised his eyebrows: "Oh? Open it."

The radio was turned on immediately, and the staff expertly adjusted the frequency, and soon the voice of Emperor Reinhardt of the Prosen Empire came from the radio.

"Everyone, I can't wait to inform you of the wonderful news. The Coastal Fortress, which has been blocking our country's advance since last year, was completely controlled by our army just yesterday! The Ant Empire once again suffered a huge defeat. This means that they have completely lost control of the White Sea!

"Last year our attempt to force them to surrender like the Carolingians failed, but this year, we still have hope of ending the war! Ant is at the end of its tether. They lost five million troops in the past year! They will not have any soon. A worthy soldier!"

The broadcast continued, but the senior officers of the 11th Army in the room had serious expressions.

They can no longer be as optimistic as before. Although last year it was mainly General Ni, General Dong and the overly long supply line that defeated the Prosen army in front of the Ye Fort, although now the Ant army still has no way to stop Prosen's attack, but...

The officers all felt that the level and fighting will of Ant's army were completely different from last year.

Everyone listened quietly to the emperor's speech, but it was not because of respect for the emperor.

Finally, when the emperor said that the Ant people were now in trouble, Shiplin picked up the can box that was used as an ashtray on the table, turned it to the front, and looked at the word "Spam" spelled out in Angsa language.

Apparently Ant was starving only in His Majesty's imagination.

After the speech ended, Shiplin waved his hand: "Continue with our plan. Occupying the fortress is not the end. Now we have squeezed about 90,000 people into a small area by the sea. They are still resisting..."

The confidential secretary came in with a telegram: "Report, General, His Majesty the Emperor has an urgent telegram."

"read."

"The admirable Admiral Eric von Shipling, your victory undoubtedly gave us a good start for our offensive in 915. At this point, it became possible for our army to sweep across the entire southern Ant. In view of your For your continued outstanding performance, I have decided to promote you to the rank of Field Marshal! Imperial Emperor Reinhard von Hohenzollern.”

Shipling frowned: "Upgrading to two levels in a row is creating a gap between me and other generals."

He shook his head repeatedly, but could not hide the smile on his lips.

The chief of staff suggested: "On this special day, hold a banquet in the evening and invite all officers and cross medal recipients currently in the city to dine."

Shiplin nodded: "Okay! Besides, we don't have to wait until night, let's have a drink now to celebrate the victory! Bring the wine!"

In this way, after a year of fighting, the coastal fortress finally fell into the hands of the enemy.

By the way, the banquet that night had to be stopped midway because 12 Bo-2 bombers bombed the city at night. They chose the only place in the city that did not have light control, killing five lieutenants in total.