Cannon Fire Arc-Chapter 685 - 23: Disagreements with the High Command

Chapter 685: Chapter 23: Disagreements with the High Command

Yeburg’s Antean Headquarters received the telegram and finished decoding it at three o’clock in the morning.

Early the next day, at the imperial council meeting, General Tugenev handed the telegram to Olga.

After quickly reading the telegram, Olga spoke out loud, “Then let’s attack, what’s the problem?”

General Tugenev, “So far, our attacks on the well-prepared and able Prosen Army have not gone well. Look at General Gorky, who has been attacking for a week. Although he has achieved some results, the enemy’s strongest 9th Army Group remains unshaken, and has even retaken the breached defensive line through a counterattack.

“We incurred heavy casualties at the site of the 9th Army Group. Preliminary estimates suggest a casualty exchange rate as high as three to one, us being the three.

“Under these circumstances, it wouldn’t be appropriate for Rocossov to attack because if he is defeated, it might restore the enemy’s confidence and cause us to lose ours.

“Right now, to our troops, Rocossov is like a totem. Of course, we know he has his failures, his moments of disarray, but the soldiers don’t know that. Or rather, the soldiers hope Rocossov is invincible, that he never loses a battle.

“If Rocossov were to be defeated at a time like this, the soldiers would feel deceived, even though it is they who harbor such expectations of him.

“By the way, we gave the Church a copy of the decoded message immediately in the early morning, and before today’s imperial council meeting, we received the Church’s response; His Highness Archbishop Belinsky also disagrees with attacking.”

Olga, “You don’t trust his judgment?”

“It’s not about whether we trust his judgment or not, but not attacking now is the best course of action. The enemy’s Central Army Group is in peril and will surely mobilize troops from the Southern Army Group for reinforcement. They cannot launch an offensive in the direction of Orel at this time.

“When they have managed to fend off General Gorky’s offensive, they will have to move troops back to launch an offensive. By then, we will be rested, using the offensive preparations we’ve been building for two months to block their assault, and then counterattack in winter as we did last year.”

General Tugenev spoke confidently, “This way, we will be completely secure!”

Olga stared at Tugenev for a few seconds, then said, “I’m going to phone him and ask for his opinion myself.”

Tugenev pressed his lips together, and after a brief moment of hesitation, gestured towards the telephone with a “please” sign.

Olga picked up the phone, “Connect me to the First Front Army Headquarters in Kazarlia.”

As she waited for the operator to connect the call, she tapped the tabletop with her slender fingers, eyes locked on Tugenev.

Finally, the phone connected, and Pavlov’s voice came through the other end, “Front Army Headquarters.”

Olga, “Get Rocossov on the phone.”

“Your Majesty? Please hold.”

Then faintly, someone could be heard calling out on the other side, and soon the familiar voice came through the receiver, “This is Rocossov. Olga, what’s going on? Did you receive the telegram we sent?”

Olga, “Yes, we did. Both Tugenev and Belinsky’s opinions are not to attack, to delay the time, wait for the enemy to attack, and prepare for a counter-offensive.”

Rocossov, “General Gorky’s offensive has already had an effect. The fact that the enemy is pulling troops from the Southern Army Group indicates they lack sufficient reserve forces.

“The enemy is mobilizing in full force; their troops will keep growing. In three months, they might have a million newly formed troops ready for the front line. No, Olga, we can’t take that risk. We must attack now to make the enemy lose their balance.”

Olga looked at Tugenev and repeated his earlier words verbatim, “General Gorky’s offensive demonstrates that the enemy still has considerable combat strength, especially the counterattack of the 9th Army Group, which caused us significant casualties, with a possible exchange rate of three to one.”

Rocossov, “The enemy’s fully equipped Armored Troops still possess strong combat power, so such results are not surprising. But not every Army Group can muster such forces for such counterattacks.”

Olga, “What will you do if you encounter such a counterattack?”

“Our armored strength is stronger than that of Gorky’s Front Army,” Rocossov said, “and we have a large number of new heavy tanks that can arm-wrestle with the enemy. We might even replicate the astonishing results of the heroic KV units from the first year of the war.”

Olga, “Do you have any other reasons for insisting on attacking now? Say them all at once!”

After she finished speaking, she pressed an electric button on the table, and then a rustling sound came from the speaker on the table.

This way, everyone in the conference room could hear Rocossov’s reply—although, at this moment, General Tugenev was the only person in the room.

Rocossov pondered briefly and answered, “First of all, the enemy’s engineering troops are primarily constructing works to conceal their departing forces, knowing full well that I like to make counter-battery preparations. They’ve built these shelters against that.

“These, at best, can only serve as bomb shelters, not defensive works. And according to our air reconnaissance, the enemy has begun digging real defensive shelters. Once those are completed, our attacks will surely result in serious casualties.

“Secondly, our reconnaissance has discovered that many of the enemy’s new tanks that just arrived at the front line went straight into the repair shops.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

“If we wait for them to fix those and then fight, it could also increase our casualties.

“Lastly, the enemy certainly does not expect us to launch an offensive, which gives our attack the element of surprise. The grasslands in July are perfect for running the horses, and our three Guards Cavalry Army Groups are eager to gallop across the homeland.”

Olga, “I understand. I’ll convey your opinions to General Tugenev, please hold.”

Having finished speaking, His Majesty the Tsar covered the mouthpiece of the phone with his hand and looked up at Tugenev, “He said that, are you convinced?”

Tugenev replied, “I still stand by my judgment; right now, we just need to hold steady. There’s no need for overly risky actions.”

Olga retorted, “But you’re not on the front line. You taught me when I was young that sometimes the generals at the front have a far better grasp of the situation than the old men who are away from the front.”

Tugenev said, “I never claimed that I have a better understanding of the front line. I was merely presenting a logical analysis in front of you, and as you can see, there’s nothing wrong with my logic.”

Olga agreed, “Yes, the logic is flawless, and even I can see that it’s a prudent plan. But Tugenev, you have to admit that my brother makes sense, right?”

Tugenev nodded, “Yes, he does make sense.”

“There you go. If you’re afraid of taking responsibility, then I’ll sign the order and approve the changes to the operational plan.”

Tugenev sighed, “Your Majesty, that’s really not a good idea.”

Olga stated, “But I can’t stop the soldiers from wanting to go home. They’ve been away for more than two years.”

Tugenev answered, “Yet His Highness Belinsky might not be pleased. What if he comes over to question it?”

Olga replied, “I’ll give him a call.”

Without missing a beat, she picked up the receiver, “Connect me to the Secular faction’s grand cathedral.”

This time the connection was made immediately, answered by a voice Olga did not recognize, “Church, who’s speaking?”

Olga said, “This is Tsar Olga Nikolayevna. I want to speak with His Highness Belinsky.”

“Just one moment, please, it will be just a moment.” The church official had barely replied before Belinsky’s voice came through.

Belinsky inquired, “Your Majesty, shouldn’t it be time for the imperial council? Is there something you need?”

Olga asked, “You know about my brother— I mean Rocossov’s request for a change in the operational plan, right? Tugenev says you disagree?”

“That’s right, there’s no need to risk attacking the fully-equipped Prosen Army.”

Olga pressed, “Even though General Gorky has launched his second attack?”

“It’s precisely because General Gorky’s two attacks resulted in heavy casualties without proportional achievements that I suggest not to initiate an offensive,” Belinsky responded.

Olga prodded, “You don’t have faith in Rocossov?”

“If faith could win wars, then the Prosens should have won in 1914, and you and I would both be prisoners,” Belinsky replied curtly.

“But Rocossov’s reasons have persuaded Tugenev.”

“Then tell me his reasons; perhaps they’ll persuade me as well.”

Olga immediately relayed the content she had just heard without missing a word.

After a few seconds of silence, Belinsky said, “To be honest, I don’t find these reasons particularly compelling, but I am just the Archbishop of the Secular faction; it’s not quite right for me to interfere with command. All I can do is consider how to maintain the confidence of the Antean population should Rocossov’s attack fail.”

Olga had left the speaker on her table turned on, so Tugenev could hear everything very clearly, his brow furrowed as he muttered a few words.

Olga thanked him, “Thank you for your understanding.”

She hung up the phone and turned to Tugenev, “See, the problem is solved. Just trust Rocossov. Anyway, if things do go south, the Church’s propaganda apparatus will cover for us.”

Tugenev conceded, “Okay, I’ll issue the order, agreeing to their change of operational plans. Hopefully, Rocossov’s assault will have a different outcome than General Gorky’s.”

————

Wang Zhong observed, “I think that maybe because Gorky fought twice and didn’t achieve much, the Military Command has lost its nerve.”

Pavlov retorted, “Can’t say there weren’t any results. Last year, he drew a large number of the enemy’s reserves. If the enemy hadn’t shifted those reserves to the Central Army Group, he might have broken through.

“In the end, he laid the foundation for our victory.”

Wang Zhong concurred, “Exactly. The Prosens can hold us back because they still have a surplus of troops and a higher average quality among individual soldiers. But once Prosens’ veterans start to fall, they won’t be able to hold us back anymore. General Gorky’s tactics weren’t the problem.”

Popov asked, “So what do we do now? His Majesty will call to say that the High Command will reject our suggestion. Shouldn’t you fly back to Yeburg to take some action while the front is quiet?”

Wang Zhong replied, “No, let’s plan an immediate attack first. We’ll see the official reply from Yeburg and then decide.”