Arc of Fire

Chapter 692: Chapter 30 Tank Battle

The second day of the offensive, at 1510 hours, the Guard Heavy Breakthrough Tank Group.

Podoliskov, the tank commander, heard the sound of engines in the sky and grabbed the anti-aircraft machine gun, preparing to counter the air raid.

At that moment, a radio call in Antenese came through his headset, “This is the 25th Fighter Group, this is the 25th Fighter Group, tank troops please respond! Tank troops please respond!”

Podoliskov replied, “This is the Guard Heavy Breakthrough Tank Group, I hear your engines, go ahead.”

"There’s a Prosen Tank formation ahead of you that has already deployed, good luck.”

Podoliskov asked, “Can you see the enemy’s setup?”

"Quite a few Long-barreled Fours, we haven’t seen the new tanks that the Front Army Headquarters specifically instructed us to watch for.”

"Understood, thank you,” Podoliskov responded as he spotted two Yaks in the sky, likely comrades from the 25th Fighter Group.

The two Yaks, one to the left and one to the right, flew past Podoliskov’s tank, and one could faintly see the pilots saluting the tank.

As soon as the planes flew past, someone shouted on the radio, “Guard heavy tank group, this is Coyote, this is Coyote, a lot of dust ahead.”

Then the voice of the commander of the Guard Heavy Breakthrough Tank Group came over the radio, “Understood, Coyote, evade, avoid unnecessary casualties; let us deal with the enemy tanks. Our new heavy tanks aren’t afraid of them!”

Podoliskov shouted, “For my hero brother Aleksei Podoliskov—vengeance!”

Voices immediately erupted over the radio, “Vengeance for my sister Shu Ya!”

"For my father, vengeance!”

"For my dear friend Semyon, vengeance!”

Podoliskov felt that after his shout, the speeding tank seemed to run even faster.

Soon, a small dust cloud appeared ahead, and Podoliskov lifted his binoculars to see several Willys Jeeps racing across the prairie, then picked up the microphone, “This is hero brother Revenge, I see Coyote.”

Coyote, the radio call sign of the light recon battalion assigned to the Guard Heavy Breakthrough Tank Group, was responsible for driving Willys Jeeps and clearing the way in front of the tank group.

As Podoliskov spoke, a Coyote Jeep zoomed past the Revenge, and the driving lieutenant shouted, “Give them a show! Whether or not you get a Venus depends on this!”

Podoliskov replied, “It doesn’t matter if I get a Venus! Just killing Prosens is enough!”

"Just make sure you kill plenty of them then!”

The reconnaissance soldiers had already run far as they spoke.

Orders from the group commander came over the radio, “Each vehicle unload the infantry; don’t let them get caught up in the tank battle.”

Podoliskov turned to the infantry sitting on the radiator grilles, shouting, “Get down, guys, up ahead it’s tank versus tank!”

The leading master sergeant grinned, “Let’s get a little closer before getting off. Have you forgotten what we’re carrying?”

With that, he patted the rocket launcher slung over his shoulder.

Podoliskov laughed, “Fine, we’ll make an emergency stop to fire soon, then you guys get down on your own, be careful not to get run over by your comrades.” ṙÂℕȰBЁS

"Roger that!”

Just then, a private second class from behind the master sergeant pointed ahead, “Quick, look!”

Podoliskov immediately turned to see the sky ahead filled with dust, like a sandstorm whipping up on the prairie!

The master sergeant exclaimed, “My, this dust storm reminds me of the spring sandstorms back home.”

"Spring in your hometown?”

"Yeah, back in my hometown, when spring comes, sandstorms would blow up from the western deserts, covering the whole prairie in yellow sand. If you didn’t cover your face outdoors, your skin would turn as rough as an eighty-year-old’s in just one day.”

Podoliskov clicked his tongue, “I must visit there when I have the chance; I have never been to our eastern territories.”

He lifted the binoculars, observing the rolling dust.

Major Hans of the Prosen 66th Armored Battalion was on his command tank turret, watching the billowing dust ahead.

"There don’t seem to be many enemies ahead, about 20 tanks,” he communicated to all the soldiers in the battalion via radio, “Annihilate them!”

It should be said that the Prosen Armored Troops were indeed elite, determining the enemy’s strength simply from the scale of the dust cloud without prior reconnaissance.

Unfortunately, they hadn’t anticipated that the opposing Guard First Heavy Breakthrough Tank Group had already switched to Rokossovsky Type Heavy Tanks.

These monsters were practically immune to the 48-caliber long-barreled 75mm guns of the Panzer IVs from the front and the sides.

To penetrate a Rokossovsky Type, Hans’s soldiers needed to approach within 400 meters of the heavy tank, which completely went against Prosen Armored Troops’ combat protocols.

Prosen Armored Troops customarily relied on their superior marksmanship to fire from long distances.

Major Hans turned around, glanced at his own battalion’s billowing dust, and with full confidence raised his hand and chopped forward, “Armor, advance! Crush them!”

"Spread the formation!” commanded the leader through the radio, “The enemy is more numerous than us; spread out fully to ensure we aren’t flanked by a large number of tanks!”

Podoliskov said, “Commander, have you forgotten that our new tanks are reliable from the rear too?”

"Damn it, I’m worried about our turret rotation speed not keeping up with the enemy! With a Long-barreled Four, they can still jam the turret ring or penetrate weak spots at close range. Don’t be complacent; they are elite armored troops—very elite!” the commander responded sternly.

Podoliskov didn’t say anything else and quietly issued the order, spacing out from the adjoining vehicle.

At that moment, the gunner shouted, “Enemy tanks are within effective firing range!”

Before Podoliskov could respond, the adjoining vehicle opened fire, the blast from the gun muzzle even hitting Podoliskov’s face.

Podoliskov: “Ivan (driver), on my command, come to a sharp stop for seven seconds! Sergey (gunner), aim at the enemy you just ranged!”

Then, the “Revenge” turret rotated slightly about five degrees to the side, and the elevation mechanism was also adjusted slightly.

"Aim complete!” the gunner shouted.

"Sharp stop!”

The tank immediately stopped, the vehicle body swaying back and forth—the suspension system of the Rokossovsky Type heavy tank was relatively simplistic and rough for production efficiency and reliability, and its stability wasn’t particularly good.

As the shaking stopped, Sergey fired.

The blast kicked up a dust cloud that blocked Podoliskov’s view momentarily, preventing him from seeing the condition of the target.

The next instant, the tank surged forward, breaking through the firing dust, and then Podoliskov saw the Panzer IV burst into flames.

Before he could rejoice, an armor-piercing shell struck the tank’s turret, scraping out a string of sparks as it flew past his ear.

He was unscathed, but the Master Sergeant behind the turret started shouting, “Vasily!”

Podoliskov turned to see a Private Second Class carrying a rocket launcher fall to the left, tumbling down outside the tank’s body.

"Get down! We have armor protection; you don’t!”

Master Sergeant: “The enemy is still over a kilometer away; getting off now won’t do us any good! Drive us further!”

Right as Podoliskov was about to respond, he heard the loader’s voice in his headset: “Good!”

Gunner Sergey urged, “Commander! Designate the target!”

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