Chapter 128 Breaking into the city

With our own poor artillery unit so ineffective, it is natural to imagine what kind of bad situation the German infantry who are struggling to defend at the front of the position will face.

The traditional field-level defenses on the German positions were as vulnerable as a lonely boat in the sea to the roaring and tsunami bombardment of the Soviet field artillery group.

The temporary civil structure anti-blast holes dug on the position simply cannot withstand direct hits from 152 and 203 mm large-caliber high-explosive grenades.

The Soviet field artillery group, whose artillery barrage coverage area and firepower projection per minute are more expensive than free money, once the artillery bombardment starts, it will be a warm-up game of at least half an hour. If the mood is bad or really necessary, it will even be extended to For an hour or more, such continuous artillery fire coverage was undoubtedly unbearable for the German troops stationed in field defense positions.

The addition of more and more Soviet fighter aviation regiments has made the battle for air supremacy in the theater increasingly erratic. The Air Force of the German Army Group Center, which is tired of supporting various ground fronts, can no longer attack the Soviet army as before. The artillery positions launched unbridled bombardments.

The Red Aviation Regiment may appear over the battlefield at any time, so the slow-flying German Stuka and Junkers bombers must be escorted by fighter jets before they can safely dispatch their missions.

The ebb and flow of the war situation made the shelling on the Soviet side become more and more fierce day by day. Under such circumstances, the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, which suffered serious casualties in the previous day's battle, was unable to continue to garrison the temporary field defense positions.

To continue to place troops in temporary field defense positions that lack the protection of permanent reinforced concrete structural fortifications is almost equivalent to suicide in the face of Soviet army group-level artillery bombardment.

Having no other choice, the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment and a small number of the remaining support troops of the Imperial Division, after a hasty and temporary rest, immediately took advantage of the cover of night to carry all the important technical equipment they could take away, and retreated to They arrived at the edge of Yelniya City and immediately began to reinforce and deploy defensive bunkers based on the residential buildings and streets on the edge of the city.

When the first heavy tank breakthrough battalion led by Malashenko, who was once again the leader of the attack, once again rushed into the German field defense positions that exuded yesterday's smoke and residual heat of the war, people went to the mottled and broken positions in the trenches. Only those booby traps and scattered landmines deliberately left behind by the Germans to slow down the Soviet advance continued to explode at this time.

"Legs! Oh my legs! My legs fell over there. You have to help me pick them up! Help me pick them up!"

After being hit by a booby trap, the Soviet infantryman who was carried on a stretcher and whose lower body had been blown up to a bloody mess was shouting helplessly and miserably. Malashenko, who had his entire upper body out of the turret and witnessed this scene, I could only sigh silently, pick up the communicator at hand, and then give the order.

"All vehicle crews immediately stopped and were on standby. It has been confirmed that anti-tank mines were deployed in the booby traps left by the Germans. Engineers will soon move forward to clear the mines and open up an attack channel. The call is over."

The Soviet combat engineer unit, which acted quickly after receiving the order, took about an hour to finally open up a basically confirmed attack path.

After learning the news, Malashenko immediately commanded his tank battalion and began to move in a long queue through this offensive passage, which was so narrow that only two vehicles could travel side by side.

Fortunately, the German troops withdrew from their positions in a hurry, except for leaving behind booby traps, which would not delay too much of their own time. The German troops, which had suffered serious losses in strength, could no longer spare more troops to harass and block the Soviet troops along the way. squander. It didn't take long for the First Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion, which was accompanied by a large number of Soviet infantry, to advance to the gate of Yelniya City with its engines roaring all the way.

The car was traveling in the center of the team and Malashenko, who was aware that a battle could break out at any time, was about to pick up the communicator at hand and give an order. The sound of tearing MG34 general-purpose machine guns suddenly fired from the second-floor window of a small building on the edge of the city. Sweeping across his face like a fire dragon.

Puff-puff--ding-dang-dang--

The sound of bullets penetrating into flesh and the sound of sparks and friction of warheads hitting the tank armor and squeezing and deforming after passing through the human body were heard one after another at this moment. The German side's first attack could be regarded as saving Maratha, who was responsible for commanding the advance team to open the attack. Schenko had many troubles, and Malashenko, who no longer needed to carefully conduct fire reconnaissance, immediately raised the communicator at hand and gave an order.

"Inform all the infantry to get off their vehicles and follow behind the tanks. The attack formation will advance towards the entrance street of the city! The vehicle-mounted machine guns suppress the firepower of the Germans, load high-explosive bombs, and bring me the small building!"

The muzzle shaking 76mm high-explosive grenade was like tearing apart a rag doll, easily blowing up the entire second-story structure of the small building into a pile of rubble.

After eliminating the provocateurs, the Soviet infantry and tank coordination troops immediately began to advance forward. The German troops who were quietly ambushing the city did not know what their plans were, but they allowed the Soviet troops to advance in such a swaggering manner. street entrance.

Behind a street store that had been half destroyed by shells, Buckman, holding his newly recovered MP38 submachine gun, was huddled behind the overturned counter and carefully observing the environment outside the window.

The Soviet KV1 heavy tank rumbling past the window and the Soviet soldiers accompanying it who were advancing cautiously were so close that their faces were clearly visible.

With his ears filled with the roar of the diesel engines of Soviet heavy tanks, Buckman was so nervous that he seemed to feel his own heartbeat. The machine gun team that could not bear the pressure and opened fire without authorization had obviously already participated in this ambush. All German troops were placed in a disadvantageous position that could be exposed at any time.

"Placing these newly added machine gun teams on the outskirts of the city is just stupid pig care! I really don't understand what these guys from the National Defense Force are thinking in their heads. This shouldn't be the case if they want to preserve experienced veterans. Deployment method.”

Buckman, who was whispering in his heart, once again stuck his head out of the gap to observe the movements of the Soviet troops outside the window. A kick kicked the door and the door frame fell to the ground. The clear sound of broken glass suddenly sounded throughout the room.

"Yavokov, take two people to look behind the house. Be careful, those fascists can't return the city to us so easily."