Chapter 179 Cavalry on the Grassland

The war situation became worse and worse as the battle continued, and the commanders of the two main Soviet army groups, who increasingly felt that the war situation was beyond their control, finally made up their minds.

After hastily deploying the artillery positions, the Soviet artillery aimed the muzzles at the sky above the city of Yelnya with great difficulty in the darkness. After the calibration was completed, rounds of 122mm S-462 illumination bombs were fired one after another to illuminate the city. The night sky provides vision for your own troops.

With the help of these large-caliber flares that explode five hundred meters in the air and can illuminate human-sized targets within one kilometer in diameter. The Soviet siege column, whose vision was completely dark, could barely understand the battle situation in front of them. At this time, more than forty minutes had passed since the German army launched the breakout operation.

With the help of 122 mm S-462 large-caliber illumination bombs, the Soviet siege columns on many main streets in the city launched an organized encirclement and interception operation against the German breakout troops. They had previously been limited by their vision. The embarrassing situation of having superior troops but having no place to use due to passive defense was finally completely reversed.

However, the Soviet army, which encountered a large-scale night battle for the first time and was in the passive role of the encircling force, was obviously extremely unsuited to this rare battle, and thus missed the perfect opportunity to initially block and intercept the main German breakout force.

The continuous sound of gunfire that echoed in the night sky of Yelniya City all night finally came to an end at dawn. At the same time, it also announced the second phase of the battle in the Yelniya theater, and finally the German army took the initiative to break through. The retreat ended with the Soviet victory.

After this battle, out of the 7 German infantry divisions that were gradually encroached and surrounded by Zhukov's command of the two main armies in the Yelniya salient, 5 of them completely lost their combat effectiveness due to more than half of their casualties and were unable to participate. In the following combat operations, the heavy losses of more than 40,000 casualties at one time were a huge blow to the German army.

In order to preserve the formation of the entire army and to evacuate the remaining effective forces from the Yelnya salient as much as possible, the seven German infantry divisions that made a mad breakout overnight abandoned a large number of corpses, wounded and technical equipment.

Many German troops carrying important equipment and unable to move were captured by Soviet prisoners. A large number of valuable strategic materials and technical equipment fell directly into the hands of the Soviet army and became trophies. This was a scene that Marshal Bock, commander of Army Group Center, least wanted to see. It inevitably happened after all.

Although the second phase of the battle at the Yelniya Bulge ultimately failed to achieve Zhukov's previously planned strategic goals, Zhukov, who had actually been mentally prepared for the German breakout and escape, did not find it difficult to accept it.

The God of War of the Red Army, who had commanded the battle for many days and had a tense face all day long, finally showed a satisfied smile with relief for the first time.

"I just went to the headquarters of the 24th Army when I was passing by from the front, Comrade Commander. Comrade Rakutin is very nervous now. He is worried that he will let Germany go because he has not achieved the strategic goals you specified. People are punished.”

"What are your plans, Comrade Commander?"

Facing his chief of staff's soft words, Zhukov, who had a relaxed smile on his face because of the successful resolution of the war, immediately put down the water glass in his hand and said with a smile.

"Punishment? Why should I punish him? It's just to wake him up in advance and urge him."

"This time the city of Yelniya was able to be regained in our own hands, and the two main forces, the 24th Army and the 43rd Army, were indispensable. No matter how you say it, this is what our Red Army deserves since the war began. The first battle-level victory, Yelnya was also the first city we recaptured from the Germans.”

"In addition, I am going to report the results of this battle to Moscow and apply for awards for the two armies and various meritorious units. Reporters from newspapers in Moscow should arrive at the Yelnya front line soon, and the reception must be arranged in place. This is a great opportunity to promote the glorious image and unprecedented victory of our Red Army. If used properly, it will greatly boost the morale of the military and civilians."

Seeing that Zhukov was getting more and more excited as he talked, the chief of staff took advantage of the opportunity to intervene and quickly reminded him with a smile on his face.

"Comrade Commander, I think political commissar comrades should be better at receiving newspaper reporters than me. After all, they are born to do this. What do you think?"

The two leaders of the Reserve Front looked at each other in silence, and a burst of hearty laughter burst out from the headquarters of the Reserve Front.

If we want to say which group of people are the happiest and most excited about the recapture of Yelnya City, there is no doubt that it must be the citizens of Yelnya City.

The citizens of Yelnya, who had been displaced due to the war and the entry of German invaders, were finally able to return to their homes in the ruins of the war.

Even if their homes are destroyed and their loved ones lost, the land they have lived on for generations is not so easily given up.

Even though I was filled with tears and unbearable sadness, the excitement of returning to my homeland was still so heartfelt and beyond words.

When the sun rose again on a new day, Malashenko, who had put on a brand-new uniform of a tank corps major officer, stood in front of a full-length floor mirror, quietly looking at the strange but at the same time extremely familiar version of himself in the mirror. .

Since he went to the Western Front and took over this major uniform from Commissar Petrov, Malashenko, who has been busy in battles, has put on this brand-new officer uniform for the first time.

Gently brushing the edge of the large-brimmed hat inlaid with the faith badge in his hand, the familiar face of Commissar Petrov when he personally handed over this military uniform appeared in front of Malashenko's eyes again.

"You must come out of Kiev alive, uncle!"

The wooden door creaked as the metal hinges closed, and the resolute figure wearing a full set of tank soldier major's uniform had already opened the door and left.

The streets and alleys on both sides of the street were already crowded with enthusiastic and jubilant Yelniya citizens. In order to welcome these heroes who had regained their homeland from the invaders, almost all the Yelniya citizens who returned to their homes came out. Take to the streets to witness this grand military parade of the Red Army entering the city.

The KV1 heavy tank, which had been cleaned and wiped as clean as possible, was still riddled with bullet marks. As the leader of the entire tank column entering the city, he stuck his upper body out of the turret and stood on the turret of his No. 177 vehicle. Malashenko straightened his body, and bursts of loud singing soon came from behind.

Grassland, grassland!

The vast grassland stretches as far as the eye can see.

The heroes flew across the grassland on horseback.

Hey, Red Army soldiers gallop forward!

Girl, please take a look!

The road ahead is broad and flat.

Look how far this road is!

Hey, there was constant singing along the way.

Girl, don’t worry!

We prepare to meet the enemy.

Look, the red cavalry is galloping!

Hey, the Red Army tanks charge forward.