Steel Soviet Union

As he spoke, another 150mm heavy-duty high-explosive bomb hit the center of the village very close to the command headquarters. The huge vibration transmitted through the ground almost knocked Malashenko to the ground as he stood unsteadily. Fortunately, I held the table with one hand in time and was not knocked down by the shell.

Commander Leonid, who was in a slightly better situation than Malashenko, patted the dust on his head and spoke to Malashenko in the same annoyed tone.

"The artillery was also busy all night yesterday. It was too difficult to walk along the way. Several howitzers were stuck in mud pits and could not be dragged out. After the snow melted in winter, many low-lying areas turned into mud pools and blisters. It looked like they had no idea at all. The depth is very shallow, sometimes it’s even more than a meter deep when you step on it!”

Even though the winter of 1941 with heavy snowfall has passed through history, it still left a lot of trouble.

In some areas where the accumulated snowfall thickness can even reach more than one meter, the snow melts no less than in the rainy season. A large amount of melted snow water gathers and flows crazily on the surface after the land is absorbed and saturated.

The low-lying areas turned directly into small, turbid, bottomless ponds. A shorter person could even step into them up to his chest. The large number of similar situations caused great trouble to the Soviet artillery, which needed large tracts of land to deploy their positions. The divisional artillery regiment under Commander Leonid, who had been busy all night, still has many artillery pieces stuck in the mud and unable to be pulled out. .

Reminiscing about the previous attack, several of his tanks got stuck in the mud pits and took a lot of effort to get them out. If tanks, which are known for their powerful off-road capabilities, are like this, it is natural to imagine how bad the situation of field artillery units towed by trucks will be.

The frowning Malashenko knew that the divisional artillery regiment under Commander Leonid had tried its best, but the current bad situation did not leave much preparation time for his side. He did not want to press Malashenko too hard. After all, Rashenko couldn't help but speak again.

"Isn't there a specific time for the deployment to be completed? Comrade Division Commander, our soldiers are suffering casualties every second!"

boom--

Before Malashenko finished speaking, the roar of huge artillery fire from the east of the village to the rear suddenly overshadowed the original explosion in the village. Leonid suddenly showed a look of surprise. The division commander then spoke excitedly to Malashenko.

"Listen, Comrade Malashenko! This is our artillery!"

boom--

The huge firing recoil pushed the entire gun body back more than half a meter. The sticky mud was not suitable for use as an artillery deployment position when one stepped on it. There were several divisional artillery regiments on Commander Germany's side urging for inquiries, but they didn't care too much anymore. They just fired the artillery to kill the Germans first!

"Quick! Reload! Go!"

The breech block, with some green smoke remaining in the chamber, was instantly opened and enveloped in the blazing heat. Two sturdy Red Army loaders, one holding a projectile in his arms and the other holding propellant powder, rushed forward.

The 152mm high-explosive projectiles and propellant cartridges were placed on the push rack in tandem. The third loader, who had been waiting for a long time with the ejector rod in his hand, stepped forward and pressed his arms. Push forward with all your strength, and the snapping sound of the breech block being closed heralds the final completion of the entire complex loading process.

"Fire!"

boom--

The rope-pull gun fired and flames flew, and the 152mm high-explosive projectile roared out with a huge muzzle roar like an arrow from the string, flying straight towards the established coordinates with a standard parabolic trajectory.

There was a panic scene on the German artillery position 16 kilometers away. It was panicked and chaotic by the Soviet counterattack fire that had just fallen.

The follow-up 122 and 152 mm projectiles, which had no intention of letting go of the opponent, came roaring down like rain. The German artillerymen who were rushing around to avoid the incoming artillery fire were instantly torn into pieces in the strong explosion. .

The open wooden ammunition boxes placed nearby in order to speed up the rate of fire were immediately set on fire, and chain explosions like dominoes continued to sound one after another on the German artillery positions.

Originally, they only planned to launch a short wave of fifteen-minute artillery fire preparations and then move immediately. However, the German artillery, which had been defeated almost repeatedly in the battle with the Soviet field artillery, obviously underestimated its opponent. Just after ten minutes, the German artillery fired. The roaring Soviet counterattack fire would have been faster if not for the delay on the muddy road.

The German artillerymen, who were simply out of range of their opponents, had no intention of fighting back and just ran away risking their lives. The fact that many battles in 1941 were soaked in blood silently proved that it was very cruel.

The German artillerymen who attempted to engage in an artillery battle with the Soviet army had basically gone to another world to meet God. Maybe they had a chance to ask God why the Bolshevik artillery was so powerful, but they had been dismissed by atheists decades ago. The God who was expelled from this red land by the revolutionaries may not even be able to answer this question.

The tragic sight of the artillery positions being blown up did not dampen the morale of the German army, but made them even more despondent. He stepped on the accelerator to increase the output power of the gasoline engine to the maximum, and the German tanks that came with a roaring sound soon came to an end. Appeared in the eyes of the Red Army soldiers defending the position.

"The German tanks are coming! Calm down, comrades, prepare your anti-tank rifles!"

The Simonov 5mm anti-tank rifle was still effective even in 1942. These infantry anti-tank weapons, which are more portable than anti-tank guns, can exert powerful combat effectiveness in the hands of experienced shooters, as long as they are used properly and the German army The main Panzer IV tanks can be destroyed from the front at medium and short ranges.

Knowing clearly that the anti-tank firepower of the Soviet infantry was not bad and even stronger than that of our own infantry, the German armored soldiers, who had suffered a lot in the past 1941, were particularly cautious at this moment. He stopped advancing at a distance of 600 meters from the Taoist position, adjusted the pitch angle of the main gun, and aimed directly at any high-threat target that was considered a possible high-threat target.

Anti-tank rifles equipped only with traditional mechanical sights could hardly pose a substantial threat to German tanks at this distance. Several 76mm anti-tank guns deployed on the position began to show off their power to fight back against the Nazi invaders, but This approach resulted in more German tank counterattacks after exposing the target.

The attempt to disintegrate the anti-tank firepower of the position through slow bleeding was doomed to fail. The torrent of steel roaring from both sides of the village immediately appeared in the sight of the German armored soldiers.