Chapter 17: The Strong Enemy Strikes
Just climbing up the hill, the movements of the 5 IS-2 tanks seemed somewhat sluggish, as if a fat man had walked a long way or an old man had climbed stairs. The billowing white smoke rising from the rear seemed as if the engines were bearing a heavy burden. However, this was just superficial; after adjustments, they quickly resumed their normal marching state. With their large gun barrels held high, they resembled formidable and fearless "rhinoceros beetles," while the surrounding T-34 tanks seemed like small companions both in turret size and gun barrel thickness.
Among the imposing Soviet armored group, there were more than just these two types of combat vehicles. Several assault guns and self-propelled guns without independent turrets were mixed among the T-34s at the rear. One type of gun shield was extremely unique, with a spherical shape complemented by eye-like edges, resembling a bizarre one-eyed creature. Another type appeared to have a large flat iron box placed in the front of the tank chassis, with the front half of the tank turret welded to the left side of the box—similarly mounting a cannon on the tank body, they looked much more rugged than the German StuG III or IV assault guns.
Letting out a sigh, Lin suddenly felt that this battle was far from the optimism he had imagined. These unsightly and unattractive Soviet tanks and assault guns had been selected and honed by the battlefield, representing the strongest equipment of the Soviet Army during World War II. They held a significant numerical advantage here and also received powerful air and artillery support. It seemed difficult to stop their advance!
Lin didn't know if others on the defense line were as shaken by the enemy's strong presence as he was. He withdrew his head, lying sideways in the foxhole, and took out a leather pouch containing bullets from his pocket. Tearing it open, the gleaming rows of 10 bullets slightly eased his mood. Counting them, there should be 4 bullets left in the rifle's magazine. He pulled back the bolt, pushing the bolt carrier forward to eject the empty shell casing, then manually inserted a bullet from another row into the chamber and closed the bolt. Placing the row of bullets with one missing aside along with four other rows at the edge of the foxhole, he put the remaining five rows back into the leather pouch. Leaning the Mauser rifle against the side, he took out the drum magazine and ammunition pouch, the submachine gun used circular drum magazines holding 71 rounds, so the pouch was also close to round, containing a complete spare drum and some loose bullets. Lin removed the original "Poposhka" drum, feeling it was noticeably lighter than the spare one. After opening it, he felt fortunate: there were less than 10 bullets left inside, just enough for a burst. Bringing an unwittingly defective drum into battle, he might again find himself in trouble at a critical moment. It wasn't likely he would be lucky enough to be rescued by a comrade every time!
Hastily replacing it with the spare drum, he intended to transfer the loose bullets back into the old drum, but the rumble of gunfire had already begun, and he turned to see that the SU-152s were the first to fire. These self-propelled guns mounted a powerful 152mm howitzer, with a maximum range of 9 kilometers for high-explosive shells, offering strong lethality against fortifications and armored targets. When firing, they remained stationary for better accuracy, and the sound of their gunfire reverberated like rolling thunder in his ears. Despite the distance of only 3 kilometers, the high-explosive shells they fired flew over the battlefield with a relatively low trajectory, landing on the German positions in an instant, and the ground tremors caused by the massive explosions were visible to the naked eye. Grey-white smoke billowed outwards, eventually forming a large mushroom-shaped cloud.
In the frontline trenches, Lin had endured bombardments from larger caliber shells before, but this was the first time he had witnessed heavy artillery bombardment of positions. Besides being deeply shocked, all he could do was silently pray for his brothers stationed on the frontline positions. Of course, he also needed to pray for himself; with the power of such shells, just one would be enough to flatten the small hill they were on.
With the SU-152s' bombardment as a signal, dozens of Soviet armored vehicles—SU-76s, SU-100s, and T-34s—opened fire one after another. Although the medium and long-range artillery had swept through the village and the German positions, direct fire still had its value. Apparently still usable forward gun positions, machine gun emplacements, and suspected command posts were all targeted by the artillery barrage. German soldiers rushing from the reserve positions to the frontline trenches were also intercepted in the communication trenches; they had to huddle in the bottom of the trenches to avoid the bombardment. In this situation, only a few alert soldiers remained defending the frontline positions.
The Soviet tanks, assault guns, and self-propelled guns continued their battlefield suppression with advancing fire, while the five IS-2 tanks quietly advanced without firing a shot. These heavy tanks were equipped with the Model 1943 L/43 122mm tank gun, which ranked first in caliber among the main battle tanks of World War II. Their formidable power could deliver a fatal blow to most German tanks at a distance of 1500 meters, with a maximum range for firing high-explosive shells reaching an astonishing 14 kilometers. Despite their large caliber and heavy ammunition, each IS-2 carried only 28 rounds of normal ammunition, indicating a deliberate strategy to conserve ammunition for crucial moments against their old adversaries in the German camp.
From his vantage point overlooking the battlefield, Lynn realized that if German tanks or anti-tank guns were to open fire at this moment, they would immediately face the retaliatory firepower of the Soviet forces. Facing formidable opponents like the IS-2 and SU-100, the Tiger tanks dared not underestimate their adversaries. As the Soviet armored group advanced step by step, the battlefield situation gradually became extremely unfavorable for the defending forces. Despite having knowledge and understanding of historical developments beyond this era, Lynn could only feel a sense of urgency. Watching the leading Soviet T-34s closing in on the German frontline trenches, with vehicle-mounted machine guns about to exert close-range suppression, one of the T-34s suddenly exploded. Although there was some smoke on the battlefield, overall visibility was relatively good. Since no shells or rockets were seen flying towards them, and ruling out the possibility of a rare malfunction-related explosion, there was only one likely explanation: landmines!
A standard anti-tank mine usually would not be enough to destroy a medium tank like the T-34. For instance, the most commonly used Teller mines by the German forces, although containing a full 5 kilograms of explosives, would struggle to penetrate the bottom armor of Soviet tanks directly or cause serious injuries to the tank's crew members.
As the smoke cleared slightly, it was evident that the T-34 hit by the mine had indeed lost its left track and the corresponding front idler wheel. Since it was still beyond the range of the German machine guns, tank crew members quickly escaped through the open hatches. These individuals did not join the accompanying infantry in combat nor did they retreat directly to the rear; instead, they waited from a distance, seemingly anticipating a swift victory for their side, when they could then calmly repair their tank.
Although one of their tanks had been solidly hit by a mine, the Soviet armored combat group did not stop to wait for infantry to clear the path. In fact, sending infantry to clear mines ahead would expose them to the mortar or heavy machine gun fire from the German positions. To reduce the risk of triggering mines, Soviet tanks selectively chose routes with more shell craters on the road surface. While this slowed down the overall advancement speed and exposed the flanks of the lead tanks, it remained the most time-efficient method based on past combat experiences.
Lynn couldn't help but feel anxious again for the safety of their defensive line. However, what he did not anticipate was that, about 5 kilometers behind the village, several German soldiers pushed out a 41-type 150mm smoke projector from a concealed position. This weapon operated on similar principles to the Soviet Katyusha rocket launcher. It consisted of six circular launch tubes bound together in a star-shaped arrangement and mounted on the carriage of a Pak 36 37mm anti-tank gun. Within 10 seconds, it could launch six smoke or high-explosive rockets with an effective range between 6 to 7 kilometers. Although this equipment had been developed as early as 1938 and was simple to use, with slight improvements, it could significantly enhance the firepower density of frontline troops. However, it had never received much attention from the German side—the opportunities to alter the outcome of World War II were indeed plentiful. Whether it was the evacuation at Dunkirk in 1940, the Battle of Moscow in 1941, the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942, the Battle of Kursk in 1943, or even the Normandy landings in 1944, when Lynn arrived, the Empire was already approaching its end, and what could one person do alone?
Amidst the strange whistling sound, the German smoke projector opened fire. Rockets trailed long flames as they flew over the village, but their range seemed insufficient. They fell one by one in front of the Soviet tank formation, some just tens of meters away from the German trenches. Lynn's question was quickly answered. Upon landing, these rockets emitted muffled bangs, and a large amount of white smoke poured out from their bodies. In the blink of an eye, a large area in front of the German positions was shrouded in smoke, making it difficult to see through.
With their vision obstructed by smoke, the Soviet artillery was suddenly unable to operate effectively. Lynn turned his head and saw German soldiers quickly reloading the smoke projector. In just two minutes, this unassuming piece of equipment opened fire again. Six smoke rockets still flew with erratic trajectories towards the village. Soon, the entire German position was engulfed in white smoke, resembling a fearsome monster slowly swallowing up the two to three dozen Soviet tanks in the vanguard and creeping eastward.
At that moment, Lynn saw the "bushes" concealed on the edge of the forest move. They bypassed the enemy's sharp front and quietly flanked their sides. Taking advantage of the weakened enemy firepower, German soldiers previously obstructed in communication trenches and secondary defensive positions swiftly entered the forward trenches. The anti-tank combat teams using "tank killers" and "Panzerschrecks" made even more progress by utilizing the shell craters and large foxholes in front of the trenches for leapfrogging advances. On the defending side, it was the large-caliber anti-tank guns lying in ambush in the woods surrounding the village that sounded the battle horn!