While the neighboring units were engaged in a ferocious meat-grinder of a battle, Shostka was relatively calm.
It wasn't necessarily calm, though, as both sides exchanged heavy artillery greetings daily.
The artillery firepower of the Guard's First Motor Rifle Division certainly couldn't compare with that of an enemy army, especially one that had been lavished with attention by the Plathen Emperor as the "nouveau riche army."
But Shostka's sturdy reinforced concrete structures withstood it all.
On October 2, 914, Wang Zhong was observing the enemy's engineering progress when the telephone suddenly rang.
Pavlov picked up, "This is the division headquarters. Please hold."
After speaking, he handed the receiver to Wang Zhong, "Major General Kiriyenko."
Wang Zhong took the receiver and his first words were, "No problems on my end. Do you need me to dispatch troops to support Kashuk?"