Chapter 169 The Battle of Poland (32)

"Commander, the Soviet artillery is too fierce. The forward positions are riddled with holes and can't hold on much longer." As Wilhelm and his group roamed the front lines, reports on the situation were being delivered to Commander Bronisław Rakowski at the Rovno Army Group headquarters on the eastern front.

However, there was no anxiety on his face because the so-called forward positions were just small villages with a dozen houses. The Soviets had been fiercely attacking these villages for three days, turning them into ruins, yet they couldn't capture them. Each assault only left behind numerous corpses, forcing the Soviets to retreat in a sorry state.

Commander Rakowski nodded. "I know our soldiers are fighting bravely. Tonight, let them retreat to the permanent defensive fortifications." The Polish preferred a defensive mode of holding their ground, unlike the Western Front where they were being outmaneuvered by the German forces. The commanders on the eastern front had learned their lesson and decided not to make reckless sacrifices. "But once we retreat, the Soviet heavy artillery positions will also move forward and continue bombarding our positions."

The commander of the cavalry regiment under him suggested, "Commander, I propose sending out some cavalry units to launch a night raid on the Soviet artillery positions."

Rakowski's eyes lit up at the proposal. "I find that feasible. However, the targets should not be too large. It's best to use cavalry units as the basic attack units, conducting swift counterattacks on various Soviet artillery positions. Let's do this—send out scouts immediately, make sure to identify all artillery positions, and aim for a decisive strike!"

Based on the specific characteristics of artillery, the main positions deployed in the second line were primarily for large-caliber support artillery. Other infantry guns and anti-tank guns needed to be fired at close range. These smaller calibers weren't a significant threat, but the problem was the large-caliber artillery.

At this time, there were no advanced monitoring satellites that could clearly observe every movement on the ground, nor were there specialized tools to measure projectile trajectories and calculate the enemy artillery positions' radar. The only ways to find the enemy artillery positions were limited.

One method was to use reconnaissance planes for aerial surveillance, but for the current Polish army, this was an impractical approach. Another method was "observation balloons." Though seemingly clumsy, in good weather, observers on the balloons could clearly identify the enemy artillery positions and guide the heavy caliber shells. During the Battle of Normandy, the Soviet air force repeatedly sent planes to destroy Japanese balloons, even triggering large-scale aerial combat. In the end, the Soviets with air superiority destroyed the balloons, highlighting their effectiveness and the Soviets' concern. However, if there were obstacles like hills, this observation method would be powerless.

The third method relied on people—sending reconnaissance scouts to search, which was the only method available to the Polish at this time.

After the meeting, Commander Rakowski contacted other eastern front group army headquarters and informed them of the plan to send out cavalry to attack the Soviet artillery positions. They agreed to simultaneously launch the attack tonight, catching the Soviets off guard and disrupting their artillery positions.

As night fell, scouts sent out gradually reported the locations of the Soviet artillery positions.

At midnight, cavalry squads set out quietly from various positions. Every horse had a muzzle, and their hooves were wrapped in thick canvas, tightly tied with hemp ropes, minimizing the noise of neighing and hoofbeats for stealth.

This was Polish land, and they were natives who knew every inch of the land and every river.

The group easily passed through the Soviet forward positions and continued toward the second-line artillery positions.

"Damn it!" Nicholas, a cavalry squadron leader, had just reached a distance of about a kilometer from their target when his horse suddenly lifted its front hooves. He awkwardly fell off the horse before he could get up, hearing Russian curses and the sound of a rifle being cocked.

"!!" He instantly realized they had stumbled upon a Soviet ambush. The soldier must have been sleeping and was awakened by the horse's hoof, startling both the soldier and the horse!

Without bothering to draw his own saber, he rushed towards the Russian soldier who was just getting up, seizing his neck fiercely.

"Bang!" Before the others could react, the Russian soldier pulled the trigger, and the crisp gunshot shattered the silence of the night.

"Damn it! Die!!" Nicholas was furious; this gunshot might ruin their plan and possibly lead them into a perilous situation. He tightened his grip, yelling, "Lev! Hurry, charge over!" Lev was the deputy squadron leader. The gunshot had exposed them, and stealthy movement was now meaningless.

"Charge! Charge!" Lev didn't hesitate, leading his men to charge towards the artillery positions.

The recent gunshot and the neighing of warhorses did wake up the sleeping Soviets. However, before they could enter defensive positions, the fierce Polish cavalry had already reached them.

The sentries desperately pulled the triggers, but the Polish cavalry, like a group of madmen, charged forward despite the hail of bullets. A series of ruthless attacks ensued, with screams echoing continuously. The remaining Soviet soldiers, terrified, had no thoughts of holding their positions. They turned and fled as the Polish cavalry cut through.

By the time Nicholas caught up, the Soviet soldiers at the artillery positions were either dead or running away. They had only suffered casualties from around twenty people but "captured" twelve of the 203mm caliber heavy artillery positions, a remarkable achievement.

Seeing Nicholas approaching, Lev reported to him. "Commander, there are a total of twenty 203mm caliber heavy artillery here. They must have arrived recently; they're brand new, not fired a single shot. It's a big catch. We've already planted explosives. It's a shame if we could take these back and hit the Soviets hard."

Nicholas looked at the dark muzzles, expressing his regret with a nod. "Yes, it's indeed a pity."

Gunfire in the distance indicated more Soviet troops gathering towards them.

Fortunately, they had already planted explosives. "Retreat!"

Nicholas and his team quickly galloped in the direction they came from. After a distance, a series of explosions followed them. The Polish soldiers shouted in excitement.

In the early hours of the morning, cavalry units from various directions returned one after another, mostly injured or wounded. Nicholas's squadron encountered a group of Soviet soldiers on their way back, suffering more than half casualties, but their trip was fruitful. They had destroyed twelve of the fifteen Soviet heavy artillery positions. The group army headquarters praised them, greatly boosting the morale.

While the Poles were joyfully celebrating this victory, the Soviets on the opposite side weren't too pleased.

In the front headquarters, Marshal Voroshilov looked grim as he glanced through the just-received casualty reports, gritting his teeth. "Are you all a bunch of pigs?" He had just arrived at the front lines two days ago, taking command of the nearly collapsing invasion of Poland. His predecessor had been sent to Siberia to dig potatoes hours after Voroshilov took office.

Twelve of the fifteen heavy artillery positions were destroyed, two of which were the 203mm caliber heavy artillery positions that had been transferred with him just two days ago. To show importance to the front attack, Comrade Stalin had allocated all newly produced 203mm caliber heavy artillery to him.

Now, these cannons, with high expectations, hadn't fired a single shot and had become a pile of scrap metal. This time, they had lost nearly 200 heavy artillery pieces. "A few cavalrymen scared you away?!" Even if they held on for a while, reinforcements would have arrived since it was their own troops around. Holding on for a bit longer would have led to the encirclement of these enemies.

But at this point, he was too lazy to say more. Taking a pen, he quickly wrote down a list of names and handed it to his adjutant. "These bastards don't need to go to a military court; execute them on the spot!"