Chapter 1444 After the Fire

"What's that sound?"

"Oh, damn! Artillery, the Russians are firing! Get out of the way!!!"

Boom——

The German army, which was half a beat slow to react to the sudden fierce artillery fire, was still a step late. The fierce rain of fire that fell from the sky almost instantly hit the German army's head accurately and exploded in the hurricane. It immediately turned into a sea of ​​​​explosive flames, completely covering all the German troops in the coverage area.

The Katyusha rocket launcher, which outputs extremely strong explosive firepower in a short period of time, is very powerful. The 132mm rocket rain fell one after another in less than a minute with the entire battalion organization.

The German army, whose artillery coordinates were marked, had no time to react or dodge. The sea of ​​fire and the raging flames of death devoured everything it touched, whether it was people or objects.

The ISU-152 self-propelled artillery, which raised its gun barrels and delivered long-range firepower with curved trajectory, was also roaring in salvos.

The ISU-152 artillery group, which has a much slower firing rate than Katyusha but is more durable, is extremely fierce. The 152 shells that fall straight down blow the German troops on the entire position to pieces.

The German army, which has been washed by Katyusha rockets, has become a rat in the bellows, and is bullied from both sides. Even if they survived the first wave of Katyusha, they still cannot escape from the sea of ​​152 shells that keep falling and exploding.

Bathing in the barrage of large-caliber artillery, feeling that life is like a dandelion shaking violently in the storm and may disappear at any time, the incomparable despair in the hearts of the German soldiers is really not something that can be explained in a simple sentence or two.

Sometimes, a momentary death can make people feel relieved, just like the current situation of the German army.

"Well done! Keep firing, blow these two-legged German beasts to death! I love to see the Germans being blown to pieces by heavy artillery."

Kurbalov, who had already assembled his team, was just waiting for the bombardment to end and charge forward. He held a telescope in his hand and watched the Germans being blown to pieces. For Kurbalov at the moment, it was really refreshing and could not be accurately described in words.

The division commander was right. Just based on the miserable posture of these Germans who had not even dug a position or built a trench, this wave of artillery fire that came without warning, quickly, accurately and fatally, would at least kill, injure and cripple at least half of the Germans.

It was not very pleasant to rush up and collect corpses, but the feeling of watching the Germans struggling and suffering in the sea of ​​fire was so wonderful that it made people intoxicated and unable to extricate themselves.

Kurbalov, with his mouth already grinning like a lotus, put down the telescope in his hand, nodded with satisfaction, and stood outside the turret of his command vehicle. He raised his arms, rolled up his sleeves and looked at the time on his watch. There were only three minutes left before the 15-minute bombardment ended.

"All crews, take your positions, load high-explosive bombs and prepare for the first round of firing! After the battle begins, prioritize the German anti-tank guns, pay attention to cover the infantry comrades, control the distance between vehicles and do not disperse too much, and charge immediately when the gunfire stops!"

Kurbalov finally failed to get support from the combat engineer battalion. After being mentioned by the political commissar, our old comrade Ma refused without thinking.

The combat engineer battalion with only a few bullets left cannot be used at this time when it is not painful or itchy. Save it for the critical moment to invest this force that is enough to win and hammer the Germans' brains. This is the decision Malashenko has made long ago.

You, Kurbalov, are dealing with a group of German infantrymen who are half-beaten and about to go on the road. Do you still need the Combat Engineer Battalion to follow you? Then why should I let your regiment's tanks push forward? The Combat Engineer Battalion alone can handle this level of battle. It's really bullshit.

In the end, although Kurbalov's initiative was rejected and he failed to get support from the Combat Engineer Battalion, Comrade Lao Ma still waved his hand and transferred the First Battalion under Varosha, whose combat power was second only to the Combat Engineer Battalion, to Kurbalov for joint operations.

So although he didn't get the best configuration he wanted, it was still a good result to have a battalion of veterans with rich combat experience to cooperate with him.

Kurbalov, who was comforting himself with such thoughts in his heart, soon waited for the moment when the artillery fire stopped.

The Katyusha Battalion, which had already used up all the ammunition on the rails, withdrew from the battle first and entered the subsequent slow and complicated reloading state. The ISU-152 self-propelled artillery battalion was the one that brought the German army to the end. The 152 high-explosive grenades that roared like thunder became the last funeral sound before the remaining German troops set off.

The entire area was blown up like the surface of the moon, and the German army suffered heavy casualties just as Malashenko had expected.

The sudden and unpredictable fierce bombardment not only destroyed the anti-tank guns that the German army relied on, but also lifted up and destroyed many German tanks that had just entered the position and were about to disperse to serve as anti-tank firepower fortifications.

Either they were sent to heaven by 132mm Katyusha rockets, or they were directly hit by the 152mm high-explosive grenades that were fired from the indirect fire.

The fate of these German tanks destroyed in the artillery fire was more miserable than the other. You couldn't even find a relatively intact German tank head that fell to the ground. The only result of a rocket or high-explosive bomb hitting the top armor of the turret was to tear the armor into a shocking huge burst, and then cause the ammunition to explode and ignite the German ammunition and fuel.

So the things left in the strong explosion were only twisted black wreckage and unrecognizable tank parts, including the turret head that was blown to half.

The lucky German soldier who survived just dragged his body that seemed to have been pulled out of the bones and walked in a shaky mud-like posture. He had only taken two steps, and the strong tremors from the ground under his feet followed like an earthquake.

"Tanks, Russian tanks are coming!"

Good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone. The things that the German army feared most often came one after another in Cherkassy. In most cases, just hearing this news is enough to make people despair and collapse, and the outcome of the next battle is not that important.

"What should we do? Fight those Russians? Maybe I'm crazy."

The words that can't even be read are blurted out, and the response is a whisper from the mouth of another German soldier that seems to come from the abyss.

"Believe me, only your last sentence is correct. After knowing this, you'd better think about what to do right."