Chapter 1010 Father, We Have Tried Our Best 4

On the night of May 5, the battlefield in the northern part of Moscow Oblast was in a quietness that was unique before the war.

Of course, it was not the kind of quietness without any sound. The rumbling of artillery still sounded in many places. This was the Soviet artillery firing aimlessly. Under the cover of the rumbling of artillery, a series of steel behemoths staggered through the night.

Because there were still German night reconnaissance planes hovering in the sky, the Soviet tanks and other combat vehicles that entered did not turn on their lights. The turret (combat room) hatches and cockpit doors of JS-2, T-34/85 and SU-57 tanks were open. The commander and the driver both stuck their heads out, guided by the faint moonlight, and drove the vehicle carefully, moving along the more eye-catching white line (sprinkled with white lime) on the ground.

In addition to these tanks and assault guns that entered the hidden attack positions under the cover of night on May 5, countless Soviet artillery pieces were also silently shifting positions. In order to ensure the victory of this major counterattack that was related to the future and destiny of the Soviet Union and the Bolshevik Party, the Soviet High Command not only tried its best to mobilize tanks and assault guns, but also concentrated a large number of artillery pieces. Including the most common 152mm and 122mm howitzers, the almost "disposable" ZIS-3 cannon (76.2mm), the A-1 that can destroy the E-50A tank, etc., a total of more than 3,000 guns were mobilized!

In addition, the Soviet army also took out millions of artillery shells of various calibers from the underground warehouses in Moscow, and now trucks and mule carts are transporting them to the front of the battlefield.

Nearly 100,000 engineers and strong infantrymen are now carrying shovels and other construction tools and marching forward in a mighty manner. Their task was nothing but to dig artillery bunkers for more than 3,000 Soviet artillery pieces and arrange various camouflages.

In addition to these artillery pieces that were not easy to move, the Soviets also concentrated a large number of Katyusha rocket launchers, a total of more than 800. Now these "Katyushas" are also advancing along the roads leading to the front line, and will be deployed in place tonight.

Tomorrow evening, these more than 800 "Katyushas" will roar first and launch tens of thousands of powerful rockets at the heads of the German invaders!

On the same night, the German army, knowing that they would be attacked by the Soviet army, also stayed up all night, building fortifications all night long and preparing for battle!

They received reinforcements during the day on May 5th, because the ground had dried up and the road's traffic capacity had greatly improved. So Opel, Steyr, BMW and Mercedes trucks brought a large amount of ammunition and gasoline to General Balck, and also brought several artillery regiments equipped with 150mm howitzers, and several German vehicle-mounted rocket artillery regiments also drove up, each equipped with dozens of rocket launchers called "Hessmann's Organ" and the same number of Type 41 rocket launchers that can be thrown away after use.

The German Air Force did not slack off because the road was accessible to trucks, but instead increased the intensity of airdrops-because other German troops on the western front of Moscow did not need airdrops, and all Fokker 42s could serve the 48th Panzer Corps. These planes not only dropped ammunition and gasoline, but also a large number of "tank killer" and "doll" rocket launchers and ammunition.

The official code names of the two rocket launchers are RPzb54 (tank killer rocket launcher) and paketenwerfer43 type 88mm rocket launcher (doll). The former is a cylindrical rocket launcher with an effective range of 180 meters. The latter is an upgraded version of the former, with a small gun mount, which looks like a small artillery with an effective range of up to 300 meters. "Tank Killer" and "Doll" are now together with "Panzerfaust", which are the three anti-tank treasures of the German light forces. "Panzerfaust" is usually assigned to platoon and company units, "Tank Killer" is assigned to battalion level, and "Doll" is configured at regiment level and mixed with 75mm anti-tank guns or 50mm anti-tank guns.

Now the "Tank Killer" and "Doll" dropped from the air are used by paratroopers assigned to the 48th Armored Corps. Because the current German paratroopers have received rigorous training, everyone can skillfully use a variety of weapons, including rocket launchers.

In addition, the FG-1250 night vision telescope is also installed on the "Doll" rocket launcher dropped from the air. German paratroopers using this "night battle doll" can ambush Soviet tank clusters at night with the help of the "Owl" night battle searchlight vehicle.

However, if the German paratroopers wanted to use the "Night Fighter Doll" to deal a heavy blow to the Soviet tank sea, they had to withstand the sea of ​​fire from the Soviet artillery first!

...

On the night of May 5, 1944, the battlefield north of Moscow.

The sound of gunfire and light artillery fire began at 8 o'clock in the evening around the Volokolamsk-Rama River-Solnechnogorsk triangle controlled by the German army. The sounds of various machine guns, rifles, submachine guns, and automatic carbines (assault rifles) equipped by the Soviet and German armies came one after another, and occasionally there were mortars and various flat-fire artillery roars. This was a fierce exchange of fire between the reconnaissance patrols of the Soviet and German armies!

It turned out that after dark on May 5, the scouts and patrols of both the Soviet Union and Germany began to move with more than dozens of times the enthusiasm during the day. They all seemed to want to control the battlefield between the two armies in the darkness, prevent the enemy's reconnaissance team from infiltrating, and also try every means to infiltrate the enemy's front line to find out their activities tonight.

So on the eve of the outbreak of the decisive battle, the battle between the small forces of both sides suddenly broke out on the entire front line. Various light armored vehicles rushed each other, infantry fired fiercely, and infiltration teams wearing the other side's military uniforms also showed their magical powers until the front of the two armies became a mess.

The German staff officers at all levels also arrived at the forefront under the cover of the troops and began to observe the situation on the spot and determine the intentions of the Soviet army. The situation is now very clear. The Soviet army is desperately mobilizing troops and is obviously preparing to launch a large-scale offensive. Tomorrow or the night after tomorrow, it will start!

Imperial Marshal Hessmann, who had just taken a long nap, hastily finished his dinner and returned to the first operations room. Almost immediately, a large amount of battlefield intelligence was transferred from the Central Army Group. The conclusion is obvious. As expected, the Soviet army is ready to concentrate all its efforts to attack the 48th Armored Army! A large number of tanks, artillery and infantry are in place. The Soviet army has invested a large number of troops to fight for each position that can be used as a starting point for the tank cluster.

"Tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow?"

Hersmann asked Guderian, the second quartermaster general Jodl and the third quartermaster general Zeitzler who were studying the battle situation at the map table. These three quartermasters, plus the three operations officers of the Operations Bureau, are the think tank that Hersmann relies on in the Wehrmacht General Staff. They are actually responsible for commanding the European Allied Forces' operations on the Eastern Front.

"There is a 75% probability that it will be after dark tomorrow." Guderian certainly understood what Hersmann's question meant - Hersmann was asking when the Soviet army's general offensive would be launched?

"That's tomorrow!" Hersmann walked to the map table, with his hands behind his back, looking at the densely packed unit numbers and red and blue arrows on the map.

"So... can we strike first?" Hessmann looked at it for a while and suddenly asked.

"Striking first?" Guderian was a little confused, "Do you mean to let the 48th Armored Corps launch the attack first?"

"No, of course not." Hessmann shook his head, "I mean can we launch a round of artillery and air strikes on the possible assembly positions and artillery positions of the Soviet Army 1-2 hours before the Soviet Army launches the attack?"

This is a trick that the Soviet Army used in Kursk in history, and now Hessmann also wants to use it.

When General Zeitzler and General Jodl heard Hessmann's suggestion, they felt their eyes brightened.

"I think it's possible," Zeitzler said, "The Soviets will use night maneuvers to basically arrive tonight. Although they may not enter the attack launch position, they will not be too far away. Our artillery and air strikes should yield some results."

Yodl pondered and said, "Based on past experience, the Soviet long-range artillery will enter the launch position tonight. Other attacking forces will enter the reserve position tonight, and enter the departure position tomorrow evening or after dark. Once the attacking forces are in place, the artillery will begin.

If we want to arrange artillery and air strikes in advance, then we should start at 7 o'clock tomorrow night- 8 o'clock. However... doing so may also expose the target and point the direction for the Soviet artillery counterattack. "

"Use rocket launchers, Wasp self-propelled artillery, Rhino tank destroyers and Cheetah tank destroyers to attack." Guderian waved his hand indifferently, "We can let the Air Force's Do217, Ju188 and Fw189 take off. As long as the Soviet artillery group fires back, the Do217 can carry out air strikes, and the Fw189 can also guide our towed howitzers to counterattack."

Many Soviet artillery does not have muzzle flash suppressors, so it is easy for German aircraft to detect it when firing at night. However, the attack effect of German aircraft at night is also poor. Fw-190F/G and Hs-129 are difficult to dispatch (they have too many attack heights and are easy to hit something at night), so they can only use Do217 and Ju188 to drop bombs horizontally.

In addition, the Fw189 artillery calibrator can also work at night. The artillery observers on it can roughly determine the location of the Soviet artillery group by visually detecting the Soviet muzzle flash and tracer bullets, thereby guiding several German towed artillery regiments to fire.

It is not necessary to really destroy many Soviet artillery pieces. As long as they dare not let go of their hands and feet, the pressure on the 48th Armored Corps in the night battle on May 6 will be greatly reduced!