Chapter 1048: The Enemy is Strengthening

The rocket slammed into the track of the Soviet SU-122 self-propelled anti-tank gun. The massive explosion tore the once-solid tank track apart, shattering the steel links into pieces. At the same exact moment, a German tank on the main front fired another powerful shell, striking the frontal armor of the Soviet vehicle.

The explosion was earth-shaking, forcing everyone nearby to press themselves low. The Soviet tank, its engine and transmission still turning, quickly threw the track that the Germans had broken, spitting it from the sprocket’s teeth onto the ground.

With one track gone, the Soviet tank crew knew they had no way of retreating. The design of the SU-122 meant that this beast’s gun had a very narrow firing arc; it had to rely on turning its entire hull to change where the gun was aimed.

A self-propelled gun that had lost its mobility on one side could no longer traverse its gun quickly like a tank. This was the limitation of a cheap weapon. After all, cheap things are rarely good, are they?

And so, the unlucky Soviet crew scrambled to open their hatches, trying to bail out of this weapon that was no longer usable. But they had barely poked their heads out before they were cut down by a hail of bullets from German troops who had charged in from the flank. The storm of gunfire instantly tore the Soviet soldiers who were trying to jump out of the SPG to shreds.

“Surrender!” Several German soldiers were already leaning against the hull of the immobilized SU-122, firing their weapons at the routed Soviet defenders in the distance. A dozen Soviet soldiers, who had jumped out of their trenches to run, were hit in the back and collapsed to the ground. The Soviet line was rapidly collapsing under the German pincer attack. Those who held out and resisted were also quickly eliminated. The Germans shouted in Russian, demanding the enemy drop their weapons and surrender.

It was just like ancient warfare. In the stalemate phase of mutual slaughter, no matter how high the casualties, they were still relatively few. It was only when one side broke and fled that the massive captures and losses would begin. Those few battles where both sides continuously fed troops in, grinding each other down to the last man, were all, without exception, remembered by history and given names like “meat grinder.”

The Soviet soldiers hadn’t even figured out if the “surrender” being shouted was a demand for them to drop their weapons, or an offer from the enemy to hand over theirs, when more German troops joined the pursuit. A German tank finally broke through the Soviet line head-on and entered the small railway station.

This German Panther tank’s tracks smashed through the sandbag defenses the Soviets had built. It reared up high as it climbed the slope, then crashed back down, its weight settling it. In such a scene, it was rare for any enemy infantry to continue fighting. Seeing this, most people would be scared out of their wits, shouting and screaming as they fled from the steel monster.

Clearly, most of the men in the Soviet army also followed this rule. They dropped their weapons, raised their hands high, and shouted the disgraceful phrase “We surrender!” to the enemies in front of them, who were holding their guns. It wasn’t that they didn’t have the courage to continue fighting, but that they had discovered that to persist was just to needlessly add to the casualties.

The Germans had broken through their fortifications. German soldiers were everywhere. Those terrifying Panther tanks were already upon them… As ordinary Soviet infantry, most of them had no decent anti-tank weapons. To resist at a time like this was simply futile. They couldn’t just shoot at the enemy’s tanks with their rifles, could they?

“Surrender!” the German soldiers, holding assault rifles and semi-automatic rifles, shouted. More and more Soviet soldiers, who had been cowering in their trenches and foxholes, stood up. They raised their hands high, then looked with terrified, unfamiliar eyes at these opponents in German uniforms. They were just as young as them, and many were just as covered in dirt and grime. The only difference between the two armies was the style of their uniforms, and the aura etched into their souls.

The German army, which had fought its way from Germany, winning countless victories, exuded a thick air of pride from its very bones. And the Soviet Red Army, which had been routed all the way from the Polish border to the Caucasus, now had only exhaustion and helplessness written on their faces. The Soviet army, with no anti-tank weapons, was hunted down by the German tanks, with nowhere to run. The rest of the battle went very smoothly. In just a dozen or so minutes, the Soviet army, which had just looked ready to fight to the death, had turned into a mob of scattered, routed soldiers.

The German Panther tank that had been the first to break through the obstacles and enter the small station had come to a stop beside the wreck of the destroyed SU-122. The crew, with their upper bodies sticking out of the turret, were curiously sizing up the Soviet “tank” that had not been completely destroyed. Several nearby officers were discussing something with their hands behind their backs. Beside them, several NCOs were noting down the relevant data of this wreck.

On top of a bunker made of piled sandbags, a German soldier, holding his Mauser rifle with its bayonet fixed, watched the Soviet soldiers who, in a line, with their hands on their heads, were walking out of their positions. The battle here had just ended, and everything was still in chaos. Not far away, some German soldiers were leaning against the sandbags, ignoring the corpses at their feet, blissfully enjoying the ecstatic rush that came after a battle. They had cigarettes dangling from their lips, commenting on the Soviet prisoners who were walking past them.

“Have the reconnaissance company enter the small town behind. If they encounter any routed Soviet troops, try to capture as many prisoners as possible,” the German commander said, consulting his map and pointing to a corresponding place in the distance, where a dozen or so rooftops could be seen.

The officer from the reconnaissance unit nodded and ran towards the armored car that was parked behind the outer wall of the small station. A dozen or so tanks had already entered the nearby staging area. They were just waiting for the reconnaissance company to bring back intelligence on the enemy before they could launch their next attack.

Some soldiers were unloading the spent shell casings from the tanks. The crews of several of the tanks that had been firing most intensely were clumsily hauling the casings out of their vehicles. This was not a comfortable job. Compared to the heroic slaughter in the battle just now, what they were doing now was extremely monotonous and boring.

“Arthur! Hey, Arthur!” The infantry battalion commander, who was standing by the armored unit’s commander, had finally received his unit’s orders. He shouted to his subordinate and then gave him his task: “Take your men and establish a perimeter defense around the small station. Keep an eye out for any remaining Soviets.”

The armored unit’s officer then gave an order to another battalion commander beside him. “Separate a platoon of soldiers to guard these prisoners! The rest of the soldiers, do your best to clear the various obstacles in the small station. The sappers from the rear will be here soon. We have to get this railway open as soon as possible.”

“The regimental commander of the 1st Regiment, 22nd Panzer Division, 13th Panzer Corps… just looking at him, he’s so imposing,” a German soldier said with envy to his comrade, who was also doing this dirty work. At the urging of his squad leader, he had just dragged a body to the base of the small station’s outer wall and had casually tossed it aside.

“Don’t even think about it. If you fight until next year, and you’re still not dead… you might be able to become a deputy company commander or something,” an older veteran, who was about thirty or forty, said, glancing at this talkative comrade and directly crushing his unrealistic fantasy. “You’ve had three years of school in total and only know a few words, and you still want to be a regimental commander.”

In the command post of the German M Army Group, a colonel, with news from the front, walked up to Manstein, who was reading a document. He stood at attention, saluted, and reported, “Your Excellency, General, the vanguard of the 13th Panzer Corps has already captured Kilyach and is advancing towards Yashma. The Soviet defenders have carried out demolition on the oil facilities along the way, destroying about two-thirds of the equipment.”

The colonel placed the document on Manstein’s desk and then added, “In addition, Your Excellency, General, when they were fighting for a small town, they discovered a Soviet SU-122 self-propelled anti-tank gun. It destroyed one of our Panther tanks… This is the first time this weapon has appeared in the Caucasus theater. The officers in charge of intelligence work analyze that the Soviet Union may be strengthening its defensive forces in the Caucasus.”

Manstein put down the document in his hand, then smiled and tapped the battle report that had just been delivered. He said to his subordinate, “If sending one tank is considered strengthening the defense line, then I have received 110 replacement tanks since the offensive began. Does that mean that M Army Group has been strengthened 110 times?”

After he had spoken, he picked up the coffee cup from a corner of his desk and took a light sip. He then continued, “As long as their brains are not addled, then strengthening the defenses around Baku is what the enemy should be doing. They’ve strengthened their line, isn’t that a matter of course? Instead of analyzing whether the enemy will consolidate their defenses, we should be thinking about how to tear open the defenses they have strengthened!”

He then stood up and walked towards the door. As he walked, he instructed, “Get my cape, and my hat. We’re going to hurry our enemies along, to let them know that their time is running out.”

On June 21st, the Commander-in-Chief of the German M Army Group, Manstein, personally inspected the front. Half an hour later, the German artillery began to bombard Sumgait with 150mm and larger caliber cannons.

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