Chapter 513: The Fighting Nation

The enemy force consists of at least one battalion. For the understrength two companies of the German garrison, this was undoubtedly bad news. And another piece of bad news was that this enemy battalion, unlike other Soviet units, was not a second-rate opponent with only quantity but no quality.

From the way they knew to deploy their forces in advance and prepare for an attack, they were at least a bit stronger than the Soviet opponents they had encountered before. This was certainly not a good sign. After all, a higher level of proficiency indicated that this Soviet unit was one of their main forces. And when the mainline Soviet forces fought, they were a bit like the SS—a model of recklessness.

“If I die, will the Führer award me an Iron Cross like Lieutenant Rein’s?” a soldier asked his comrade in a muffled voice as he centered the sights of his G43 semi-automatic rifle on a distant Red Army soldier.

His comrade, who was crouching in the trench checking the bullets in his MP-44 magazine, replied without looking up, “Don’t even think about it. Even if you kill all the Soviets opposite us, you won’t get the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross!”

Deliberately emphasizing the words “Oak Leaves” and “Knight’s,” the soldier with the MP-44 stood up, leaned against the wall of the trench, poked half his head out to glance at the approaching enemy, and sneered before ducking back. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Soviet unit charge like this. The last time was in Poland…”

Boom! A shell landed on the open ground not far from the German position, quickly followed by a second and a third. The German commanders at the company HQ immediately frowned. These were large-caliber shells, not from the 60mm mortars they had brought with them. It was clear the Soviets had the support of at least three large cannons, and their caliber was not small—at least 122mm.

The German grenadiers, who were skilled at fighting against the odds, were not too concerned about the support of these cannons. But what these cannons represented was something that had to be taken seriously. A Soviet unit with heavy artillery would certainly be larger in number, possibly at least a regiment or even a division. This was clearly not an opponent that a hundred or so German grenadiers could hold off.

“Quickly! Call battalion for reinforcements! Tell them that if reinforcements don’t arrive here within half an hour, the small town of Y107 might not be able to hold!” the company commander said, lowering his binoculars, to the radio operator beside him. “And get as much air support as you can, as quickly as you can! Find whatever reinforcements you can find!”

The moment he finished speaking, more Soviet shells landed on the open ground in front of the German position, throwing up one thick column of black smoke and dirt after another. The Soviets had at least five cannons firing, and it looked like their ammunition was quite plentiful. The grenadier company commander immediately deduced the scale of the Red Army force opposite them: at least a regiment, and with reinforced artillery.

Let’s pray they’re an infantry regiment, he thought. That way, the Germans would at least have the armored advantage of their three tanks. At a critical moment, committing these tanks could at least repulse one of the enemy’s attacks and buy precious time for a retreat or to wait for reinforcements. He prayed in his heart, hoping his wish would come true.

But it seemed that Lady Luck was specifically toying with the German army today. The very thing they did not want to see was the thing that would appear before their eyes. Just as the German company commander was praying, a Soviet T-26 tank appeared behind the Soviet lines. At that moment, the Soviet heavy machine guns on the flanks opened fire, the bullets hitting the German positions with a sound as dense as raindrops on a roof.

Crack! The German sniper did not hold back. He fired a single shot, and a Soviet soldier charging at the very front fell, letting out the first scream on the battlefield.

The Soviet heavy machine gun had a shield on it. This steel plate made it impossible for the German sniper to be effective. However, it was clear that while this shield protected the Soviet gunner, it also limited the traverse angle of the heavy machine gun. Of course, the added weight also meant that these heavy machine guns were rarely moved.

Boom! Sure enough, the German mortar team, which had long since memorized the firing data for every corner of the battlefield, did not make their comrades wait long. A single, clean shot instantly silenced the roaring Soviet heavy machine-gun position. The light smoke that rose from there seemed to say it all.

Rat-tat! Rat-tat! Only then did the concealed German MG42 open fire, cutting down a swath of Red Army soldiers who had already approached to within 300 meters. The reason the Soviet heavy machine gun had opened fire prematurely was mainly due to a lack of experience. And the reason the German machine gun had opened fire was because there had been a break in the Soviet suppressive fire. Firing at this moment was undoubtedly safer.

These Soviet soldiers were like they had been injected with chicken blood. Shouting the slogan “Urrah!”, they charged the German defensive positions, fighting to the death. Perhaps one machine gun was not enough to deter them; they still charged forward in a dense mass until they had closed the distance to 200 meters.

At this point, the forward German machine-gun position had no choice but to relocate. If they were to stay there any longer, the Soviet tanks behind them would open fire and suppress them. So the two machine gunners grabbed their weapon and retreated through the communication trench, leaving the forward position, which was being peppered with Soviet bullets, to the Soviets who were seeking revenge but had nowhere to vent it.

But just a few seconds later, the German position became lively. The G43 semi-automatic rifles and the MP-44 assault rifles all opened fire at once. A dense hail of bullets flew towards the Red Army. In an instant, at least 50 Soviet soldiers were hit and fell, followed by another 20 or so who were taken down by the bullets, screaming.

Including those who had been killed by the German machine gun earlier, the Soviets had lost nearly 100 men in just a dozen seconds. But these Soviet soldiers seemed to have no fear of death and still charged the German positions without a second thought. Unfortunately, as the battle continued, the casualties of these Soviet soldiers also became more and more tragic.

Every unit’s retreat requires a breaking point. For example, for an untrained and inexperienced unit, the breaking point is about five to ten percent. That is to say, a unit of one hundred men will rout after losing just ten men. If they are trained, this ratio can be increased to twenty or even twenty-five percent. Of course, if this unit has a firm belief and is battle-hardened, this ratio can be extended to thirty to fifty percent. There have been many units that have fought to the death even after losing more than half their men, but this situation is rare.

Normally, the highest casualties occur after a rout has begun; that is to say, the casualties during the actual engagement are not the most severe. Therefore, improving the training level of the troops and making the opponent unable to bear the losses first and rout is an important way to reduce casualties. Because often, a unit might only lose ten men in a battle, but lose another thirty or even three hundred while being pursued by the enemy or scattering in flight.

After the battle had raged for more than ten minutes, this Soviet unit in front of the Germans finally could not bear its losses. A battalion of 500 infantrymen had lost nearly 200 men in just over ten minutes. This was already the limit of what could normally be endured.

These Soviet soldiers began to retreat. The ground they had gained with countless blood and lives was gradually ceded back to the Germans. Compared to when they had arrived, these retreating soldiers were now hesitant, as if they were very unwilling. But war cannot be rewritten just because one side is unwilling. In the end, they still retreated, and their retreat was somewhat of a rout.

The Germans did not have the extra forces to launch a counter-charge, nor were they in the mood to pursue and take advantage. At this time, they needed to sort out their ammunition, strengthen their positions, and also guard against continued Soviet shelling. There were many things waiting for them to prepare, each one more meaningful than pursuing the routed Soviet army.

“You are the most valiant warriors of the great Soviet leader, Comrade Stalin! You cannot retreat! If you do not continue the charge, you will be tried for treason! If you retreat any further, we will open fire!” Just as everyone was breathing a sigh of relief that the battle was over, this sentence was shouted in Russian from a loudspeaker behind the Soviet lines.

The Germans, of course, did not understand what they were shouting, but they soon understood the meaning from the other side’s actions. Because the Soviet soldiers in the rear were machine-gunning their own men, driving them to continue their desperate attack.

“My God! They’re firing on their own people!” a German soldier said, watching the farce unfolding on the other side in astonishment, unable to believe what he was seeing.

“Prepare for battle! Check and sort your ammunition! Use this time to reload your magazines! Quick! Be quick about it! They’re coming again!” a veteran reacted, and while he was quickly pressing loose rounds one by one into the magazine of his MP-44, he shouted the order.

Everyone got busy. The Soviet artillery fire began again, and with this barrage, several hundred more Soviet soldiers joined the attack. The Soviet T-26 tank that had been trailing at the rear of the column also began to accelerate and charge towards the German positions.

“Anti-tank team! Prepare for battle! The Soviet tanks are charging! Be careful!” a platoon leader lying on the position shouted when he saw the approaching tank. “All hands! Wait for my command to open fire!”

Published: 2025-09-01T04:01:11.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-12-06T11:33:10.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c513-nation-137832195

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