Chapter 972: Germany Begins the Attack

German artillery shells finally landed on the positions in front of Moscow. No matter how long the Germans had prepared, at this moment, the battle for Moscow had finally begun.

A flustered Soviet signals soldier ran into the command room of the Moscow Garrison Command, stood at attention, and reported the shocking news that had just occurred. Although this was long overdue, the moment of crisis still caused panic: “Report! Comrade Commander! Railway Bridge No. 4 on the upper reaches of the Moskva River… Huh, where is the Comrade Commander?”

“The Comrade Commander has taken some men to inspect the front lines on the outskirts of the city. I am temporarily in command here. Report to me.”

“Yes! Comrade Chief of Staff, news just in from the front, the Germans have broken through the positions on the upper reaches of the Moskva River? The division defending there… has suffered heavy casualties. They are requesting reinforcements or immediate withdrawal.”

“Reinforcements? I want reinforcements too! That’s just an outer position, what reinforcements could there be! Get to the point! How much longer can Railway Bridge No. 4 hold out? Can it be blown up in time?”

“Report, Comrade Chief of Staff, most of Railway Bridge No. 4 was damaged by explosives. Due to the fierce fighting, the demolition did not completely destroy the bridge, only a part of it. So…”

“So now, even with reinforcements, it’s too late to counter-attack! We should have given up that position long ago! Pull back the troops guarding the bridge, don’t fight the German armor head-on in those outer positions. We must rely on the support of the main defensive positions to slowly wear down the Germans.” The Soviet Chief of Staff was not incompetent. Under the leadership of these generals who were not complete pushovers, the Moscow ring defense was being managed quite well. It seemed Moscow was destined to become the next Stalingrad.

“Yes, sir!” The signals soldier quickly saluted and rushed out to relay the new orders. With the loss of Railway Bridge No. 4, another large section of Moscow’s forward defenses was gone. Comrade Stalin would likely be furious again.

With a helpless sigh, the Chief of Staff walked to a detailed map of the Moscow Oblast, his hands clasped behind his back. The area was covered with a dense network of trenches and bunkers. It could be said that for every kilometer, countless soldiers were defending their positions. For the Germans to reach the city of Moscow step by step, they would have to pay a price in blood.

The belief of the Moscow defenders was sustained by the 570,000 elite infantry defenders from Leningrad who were heading south. With their addition, Moscow could hold out for at least a few more months. And a few months later, perhaps the Soviet Union would rearm a million-strong army to fight the Germans again.

“Report! Comrade Chief of Staff! The infantry positions on Hill 66 are under heavy German artillery bombardment. The 353rd Regiment defending there has sent a message requesting replacements for their losses, otherwise Hill 66 is in danger of being captured.” Another signals soldier entered the office with a telegram. Behind him followed another signals soldier from a different sector.

The second signals soldier did not bring good news either. After saluting, he placed the telegram on the commander’s desk and then reported at attention, “The artillery positions deployed at Tuchkovo have been bombed by the German Air Force and have suffered heavy losses. They are requesting that sapper units be sent immediately for repairs!”

“Send sappers? What sappers can we send now? Comrade Stalin has given strict orders not to move the reserves out of Moscow, and the rest of the troops have basically been sent to the upper reaches of the Moskva River! Is the Front’s direct sapper regiment still available?” the Chief of Staff asked his aide behind him, marking the map as he listened to the requests.

His aide shook his head with difficulty and told the Comrade Chief of Staff the worst-case scenario. “They’re gone. Of the two battalions under the sapper regiment, one just went to a damaged anti-aircraft gun position. The damage there is even more severe. The personnel of the other battalion are currently rushing to repair the waterworks that were destroyed by German aircraft. I’m afraid they won’t be back for a while!”

Hearing this news, the Chief of Staff could only nod. “Mm, for a long-term battle, the waterworks certainly cannot be lost. Have the troops around Tuchkovo… retreat.”

Retreat? Was the Chief of Staff out of his mind? That was the main direction of the German advance along the road, teeming with panzergrenadiers, tanks, and assault guns. To have the troops abandon their positions and retreat at a time like this would surely mean they would be caught by the more mobile German army—what was the difference from suicide?

But on second thought, it made sense. In this situation, every position was struggling to fend for itself. Where would the reinforcements come from to hold an outer position like Tuchkovo? If they weren’t ordered to retreat, were they to be ordered to fight to the last man?

Before the two signals soldiers had even left the command post, a third soldier rushed in from outside. “Report! Comrade Chief of Staff! We’ve lost contact with the forces near Tuchkovo. It’s estimated the position has fallen. The last telegram was from the political commissar there. He said he swore to share the fate of the position… then, communication was lost!”

To resist the German armored forces in the open field with hastily arranged defensive positions seemed to be quite a struggle. Even with a town like Tuchkovo as a base, they had been routed by the German armored forces in a matter of hours. The Soviet Chief of Staff gave a bitter smile, not knowing what to say.

His aide was not as calm. Hearing that the first line of the main front had been broken, he exclaimed in alarm, “What? You said communication was cut? That’s a force of three full divisions, more than 7,000 men! They couldn’t even hold out for two hours before they were wiped out? How could it be so fast?”

How could it not be so fast? The German armored cars and tanks over there were covering their infantry in a direct frontal assault, accompanied by a massive amount of air power and heavy artillery, pinning the Soviets down. To have held on for over an hour with just flesh and blood was already a feat worth boasting about. Did they expect the infantry to repulse the tanks?

A major general in the room, who seemed to have been to Tuchkovo, had no choice but to stand up and explain the tragic fate of the frontline troops. “Comrades, you may not know the situation. I have personally been to the front. The Germans sometimes commit over a hundred armored cars and assault guns in a single attack, covering their infantry as they charge in waves. For our inferior forces to have held out for over an hour is already the result of valiant fighting.”

The Chief of Staff had already studied the German tactics at Stalingrad. At this moment, he nodded in agreement with the major general’s speculation. “For the Tuchkovo position to have held out for so long, for the crisis to have lasted for such a long time, it was probably a trap deliberately set by those damn Germans to lure us into constantly sending reinforcements. Seeing that we didn’t fall for it and that their plan had no chance of success, they finally just wiped out the defenders there…”

That major general was also a knowledgeable commander. At a time like this, he had no choice but to offer his own idea. “It’s too late to muster troops for a counter-attack now. Holding our positions is the first priority! There’s no point in investigating the loss of the position. The right thing to do now is to quickly strengthen our existing defensive positions!”

“That’s right!” The Chief of Staff looked at the major general and quickly agreed with his view. “Immediately urge the construction personnel at the nearby positions to step up their efforts to consolidate the defensive positions. Report the frontline situation to the Kremlin! Go, quickly!”

He suddenly seemed to remember something and then called back the last signals soldier to leave. “Go and find out for me. The main anti-aircraft gun positions and the waterworks cannot be lost. There must be a timeline for when they will be repaired! Find out! Go, quickly!”

“Yes, sir! I’ll go and ask right away!” The signals soldier quickly ran out of the command post.

Watching his subordinate run out in a panic, the major general also felt a loss of face. But at a time like this, they were all unfortunate souls whose fate was tied to Moscow’s. He really had no heart to pursue the matter. And so this major general cursed in a lamenting tone, “What a bunch of useless bums!”

A car pulled up in front of the command post. Inside was General Vatutin, the supreme commander of the Soviet forces in the Moscow direction. He was now the last barrier between Stalin and the German army. But at this moment, the forces in his hands were stretched thin, and he really had no way to stop the German army from further attacking in the direction of Moscow.

This general, who had just returned from inspecting some of the second-line defenses, jumped out of his car, summoned his adjutant, and, despite his fatigue, gave his orders. “Have the American technical personnel adjust the radar air defense system. A radar station was destroyed by a German bombing yesterday. A loophole has appeared in our air defense network.”

Yesterday, a German bombing raid had destroyed a radar station that the Americans had helped to build for Moscow. The result was that the anti-aircraft gun positions had no guidance. The direct consequence was that an important waterworks had been bombed by the Germans. Stalin had personally called and had berated all the personnel in the defense command.

“Even if the radar station was blown up… that’s just one. A whole anti-aircraft artillery regiment, not a single position could detect the German planes’ approach in advance? This is the front line now! They’re still so careless. Do they have to see the Germans before they know the danger is coming?” Vatutin said, walking into his command post while berating the officers following behind him.

“Comrade General, without radar for a night bombing, the anti-aircraft gunners would not dare to open fire randomly. After all, the muzzle flashes would reveal our defensive positions, and our every move would be within their calculations… The Germans are simply too far ahead in the high-tech field. They know the nature of radar and use the scattering of chaff to interfere with our radar systems…”

Vatutin was no technician. Hearing this kind of technical explanation just made him angry. “Shut up! Instead of wasting time explaining, why don’t you go and think about how to improve our air defense network! The Germans have already begun their full offensive!”

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