The next type of battle was completely the same as the two armies' standing-up shooting mode in ancient wars. Not only did the rifle soldiers stand, but even the mg34 machine gun teams were all shooting upright, one was responsible for losing bullets, one was responsible for firing, and one was using his shoulders as a gun frame, and dense bullets swept towards the Soviet soldiers who were struggling in the snow. Slowly, the machine gun fire cut off the enemy's offensive formation, and then extended the ballistic back to the end of the queue, sweeping to the front until no Soviet soldier could continue to stand in the snow.

After the ceasefire, some German soldiers slowly pulled out cigarettes from their pockets, lit one and sucked a few puffs before passing them to other brothers. Cigarettes were the best sedatives for soldiers, and under the condition of shortage of supply, the German army could only suck one together. Although it shattered the Soviet counterattack, there was no sign of happiness on the faces of these battle-hardened grenadiers. They understood that although the battle just passed was terrible, it was just the beginning. The sound of "Ula" that had stopped came from the top of the mountain again, and the German furious firepower wiped out them all again. (It was not that Luoye wrote the Soviet army so stupid, but it was really like this!)

The Soviet army rushed down from the top of the mountain to the German army halfway up the mountain to carry out counterattacks again and again, but most of them turned into dead souls in front of machine guns, rifles, submachine guns and grenades. Finally, the Soviet army on the mountain put all the reserves and launched the last large-scale counterattack, and the German army's queue finally couldn't support it.

Although they themselves were unwilling to admit it, the 39th Panzer Army's operation again for the Holm defenders to reach contact was indeed a failure. However, the efforts and sacrifice of the German infantry also won a favorable condition for the compatriots in the encirclement, that is, they had wedged a shallow protrusion from the periphery in the Soviet encirclement, and the heavy artillery of the 39th Panzer Army can now provide long-range fire support for the Sherell battle group at this position.

This is an "untraditional" artillery position, which played a crucial supporting role in the subsequent battles. The artillery group located here is commanded by General Ukman. It is also known as the "Ukman artillery group". It is located 10 kilometers west of Holm town, close to Dubrov/Taraknovo. Because it is a protruding part surrounded by the Soviet army, it is easily attacked by the Soviet army from north to south.

It is said to be "untraditional" because these artillery companies (including the 218th Artillery Regiment and the 536th Heavy Artillery Battalion respectively) are actually set at the forefront of the German front. Such positions resulted in huge casualties in artillery, but such a setting was necessary. The heavy rain of steel they fired could provide protection for their guards of Holmde. According to the post-war report, the "Ukman Artillery Group" had to shoot more than 1,000 shells from this position to the Soviet offensive queue every day.

Despite the direct and powerful support from artillery, the defenders in the town were still disappointed that the 39th Armored Army could not rescue it as they expected. The friendly forces' rescue efforts failed again, but Brigadier General Sherel did not withdraw his attack troops from the occupied hill, but ordered them to continue to guard this powerful position. The soldiers on the mountain were under great mental pressure from both the top and the spirit, and were all trapped in an unexpected hell of insomnia.

Because the attacks of the Red Army may be launched at any time, they must be alert in the day and night. Some rotation personnel and supply transport teams can only quietly reach the top of the mountain at night. They sleep and rest as much as possible before setting off. The process of going up and down the mountain in the dark is also full of dangers. Not only should they rely entirely on the compass to guide the direction to avoid breaking into the Soviet positions, but they should also be alert to not encounter the Siberian skiing troops wandering in this place.

In the situation where the number of people and equipment were at a disadvantage, the successful persistence day after day fully demonstrated that the tactics adopted by Holm's besieged German army and that these German army's extraordinary will were extraordinary, but at the same time, the shadow of excessive fatigue began to appear. Many soldiers felt and acted slowly because they did not get a rest for a long time. The Siberian snipers who were not afraid of the cold and lurked in the snow for a long time began to play a role, killing these careless German troops one by one with precise bullets, which made the Sherell battle group, which had already lost personnel due to illness and malnutrition, worsen again.

The continuous reduction of front-line combatants forced Brigadier General Scherer to make a difficult decision to retreat his remaining personnel to a smaller defense circle. This decision is relatively speaking. Of course, the number of Germans in effective defense is increased, but for the Soviet army, which is dominant in terms of numbers, the narrower encirclement also makes it more impactful. The Soviet army's routine infantry assaults continue every day. The dense wave of people has no intention of an excellent target in front of the German army who is desperately defending. However, after the German army has actively reduced its defense area, more and more hand-to-hand combat has been staged among the ruins of the town.

On the evening of February 11, the German sentries heard the roar from a large number of tank engines, and the signs of change were obvious that a large-scale attack dominated by tanks in the Soviet army was imminent.

Early in the morning of February 12, the German army was waiting for the first time, but the expected tank charge cluster. In the area where the previous infantry assault did not achieve its goal, the Soviet commander concentrated all the artillery fire and decided to use their "God of War" to give the defenders the most violent blow before putting into the tank.

The first thing that roared like thunder was the 152mm heavy howitzer equipped by the Soviet army, which was also called the "black sow" by the German officers and soldiers. Then the artillery of other caliber also opened fire one after another, and the dense barrage seemed to destroy all life in the encirclement. The dense artillery fire of the Soviet army lasted throughout the day and night. The town of Holm shook the sky and the earth like an earthquake, and all the Germans crawled into the bunker or the depths of the basement to curl up to avoid the disaster. They all understood that after the prelude ended, what was about to usher in Soviet tanks and infantry that were coming like a tide.

The surprised Germans actually found a 37mm anti-tank gun that was abandoned by unknown troops. Its performance was quite good, but the scope had been damaged. It might be that the friendly troops stationed here were left to repair, but they forgot it because of a hasty retreat. What's even more amazing is that they also found several boxes of shells.

Although the 37mm gun has limited armor-piercing ability and can only barely deal with Soviet tanks when firing at a very close distance. Moreover, it lacks scopes and requires the gunner to close to a distance of nearly suicide to open fire. But at this time, it is better than sitting and waiting to die, and Scherer's subordinates do not lack brave volunteers.

…(To be continued)

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