Before dawn on the second day, the Soviet artillerymen were making pre-war preparations on the artillery positions in the rear.
"Hurry and push this cart away. There should be no other obstructions on the position."
A Soviet artillery officer was directing the soldiers to prepare for the war. This time their artillery mission was very important. In addition to bombarding the position, they also needed to suppress the Romanian artillery. However, despite such a heavy task,
But the artillery brigade still has enough confidence. And their confidence comes from the artillery brigade's hundreds of medium and large-caliber artillery pieces of 100 mm or more.
As the only artillery brigade in the Kiev Military District and even the Soviet Union, its role is mainly to target Romania, which poses the greatest threat to it. The independent artillery brigade is equipped with a large number of 107/122/152 artillery, among which the 1910-style 122mm howitzer is
It is the most important equipment. Its total weight of 1,330 kilograms is quite suitable for Soviet roads, and its power is also good. As the main artillery of Tsarist Russia during World War I, its range of 7,700 meters is also up to standard.
So while waiting for daybreak, artillery fire from dozens of positions in the artillery brigade gave the defending Romanian army a big surprise.
The fierce shelling of three medium and large artillery pieces plunged Helmek Mountain into a sea of fire, and many fortifications on the position were destroyed.
As the commander of the position, Mizik didn't have time to tidy up his clothes and immediately rushed to his post to check the damage caused by the shelling.
"I didn't expect that the Soviet army's shelling would be so violent. Moreover, the level of shelling was quite high, and many ground fortifications suffered devastating blows."
In Mizk's eyes, many positions were being bombarded, and various weapon parts were thrown into the air from time to time. He even saw a 75mm mountain gun being directly hit by the artillery, and it immediately fell into pieces.
The deformed gun barrel flew into the air and hit the soldier who could not avoid it. The poor soldier immediately saw God.
Seeing the tragic scene of the position, Mizik immediately vented his dissatisfaction. "Where is our artillery? Why don't we fight back?"
As if waiting for his urging, the sound of counterattack artillery rumbled from behind the mountain, and the artillery fire from both sides exchanged fire across Helmek Mountain.
Although the Soviet army has the advantage in caliber, Romania is not bad either. They have the advantage of the highlands. The artillery observation posts on the hilltops continuously send observation information to the artillery positions, and this also allows the Romanian artillery to rely on precise shelling.
It was equivalent to a drum beat by the Soviet army.
Especially the new 105 howitzer (which can almost be called a cannon), although it is expensive (60% more expensive than the old one). However, it performed extremely well in this artillery battle. With its ultra-long range and fierce firepower, it even more
It is to maximize the suppression capability of its artillery.
The Soviet artillery, which was having a hard time fighting with the Romanian artillery, naturally lowered its intensity of bombardment of the position by a notch.
Although the artillery of the Romanian 24th Division (both called the 24th Division) could still withstand the Soviet artillery offensive, reinforcements still appeared.
The support from the heavy artillery regiment soon joined the chorus. The deterrence brought by these 150 heavy artillery can far exceed the artillery of the 24th Division itself. Although there is only one battalion (12) of heavy artillery support, it still allows the Romanian artillery to occupy
Advantages. Many Soviet artillerymen had to face the cycle of being discovered, bombarded, and moving positions. This situation exacerbated the disadvantages of the Soviet artillery.
Seeing that the artillery could not open up the situation, the Soviet commander Major General Solnov had to let the soldiers launch an attack in advance.
So under his order, wave after wave of Soviet soldiers launched an attack on the position.
"Light machine gun suppressive fire. These Soviets are risking their lives."
An officer on the position looked at the densely charging Soviet soldiers. He didn't care about waiting for the enemy to enter the optimal shooting range, and immediately loudly ordered the machine gun to suppress the opponent's offensive. As for why he didn't call in the more suppressive heavy machine gun to fire, look at the scattered people on the side.
Just look at the heavy machine gun with parts, and the shooter who fell next to the heavy machine gun.
In fact, he was not the only one to issue such an order. Almost the entire defense line basically did this. So when the Soviet soldiers were still some distance away, the Romanian positions on the position were full of fire. Everyone knew that this was what happened.
This time it’s true.
Of course, if Romania had performed like this yesterday, Sornov would have been very satisfied. Because it exposed all the firepower points of the position, but today is a general offensive, and there is no turning back. He can only increase his troops.
investment.
The fierce attack consumes position ammunition very quickly, especially machine gun ammunition. If you keep pulling the trigger with your finger, dozens of bullets will be consumed in a few seconds. So when the battle is at its most intense,
You can see a strange sight, that is, behind each machine gun position, there are many people squatting to press the magazines. This is the result of the machine gun firing too fast. There is even a case where the cooling water has been drained and people have to urinate to cool down.
example.
Although the resistance of the soldiers in the position was very tenacious, the Soviet army pressed almost the entire division this time. After one regiment retreated, another attacked, completely giving no chance to the Romanian soldiers to rest. Therefore, after two hours of desperate attack, the Soviet Union
The army soldiers finally attacked the position.
From a single breakthrough to a multi-faceted breakthrough, Mizik's well-designed front-line position was taken away by the Soviet offensive with no regard for casualties.
Andreev, who was in charge of commanding the Soviet offensive, looked at the Romanian army that had retreated to the second-line position. Without waiting for the soldiers to take a break, he immediately ordered, "Continue the attack. We will seize Mount Helmek in one go."
Therefore, the Soviet army, which did not give itself any rest, nor gave the retreating Romanian army a chance, continued to launch an offensive towards the second-line position.
As the position commander, Mizik immediately sent reinforcements to the second-line position after seeing the situation of the Soviet army. A battle between the two sides around the second-line position broke out immediately.
After dispatching reinforcements, Mizik did not hesitate and immediately picked up the phone. He wanted reinforcements now.
"Division Commander, the Soviet offensive is too fierce now, we need reinforcements."
The voice of the division commander, Major General Sarda, came from the microphone. "Hold on now. I am being attacked by two enemy divisions. I cannot send troops to assist you now. Can anyone tell me why the enemy's reinforcements appeared?"
It came out of nowhere."
It was obvious that Major General Sarda was angry at others with his last words.
Mizik ignored the division commander's anger towards others and could only plead. "Division commander, if you don't send reinforcements, our position is likely to fall. The Soviet troops attacking the position this time are fighting for their lives. We will cause them harm."
Although we have suffered more than 30% casualties, these people still do not take a step back. Division Commander, please send me some reinforcements at least to let the soldiers see hope. You know the consequences of not seeing hope on the battlefield."
The other person on the phone was silent for a long time and then said, "I can only send you one company of troops. If you want reinforcements, I will be the only one."
"Thank you, sir."
Now for Mizk, it would be good to reinforce a company of troops.
After putting down the phone, he ordered, "Gather all the non-combatants currently, give them weapons, and let them go to the third-line position to defend. Then let all the lightly wounded people who can hold a gun go to the third-line position."
Deputy leader Dalton said hesitantly, "Isn't this too much?"
"If the second-line position is lost, you and I will both need to take up the position."
Mizik, who held a gun for inspection, answered him without raising his head.
Now Mizik is also prepared to risk his life, don't think that only the Soviet army dares.
