Tomorrow's Ark, the journey of hardcore and ruthless people

"When destroying the enemy's army, we should not only destroy the enemy's material power, but more importantly, destroy the enemy's spiritual power."

——Carl von Clausewitz

The main body of the eastern section of the Kursk North Ridge defense line is a multi-layered position with considerable depth and full of World War I flavor.The Protectorate Army did not simply distribute its troops evenly among the trenches, but determined a main line of defense, and then dug a large number of outpost positions, foxholes, auxiliary trenches, counter-slope positions, artillery positions, etc. in front and behind it as support. , after careful calculation and careful arrangement, various light and heavy firepower were used to create a barrage zone near the barbed wire barrier.

In order to form the most favorable defensive posture, the militiamen took almost every detail into account.Part of the earth and stone obtained from the excavation of the trench was used by them to level up all the depressions between the inner barbed wire and the trench, so as not to leave a hiding place for the Ursus soldiers; Slope, this is an extremely insidious trap.

Of course, what really matters is machine gun fire.A large number of general-purpose machine guns and large-caliber heavy machine gun positions will form crossfire coverage on the barbed wire area. Any infantry group charging in the face of such firepower can only end in annihilation of the entire army.To ensure that the machine guns could continue to fire without interference, each point of fire was carefully selected and reinforced with concrete and armor plates.

According to standard position design and defensive tactics, the front should be an outpost, and only a small number of security forces are equipped in this area.When the attacker spends a lot of firepower to weaken the outpost, the defender will use the mortars deployed on the reverse slope and the barrel artillery and rockets of the artillery position to kill the attacking infantry that hit the outpost, and when they are close to the main position At that time, the crossfire of the machine gun position was used to delay the killing, and finally the infantry launched a counterattack to repel it.

"But you didn't actually intend to come this way." Comand put down the binoculars and said to the commander of the [-]th Infantry Regiment who was in the same shelter, "You abandoned the outpost and let the enemy directly press down on the barbed wire area. firepower to resolve the battle as quickly as possible.”

"Yes." The fourth regiment leader in charge of the entire eastern section of the defense line nodded.

"Do you understand what this means?!"

Before Command could finish his questioning, two or three explosions came from behind the shelter.That was the artillery shells of the Ursus land cruiser exploding in positions surrounding several 85MM cannons.Even from here, you can see that the position of an artillery battery over there has been submerged in the white smoke, and the twisted gun mount points diagonally towards the sky.As the smoke billowed, the destroyed artillery disappeared into the haze as if it was submerged by the rising tide on the beach...

The rookie artillerymen of the Tribunes did not lack for courage.But expertise and courage are two different things.Don't talk about artillery automation command systems and information-based self-propelled artillery, they can't even play with towed artillery with almost no electronic equipment.In this case, despite being able to catch the enemy off guard by virtue of its suddenness and rate of fire advantages, it paralyzed the enemy's two land-ships participating in the assault and severely damaged the Sixth Army's artillery.But when the opponent reacted, those large and medium-sized land ships with stronger armor and stronger firepower also started to target the integrated movement artillery, and they still suffered a lot.

With its range advantage, the 105 howitzer can be hidden on the back of the mountain and follow the command of the observation post to shoot.But the 85 cannons on the top of the mountain can only harden the enemy's guns.As the losses increased, Fourth Master had just ordered that except for the two artillery companies in the best condition to stay to support the infantry, the remaining cannon companies immediately moved their positions.

At any rate, the artillerymen had done all they could, and even now they were trying to keep the enemy's artillery and land-ship guns at bay.Therefore, the artillerymen really couldn't spare a hand to take care of the enemies who lined up to seek death, so they had to hand over the heavy responsibility of greeting guests to the infantry brothers.

Now it's up to the foot soldiers to show their skill and courage.

It's just that, being approached by almost five times the force of his own, he was only 300 meters away from his main position...

The four heads replied naturally: "It means that we are going to participate in a sumptuous banquet."

"Five battalions have eaten six regiments, and I'm even more worried about you dying." Command left these words and turned around with a frown on his face.

The fourth regiment commander came slightly closer and lowered his voice: "Since you also think that the balance of forces is too disparate, then I request you to draw reinforcements from the reserve team."

"That won't work." Comand turned his attitude 180 degrees, "The reserve team is used to deal with emergencies, and it cannot be used until the last moment."

"Understood." The fourth regiment leader retreated and continued to stare at the south side of the line of defense.

Just as Command finished answering, he encountered new trouble.With a dark face, Tallulah dragged him from the shelter to the trench outside, and angrily shouted: "Come back to the headquarters with me!"

"Go back? As a battlefield commander, when you can't take care of all aspects, you should grasp the key point!" Comand glared at her, "This location will be the key point to determine the outcome of the entire battle! I can also perform command duties here."

He touched the small command terminal on his arm, and then pointed to the smart radio on Tallulah's shoulder.

"But it's too dangerous here!" Tallulah almost growled.

Comand patted her on the shoulder, pulled out the laser pistol from the waist holster under the coat, stroked the double-headed eagle on the gun, which was completely different from the national emblem of the Ursus Empire, opened the safety of the pistol, and at the same time stretched out another Hand: "Yelena?"

Frost Star who has been following the two of them: "Huh?"

"Where's your candy?"

Commande took the small grain and stuffed it into his mouth. He shivered a few times in the hot energy that pierced through his mouth and stomach. After refreshing himself, he widened his sour eyes and stared at the ridge on the south side of the mountain 300 meters away. Wire.

From there the Ursus soldiers will climb to the top of the Kursk North Ridge.

**

Unlike the formation where the shield guards took the lead to cover the rear column when attacking the livestock farm, this time, the Ursus army climbed up first with light infantry.

"Line up and shoot" does not mean that there will be no skirmishers on the battlefield.The light infantry is precisely the kind of arm that is mainly deployed in a sparse formation, and is responsible for harassment, sniping, complex terrain operations, and assisting large forces.

Sparse lines of skirmishers popped up from behind the ridge, the first Ursus troops to ascend the North Ridge of the Kursk Valley.This light infantry company crawled from the hillside to the top of the ridge.But they found that the top of the mountain with sparse white smoke was dead silent, and nothing could be seen except bomb craters, barbed wire, trenches and diffuse gunpowder smoke and dust.

The Ursus light infantry looked at the trenches that were motionless and seemed empty, looking at each other nervously.After hesitating for a moment, as other light infantry companies on both wings also climbed to the top, they took action again and took the lead in reaching the fence only 50 meters away from the hillside.

An Ussian soldier was obviously too eager to achieve success but too impatient. He glanced at the quiet trench on the opposite side and then picked up his rifle without waiting for the command of his commander. Civilian fence.

Useless.These wooden stakes were driven more than one meter into the ground, enough to withstand the impact of a large group of pack animals, and they cannot be shaken by one or even a group of people.

The soldier who wasted his efforts turned his head angrily, wanting to see what instructions his commander had.But the first thing he saw was the second lieutenant leading the team flying backwards into the air.

The Ursus soldiers who were still walking on the hillside were surprised that someone could fly, when the corpse fell heavily on the hillside, and everyone realized that the second lieutenant's head and hat had been smashed together.

The dull roar of a 23MM light machine gun reached people's ears at this moment.

Without half a second of delay, the thunderous "Long Live the Emperor!" shook the sky, and gray waves rushed to the top of the northern ridge of the Kursk Valley.

At the same time, the commanders' orders also sounded in the trenches of the National Guard Army: "Comrades, get up and feed them guns!"

A fierce battle broke out without warning.

Black and white snow, gloomy sky.The red flames of the guns and the yellow flames of the explosion are extremely vivid in this gray background.The eternally feeble sun on the northwestern tundra also became increasingly dim.

In this strong and gloomy color, the waves composed of living people are rolling in, facing the dense bullets, grenades, 40mm grenades, rockets, and mortar shells, rushing towards the barbed wire and trenches, forming an extremely miserable and incomparable Spectacular scenery. "Hurrah!" and "Long live the emperor!" shouts faintly overwhelmed the dense gunfire.

All battalion and company-level 82 and 60MM mortars are fully fired, creating static or rolling walls of fire on the tops and slopes of crowded mountains.After wading through the blocking barrages with corpses, the main force of the Ursus attacking force had just climbed to the top of the mountain.

In front of it is a 50-meter-wide terrific open space, unobstructed and unobstructed; 50 meters away is a wooden fence wrapped in barbed wire, and further forward is a wide anti-infantry trench.The field of view extends, another barbed wire fence, and finally the countless automatic weapons on the parapet of the trench 300 meters away.The vast majority of people in this perspective had no time to count how many muzzle flames there were flickering, and they were literally torn apart by the torrential rifle firepower.

However, the follow-up Ursus soldiers stepped on the corpses on the snow, the blood-soaked mud turned reddish-brown, and the corpses hanging on the barbed wire, and rushed towards the trenches in front of them recklessly.On the entire four-kilometer frontage, there are gray army coats everywhere, almost submerging the land.

The machine gunners never have to do heavy work. They only have to worry about digging fortifications. They have never had anything to do with carrying shells, and they even need everyone to resist ammunition.Now no one has a problem with them anymore.They put the "hit the shot, don't hold the trigger" shooting pattern behind them and just kept pulling the trigger almost non-stop.In the blink of an eye, an ammunition chain was sucked clean by the machine gun.The bullet chains are fired one by one, 250 rounds, 1000 rounds, 3000 rounds...

The machine gun, which is usually cherished as an eyeball, is now undergoing the most severe test.In order to ensure continuous firepower, the frequency of replacing spare barrels was extended from every [-] rounds in the regulations to every [-] rounds.If it is not for continuing to shoot, the failure rate will be unacceptably high, and the interval between barrel changes will be extended.As long as the machine gun can still be fired, the overheating and deformation of the barrel increases the failure rate and affects the shooting accuracy, all of which are forgotten by the machine gunners - if they can't survive now, there will be no future!

The red barrels were poured out one by one, and the new barrels were put back, and then turned red again, and another one was replaced...

The soldiers of the National People's Army held their 95G automatic rifles, and the bullet casings splashed like rain.Each of them now has a full box of magazines at their feet, and they have only received very simple orders before:

Don't take a step back without permission!

In addition to infantry light weapons, the two 85 cannon companies still standing on the ground were also firing desperately.Only nine of the twelve guns of these two batteries remained now, but the artillerymen had almost turned the cannons into machine guns, and every shrapnel and high-explosive shell blasted a blank in the wave of the enemy, and then the Gaps are filled in immediately.When the shrapnel and high-explosive shells were exhausted and were not replenished, they even fired armor-piercing shells directly at the enemy!

Even so, due to the extremely dense troop density of the Ursas army, the armor-piercing bullets can kill about five people in one blow.

But this is not enough.

Ursus soldiers are undoubtedly tenacious.If anyone told the militia soldiers that the Ursus soldiers were weak cowards, they would definitely tie him up and put him outside the trench parapet to experience for themselves the momentum of the cowards.

Even though they are still basically in the position of massacres, the officers and soldiers of the National People's Army are still under tremendous psychological pressure and gradually increasing casualties.

According to the combat regulations of the Ursus Empire Army, the regiment flags of each regiment should be in charge of the flag guard platoon, and they should be in front of the main formation of the regiment during the battle.In other words, except for light infantry or shield guards, the regimental flag should be at the forefront as one of the signs guiding everyone's actions.And the regiment flags and flag guard platoons of the six regiments were indeed the first batch of the whole regiment to rush to the top of the ridge after the light infantry.Every flag guard platoon basically suffered all casualties within 3 minutes, but ordinary soldiers who had no obligation to take over the "bullet magnet" still raised the regiment flag one after another.

Although the weapon in hand is still a magazine-less bolt-action rifle using black powder bullets, which is far from comparable to the sophisticated infantry weapons system of the partisan army, there are more than three digits of Ursus soldiers attacking the defense line at every moment. The tribune officers and soldiers on the ground fired; although the density of magic fireballs and mortar shells was insufficient, they never stopped.

The six Ursus regiments had already paid a heavy price before they touched the first barbed wire.Only now did they realize how tricky this wooden fence wrapped in barbed wire was.It is impossible to pull down the fence by manpower alone, and the Ursas officers and soldiers did not pay attention to these inconspicuous obstacles before, and they were almost completely unprepared to break them.As for the three frigates that were supposed to be responsible for breaking the barbed wire - they are still burning in the valley!

In order to overcome the obstacles, the Ursus soldiers chose various simple and cruel methods: the simplest is to spread the corpses or even themselves on the barbed wire, and let the comrades step on and jump over; the more complicated ones need to find valuable explosives, For example, grenades or small explosive packs, it is really impossible to find a few more bullet boxes to make do.

Although the Nationalist Army made every effort to prevent the enemy from destroying the first barbed wire fence, the Ursas officers and soldiers tried to blast it again and again, and even the wooden fence itself was repeatedly damaged by machine gun bullets and shell fragments.In the frantic shouts of "Long live the emperor!", the first wooden fence and barbed wire were still gradually falling down.Already Ursus soldiers had begun to crawl into the deep and wide barrage.

However, every step forward, Ursus soldiers have to pay the blood price.

People kept falling, and people kept filling up. The blood everywhere drew a thin red line on the ground, stretching from one end of the horizon to the other.

PS:

Group friends: "Boring! I want to see blood flow into rivers!"

Author: Nuo, blood flowed like a river.

PS1:

Double updates, debts repaid.

Chapter 38 Desperate Combat

"Strong spiritual strength is the key to the quality of a soldier."

——Carl von Clausewitz

"Are all Ursus soldiers monsters?!"

Comand heard such an exclamation not far away.

In the command post of the Fourth Infantry Regiment, only the most necessary passwords, reports and orders were left.The close fight to the death has surpassed all military operations carried out by the Tribal Army in the past, and its bloody tragedy makes everyone's hair stand on end.

The beeping and ringing of the telephone came from the next door, and several rough voices were scrambling to speak first, but the baritone voice of the commander of the fourth regiment clearly overwhelmed all the noises, and only the battalion commander under him could be heard scolding, Threatening and shouting: "Cherebanov! If you dare to step back a millimeter, just shoot a pistol bullet into your head! Do you understand? I'm fucking right behind you, and the General Political Commissar is right here You have endless ammunition, and the enemy is lining up to die. Do you have to shout 'help'? Persevere, even at the cost of your life!... What are you complaining to me, Cheriebanov ! Don’t I understand? All the people in the agency who can be transferred have been enriched to the front line!..."

At this moment, the two chiefs of the militia and a company commander of the guards were watching the distant scene with trench periscopes outside the command post of the fourth regiment.

Tallulah's face was pale, and her fingers were bloodless pinched on the lens barrel; Frost Star was panting heavily, and there was a wheezing sound in her throat; Comand...

Eating beef jerky.

As Commander began visibly moving his mouth to chew, both girls turned their heads to face Commander with contorted expressions.

"You are free, uh—" Tallulah suppressed the churning in her stomach, and panted heavily.

Comand changed his stern majesty since the beginning of the anti-encirclement campaign, and said in a slightly gentler tone: "I allow you to be weak for a while."

"The battlefield will not allow me to be weak." Tallulah swallowed.

"Are you still expecting me to lie on top of you and cry?" Shuangxing replied loudly.

"All right?" Comand quickly changed his face, "Then please say something useful! The enemy has already begun to gain a foothold!"

The shield guard holding a strong shield appeared on the battlefield again.The Ursus attack force obviously coordinated, and the six shield guard companies of these six regiments emerged from behind the slope at the same time.They took long strides and ran forward, instantly attracting most of the firepower from the entire defense line.Although their shields and armor were enough to withstand the 7.62X41MM rifle bullets of the small arms of the militiamen, the extremely dense firepower kept knocking them to the ground, causing internal injuries or simply hitting unarmored positions.Grenades fired from gun mounts, revolvers and automatic grenade launchers also continued to explode around them.These companies were rapidly losing casualties from the moment they came on the scene.

But they and the soldiers who followed them for cover were running quickly to the barricade, and the Ursus officers and soldiers in other positions also took the opportunity to continue to advance.

Even so, advancement comes at the cost of blood.At this point in the battle, after enduring the pain, depression and humiliation of a series of defeats, the Ursus officers and soldiers on the front line had only one thought left in their minds besides adrenaline and the vodka they drank before setting off: to kill the rebels. , kill the rebels, and kill all the rebels on the opposite side.As long as there is a chance to break into the trenches, they must send all the cowards, cowards, butchers, and murderers hiding in the trenches to hell.

This idea was so fanatical that the people of Ursus temporarily tolerated such a terrible speed and number of casualties.

Looking around, on the four-kilometer front, the people who gathered at the crater or swarmed in at the gap that was blown up will be immediately focused on by the Minority Army machine gunners.Often in a blink of an eye, the warriors who were still fighting one after another became the dead and the wounded, and the gap was quickly blocked by corpses or people who were becoming corpses.But the remaining Ursus officers and soldiers continued to advance, stepping over the corpses or bodies of comrades in arms, and continued to advance until they were knocked down by a bullet.

In such intense combat, the survival time of an infantry battalion is measured in minutes.The leading companies of the six Ursus regiments were basically all casualties, the officers who participated in the attack were either dead or disabled, and many soldiers didn't even have a complete body left behind.But what did such huge casualties come in exchange for?At best, it is nothing more than pushing the front line forward by 50 meters.

Time passed by, and after a passage leading to the barracks was paved with corpses, Ursus officers and soldiers immediately poured into the barracks and bomb craters between the fence wire mesh and the second barbed wire, despite machine guns and automatic grenades The firepower of the launchers was constantly strafing around the trench, causing a large number of wounded and dead bodies to roll in besides the living; mortar shells and grenades exploded around the barrier trench non-stop, but this road is three meters deep, five meters wide and four kilometers long. That's enough for the trenches to stop the deadly machine gun fire.

Up to now, the commander of the 20th Infantry Division of the Ursus Sixth Army, who was responsible for commanding the entire offensive, was killed. One of the three brigade commanders of the two brigades under the [-]th Division and the No. [-] [-]th Brigade of the [-]th Division was killed and one was seriously injured.

The last brigade commander is now in the barracks, covered in dust, gunpowder smoke, and blood like the surrounding officers and soldiers, and his clothes are in tatters.He yelled at the only remaining staff officer next to him: "Go and find anything that can communicate! Radio, communicator or something! Tell the general: Petrovich sends you hello, he said..."

A string of machine gun bullets whizzed in, and the soldiers who dug a hole on the wall of the three-meter-deep barrier ditch and climbed up to shoot fell one after another, like ripe fruits blown by the wind and falling off the branches.

"If the army he is fortunate to command today cannot take that position, then no one will be able to take it again! There is an urgent need for reinforcements here! Give us two more regiments, and we will be able to break through the enemy's line of defense!"

A lucky mortar shell fell directly into this trench, and two entire squadrons of Ursus soldiers fell to the bottom.

As time went by, Ursas soldiers gradually discovered that this three-meter-deep barrage was not that simple.When the militiamen excavated here, they removed all the things that could be used in it, not even an empty ammunition box that could be used as a foothold, let alone a shooting platform; The guns on the edge of the trench fired, and they could only be beaten passively; the bottom and two walls of the trench were completely flattened, water splashed and frozen, making it almost impossible to climb out, and there were many mines, which caused countless troubles for those who jumped in.

Crouch here and wait for mortars and grenade launchers to take care of yourself; climb up and wait for machine rifles to take care of yourself.Ursus soldiers quickly realized that the trench, which looked good as it ate machine-gun bullets in the open, was actually a slow-death trap.