Ironfall (Kirov Series Book 30) by Schettler John

Author:Schettler, John [Schettler, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Writing Shop Press
Published: 2017-04-28T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

The sector chosen for the northern attack was just east of the city of Prokhorovka, an old Cossack rail station on the Moscow Kharkov rail line that was built by an engineer named Prokhorov. The town was in ruins, many homes and buildings burned out rubble, but it had been fortified by German Engineers, and was protected by a thick belt of minefields.

About 12 kilometers to the west on the River Psel, was Krasny Oktyabr, (Red October), which was chosen as the breakthrough zone for 5th Guards Army. About five kilometers southeast of Prokhorovka, the heavy defensive works thinned out at another red town, simply called Krasnoye. That was now the nest of KG Schubert an independent unit in Model’s new 2nd Army. His 305th Infantry Division held Prokhorovka, and KG Schubert was the last unit under Model’s direct control at Krasnoye. From there, the German line would stretch southwest to the Oskol, with the 4th Army under General Heinrici. So Schubert was right on the seam between the two armies, commanding a small Kampfgruppe composed of three more battalions, the 161st Panzerjager, 21st Armored Car, and 221st Pioneers.

Oberst Kristen Shubert had passed an uneasy night, his well-trained ear certain that he could hear the dull rumble of distant vehicles moving in the night. He asked for the latest Luftwaffe recon report, but learned that no enemy forces had been seen on the roads to the north that day. Yet he could not shake the feeling of inner anxiety the morning, after a fitful and restless six hours of sleep. So he resolved to visit the forward edge of the town, touring the bunkers and having a look for himself. It was not long before when he saw the dark lines of Russian infantry emerge from the misty steppe land north of the city, and immediately ran to the nearest command bunker to get to a radio.

“Artillery!” he shouted. “There are swarms of Red infantry coming at us!”

The code word launching the attack was very simple that morning, and it was sent in the clear on the radio: “Red, Red October!” It was more than a battle cry hearkening back to the Revolution. In fact, it was announcing the names of the two villages singled out as breakthrough zones. The enemy coming at Schubert was the 5th Shock Army, meant to be the eastern pincer for this initial operation aimed at eliminating the Prokhorovka strongpoint, and 5th Guards Army was moving up to begin the attack to the west at Krasny Oktyabr.

The Pioneers had no organic artillery of their own, and nothing more than mortars, which were already starting to pop off and range in on the advancing enemy. But Schubert put in a call to 2nd Army Artillery, which he knew was positioned in range. Soon the rounds of 10.5 and 15cm guns were starting to fall, mostly on the 24th Rifle Division. Then calls came in from 10th Luftwaffe Field Division, positioned just outside the town to the west.

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