The infantry of the 22nd Infantry Brigade, following the tanks of the 185th Tank Brigade, stormed the city from the northern outskirts of Erbin, trying to capture it in one fell swoop. Then, just as they approached the edge of the city, they were blocked by the People's Stormtroopers. Although the combat effectiveness of these civilians, who had just picked up arms for a few days, belonged to the category of the five scum of war, many of them had in their hands an "iron fist" that gave the Soviet tank soldiers a headache.

Despite the fact that the range of this weapon is only thirty meters, it is easy for stormtroopers who are familiar with the terrain to deal with those slow tanks. They hid in roadside canals, ravines, or dilapidated houses, and when they saw Soviet tanks passing in front of them, they leaned out without hesitation and destroyed Soviet tanks with their "iron fists".

After the seven or eight tanks that rushed ahead were destroyed, the commanders and fighters who were charging along the road immediately lost their cover. As they tried to move on by bypassing the burning tanks, they were met with condescending fire from the German soldiers hiding in the fortified buildings, and the unprepared commanders and fighters fell into the street in pieces. Those who survived hurriedly flashed to the sides of the road, and with the help of the cover of buildings and roadside vehicles, they shot and retreated.

After the first assault on Erbin ended in failure, the two brigade commanders came to a high ground not far from the city, raised their binoculars to check the terrain, and prepared to wait for the troops to complete their assembly before launching another assault on the city.

But after observation, both brigade commanders had embarrassed expressions on their faces. The tank brigade commander pointed ahead and said: "The road ahead is too narrow, and the sides of the road are full of ravines and the wreckage of houses, as long as the German anti-tank men are hidden inside, no matter how many tanks we send over, we will be killed." ”

The infantry brigade commander was equally troubled, although there were no obvious fortifications in the northern direction of the city, but the fortified houses in the distance could become a defensive stronghold for the German army, and the enemy could only hide in them and shoot condescendingly, and the troops entering the city streets would become the target of their shooting.

After some research, the two decided to report the situation here to Fedyuninsky. Ten minutes later, the telegram jointly sent by the two was placed in front of Fedyuninsky.

After seeing the telegram, Fedyuninsky turned his head and asked the chief of staff, who was busy next to him: "Chief of staff, when will the artillery units of the army group arrive on the northern outskirts of the city?" ”

"It's hard to say, Comrade Commander." The chief of staff put down the work in his hand, walked up to Fedyuninsky, and asked curiously: "Do you have any new ideas?" ”

"That's right," Fedyuninsky said, handing the telegram to the chief of staff, "we reached two brigades on the northern outskirts of Erbin, and the attack on the city failed. According to their report, if they want to storm the city, they must be supported by artillery fire, so we must send artillery to support them as soon as possible. ”

"Comrade commander, have you forgotten that at the moment the closest artillery unit to Erbin is several artillery regiments of the 8th Estonian Infantry Corps, which are supporting the troops of the 48th Army with artillery fire to attack south of the city of Elbin. As for when the rest of the artillery units will arrive, it's really hard to say. ”

Hearing the chief of staff say twice in a row that he could not be sure when the artillery unit would arrive, a displeased expression appeared on Fedyuninsky's face: "Chief of staff, when will our artillery unit reach Elbin, can't you even estimate the time?" ”

"The road to Erbin, because of the air raids, is in very bad condition, and it is not conducive to the passage of large forces at all." The chief of staff said with a sad face: "Our artillery units are now stuck in the middle of the road and cannot advance at all, so I cannot accurately calculate the time when they will reach Elbin." In addition, according to the reports of the two brigades, they were constantly harassed by the Germans along the way from the west to the north of the city, and even if our artillery reached the west of the city, it was estimated that it would not take too short to reach the north of the city. ”

After listening to the chief of staff's report, Fedyuninsky knew that it was very unrealistic to provide artillery support to the troops north of the city in a short time, so he could only ask the chief of staff to send a message to the two brigade commanders, asking them to establish a defensive position in the north of the city, and wait for the artillery to arrive before launching a new attack.

Although it is not possible to attack from the north for the time being, it does not mean that Erbin will not be attacked, and since the main force of General Pern's Estonian Infantry 8th Army is deployed in the west of the city, it is still necessary to let them attack and deal with the 48th Army in the south of the city. Therefore, Fedyuninsky called Pern directly and said straight to the point: "Comrade General, I am Fedyuninsky, is your army ready for battle?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Hearing Fedyuninsky's voice, Pern hurriedly replied: "The troops of our army have already entered the attack position, and only the artillery units of the army can be sent to attack Elbin." ”

"General Perne, maybe your attack will not be supported by artillery for the time being." Fedyuninsky said with a wry smile: "The artillery units of your army are currently in the south direction of the city, cooperating with the troops of the 48th Army to break through the defenses of the German army. You can only liberate Elbin with the power you have. ”

"What, Comrade Commander, what did you say?" Hearing Fedyuninsky say this, Perne's heart suddenly cooled down, and he secretly said in his heart: My artillery has more than 500 guns of various calibers, and you can't send all of them to support friendly forces, and you haven't left me any of them, right? Thinking of this, he asked tentatively: "Are you saying that the cooperation of our troops' artillery can only rely on their existing strength to attack?" ”

"That's right, exactly." Fedyuninsky explained to Pern: "Not only your artillery regiments will not be able to support you, but even the artillery of the army group will not be able to support you. As soon as they arrived in the western suburbs, they needed to turn north and support the friendly forces occupying that direction. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." From Fedyuninsky's tone, Pern understood that his next battle could only be fought without artillery support, so he said: "In half an hour, my troops will launch an attack on Elbin." ”

"Very well, General Perne." In response to Perne's statement, Fedyuninsky nodded with satisfaction: "I am waiting for your good news. ”

After putting down the phone, Pern asked the chief of staff of the army standing on the side: "Comrade Chief of Staff, have you figured out the distribution of the enemy's forces in the west of the city?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The chief of staff of the corps replied in the affirmative: "According to the report of the commander of the 249th Infantry Division, it was learned through the interrogation of the prisoners that the regular German army in the west of the city consisted of only 500 men, plus more than 2,000 members of the People's Stormtroopers, under the unified command of a SS commando group commander of the second class. ”

"People's Stormtroopers?!" After repeating the number, Pern said disdainfully: "A group of civilians who have just picked up arms for a short time, what kind of combat can they have." Chief of Staff, immediately called the commander of the 249th Division and ordered the division to launch an immediate offensive and be sure to reach the center of the city in the shortest possible time. ”