"What's going on? Your defense line was rebuilt yesterday, wasn't it? Marshal Voroshilov asked, holding the phone, angrily.

The second renovation he was referring to refers to the fact that the Soviet front-line troops, with the assistance of local residents, strengthened the original hastily constructed defense system.

The so-called assistance of the local population is actually the forced requisition of all the labor force that can be requisitioned, and men, women and children go into battle to dig a series of defensive facilities, including anti-tank trenches.

The renovated defense line is actually a main defensive zone 3 kilometers thick. This line of defense was seen by Voroshilov as impregnable, and could not be easily defeated.

Therefore, in Voroshilov's opinion, it would not be a problem for him to shrink his forces and build such a line of defense around Leningrad for a few months.

Who would have thought that on the other side of the phone, the strong defensive line he relied on, the Germans attacked for only a few hours, and they were completely penetrated.

"It's been renovated, but the German attack is too fierce, and my troops have suffered heavy losses......" The commander of the 4th Army replied with tears on the other side of the phone.

"Why not ask for reinforcements? Yes? Is your phone a spoon for eating? Marshal Voroshilov felt a rush of blood in his head, and now he really wanted to scold his mother.

His men would have been so stupid that the Germans would not be able to hold their positions when they attacked, and they could not think of asking for reinforcements.

"Germany...... German...... They...... Just, just now, started the offensive...... Probably, probably, about fifteen minutes ......" The commander of the 4th Army, with great difficulty, stammered and said everything he wanted to say.

"You coward, bastard! You promised me that you could hold this line for at least a month! Voroshilov pinched the phone and yelled angrily.

"What a month, what fifteen days! You only held it for fifteen minutes and you couldn't stand it? "Voroshilov's hands were pressed on the belt, and if he had been there, he would have drawn his pistol and killed the commander.

"Division, Commander...... Comrade Marshal...... How do I know that the Germans have smashed all the shells on my head? "The commander of the 4th Army had tears in his eyes.

In the distance, the German heavy artillery stretched out layer by layer like a plough on his position.

The earth-shattering explosion, even if he watched it from a distance, he could feel the power and violence.

The smell of burning gunpowder was in the air, and the Germans did not seem to want to waste time on his position, or, to put it another way, the Germans did not seem to want to leave any life in the area.

Explosion after explosion is still explosion, explosion after explosion is still explosion, explosion after explosion continues to be endless explosion.

Rockets and artillery shells fell in turn, as if the Germans were venting their pent-up anger. One round of shelling lasted more than ten minutes, and before anyone could catch their breath, the second round of shelling began again.

The commander of the 4th Army heard a report from his men that the Germans, under the cover of artillery fire, had torn through the lines on the flanks of his troops.

But he still does not know the specific situation, and does not know where the Germans got such a number of artillery.

What he didn't know was that there were also a large number of shells produced by the Soviet Union itself.

Along the way, the Germans captured at least 1,000 Soviet guns of various calibers, all of which are now used in the campaign to attack Leningrad.

Large-caliber ones include the terrible K5 railway guns, and small-caliber ones even include infantry guns of 75 mm caliber.

Counting the artillery that the Germans themselves had, Marshal Loeb concentrated more than 3000 cannons in one direction.

Such a lineup, even in World War I, in that era of trench warfare, can be regarded as a real big deal.

So the commander of the 4th Army was tragic, so Marshal Voroshilov was tragic, so the Leningrad defense system was tragic.

"Comrade Commander...... What did Comrade Marshal say over there? Putting down the phone, the commissar of the 4th Army asked.

The commander of the 4th Army didn't know what to say at this time, he sighed and replied: "The marshal ordered us to hold our positions for an hour, and reinforcements will arrive." ”

"An hour? One of our armies, blocking one German army group? The commissar saw the overwhelming shelling in the distance, and his tone was full of despair.

In fact, he still underestimated the concentrated artillery fire of the German army, which was definitely not the artillery of an army group, at least three!

Loeb was a veteran general, and he was Hitler's general before Li Le's crossing. He is proficient in infantry and artillery coordination, and he is familiar with commanding such battles.

In this case, it is actually very easy to break through the enemy's defenses. After all, he has an overwhelming advantage in firepower, and he also has some surplus in troops.

"What else would you do? The enemy attacks so quickly, it takes time to mobilize troops, right? Looking at his political commissar, the commander of the 4th Army said helplessly.

This commissar had just been assigned to the front line, and he didn't know much about military affairs. Reinforcements are not immediate, after all, it takes time for reserves to be mobilized.

However, the progress of the German attack was too fast, so there was really not much time left for the Soviet army to react.

"I'll go to the front and see it myself, if I can...... Forget it, use all the personnel of the military department and follow me to the area where the enemy is attacking! The commander gave an order depressedly.

He was going to take all the soldiers he could find and go to block a possible breach himself. If it can be blocked, then the entire defense line still has the possibility of survival.

Buckling his steel helmet above his head, the commander prepared to step out of his headquarters.

At this time, the sound of the air being torn suddenly sounded, and when everyone was caught off guard, a huge explosion sounded.

There was a jolt and a collapse, causing chaos around everything. Dust filled everyone's chest.

Then there was another huge explosion, and the soldiers in the nearby trenches were lifted into the sky.

Stumps and severed arms flew everywhere, and stones and wood were shattered. Where the military headquarters was located, only a huge crater remained, and some smoking wooden stakes that used to serve as bunker supports.

The commanders of the 4th Army were blown into ashes by a single shell, and the entire command was paralyzed.

In the afternoon of the same day, the German armored forces broke through the defensive line and began to rush towards Leningrad.