The gunners skillfully unloaded 60-kilogram rockets from the ammunition truck, and it took less than ten minutes to reload 20 BM-13 Katyusha rockets, but Major Fliyulov did not immediately give the order to open fire.

His heralds ran around the rocket launcher, relaying his new orders to the twenty gun commanders one by one.

The twenty artillery groups were divided into three groups, the first two groups each had seven rocket launchers, and the third group had one less and only six.

After receiving the reply from the artillery commanders, Fliyulov excitedly waved his right arm and made a slashing motion, and a deafening whistling sound sounded again from the launch site.

The seven Katyusha of the first group opened fire in unison, and the position was once again covered with fire and smoke.

Fliyulov held a handkerchief in his left hand to cover his mouth and nose to shield himself from the smoke, and his right arm was across his chest, counting down to the five-minute countdown.

Five minutes later, the second group of Katyusha rocket launchers spewed fire dragons, and five minutes later, the six-door Katyusha of the third group received the order to fire.

Three groups of rocket artillery guns opened fire in turn, one every five minutes, pouring steel and flames at the coordinates provided by the Soviet observation posts on the Dnieper River.

On both sides of the bridgehead, along the river, the trees in the forest were staggered by shelling, broken branches and broken leaves scattered in all directions, and craters were splattered with bloodstained rags and severed limbs.

The right bank of the German-controlled Dnieper River was also hit by artillery fire, and a cloud of fire erupted in the cornfield, and the explosion ignited a fire, covering both sides of the Dnieper with a thick layer of gray-black gunsmoke.

The pontoon bridge was blown off in the first round of shelling, and one after another fell under the rockets overhead, no one dared to approach the river, no one dared to stand up and run around, and the assault team led by Major Krugel was cut off from retreating. Still suppressed by heavy artillery fire, he could not move.

Sensing the danger that the assault team was in, Chen Dao and Lieutenant General Hui Biqi immediately made arrangements.

Lieutenant General Huibiqi summoned the division's artillery regiment and asked the artillery watchmen to judge the general direction of the enemy's artillery according to the rocket's flight trajectory, and the only three FI-282 Hummingbird helicopters left in the division also crossed the Dnieper River to find the exact location of the artillery positions.

HOWEVER, THE APPEARANCE OF THE FI-282 HELICOPTER IMMEDIATELY ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF THE SOVIET AIR FORCE IN THE SKIES ABOVE THE BATTLEFIELD, AND THE TWO MIG-3 FIGHTERS IGNORED THE LUFTWAFFE'S BLOCKADE. Pull down the height and rush to the fragile "hummingbird".

A black-painted Il-2 attack aircraft was transformed into a fighter jet and rushed towards a FI-282 helicopter.

As far as Chen Dao's eyes could see, a hummingbird helicopter dragged black smoke, rotated 360 degrees, and fell to the ground like a spinning top, while the other two helicopters turned around and fled back to the German-controlled area, where they narrowly escaped the chase under the cover of antiaircraft artillery units.

The escape of the Hummingbird helicopter meant that the Soviet rocket artillery would continue to wreak havoc on the battlefield, and after another fifteen minutes of rocket death, the characteristic whistling sound of the rocket disappeared from the battlefield.

For fifteen minutes no rockets fell again. Chen Dao saw through the telescope that in the forest on the opposite bank, some brave German soldiers stood up and ran through the forest, as if they were treating the wounded.

Could it be that there are no more shells? Or is it aware of the impending danger?

Chen Dao was shocked by the sharp battlefield instincts of the opposing artillery commander, because in addition to the Hummingbird helicopter, he also contacted the air force in the rear to send a Stuka dive bomber formation and reconnaissance ME-109 fighters to support the battle, but at this critical moment, the enemy's Katyusha rockets actually stopped firing.

Chen Dao didn't know much about Katyusha rockets, but he also knew that Katyusha rockets were placed on Gaz trucks. It is extremely mobile and has a strong transition ability, unlike a truck-towed cannon.

Just a slight negligence. These rocket artillery vehicles can run away without a trace.

While Chen Daozheng was worried about the possible escape of the Soviet Katyusha rocket artillery unit, Major Fliyulov and his unit stopped in place, all twenty Katyusha rocket launchers were loaded with ammunition, and the gunners stared at Vliyulov with eagerness in their eyes.

Fliyulov ignored the expectations of his men and just stared at the watch in hand. The mouth is reading words as the hands beat.

"Nineteen minutes and fifty-five seconds, fifty-six seconds, fifty-seven seconds and twenty minutes, fire, fire."

After completing the twenty-minute countdown, Major Fliyulov shouted with a fist waving.

Twenty Katyusha rockets were no longer fired in groups, but in a frenzied salvo. In less than 20 seconds, 320 rockets flew down the river.

Looking at the rain of bullets that broke through the air, Major Fliyulov nodded in satisfaction, and then shouted loudly: "Shift positions." ”

Flilyulov and his subordinates were busy transferring, while Chen Dao looked at the western sky.

Seeing the secret black spots in the western sky, Chen Dao just put his mind at ease, with the suppression of the air force, the Soviet artillery would definitely not dare to be so unscrupulous.

With a few jumps in his ears, Chen Dao's gaze turned sharply to the east, and then he gritted his teeth and shouted, "You scoundrel, don't be caught by me." ”

At this time, he clearly knew that the artillery commander was calculating fiercely, and it could even be said that he was playing with the German army, and he couldn't help but curse immediately.

Without the need for a telescope, Chen Dao could see with the naked eye a black spot flashing in the eastern sky, and these black dots rushed to the battlefield like a dark cloud, smashing a storm of flames on both sides of the Dnieper River.

Vehicles are overturned, trees are uprooted, the earth is shaking, and the end of the world seems to be coming early.

Whether it was the figures running in the woods or the mutilated corpses on the banks of the river, they were all covered in endless fire and smoke, and there was nothing around them, only a terrifying sea of fire.

When the mixed formation of Stuka and reconnaissance planes flew over the Dnieper, they clearly saw the black smoke enveloping the river, and the silver belt-like Dnieper was cut off by the black smoke.

Four ME-109F-5 combat reconnaissance aircraft in the group broke away from the formation and circled at a low altitude on the left bank of the Dnieper River, trying to find Soviet artillery positions.

However, Major Fliyulov and his troops had already moved to the rear, and a ME-109F-5 fighter flew over the convoy, overlooking the ground, and the driver saw just an ordinary formation of gas trucks.

Without the troops of Major Fliyulov, the reconnaissance plane flapped its wings and rushed to the east, and a radio wave flew from the cabin.

The Stuka formation turned around and flew to the east, dived to the ground, throwing the carrying bombs at a tank unit that was on the march.

Soon, Lieutenant General Chen Dao and Hui Biqi received a telegram.

There was a huge tank force moving towards the banks of the Dnieper, at least a hundred tanks, including the KV series, followed by a large number of infantry.

Oops, soldiers on the other side of the river.

Lieutenant General Chen Dao and Hui Biqi frowned and looked across the river.

**********

PS: There will be an update tomorrow at 2 pm and 10:30 pm (to be continued.) )