The war situation got worse and worse as the battle continued, and the commanders of the two main Soviet army groups, who felt increasingly that the situation was beyond their control, finally made up their minds.
After hastily deploying the artillery positions, the Soviet artillery aimed the muzzle at the Soviet artillery over the city of Yelnya with great difficulty in the darkness, and fired a series of 122mm S-462 illumination shells to light up the night sky of the city.
Allied troops provide vision.
With the help of these large-caliber flares that exploded 500 meters in the air and could illuminate human-sized targets within a kilometer in diameter, the Soviet siege column, whose vision was dark, could barely distinguish the battle situation in front of them, and
At this time, more than forty minutes had passed since the German troops launched their breakout operation.
With the help of 122mm S-462 large-caliber illumination bombs, the Soviet siege columns on many main streets in the city launched an organized encirclement, suppression and interception operation against the German breakout troops. Previously, they had been limited in vision.
The embarrassing situation of having superior troops but having no place to use due to passive defense was finally completely reversed.
However, the Soviet army, which encountered a large-scale night battle for the first time and was in the passive role of the encircling force, was obviously extremely unsuited to this rare battle, and thus missed the perfect opportunity to initially block and intercept the main force of the German breakout force.
The continuous sound of gunfire that echoed in the night sky of Yelniya City all night finally came to an end at dawn. At the same time, it also announced the second phase of the battle in the Yelniya theater, and finally the German army took the initiative to break through.
The retreat ended with the Soviet victory.
After this battle, 5 of the 7 German infantry divisions that were encircled and encroached step by step by the overwhelming superiority of the two main armies commanded by Zhukov in the Yelniya salient had over half of their casualties completely lost their combat effectiveness and were unable to participate.
In the following combat operations, the heavy losses of more than 40,000 casualties at one time were a huge blow to the German army.
In order to preserve the formation of the entire army and to evacuate the remaining effective forces from the Yelnya salient as much as possible, the seven German infantry divisions that made a frantic breakout overnight abandoned a large number of corpses, wounded and technical equipment.
Many German troops carrying important equipment and unable to move were captured by the Soviet troops. A large number of valuable strategic materials and technical equipment fell directly into the hands of the Soviet troops and became trophies. This was a scene that Marshal Bock, commander of Army Group Center, least wanted to see.
In the end, it was inevitable.
Although the second phase of the battle at the Yelnya Bulge ultimately failed to achieve Zhukov's previously planned strategic goals, Zhukov, who had actually been mentally prepared for the German breakout and escape, did not find it difficult to accept it.
The God of War of the Red Army, who had commanded the battle for many days and had a tense face all day long, finally showed a satisfied smile with relief for the first time.
"When I came back from the front and passed by, I just went to the headquarters of the 24th Army. Comrade Commander. Comrade Rakutin is very nervous now. He is worried that he will let Germany go because he has not achieved the strategic goals specified by you.
People are punished.”
"What are your plans, Comrade Commander?"
Facing his chief of staff's soft words, Zhukov, who had a relaxed smile on his face because of the successful resolution of the war, immediately put down the water glass in his hand and said with a smile.
"Punishment? Why should I punish him? It's just to wake him up in advance and urge him."
"This time the city of Yelniya was able to be regained in our own hands, and the two main forces, the 24th Army and the 43rd Army, were indispensable. No matter how you say it, this is what our Red Army deserves since the war began.
Our first battle-level victory, Yelnya was also our first city to recapture from the Germans."
"In addition, I am going to report the results of this battle to Moscow and apply for awards for the two armies and various meritorious units. Journalists from newspapers in Moscow should arrive at the Yelnya front line soon, and the reception work must be arranged in place.
This is a great opportunity to promote the glorious image and unprecedented victory of our Red Army. If used properly, it will greatly boost the morale of the military and civilians."
Seeing that Zhukov was getting more and more excited as he talked, the chief of staff, who seized the opportunity to interject, quickly reminded him with a smile on his face.
"Comrade Commander, I think political commissar comrades should be better at receiving newspaper reporters than me. After all, they are born to do this. What do you think?"
The two top brass of the Reserve Front looked at each other in silence, and a burst of hearty laughter burst out from the headquarters of the Reserve Front.
If we want to say which group of people are the happiest and most excited about the recapture of Yelniya City, then there is no doubt that it must be the citizens of Yelniya City.
The citizens of Yelniya, who were originally displaced due to the war and the entry of German invaders, were finally able to return to their homes on the ruins of the war.
Even if your home is destroyed and your loved ones are lost, the land where generations have lived is not so easily given up.
Even though I was filled with tears and unbearable sadness, the excitement of returning to my homeland was still so sincere and beyond words.
When the sun rose again on a new day, Malashenko, who had put on a brand-new uniform of a tank corps major officer, stood in front of a full-length floor mirror, quietly looking at himself in the mirror who was unfamiliar but at the same time extremely familiar.
.
Since he went to the Western Front and took over the major uniform from Commissar Petrov, Malashenko, who has been busy in battles, has put on this brand-new officer uniform for the first time.
Gently brushing the brim of the large-brimmed hat inlaid with the faith badge in his hand, the familiar face of Commissar Petrov when he personally handed over this military uniform appeared in front of Malashenko's eyes again.
"You must come out of Kiev alive, uncle!"
The wooden door creaked as the metal hinges closed, and the resolute figure wearing a tank major's uniform had already pushed open the door and left.
The streets and alleys on both sides of the street were already crowded with enthusiastic and jubilant citizens of Yelnya. In order to welcome these heroes who had regained their homeland from the invaders, almost all the citizens of Yelnya who returned to their homes came out.
Take to the streets to witness this grand military parade of the Red Army entering the city.
The KV1 heavy tank, which had been cleaned and wiped as clean as possible, was still riddled with bullet marks. As the leader of the entire tank column entering the city, he stuck his upper body out of the turret and stood on the turret of his No. 177 vehicle.
Malashenko straightened his body, and bursts of loud singing soon came from behind.
Grassland, grassland!
The vast grassland stretches as far as the eye can see.
The heroes flew across the grassland on horseback.