In the early morning of the next day, the whistling and explosion of artillery shells rang out on the defense line... Of course, these artillery shells could not threaten the tractor factory on the second line. The focus of the German bombing was the mines in front of the defense line and the Soviet troops on the defense line.

fortifications.

Danger comes from airplanes in the sky.

Amidst the "rumble" of engines, all the soldiers raised their heads and cast their gazes towards the ceiling... This was a conditioned reflex, although everyone knew that doing so would not prevent bombs from falling from above their heads.

Then, there were piercing screams, and the beeps installed by the Germans on the bombs rang in the air, just like an air defense siren, but it was scarier than an air defense siren, because everyone knew that when the sound stopped

That moment is when the bomb falls.

Then there was a "boom" explosion, but the distance was relatively far and the explosion points were scattered.

Shulka knew what was going on. The rain curtain reduced visibility, which made it impossible for the German bombers to carry out precise bombing. They just randomly dropped bombs into Kiev to put some psychological pressure on the defending Soviet soldiers and civilians.

But even so, several bombs still exploded in the tractor factory, whether it hit the oil depot or the gasoline barrels dropped by the Germans, and a fire broke out outside.

But the soldiers in the warehouse could do nothing. They could only watch the firelight and the noise of fire-fighting coming in through the cracks in the nailed-down window boards.

"Comrade Sergeant!" the actor couldn't help but ask: "If a bomb hits here... what should we do? Are we still not allowed to leave?"

"If the bomb hits here, do you think we will have time to leave?" Shulka asked.

Shulka was telling the truth. The Soviets were not prepared for this war at all, especially Kiev... Before the war, everyone thought that only the Soviet Union would attack people and no one would attack the Soviet Union, let alone that the enemy would attack Kiev.

.

Therefore, the top of the warehouse is a thin layer of iron sheet. If a bomb hits, it will undoubtedly pass through the iron sheet and explode inside the warehouse. However, in the warehouse, people are crowded together... As long as

A bomb would probably result in death or injury.

"So what if the fire spreads here?" the actor asked again.

"Then you have a chance to show off!" Shulka said.

"What?" The actor didn't understand what Shulka meant.

"Unbutton your pants, Okunev!" Shulka said: "pee on the fire, that will definitely work!"

The soldiers nearby couldn't help laughing.

"Comrade Shulka!" At this time, Major Gavrilov shouted to Shulka from a distance of more than ten meters.

Shulka understood and followed up. When he walked to a deserted place, Major Gavrilov said: "I just received intelligence that the Germans launched a fierce attack on Kiev, including the tanks of the 1st Armored Group!"

Shulka couldn't help but frowned, which meant...the 1st Armored Group did not go south and prepare to cross the river as he expected.

Needless to say, what will happen if this continues? Everything the 9th Mechanized Army has done is in vain, and the next step cannot be taken.

After thinking about it, Shulka asked: "How big is the German attack? I mean...how many tanks did they invest?"

"At least more than two hundred!" Major Dovrilov replied.

More than two hundred tanks may not be too much for the Soviet army, because a fully mechanized Soviet army has thousands of tanks.

But the German armored group only has about 900 tanks...and they invested more than 200 tanks in the first attack, which seems a little abnormal.

"Does the general think they have noticed something?" Major Dovrilov said: "He is worried that the information is leaked because confidentiality work is not in place!"

"No, Major!" Shulka shook his head and said, "I think the opposite is true. The Germans don't know anything. They have been fooled!"

"What do you mean?" Major Gavrilov cast a doubtful look at Shulka.

"Under normal circumstances, they should not attack by force, Major!" Shurka explained: "Because the armored group of Army Group Center is outflanking us behind us, and it is going smoothly. In other words, they only need to wait like this, and it won't take long for us to

Our logistics and retreat routes will be cut off, and there is only a dead end waiting for us!"

"That's right!" Major Gavrilov nodded in agreement: "It is indeed unreasonable for them to attack Kiev under such circumstances... But why do they do this again?"

"Because they want to know if the 9th Army really left Kiev!"

"You mean, they are testing?"

"It can be said to be a test, or it can be said not to be!" Shulka replied: "If the 9th Army is still in Kiev, then they can use this method to force the 9th Army to fight; and if the 9th Army is not in Kiev, then Kiev

The defensive power will be reduced, and the Germans may attack Kiev with all their strength!"

Major Gavrilov couldn't help but frowned when he heard this, because whether it was the former or the latter, it seemed that the 9th Army was not allowed to be exposed.

"We arranged the 9th Army too far forward!" Major Gavrilov said: "The tractor factory is less than five kilometers away from the defense line!"

On the one hand, this is to keep the 9th Army away from crowded urban areas, and on the other hand, the 9th Army can launch an attack in a short time during operations to ensure the suddenness of the battle.

Considering these aspects, it is indeed correct to arrange the 9th Army here. Who would have thought that the German army would gather armored groups to launch a storm on the defense line.

After thinking about it, Shulka said: "I think that on the one hand, we can transfer some tanks back from the east coast!"

Gavrilov agreed: "The emergency deployment of additional tanks from the Eastern Front will make the Germans think that the 9th Army is really retreating!"

"Yes!" Shulka said: "It would be more ideal if they could be disguised as the 1st Division of the 9th Army. But this would force the Germans to blow up the bridge..."

This is certain. If Kiev is to be attacked by force, the bridge connecting the east and west banks will be a serious concern for the Germans.

"This is not a problem!" Major Gavrilov said: "They were already blowing up the bridge, but they failed because of poor visibility!"

"On the other hand!" Shulka said: "We must block the German attack without using the 9th Army, and even launch a counterattack!"

Major Gavrilov couldn't help but be startled when he heard this, and then he understood the meaning of Shulka's words.
Chapter completed!