Along the border between the German Empire, its many Protectorates, and Buru, the German Army and the forces of the various Protectorates had already entered their positions.
At the artillery positions, gun after gun had raised its barrels, aiming at the Buru Army positions across from them. Once the order was given, these guns would begin to roar, pouring shells onto the Russian positions opposite.
All eighteen German Army groups had completed their preparations. More than twenty thousand guns had been assembled, half of them with calibers above 100mm. There were even over a thousand 210mm Heavy Guns. These guns were deployed along a front stretching more than a thousand kilometers.
As the German Air Force began launching air strikes against Buru's airfields, the German Army artillery also received the order to open fire.
"Fire!"
As the firing order was issued, German military artillery along the defensive line began shooting one after another.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Gun after gun began to roar. Shells crashed down upon the Buru Army positions like raindrops.
Violent explosions erupted across the Russian positions. Smoke rose into the sky, earth and stones flew everywhere, and crater after crater was left behind.
The defensive fortifications constructed by the Russians were gradually destroyed beneath the fierce German bombardment.
To begin with, the defensive works built by the Russians had not been particularly sturdy. On one hand, resources were scarce; on the other, the Russian soldiers themselves were not very skilled at building fortifications. Under such circumstances, there was naturally no hope of their defenses withstanding German shelling. Especially against those powerful 210mm Heavy Guns—one shell was enough to blast out an enormous crater.
Every German Army group had a Heavy Artillery Brigade under its command, equipped with seventy-two 210mm Heavy Howitzers. These heavy howitzers were mounted on