On the outskirts of Smolensk, the German military and its allies began their assault on the city proper. After the allies' fierce artillery bombardment and air raids, Smolensk had already been battered to pieces, like a vast ruin.
However, the Russian forces in the city possessed an unyielding will to fight. Having received orders to hold their positions to the death, they did not yield an inch even in the face of a powerful enemy. Instead, they clung to their defenses and fought the attacking allied forces to the bitter end, until every last man had been killed.
It had to be admitted that the Russian forces were exceptionally brave. But regrettably, war could not be won by courage alone.
The German 3rd Army Corps was undoubtedly the main force in this assault on Smolensk. Although the other two Polish Army corps and the Belarusian Army corps possessed troop strengths comparable to the German 3rd Army Corps, there was an enormous gap in their combat effectiveness.
Under the orders of General Fedor von Bock, the German 3rd Army Corps committed four Infantry Divisions to this attack. These four Infantry Divisions easily broke through the Russian defenses outside the city and stormed into Smolensk itself.
The German military undoubtedly had extensive experience in urban warfare. Their regular training had specifically covered such combat, ensuring that once the soldiers entered the city, they knew how to exploit their advantages in street fighting while preserving themselves as much as possible.
After entering the city, the German forces swiftly dispersed into a number of small units. Operating at company and platoon level, these units began sweeping through Smolensk in search of Russian troops.
In City Urban Warfare, launching attacks through narrow streets was unsuitable for large formations. Doing so would simply turn them into