South of Smolensk lay the headquarters of the Polish 1st Army Corps. Their mission was to attack into Smolensk from this direction and coordinate with the German 3rd Army Corps' offensive.
Lieutenant General Sakel, the Army Group Commander, stood with a group of generals not far from Smolensk's urban area, watching the Polish Army's attack.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Rat-a-tat-tat!
The unceasing sounds of gunfire and artillery undoubtedly showed how fierce the battle was. Yet Lieutenant General Sakel was not worried in the slightest. After all, there were only so many Russian troops in Smolensk. Now that they were under attack from the German military and its allies on all sides, they were bound to divide their forces to hold the defenses. That meant the Russian troops facing them were not actually that numerous.
Although the Polish Army's combat strength was far inferior to that of the German military, Lieutenant General Sakel believed they would have no problem dealing with the Russians in the city.
"How is the fighting in the city going?" Lieutenant General Sakel asked.
"General, our units that entered the city are engaged in fierce fighting with the Russians. The Russian resistance is extremely stubborn, and our casualties are heavy. However, all units are still advancing steadily!" an officer reported.
Lieutenant General Sakel nodded. "Tell the commanders at the front that these Russians are merely trapped beasts still fighting. Once we eliminate what little elite force they have left, the rest of the battle will become much easier."
"Yes, General!"
"Also, tell the front-line commanders not to spare the cost and not to worry about casualties. Any unit that suffers losses will receive priority replacements afterward! This time, we must put on a good performance!" Lieutenant General Sakel said.
The other Polish Army generals nodded repeatedly as well.