The Russian 19th Army Corps and 20th Army Corps were both forces with considerable strength. The 19th Army Corps commanded the 25th and 34th Infantry Corps, the 26th Mechanized Corps, the 38th Infantry Division, and other units. The 20th Army Corps, meanwhile, commanded the 61st and 69th Infantry Corps, the 7th Mechanized Infantry Corps, the 18th Infantry Division, and other units.
Under the current battlefield conditions, tanks and armored vehicles could not be committed to the offensive. Therefore, the infantry of the two army corps immediately launched their attack. More than a hundred thousand Russian soldiers braved the Cold Wind, shouting slogans as they charged toward the defensive lines of the 22nd Infantry Division and 23rd Infantry Division of the Polish 3rd Army Corps. Yet, from closer up, it was obvious that every one of those Russian soldiers had faces frozen blue and purple. Still, their will to fight remained exceptionally strong.
Some Russian soldiers collapsed headfirst into the ground after only a few steps, struggling to rise from the icy snow. But in the end, they failed. Before long, they fell completely silent.
Russian winters had always been brutally cold, beyond what ordinary people could endure. Even though Russians had lived in such weather for generations and were somewhat more resistant to the cold than others, that resistance was limited. Without sufficient winter clothing, even Russians could freeze to death.
Marshal Voroshilov had previously asked Shaposhnikov to provide the Western Front with as many winter supplies as possible. But even if Shaposhnikov exhausted every ounce of his strength, he still could not meet the needs of the front lines. After all, Russia had never been adequately prepared for this war. Furthermore, because of the carrying capacity of the Great Siberian Railway, supplies provided by the United States to Buru