"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Carpathian Mountains In the east, the Russian and Austrian armies, with more than 1.5 million people on both sides, launched a fierce offensive and defensive battle on a two-hundred-kilometer-long defense line. Whether it was the Russian army on the offensive side or the Austrian army on the defensive side, they almost used all their strength.
As soon as the battle began, artillery from both sides started a fierce exchange of fire. The Russian army attempted to use artillery fire to destroy the Austrian army's defenses, preferably to destroy the Austrian army's will to resist. Similarly, the Austrian army also hopes to use powerful artillery fire to cause greater damage to the Russian army, so that they can be in a favorable position in the subsequent defensive operations and complete this combat mission.
"Boom! Boom!"
The 76.2mm artillery shells fired by the Russian army fell on the Austrian army's position. The fortifications built by the Austrian army were blown to pieces by the artillery shells. Occasionally, Austrian soldiers were killed. The rest of the Austrian soldiers were either hiding in the artillery holes or lying at the bottom of the trenches, holding their heads tightly and praying to God that Russians's artillery shells would not fall on their heads.
The morale of the Austrian army was relatively low. They held more advanced weapons than the Russian army, but they were defeated by the Russian army in the previous stage of the battle. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the morale of the Austrian army. Of course, the Russian army is not afraid of death when fighting, and their fighting will is much stronger than that of the Austrian soldiers.
"God! Russians's shelling is too fierce. If we stay here any longer, we will be bombed to death. Should we retreat?" A young Austrian soldier, with eyes full of fear, said to his comrades around him.
"Idiot! Run away now? Do you want to be shot by Gendarmerie? The commander has already given the order. In this battle, without an order, you will never retreat without permission." An older soldier scolded.
The young soldier's heart suddenly tightened, and he turned around with some guilt. More than a hundred meters away from their defense line, a team of Gendarmerie was guarding there. In front of those Gendarmeries, there was also a Heavy Machine Gun set up. There is no doubt that if they dare to escape this time, those Gendarmerie will not hesitate to use Heavy Machine Gun to shoot them. The young Austrian soldiers had no choice but to suppress the idea of escape and continue to squat in the trench.
Baron Marshal von Heitzenforf, in order to prevent the Austrian army from retreating without occupying the territory again, a large number of Gendarmerie were specially dispatched to the front line. These Gendarmeries have only one mission, which is to intimidate those unsteady-willed troops and make them stick to the front line after the battle begins. They must not cause the entire front line to collapse because of the escape of these cowards.
Under the intimidation of Gendarmerie, the Austrian soldiers could only bite the bullet and fight this battle, instead of being easily intimidated by the Russian army as before. In fact, as long as they overcome the fear in their hearts and use the power of the weapons in their hands, there is no problem at all in defending their own defenses, not to mention defeating the Russian army.
The Austrian artillery achieved a lot of results in the fierce counterattack. Their heavy artillery suppression caused a lot of losses to the Russian artillery.
Lesko front line, this is the key area for Russian 3rd Army Corps's attack. 3rd Army Corps assembled half of the troops, hoping to make a breakthrough from here. After capturing Lesko, go through the Carpathian Mountains and attack Hungarian Plain.
"General, our artillery has suffered heavy losses. The Austrian artillery fire has been very fierce. So far, seven of our artillery positions have been destroyed and more than a hundred cannons have been lost." Artilleryman Commander reported to General Ruszky.
"Damn, how could this happen? The enemy forces on the opposite side seem to be in a different state! When we fought with them before, their shelling was definitely not so violent." General Ruszky frowned tightly.
"General, do we want to continue the artillery fire? If this continues, I'm afraid it won't be long before all our cannons are lost." Artilleryman Commander said.
General Ruszky thought for a while, and then said, "Ten minutes! Let the artillery hold on for another ten minutes. After ten minutes, the infantry will attack! I hope they can break through the enemy's defense line in one fell swoop."
"Yes, General!"
The Russian artillery withdrew from the battle ten minutes later. The remaining cannons retreated into the woods to hide. What happened just now Artillery Battle also made the Russian artillerymen tremble with fear. After all, although artillery seems safe, Artillery Battle is still very tragic. No one knows when the enemy's shells will fall from the sky and blow them to pieces.
Especially in this battle, the Austrian artillery performed very well, which made the Russian artillery even more worried. Fortunately, the order to retreat was given, and they finally survived.
When the Russian artillery withdrew from the battle, the Russian infantry immediately launched an attack.
"Charge! Tear apart the enemy's defenses and kill them all!"
"Urra! Urra!"
Countless Russian soldiers jumped out of the trenches and rushed towards the Austrian positions. They chanted slogans and charged forward, like a gray tide, rushing towards the Austrian front line.
"Quick! Enter the position, Russians is launching an attack."
"God! There are so many Russians. Can we withstand their attack?"
After many Austrian soldiers entered the position, their scalps were numb with fear when they saw this scene.
"Quick, fire! Stop those Russians from approaching our position. If our position is breached, everyone will be dead." The Austrian officers shouted orders at the top of their lungs.
Even, in order to take care of soldiers who speak different languages, they have to issue orders in multiple languages. This is undoubtedly a great test for these officers.
After all, Austro-Hungarian Empire is a multi-ethnic country. This dual system Empire is composed of more than a dozen kingdoms, principalities and princes. Each country has its own language. Therefore, it is a severe test for any Commander to command such a multi-lingual unit.
"Fire!"
"Ta-ta-ta! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Following Commander's order, all kinds of firepower from the Austrian army started shooting one after another. Heavy Machine Gun, light machine guns, all began to fire violently. The rifles in the hands of the soldiers also started shooting.
Suddenly, intensive firepower enveloped the attacking Russian army. Countless Russian soldiers were shot and fell to the ground. However, even so, it still failed to scare these Russian soldiers. They passed over the corpses of their comrades and continued to attack the Austrian positions.