Attack on Modellbaudorf - Part II : The Soviet Approach into Town

Now that the artillery barrage has subsided, the Soviet ground troops begin to cautiously move forward. While the Soviet commanders for the most part still see their men as expendable, the boots on the ground are now quite seasoned in this type of town clearing operation and they know better than to rush forward, even if everything seems 'quiet'. Or rather, especially if everything seems quiet.

The armor leads the way, closely followed by the infantry. A symbiotic tactic that shields the men from small arms fire, and provides a quick response by the infantry if the tanks come under attack.

The streets of this town are narrow. This could turn them into dangerous traps, ideal for an ambush from the adjacent buildings. This means that the supporting infantry also has to go in and occupy those buildings if they want to keep the streets safe for the armor.

Moving into and through the buildings is not always a simple task, given the amount of rubble created by the preceding bombardment.

On the positive side, the Soviets know that the likelihood of booby traps is low since the Germans could not have had enough time to set them up. And they also like the fact that once they occupy the buildings, the rubble offers them considerable protection.

But every building has to be inspected and taken.

Some men remain behind and use these new positions to provide cover for the rest of the advancing troops.

The Soviet infantry also moves in from the south, into the older part of town, where it is just as eerily quiet.

The amount of destruction can not entirely hide that this had once been a beautiful town, but the luxury of such thoughts is beyond what the Soviet infantrymen advancing through the town can afford.

Death might await behind every doorway and at every turn. The Soviet men are on edge. 

This side of town hosts a combination of residential and government buildings. The taller residential buildings offer the Soviets several good spots to observe the town and coordinate the upcoming battle.

The Soviet observers eagerly scan the other side of town and while they start to notice a few defenders, they have yet to fully appreciate the strength of  the German opposition, which is surprisingly robust despite the haste with which it has been assembled. 

Indeed, while not always easy to spot, the Germans are there, waiting until the Soviets are close enough to not be able to miss when they finally open fire. Ceding the eastern part of town without a fight is a calculated risk that the Germans have taken in order to draw the Soviets into the trap that awaits them when they reach the town square. The Germans are well positioned in every spot that provides good concealment, a good vantage point, or both.  

Then there are also the snipers. Everyone coming up against them dreads their stealth...

...almost as much as they dread their accuracy.

The Germans also have a generous amount of hand-held anti-tank weapons like panzerschrecks. That is how they compensate for their lower number of tanks and self propelled guns. 

The panzerfausts are even more prolific. Unfortunately, for them to be effective, the men firing them have to get quite close to the enemy tanks. But that was not going to be a problem during the looming close-quarters fighting at Modellbaudorf today...

And then there are several heavier weapons, strategically positioned to guard the main approach streets into the Rathausplatz, the town's main square. A PAK 40 has lined up the street approaching from the northeast...

... while the 88mm gun has the southeast corner of the square covered. Capturing this town is going to be costly.

The opening shot is imminent. All hell is about to break loose...

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