"Here they come!" a soldier shouted as the bombardment finally ceased.
For nearly an hour, the artillery had raged, paving the way for what could only be described as a final assault.
"How many are advancing?" Kontrachenko asked calmly.
"It's a full-scale offensive."
"So, this is their last gamble," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Order all three lines of machine guns to fire. Leave no reserve."
"Yes, Commander!"
The Japanese likely hadn't anticipated the scale of firepower awaiting them. That a force of only 50,000 defenders could wield over 200 machine guns would have seemed unthinkable. Their earlier assaults had been thwarted by a single line of guns. Now, Kontrachenko would unleash the full might of his defenses.
"They think this is a winnable fight," he said with a grim smile. "Let them believe that, just for a moment. Then, we'll show them what true hell looks like."
