Flames of War: Bagration: Soviet Forces on the Eastern Front, 1944 (Hardcover)

Serzhant Ivanovich motioned his men to stop moving. The village looked deserted, the fascists nowhere to be seen, but he knew they were there waiting quietly. Flashes of thunder snapped Ivanovich back to the present. The heavens opened up and the Soviet ‘God of War’ began to rain down his fury on the fascists’ positions. Shell after shell fell, exploding in great pillars of earth. As suddenly as it began, the thunder stopped. The Kapitan shouted, the Maksim began its chatter, and the troops charged ahead toward the enemy. The Germans woke from their daze and their machine-guns ripping fire began. Mines exploded, adding to the confusion. The German positions were strong and very well-prepared. Accurate cannon fire began hitting the fascists’ lines from a new direction. Ivanovich grinned; the assault guns had arrived! His attack was up and moving! --- During the calm weeks leading up to Operation Bagration, the Soviets have amassed their armies for the greatest offensive yet undertaken o