Republic of China game

Page 496

7月9日凌晨，冯·博客大将在一大群参谋人员和第7集团军高层的簇拥下，亲自到达位于波多利斯克东北的中国国防军步兵第18军观察作战情况。第18军军长黄维中将的指挥所设在波多利斯克附近的森林里。步兵第52师的出发阵地就是森林边缘的一条堑壕。18军的工兵在这条堑壕后面的一处高地上修建了一个坚固的掩蔽部。冯·博客大将在凌晨4点钟的时候就来到这里，用一架炮队镜仔细观察对面的苏军前沿阵地。

"Lieutenant general, do you know the number of the unit on the opposite side?" Feng Bobo looked at it for a while, then turned around and asked a young Chinese lieutenant general beside him. He knew that most of these Chinese generals had received training from German instructors, so they were all proficient in German, so they also There was no translator, but I communicated directly with the other party in German.

"Your Excellency, General, the post is Lieutenant General Huang Wei, Commander of the 18th Infantry Corps of the Chinese National Defense Army." Huang Wei gave a military salute and introduced himself. In fact, he and Feng Bobo met more than once, but the other party always had no way to get together. He was recognized among the pile of Chinese generals.Huang Wei went on to say: "On the opposite side is the 157th Special Army of the Soviet Red Army. This army has 3 infantry divisions, with a total strength of about 28000. Most of the soldiers are recruits who have just joined the army, and the officers have obvious experience in assault promotion. Insufficient. In addition, there are no tanks, and the artillery has only one army-level artillery regiment and three division-level artillery battalions, about 72, including 12 152mm heavy guns and 12 105mm howitzers, and the ammunition of each gun is only 5 bases... "

Huang Wei introduced the situation of the 157th Special Army of the Soviet Army on the opposite side in fluent German. The details and comprehensiveness of the situation surprised Feng Bobo and the German generals who arrived with him.

Probably seeing the question from the German guy, Huang Wei then explained: "The morale of this army is very low, and people's hearts are very fluctuating. In the past two days, senior officers have surrendered to our army, and the news they brought is very comprehensive. The staff department has written a report and submitted it to the Army Command."

"Oh, so that's the case." Von Blogger didn't seem to have seen the report sent by the 7th Army, perhaps he forgot it after reading it hastily.He nodded, smiled and said, "Very well, the morale of the enemy is low. This is a good sign. By the way, have they mentioned Stalin? Is Stalin still in Moscow?"

Huang Wei shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile: "The status of these people is very difficult to see Stalin, so they don't know whether this person will stay or stay, but according to the news from their superiors, Stalin is still in Moscow. Will lead the battle of Moscow, with these terrified troops against us!"

Feng Bobo also grinned, then raised his watch to check the time. "Well, it's almost 4:55, and the bombardment can start at 5 o'clock." He looked at the Soviet army's position again, gritted his teeth and ordered: "Tell the Artillery Command that the bombardment will last for 6 hours." , We must completely wipe out the opponent's forward position! At 11 o'clock, the infantry attack begins!" After speaking, he left the bunker with strides.

At this time, at the rear about 5 kilometers away from the German forward position, 80 artillery regiments had already been in place. More than 2000 150mm howitzers, nearly 3000 105mm howitzers, and thousands of regimental and battalion-level light artillery and heavy mortars have been lined up.

In each artillery position, the artillery regiment commanders gave their artillery regiments the targets and various parameters of the artillery bombardment, and then these data will be sent to the artillery commanders who are in charge of commanding the artillery. These parameters command the gunner to adjust the elevation and distance of the artillery, correct the firing posture of the artillery...

At 5 o'clock, as red signal bombs rose into the sky, a red light flashed across the artillery positions of the German army at the same time, followed by the trembling of the ground and the deafening roar. The 200-kilometer front was covered by Zhao as if it were daytime in just an instant, and countless flaming projectiles roared and flew over the German positions, and accurately landed on the opposite Soviet positions.Thousands of fireballs rose up from the Soviet defense line at the same time, raising rows of smoke columns. Before the first wave of fireballs disappeared, thousands of fireballs rose at the same time, covering the Soviet army's position in a sea of ​​flames. among.

From the artillery mirror, Huang Wei clearly saw that the Soviet positions opposite him were plowed over and over again by rows of smoke pillars and flames, and the civil engineering works and deer village piles were lifted into the air one after another. There are vaguely broken limbs and broken arms of the human body.After watching for about half an hour, Huang Wei no longer wanted to appreciate this terrifying scene. He walked out of the shelter and walked to the rear of his position, where there was a larger and more comfortable bomb shelter. Vi planned to rest there for a few hours, because the shelling would last 6 hours!At that time, the Soviet defensive position on the opposite side may become as desolate as the surface of the moon, right?Huang Wei thought when he left.

……

As soon as the overwhelming artillery fire from the German army hit, Yagoda, who worked in the NKVD building at No. 2 Lubyanka Square, knew that the most dangerous moment had arrived!Because Moscow may fall at any time.However, Stalin, Molotov, Kalinin and some members of the Politburo have not had time to retreat!And this work happens to be the responsibility of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs.He hurriedly put down the work at hand, got into a Gies car, and headed straight for the Kremlin despite the bombing of German planes.

Yagoda's car quickly passed through layers of guard posts and came to a certain palace in the Kremlin. He got out of the car and walked into an entrance leading to an underground bunker.In Stalin's office in the underground bunker, he saw Molotov, Kalinin, and the director of the General Political Department of the Soviet Army sitting at a long table, General Mehlis, the king of small reports.Stalin stood at his desk, looking at a document as if nothing had happened.Seeing Yagoda coming in, he smiled and nodded at him, saying: "It seems that my friend Adolf Hitler can't wait to come to Moscow to sleep, just like the French emperor."

As soon as the joke came out, several people in the office seemed to have temporarily forgotten their troubles and laughed happily.Yagoda also laughed a few times in response to the situation, and said again: "Comrade Stalin, this time the German offensive is fierce. It is very dangerous for you to stay in Moscow. It is time to go to Tbilisi. Your wise leadership is needed there."

As soon as Yagoda's words fell, Molotov echoed loudly: "Comrade Yagoda's words are very reasonable. Comrade Stalin, please leave Moscow for the sake of the country and the overall situation of the world's anti-fascist war!"

"Leaving Moscow? Now?" Stalin was stunned for a moment, his eyes narrowed, his eyebrows furrowed. "The fascist gangsters have just started attacking now...could our Red Army soldiers not be able to withstand it?" Are you done? I have inspected the fortifications on the outskirts of Moscow. They are the strongest fortifications I have ever seen. We still have 110 million troops and 800 cannons. Maybe Hitler will suffer a lot under the city of Moscow. !"

"But...but..." Yagoda hesitated. He was not a professional military strategist and didn't know much about military affairs, but he had a keen sense. His intuition told him that Moscow might fall at any time!If you don't leave now, you may never be able to leave.Thinking of this, Yagoda walked up to Stalin, solemnly gave a military salute, and said loudly: "Comrade Stalin, Moscow is in extreme danger! The intelligence personnel of the NKVD found a Armored Army! This armored army can detour from the south of Moscow and cut off our retreat. At that time, we can only retreat by plane, which is very dangerous!"

Hearing that the German Panzer Army had arrived outside Moscow, Stalin finally felt that the situation was extremely critical.According to the prior plan, he would leave Moscow by special train, detour to Stalingrad, which has not yet been attacked, and then go all the way south into the Transcaucasus region.However, if the German armored group makes a roundabout outflank, it will completely cut off the ground communication between Moscow and the outside world, and Stalin can only leave by plane... But the problem is that the thousands of German planes circling in the sky will allow a Ford transport plane to settle down. Leave safely?

"Joseph Vissarionovich (Stalin), Comrade Yagoda's suggestion is correct. For the sake of the future, you should leave Moscow immediately." Kalinin, chairman of the Supreme Soviet, was also a little anxious, and Stalin refused Let's go, the old man has no choice but to come to accompany the gentleman with his life, and the Germans will come in when they see it!And it's German!Not the good empress... The Germans will shoot the Bolsheviks if they catch them!

"Comrade Mehlis, you are the director of the Political Department of the Red Army. What do you think of the current situation?" Stalin took out a cigarette case, picked up another pinch of shredded tobacco, and slowly stuffed it into his carved pipe, looking very calm He looks like a great leader.

Thinking of those fascist special execution squads, Mechlis, the king of small reports, was already in disarray, and he stammered: "Comrade Stalin... now you are needed to lead in the Transcaucasus, only you in Tbilisi Only Si can guarantee that there will be no problems there! In case you are temporarily trapped in Moscow, no one can guarantee..."

The king of small reports did not continue, but Stalin had already understood that the other party was telling him implicitly that power must be in his hands at all times!You can't pretend to be someone else, otherwise there may be a new authority. Even if you escape from Moscow safely, Tbilisi will not necessarily recognize him as the boss again!Although the words were heartbreaking, Stalin felt that they made sense after hearing it.In the beginning, didn't he take advantage of Lenin's assassination and serious illness to usurp power?Later, Lenin left a will against him, and there was no way to help Trotsky bring him down... The same thing, Voroshilov can do it again, right?

Suddenly, the door of the office was pushed open, and Marshal Budyonny hurried in without notification. This is a very abnormal phenomenon, and it seems that something big has happened!

"Joseph Vissarionovich, why are you still here!" The old Cossack walked up to Stalin in three steps at a time, grabbed the semi-disabled arm of the great leader, pulled him and walked out.He yelled as he walked: "Now is not the time for a meeting of the Politburo to discuss whether you want to leave Moscow, because there is no time to spare. You must leave immediately. I have ordered the gate of the secret passage to be opened, and the cars are also closed." Ready."

Since the success of the revolution, secret passages have been built under the city of Moscow for the great leader to escape when necessary, and various projects are still going on until now.Among the secret passages that have been built, one is directly from the underground of the Kremlin to the Reutov Railway Station in the small city east of Moscow, where there is a 24-hour special train prepared for Stalin.

"Semyon Mikhailovich." Stalin called Budyonny's name, walking towards the secret passage with the old marshal.Several people in the office quickly followed, and even Kalinin, who looked a little old and stupid, started to walk quickly.Stalin asked: "If I leave Moscow, will the city still hold?"

"No problem, Comrade Stalin." Budyonny replied confidently. "The key to sticking to Moscow is not whether you are in Moscow, but to let the Red Army soldiers and the revolutionary working class see the hope of the victory of the revolution. As long as you leave Moscow safely and continue to lead us to fight against the fascist gangsters, the revolution will win sooner or later. Yes, everyone's sacrifices are worth it!"

The people who can survive round after round of purges in history, and finally have a long and prosperous life, are basically foxes who are old enough to become smart.The old brother Budyonny is no exception, what he said is of a level!Hearing this, Stalin felt comfortable all over, and even his steps became lighter.

"Semyon Mikhailovich." The great leader, who seemed to be moved, said to Budyonny gently: "You should also pay attention to safety, the future revolutionary struggle will require cavalry, you are the best in the world Commander of the cavalry, so I order you in the name of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces to leave Moscow safely! As soon as the fascist army invades the city, you will leave immediately." Then he turned his head and said to the king of small reports: "Comrade Mehlis, please stay in Moscow and assist Comrade Budyonny. If things change, you are responsible for protecting him from Moscow safely! There must be no mistakes!"

"Ah..." The king of small reports was dumbfounded, and stayed in Moscow...but he still wanted to ensure Budyonny's safety, but who would guarantee his own safety?But Mechlis didn't dare to say no, he squeezed out a smile, nodded and said, "Comrade Stalin, don't worry, I assure you that Marshal Budyonny will be brought safely to Tbilisi."

Chapter 0776 The Sunset of the Soviet Empire ([-]) Defending Moscow

Just when the great leader of the Soviet Union hurriedly escaped from the secret passage.His hundreds of thousands of Red Army soldiers are huddled in the cold and damp trenches, crowded in the narrow and hot anti-gun bunkers, enduring the hot air filled with thick gunpowder smoke that is almost ignited by artillery fire, and enduring the Thor's Hammer that comes at any time , endured the heart-piercing screams of his companions, and also endured the hostile eyes and reprimands of the completely crazy political commissars and internal affairs staff...

The German artillery shells seemed to be free of money. Groups of shells roared over and landed on the Soviet positions accurately. Smoke columns and fireballs rose up in rows. Pieces of red light could be seen flashing non-stop. The flashes in front hadn't disappeared, but the ones behind had already lit up.In the end, all that could be seen was that the entire Soviet position was shrouded in flames and gunpowder smoke, and tens of thousands of people were slowly being melted and burned to ashes in this gunfire purgatory!

As for the artillery counterattack of the Soviet army, tens of thousands of shells were fired in a serious manner at the beginning, but the few shells exploded on the 200-kilometer front seemed too sparse.But soon, the Soviet artillery group couldn't even fight such a sparse counterattack!

Because the promise of the super fat Goering is now about to be fulfilled, thousands of German planes roared from the western sky, almost covering the entire sky!All the planes, whether they were Ju-87 Stukas, or BF-109s and Fw-190s, or He-111s and Ju-88s, were now full of bombs and turned into bombers.Anyway, the Red Air Force of the Soviet Empire disappeared from the sky long ago, and the sky has completely become a paradise for fascist gangsters to come and go freely.Countless strings of bombs fell from the sky screaming, first blowing up all the Soviet artillery positions that were still trying to fire shells into ruins, and then the bombs fell on the Soviet frontline positions that were being shrouded in artillery fire.

All of a sudden, shells, bombs, and planes swooped down on the heads of the Soviet Red Army guarding the periphery of Moscow.And these poor people have finally realized the fact that they are already dead!Because they are in hell now, maybe they have been living in hell for 20 years... Most people have completely given up hope of survival, just waiting for their destined German shell or bomb!Uh, thanks to the great leader Stalin, at least these unlucky bastards can enjoy top-quality German goods at the last moment of their lives!Of course, not everyone can enjoy it.

……

"...The battle of Moscow began with 5000 cannons and 5000 planes bombarding the enemy indiscriminately for 6 hours! It is unimaginable that there are still people staying in that place like a furnace for 6 hours Survived! The survivability of those Russians is really amazing. I remember very clearly that it was 1938:7 am on July 9th, 11. We had just finished lunch with hard sausages and black bread Just after eating, the bombardment stopped, and the planes in the sky flew away. Then, the order to attack came down... We thought that there would be no living things on the opposite Soviet position, everyone Turned out from the trenches, a loose line of skirmishers was discharged as a matter of routine. Our battalion commander Lu Zhaoqi rarely walked in the forefront of the team. As a result, the Russian bullets came! He was smashed in the head by a 7.62mm rifle bullet, and died without even screaming, so I became the acting battalion commander of this battalion. Fierce At the same time, brutal battles are unfolding!" The above is excerpted from the memoir "My World War II" by General Hao Baixiong, who was the chief of the general staff of the Chinese National Defense Forces.

"Follow me, don't stop! It's more dangerous to stop... Mortars! Kill the enemy's machine guns, machine guns suppress the enemy's trenches, artillery observers, call artillery to bombard their rear! Others bayonet! Come up with me! "

Major Hao Boxiong, who had just taken over the post of battalion commander on the battlefield, was carrying a Min-26 automatic rifle, firing at the opposite Soviet position, and shouting orders.His battalion is now in an open area that has been bombarded like the surface of the moon, except for some craters, there is no place to hide.However, these craters are not good hiding places, because the Soviet army's mortar shells are raining down.And lying still, the Soviet army's position will not fall by itself. After a short period of panic, the officers and soldiers of this battalion quickly regained their composure, shouting and rushing forward.

This situation is being repeated in the entire area where the 18th Army is responsible for attacking!Uh, of course there seems to be only one battalion commander who was killed.But fortunately, the 18th Army has experienced too many fierce battles in this war, and it has long been a tried and tested elite force.The firepower of the Soviet army on the opposite side was nothing to them at all.With the calm and calm command of officers at all levels, and the near-perfect infantry coordination, the resistance of the Soviet army's first trench was quickly shattered. At 11:20, a yellow signal flare representing the success of the assault was launched into the sky, and bursts of huge cheers echoed over the 18th Army's position...

Unlike the previous situation, the Soviet army that lost its position did not organize a counterattack for the first time, but retreated to the second trench resignedly.General von Bobo, the commander-in-chief of the German army who did not wait for the Soviet counterattack, also felt that the resistance of the Soviet army was a little weak. He guessed that Stalin might have left.Otherwise, he will definitely force the Soviet army to launch a suicidal counterattack... So General von Bobo decided to increase the intensity of the attack southwest of Moscow. Two tank regiments equipped with 180 Panzer II tanks were drawn from the 3rd Panzer Army It came out and was assigned to the 6th and 7th Army respectively.

At 7 o'clock in the afternoon on July 9, after nearly two hours of artillery preparation and aerial bombardment, the German army's offensive across the board started again.

In the Podolsk area southwest of Moscow, which the Chinese 18th Army was in charge of attacking, the Soviet Army's second line of defense happened to be deployed on a tributary of the Moskva River.This 40-meter-wide river has now become a "natural moat" blocking the Chinese soldiers.In order to forcibly cross the river, Huang Wei ordered the mobilization of more than 200 150mm and 105mm howitzers, 81 75mm mountain guns, and more than 100 120mm heavy mortars. At 7:9 p.m. on July 4, hundreds of artillery were pushed to the front of the Soviet position only 2 kilometers away, and began to approach and bombard the Soviet position. In just 30 minutes, each cannon consumed half of the base ammunition .Not long after, the German planes also joined in, dived and dropped bombs again and again, and dropped the bombs accurately on the intended target. There was a thrilling rumbling explosion on the Soviet position, and everything was drowned by the smoke column and flames!At the same time, hundreds of engineers from the engineering regiment of the 18th Army began to risk their lives to build bridges over the river for tanks to pass.

General Hao Boxiong, who likes to write memoirs after retirement, described the scene he saw at that time: "...At that time, my battalion was responsible for covering the bridge construction of the engineers. Those engineers were the bravest people I have ever seen in my life! There were about 600 people. People braved Soviet mortars, machine guns, and rifle bullets from snipers to build bridges. These people worked like crazy with their heads covered, and they didn't even look at the comrades around them when they were killed. Good bridge! This kind of scene was unimaginable to people who grew up in a peaceful environment, but at that time, no one felt that there was anything abnormal, because this was our mission, and a world empire was built in this way! There is no other way..."

"Let the German tanks come up! Come up now..." Hao Boxiong thought of tanks at this time, and about 60 No. 18 tanks were assigned to the 52nd Division of the 18th Army. The pontoon bridge that killed many people was erected for them .Major Hao Boxiong is no stranger to the coordination of infantry and tanks. The 100th Army also had a tank regiment equipped with more than 1937 No. 60 light tanks.However, this regiment suffered heavy losses in the battle at the end of 60. Almost all the No. 75 tanks were destroyed, so the establishment was simply cancelled, and all the remnants of the regiment were incorporated into the Eighth Armored Division.But at this moment, Hao Boxiong had a flash of inspiration, thinking that 60 No. [-] tanks are not [-] [-]mm cannons?It would be ideal to let these tanks drive to the river beach to cover the engineers. With [-] cannons firing under the noses of the Soviet army, do those Russians still have the heart to fire at the engineers who are building the bridge?

After receiving Hao Boxiong's request, the battalion commander of the German tank battalion drove 60 No. 300 tanks to the river beach only 60 meters away from the Soviet position, lined up, and blasted the opposite side with 75 40mm cannons. Soviet positions.At this distance, even a rifle can accurately hit the target, let alone a 75mm cannon with [-] times the caliber?Balls of fire immediately rose from the trenches of the Soviet army, and several reinforced concrete fortifications that were strong and withstood the bombardment of howitzers were thrown into the air one after another.The firepower on the Soviet position suddenly weakened a lot.

After completely suppressing the firepower of the Soviet army, the speed of bridge construction also increased. About 30 minutes later, the first pontoon bridge was erected.Then a tank painted with the German Iron Cross rumbled onto the pontoon bridge. Major Hao Boxiong, who was in charge of setting up the cover, also waved his automatic rifle and loudly issued an attack order. Groups of Chinese soldiers carrying rubber boats flocked to the bridge. River beaches, shouts, explosions, the sound of MG37 machine guns tearing canvas, and the roar of tanks and aircraft motors constitute the most magnificent battlefield symphony, and it is also a prelude to the rise of two world empires.

The news that the Moscow River defense line was breached was like a thunderbolt exploding in the headquarters of the Moscow Front Army!Budyonny never imagined that in less than a day, the Germans and Chinese broke through the two lines of defense outside Moscow.At this speed, it is estimated that Moscow will fall before the great leader Stalin arrives in Tbilisi!This speed is really too fast. Although he has no illusions about defending Moscow, Budyonny also knows that Moscow cannot be lost in such a short period of time, because a large amount of supplies and elite troops have not yet reached Transcaucasia. .Without Moscow, a tool to attract the attention of the Germans, it would be difficult for the transferred materials and troops to reach their destination safely.The Germans will probably launch a surprise attack on Stalingrad, there are not many troops there now, the Germans can take it almost without a fight, as long as they capture Stalingrad, the road to Transcaucasus is also blocked.

Although he knew that nothing could be done, Marshal Budyonny gritted his teeth and joined the reserve team, launching the first counterattack to the periphery of Moscow.The remaining more than 300 cannons of the entire front army were gathered together, and some 120mm heavy mortars were pieced together. With the support of these artillery pieces, several Soviet Red Army infantry divisions and a Chinese volunteer with the Comintern Eastern Brigade brand The formed forces began to launch a counter-offensive against the positions of the 18th Army.

……

July 7 at 9:7 p.m.The artillery group of the Moscow Front of the Red Army began to shoot. At this time, it was already pitch black, so the Soviet artillery group did not have to worry about the threat of German aircraft.Although there are only more than 30 cannons and more than 300 heavy mortars, they are still very violent because the firepower is concentrated in a small area.And the counterattack tonight was naturally very bloody!

According to General Zuo Quan, the commander of the Eastern Brigade of the Communist International who participated in the counterattack at that time, recalled: "...the sky was dark at that time, and countless streams of fire suddenly passed over our heads and flew south, and then the roar and flames of the explosion It lit up the sky. I know that the Chinese National Defense Forces guarding there are the most brutal enemies of communism! They performed very well in the Latvian and Polish campaigns in 1937! As soldiers, they accepted the strictest They are indeed the best. But they have embarked on the road of counter-revolution and betrayed Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary line. It is really a pity.

The shelling of the Soviet army lasted only about 5 minutes that night, and the artillery counterattack of the 18th Army of the Chinese National Defense Army began.The army is equipped with more than 300 cannons, almost as many as the entire Moscow Front Army!And they also have a very good listening artillery company (sound testing company), which quickly found the location of the Soviet artillery positions and silenced them all.At this time, the Soviet artillery did not have the same technical level.Their losses since the start of the war have been too great, there are very few experienced officers and soldiers left, and the newly formed troops have not received any training at all, and even lack weapons.

After that battle ended, several junior officers of our Eastern Brigade of the Comintern secretly came to tell me that they found that at least half of the soldiers in the several Soviet infantry divisions fighting with us did not have a weapon and were completely unarmed He was pressed onto the battlefield with a machine gun by a political commissar!I really don't know what these Soviet political commissars think?Anyway, I have to give two grenades! "

The counterattack of the Soviet army that night turned into a catastrophe. The Red Army was quickly engulfed by the flames of the fascist army... Even if two grenades were given to the unarmed Red Army soldiers, it would be useless.It is impossible for them to rush through the dense fire nets of the Chinese and German troops.The Soviet army's suicide attack lasted for most of the night. By two o'clock in the morning the next day, the entire frontier of the 18th Army's position on the north bank of the Moscow River was full of densely packed corpses of Red Army soldiers, many of whom belonged to Chinese volunteers. of!Well, these people are true Marxist-Leninists, and of course patriots at the same time.Although they are fighting the Chinese army, it is not their fault, but the Chinese imperialism that has embarked on the road of aggression and expansion!Human history has proved more than once that the invaders will not end well in the end!

Of course, those aggressors who have a good end are not aggressors according to the viewpoint of historical materialism, but represent advanced productive forces and the wishes of the broad masses of the people.For example, the Mongol conquerors who killed tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of people from various countries, and the Manchu rulers who slaughtered countless Han compatriots were both just and progressive, while those who resisted them were reactionary forces...

At 7 o'clock in the morning on July 10, the German and Chinese troops launched an attack on Moscow again. Thousands of cannons roared at the same time, and thousands of German planes hovered in the sky.The whole of Moscow was shrouded in gunpowder smoke and fire. Citizens who had not had time to evacuate crowded into the Moscow subway to avoid air raids, and a small number of Soviet anti-aircraft guns were still firing in vain.On the outskirts of Moscow, the two armies also began a deadly struggle at the same time.