On December 5th, about 120 kilometers west of Ekaterinburg Fortress, at 0400 hours.
The artillery groups, which had been in hiding, suddenly began to roar. Their barrage boomed like rolling spring thunder, shaking the world, covered in silver frost.
The copious snow and icicles that had accumulated on the trees cascaded down with each blast.
The long-planned counteroffensive by the Western Front Army had begun.
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At the headquarters of the Western Front Army, General Tukhachev watched his watch, and as the minute hand pointed to twelve, he turned his head and nodded to the Front Army Chief of Staff.
The Chief of Staff issued the order into the handset, "Attack troops, move out."
Tukhachev, rubbing his hands in excitement, looked at the map hanging on the wall, "Rokossovsky said we could only push up to this line and then we'd stall, with the possibility of suffering heavy losses if we press the attack. We have to break through this line and utterly crush the enemy!"
