After finally eliminating all resistance in the Bastion, German assault troops moved to finish off the Maxim Gorki guns. In a last attempt to crack the fortress, five more 80cm rounds from Dora and fire from a 35.5cm howitzer blasted the fort. Meanwhile, 20 Stukas dove in to the attack. As the smoke rose from the blasted concrete and steel monster, the remaining men under Lieutenant Barcherl saw smoke and fire belching from the western turret, the result of a direct hit from a Stuka bomb. As the remaining turret moved to line up a shot, they crawled forward to get at this last gun. Bounding forward from crater-to-crater, and subject to heavy machine-gun and mortar fire, the remaining 138 German soldiers moved forward toward the enemy battery.
Attacker: German (3rd Battalion, 132nd Infantry Regiment and 1st Company, Pionier Battalion 173, 132nd Infantry Division)
