The moment for Malashenko to take a breather did not last long.
Too much time has been wasted and a large number of precious troops have been wasted on this seemingly indestructible train station. The German commander, who was repeatedly urged by his superiors, made up his mind to completely capture this damn train station before dark.
Down.
The German Air Force, which was busy with air strikes on various major strategic points in the city, sent part of its troops to support the battle at the train station. 12 Junkers 88 bombers carrying loads of bombs made a special trip to attack the Stalingrad No. 1 train station that had been unable to be conquered for a long time.
, although the number is limited and far from the total requested by the German ground commanders, it is already the limit that the German Fourth Air Force currently responsible for the skies over Stalingrad can allocate.
When the railway station was first fortified, air defense positions were set up around the railway station in the open space of several blocks to protect this vital strategic point.
However, with the ferocious German attack, several surrounding blocks around the train station have basically fallen. The Soviet anti-aircraft artillery positions deployed in these blocks were either destroyed by the Germans or directly captured. Malashenko, who is like a polished commander, is now
There was no longer any friendly air defense fire to rely on.
Even though all the anti-aircraft positions in the blocks around Stalingrad No. 1 Railway Station have been removed, the Luftwaffe pilots, who were a little nervous due to the ubiquitous Soviet anti-aircraft guns in the city, still did not dare to use risky low-altitude bombing methods to attack this area.
This was a fortified railway station that the army had been fighting for all morning but had not been able to capture it.
The German pilots flying these Junkers 88s were looming. They always felt that there were so many Russian anti-aircraft guns hidden in the train station, and they were lurking and camouflaging, waiting for them to take the bait before approaching and firing.
The Luftwaffe, which dropped bombs at a safe altitude of three thousand meters, was quite busy with its errands and seemed to be doing its job in a perfunctory manner.
The German ground commander's request for targeted bombing against identified tactical targets was not met by the Junkers 88 pilots.
The aerial bombs dropped by high-altitude horizontal bombing fell densely towards the train station on the ground. They completely collapsed most of the waiting hall in a straight line of fire in a violent explosion, and also destroyed two cars parked on the platform.
Armored train skin.
It has been predicted that the waiting hall will definitely be a key target during the Luftwaffe's bombing. Malashenko, who suffered heavy losses to the German ground forces in this building this morning, does not believe that the Luftwaffe will turn a blind eye to it.
Although the air defense siren was sounded early, the troops stationed in the waiting hall were evacuated in time, but after the explosion smoke dispersed, a very thorny problem faced Malashenko.
The ceiling of the entire waiting hall was blown to pieces and collapsed completely. Part of it fell into the waiting hall. The aerial bomb that exploded after landing completely destroyed the load-bearing structure of the entire building. Naturally, the walls collapsed in the smoke and dust.
It's inevitable.
What was left to Malashenko now was a mottled ruin with smoke rising, and a large amount of rubble and bricks were blown away by the shock wave and scattered everywhere under his feet.
At most, less than 20% of the area is still barely supported but is already in dilapidated condition. It is obviously impossible for troops to continue to be stationed there and wait to be bombed and buried alive by the German army.
Seeing that the toughest nut to crack had been completely solved, the Germans took the opportunity to add insult to injury and immediately launched another wave of ground offensives, leaving Malashenko not much time to think about countermeasures.
Seeing that it was impossible to go back and continue to defend the waiting hall, Malashenko directly led his team to use the collapsed ruins as a bunker to defend on the spot and start fighting with the Germans. Several circular positions originally surrounded the door of the waiting hall.
It was also used together with the communication trenches to improvise a poor defensive position to withstand the German offensive.
The already frustrated German commander deployed almost all available troops in this attack. Malashenko, who was defenseless, immediately felt the strong offensive pressure and could hardly breathe.
The shabby defensive position consisting of a pool of ruins and several trenches and communication trenches alone was not enough to withstand the German offensive. The swarming German troops, under the cover of tanks and assault guns, took less than twenty minutes to rush to the ruins.
, and began to engage in a face-to-face shooting battle with the Soviet army while stepping on broken bricks and rubble.
The sound of gunfire and even the fierce fighting became closer and closer, echoing in my ears. Political Commissar Petrov, who was lying on the ruins next to Malashenko's car and looking through binoculars, saw the rear area in the direction of the German attack.
There are still more support troops coming out of the street one after another.
Foreboding that if the situation continued like this, the German army would be completely defeated and eliminated here. After a slight hesitation, Petrov, the political commissar, immediately made a decision and then crouched down next to Malashenko's car and stretched out his hand from the ground.
Picking up half a brick, he knocked on the side armor of Malashenko's car with three long and two short strokes in the rhythm of the pre-arranged code.
Although the method is relatively crude, it is indeed effective in this special situation.
Malashenko, who heard the signal from outside the vehicle in the turret, opened the top cover of the turret, saw the opportunity, jumped out of the turret, and came to Commissar Petrov, who was using the tank as a bunker at the rear of the vehicle.
Before Malashenko could ask, Commissar Petrov, who seemed a little impatient, spoke first.
"Fall back, Malashenko! The waiting hall and the entire front of the train station must be undefendable now. There are four warehouses on the other side of the railway that can be used for defense. The armored train skins on the platform will block the German trains.
Let’s buy some time for the large army. If we stay here any longer, everyone will die, including you and me!”
After listening to Commissar Petrov's loud words, Malashenko showed an expression of "I think so too". After all, relying on the ruins to continue fighting with the Germans was not an option. If the situation continued, the German army would have an absolute military advantage.
It is only a matter of time before we pile our own troops to death.
"Okay, you and Nikolaev lead the large troops to withdraw first, leaving Second Lieutenant Igor and his people to help me. Lavery and I will lead the tanks to hold off the pursuit of the Germans!"
Compared with an attack that can even be won by a swarm of swarms in a battle with a favorable wind, retreat is often the ultimate test of whether an army can be called an ace force.
Throughout the ages, countless elite troops have fallen on the road to retreat. Malashenko, who knew that there must be no chaos during the retreat, decided to stay and direct the battle himself.
Petrov, who had worked with Malashenko for a long time, did not refuse after hearing this. After nodding in agreement, he and Malashenko immediately started to separate.