The engineer company's search along the river lasted all night, but until dawn, there was still no discovery of Sokarov's whereabouts. Considering that if the soldiers stayed by the river after dawn, they would become targets for German shooting.
, so Sokov could only make a painful decision and ordered the engineer company to terminate the search work.
Sokov had just returned to the headquarters and was reporting to Chuikov on the search for Sokarov. Suddenly there was a rumbling explosion in the distance. Chuikov walked to the window of the mill and looked in the direction of the sound.
Pillows of black smoke rose from the direction of the river, and enemy planes could be seen circling in the sky.
Seeing this situation, Chuikov frowned and said: "The Germans are bombing the positions by the river. It seems that they are preparing for a large-scale attack."
"Comrade Commander," as soon as Chuikov finished speaking, Adjutant Klimov continued: "We have successfully blown up the pontoon bridge on the river. The Germans cannot cross the Aksay River."
"Klimov, you think the problem is too simple." Regarding Klimov's naive idea, Chuikov immediately poured cold water on him: "You think that a mere Aksay River can stop the problem?"
The advance pace of the German armored divisions? Regardless of the fact that we successfully blew up a pontoon bridge last night, I can guarantee you that today they will be able to re-erect at least two, three or even more pontoon bridges on the Aksay River."
"Comrade Commander, if the enemy's tanks cross the river, our infantry will not be able to stop them at all." Knowing that the Germans might build more pontoon bridges on the Aksay River, Klimov couldn't help but panic: "Then
What should we do?"
Chuikov knew very well that he did not have decent artillery or tanks at his disposal. It was simply a fantasy to block the German armored divisions. Therefore, after hearing Klimov's question, he
He was silent for a moment and said: "We can only rely on the existing fortifications to consume the effective strength of the German army and prevent more enemies from rushing towards Stalingrad."
When Sokov, who was standing nearby, heard what he said, he thought to himself: Fortunately, I was smart and asked Andre to get the six cannons to Mamayev Hill early, otherwise he would have waited until the German armored division passed by.
Hey, these artillery pieces were either destroyed or captured by the Germans. Instead of taking advantage of the Germans, it is better to keep them and put them to great use in the future.
Perhaps in order to prevent the same mistakes from happening again, the Germans, who had already made sufficient preparations, once the bombing was over, continued to bombard the Soviet positions on the north bank with artillery fire to cover their engineers in erecting a pontoon bridge on the Aksay River.
The German army suffered heavy losses in the defense area of Lyudnikov Division yesterday, so today they chose the crossing point in the defense area of the 157th Division. Standing in the observation post, Kuropatenko let the top of his head be shaken off by the explosion of an artillery shell.
The dirt fell on his military cap and shoulders, and he just stood there motionless, holding his binoculars and looking towards the other side of the river.
The German army on the other side assembled about twenty tanks and hundreds of soldiers. They also established more than a dozen machine gun positions on the shore and set up a row of mortars. Once the Soviet army's firepower returned, they launched a targeted attack.
Clear stance.
Standing next to the colonel was his chief of staff. Seeing this, he said with a worried look: "Comrade division commander, if the German pontoon bridge is completed, their tanks will rush to the north bank. With what we have now
Our troops and equipment cannot stop them at all."
"If you can't stop it, you have to stop it." When Kuropatenko heard these words from his chief of staff, he did not put down the telescope, but said angrily: "Tell the commanders and soldiers to hold the position resolutely, rather than let the bones be exposed.
In the wilderness, you will never take a step back. If you are not afraid of sacrifice or bloodshed, you must fight to the last person and to the last bullet. When the soldiers are fired, the officers fill in; when the officers are fired, I personally hold the cluster grenade.
, to blow up German tanks."
The division chief of staff originally wanted to express a few complaints, but seeing that the division commanders were all determined to die, he did not continue. He quickly straightened his body and replied: "Understood, comrade division commander, we will fight until the end."
The last person’s.”
Perhaps because they were worried that there were a large number of Soviet anti-tank fighters hidden on the north bank, after the two German pontoon bridges were erected, the first thing that rushed over from the bridge was not tanks, but groups of infantry. Seeing the German attack begin
, Kuropatenko quickly grabbed the phone on the table, called the headquarters deployed at the forefront, and ordered the commander of the unit: "Comrade commander, have you seen the Germans rushing up?"
The leader of the frontline regiment quickly replied: "I saw it, comrade division commander."
Kuropatenko looked through the telescope at the German infantry crossing the bridge, and shouted loudly: "Your regiment will charge me immediately! We must eliminate the enemies on the pontoon bridge, and they must not be allowed to board the north bank."
As Kuropatenko's order was issued, countless soldiers jumped out of the trenches that had been pockmarked by bombings, shouting and rushing towards the German troops who were crossing the pontoon bridge. Seeing the Soviet troops suddenly carrying out a counterattack, they deployed to force the enemy on the other side of the river.
The cannon fired first.
Artillery shells fell and exploded in the charging ranks. From time to time, Soviet soldiers were overturned by the air waves of the explosion, or cut down by flying shrapnel. Although people were dying every minute, the surviving soldiers were under the care of the officers.
Amid the rapid whistle, we bravely passed through the shelling area and approached the pontoon bridge.
In order to prevent the Soviet troops from approaching the pontoon bridge, the German machine gun firepower deployed on the shore opened fire. In the dense rain of bullets, blood mist burst into the sky from the slightly crowded impact formation. The soldiers who were shot were shaking as if they were electrocuted under the rain of bullets.
, and then the corpse was like a torn bag being thrown out, being overturned by the huge impact of the bullet. Although comrades continued to fall beside them, the living soldiers still howled and rushed forward, and the corpses were covered with them as they attacked.
The soldiers who rushed onto the pontoon bridge fired all the bullets in their guns in one breath, then with shining bayonets and bloodshot eyes, howling and screaming, they started a fierce hand-to-hand battle with the Germans.
Chuikov and Sokov stood on the hillside outside the headquarters, watching this tragic battle through binoculars. Seeing the soldiers rushing onto the pontoon without fear of death and engaging in close combat and hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, they couldn't help but say with emotion:
"Our soldiers performed so bravely. As long as they are here, the Germans will definitely pay a heavy price if they want to break through our defense lines."
When Sokov saw this scene, he was cursing in his heart: "This idiot Kuropatenko can obviously rely on the existing fortifications to consume the effective strength of the German army. Who knows, but he has water in his head and actually orders the troops to carry out a counterattack?
, as a result, a large number of soldiers died on the charge, a tragic and worthless death."
Chuikov soon realized the problem that Sokov was thinking about. He found that due to the effective area of the pontoon bridge, only some soldiers maintained contact with the enemy and were engaged in melee. And those enemies who were temporarily out of contact crowded on the pontoon bridge.
It was the best target for German machine guns. Almost as soon as the gunshots were fired, soldiers kept plopping into the water. Seeing this, he quickly said to Klimov who was squatting in the crater aside: "Kri
Mov, immediately call General Dmitriev and order him to bombard the enemies on the pontoon with artillery fire to cover our troops' retreat."