After the explosions, all the soldiers with grenades tied to their bodies died heroically. Although their sacrifices only resulted in the destruction of two vehicles, the German tank soldiers were frightened by the fearless spirit of the soldiers and the tanks did not stop.
They dared to move forward, but they just stayed where they were, randomly bombarding the Soviet positions not far away with artillery fire.
It was not until the German soldiers arrived that the tanks restarted and, with the cooperation of the infantry, continued to rush towards the Soviet position. Because when the 157th Division built fortifications, no minefields were laid in front of the position, so the Germans quickly
He quickly rushed to a distance of more than fifty meters from the trench.
Seeing the German tanks and infantry approaching the 157th Division's position step by step, and the weak firepower from the trenches could not stop the German army's advance at all, Chuikov, standing on the high ground, couldn't help but feel anxious. At this moment, the Kremlin
Rimov suddenly shouted in surprise: "Comrade Commander, look quickly, the tank, our tank."
Sokov looked in the direction Klimov was pointing, and sure enough he saw four tanks running quickly towards the forward position of the 157th Division. "Where are they?" Chuikov also put down his telescope and asked.
"There!" before Klimov could speak, Sokov rushed to say: "It's four T-34s. The German Panzer IV tanks are no match for them..."
Before Sokov finished speaking, a German tank approaching the forward position suddenly emitted a black smoke with flames from the body. Soon the fire spread to the entire body, wrapping the entire tank in flames.
.
Seeing the burning tank, Sokov thought to himself: What is going on? Why did the German tank suddenly catch fire? Is it another brave soldier who died with the enemy tank holding a cluster grenade? He was like this
While thinking about it, he suddenly saw two plumes of soil rising into the sky next to another German tank. He suddenly realized that it was the cannon fired by the Soviet tank that had just arrived.
I don’t know which army these four tanks came from. They did not line up in formation like other tanks and rush forward at full speed. Instead, they used a two-vehicle tactic, alternately covering and rushing forward. The first tank moved forward.
While charging, the tank behind stopped and fired; the tank that finished firing continued to rush forward, while the tank in front stopped and fired at the target it found.
Although the German tanks parked in front of the Soviet position fired back, their shells could not penetrate the T-34's frontal armor at a distance of more than 500 meters. On the contrary, the Soviet tanks could fire their turrets as soon as they fired.
It didn't take much to overturn them, and the German tanks that once had the upper hand became burning torches on the battlefield.
Seeing that all their own tanks were destroyed, the German soldiers who followed the tank attack turned around and ran back, crossing the pontoon bridge and escaping back to the south bank.
"Awesome, our tank crews are so awesome." Seeing the German troops escaping back to the south bank, Klimov said excitedly: "They destroyed the enemy's tanks, crushed the enemy's attack, and successfully defended their position.
."
"Comrade General, something is wrong." Seeing the German infantry escaping from the pontoon in a hurry, Sokov felt an ominous premonition in his heart. He quickly said to Chuikov: "Even if the German tanks are destroyed by me,
If the army is destroyed, their infantry can retreat to the river and hold on. Why retreat to the other side of the river?"
"Chief of Staff, what do you mean?" Chuikov looked at Sokov and asked: "Do you think the German retreat is a conspiracy?"
"It's very possible." Sokov nodded and said affirmatively: "I think the German infantry have retreated to the other side, possibly preparing to shell our positions."
Chuikov did not refute Sokov's statement. He just looked at the four tanks parked behind the trench, sighed softly, and said: "God bless, I hope these tanks will be hit by the artillery fire that will come later."
, can survive. With these tanks as fixed forts, our army’s defense strength can be strengthened.”
As soon as Chuikov finished speaking, the German artillery bombardment began. In a moment, the forward position of the 157th Division was blown into a sea of flames. For a while, shrapnel was flying and soil was flying. The civil fortifications on the position were like paper.
Like a mushy toy, it was torn apart and crushed by the force of the explosion and then flew high into the air.
Looking at the dense shells that exploded on the position, Sokov's heart tightened. He didn't know how many of the commanders and fighters staying in these simple fortifications would survive after this round of shelling. Maybe there were some companies.
, or a battalion-level combat unit, the moment the artillery fire ends, the designation can be canceled due to exhaustion of casualties.
Before the bombardment ended, another group of German tanks began to pass through the pontoon bridge and headed towards the north bank. On the south bank, hundreds of German soldiers could clearly be seen gathering, and it seemed that they were preparing to launch a new attack.
After the German tanks passed the pontoon bridge, they quickly launched an offensive formation. However, they did not launch an attack immediately. Instead, they stopped and waited for the end of the shelling and the infantry who were crossing the bridge.
The German army was very good at summing up the lessons of failure. As soon as the shelling stopped, they immediately launched an attack without waiting for the smoke from the Soviet position to dissipate. Hundreds of German soldiers followed behind a dozen tanks. If the tide rose,
It spread towards the Soviet defensive positions.
They were getting closer and closer to the position, one hundred meters, ninety meters, eighty meters... However, the Soviet position was still quiet, with no movement at all. This scene stimulated Chuikov, and he only felt
His eyes were completely dark, and his heart was in a knot. He staggered twice, and then fell backward. Fortunately, Sokov and Klimov had quick eyesight and quick hands, and helped him in time to prevent him from falling to the ground.
"Comrade Commander, what's wrong with you?" Klimov asked with concern.
Chuikov opened his eyes, shook his head, and said: "It seems that the position of the 157th Division cannot be defended. The enemy not only has an advantage in strength, but they also have much more technical equipment than us. If we continue to fight, it will be impossible."
There is no need. It will only let the soldiers die in vain. Call Colonel Kuropatenko immediately and ask him to withdraw the surviving troops to the second line and adopt a step-by-step approach to delay the German advance towards Stalingrad.
speed."
After Chuikov struggled to stand upright, he said to Sokov: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, from now on, I am removing you from your position as chief of staff of the Southern Group."
Sokov did not expect that Chuikov would suddenly dismiss him without warning, and he couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Comrade General, why is this?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, don't forget that your real position is the commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade." Chuikov raised his hand and patted Sokov on the shoulder and said: "The Germans are rushing towards Stalingrad.
, is an unchangeable fact. Since this place can no longer be defended, we can only continue to fight with them in the city. We will never hand over the city to the Germans easily. Go ahead, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov,
Lead your troops at Mamayev Heights and teach the Germans a lesson they will never forget."
In this way, while the German 14th Armored Division successfully broke through the defense line of the Soviet 157th Division, Sokov was relieved of his post as chief of staff by Chuikov and returned to Mamayev Ridge to continue commanding his troops.