When the German 2nd Armored Regiment was attacked by two infantry brigades, the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sikenius, realized that this was not a small harassing force, but a large force attacking, and immediately called the division headquarters to report. On duty
The staff officer took the phone records and hurried to find the division commander Hubei, but was stopped by the adjutant sitting outside the door.
The staff officer on duty showed the phone record in Yang's hand and said anxiously: "The 2nd Armored Regiment is being attacked by the Russians. This is the phone record of the commander of the regiment."
The adjutant thought that the Soviet attack was nothing more than the surrounded troops trying to break out, so after taking the phone record from the staff on duty, he lazily said: "I will report it to the division commander later.
, you go back first." As soon as the staff officer left, the adjutant threw the phone record aside, then lay down on the chair and continued to meditate with his eyes closed.
Hubei was lying on the cot in the house with all his clothes on, but the sound of gunfire from outside woke him up. He sat up straight from the bed and shouted toward the door: "Here comes someone!"
The adjutant, who was closing his eyes and concentrating at the door, heard Hubei's shout, jumped up from his chair, opened the door and walked into the room. He straightened his body and asked: "Your Excellency, what are your orders?"
"Did anything happen outside while I was sleeping?"
"It's nothing serious." The adjutant said lightly: "Lieutenant Colonel Sikenius of the 2nd Armored Regiment once called and said that they were harassed by the Russians. They should be stragglers trying to break out."
Hubei did not take the attack on the 2nd Armored Regiment lightly because of the adjutant's tone of voice. He frowned and glanced at the adjutant, and then asked: "Where is the phone record?"
"On the chair outside." After the adjutant finished speaking, he quickly went out and picked up the call record from the chair, then walked back into the room and handed it to Hubei: "Master, please take a look."
After Hubei read the call record, he suddenly became angry. He stood up and gave the adjutant a slap in the face, cursing: "Why don't you report such important information immediately? If the Russians are allowed to break out of our encirclement, I will kill them with my own hands."
You." After saying that, he took off the military cap hanging on the wall, buckled it on his head, and strode out of the bedroom.
After arriving at the headquarters, Hubei saw that there were only on-duty staff officers and two communications soldiers, so he raised his voice and asked: "Are there any new calls from the 2nd Armored Regiment?"
"Yes," the staff officer on duty quickly replied: "Just five minutes ago, Lieutenant Colonel Sikonius of the 2nd Armored Regiment called again, saying that they were resisting the Russian attack from the direction of Stalingrad.
The Russians in the encirclement also launched a surprise attack from behind. In order to ensure that the troops were not annihilated, he had issued a retreat order. Retreat to the north to the location of the 79th Infantry Regiment and the 16th Artillery Regiment?"
When Hubei heard this, his eyes almost burst into flames: "Why don't you report such an important situation to me immediately?"
The staff officer on duty glanced at the adjutant behind Hubei and replied with some embarrassment: "I sent you a phone record an hour ago, but you didn't show up yet. I thought..."
"What do you think?" Hubei couldn't wait to interrupt the staff officer on duty before he could finish his words: "Do you know that you are derelict in your duties and I can send you to a military court at any time."
Hearing Hubei say this, the staff officer on duty broke into a cold sweat and quickly lowered his head without saying a word. Hubei was eager to understand the battle situation outside, so he picked up another call record and browsed the contents carefully. Wait
After reading it, he said to the staff officer on duty: "Let the chief of staff come here!" The staff officer on duty thought that he would be scolded, but Hubei just asked him to find the chief of staff. For a moment, he felt like he was being amnesty.
He hurriedly ran out of the headquarters.
When the division chief of staff walked into the headquarters, he saw Hubei sitting at the table looking at a map with a frosty face. He immediately realized that the situation was not good, and quickly stepped forward to say hello: "Your Excellency, division commander, are you looking for me?
"
"Our 2nd Armored Regiment has been attacked by the Russians from two directions and has been repelled. Currently, Lieutenant Colonel Sikenius is leading his troops to retreat towards the defense area of the 79th Infantry Regiment and the 16th Artillery Regiment." Hu
Bay said to his chief of staff: "Now you immediately call the 16th Motorized Battalion and order them to attack the Russians in this area from the flank."
After the division chief of staff waited for Hubei to finish speaking, he read the two phone records on the table and asked with some worry: "Your Excellency, division commander, judging from the report of the commander of the armored regiment, the number of Russians attacking us is quite large. We
Can only one motorized battalion be dispatched to deal with them?"
"First order the 16th Artillery Regiment to fire at the place where the Russians are gathering." Hubei gritted his teeth and said: "Let the artillery fire throw them into chaos, making it impossible to organize an effective evacuation. When daybreak, we can with the cooperation of the air force
, eliminate the Russians in this area."
…………
Just as Hubei was mobilizing his troops and preparing to deal with the Soviet army that was about to rush out of the gap in the encirclement, Sokov was also anxious in his headquarters. After learning that two infantry brigades had captured many German tanks, he
He quickly ordered the other party: "Immediately use the German tanks to establish defense lines on both sides of the passage to cover the protruding troops in the encirclement."
As soon as the phone was put down, Chuikov's call came in: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, it's almost dawn. How is the situation there?"
"Comrade Commander," Sokov quickly reported after hearing Chuikov's voice: "The troops attacking from the right have successfully rescued the troops trapped in the 54th fortification area; the troops attacking from the left have successfully rescued the troops trapped in the 54th fortification area.
, during the fierce attack on the German 2nd Armored Regiment, they received the cooperation of the 35th Guards Division Teaching Battalion in the encirclement and successfully opened a gap. Now I am ordering them to establish defense lines on both sides of the gap to cover the troops in the encirclement.
The troops rushed out."
After Chuikov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he frowned and said, "Where is the 54th fortification area? I don't seem to have heard about your defense arrangements."
"Comrade Commander, I have ordered the 54th fortification area to be abandoned." Sokov was deeply afraid that his decision would anger Chuikov, so he said cautiously: "The fortification area is deep behind enemy lines, and there is not enough ammunition and ammunition.
Supplies, even if we leave troops to hold on, we will be wiped out by the enemy because we run out of ammunition and food."
Regarding Sokov's statement, Chuikov was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you are the frontline commander. Since you feel that there is no need to hold on to the fortified area, then just give up. You
Immediately send the withdrawn troops to the group army headquarters, there is still a lack of sufficient garrison troops here."
Sokov knew very well that the troops currently defending the factory area were almost all composed of militiamen from various factories. Their combat effectiveness was limited. If they faced a strong attack by the German army, they would not be able to defend it at all. And the troops who withdrew from the fortification area
The troops can be enriched into various militia units to improve their combat effectiveness. He quickly replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I will send someone to send them to you immediately."
Just as the commanders and fighters of the 124th Brigade and the 149th Brigade were building a new line of defense, a scream pierced the air suddenly came from the air. It was not the first time for everyone present to go to the battlefield. How could they not understand what this sound meant?
Thinking of what he meant, he hurriedly lay down on the spot to avoid the coming bombardment.
The artillery shells of the German 16th Artillery Regiment landed in the camp where the 2nd Armored Regiment had just been lost and exploded, creating dazzling flames and thick smoke. The soldiers of the two infantry brigades still behaved relatively calmly.
, they hid in the chosen hiding place to avoid the enemy's shelling. Therefore, although the German shelling was fierce, the losses caused to them were not great.
On the contrary, those commanders and soldiers who were running out of the encirclement may have been trapped behind enemy lines for too long. When they saw a gap opened in the encirclement, they rushed out regardless of the roar of the artillery shells flying in the air.
sound, resulting in many unnecessary casualties.
After the German shelling finally stopped, it was already dawn. A soldier of the 124th Brigade, who was standing in the south, spotted the German troops moving in the distance and shouted loudly: "Battle alert! Germany
People are coming up!"
The 124th Brigade had almost completed the construction of fortifications before being bombarded. At this moment, when they saw the Germans rushing up, they entered defensive positions one after another, preparing to meet the enemy. Some soldiers who had been tank soldiers got into
In the captured tanks, prepare to use artillery fire and machine guns to destroy the oncoming enemies.
At the front of the queue were several motorcycles with sidecars, and MG34 general-purpose machine guns mounted on the sidecars. While the motorcycles were moving, the machine gunners sitting in the sidecars kept shooting, wantonly.
Shoot at the Soviet commanders and soldiers who are exposed to their firepower and are running towards the outside of the encirclement.
However, their shooting did not last long. The whistling sound of artillery shells was heard in the air. Then an artillery shell landed next to a motorcycle and exploded. The air wave of the explosion overturned a motorcycle and knocked the motorcycle above it.
Both the driver and the machine gunner fell far away.
A motorcyclist was shocked when he saw that the motorcycle driven by his companion was overturned by artillery fire. He secretly said: Why do the Russians still have cannons? If we rush up like this, aren't we going to die? Just as he slowed down and was about to stop.
At this moment, he suddenly felt someone tapping him hard on the waist several times. This was the machine gunner signaling to him to speed up. The motorcyclist had no choice but to hit the accelerator and continue to rush forward.
When the German 2nd Armored Regiment retreated, these tanks were abandoned mainly because they had no fuel and could no longer drive. However, many of the tanks still had artillery shells and machine gun bullets left in them, which were used by Soviet commanders and fighters to deal with the attack.
The Germans had just fired their first artillery shell and successfully overturned a German motorcycle, thus boosting the morale of the Soviet army. Those tanks lined up in a row rushed towards the 16th Motorized Rifle in the distance.
The battalion opened fire, beating the enemy's attacking formation to pieces.
The Germans never dreamed that the Soviet army would actually use captured tanks to deal with them. Even though they were a motorized infantry battalion, except for a few armored vehicles, they had no anti-tank weapons at all. Facing the solid defense in front, they rushed
Halfway through, he turned around and went back.
After Hube learned that the attack of the 16th Motorized Infantry Battalion was repelled, he ordered his chief of staff: "Order the 16th Artillery Regiment to continue firing and destroy all the tanks on the Russian position."
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, this is not easy to handle." The Chief of Staff said with some embarrassment: "I have just learned that due to the delay in the arrival of our logistics supplies, the 16th Artillery Regiment has already lost its force during the shelling that just ended.
All the shells were used up."
Although there was no artillery, how could Hube expect the Soviet army to break through its defense lines so easily and return to Stalingrad? So he issued another order: "Since the 16th Artillery Regiment has no artillery shells, order the 79th Infantry Regiment to launch an attack
Charge and be sure to capture the positions occupied by the Russians."
In order to close the passage opened by the Soviet army, the German army launched charges again and again towards the positions held by the two infantry brigades, and even used the air force. However, the attacks they launched were all blocked by the two infantry brigades without exception.
The commanders and fighters repulsed.
Seeing that the German offensive was getting more and more fierce, Bolvinov became a little bit impatient. He called Gorokhov and asked: "Colonel Gorokhov, the German offensive is getting more and more fierce, and we can't support it."
Stay, when can I move out?”
"Cannot withdraw!" Gorokhov replied decisively: "The mission of our two brigades is to help the main force of the 62nd Army break through, so we must do everything possible to prevent the Germans from closing this gap. Do you understand?"
"But," Bolvinov said anxiously: "The troops in the encirclement were too busy. Look, seven or eight hours have passed, but there are only four to five thousand troops who have rushed out. If they
If we continue to wait like this, even if all our people are dead, they won't be able to fully break out."
At this moment, Gorokhov suddenly thought of Sokov. He said into the microphone: "Don't worry, Colonel Bolvinov. I think the commander will find a way to support us."
Sokov also learned about what was happening ahead through various channels. When he found that the troops in the encirclement were moving too slowly, and only a few thousand people escaped after half a day, he felt particularly anxious. He understood.
As time goes by, the German attack will become even more frenzied, and the infantry brigade with serious troop losses will simply not be able to stop it.
Thinking of this, he said to Andre: "Third Battalion Commander, take your troops and follow me to where the infantry brigade is fighting. They seem to be in trouble, and we are going to help them."
Based on Andrei's understanding of Sokov, as long as this force reaches the breach, the current severe situation can be reversed. Therefore, when he heard Sokov's order, he ran to assemble the troops without saying anything.