Seydlitz originally planned to launch an attack on the Red October Tractor Factory at 8 a.m., but there was less than an hour left before the attack began, and Dr. Kofis's 295th Infantry Division was still on the march.
After learning the news, Seydlitz was furious and asked angrily to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, can you get in touch with Dr. Kofis now?"
"Yes, your Excellency, Army Commander." Seeing Seydlitz's anger, the Chief of Staff quickly and cautiously replied, "Although he is on the march, our radio station can call him."
"Ask him immediately where the troops are now?" Seydlitz said angrily: "Order him to enter the attack position at half past seven, otherwise I will send him to a military court."
"Understood!" The chief of staff nodded, quickly walked to the area where the radio station was placed, and told the female operator sitting in front of the radio station: "Call the 295th Division immediately and let their division commander Dr. Kofis speak to me.
"
The female operator agreed, then picked up the receiver and started calling the 295th Infantry Division. After calling for about two or three minutes, she handed a pair of headphones to the chief of staff: "Chief of Staff, the call is connected."
"Dr. Kofis, where is your division now?" The chief of staff spoke to Kofis in a very polite tone: "Because your division cannot arrive at the designated position on time, the Corps Commander is very angry about this."
"Your Majesty, Chief of Staff," the troops could not arrive at the attack location on time. Kofis was also anxious. When the Army Chief of Staff asked about it, he complained bitterly: "Your Majesty, Chief of Staff, it's not that I don't want to arrive at the designated location on time.
, the troops are really too scattered, it took a lot of time to gather them together..."
The Army Chief of Staff originally wanted to say a few more words, but he didn't know when Seydlitz came to him, snatched the microphone from his hand, and rudely interrupted Kofis: "Kofis
Dr. Si, if your troops cannot reach the designated attack location within half an hour and delay the mission of seizing the Red October Factory, then you can wait to go to court-martial."
If he had heard Seydlitz say this before, Kofis might have heard it in one ear and out the other, and didn't take it to heart at all. But now he doesn't dare to take it lightly. Yesterday, the High Command in Berlin issued an order to Paulus:
The news that Paulus would capture Stalingrad in the near future had already spread among the division-level officers of the 6th Army. If he disobeyed military orders at this time of crisis, the consequences would be very serious.
It was based on this consideration that Kofis could only bite the bullet and said: "Understood, Your Majesty Commander, my troops will arrive at the designated location within half an hour."
After the call ended, Koffis held the microphone in a daze, silently thinking about how to make the troops increase their marching speed and reach the designated location within the specified time. The division chief of staff saw that Koffis looked worried.
He quickly asked with concern: "Doctor, what happened?"
The voice of the division chief of staff woke Kofis out of his reverie. He handed the earphone and microphone back to the operator, and said with a wry smile: "Your Excellency, the Army Commander, ordered our division to rush within half an hour."
Go to the designated location, otherwise I may be court-martialed."
"It is definitely impossible for the entire division to reach the designated location within half an hour." After the division chief of staff said this, seeing Kofis's face turning ashen, he added with a smile: "Dr.
, have you forgotten that our vanguard group rides on trucks, armored vehicles and motorcycles, so there should be no problem if they rush to the designated location within half an hour and take over the defense from the 100th Jäger Division
of."
"However, I'm afraid it's not enough for the leading group to arrive at the designated location." Kofis said awkwardly: "It will take at least three hours for the entire division to enter the attack position."
Hearing what Kofis said, the division chief of staff smiled: "Doctor, your Excellency the Corps Commander just asked us to arrive within half an hour, but he did not say that the entire division must arrive. Therefore, as long as the vanguard regiment can arrive within the specified time,
Within the time limit, go to the designated area and take over the defense from the 100th Chasseur Division, which will be considered as completing the order of the Army Commander."
After being reminded by the chief of staff of the division, Kofis felt that what was going on was indeed what happened, and his frown suddenly relaxed. He quickly ordered the chief of staff of the division: "Chief of staff, immediately notify the commander of the leading regiment and ask them to speed up the march.
, be sure to arrive at the designated place at the designated time.”
This method of the division chief of staff relieved Kofis. The fully mechanized vanguard group was only seven or eight kilometers away from the designated location. After receiving Kofis's order, it immediately accelerated its march. Although there were large vehicles everywhere on the road,
There were large and small craters, but it still only took them more than twenty minutes to reach the starting point of the attack.
When Seidlitz learned that the 295th Infantry Division was in position, he ordered the army's artillery to fire at the Red October Factory. In order to prevent the 39th Guards Division from noticing the true direction of its attack, most of the artillery shells landed in the dormitories.
In the direction of the main entrance of the district and the factory, although there were not many shells that landed on the northern wall of the factory, they were all 155-caliber howitzer shells.
When the German bombardment began, Sokov did not listen to Cousteau's advice and go to the basement to avoid the bombardment. Instead, he stood on the driving track of the factory building, raised his telescope and looked into the distance. Although the location he chose was not as good as
The view from the roof is wide, but because it is blocked by the wall, as long as the wall is not blown down by artillery fire, the shrapnel cannot hurt him at all.
Sokov saw with his own eyes a shell whizzing down in front of a sandbag bunker beside the wall. Following a loud noise, the bunker was shrouded in black smoke. When the smoke dissipated, there was no trace of the sandbag bunker.
Several soldiers hiding behind also lost their traces.
"Damn it," Briski, who was standing next to Sokov, saw this scene and couldn't help shouting in surprise: "The Germans actually used a 155mm howitzer. These simple fortifications of the annihilation battalion simply cannot withstand such a situation.
of cannonballs.”
Sokov agreed very much with Briski's statement. He knew very well that the killing radius of the 155mm howitzer was fifteen meters. Within this range, even if no shrapnel hit, he would be killed by the shock wave. Don't
It seems that the number of artillery used by the German army is limited, but for a simple defense such as an annihilation battalion, it is more than enough.
"They should be allowed to withdraw, otherwise everyone will be blown up in the fortifications before the enemy attacks." After Sokov said this, he turned his head and looked down, hoping to see Cousteau. But as he came and went,
After looking at the crowd for a long time, there was no trace of Cousteau. He could only shout at the top of his lungs: "Hey, comrades, have any of you seen Cousteau?"
Because the gunfire outside was too loud, the workers below could not hear what they were shouting. Fortunately, when Briskey came up, he was accompanied by a signal soldier. He quickly ordered the signal soldier to wave a small flag to the soldiers below.
The soldiers below saw the flag and immediately went to the basement to call Cousteau out.
Cousteau followed the driving stairs, climbed up the track, came to Sokov's side, and asked angrily, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you have anything to do with me?"
Sokov pointed to the annihilation battalion position that was being shelled by German artillery in the distance, and said to Cousteau: "Comrade workshop director, the enemy is bombarding the annihilation battalion position with heavy artillery. They have no solid defenses, so just stay there.
If you die in vain, call the battalion commander immediately and ask them to evacuate to the workshop immediately."
Sokov thought that when he said this, Cousteau would rush to call the battalion commander of the annihilation battalion and ask them to withdraw to the assembly workshop along the traffic trench. Who knew that after he finished speaking, Cousteau actually
Standing motionless, Sokov asked curiously: "Comrade workshop director, what are you doing standing here? Why don't you make a phone call?"
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you don't know something." Cousteau said in embarrassment: "The fighter battalion is not under our jurisdiction. Even if I call the commander of the fighter battalion, Borschak, he may not listen to me."
Hearing what Cousteau said, Sokov couldn't help but get furious. He pointed at the area shrouded in gunpowder smoke in the distance and said sternly: "Comrade workshop director, are you prepared to watch your comrades, all of whom are killed by the enemy?"
Did he die in the gunfire in vain?"
"Well, I can only try." Cousteau turned around and walked towards the driving stairs, muttering softly: "As for whether Bolshak listens to me, I don't know.
"
Cousteau returned to the basement, thought for a long time, and decided to make the call to Bolshak. After the call was connected, he shouted loudly without asking who answered the phone: "Hello, I am the workshop director.
Cousteau, you retreat to the workshop immediately, otherwise the German artillery shells will wipe out all of you."
The person who answered the phone was the signal soldier of the annihilation battalion. He heard what Cousteau said clearly and did not dare to make the decision without authorization. He rushed out of the command post under artillery fire, found Bolshak in the trench, and shouted loudly into his ear.
He shouted: "Comrade Battalion Commander, Cousteau, the director of the assembly workshop, has called you and asked you to immediately withdraw your troops to the assembly workshop."
"What, what did you say?" The successive loud explosions made Bolshak's ears somewhat deaf. Even if the communications soldier came close to his ears and shouted, he still felt like there was a ball of cotton stuffed in his ears.
He couldn't hear clearly, so he yelled at the communication soldier: "Say it again."
The communications soldier quickly repeated what he had just said into Bolshak's ear. Hearing clearly that Cousteau asked him to lead the troops to withdraw to the assembly workshop, Bolshak couldn't help but feel a little surprised: When did Cousteau become
Are you so considerate of others? Although he didn't understand the reason why the other party did this, he knew very well that if the troops were allowed to stay in such a crude fortification and withstand the German shelling, the people on the position might be killed before the enemy's shelling stopped.
All dead.
Thinking of this, Borschak felt that he should follow Cousteau's suggestion and withdraw his troops to the assembly workshop. When the enemy attacked, it would not be too late to launch a counterattack from the factory. Having made up his mind, he made a decisive move
An order to retreat was given underground.
When the third company commander heard that he was about to retreat, he was afraid that he had heard wrongly, so he went to Balshak to verify: "Comrade Battalion Commander, is it you who gave the retreat order?"
"Yes, I gave the order." Bolshak shouted at the third company commander: "If we continue to stay here, all our people will die soon. Order your people to retreat quickly.
"
"Comrade Battalion Commander," after confirming the order, the third company commander did not lead the people to retreat, but reminded Bolshak: "Have you forgotten Order No. 227? No one is allowed to take a step back without the permission of the superiors.
, otherwise he will be shot as a deserter."
How could Bolshak not know the consequences of Order No. 227, which would lead to an unauthorized retreat before getting permission from his superiors? But if he continued to stay in this simple position, and did not wait for the Germans to attack, everyone including himself would
, they would all be blown up by artillery shells. So he waited for the third company commander to finish speaking, and said in a tone that left no room for doubt: "Third company commander, I gave the retreat order. If my superiors investigate in the future, I will take responsibility.
.Now, immediately take your people and evacuate to the assembly workshop building."
Seeing that Bolshak's attitude was so resolute, the third company commander could not say anything more. He could only agree, and then ran to greet the soldiers in the company to prepare for retreat. He watched the third company commander's back disappear into the other side of the trench.
On the one hand, Bolshak thought to himself: I wonder how my superiors will punish me when they learn that I ordered the troops to retreat without authorization? But even if they want to shoot me, that will happen later. If we don’t withdraw, we will all die now.
Lose.
As the retreat order was issued, the people who were still alive on the position evacuated the position shrouded in gunpowder smoke along the communication trenches, bent over and ran towards the assembly workshop in the distance. No one asked why they retreated.
I only had one thought: as long as I ran to the factory, my life would be saved.
Sokov in the factory continued to hold up the telescope and stared motionlessly at the distant position. When he saw the figure emerging from the smoke, he couldn't help but feel secretly happy, feeling that the decision he made had saved the country.
A lot of people died. But when he saw that there were only more than 20 people running out of the smoke, he couldn't help but feel a little in his heart: Why, are there only so many people left in the annihilation camp?
After Cousteau made the call, he ran over to report to Sokov, and happened to see the soldiers running out of the smoke. He knew how many people there were in the annihilation battalion standing by the wall. Now he saw
Only one-fifth of the people ran out, and the muscles on his face couldn't help but twitch violently. He thought to himself: "If Lieutenant Colonel Sokov doesn't urge me to call Bolshak and ask them to withdraw."
If so, the entire annihilation battalion might have been completely destroyed by now."
Sokov turned and told Briski: "Comrade Captain, I see there are a few wounded in the middle. You should immediately send a platoon to pick up the comrades from the annihilation battalion."
After Briski nodded in agreement, he conveyed Sokov's order to the signal soldier, asking him to use a semaphore to notify the troops in the factory to go outside to pick up the soldiers who had withdrawn from the position.