The three German engineer battalions stationed at the barricade factory simultaneously launched an attack on the territory occupied by the Soviet army from three directions. Not only the defense area of the 650th Regiment was attacked, but also the defense areas of the 544th and 768th Regiment.
The Soviet commanders and fighters who stood firm on their positions discovered that the German troops attacking today were completely different from those in the past. They did not follow tanks or assault guns and attack their positions in skirmish lines, but in small groups.
Using the cover of bomb craters or ruined walls, use the tactic of short leap forward to approach the position bit by bit.
Facing the enemy's attack, the Soviet commanders and soldiers still adopted the original tactics to deal with it. But soon, they discovered that something was wrong. They fired at the enemy, but because the enemy showed up for a lot of time, the bullets fired rarely hit the target.
And those machine guns deployed at fire points were often destroyed by German assault guns before they could finish firing a single bullet.
Just when the commanders and soldiers were at a loss what to do, Lyudnikov called and told several regiment commanders how to deal with the attack launched by this special German army. At the same time, he also specifically told the regiment commanders to be sure to
It is necessary to find out the number of the attacking German army.
After receiving Lyudnikov's call, the commanders of each regiment immediately arranged ways to deal with the enemy to the commanders and fighters below. The soldiers immediately adjusted their tactics and no longer blindly fired at the scattered German troops.
Use snipers and mortars to deal with enemies.
The German machine gunner set up a machine gun in the bomb crater and aimed at the Soviet position to shoot. Just after firing two shots, the machine gunner was hit in the head by a bullet flying from the opposite position. Seeing his companion fall, the deputy gunner quickly took over.
He found his position and continued shooting, but not long after, he was also shot in the head.
Machine gunners have become the priority targets of snipers, and the fate of the artillery observers who indicate the attack targets for assault guns is not much better. Once the Soviet army discovered their location, they first used machine gun fire to block their hiding places; and then
, snipers will kill the observers who emerge; even if the artillery observers hide in the craters and do not move, it is not safe. Therefore, the Soviet army will use mortars to bombard those craters and blow up the enemies hiding inside.
Flying horizontally.
The German engineer battalion commanders who were staying at their respective command positions saw that their attack was not effective. In order to reduce unnecessary casualties, they quickly issued a retreat order. The German soldiers nestled in the bomb craters were being attacked by Soviet snipers and forced
The artillery fire was extremely painful. When I heard the retreat order from the rear, it was like hearing the sound of nature, and I quickly withdrew to the original starting position in an orderly manner.
Seeing that the attacking enemy had retreated, each regiment immediately sent out personnel to inspect the bodies of the German soldiers and learn the unit numbers from the documents they carried. Ten minutes later, Lyudnikov received calls from the commanders of each regiment.
, listen to their reports on themselves.
After Lyudnikov recorded the reports of each regiment in his notebook, he raised his head and said to Sokov, who was sitting opposite: "Colonel Sokov, it seems that your estimate is right. They launched an attack on our position.
The enemy is indeed an engineering unit. Their designations are the 50th Armored Engineer Battalion, the 162nd and the 294th Engineer Battalion."
After listening to Lyudnikov's words, Sokov smiled lightly and said casually: "Comrade Colonel, the enemy sent out the engineer battalion to attack the factory. Do you know what it means?"
"If according to what you just said, the engineer battalion is the elite unit of the German army, and the Germans use them here, does it mean that they are bound to win the barricade factory?" Lyudnikov said tentatively: "I can say that.
correct?"
"The barricade factory is certainly an important target, but why is the Dzerzhinsky factory not the same?" Sokov said slowly: "The engineer battalion is one of their most elite units and is currently engaged in the battle to seize the barricade factory.
Medium, which means that their troops and ammunition are running out, and they are trying to completely seize the barricade factory through the battle of the engineer battalion."
"Oh, the enemy's troops and ammunition are running out?" Hearing Sokov's statement, Lyudnikov showed a surprised expression on his face: "So, our chances of holding the barricade factory have greatly increased.
increased."
"Comrade Colonel, I think the issue you have to consider now is not just how to defend the barricade factory." Sokov waved his hand to Lyudnikov and said, "but how to completely eliminate the enemies who broke into the factory area."
"What, what did you say?" Lyudnikov said in surprise: "Colonel Sokov, do you know what you are talking about? With our current strength, it is very difficult to even block the enemy's attack.
How can we talk about annihilating them?" If the person who said this was not Sokov, who had great military exploits, but someone else had said this, he would have been scolded by Lyudnikov.
"Comrade Colonel, have you forgotten what I once said?" Sokov reminded the other party: "As the Volga River freezes, the reinforcements and supplies gathered on the east bank will enter the city on a large scale. Then we will
We have enough troops to fight the enemy to the death."
As soon as Sokov finished speaking, the phone in front of him rang. He casually grabbed the phone and put it to his ear, and said hurriedly: "I am Colonel Sokov, where are you?"
"It's me." A familiar voice came from the receiver: "I'm Peter."
"Hello, Comrade Factory Director." Hearing that it was Peter who called him, Sokov knew very well that the other party must be about the self-propelled artillery. He quickly asked: "Have you received the message I sent to you?"
Do you have the drawings and notes?”
"Roger, Colonel Sokov." Peter replied: "I called you just to talk to you about this..."
"Comrade Director, let me briefly explain to you my shooting ideas." Sokov was worried that Peter could not understand his explanation, so he explained to him: "The self-propelled artillery you delivered to us is too crude.
There is only a circular protective plate around the artillery to protect the crew, which is obviously not enough. As long as a shell explodes next to the artillery during battle, it will cause casualties to the crew.
...According to my design idea, two GAZ-202 engines are placed in parallel to replace the straight line of the T-70, and a closed armor plate with a thickness of 10~35 mm is added. The cockpit is placed in the middle of the two engines, with a
driven by a driver; the ZIS-3 artillery is installed on the superstructure, the entire superstructure is rear-mounted, and the gunner is three people..."
After Sokov introduced his ideas, he tentatively asked Peter: "Comrade factory director, I would like to ask, according to my design plan, how long will it take you to produce a prototype car?"
After Peter stared at what he recorded for a while, he replied: "Comrade Colonel, according to your plan, even if we arrange for manpower to work overtime, it will take at least five to seven days to produce a prototype car."
Hearing that only one prototype car could be produced, and that it would take five to seven days, Sokov felt very disappointed. However, on second thought, the current production capacity of the Red October Factory was simply not enough to rush into the city with the enemy.
Compared with before, the time given by Peter should already be the limit they can achieve.
Thinking of this, Sokov no longer forced others to make things difficult. He could only bite the bullet and said: "Okay, comrade factory director, then please ask the comrades workers in the factory to speed up the production of new self-propelled artillery in the shortest possible time."
come out."
"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel, we will definitely not let you down." After Peter said this, he suddenly remembered that he had handed over two untested self-propelled artillery pieces to Sokov. He didn't know whether
After participating in the battle, he asked tentatively: "Have the two self-propelled artillery pieces I handed over to you been put into battle?"
"Not yet, Comrade Director." As soon as Sokov finished saying this, he heard Peter sigh on the phone, seeming to regret that this new weapon could not be put into battle in time, so he quickly added: "
But don’t worry, I won’t wait long before the two self-propelled artillery pieces can join the battle.”
Before the call with Peter ended, the phone in front of Lyudnikov rang again. Sokov thought it was the commander below calling to report the situation to Lyudnikov, so he didn't pay attention.
After listening for a moment, Lyudnikov stood up, straightened his body and said respectfully into the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Lyudnikov. What instructions do you have?"
After hearing the call from Chuikov, Sokov had no interest in continuing the conversation with Peter. After saying a few words quickly, he hung up the phone and listened carefully to the conversation between Lyudnikov and Chuikov.
dialogue.
"Colonel Lyudnikov," Chuikov asked on the phone: "What's the situation like there? Is the enemy still attacking you?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, not long ago, the enemy dispatched three engineering battalions and launched an attack on us, but we were repelled." Lyudnikov said: "We are preparing to deal with possible attacks by the enemy.
A new round of attack."
"Engineer battalion? The enemy actually put all their engineers into the offensive battle. It seems that their strength is seriously insufficient." Unlike Sokov, Chuikov came from a later generation. This was the first time he heard that the German army dispatched three
When the engineer battalion launched an attack on the barricade factory, they instinctively thought that the enemy did not have enough troops, so that even the engineers with weak combat effectiveness were thrown into the battle.
From Chuikov's words, Lyudnikov realized that the other party might not understand the nature of these three engineer battalions, so he explained: "Comrade Commander, the enemy's engineers are not the kind of engineers we know. Their combat effectiveness is
It is much stronger than ordinary German troops, and the tactics used are also different from other German troops." At this point, he paused for a moment, looked at Sokov standing aside, and added, "What if
If Colonel Sokov had not come up with countermeasures in a timely manner, I think the battle would not have ended yet, and our army's losses would have been much greater than they are now."
"Why, where is Sokov?" Chuikov was surprised to learn that Sokov was staying in the barricade factory at the moment. Although he knew that Sokov personally led the troops into the barricade factory, after such a long time,
He thought that the other party had returned to Mamayev Heights. Thinking that Lyudnikov had asked artillery to fire at his headquarters, Chuikov, worried about Sokov, quickly asked: "How is he? He is not injured."
Bar?"
"No, Comrade Commander." Lyudnikov shook his head and replied: "Colonel Sokov is fine, not injured at all."
"It's good that you're not injured, then I'm relieved." After Chuikov said this, he paused for a moment, and then continued: "Tomorrow evening, the group army headquarters will hold a military meeting. All commanders above the regiment level in the city will
You must participate. If there is no danger on the road from the barricade factory to the headquarters, both you and Sokov will come over for a meeting."
When he learned that a military meeting would be held tomorrow, Lyudnikov looked at Sokov across from him in surprise, and then cautiously asked Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, can you reveal to me the content of the meeting?"
"I'm sorry, Colonel Lyudnikov, I can't fulfill your request for the time being." Chuikov said coldly: "As for the content of the meeting, you will know it when you arrive at the headquarters tomorrow."
Although Chuikov was unwilling to disclose the content of the meeting, Lyudnikov was also a smart man. He realized that what Sokov said to him would soon come true. In the days to come, what he had to consider
The problem is no longer how to defend the barricade factory, but to work with the new troops to eliminate the enemies occupying the factory area one by one.
As soon as he put down the phone, Lyudnikov excitedly said to Sokov: "Colonel Sokov, good news! Commander Chuikov informed us to attend the military meeting tomorrow night. It seems that your guesses are accurate.
.”
Sokov was worried that the enemy had penetrated into the rear of the defense line. The road from the factory to the army headquarters was not as safe as imagined. He looked at Lyudnikov and said: "Comrade Colonel, I am worried about the road leading to the headquarters.
On this road, there may be enemy stragglers. If a large group of us are attacked by the Germans on the way to a meeting, there will inevitably be casualties. Once a regiment-level commander dies, it will definitely affect the subsequent
Come down and command the operations. In order to prevent this from happening, I think it is necessary to send troops to patrol that area to eliminate the enemies that have sneaked behind our defense lines."
Lyudnikov knew that the road leading to the headquarters was very unsafe. Even when the two self-propelled artillery guns were transported from the Red October factory, everything was peaceful along the way. But that was because Sokov dispatched a security platoon to respond.
. Even if there are lurking enemies, they would not dare to act rashly after seeing such a battle. But if I take a group of commanders to a meeting, those lurking German soldiers will never let go of such an important target easily.
Once one of his subordinates suffers casualties, the gains will really outweigh the losses.
"You're right." Although Lyudnikov knew in his heart that even if he sent out a patrol, it might not be able to eliminate the lurking enemies, but it could give him some comfort. Thinking of this, he immediately nodded and said:
"I immediately mobilized my manpower and formed two teams of twenty to patrol in that area to ensure that the enemies lurking in the rear did not dare to act rashly."