"Your Excellency, Commander, please listen to my explanation!" Heim heard the anger in Paulus's voice and hurriedly explained: "According to the report of Colonel Oberon, commander of the 204th Armored Regiment, in order to better
To conceal our tanks and prevent them from becoming targets of Russian aircraft, these tanks are usually parked in dug earth pits and covered with straw.
Unexpectedly, when these tanks were just started, a large number of rats were found nesting in the straw. When they got into the tanks in search of food, they bit off the rubber insulation layer of the wires, causing the tanks to have an electrical failure, causing the igniter to explode.
Neither the turret nor the main gun can be used.
What's even more troublesome is that the tanks lack anti-skid tracks in winter, and the roads they rely on are icy. Many tanks slipped from one side of the road to the other while traveling, and there was even a tank.
Overturned..."
"That's enough, stop talking." Paulus didn't wait for the other party to finish speaking, and interrupted him angrily: "In addition to the 22nd Armored Division, your army also has a Romanian 1st Armored Division. What's their situation?
So, can we dispatch immediately?"
Heim is not only the commander of the 48th Armored Corps, but also the commander of the 22nd Armored Division. He heard from Paulus's words that he planned to replace his own troops with the Romanian Armored Division, which he did not agree with.
Would like to see.
After hesitating for a moment, he said: "Your Excellency, Commander, although the Romanian 1st Armored Division has 108 tanks, it only has ten Panzer III tanks. The rest are captured Czech 38-T tanks. In armor and
In terms of firepower, it is far inferior to the Russian T-34. Even if the division is moved to a new defensive zone, it will not have much effect."
"Then what are you going to do?" Paulus asked.
"I think we should wait until the 204th Armored Regiment arrives at the designated location, then mix the tanks that can still be used with armored vehicles, motorcycles and motorized infantry companies to form a battle group." Heim said without thinking: "Just call it
'Oberon Battle Group'."
"Okay, General Heim, I agree with your plan to form an 'Oberon Battle Group' in the new combat area." Paulus said helplessly: "I wish you good luck!"
As soon as Paulus put down the phone, he saw Schmidt hurriedly opened the door and walked in. He couldn't help but curiously asked: "Chief of Staff, you are so anxious, what happened?"
Schmidt walked quickly to Paulus and said anxiously: "Your Excellency, Commander, I just received a report from the latent post deployed on the shore. The Russian communication line on the Volga River has been restored."
"What, the traffic line on the Volga River has been restored?" Paulus had an expression of disbelief on his face: "How did they do it?"
"It is said that several small gunboats were used to forcibly break the ice on the river and open up a channel." Schmidt reported: "But the small gunboats are not icebreakers after all. The channel they opened is very narrow, so they can only
For two or three transport ships to pass."
"Get in touch with the Air Force immediately." Paulus must not allow the Soviet transportation lines to be easily restored. As soon as Schmidt finished speaking, he immediately ordered him: "Let the Air Force dispatch aircraft, and the Russian transportation lines must be destroyed and cut off.
Their connection with the other side.”
"We can't dispatch the air force." Schmidt pointed to the air with his hand and said awkwardly: "It's snowing outside, and the air force planes can't take off for combat at all..."
Before he finished speaking, the phone on the table rang suddenly. Paulus walked over, picked up the phone, and said into the receiver: "I'm Paulus!"
The call came from Kurtzbach, commander of the 51st Army. He reported to Paulus in a panic: "Your Excellency, Commander, according to reports from the forward troops, a large number of Russian transport planes have flown over from the east bank of the Volga River and are attacking
Airdrop to the defenders in the factory area!"
"What, the Russians are airdropping?!" Paulus glanced out the window. The snow outside was falling rapidly, and snowflakes like broken flakes were falling from the sky. He said in surprise: "The Russians are crazy.
Really? With such heavy snow, they actually dispatched transport planes to airdrop the defenders in the factory area?"
"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander." Kurtzbach said helplessly: "I also think the Russians are crazy. I estimate that in such weather, few of the transport planes participating in the airdrop will be able to land safely."
"General Kurtzbach, we must not let the Russians get airdrops, so that they can hold on in the city longer." Paulus gritted his teeth and said: "Use anti-aircraft firepower immediately to shoot down the Russian planes.
.Also, order the forward troops to attack and seize the airdropped supplies, and they must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Russians."
"Understood, Your Excellency, Commander." Kurtzbach replied quickly: "I will immediately carry out your order and shoot down all the Russian transport planes that are airdropping."
Schmidt also heard the conversation between Paulus and Kurtzbach. After Paulus put down the phone, he said with a grimace: "Your Excellency, Commander, the Russians are really crazy. In such bad weather,
How dare you dispatch transport planes to airdrop for the city’s defenders.”
Paulus nodded and said: "I didn't know until today that the Russians are all madmen. We have been fighting a group of madmen. It is strange that we can win."
As for why the Soviet army dispatched transport planes to airdrop the defenders in the factory on a snowy day, Schmidt asked puzzledly: "Your Excellency, Commander, I don't understand what the Russians would do in such a bad situation."
If airdrops are carried out due to bad weather, aren’t they afraid of losing all the transport planes?”
"Chief of Staff, have you forgotten that the air control over Stalingrad has always been in our hands?" Upon hearing Schmidt's question, Paulus said somewhat proudly: "The Russians have no choice.
We chose this kind of weather where our air force cannot be dispatched to carry out airdrops for the city's defenders. However, I will not let them do what they want. I have ordered Kurtzbach to use anti-aircraft fire to shoot down these transport aircraft. As for what has happened
If the supplies are dropped, our soldiers will snatch them from the hands of the Russians."
…………
Sokov returned to the barricade factory and asked Lyudnikov about the situation in the factory. Knowing that there was no movement from the enemy, he found a place to sleep peacefully.
He was sleeping soundly when he was shaken awake by Samoilov. He opened his eyes, stared at Samoilov in front of him, and asked impatiently: "Comrade Lieutenant, what happened?"
"Comrade Division Commander," Samoilov said with some excitement: "Colonel Lyudnikov just received a call from the headquarters, saying that our transport plane will soon be airdropping over the factory, and ordered us to pay attention.
Collect airdrop supplies.”
"Airdrop?!" Sokov turned his head and looked out through the gap in the wall. Seeing heavy snow falling outside, he couldn't help but said in surprise: "Oh my god, is the person who gave the order crazy? He actually let our transport plane drop in
Aren't you worried about a plane crash if you are dispatched in such bad weather?"
Sokov was originally sleeping in his clothes, but when he learned that a plane was coming to airdrop, he quickly got out of bed, put on his boots and headed towards Lyudnikov's headquarters.
Seeing Sokov's appearance, Lyudnikov's face showed a smile: "Colonel Sokov, you are here. Lieutenant Samoilov must have told you that our air force is about to conduct an airdrop over the factory area.
, our superiors ordered us to pay attention to collecting airdrop supplies. As long as we have enough ammunition and supplies, we can hold on until the day we destroy the enemy."
Sokov disagrees with airdrops in heavy snow. In such bad weather, pilots cannot see the targets on the ground clearly, and they can only make airdrops based on their approximate locations. Today, most areas in the factory area
, are all under the control of the Germans, and most of the materials dropped will probably fall into the hands of the Germans.
It was based on this concern that after Lyudnikov finished speaking, he said with a straight face: "Comrade Colonel, you have stayed in the barricade factory longer than me, and you are more familiar with the terrain of the factory than I am. Now the factory area is absolutely
Most of them are occupied by the enemy, and our air force is airdropping without seeing the target clearly. How much material do you think can fall into the area under our control?"
Sokov's words reminded Lyudnikov, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared. After a moment, he said seriously: "This situation should be reported to the superiors immediately to ask them to stop airdrops..."
Hearing what Lyudnikov said, Sokov shook his head and said with a wry smile: "It's too late, Comrade Colonel. Didn't you hear the roar of the engine in the sky? In a few minutes at most, the plane will arrive.
Over the barricade factory. Even if you call the commander now, he can't make the plane return."
Lyudnikov put down the microphone in his hand and asked anxiously: "Colonel Sokov, what should we do? Are we really going to watch the enemy snatch away all our airdrop supplies?"
"How can we let the enemy steal our airdropped supplies?" Sokov said firmly: "We should stop the troops immediately and go to the factory to compete with the enemy for supplies."
"I will call the commanders of each regiment immediately." Lyudnikov picked up the phone again and prepared to call his subordinates: "Let them prepare to seize supplies."
This time Sokov did not stop Lyudnikov from calling, but reminded him: "Comrade Colonel, although I have no right to give orders to your troops, I still recommend that you let snipers and mortarmen follow these
Group operations to reduce casualties among soldiers while transporting supplies."
"Colonel Sokov, you are right." Lyudnikov nodded and said, "You will make your intentions clear to the soldiers below."
A few minutes later, a group of Soviet transport planes appeared in the sky above the barricade factory. Unable to see the ground targets clearly, the planes successively lowered their altitude. Unexpectedly, they were attacked by ground anti-aircraft machine gun fire. Unfortunately, one plane was hit.
Dragging a long tail of smoke, he fell headlong into a ruined wall. After a dazzling fire, there was another earth-shattering explosion. The crew members and the materials on the plane were all destroyed in the flames.
For ashes.
Seeing that their comrades' planes were shot down, the remaining planes could only raise their altitude to avoid the anti-aircraft fire on the ground. The pilots knew that they had reached the sky above the barricade factory. Although they did not know the specific location of the friendly forces, they still opened the hatches.
The airdrop began. They hoped that some of the dropped supplies would reach the hands of friendly forces, and they would have completed their mission.
Seeing the white parachutes blooming in the sky, both Soviet commanders and German officers and soldiers rushed towards the direction where the parachutes landed, trying to move the airdrop supplies away before the other side.
A small team of the Soviet army was the first to find a few parachutes. Just as they began to transport supplies, intensive gunfire rang out from the ruins not far away. It turned out that a group of German soldiers who had just arrived were shooting at them.
Several unprepared soldiers were shot immediately and fell down, their blood staining the snow red. The remaining soldiers quickly lay down on the spot and fired back at the enemy.
The battle here was just the beginning. A few minutes later, gunshots and explosions rang out from all directions. They were all exchanges of fire between Soviet commanders and German soldiers fighting for airdrop supplies.
Although Lyudnikov assigned tasks to the commanders of each regiment, he told them to send snipers and mortarmen to pass. However, the strength of these regiments was originally limited, and snipers and mortarmen were nowhere to be found. Therefore, in
In the battle with the Germans for supplies, they could not gain any upper hand.
When Lyudnikov learned that while his troops were collecting airdrop supplies, they had a firefight with the German troops who came to snatch the supplies, and caused a lot of casualties, he stamped his feet anxiously. But he also knew that this situation
It was unavoidable. After all, the troops he had now were limited, and there was even a shortage of snipers and mortars. Therefore, he could only shamelessly say to Sokov: "Colonel Sokov, you also heard that my troops
During the process of snatching the airdrop supplies, we were attacked by the Germans. The commanders and soldiers suffered heavy casualties. I wonder if you can send someone to support them?"
"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel, you and I are friendly forces. If you are in trouble, I will definitely send someone to support you." After Sokov finished speaking, he picked up the phone in front of him that could directly contact Belkin and said into the phone:
"Commander Belkin, did you hear the gunshots ringing in the factory area? ... If you heard it, I now order you to immediately send snipers and mortars to areas where supplies are being fought to support the 138th Division.
Comrade."
Belkin, who answered the phone, heard that Sokov did not call himself "comrade political commissar" as usual, but instead called himself leader of the regiment in an official manner. He realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly replied:
"Understood, Comrade Division Commander, I will immediately send people to support the comrades of the 138th Division."
After saying this, he paused for a moment, and then added: "However, the number of snipers and mortar operators in my hands is limited. I am afraid that I cannot support so many fighting locations at the same time. I can only separate the snipers and mortar operators.
Let them rush to different locations at the same time to support..."
For the first time, Sokov noticed that Belkin was so verbose. Before he could finish speaking, he interrupted what he was saying: "Okay, my comrade political commissar, send the people out quickly, it will be too late if it is later.
"
"Understood!" Belkin replied loudly and quickly: "I immediately asked the soldiers to set off and rush to support the friendly comrades!"