Major William Weiman, commander of the 294th Engineer Battalion, never dreamed that his troops would step on a landmine during the retreat. In the bright and dying light of the explosion, he saw his men being blown up into the sky and turned into pieces.
When the debris fell, I couldn't help but feel a little thump in my heart, and said to myself: "What the hell, why are there landmines on the way we retreat?"
Major Weiman clearly remembered that in order to prevent accidental damage, all minefields were laid on the side facing the Russian positions. Therefore, during the retreat, he did not send special personnel to explore the way. At this moment, he saw that his troops were trapped in
When he encountered a minefield, he quickly ordered to stop advancing and sent people to the front. He wanted to find out one thing: which idiot ordered the laying of mines on the retreat route.
Unexpectedly, before the dispatched people came back, the scream of artillery shells piercing the air suddenly came from the air. Then countless artillery shells fell on the retreating queue and exploded. Countless soldiers were blown away or blown to pieces in the fire.
, the remaining people fell into chaos during the bombardment.
Weiman was sandwiched by his own soldiers and retreated towards the original defense zone, trying to avoid the Russian artillery fire there. As a result, he walked not far forward, but heard a shout muffled by the sound of artillery coming from that direction. It was Shamri.
The Marine Corps battalion led by Captain He shouted "Full Speed Ahead" and rushed towards the German position with weapons in hand.
"Lieutenant Bergmann, Lieutenant Bergmann, where are you?" Hearing the shouts from the distance, although Weiman didn't understand what they meant, he knew in his heart that this was an attack by the Russians.
.He quickly called out the names of his men loudly, hoping that they would organize their strength to block the Russian attack: "Come to me quickly!"
Amid the rumbling explosions, his voice could not reach far at all. Fortunately, the soldiers nearby heard it and shouted too. A German lieutenant heard the shouting and bent down and ran to Weimann's house.
In front of him, he asked loudly: "Mr. Major, what are your instructions?"
"The Russians have begun to attack!" Weiman pointed his hand in the direction of the shouts and said in a panic: "Lieutenant Bergman, you immediately lead the second company back to the original position to block the Russian attack. Understood.
?"
"Mr. Major," the German lieutenant known as Bergmann replied with a complicated expression: "My troops have been shelled by the Russians. They have already lost their organization and cannot be gathered for the time being."
"Damn it!" Weiman had actually seen his soldiers swarming around like headless flies. They would run wherever there were more people. Once they were shelled, they would disperse in a rush. In this kind of situation,
Under such circumstances, it was simply impossible to gather the troops. But Weiman knew better that this was a life-and-death moment. If he did not block the Russian attack, his troops would be in danger of being completely destroyed. He grabbed hold of him.
He grabbed Bergman's lapel and said viciously: "Lieutenant, no matter what method you use, you must stop the Russian attack, otherwise I will shoot you."
Upon hearing Weimann's threat, Bergmann gave a bitter smile and said, "I understand, Mr. Major, I will immediately organize manpower to block the Russian attack."
Bergman ran to the side and shouted loudly at the running soldiers, trying to calm them down. However, his voice was covered by the sound of artillery, and it was of no use at all. After shouting for a while, people around him
However, after gathering more than a dozen soldiers, the only available weapons were a 50mm mortar and only five or six rifles.
Seeing that the Soviet army had broken through the position and rushed towards his position, Bergmann did not bother to contain the troops, so he directly directed the artillery to set up mortars and bombard the approaching Soviet army.
Even though the German army fell into chaos after stepping on landmines and being shelled, the artillery's technical and tactical level was still quite high. Following Bergman's order, the artillery was set up within twenty seconds.
Mortars and shelling began.
The shells fell and exploded among the Soviet troops. From time to time, commanders and soldiers fell down in the explosion, but the remaining people still rushed forward without hesitation. The mortar operator fired two more rounds and saw that the Soviet soldiers had rushed up to more than ten meters.
From the outside position, knowing that it was useless to fire any more guns, they shouted and fled in all directions.
Lieutenant Bergman, who was directing the artillery fire, saw the Soviet troops in black uniforms and rushed in front of him in the blink of an eye. Knowing that whether he rushed forward or retreated, he would not escape death, so he threw himself into a nearby
He pretended to be dead in the bomb crater to avoid the rushing Soviet commanders and soldiers.
Shamrih, who was commanding the troops to charge, was stopped by his deputy battalion commander. He realized that if his troops continued to charge, they might rush into the area covered by artillery fire and cause unnecessary casualties, so he quickly issued the order to stop the attack.
The order was given. But before the order could be passed on, the artillery fire that had been roaring just now suddenly stopped.
"What's going on?" Seeing that the artillery fire stopped, Shamrih asked Yakuda in confusion: "Deputy battalion commander, why didn't our artillery fire?"
Yakuda didn't know why the artillery stopped shelling. He looked around and said tentatively: "Is it because the artillery was worried about accidentally hurting us, so it stopped the shelling."
"It doesn't look like it," Shamrih looked at the location of the artillery position, thought for a moment, and then said to Yakuda: "I think the artillery shells should have been fired."
"All the artillery shells have been fired?" Yakuda said with some confusion: "No way, just a few minutes of shelling, and all the artillery shells in stock have been fired?"
"It's very possible." Shamrih recalled that he had chatted with the commanders and fighters of the second battalion and knew that their previous task was to stay behind the entire defense line and cover the artillery positions. The reason why they were moved to the front was because
First, the enemy's offensive was too fierce, and the troops at the front were tight; second, the artillery shell reserves were insufficient: "I once heard the commander of the second battalion mention that there were not many artillery shells left in the artillery regiment."
Now that the shelling has stopped, it is obviously not possible to continue to attack as fiercely as before. Tactics must be adjusted in time, so Yakuda asked cautiously: "Comrade Battalion Commander, what should we do next?"
"Let the soldiers stop attacking and seize favorable terrain on the spot." Shamrih ordered decisively: "Be prepared to deal with the German counterattack."
Shortly after the counterattack at the barricade factory began, the commanders and fighters of the 122nd Regiment who were stationed in the Workers' New Village discovered the situation. They reported the situation to Lieutenant Colonel Papuchenko in a timely manner. Papuchenko found a commanding height and raised his head.
He picked up his binoculars and looked in the direction of the barricade factory for a long time, and then ordered his chief of staff: "Chief of Staff, call the division headquarters and report to them that the troops at the barricade factory have launched a counterattack against the German army. Ask the division commander,
Should we also respond?"
After receiving a call from the chief of staff of the 122nd Regiment, Sidorin reported to Sokov: "Comrade Division Commander, according to the report of the 122nd Regiment, the defenders in the barricade factory are launching a counterattack against the enemy."
"What, the counterattack has started?" Sokov heard Sidorin's report and said with some surprise: "Why didn't Commander Belkin report to me?"
"Maybe they have not made much progress, so Commander Belkin has not reported to you for the time being." After Sidorin finished his guess, he asked Sokov: "Comrade Division Commander, Papuchenko
The lieutenant colonel asked if his regiment also needed to launch a counterattack against the enemy?"
"It's nonsense. What are his troops doing in vain?" Sokov pointed at Sidorin with his hand and said in a stern tone: "Order them to continue to stay on the position, and they are not allowed to attack without my order.
"
After Sokov finished speaking, he picked up another phone and ordered the communications troops to connect to the headquarters of the downsized regiment. After hearing Belgin's voice, Sokov asked straight to the point: "My comrade political commissar, what are you doing?"
Why didn’t the regiment launch a counterattack against the German army and report it to the division headquarters in time?”
"Misha." Belkin replied on the phone: "Our counterattack has just begun and we haven't made any decent progress yet, so I made my own decision and didn't report to you. I hope you won't be angry."
Sokov was eager to understand the situation in the barricade factory and could not blame Belkin, so he asked: "How is the counterattack of Lyudnikov's division? Is it going well?"
"Misha," after hearing Sokov's question, Belkin hesitated for a moment and decided to tell the truth: "They did not launch a counterattack against the German army."
"What, they didn't launch a counterattack against the German army?" Sokov glanced at Golikov sitting aside and asked: "Why?"
"They felt that it was impossible for the German troops to withdraw their positions during the day when they attacked fiercely during the day, so they planned to wait until daytime to see the situation." Perhaps because they were worried that Sokov would snitch on Chuikov, Belkin also
I would like to add: "However, when our regiment counterattacked, the division's artillery regiment also provided us with necessary artillery support."
While Sokov was on the phone, Golikov sat next to him and remained silent. After Sokov put down the phone, he asked: "Colonel Sokov, I want to ask you, why don't you
Let the 122nd Regiment launch a counterattack against the enemy."
"Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army," Sokov had long expected that Golikov would ask this question, so he answered confidently: "The situation in Workers' New Village and Barricade Factory is different. There is an open space between us and the enemy.
, without the cover of artillery fire and tanks, it is very difficult to pass through that open area. Moreover, once the fight broke out at the barricade factory, the enemies opposite Mamayev Hill and Workers' New Village must have been alerted. At this time, we
To launch a counterattack, we can only use a force attack. You also know that artillery cannot accurately hit enemies in the distance at night. Without artillery cover, our attack will be easily defeated by the enemy."
Regarding Sokov's explanation, Golikov thought about the opportunity and finally nodded in agreement. However, he continued to ask: "Then tell me, why is Division Lyudnikov unwilling to agree with you?"
How about joining the troops to launch a counterattack against the enemy? As far as I know, he should have received the counterattack order from Chuikov."
"Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army, I would like to ask a question," Sokov saw Golikov nod slightly and expressed his agreement to ask the question, then continued: "Suppose your defensive zone is attacked by the enemy during the day.
, but someone tells you that the enemy will retreat at night and asks you to counterattack them. What will you do?"
After Golikov finished speaking, he did not answer immediately. Instead, he frowned and tapped his fingers lightly on the table, as if he was thinking about Sokov's question. After a long time, his brows relaxed.
Come, looked at Sokov and said with a wry smile: "Colonel Sokov, I may adopt the same cautious attitude as Colonel Lyudnikov and not send out troops to counterattack for the time being, but will observe the situation first."
Sidorin was worried that Sokov's words would anger Golikov, and he couldn't help but feel his heart in his throat. But at this moment, seeing that Golikov agreed with Sokov's statement, his worried heart was restored.
After heaving a sigh of relief, he said to Golikov: "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army, if the division commander is right, I guess there is no counterattack against the enemy in the Dzerzhinsky Factory at this moment.
"
"It is entirely possible." Golikov expressed support for Sidorin's statement: "The enemy's crazy attack during the day has made our commanders cautious. Even if they know that the enemy may retreat,
They don't dare to take risks easily. On the contrary, it is a young commander like Sokov who has a lot of momentum and is able to launch the necessary counterattack against the enemy in time and according to the intentions of his superiors, and contain them in the city."
After a pause, Golikov asked Sokov again: "Colonel Sokov, I would like to ask, can your troops launch a comprehensive counterattack against the enemies in front of Mamayev Hills and Workers' New Village during the day?"
"
"It's hard to say, Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army." Sokov replied cautiously: "If there is support from artillery and tank troops, I will definitely be able to carry out a counterattack during the day. But now that Colonel Bely has not arrived yet, our daytime
Whether the attack can be supported by tank troops is still unknown."
After Sokov's reminder, everyone suddenly heard that Colonel Bely had not shown up until now. I wonder if Chuikov refused to let him go, or if he had an accident on the way. Sidorin suggested to Sokov: "
Comrade Division Commander, do you think we should send a small force to meet Colonel Bely and the others?"
"Okay." Sokov knew very well that in the next battle, the tank troops commanded by Bely would play an important role. He could not let any accident happen, so he said to Sidorin: "Let Samoylov
The lieutenant will lead a platoon and go out to respond to ensure that Colonel Bely reaches Mamayev Heights safely."
"Misha, there's no need to trouble your people to make a trip." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, a loud voice came from the door: "I have arrived here safely."
Sokov turned his head and looked towards the door, and saw Colonel Bely standing at the door wearing a military coat, a steel helmet, and holding a submachine gun. He quickly stood up and went to greet him, saying: "Colonel Bely, you are welcome."
Here we come! On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the 41st Guards Division, I welcome you!"