As early as mid-October, the Lyudnikov Division holding the barricade factory was attacked by the 305th Infantry Division. They occupied an excellent defensive position. With the cooperation of the remnants of the 138th and 308th Infantry Divisions, they used
Every building in the factory and every broken wall in the ruins mounted a tenacious defense, preventing the German army from succeeding in their plan to seize the factory.
Especially a heavy rain in late October brought the German offensive to a standstill. Chuikov took advantage of this favorable opportunity and ordered Lyudnikov to launch a counterattack against the 305th Infantry Division. The defense areas of the German 576th and 578th Regiments
, after being attacked by artillery fire from the east bank of the Volga River, Lyudnikov sent two regiments to launch a counterattack against the enemy's positions.
Troops from both sides launched a fierce tug-of-war around the No. 6 production workshop and the No. 4 assembly workshop in the factory. In the end, the 305th Division Commander Auburn Rand saw that his troops suffered heavy casualties and did not ask the commander of the 51st Army for instructions.
In the case of Kurtzbach, he ordered the troops to withdraw from the barricade factory without authorization.
Due to Oppenlander's arrogance, he was quickly dismissed from his post by Paulus, and the troops were transferred to the second line for rest and recuperation. It was under this circumstance that Steinmetz was appointed as the acting division commander of the 305th Division.
, the day after he took office, his military rank was promoted from colonel to major general, and his position was changed from acting division commander to full division commander.
Now the 577th Regiment of the German 305th Division has returned to the barricade factory. The central factory area, the southern factory area, and part of the northern factory area that the two sides had repeatedly fought for have completely fallen into the hands of the German army. What Lyudnikov's division can control is
A narrow area in the north.
While the troops were still gathering, Steinmetz received a call from Brandt from the front: "Your Excellency, division commander, the scouts I sent reported that the Russians have sent reinforcements to the factory."
When he learned that the Soviet army had increased its troops, Steinmetz was shocked and asked quickly: "How many troops are there and do they have heavy weapons?"
"There are about more than a thousand people." Brandt replied: "They are all equipped with German equipment. Except for a few MG34 general-purpose machine guns, they do not have any heavy weapons."
"What, all German equipment?" When he first heard that the Soviet reinforcements were only more than a thousand people, Brandt really didn't take it to heart. According to his idea, one company of his own troops could deal with Russia.
With one battalion commander and more than a thousand reinforcements, he only needed to send out two companies to deal with them. But then after hearing that the reinforcements were all equipped with German equipment, he suddenly thought of a weapon that made him
The frightened troops asked tentatively: "Have you figured out the number of this unit?"
"Not yet." Brandt replied: "Since the battle has not started yet, we have not captured any prisoners, so we cannot figure out the number of the Russian troops coming for reinforcements."
"Lieutenant Colonel Brandt," Hearing Brandt's reply that he didn't understand the opponent's number, he immediately felt dissatisfied. If he didn't find out whether the reinforcements were the kind of troops that would give him a headache, what would happen next?
The battle will be difficult to fight. Thinking of this, he said in a stern tone: "I will give you half an hour to make sure you find out the number of the Russian unit that is reinforcing the barricade factory. Do you understand?"
"Half an hour?" Brandt felt a headache from Steinmetz's order. The scouts he sent reported that the Russians were heavily defended and they could not get close to the opponent's position. In this case, how could he
Capture the prisoner and ask for the other party's serial number? Thinking of this, he asked tentatively: "Your Excellency, half an hour is too short, can you give me a little more time?"
"No time, Lieutenant Colonel Brandt." Steinmetz said to Brandt in an unquestionable tone: "I will only give you half an hour. If the time is up and you haven't figured out how to reinforce this unit,
The number of the Russian troops, I will find someone to take your place, you can take care of yourself."
When Steinmetz put down the phone, the division chief of staff standing next to him asked curiously: "Your Excellency, division commander, have you figured out the Russians' numbers? Will it have no impact on our attack?"
"Chief of Staff!" Seeing that his Chief of Staff took the reinforcements from the barricade factory so lightly, Steinmetz said to him with a straight face: "If other Russian troops come with more reinforcements, I will have the confidence to defeat them."
Annihilated in the factory. But if Sokov's troops come, it will be bad news for us."
The division chief of staff originally thought that the division commander was a bit neurotic, but there were only a thousand Russian troops, and only two companies could defeat them or even annihilate them. But when he heard Sokov's name mentioned, he couldn't help but feel moved.
: "Your Excellency, Commander, are you talking about the Sokov who stood firm on Mamayev Heights?"
"If it wasn't him, who else could it be?" Steinmetz was in a particularly complicated mood at the moment. He originally thought that capturing the barricade factory would be his first victory after taking office, which would help him establish enough prestige in the division, but he didn't expect it.
A reinforcement force appeared out of thin air, and it might be the force he was most afraid of. He couldn't help but worry about the battle that would follow. "If it was really his troops who came to reinforce us, our original battle plan might
We need to make adjustments, and the other two regiments must also be transferred."
Although the division chief of staff had heard about Sokov, he only heard about it. After all, his troops had not dealt with Sokov's troops. Sometimes he even thought that the rumors he heard were just rumors.
Unreliable. If there really was such a force in Stalingrad, then why did the Russian army of hundreds of thousands retreat from the Don River to Stalingrad so quickly? This was obviously a deliberate move by the Russians in order to stabilize military morale.
Rumors spread.
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, I don't think it's such a coincidence. After all, there is a Red October Factory between our place and Mamayev Heights." After a brief consideration, the division chief of staff said to Steinmetz.
: "So what if Sokov personally brings troops to reinforce? There are just over a thousand people and no heavy weapons. Unless he is God, he will not be able to stop our army's attack."
The words of the division chief of staff did not make Steinmetz let go of his fear of Sokov. He smiled bitterly and said: "Chief of staff, immediately notify Colonel Wenzel of the 578th Regiment and ask him to start gathering troops immediately.
Be prepared to enter the barricade factory to support the 577th Regiment if necessary."
Sokov never dreamed that his name would frighten Steinmetz, commander of the German 305th Division, who was assigning tasks to Lieutenant Porochenko, the commander of the artillery company of the downsized regiment.
"Comrade Lieutenant," Sokov asked Porochenko: "How many rocket launchers are equipped in your company?"
Some time ago, as soon as the rocket launchers shipped from Moscow arrived, Sokov asked Porochenko and others to receive this batch of equipment, and asked them to follow the instructors to learn how to use the rocket launchers. In order to allow these secret weapons to be used in defense
Sokov must be aware of the huge role it plays.
"Comrade division commander," Porochenko replied: "We only brought ten rocket launchers here, and the rest are stored in the underground warehouse of the Red October Factory, guarded by a squad of soldiers." Before Soko could wait.
When my husband asked again, he took the initiative to explain, "I have prepared for the worst. Even if we all die in the battle to defend the barricade factory, the remaining soldiers will still be an anti-tank force that cannot be underestimated."
Sokov was very satisfied with Porochenko's precautionary approach. He nodded and then asked: "At what distance can you effectively destroy the enemy's target?" Don't look at what Yakov said.
The data sounds pretty good, but the actual situation can only be understood through use on the battlefield.
"In training, our soldiers can accurately hit the target at a range of eighty meters." Porochenko said cautiously: "But we have never used this weapon on the battlefield. I don't know.
When soldiers see tanks coming towards them, will they become panicked, which will affect their performance?"
"Comrade Lieutenant, as a special anti-tank force, you do not necessarily have to confront the enemy's tanks from the front." Sokov reminded the other party: "You must know that the frontal armor of tanks is the thickest. If you are on the front,
When a shot is fired, a ricochet is formed, which will have a negative impact on the confidence of the soldiers. Therefore, I think you should lurk on the road where the German tanks or assault guns pass and attack their sides, so that the rockets can easily hit them.
Wear the target.”
When Sokov and Porochenko were talking, Lyudnikov, who was sitting not far away, glanced at them from time to time. He wanted to interrupt and ask what the rocket launcher they were talking about was, and whether it could really work.
To deal with enemy tanks? However, out of politeness, he did not interrupt the two of them casually, but sat aside and listened quietly.
After finally waiting for Porochenko to leave, Lyudnikov immediately asked impatiently: "Colonel Sokov, I want to ask you, what is the rocket launcher you just mentioned?"
"It is a new type of individual anti-tank weapon." Sokov said briefly: "It can destroy enemy tanks or assault guns at long distances, so that our soldiers do not have to risk their lives to blow up tanks at close range."
Since he had not seen the actual object, Lyudnikov could not imagine what the rocket launcher looked like, so he asked tentatively: "What does that weapon look like? Is it similar to an anti-tank gun?"
Sokov picked up the pen and paper on the table and drew a sketch on it. After completing the drawing, he pushed it in front of Lyudnikov and explained to him the structure and working principle of the rocket launcher.
After listening to Sokov's introduction, Lyudnikov was somewhat disapproving. He thought that this new anti-tank weapon might be better than an anti-tank gun, but certainly not as good as an anti-tank gun. After all, it was an individual weapon.
, no matter how strong it is, how much stronger can it be? He tried his best to ask in a calm tone: "Colonel Sokov, when do you plan to use this force?"
"I don't know, Comrade Colonel." Sokov unexpectedly replied: "I don't know when to use this force."
Lyudnikov was dumbfounded by Sokov's words. He said to himself that it was a fantasy that you, a division commander, didn't know how to send one of your troops into battle.
Sokov saw Lyudnikov's doubts and explained to him: "Comrade Colonel, this is a brand-new anti-tank force. The role they will play on the battlefield will far exceed our imagination.
, so I will use them as secret weapons and wait until the situation is critical before sending them to the battlefield to deal with German tanks."
From Sokov's tone, Lyudnikov understood that he might not see this special anti-tank unit participating in the battle in a short period of time, and he felt a little disappointed. But when he thought about the upcoming battle, he
Then he asked worriedly: "Colonel Sokov, do you think our current arrangements can block the new German attack?"
As soon as he finished speaking, before Sokov could express his position, the phone on the table rang. He picked up the phone and heard the voice of Major Savage, commander of the artillery regiment: "Comrade division commander, the enemy has begun to attack again."
I attacked."
"The enemy has started attacking again?!" Lyudnikov heard Savage's report, glanced at Sokov next to him, and raised his voice intentionally and asked: "How many troops does the enemy have, and are there any tanks accompanying them?"
"The attacking infantry has about one battalion and six assault guns." Savage replied: "Comrade division commander, what should we do next?"
Lyudnikov did not answer immediately, but looked at Sokov again, as if asking for his opinion. Sokov looked at him for a moment, then stretched out his hand and asked politely: "Comrade Colonel, can you please
Do I give orders to Major Savage?"
"Please, Colonel Sokov." Lyudnikov considered that Sokov had witnessed the establishment of the artillery positions with his own eyes and was more familiar with how to use artillery than he was, so he immediately handed over the microphone and said politely:
"I think it is more appropriate for you to command the artillery than for me."
After receiving Lyudnikov's authorization, Sokov said into the microphone: "Major Savage, Division Commander Lyudnikov has authorized me to use artillery. From now on, you obey my orders."
Savage did not expect that Lyudnikov would hand over the command of the artillery to Sokov, but he soon figured out that the soldiers on the artillery position were basically Sokov's subordinates, and he would naturally take command.
More appropriate than Lyudnikov, he replied resoundingly: "Yes, Comrade Colonel! I will resolutely obey your orders!"
"Major, I now order you to fire immediately!" Seeing that the other party was willing to obey his orders, Sokov decisively issued the order: "Use armor-piercing shells to deal with the enemy's assault guns, and use high-explosive shells to deal with the infantry following the assault guns.
."
As the order was given, the artillery distributed in different positions fired at the same time. The assault gun that opened the way in front became the first target of the attack. Don't forget that the assault gun has no turret and the entire body is low, making it difficult for the artillery to aim, but it cannot stand up to 76
The millimeter artillery fired at a fast rate. One shell missed, and the second and third shells followed one after another. In an instant, the assault gun was exploded into burning torches.
The assault gun was destroyed, and the infantry following behind was also attacked by high-explosive shells. The flying shrapnel cut down the German soldiers near the explosion point into pieces. The soldiers who were lucky enough not to be hit by the shrapnel jumped in one after another.
There was a bomb crater nearby. I lay down at the bottom of the crater and didn't dare to move.
In just five minutes of shelling, all the German assault guns were destroyed, and half of the infantry following the attack were also killed. As soon as the Soviet artillery fire stopped, the German soldiers hiding in the craters hurriedly climbed out and walked toward their positions.
Run away.
Lyudnikov originally thought that repelling the German attack would require another bloody battle. He did not expect that the artillery deployed in the rear fired a round of artillery fire and easily crushed the enemy's attack, which surprised him.
He couldn't stop. He looked at Sokov and asked in surprise: "Colonel Sokov, the enemy's attack was just repelled by us?"
"Yes, they were repulsed." Sokov had just gone to the door to see that the enemy who had suffered losses was indeed fleeing, so he said in a positive tone: "If you don't believe it, you can come to the door and have a look. Even if you don't use it,
With the telescope, you can clearly see the enemy retreating."
"How is this possible?" Lyudnikov had not yet recovered from the shock. He said in surprise: "I didn't expect that the artillery fired at the enemy for a while and actually crushed the enemy's attack. This is simply incredible."
This chapter has been completed!