After the explosions one after another, all the soldiers with grenades on them died heroically. Although their sacrifices were only exchanged for the results of blowing up two vehicles, the German tank soldiers were frightened by the fearless spirit of the soldiers. The tanks did not dare to continue moving forward, but just stayed in place and bombarded the Soviet positions not far away with artillery fire.
It was not until the German soldiers arrived that the tanks reactivated and, with the cooperation of the infantry, continued to rush towards the Soviet positions. Because the 157th Division did not lay minefields in front of the positions when building defense fortifications, the German army quickly rushed to a distance of more than 50 meters in the trench.
Seeing the German tanks and infantry approaching the 157th Division's position without a single step, and the faint firepower in the trenches could not stop the German army's advance at all, Cui Kov, who was standing on the high ground, couldn't help but feel anxious. At this moment, Krimov suddenly shouted in surprise: "Comrade Commander, look quickly, tanks, our tanks."
Sokov looked in the direction Krimov pointed, and he saw four tanks running quickly towards the frontier position of the 157th Division. "Where is it?" Cuikov also put down his telescope and asked.
"There are four T-34s, the German tank No. 4 is not their opponent..."
Before Sokov could finish his words, a German tank near the frontier position suddenly appeared with black smoke with flames on its body, and soon the fire spread to the entire body, wrapping the entire tank in the flames.
Seeing the fired tank, Sokov thought to himself: What's going on? How could the German tank suddenly catch fire? Could it be that another brave soldier, holding a cluster grenade, died with the enemy tank? He was thinking this way, and suddenly saw two streams of mud soaring into the sky next to another German tank. Then he suddenly realized that it was the cannon fired by the Soviet tank that had just arrived.
I don’t know which unit these four tanks came from. They did not line up like other tanks and rushed forward with full force. Instead, they used a two-car tactic to alternately cover the rush forward. When the front tank rushed forward, a tank behind stopped firing the cannon; the tank that had fired the cannon continued to rush forward, while the tank rushing in front stopped firing at the target he found.
Although the German tanks parked in front of the Soviet position also fired a counterattack, their shells could not penetrate the front armor of the T-34 at a distance of more than 500 meters. On the contrary, the Soviet tanks could overturn their turrets as soon as they fired. The effort was not great, and the German tanks that once had the advantage became torches burning on the battlefield.
Seeing that all of their tanks were destroyed, the German soldiers who followed the tanks to attack turned around and ran back, crossed the pontoon bridge, and fled back to the south bank.
"Great, our tank soldiers are amazing." Seeing the Germans fleeing back to the south shore, Krimov said excitedly: "It was they who destroyed the enemy's tanks, smashed the enemy's attack, and successfully defended the position."
"Comrade General, something is wrong." Seeing that the German infantry had fled the pontoon bridge in a hurry, Sokov felt an ominous premonition in his heart. He quickly said to Cuikov: "Even if the German tanks were destroyed by our army, their infantry could retreat to the river to hold on. Why retreat to the other side of the river?"
"Chief of Staff, what do you mean?" Trikov looked at Sokov and asked, "Do you think the German retreat is a conspiracy?"
"It's very likely." Sokov nodded and said with certainty: "I think the German infantry retreated to the other side, maybe they are preparing to launch artillery bombardment on our positions."
Cuikov did not refute Sokov's statement. He just looked at the four tanks parked behind the trenches, sighed softly, and said, "God bless, I hope these tanks will survive the shelling that will arrive later. With these tanks as fixed turrets, our army's defensive power can be strengthened."
As soon as Cui Kefu finished speaking, the German shelling began. In a moment, the front position of the 157th Division was blown into a sea of ​​fire. For a moment, shrapnel were splashed in the mud. The civil fortifications on the position were like paper toys, torn and crushed by the power of the explosion and then raised high into the air.
Looking at the dense shells that exploded on the position, Sokov's heart tightened. He didn't know how many people would survive after the round of artillery attacks by the officers and soldiers who were staying in these simple fortifications. Perhaps some companies or battalion-level combat units could cancel their numbers at the moment the guns ended.
Before the shelling was over, another team of German tanks began to pass through the pontoon bridge and headed towards the north shore. On the south shore, hundreds of German soldiers were clearly seen as if they were preparing to launch a new attack.
After passing through the pontoon bridge, the German tanks quickly launched their attack formation. However, they did not attack immediately, but stopped in place and waited for the end of the shelling and the infantry crossing the bridge.
The German army was very good at summarizing the lessons of failure. As soon as the shelling stopped, the gunfire immediately launched an attack without waiting for the smoke from the Soviet positions to dissipate. Hundreds of German soldiers followed behind more than a dozen tanks and spread towards the Soviet defensive positions like a rising tide.
They were getting closer and closer to the position, one hundred meters, ninety meters, eighty meters..., but the Soviet position was still quiet, without any movement. This scene stimulated Cui Kov. He only felt the darkness in front of him, his heart was like a knife, his body shook twice, and then he fell backwards. Fortunately, Sokov and Krimov were quick-eyed and quick-witted, and he held him in time, so he did not let him fall to the ground.
"Comrade Commander, what's wrong with you?" Krimov asked with concern.
Cuikov opened his eyes, shook his head, and said, "It seems that the position of the 157th Division cannot be defended. The enemy not only has an advantage in military strength, but also has much more technical equipment than us. There is no need to continue to fight, and it will only make the soldiers die in vain. Immediately call Colonel Kuropacinko and ask him to withdraw the surviving troops to the second line, and use the method of fighting step by step to slow down the German advancement speed towards Stalingrad."
After Cuikov struggled to stand firm, he said to Sokov: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, from now on, I am removing you from the position of Chief of Staff of the Southern Cluster."
Sokov didn't expect that Cui Kov would suddenly dismiss himself without warning, and asked in surprise: "Comrade General, why is this?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, don't forget that your real position is the brigade commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade." Trikov raised his hand and patted Sokov on his shoulder, saying, "It is an unchangeable fact that the Germans rushed to Stalingrad. Since this place cannot be defended, we can only continue to fight with them in the city. We will never easily hand over the city to the Germans. Go, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, lead your troops in Mamayev hills, and give the Germans a lesson that will never be forgotten."
Chapter completed!