"Comrade Brigade Commander," Just as Sokov watched Asia and Ulanova enter the basement, a soldier hurriedly ran over and stood up to report to him: "The Germans are starting to attack!"
"What, the Germans started to attack?" Although Sokov knew in his heart that the Germans would attack once the shelling stopped, when he heard the news of the enemy's attack, he felt that the enemy was coming too quickly, "Take me to see."
The two driving tracks in the factory were blown up, so Sokov naturally could not climb so high to observe the enemy situation. He squatted behind a pile of rubble and raised his telescope to look into the distance. He saw two or three hundred German soldiers, in sparse formations, carefully entering the factory from the blasted gap.
Brisky, who was commanding the soldiers to unload goods, rushed over after learning about the German attack. After he came to Sokov, he asked excitedly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the Germans have begun to attack. I wonder what kind of troops they have dispatched this time?"
Sokov handed him the telescope and said, "I wonder if the Germans are worried about taking our losses and dare not use tanks, or if the tanks they can use have been lost. This time, only a few hundred infantrymen were dispatched."
"Oh, there are only a few hundred infantrymen?" Brisky said in surprise: "Under the cover of the tank, they were unable to access the factory in the assembly workshop. What role could they do when sending a group of infantrymen?"
Although it was just a group of German infantry that appeared in his sight, Sokov did not dare to take it lightly. After Brisky finished watching the German movements, he spoke: "Comrade Captain, leave the 12th Company as a reserve team. The 10th and 11th Company immediately entered the combat post and opened fire when the German army approached the factory two hundred meters."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, is it a bit too strict for two hundred meters?" After hearing Sokov's deployment, Brisky said unwillingly: "I think we can also put the enemy closer to attack."
"The German shelling has almost removed the barbed wire and obstacles on the north side of the factory." Seeing that Brisky did not understand what he meant, Sokov explained to him: "When they attack, they can use the dense craters to approach our army's positions, and then rush into the factory from areas without obstacles. Therefore, we must fire early so that the enemy can be wiped out further."
"I understand, comrade brigade commander." Brisky and Sokov finished speaking, immediately straightened his body and said, "I will order the troops to carry out positions and open fire when the enemy is two hundred meters away from us."
According to Sokov's idea, the troops blocked the enemy two hundred meters away, and organized a group of sharpshooters to go to the roof or on the driving track to snipe the enemies hiding in the craters, and consumed the attacking Germans bit by bit. Unexpectedly, the plan could not keep up with the changes. When the Germans entered four hundred meters, they suddenly used 50mm-caliber mortars to fire a large number of smoke bombs at the location of the factory. For a time, inside and outside the factory were shrouded in thick white smoke.
"Damn it! These damn German guys actually fired smoke bombs to interfere with our sight." Sokov didn't expect that the Germans would fire smoke bombs, which was a situation he had never encountered in the battle. Although the smoke blocked the sight of both sides, the situation was obviously more beneficial to the Germans, because they just had to charge towards the location of the factory. The Soviet army, who was defending, had no idea where the enemy would appear, and seemed a little panicked for a moment.
Soon, some soldiers who were unable to hold back shot into the smoke. When they heard someone shooting, the soldiers around them couldn't figure out what was going on, and they pulled the trigger one after another. For a moment, gunfire sounded on the position.
Sokov quickly grabbed the phone that was set aside, answered Brisky's command post, and shouted loudly: "Comrade Captain, immediately order your soldiers to stop shooting. If you shoot without targets like this, your precious ammunition will be consumed soon."
"Comrade Brigade Commander." Brisky said in embarrassment: "Our position has been shrouded in smoke. The soldiers did not know where the enemy was or when they would suddenly appear in front of them. They were nervous for a moment and couldn't help but shoot."
"Let them all stop and don't waste ammunition. Maybe when you fire your guns, the Germans were hiding in a crater not far from them. Just wait for our soldiers to shoot out the bullets and they will rush up." Sokov shouted at the microphone in a furious manner: "If all ammunition is consumed, you can only fight with the enemy for bayonets."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, I have a suggestion." Brisky said carefully: "Can you fire a few new rockets at the places where the enemy may gather?"
"No, comrade Captain, don't even think about it." Sokov refused Brisky's proposal without hesitation and said in a stern tone: "New rockets are used to deal with the gathering of German infantry and armored troops, and must not be used to attack targets that cannot be seen clearly in the smoke."
With the order issued, the gunshots that were originally like a bean-burning disappeared, and the entire battlefield became quiet again. Sokov calculated silently in his heart: four hundred meters can run for up to one and a half minutes; but at this moment, the smoke blocked the sight of both sides. Even if the Germans would not get lost in the smoke, their forward speed would be affected. The time they approached the factory should be at least one or two times more, that is, the response time for Brisky's troops was only four or five minutes at most. If the traces of the German army could not be found during this period, then it would be time to fight melee and hand-to-hand combat.
Thinking of this, Sokov took off the assault rifle that had been on his back, turned on the insurance, and was ready to fight against the Germans who suddenly appeared beside him.
Fortunately, Stalingrad is a city built by the Volga River. The cold wind blowing from the river quickly blew the smoke, allowing the commanders and soldiers who were standing on the position to see the shadows moving in the smoke. This time, without waiting for anyone to give orders, the gunshots on the position sounded again. This time, the soldiers were not aimless. They aimed at the shadows in the smoke, pulled the trigger calmly, and knocked down one German soldier after another.
By the way, the Germans' tactics were completely correct. They used smoke bombs to interfere with the defenders' sight, and then appeared unexpectedly in front of the defenders, catching the other side off guard in order to achieve the goal of seizing the position. Who knew that human calculations were not as good as heaven's calculations. When the Germans fired smoke bombs, they ignored the cold wind on the Volga River, which resulted in their failure in their plans.
When the smoke had almost dissipated, at least half of the attacking Germans fell down, while the rest hurriedly hid in the crater and shot against the commanders and fighters who were staying in the fortifications.
If it were just shooting at the target, the German soldiers would not be able to cover them. But what they did not expect was that more than a dozen sharpshooters sent by Sokov actually hid on the roof or on the driving track, sniping the German soldiers hiding in the crater from a high place.
The enemy could hit him, but he didn't even know where the enemy was. Sokov's tactic made the German officers and soldiers crazy because they had never encountered any Soviet troops. When fighting with them, they would use this tactic that they could not even fight back. In this case, the German soldiers could not continue to persevere. After a while of guns, they retreated in shame.
The German army's attack in the assembly workshop ended in failure again, but the attack in the family area achieved considerable results. They and the Guard Division fought one floor after another in the building, and tried hard to drive the Soviet commanders and fighters out of one building after another.
After learning about this hour, Guriev couldn't help but lock him every day. He looked at Zalijiuk and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what's going on? Our soldiers were not fighting well, why are they so vulnerable now? The positions of the 112th and 117th Guards' positions are constantly shrinking under the attack of the German army. If they continue to fight like this, the family area will be completely occupied by the German army in at most two or three days."
Zalijiuk picked up a piece of information he had just received and handed it to Guriev, saying, "Comrade Commander, this is a piece of information we just got from the intelligence personnel."
"What information?" Guriev took the situation from Zalijuk's hand and said to himself: "Is the information provided by these intelligence personnel reliable?"
"It should be reliable, comrade of the division commander." Zalijiuk said respectfully: "After getting this information, I immediately sent someone to conduct reconnaissance. If everything goes well, we will be able to figure out the truth or falsehood of this information in another half an hour."
The answer came out soon, and after reading it, Zalijiuk was shocked. But he quickly returned to normal. He said to Guriev: "Comrade Commander, after our verification, the situation provided by the intelligence personnel operating behind the enemy is completely correct. The Germans also transferred Dr. Kofes's 295th Infantry Division to participate in the attack on us."
"It's enough for us to deal with a 100th Hunter Division." Guriev said with a bitter face: "Now there is another 295th Infantry Division. We can't deal with the two German divisions. Maybe we can only retreat into the factory and compete with them inside."
"Comrade Commander, I haven't finished speaking yet." Zalijiuk and Guriyev's words came to an end, and then said: "In the information, it was also mentioned that an armoured German division was gathering, and he must soon go north to participate in the attack on the factory area."
"Hell, it's really a ghost." Guriev was so angry that he slapped the table with his hands, and then said weakly: "The terrain of the factory area is flat, which is conducive to the development of armored forces. If they use all their main forces here, this family area will probably not be able to defend at all."
"Comrade Commander, due to the restrictions of the terrain, our troops in the family area can completely curb the attack of the Germans." As the chief of staff of the division, Zalijiuk felt that it was necessary to remind the other party: "What we are worried about now is the factory area behind us. Once Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's troops cannot defend the assembly workshop, the Germans will cut off our retreat and encircle us and destroy us."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I'll leave it to you." Guriev stood up, picked up a helmet and buckled it on his head, and said to Zalijiuk: "I need to go out for a walk."
Seeing that Guriyev was leaving, Zalijiuk was surprised. He asked quickly: "Comrade Commander, where are you planning to go?"
"I'm going to the assembly workshop and asking the Lieutenant Colonel Sokov in person how long they can last there." Guriev said: "I want to figure out whether they can help us avoid the tragic fate of being attacked from both sides."
"What, comrade instructor, are you going to the assembly workshop now?" Zalijuk couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise when he heard Guriev say this: "Didn't you say you'll go after dark? Why did you suddenly get the time ahead?"
"My Chief of Staff," said Guriev with a wry smile: "The current situation of war has initiated unexpected changes. The Germans suddenly launched a large increase in troops to us. In other words, their purpose of fighting is to occupy us, obtain an offensive starting point, and directly threaten the ferry by the Volga River. I went to see Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, just to figure out how many days he could last there with his strength, which was related to whether we could defend the Red October Tractor Factory."
Zalijiuk felt that Guriyev’s words were reasonable, so he did not persuade him anymore, but took the initiative to express his opinion: “Comrade, since you said that, then go to the assembly workshop with confidence. I have everything here. I will never rush in from the main entrance of the factory.”
After picking up the phone and answering the guard company, he said to the microphone: "I am Guriyev, immediately prepare two jeeps for me, take a guard squad away, and follow me to the assembly workshop for a trip."
Not long after he put down his phone, the guard company commander ran in happily, stood up and saluted Guriev and said, "Comrade Commander, I am ready for the jeep and guard squad you need, and I can set off at any time."
"Let's go, comrade Captain." Guriyev raised his hand and looked at his watch, then stood up and said to his guard company commander: "It's getting late, we must go to the assembly workshop as soon as possible." The guard company commander agreed, and was about to say something, but saw Guriyev walking outside with big stances. He did not dare to neglect and hurriedly chased after him.
Chapter completed!