According to Cuikov's idea, the enemy's ammunition depot was destroyed, and the enemy attacking the Barrier Factory and Derzhinsky Factory would be at least three or five days. Unexpectedly, after just one day, the situation suddenly took a sharp turn.
Less than an hour after the battle started, the 351st Regiment of the 308th Division, which was defending the silicate factory, was surrounded by the German army detoured from the left and right wings. Although the commanders and fighters were brave and tenacious in the battle, they repelled the enemy's attacks many times, and eliminated a lot of enemies and technical equipment. However, the battle lasted until noon, and except for the thirty soldiers in the ditch north of the factory, the rest of the commanders and fighters died heroically.
The regiment political commissar Florov was seriously injured. In order not to let himself be captured by the enemy, he tried his best to ignite the grenade tied to his body and died with the five German soldiers who rushed up.
The 42nd Infantry Brigade and the 6th Guard Tank Brigade in the north of the Silicate Factory had to give up their original defensive positions in the face of the powerful offensive of the 389th Division of the German Army and retreated to the Zhitomire Street near the 97.7 Highlands.
After receiving these battle reports, Cui Kev felt that it was necessary to readjust the defense line, otherwise it would be difficult to block the enemy's fortifications. He grabbed the phone in front of him and ordered the communications soldiers to connect to the headquarters of the 308th Division and prepare to issue orders directly to Gurdiev.
After the phone was answered, he did not care about greetings, but issued a direct order: "Col. Gurdiev, I am Trikov. I now order you: immediately lead the surviving troops to retreat to the new defense zone on the south side, which extends south from Sculpture Street, through Petrozavodsk Street to Bukuruslan Street, where you set up positions to cover the west side of the barricade factory."
"Comrade Commander," said Gurdiev with some hesitation: "Are we giving up the silicate plant like this?"
"Comrade Colonel," Cui Kefu said with a stern face: "Now I don't have any extra reserves in my hands. In order to block the enemy's attack, I can only temporarily shrink the defense line. Don't worry, I will not let you fight alone, there will be someone who will support you soon."
After finishing the call with Gurdiev, Cuikov answered Guryev's command again: "I am Cuikov, Comrade General, now I have an important task to you to complete."
When Guriyev's 39th Guard Division evacuated from the Red October Factory, there were only less than 3,000 people left in the entire division. After this period of battle, the number of troops was reduced by more than one-third. However, when he received a call from Cuikov, Guriyev did not complain and asked on his own initiative: "Comrade Commander, I don't know what the mission is?"
"The silicate factory has been occupied by the enemy. I ordered Colonel Gurdiev to transfer the remaining troops to the south." Cuikov said to Guryev: "The task of your division is to take over the positions that were originally located on the north side of the Archives Building and the east side of the stadium. Is there any difficulty?"
"No difficulties." Although the 39th Guard Division had been crippled, Guriev still did not scream a pain. Instead, he expressed his confidence to Cui Kev: "Comrade Commander, as long as there is a soldier in our Guard Division alive, we will never let the enemy occupy the position."
"Good, General Guriyev." Seeing that Guriyev was so confident, Cuikov was also relieved: "I am waiting for your good news."
Krelov, who had just finished calling, saw that Cui Kov had put down the phone, walked over and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, the enemy is gathering forces in the silicate factory and preparing to launch a new attack. Do you see, will Sokov's 41st Guard Division be transferred to assist in the war?"
Just as Cuikov was hesitating, a staff officer came over quickly and handed over a newly received telegram to Krelov. Krelov was shocked after reading the contents of the telegram. He quickly said to Cuikov: "Comrade Commander, the Front Military Intelligence Department transferred a newly intercepted German telegram, which said that after 2 pm, the German army will dispatch no less than 800 aircraft to carry out saturation bombing on the barricade factory and the Derzhinsky factory area."
At first, Cuikov was still hesitating. After hearing Krelov's words, he quickly snatched the telegram and checked it carefully. He found that the enemy did have the intention of dispatching a large number of bombers to bomb the two factories, so he changed his mind. He said to Krelov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, transferring Sokov's troops to reinforce at this moment is equivalent to letting them die. Now, not only can they be transferred to these two factories, but they also have to find ways to evacuate the defenders and workers in the factory in the shortest time, and be sure to minimize the casualties caused by the bombing."
"But, what should we do if we evacuate the defenders in the factory and the enemy takes the opportunity to launch a new attack?" Krelov reminded Cuikov: "If there are too few defenders in the factory, I am worried that they will not be able to stop the enemy at all."
"Then tell me, what should we do?"
"There are many bomb trenches and basements in the factory. Even if we encounter enemy planes bombing, our soldiers and workers can find hidden places." Krelov remembered the engineers who were building a pontoon bridge on the Volga River, and asked Cuikov tentatively: "Enemy planes are about to carry out intensive bombing on the factory area. Should we temporarily stop building bridges on the Volga River, so we should not cause unnecessary casualties?"
"Call Tupichev immediately and ask them to suspend the construction of the pontoon bridge." Cuikov agreed with Krelov's proposal and emphasized specifically: "In addition, contact the Front Command to stop working on the east coast, so that our underwater pontoon bridge will not be discovered by enemy planes."
The silicate factory was lost under the fierce attack of the German army. The enemy gathered forces here to prepare to continue rushing towards the Volga River. The Soviet army was also adjusting its defense in time to try to block the German advancement. However, in the defense zone of the 41st Division of the Guards, the battle was not fierce. The Romanian army was still far away from the Workers' New Village, and they were shelling and shooting randomly. As long as they saw someone shaking in the ruins, they immediately stopped shooting and turned around to run towards their positions. When they saw that there was no movement here, they turned around and kept firing and firing.
Papchinko was so angry that he lost his temper by the enemy's behavior that he called Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the enemy is wasting ammunition in the front of us. Do you see if I organize the troops to attack and teach them a lesson?"
"No, comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you don't have to do anything, just stay in the ruins and sewers." Sokov told Papchinko: "Anyway, these enemies have been scared by you. They just show them every day to the Germans, and they dare not attack you at all."
Maybe he was worried about Papchinko's emotions, Sokov finally emphasized: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please stay in the workers' new village to rest. When it's time to attack, I will give you orders..."
Chapter completed!