After the German army entered the barricade factory three engineer battalions, they did not achieve the kind of results they expected, which disappointed Paulus and his chief of staff General Schmidt.
"Hisser Commander," Schmidt came behind Paulus, who was looking up at the map, and said to him: "As Russian Colonel Sokov's troops entered the barricade factory, our plan to seize the factory failed."
"It's this damn Sokov again. With him, our actions will be difficult to succeed." Paulus turned to face Schmidt and said gritting his teeth. "It seems that we need to send troops to strengthen the fortifications of the barricade factory and kill this damn Russian force. Only by eliminating them can we occupy the factory."
"But, Your Excellency Commander." Hearing Paulus' angry words, Schmidt said with a wry smile: "We have no mobile troops to mobilize now."
"November is a very difficult month for us." Paulus walked back to his desk and sat down, looking at Schmidt and continued: "At the beginning of the month, Rommel's African army was severely damaged by Montgomery in Alamein and had to retreat to Tripoli to protect himself. As a result, the American army took the opportunity to land on the west coast of Africa behind us and advanced towards Tunisia.
It was precisely because of the unfavorable situation in Africa that the most elite Seventh Armored Division, Flag Guard Division, Imperial Division and Skeleton Division were all restrained in France. If the Head of State could put these four divisions into Stalingrad, I dare to assert that Cuikov and his troops would not last for less than 48 hours."
"My Commander, judging from the current situation, it is absolutely impossible for the Head of State to transfer these four elite divisions to Stalingrad." Schmidt reminded him after pouring cold water on Paulus, "According to the report of the scouts, the Russians not only gathered troops in the middle reaches of the Don River northwest of Stalingrad, that is, opposite the Romanian 3rd Army, but also invested a large number of troops in the south of the city. I think these actions of the Russians mean that they will launch an attack."
"They launch a counterattack every month to tempt our army from the vicinity of Stalingrad. But their attacks were ruthlessly shattered by us, and this time would be no exception." Paulus said this, frowned for a moment, and then said, "Chief of Staff, I remember the two armies of the Romanian 4th Army south of the city covering the flanks of General Hort's 4th Armored Army, right?"
"Yes!" Schmier nodded and said to Paulus: "Commander, I think it is necessary to remind you that except for the First and Thirteenth Divisions, the other troops of the Romanian army are poorly equipped. If they are attacked by the Russians, the defense line may be broken."
"These two divisions have not made any achievements near Mamayevgang during this period. I don't think they have any need to stay." Paulus was very dissatisfied with the Romanian Army's record during this period. He said with some anger: "Let them return as soon as possible, and our troops will take over the vacant area."
"Hiss Commander," Schmidt respectfully asked Paulus: "Which unit do you think should be taken over to their defense?"
Paulus replied without hesitation: "Let Roskei's 71st Infantry Division and Rodenburg's 76th Infantry Division succeed the Romanian Army's defense."
Regarding Paulus's order, Schmidt asked with some concern: "Mr. Commander, I am worried that the troops may be attacked by the Russians when changing defenses..."
"Chief of Staff, don't worry, even if the Russians know that we are changing defenses, they can only stare at him." Paulus said to him in order to dispel Schmidt's doubts: "According to information, the Colonel Sokov, who gave us a headache, is now in the barricade factory. As long as he is not in Mamayev's hill, the defenders there dare not act rashly."
"But, but, what if he noticed that our army had changed its guard and rushed back to Mamayev?" Schmidt's muscles twitched violently, "I'm worried that he might organize a counterattack, which will put our army in chaos..."
"It's not difficult to prevent him from leaving the barricade factory." Paulus said lightly: "Send the 336th Engineer Battalion to the barricade factory to assist the 305th Infantry Division in the attack. In this way, he had to concentrate on dealing with our army's attack and had no time to take care of the direction of Mamayevgang."
"This is a good idea," Schmilit said, "It is said that the day the engineer battalion entered the barricade factory, it caught the Russians off guard. If Sokov had not come out in time to resolve the crisis, our army would have occupied the entire factory."
The two were studying how to seize the barricade factory, and a communication officer walked in outside. Schmidt hurriedly came up and asked, "Is there anything?"
The officer quickly pulled out the folder clamped from his armpit, opened it, took out a telegram and handed it to Schmidt, and said, "The telegram from the Berlin Base Camp."
Schmidt took the telegram and waved at the officer, indicating that he could leave. After he lowered his head and quickly browsed the contents of the telegram, he quickly walked towards Paulus and said, "His Excellency Commander, the head of the telegram, he asked us to quickly take down the remaining area of ​​Stalingrad."
While Paulus was reading the telegram, Schmidt continued: "The Head of State believes that it is strategically meaningless to have so many troops confined by the Russians to a city. We should end all this as soon as possible and transfer the troops to other more important areas."
After reading the telegram, Paulus threw it on the table casually and sneered, "What more important region is there now? What is the importance of the region that can be compared with Stalingrad?"
As soon as Paulus finished speaking, Schmidt said: "Commander, now the supplies of the Russians have been completely cut off, and their situation has become increasingly difficult. If we concentrate all our strength and launch a final general attack on the Russians, we will definitely be able to completely capture the city."
"The Russians are in trouble, aren't we any more difficult?" Paulus complained: "Since the Russians destroyed the supplies we had stored at Kotluban Station and the 564th Mile Station, our army's ammunition and supplies have been severely short of ammunition and materials. In the past, before attacking factories, we could use powerful artillery fire to cover the Russian positions. But now, the shells of each artillery do not exceed half a base, so that the offensive troops can receive artillery fire support, which has been greatly weakened.
Also, this damn Russian winter is snowing every day, making our air force unable to move, resulting in our loss of air supremacy and allowing the Russians to hold their positions better."
Compared with Paulus, Schmidt was obviously more confident: "Commander, the Russians' transportation line was interrupted and cannot be restored in a short period of time. I think we should take advantage of this rare opportunity to give the Russians a last blow, so that they can completely crush their resistance."
Paulus knew that his chief of staff would not be aimless and said such irresponsible words casually, so he nodded and said to him: "Chief of staff, tell me your plan."
"Mr. Commander, I admit that due to the attacks of the Russians, there were some problems with our ammunition and supplies," Schmidt said. "But it only takes a few days to replenish the frontier's troops the ammunition and supplies needed for the offensive. It is not too late to launch an attack on the Russians when everything is ready."
"How long do you think it will take us to prepare?" Paulus asked.
"One week." Schmidt said with a finger up: "I think it is completely possible to replenish ammunition and supplies for the frontier forces in a week. As long as our preparations are completed, we can launch a comprehensive attack. I think we should choose the attack time on November 18."
Paulus turned his head and looked at the calendar on the wall, nodded slightly, and said, "Okay, we will be sure to launch the final general attack on the Russians on November 18, and we must take down those areas that are still controlled by the Russians before dark."
After determining the time for the final general attack, Paulus remembered another important thing: "By the way, Chief of Staff, according to the air force's reconnaissance, the Russian guerrillas that attacked the station transferred a lot of the supplies from the station to camps in the forest. When are you going to send out the clearing troops and eradicate these gangs of haunted guerrillas?"
Hearing Paulus's question, Schmidt hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "Mr. Commander, our main task now is to completely capture Stalingrad. As long as we take down the city, it is not too late to turn around to deal with these guerrillas." He was afraid that Paulus would be stubborn and emphasized, "After all, we are facing a shortage of troops now."
"Chief of Staff, I thought about it. The Russians gathered a large number of troops in the middle of the Don River, obviously to launch an attack on us, and there was only one Romanian 3rd Army there." After Paulus and Schmidt finished speaking, he said thoughtfully: "I think the troops need to be drawn to strengthen the defense."
"Hiss Commander!" Schmidt asked respectfully: "Where are you going to draw troops from?"
Paulus stood up and walked to the wall, looked up at the army number marked on the map. After looking at it for a while, he raised his right hand and pointed to the map, turned to Schmidt and said, "Chief of Staff, call Lieutenant General Heim, the commander of the 48th Armored Army, and ordered him to draw the 22nd Armored Division into the defense zone of the 3rd Romanian Army."
"What, dispatch the 22nd Armored Division?" Hearing Paulus' order, Schmidt was stunned. He glanced at the map quickly, and then said: "Mr. Commander, the 22nd Armored Division has been deployed behind the Italian 8th Army, 150th battalion from the Romanian Army's defense zone..."
"I know how far they are from the new defense zone, and I have eyes." Paulus said with a stern face: "Now there are no combat missions, only the 22nd Armored Division. Time is tight, so I will give an order immediately."
"Okay, I'll call Lieutenant General Heim and ask him to transfer the 22nd Armored Division south as soon as possible." After Schmidt finished speaking, he turned around and planned to go back to his office, but he was stopped by Paulus after he took a few steps. The latter pointed to the phone on the table and said to him: "Chief of Staff, just call Lieutenant General Heim with my phone."
Schmidt returned to Paulus's desk, picked up the phone on the desk, and called Lieutenant General Heim's command. As soon as the phone was called, he said bluntly: "General Heim, the commander, orders you to immediately send the 22nd Armored Division into the defense zone of the 3rd Romanian Army."
General Heim, who had been in the reserve team for several months, heard Schmidt say that there was a task assigned to him, and he was happy at first, but after he finished listening to the other party's mission, his face immediately covered with frost: "Chief of Staff, I think the 22nd Armored Division may take some time before they can execute your orders, and they cannot be mobilized for the time being."
Hearing Heim say this, Schmidt immediately glared with his eyes wide open and asked sternly: "General Heim, what's going on? The 22nd Armored Division cannot be mobilized for the time being. What does it mean?"
Seeing Schmidt get angry, Paulus showed a look of shock on his face. He leaned forward and leaned closer to the telephone receiver, trying to figure out what Heim said wrong, which made Schmidt angry. He heard Heim complain on the phone: "Since the 22nd Armored Division belongs to the reserve unit and is assigned to garrison the rear of the Italian army, and there is no chance of fighting, the troops have never actually obtained the fuel needed for the tank. If they want to drive, they need to be replenished with enough fuel..."
Before Heim could finish his words, Paulus said angrily at Schmidt: "Arrang to the logistics department immediately to replenish the fuel needed for the 22nd Armored Division."
Hem felt much more relieved when he heard Paulus agree to replenish his troops. He hurriedly assured Paulus: "Hisser Commander, I will immediately give the troops orders to prepare them for departure. At most three hours, they can head towards the defense zone of the 3rd Army of Romania."
"Very good!" After hearing Heim's reply, Paulus nodded and said with satisfaction: "I hope your armored division can enter the designated defense zone as soon as possible."
It was thought that as long as the 22nd Armored Division was supplemented with enough fuel, they could drive to the defense zone of the Romanian 3rd Army within the specified time. But less than an hour later, Paulus received a call from Heim. The commander of the Armored Army said anxiously on the phone: "Master Commander, something is wrong, something big happens!"
Hearing Heim say this, Paulus's heart skipped a beat and wondered if the armored division was attacked by Russian guerrillas. He asked in a panic: "General Heim, don't worry, calm down, tell me what happened?"
"I just received a call from Colonel Oberon, the leader of the 204th Armored Regiment. He said that 39 of the 104 tanks in the regiment could not be started at all." Heim said hurriedly: "During the process, 34 more engine problems broke down. In addition, there are many tank turrets that cannot be turned..."
Chapter completed!