The two Soviet fronts met at the Soviet farm in the Don River Basin, successfully cutting off the German army's retreat and encircled Paulus's Sixth Army and Hot's Fourth Armored Army in the Stalingrad region.
After Wolsky and Kravchenko met at the Soviet farm, they suspected that in order to open the retreat, the German army would definitely launch a crazy counterattack in this area, so they ordered their respective troops to launch on the spot and prepare for the battle to fight against the German attack. But until dark, the German army did not take any action, and seemed to turn a blind eye to the Soviet army's move.
Not only were the senior commanders of the Soviet army confused about this, but even the German commanders stationed nearby were also confused. They did not understand why the Russians cut off their retreat, but their superiors did not issue a counterattack order to reopen the traffic line.
In fact, the reason for this situation was very simple. For the whole day, Paulus and his command members were running around the road and had no intention of commanding the troops. After staying in Gumlak for a short time, Paulus felt that it was unsafe. He learned that another command in Lower Chirskaya was ready, so he ordered his command to move to the new command on the banks of Lower Chirskaya.
After arriving at the new headquarters, Paulus immediately ordered Schmidt to contact his subordinates to find out what was going on outside. After making a few phone calls, Schmidt reported to Paulus: "Mr. Commander, the current situation is not good for us. The Russians have occupied Karachi, controlled the Don Bridge, occupied and destroyed the outpost of the 8th Air Force, and cut off the retreat of our army.
However, to the north of Karachi, General Deboy's 44th Infantry Division was still standing in the positions that had been built on the west bank of the Don River to resist the crazy attacks of the Russians."
When Paulus learned that Karachi and the Don River Bridge were occupied by the Soviet army, he felt a little cold. But when he heard that the 44th Infantry Division was still holding his position on the west bank of the Don River, a glimmer of hope arose in his heart and asked quickly: "Chief of Staff, can the 44th Division block the attack of the Russians?" According to his idea, as long as this division can defend the position on the west bank of the Don River, he can attack with his troops forward and backward and break through the Russian encirclement.
Unexpectedly, Schmidt shook his head and said with a bitter face: "Grandmaster, their logistics supply line has been cut off by the Russians, and the attacks were the 4th Guards and the 24th Infantry Divisions of Batov's 65th Army. General Deboy's 131st Regiment has suffered more than half of the casualties."
Paulus quickly walked to the wall and looked up at the map on the wall. After looking at it for a while, he turned his head and said to Schmidt: "Immediately order the 384th Division to reinforce the 44th Division, and be sure to block the Russians' attack."
"I understand, Commander!" Schmith nodded and said respectfully: "I will call the two division commanders immediately and ask them to execute your orders."
"Also," Paulus called him again before Schmidt was about to leave the room: "Send another telegram to Berlin to tell them about the situation here, and ask for permission to retreat."
When Schmidt heard this order, a hint of bitterness appeared on his face. Although he had obtained the retreat permit from Weix, the commander of the B Group Group B Army Group two days ago, Paulus did not obtain the consent of Berlin, so he did not execute the retreat orders in a straightforward manner. Otherwise, the Russians would not have occupied Karachi so easily and cut off the retreat of the army troops. However, since Paulus emphasized this matter again at this moment, Schmidt could only agree with a wry smile: "I will send a telegram to Berlin immediately."
Schmidt returned to his room and asked the communications officer to send a message to the Supreme Command of Berlin, asking for permission to withdraw from the Stalingrad area, and called the commanders of the 44th and 384th divisions to convey Paulus's orders to them. After all this, Schmidt sat in his position, leaned back on his chair, looked at the ceiling in a daze, thinking about how Berlin would answer him.
A combat staff member came in and bowed slightly to Schmidt, reporting: "His Chief of Staff, General Pickett, the commander of the 9th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division, is outside. Do you want to see him?"
Schmidt and Pickett once studied with tactical expert Oswald in the General Staff Academy in Konesburg. They were both classmates and friends for many years. Now, when they heard that their old friend was outside, they quickly sat upright and ordered the staff: "Hurry up and invite General Pickett in!"
As Pickett walked into the room, Schmidt stood up, walked around the desk and greeted him with a smile: "Hello, Pickett, I'm glad to see you here."
"Hello, Chief of Staff." Pickett reached out and shook Schmidt, and said in a stiff tone: "But I don't want to see you here."
Pickett's words confused Schmidt, and he asked in confusion: "Pict, my old friend, why do you say that?"
"Based on the information I have, Rokosovsky's Don Front troops are advancing here along the Lower Chil River." Pickett said with a wry smile: "I estimate that they will be able to reach the outside of Lower Chilskaya in at most two or three days. By then, your headquarters will have to be transferred."
Pickett's words surprised Schmidt. After all, he and Paulus had just arrived at the new headquarters and had no time to understand many situations, so he knew nothing about the news that the Soviet army was advancing along the Lower Chil River. He couldn't help but ask in a panic: "Pict, then tell me, what should we do?"
"If I were you," Pickett said with a serious expression: "I will leave here quickly."
Schmidt thought for a while and nodded, saying, "Pict, you're right. If the Russian army really advances here, we should indeed transfer immediately, otherwise the headquarters will be put in danger."
Seeing that his old friend followed his advice, Piquet nodded and then asked: "Schmidt, what are your plans when the headquarters is transferred to the new area?"
"Let's see," Schmidt pushed the map on the table to Pickett, and said to him without hesitation: "I plan to establish a solid line of defense in the west and south to protect the threatened rear of the army. At the same time, gather strength and prepare for breaking out in the southwest."
"My old friend, please be honest, your plan is very difficult." As Schmidt's friend, Pickett said bluntly: "What the troops lack now is fuel. Without fuel, our tanks and artillery tractors cannot move at all, and can only park on the ground and become the target of Russian aircraft bombing."
"You don't have to worry about this." Schmidt replied with confidence: "We can ask the Air Force to transport fuel to us. After all, there are many airports in the areas we control, which can take off and land a large number of transport aircraft."
Pickett smiled bitterly again and said to Schmidt: "My old friend, I doubt the capabilities of the Air Force. I don't think they can provide enough fuel supply. In my opinion, we should organize troops to break through as soon as possible. While the Russians' encirclement is not reliable, we can save as many troops as possible from the Russians' encirclement."
As the two were talking, the communications officer walked in from outside and handed Schmidt a telegram, saying, "His Excellency Chief of Staff, this is a telegram sent by the Supreme Command of Berlin through the Army Group Command."
Schmidt received the telegram and looked at it for a few times, and was shocked. He looked up at Pickett and said, "Pict, Berlin rejected our request for breakthrough and ordered us to stay in the existing area to stand firm in order to wait for further orders. He stood up, reached out to Pickett, and said apologetically, "I need to report to the Commander immediately, and I will not leave you. Good luck, and I hope we can jump out of the Russian encirclement as soon as possible."
After seeing Picket away, Schmidt quickly came to Paulus' room and handed over the telegram he had just received to the other party. Paulus took the telegram and quickly browsed it. When he saw the troops staying in the place where he was standing, his face changed drastically; after seeing the complete content, he fell into his seat, as if all his strength had been drained.
"Hissar Commander!" Schmidt asked carefully: "The Head of State has rejected your request to break through in the telegram. What should we do next?"
Paulus looked up at Schmidt standing in front of him and replied with a wry smile: "What else can I do? Send another telegram to the Head of State to explain our situation here, and ask again to allow us to take a breakout action. Chief of Staff, please record the telegram."
After Schmidt prepared the paper and pen, Paulus began to dictate the message to Hitler: "My head of state, the situation here has deteriorated sharply. Due to the inability to obtain sufficient supplies, the ammunition and fuel of the troops will be exhausted, and many artillery and anti-tank weapons will no longer be ammunition. The army forces are facing the danger of being about to be destroyed, unless they can hit all the current available forces and decisively defeat the Russians who launched an attack from the south and west. In this way, all the troops from Stalingrad will be immediately withdrawn from Stalingrad, as well as the powerful forces on the northern defense line, and then break through the southwest.... Of course, doing so will lose a large number of troops and equipment, but it will allow more valuable combatants and technical equipment to be preserved... In view of the current situation, I once again request the right to operate freely."
After recording Paulus's telegram, Schmidt reported to him what Pickett had just said, and finally asked for instructions: "Mr. Commander, what should we do?"
Paulus seemed a little panicked when he learned that his Lower Chirskaya might be attacked by the Soviet army, but he still said calmly: "Chief of Staff, as soon as the telegram to the head of state was sent, the headquarters will be transferred immediately. In order to prevent the troops from losing unified command and falling into chaos, we have no right to put the headquarters in danger."
When Schmidt heard Paulus say he wanted to transfer the headquarters, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked carefully: "Where should we move to?"
"Gumrak territory." Paulus said hurriedly: "Transfer our command to the Gumrak territory immediately."
"But, Your Excellency Commander." Schmidt was stunned when he learned that Paulus was about to transfer the headquarters back to the Gumlak area where he had just left in the morning, and quickly reminded Paulus with kindness: "Where did we just leave from the morning?"
"I know." Paulus nodded and said, "But there is a ready-made command there, and as long as we move it over, we can put it into use immediately. OK, don't be too late, send a telegram to the head of state immediately, and arrange for someone to prepare for the transfer."
Considering that the last time he was transferred from Glubinskaya to Gumlak, Paulus used a suspicious tactic to confuse the Soviet scouts to confuse the Soviet scouts, he asked tentatively: "Does it be necessary to send suspicious troops again to divert the Russians' attention?"
"No need," Paulus waved his hand and denied Schmidt's proposal: "Even if we set up a fake command to attract the attention of the Russians, as long as the command is contacted by the outside world, the Russian telecommunication listening department can accurately determine the exact location of our command based on the density of the radio signal."
As soon as the telegram to Berlin was sent, the German command in Lower Chirskaya began to move. Because all the communication equipment was removed, Paulus did not obtain the information that the two Soviet fronts met on the Soviet farm at the first time. As the commander of the army, if he did not understand the changes in the battlefield situation, he would naturally not issue any orders to his troops. The German troops stationed near the Soviet farm could only watch as the Soviet army calmly built defenses in that area after completing the meeting.
By the time Paulus arrived in the Gumlak area, it was already dark. As soon as he opened the communication, he learned bad news that the two Soviet fronts met. Before he could give any orders, the radio received a telegram from Berlin. Hitler ordered in a tough tone: Stay in the Stalingrad area, establish a line of defense in the encirclement, and at the same time, all the troops thrown on the west bank of the Don River immediately retreated across the Don River and entered the encirclement, and defended the existing area at all costs. The troops' supplies will be provided by the air transport of the Air Force.
Paulus was stunned when he saw Hitler's telegram. He knew very well that the troops left on the west bank of the Don River could still restrain the Russians, making them afraid to concentrate all their troops to siege themselves. But once these troops were withdrawn into the encirclement, they would be attacked by the Russians from all directions, and their troops would be in danger.
"Hiss Commander," saw Paulus staring at the telegram, Schmidt quickly asked for instructions: "What should we do next?"
Paulus looked up at Schmidt and said with a wry smile: "Since it was the order issued by the Head of State himself, we can only implement it unconditionally. You immediately notify all troops, stop the transfer, and return to the original defensive area. At the same time, order all troops on the west bank of the Don River to retreat across the Don River, come and join the headquarters, and build a solid line of defense in the Stalingrad region."
Chapter completed!