Paulus knew very well in his heart that Schmid's words were not alarmist. If Leiser had really boarded the plane to Moscow, could the rescue team he sent still be able to sneak into Moscow? Even to take a step back, he
His subordinates have sneaked into Moscow. Can they rescue Laizer from the heavily guarded Ministry of Internal Affairs?
Thinking of this, Paulus seemed to have been drained of all his strength. He slumped in his seat, looked at Schmid blankly, and said feebly: "Chief of Staff, the news of Leiser's capture
, we need to report to Berlin immediately and ask them to send a new division commander to take over the command."
"Your Excellency, Commander," Schmid was startled when he heard the news that Paulus planned to capture Leiser and reported to Berlin. He quickly reminded the other party: "The Russians burned down our stockpiles in the warehouse two days ago.
The matter of the supplies at Cote Lubain Station and the 564th Kilometer Station has already made Berlin very angry. If you report the news of General Leiser's capture at this time, I am worried that you may be criticized by the Führer."
Schmid's words made Paulus hesitate. He understood Hitler's moody character. When the progress was going well in the first few months, he was generous with words of praise for himself. However, with the tenacious resistance of the Russians, the progress of the troops changed.
When he was slow or even unable to move forward, he would be blamed from time to time. If he had reported the destruction of station supplies and Leiser's capture at this time, he might have been directly dismissed from his post.
It was out of this consideration that Paulus changed his mind and decided not to report Leiser's capture for the time being. Even if Berlin got wind of something and called or sent a telegram to inquire, he could just make a fuss and say Leiser was captured.
Ze was just missing and the story of being captured was a rumor created by the Russians for propaganda purposes.
After Paulus made the decision to temporarily conceal the truth, he sat up straight again and asked Schmid: "Chief of Staff, all the supplies we stored at the two stations were destroyed by the Russians. When new supplies arrive, I'm afraid we will need more
Three or four days, can our troops continue to attack during this time?"
"It's very difficult, Your Excellency Commander." Schmid shook his head and replied: "Due to lack of supplies, we were forced to stop the attack on the north of the city today. I feel that we should not take it easy until we obtain new supplies and ammunition.
launch a new offensive."
"If our attack is completely stopped, wouldn't it give the Russians a chance to breathe?" Paulus waited for Schmid to finish and said with an unhappy face: "They can use this time to make emergency repairs.
Those fortifications were destroyed by artillery shells and bombs to consolidate their defense lines. I am worried that if we wait for the supplies to arrive before launching an attack, the proportion of casualties in our army will be much greater than now."
"Your Excellency Commander, we are now short of supplies, and the situation of the Russians is not much better." Schmid looked at Paulus and said: "We have been using long-range artillery fire and bombing to block the Volga River. The Russian Volga
Although the river fleet suffered heavy losses, they still transported supplies non-stop..."
"You are right." Paulus nodded and said helplessly: "We have used all the means at our disposal, but we still cannot cut off the connection between the Russians in the city and the outside world."
"Your Excellency Commander, don't worry too much. According to my estimation, in another week at most, the contact between the Russians in the city and the outside world will be completely interrupted." Schmid said with some pride: "Once the Russians
If supplies are interrupted, they will face the dilemma of running out of ammunition and food, and our new supplies should have arrived by then. We can take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the Russians are unable to obtain supplies and launch a new attack on the factory area in the north of the city.
Offensive. It only takes two to three days at most before we can capture the entire city."
Paulus was somewhat dubious about Schmid's statement: "Chief of Staff, our shelling and bombing can't cut off the connection between the Russians in the city and the outside world. Do you have any good ideas to make the people in the city
Won’t the Russians get replenished?”
"Your Excellency Commander, you may not know that with the arrival of strong cooling and heavy snowfall, ice has appeared on the Volga River." Schmid explained to Paulus: "The appearance of these ice floes will cause
Ships moving in the river have become impassable. And even if the river freezes, the thickness of the ice is not enough to support the passage of transportation vehicles."
For Paulus, this was the only good news he heard today. He stood up and said to Schmid: "Chief of Staff, I don't know how long it will take for the Russian transportation lines to be interrupted."
"It's hard to say, Your Excellency Commander." Schmid said thoughtfully: "If the strong cooling and heavy snowfall continue, I estimate that in three or four days, the transportation on the Volga River will be affected by a large number of
Ice floes appeared and it was forced to interrupt."
"Great, this is great." Paulus clapped his hands on the table excitedly and said to Schmid: "Chief of Staff, immediately send out reconnaissance personnel to the Volga River to monitor closely.
If you notice any movement on the river, report it to me as soon as it freezes. As long as the Russians' supply lines are cut off, it will be impossible to defend the city with the pitiful forces they have in the city. Our soldiers
They will be crushed like bedbugs."
…………
As the weather gets colder, more and more ice floes float on the river, and the ice volume becomes larger and larger.
Sokov took Ivanov to the top of Mamayev Hill to observe the movements on the river. Without a telescope, they could clearly see that the river was filled with ice blocks of different sizes, making it difficult for people traveling in the river to
The ship moves slowly.
Seeing this situation, Ivanov couldn't help but sigh and said: "Comrade Commander, the situation is not good. The existence of a large number of ice floes makes the movement of ships difficult. Let alone ordinary wooden ships, even if the fleet
The small warships used may be damaged by the impact of ice floes. I think the day when transportation will be interrupted is coming soon."
Sokov looked at the flying snowflakes and said with emotion: "Fortunately, the weather now is not suitable for aircraft, otherwise these snail-like ships in the river would become targets for enemy bombings. But don't worry,
The supplies we have hoarded are enough to support the reopening of the route."
"Comrade Division Commander," Sokov's words gave Ivanov a wake-up call. He looked at Sokov and asked tentatively: "Do you really think our army will launch a full-scale counterattack by the end of this month?"
"Yes, according to my judgment. It should be at the end of this month."
"But it's already the 9th, and the headquarters hasn't notified us to have a meeting. This is a bit unreasonable." Ivanov frowned and said, "Is there something wrong with your judgment?"
In response to Ivanov's question, Sokov just smiled lightly: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, the current situation is quite special. For reasons of confidentiality, I am afraid that even Commander Chuikov does not know the specific counterattack time. It is possible to summon the people in the city
When the brigade-level commanders of each division met, there were only one or two days left before the major counterattack began."
"What, there are only one or two days left before we are notified to go to the meeting?" Ivanov obviously could not accept Sokov's statement: "How could we prepare a counterattack in such a short period of time?
Prepare."
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, there are no outsiders here, I might as well tell you the truth." Sokov stared at Ivanov and asked: "Do you think with the current situation of the troops in the city, they can still participate in the counterattack?"
"No." Ivanov blurted out. After he said this, a shocked expression appeared on his face: "Comrade division commander, I don't understand what you mean. Since the major counterattack has begun, as the defenders of the city, we,
How could you not join the fight?"
"It's not about not participating in the battle, it's about participating in the battle in another way." Sokov said lightly: "Our task should be to stick to the existing defense line to cooperate with the troops attacking from other directions and encircle the Germans.
.”
Although Ivanov felt that what Sokov said was reasonable, he still said unwillingly: "Is this really going to happen? We have been fighting the Germans in the city for several months, and after the major counterattack began, we were actually asked to stand.
It is simply too unkind to watch the excitement from the sidelines."
"There is no way, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." Sokov said helplessly: "The troops in the city have been severely weakened in the battle. They are barely strong enough for defense, but they are not strong enough for counterattack. Okay.
, it’s too cold outside, we’d better go back to the division headquarters.”
That night, the transportation line on the Volga River was interrupted because the river was covered with ice floes and ships could not pass.
