As early as mid-October, the Lyudnikov division, which was defending the barricade factory, was attacked by the 305th Infantry Division. They occupied an excellent defensive position. With the cooperation of the remnants of the 138th and 308th Infantry Divisions, they used every factory building in the factory and every ruin in the ruins to carry out tenacious defense, which made the German army's plan to seize the factory fail.
Especially a heavy rain in late October brought the German offensive to a halt. Cuikov took this favorable opportunity to order Lyudnikov to launch a counterattack against the 305th Infantry Division. After the defense areas of the 576th and 578th Regiments of the German army were attacked by artillery fire from the east bank of the Volga River, Lyudnikov sent two regiments to launch a counterattack against the enemy's positions.
The troops of both sides launched a fierce tug-of-war around the No. 6 production workshop and No. 4 assembly workshop in the factory area. In the end, the commander of the 305th Division, Auburnland, saw that his troops suffered heavy casualties, and without asking the commander of the 51st Army, ordered the troops to withdraw from the barricade factory without asking for instructions.
Due to Auburnland's proposition, he was quickly removed from his post by Paulus and his troops were transferred to the second line for rest. It was in this case that Steinmetz was appointed as the acting commander of the 305th Division. The day after taking office, his military rank was promoted from colonel to major general, and his position also changed from acting commander to formal commander.
Now the 577th Regiment of the 305th Division of the German Army has returned to the barricade factory. The central factory area, the southern factory area that the two sides have repeatedly fought for, and part of the northern factory area have completely fallen into the hands of the German army. All the Lyudnikov division can control is only a narrow area in the north.
While the troops were still gathering, Steinmetz received a call from Brandt from the front: "Grand Commander, the Russians sent reinforcements to the factory again."
When Steinmetz learned that the Soviet army had increased its troops, he was shocked and asked quickly: "How many troops are there? Are there any heavy weapons?"
"There are about a thousand people." Brandt replied: "They are all German equipment, and there are no heavy weapons except for a few MG34 general-purpose machine guns."
"What, all German equipment?" Brandt didn't take it seriously when he first heard that there were only more than 1,000 reinforcements from the Soviet army. According to his ideas, one company of his troops could deal with the Russians and a battalion commander. For these more than 1,000 reinforcements, he only needed to send two companies to clean them up. But then he heard that the reinforcements were all all German equipment, he suddenly thought of a unit that scared him, and asked tentatively: "Have you figured out the number of this unit?"
"Not yet," Brandt replied, "Since the battle has not begun and we have not captured any prisoners, we cannot figure out the number of the Russian troops to reinforce."
"Lt. Col. Brandt," he heard Brandt answer that he had not figured out the other party's number, and immediately felt a little dissatisfied. If he didn't figure out whether the reinforcements were the kind of troops that gave him a headache, the next battle would be difficult to fight. Thinking of this, he said in a stern tone: "I'll give you half an hour, and be sure to figure out the number of the Russian troops in the reinforcements barricade factory. Do you understand?"
"Half an hour?" Brandt felt a headache for Steinmetz's order. The scouts he sent reported that the Russians were tightly defending and they could not get to the other party's position at all. In this case, how could they catch the prisoners and ask the other party's number? Thinking of this, he asked tentatively: "Sir, half an hour is too short. Can you give me more time?"
"No time, Lieutenant Colonel Brandt." Steinmetz said to Brandt in an unquestionable tone: "I will only give you half an hour. If the time comes and you have not figured out the number of reinforcements to this Russian army, I will find someone to replace you. You can do it yourself."
When Steinmetz put down the phone, the Chief of Staff, who was standing next to him, asked curiously: "Sir, have you figured out the Russians' numbers? It has no effect on our offense?"
"Chief of Staff!" Seeing that his chief of staff took the reinforcements of the barricade factory so lightly, Steinmetz said to him with a stern face: "If other Russian troops, no matter how many reinforcements they come, I will be confident that I will annihilate them in the factory. But if Sokov's troops come, it will be bad news for us."
The Chief of Staff of the Division originally felt that the division commander was a little nervous, but it was just a Russian army of thousands of people. It only took two companies to defeat them or even annihilate them. But when he heard the other party mention Sokov's name, he couldn't help but feel moved: "Grand Commander, are you talking about the Sokov who is standing by Mamayev's ridge?"
"If it's not him, who else can it be?" Steinmetz was in a very complicated mood at the moment. He thought that seizing the barricade factory would be his first victory after taking office, which would help him establish enough prestige in the division, but he did not expect a reinforcement force emerged out of thin air, and it might be the one he feared the most. He couldn't help but worry about the battle that would be launched next. "If it was really his troops to reinforce, our original combat plan might have to be adjusted, and the other two regiments must be transferred up."
Although the Chief of Staff of the Division had also heard about Sokov, he was limited to hearing that his troops had not dealt with Sokov's troops. Sometimes he even thought that the rumors he heard were unreliable. If Stalingrad really had such a unit, why would the hundreds of thousands of Russian troops retreat from the Don River to Stalingrad so quickly? This was obviously a rumor deliberately spread by the Russians in order to stabilize the morale of the army.
"Sir, I don't think it's that coincidental. After all, there is a Red October factory between us and Mamayev's hill." After a brief consideration, the Chief of Staff of the Division said to Steinmetz: "What if Sokov personally leads troops to reinforce? There are only a thousand people and no heavy weapons. Unless he is God, he cannot stop our army's attack at all."
The words of the Chief of Staff did not let Steinmetz down his fear of Sokov. He smiled bitterly and said, "Chief of Staff, immediately notify Colonel Wentzel of the 578th Regiment and ask him to immediately start assemble troops and prepare to enter the barricade factory to support the 577th Regiment if necessary."
Sokov never dreamed that his name would scare Steinmetz, the commander of the 305th Division of the German Army, was terrified. He was assembling a mission to Lieutenant Porochenko, the artillery company commander of the shrinking regiment.
"Comrade Lieutenant," Sokov asked Porochenko: "How many rocket launchers are there in your company?"
Some time ago, when the bazooka transported from Moscow arrived, Sokov asked Porochenko and others to receive this batch of equipment and asked them to learn how to use the bazooka with the instructors. In order to allow these secret weapons to play a huge role in defense, Sokov must be clear.
"Report to the division commander," Porochenko replied, "We only bring ten rocket launchers here, and the rest are stored in the underground warehouse of the Red October factory, with a squad of soldiers guarding." Before Sokov asked again, he took the initiative to explain, "I made the worst plan. Even if we all died in the battle to defend the barricade factory, the remaining soldiers are still an anti-tank force that cannot be despised."
Sokov was very satisfied with Porochenko's approach of planning ahead. He nodded and then asked: "How far can you effectively destroy the enemy's targets." Although the data provided by Yakov sounded good, the actual situation must be used on the battlefield to figure it out.
"In training, our soldiers can accurately hit the target within an 80-meter range." Porochenko said cautiously: "But we have never used this weapon on the battlefield. I don't know if the soldiers will become panic when they see the tanks coming towards them."
"Comrade Lieutenant, as a special anti-tank force, you may not necessarily face the enemy's tanks in the front." Sokov reminded the other party: "You must know that the frontal armor of the tanks is the thickest. If you form a jumper during the first shooting, it will have an adverse effect on the confidence of the soldiers. Therefore, I think you should lurk on the way through German tanks or assault guns and attack their sides so that the rockets can easily penetrate the target."
When Sokov was talking to Porochenko, Lyudnikov, who was sitting not far away, looked at them from time to time. He wanted to interrupt and ask, what exactly was the bazooka they said, and could it really deal with the enemy's tank? However, out of politeness, he did not interrupt the two of them casually, but sat aside and listened quietly.
After finally waiting for Porochenko to leave, Lyudnikov immediately asked impatiently: "Col. Sokov, I want to ask you, what is the bazooka you just mentioned?"
"It is a new type of individual anti-tank weapon." Sokov briefly said: "It can destroy enemy tanks or assault guns at a distance, so that our soldiers do not have to risk their lives to bomb tanks at close range."
Since he did not see the real object, Lyudnikov could not imagine the appearance of the bazooka, so he asked tentatively: "What is that weapon? Is it similar to an anti-tank gun?"
Sokov picked up the paper and pen on the table, drew a sketch on it, and after drawing it, he pushed it in front of Lyudnikov, explaining to him the structure of the bazooka and its working principle.
After hearing Sokov's introduction, Lyudnikov was a little dissatisfied. He believed that this new anti-tank weapon might be stronger than an anti-tank gun, and it must be less than an anti-tank gun. After all, it is a single weapon. How strong can it be? He tried his best to ask in a steady tone: "Col. Sokov, when are you planning to use this force?"
"I don't know, comrade Colonel," Sokov replied unexpectedly, "I don't know when to use this force."
Sokov's words made Lyudnikov stunned. He thought to himself that you, as a division commander, don't know what to put one of his troops into the battle. This is simply a fantasy.
Sokov saw Lyudnikov's question and explained to him: "Comrade Colonel, this is a brand new anti-tank force. The role they play in the battlefield will be far beyond our imagination. Therefore, I will use them as secret weapons and wait until the situation is critical, and then send them to the battlefield to deal with the German tanks."
From Sokov's tone, Lyudnikov understood that in a short period of time, he might not be able to see this special anti-tank force participating in the war, and he felt a little disappointed. However, when he thought of the upcoming battle, he asked worriedly: "Col. Sokov, do you think our existing arrangements can block the new attack of the Germans?"
As soon as he finished speaking, before Sokov could make his statement, the phone ringing on the table rang. He picked up the microphone and heard the voice of Major Savage, the commander of the artillery regiment, "Comrade Commander, the enemy is starting to attack me again."
"The enemy has started attacking again?" Lyudnikov heard Savage's report, looked at Sokov next to him, and deliberately raised his voice and asked, "How many troops does the enemy have? Are there any tanks accompanying you?"
"The infantry attacked probably had one battalion and six assault guns." Savage replied: "Comrade Commander, what should we do next?"
Lyudnikov did not answer immediately, but looked at Sokov again, as if seeking his opinion. Sokov looked at him for a moment, then stretched out his hand and asked politely: "Comrade Colonel, can I give orders to Major Savage?"
"Please, Colonel Sokov." Lyudnikov considered that Sokov had seen the establishment of the artillery position with his own eyes and was more familiar with how to use artillery, so he immediately handed over the microphone and said politely: "I think it is more appropriate for you to command the artillery than me."
After obtaining the authorization of Lyudnikov, Sokov said to the microphone: "Major Savage, Commander Lyudnikov has authorized me to use artillery. From now on, you will obey my orders."
Savage did not expect that Lyudnikov would hand over the command of the artillery to Sokov, but he soon realized that the soldiers on the artillery positions are basically Sokov's subordinates, and he was commanded by him, so it was naturally more suitable than Lyudnikov. So he answered loudly: "Yes, comrade Colonel! I firmly obey your order!"
"Major, I order you now and fire immediately!" Seeing that the other party was willing to obey his orders, Sokov decisively issued an order: "Use armor-piercing bombs to deal with the enemy's assault guns, and use high-explosive bombs to deal with the infantry following the assault guns."
With the issuance of the order, artillery distributed in different positions opened fire at the same time. The assault guns that opened the circuit in front became the first target of attack. Don’t see that the assault guns have no turrets, the entire body is low, and the artillery is difficult to aim, but they cannot hold back the 76mm cannon's firing speed. One shell was not hit, the second and third shells followed one after another, and in an instant, the assault guns were blown into burning torches.
The assault gun was destroyed, and the infantry following behind were also attacked by high-explosive bombs. The flying shrapnel cut down the German soldiers near the explosion point in pieces. The soldiers who were lucky enough not to be hit by the shrapnel jumped into the nearby bullet craters and lie at the bottom of the pit and dared not move.
In just five minutes of artillery bombardment, all German assault artillery was destroyed, and half of the infantry following the attack were injured and half of the casualties. As soon as the Soviet artillery fire stopped, the German soldiers hiding in the crater rushed out and ran towards their positions.
Lyudnikov thought that he would repel the German attack, and another bloody battle was inevitable. Unexpectedly, the artillery deployed in the rear fired a round of cannons and easily smashed the enemy's attack, which surprised him. He looked at Sokov and asked in surprise: "Col. Sokov, is the enemy's attack repelled by us?"
"Yes, I was defeated." Sokov had just visited the door and saw the enemy who suffered losses indeed fled, so he said in a affirmative tone: "If you don't believe it, you can come to the door to take a look. Even without a telescope, you can clearly see that the enemy has retreated."
"How is this possible?" Before Lyudnikov could wake up from his shock, he said in surprise: "I didn't expect that the artillery bombed the enemy for a while and actually smashed the enemy's attack. This was simply incredible."