After the Germans invested three engineer battalions into the barricade factory, they did not achieve the results they expected. This made Paulus and his chief of staff, General Schmidt, particularly disappointed.
"Your Excellency, Commander," Schmidt came up behind Paulus, who was looking up at the map, and said to him: "Because the troops of Russian Colonel Sokov entered the barricade factory, our plan to seize the factory failed."
"It's this damn Sokov again. With him around, it will be difficult for our operation to succeed." Paulus turned to Schmidt and gritted his teeth and said: "It seems that we need to send more troops to strengthen
The fortifications of the barricade factory, take out these damn Russian troops. Only by getting rid of them can it be possible to 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 simply a disastrous 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 Afrika Korps was in El Alamein.
, was hit hard by Montgomery and had to retreat to Tripoli to protect itself. As a result, the American army took the opportunity to land on the west coast of Africa behind us and advanced towards Tunisia.
It is precisely because of the unfavorable war situation in Africa that the most elite 7th Armored Division, the Flag Guard Division, the Imperial Division and the Totenkopf Division were all pinned down in France. If the Führer could commit these four divisions to Stalingrad, I dare to say that
Chuikov and his troops could not hold out for less than 48 hours."
"My Lord Commander, judging from the current situation, it is absolutely impossible for the head of state to transfer these four elite divisions to Stalingrad." After pouring cold water on Paulus, Schmidt reminded him:
"According to the scouts' reports, the Russians not only massed forces in the middle reaches of the Don River northwest of Stalingrad, opposite the Romanian 3rd Army, but also invested a large number of troops south of the city. I think these actions of the Russians,
Meaning they're going to launch an attack."
"They launch a counterattack every month to try to drive our troops away from the vicinity of Stalingrad. However, these attacks of theirs have been ruthlessly crushed by us, and this time will be no exception." Paulus finished.
He frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "Chief of Staff, I remember that the two armies of the Romanian 4th Army south of the city are covering the flanks of General Hott's 4th Armored Group, right?"
"Yes!" Schmidt nodded and said to Paulus: "Your Majesty Commander, I think it is necessary to remind you that except for the 1st and 13th Divisions, the rest of the Romanian Army's equipment is very poor.
If they are attacked by the Russians, the defense line may be breached."
"These two divisions have not made any achievements near Mamayev Hill during this period. I think there is no need for them to stay." Paulus was very dissatisfied with the Romanian army's performance during this period. He was a little dissatisfied.
He said angrily: "Let them return to their homes as soon as possible, and our troops will take over the vacated area."
"Your Excellency, Commander," after hearing that Paulus asked the two Romanian divisions near Mamayev Hill to return to their posts, Schmidt respectfully asked Paulus: "Which unit do you think should be used to replace them?"
Where’s the defense?”
Paulus replied without hesitation: "Let Roski's 71st Infantry Division and Rodenburg's 76th Infantry Division take over the Romanian army's defense."
Regarding Paulus's order, Schmidt asked with some concern: "Your Excellency, Commander, I am worried that the troops may be attacked by the Russians when they change defenses..."
"Chief of Staff, don't worry. Even if the Russians knew that we were changing defenses, they would just stare blankly." In order to dispel Schmidt's doubts, Paulus specifically said to him: "According to intelligence, the cable that gives us a headache is
Colonel Kov is currently at the barricade factory. As long as he is not on Mamayev Hill, the defenders there will not dare to act rashly."
"But, but, what if he notices the change of guard in our army and rushes back to Mamayev Heights?" The muscles on Schmidt's face twitched violently. "I'm worried that he might organize some counterattack and let me
The army fell into chaos..."
"It is 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 will have to
Concentrate your energy to deal with our army's attack and have no time to worry about the direction of Mamayev Heights."
"This is a good idea." Schmidt nodded and said: "It is said that the day the engineer battalion entered the barricade factory, it caught the Russians by surprise. If Sokov hadn't come out in time to resolve the crisis, I'm afraid our army would have occupied it.
The whole factory.”
The two were studying how to seize the barricade factory when a communications officer walked in. Schmidt hurriedly went up to him and asked, "What's the matter?"
The officer quickly took out the folder from his armpit, opened it, took out a telegram and handed it to Schmidt, saying: "Telegram from Berlin Base Camp."
Schmidt took the telegram and waved to the officer, indicating that he could leave. After he lowered his head and quickly read the contents of the telegram, he walked quickly to Paulus and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, Head of State
According to the telegram, he asked us to quickly capture the remaining areas of Stalingrad."
While Paulus was reading the telegram, Schmidt continued: "The Führer believes that it is strategically meaningless for so many troops to be contained in one city by the Russians. We should end all this as soon as possible and move
Troops were redeployed to other more important areas."
After reading the telegram, Paulus threw it on the table and said with a sneer: "There are more important regions. What other regions are as important as Stalingrad today?"
As soon as Paulus finished speaking, Schmidt said: "Your Excellency, Commander, now the Russians' supplies have been completely cut off, and their situation has become increasingly difficult. If we concentrate all our forces and launch a final attack on the Russians,
A general offensive will definitely capture this city completely."
"The Russians are in difficulty, aren't we in difficulty?" Paulus complained: "Since the Russians destroyed the supplies we had hoarded at Kotluban Station and the 564th Kilometer Station, our army's ammunition and supplies have appeared.
There was a serious shortage. In the past, before attacking the factory, 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 attacking troops can receive artillery support.
, has been greatly weakened.
Also, in this damn Russian winter, it keeps snowing every day, which prevents our air force from dispatching, thus causing us to lose air superiority and allowing the Russians to better hold on to their positions."
Compared with Paulus, Schmidt was obviously more confident: "Your Excellency, Commander, the Russian transportation line is interrupted and cannot be restored in a short time. I think we should take advantage of this rare opportunity to give the Russians the final
One blow will completely crush their resistance."
Paulus knew that his chief of staff would not make such irresponsible remarks casually, so he nodded and said to him: "Chief of Staff, tell me your plan."
"Your Excellency, Commander, I admit that due to the Russian attack, we have had some problems with our ammunition and supplies." Schmidt said: "But it only takes us a few days to replenish the offensive space for the forward troops.
We must provide the necessary ammunition and supplies. Once everything is ready, it will not be too late to launch an attack on the Russians."
"How long do you think it will take us to prepare?" Paulus asked.
"A week." Schmidt raised a finger and said: "I think it is completely possible to replenish ammunition and supplies to the frontline troops in a week. As long as our preparations are completed, we can launch a comprehensive
Attack. From my perspective, let’s choose the attack time on November 18th.”
Paulus turned his head and glanced at the calendar on the wall, nodded slightly, and said: "Okay, we will make sure to launch the final general attack on the Russians on November 18th. We must capture those areas still controlled by the Russians before dark.
Area."
After determining the time for the final general attack, Paulus remembered another important thing: "By the way, Chief of Staff, according to the reconnaissance of the Air Force, the Russian guerrillas who attacked the station took away a lot of supplies in the station.
They moved to the camp in the forest. When are you going to send out the suppression troops to eradicate these damn guerrillas?"
Hearing Paulus's question, Schmidt hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "Your Excellency, Commander, our main task now is to completely capture Stalingrad. As long as we capture the city, we can then turn around and deal with these guerrillas."
Not too late." He was worried that Paulus would be stubborn and emphasized, "After all, we are now facing a situation of insufficient troops."
"Chief of Staff, I thought about it for a moment. The Russians have assembled a large number of troops in the middle reaches of the Don River. They are obviously going to attack us, and there is only one Romanian 3rd Army there." Paulus waited for Schmidt to finish.
He said thoughtfully: "I think we need to deploy troops to strengthen defense."
"Your Excellency, Commander!" Schmidt asked respectfully: "Where do you plan to deploy the troops?"
Paulus stood up and walked to the wall, looking up at the unit numbers marked on the map. After looking at it for a while, he raised his right hand and pointed at the map, turned to Schmidt and said: "Chief of Staff, you give the 48th Armored Corps
Lieutenant General Chang Heim made a phone call and ordered him to dispatch the 22nd Armored Division into the defense zone of the Romanian 3rd Army."
"What, dispatch the 22nd Armored Division?" Schmidt couldn't help but froze when he heard Paulus's order. He quickly glanced at the map, and then said: "Your Excellency, Commander, the 22nd Armored Division has been
Deployed at the rear of the Italian 8th Army, 150 battalions away from the Romanian Army's defense area..."
"I know how far they are from the new defense zone. I have eyes." Paulus said with a straight face: "There are currently no troops with combat missions, only the 22nd Armored Division. Time is running out, so give the order immediately.
Bar."
"Okay, I'll call Lieutenant General Heim right now and ask him to transfer the 22nd Armored Division south as soon as possible." After Schmidt finished speaking, he turned around and planned to return to his office, but he didn't take a few steps.
He was stopped by Paulus. The latter pointed to the phone on the table and said to him: "Chief of Staff, just use my phone to call Lieutenant General Heim."
Schmidt returned to Paulus' desk, picked up the phone on the desk, and made a call to Lieutenant General Heim's headquarters. As soon as the call came through, he said bluntly: "General Heim, commander
Your Excellency orders you to immediately dispatch the 22nd Armored Division into the defense area of the Romanian 3rd Army."
General Heim, who had been serving as a reserve force for several months, was overjoyed at first when he heard Schmidt say that he had a mission assigned to him, but when he heard the other party's mission, his face immediately became frosty:
"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, I think it will take some time for the 22nd Armored Division to carry out your order. They cannot be mobilized at the moment."
Hearing what Heim said, Schmidt immediately widened his eyes and asked sternly: "General Heim, what is going on? What does it mean that the 22nd Armored Division cannot be mobilized temporarily?"
Paulus saw that Schmidt was angry, with a look of astonishment on his face. He leaned forward and got closer to the phone receiver, trying to figure out what Heim said wrongly that made Schmidt angry. He heard Hai Hai
Tom complained on the phone: "Because the 22nd Armored Division belongs to the reserve and is assigned to garrison in the rear of the Italian army, there is no chance of fighting, so the troops never actually get the fuel needed for the tanks. If they want to leave,
, first we need to replenish them with enough fuel..."
Paulus didn't wait for Heim to finish, and said angrily to Schmidt: "Immediately arrange the logistics department to replenish the 22nd Armored Division with the fuel needed for the march."
Hearing that Paulus agreed to replenish fuel for his troops, Heim immediately felt more relieved. He quickly assured Paulus: "Your Excellency, Commander, I will immediately issue an order to the troops to prepare them for departure. At most
In three hours, they can move towards the defense zone of the Romanian 3rd Army."
"Very good!" After hearing Heim's reply, Paulus nodded and said with satisfaction: "I hope your armored division can enter the designated defense area as soon as possible."
It was originally thought that as long as the 22nd Armored Division was replenished with enough fuel, they would be able to move towards the defense area of the Romanian 3rd Army within the specified time. However, less than an hour later, Paulus received a call from Heim.
When the call came, the commander of the Armored Corps said anxiously on the phone: "Your Excellency, Commander, something is wrong, something has happened, something big has happened!"
Hearing what Heim said, Paulus couldn't help but feel a little in his heart, wondering if the armored division had been attacked by Russian guerrillas? He asked in a panic: "General Heim, don't be anxious, calm down.
Tell me quickly what happened?"
"I just received a call from Colonel Oberon, the commander of the 204th Armored Regiment. He said that 39 of the 104 tanks in the regiment could not start at all." Heim said urgently: "During the march, another
34 tanks broke down due to engine problems. In addition, there are many tanks whose turrets cannot rotate..."
"What the hell, what's going on?" After listening to the other party's report, Paulus asked angrily: "Tell me, why are so many tanks in the armored regiment malfunctioning?"
