Chapter 970 Capture of a German Division Commander
Fortunately, Merkulov followed Sokov's order and asked the artillery regiment to advance along with the infantry.
Seeing that the infantry attacking from the front were suppressed by the enemy's intensive firepower and unable to move, the artillerymen immediately pushed the artillery forward, selected a suitable firing position, and aimed the muzzle at the firepower points of the carriages.
Since the troops attacking the station did not conduct artillery preparations before the attack, the Germans misjudged that the Soviet troops rushing into the station did not have heavy firepower. Facing a crossfire point consisting of several train cars,
There was simply nothing that could be done. The machine guns in the carriage fired recklessly at the hiding positions of the soldiers, trying to use intensive firepower to eliminate all the attacking commanders and fighters.
The two artillery pieces that were set up first aimed at one of the carriages and fired. After two loud bangs, the targeted carriage was hit directly and was instantly enveloped in fire and smoke. The one who was shooting in the carriage was
Soldiers were killed or wounded, and snipers hiding under the carriage were crushed to pieces by the collapsed floor.
The German soldiers in other carriages didn't know what kind of super weapons the Soviet army used, but they actually destroyed a carriage in an instant. Just as their shooting stopped, they saw the Soviet troops who had been suppressed by fire crawling from the ground.
He got up and was rushing towards him, then hurriedly continued shooting.
The Soviet artillery regiment had five or six more artillery pieces set up, and they aimed at the remaining carriages and fired. The outgoing shells flew towards the target as if they had eyes, turning the carriages into balls of fire.
At this time, the German shooting stopped completely. The German soldiers who were lucky enough to be fine threw away their weapons and fled towards the back position without looking back. They just hoped to get as far away from here as possible. When they saw the German soldiers running away, they were lying on the ground.
The Soviet commanders and soldiers jumped up one after another and rushed towards the escaping German soldiers with their weapons in hand.
When the German division commander von Dreiber learned that the Soviet army was launching an attack on the station, he was actually not worried. Based on his understanding of the Soviet army, it would take at least four or five days to capture a position like the station. Therefore, he refused.
The proposal of the chief of staff did not ask Paulus for help.
Even when his men used landmines and explosives to drive out the Soviet troops who had invaded the ticket hall, he proudly said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, have you seen it? The Russians' tactical veneer, their soldiers
And without sufficient training, if you want to seize the position from our division, the chance of success is simply not high."
When the chief of staff heard what von Dreiber said, he kept flattering him and said: "Your Excellency, the division commander, has the foresight to see right away that the Russian attack will not be effective. I would like to ask, what will happen to the Russian attack later?"
When they are repelled by us, do we need to organize a counterattack to completely defeat their attacking troops?"
"No need." Von Drebel rejected the chief of staff's proposal without hesitation: "There are ruins everywhere inside and outside the station, which is not conducive to the deployment of the troops. If the soldiers maintain a dense formation during a counterattack, they are likely to be attacked.
Attacked by the mysterious weapons of the Russians."
Although von Drebel did not explain what the mysterious weapon was, the chief of staff knew very well that the Soviet army's new rockets were not only powerful, but could also establish a launch site anywhere.
If two missiles are fired when the attacking troops are crowded together, the losses caused to the troops will be quite heavy.
I thought that after the Soviet attack was repelled, they would have to wait at least a few hours before launching a new attack. Unexpectedly, within half an hour, officers at the front reported that the Soviet army used mysterious weapons to attack the ticket hall, causing
The mines and explosives buried inside exploded, and the defenders in the hall were completely wiped out.
Upon hearing the bad news, von Drebel was stunned for a moment, and then ordered the chief of staff: "Let the defenders on the platform immediately take up positions to block the Russians who are rushing in."
The chief of staff thought that the fortifications on the platform were all made of sandbags and would be difficult to block the Russian attack. However, since it was the order given by the division commander, he could only truthfully convey it to the troops at the front and let them hold on firmly.
But less than half an hour after the order was issued, bad news came again from outside, saying that the Russian troops had rushed to the platform and were advancing continuously. Moreover, two-thirds of the platform had fallen into the hands of the Russians.
hand.
"Your Excellency, division commander," after hearing the battle report from the front, the division chief of staff was completely crazy. He quickly asked von Drebel: "I think we should ask the commander for help and let him send reinforcements to reinforce us.
.”
"No rush, no rush." Knowing that the Soviet offensive troops were approaching his headquarters step by step, von Drebel still pretended to be calm and said: "Don't forget that we used carriages to form a fortification in the middle of the station.
, the machine guns in the carriage can form a crossfire point and block the way forward for the Russians. Those snipers hidden under the carriage can easily kill the Russian commander who leads the charge, allowing the Russian army to lose its unified command.
Into chaos."
A few months ago, von Dreiber had used this tactic to defeat the Soviet troops who counterattacked him many times. He originally thought that he could repeat the same tactics and use firepower to consume the Soviet army's effective strength. But he
I never dreamed that this offensive force was actually indirectly commanded by Sokov. The tactics of bayonets on cannons were specially used to deal with such strong firepower points. Those carriages parked on the railway tracks with sandbags piled at the door were in the Soviet Union.
In front of the military artillery, there was just a pile of immovable targets. After a few rounds of shooting, they turned into burning wreckage.
When he learned that the Soviet army had broken through the defense line of the carriage and was rushing towards the location of his headquarters, von Drebel was dumbfounded. He quickly shouted to the chief of staff: "Send a report to the commander immediately and request reinforcements.
, requesting reinforcements.”
"It's too late, Your Excellency, Division Commander." The Chief of Staff said with a sad face: "The Russians are only three hundred meters away from our headquarters. When the reinforcements arrive, I'm afraid we will all be prisoners. The only way at the moment is to break out of the encirclement immediately. Maybe we can still survive."
Get out."
"Break through, yes, break out immediately." Von Drebel ordered in a panic: "Chief of Staff, you and I will each take some division members and break out in the direction of the department store."
Since it is a breakout, we must not be as leisurely as we want to transfer. As soon as the breakout order was issued, the German command headquarters immediately fell into chaos. Von Drebel said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, you first lead a company of the guard battalion toward the
Break out from the southwest, and I will catch up with my men."
The chief of staff agreed and led a guard company to break out in the southwest direction. Although there were Soviet obstructions along the way, facing one or two hundred German soldiers equipped with submachine guns and desperate for their lives, the small teams along the way were not blocked.
When they are destroyed, they are scattered.
The unit ran for more than half an hour and finally left the station and came to a ruins. When the chief of staff counted the number of people, he found that there were only more than forty people left around him, and the rest were either killed or scattered. He
He shouted loudly to the soldiers: "Has any of you seen the division commander? Has any of you seen the division commander?..."
When the second call was made, a German sergeant with an injured arm came over and said: "Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, I just looked back and saw that the division commander seemed to be leading a guard battalion and members of the division headquarters to break through to the west.
"
"What, the division commander broke through to the west?" When the division chief of staff heard what the sergeant said, he went over and grabbed his collar and asked, "Is everything you said true?"
"Of course it's true, Your Excellency, Chief of Staff." The sergeant replied with a grimace: "I think the division commander wanted me to attract the attention of the Russians, and then he took the members of the guard battalion and the division headquarters and smoothly arrived from other directions.
Break out."
Regarding the sergeant's statement, the chief of staff thought for a moment and felt that it was very reasonable. Von Drebel asked him to act separately. This seemed to be the first time. It seemed that the other party really wanted to
Use yourself as bait to attract the attention of the Russians so that he can break out smoothly.
"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff," someone from the surrounding soldiers asked the Chief of Staff: "What should we do next?"
"What else can we do? Of course we continue to break out." The chief of staff gritted his teeth and replied: "As long as there is one of us left, we must find ways to escape to the department store and report the situation here to the commander."
Under the strict orders of the division chief of staff, the surviving German officers and soldiers rechecked their weapons, wrapped their wounds, and fled toward the southwest like bereft dogs.
However, they did not encounter any Soviet troops along the way, allowing them to continue to escape as quickly as possible. After running for an unknown period of time, there was a sudden sound of shooting from the front. When they heard the sound of gunfire, everyone immediately fell down on the spot.
, looking for a suitable hiding place and preparing to fire back.
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the opposite side: "Hey, which department are you from?"
After hearing clearly that the other party was speaking standard German, the division chief of staff quickly emerged from his hiding place and shouted to the other side: "I am the division chief of staff of the 297th Infantry Division. Which division are you from?"
"We are from the 100th Chasseur Division."
"It's the 100th Jäger Division." The officers and soldiers heard the other party's reply and immediately cheered: "We have successfully broken through and escaped from the Russian encirclement."
Although the other party said that he was from the 100th Chasseur Division, the division chief of staff continued to squat in his hiding place. He was deeply afraid that the other party was a Soviet army in disguise and wanted to take a look before talking.
At this time, three people walked out of the opposite position. The leader was an officer wearing a large-brimmed hat, who was walking slowly towards his position. The division chief of staff called the sergeant and gave instructions
He said: "Sergeant, go over and see if those people are really the 100th Jäger Division. If so, send me a signal."
After receiving the order, the sergeant immediately trotted over to meet him. After confirming that the person who came to meet him was indeed from the 100th Chasseur Division, he waved his arms desperately to the division chief of staff. The division chief of staff confirmed that this was the 100th Chasseur Division.
The Chasseur Division came out of their hiding place and walked over with the remaining soldiers.
Soon, the division chief of staff was brought to Paulus. Paulus looked at his subordinate and asked him: "Tell me, what happened at the Central Station?"
"Report to your Excellency, Commander," the division chief of staff replied in a panic: "The Russians launched an attack on the central railway station. It took just over an hour to occupy most of the station..."
After hearing this, Paulus asked angrily: "Since the Russians are attacking the station, as the division chief of staff, if you are not commanding the battle in the station, why are you coming to me?"
"Your Excellency, Commander, I was ordered to break out of the encirclement." The division chief of staff defended himself and said, "The division commander ordered me to lead a guard company to open the way ahead, and he followed behind with members of the guard battalion and headquarters."
"Since it is a scattered breakout." Paulus asked coldly: "Then why don't you wait for General von Drebel to leave the train station together?"
"After I led my troops to break out of the Russian encirclement, I found that the division commander had not followed. I originally planned to go back to search, but a soldier told me that the division commander did not break out of the encirclement in the same direction as us. He ordered me to break out to the southwest.
But he led the people toward the west."
"What, General von Drebel asked you to break out to the southwest, but he went to the west?" Paulus thought it was a bit ridiculous at first, but then he thought about it, this was just in line with the fear of death of these generals, they
In order to escape successfully, he would use his subordinates as bait to attract the attention of the Russians. He hesitated for a moment and asked awkwardly: "Did he break out?"
"I don't know, Your Excellency, Commander." The division chief of staff replied: "At that time, I had less than forty people left with me. I could not go back to fight the Russians, so I brought them here to report to you.
.”
"I know." Paulus nodded and waved to the other party: "You've worked hard, go down and rest first."
After the division chief of staff left, Schmidt walked to Paulus and reminded him: "Your Excellency, Commander, since the Russians have launched an attack on the station, will their next target of attack be where we are?"
Where’s the department store?”
"It's possible." Paulus nodded and asked, "Can troops be transferred from somewhere to strengthen the defense here?"
"Now all our troops are entangled by the Russian army. If we can mobilize them casually, I'm afraid..."
Although Schmidt did not finish what he said, Paulus also understood what the other party was worried about, and could only say with a wry smile: "In this case, we can only let the 100th Jäger Division strengthen the fortifications, hoping to block the Russian attack.
.”
…………
Moreover, when General von Dreiber broke out with the guard battalion and division headquarters members, he was discovered by the artillery deployed on the platform. The artillery immediately turned its muzzle, aimed at the fleeing German troops, and bombarded them, blowing them to pieces.
General von Dreiber was stunned by the shell and fell directly into a crater. The soldiers accompanying him saw him falling into a crater after the shelling. They thought he had been killed and ran away without checking.
After the shelling stopped, Soviet infantry surrounded them from all directions and tightly surrounded the remaining German officers and soldiers. Seeing that they had no way to retreat, they all raised their hands and surrendered.
When the Soviet soldiers were cleaning the battlefield, they accidentally discovered that General von Drebel was not dead lying in the crater, and quickly reported the good news to Merkulov. Merkulov heard this
He reported the news to Sokov with excitement: "Comrade Commander, good news, really great news. Our soldiers have captured a German division commander."
