Attacking from the east of the hospital was the 87th Infantry Regiment of the 29th German Motorized Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Edmond.
In fact, the strength of the 87th Infantry Regiment at this time was no less than that of an armored regiment, because it had added one hundred assault guns and thirty tanks before the battle... In terms of quantity, one hundred and three
Ten vehicles is more than one armored regiment, but they are mainly equipped with assault guns instead of tanks, so there is still a slight difference.
These assault guns played a great role in the attack on Mamayev Heights, because they could directly target the Russian fortifications and firepower points at close range. The Russian army was even helpless against these armored assault guns.
If there is anything that the German army has to worry about, it is what the Russians have called a "bazooka"... It always pops up from somewhere and then fires a rocket to destroy the German assault gun.
As a result, Edmund also lost more than half of his armored force, leaving only about fifty vehicles with combat effectiveness.
This is related to the fact that the German logistics supply lines, that is, hospitals and schools, were occupied by the Soviet army, because some injured or malfunctioning assault guns could not be repaired in time and could not be driven back, so they could only be abandoned and parked in place to become the enemy.
target.
Thinking of this, Lieutenant Colonel Edmond couldn't help but cursed: "Those idiots actually lost the hospital and school. Those are lifelines. They should work hard to defend these places!"
Fortunately, the German army finally captured Mamayev Heights.
Now, Edmund only needs to capture the hospital and school to end this battle... Once the supply line is opened, a large amount of ammunition and reinforcements will soon arrive at Mamayev Heights.
Holding Mamayev Heights means that the Russians' supply lines will be cut off.
Needless to say what happened next, it was only a matter of time before Stalingrad fell into the hands of the Germans.
The battle went smoothly, the German army advanced steadily, and the Russians guarding here were not as difficult to deal with as they described.
Suddenly there was the roar of artillery shells in the air, and Edmond shouted: "Conceal!"
With that said, Lieutenant Colonel Edmond skillfully jumped into the crater and got down.
The shells hit the ground hard, causing waves of tremors and roars. Dust and rubble surged toward Lieutenant Colonel Edmond's position like waves from all directions.
Ten minutes later, the gunfire stopped.
Lieutenant Colonel Edmond slowly crawled out from the mud, looked around, and cursed "damn it"... Several tanks and assault guns were blown up by shells, and a raging fire was burning at this time.
However, Lieutenant Colonel Edmond did not hesitate. He loudly ordered: "Keep moving forward, don't let them escape!"
The German soldiers emerged from the bunkers one by one. The engineers continued to search for roads and clear obstacles, and then directed the tanks and assault guns to push forward with difficulty.
After advancing some distance, Lieutenant Colonel Edmond felt something was wrong because they did not encounter any obstruction.
"Lieutenant Taylor!" Lieutenant Colonel Edmond ordered: "Take a few people to conduct reconnaissance!"
"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel!"
With a wave of his hand, Taylor led the reconnaissance platoon past the tanks and engineers and broke into the darkness ahead.
After a while, several gunshots were heard from the front, followed by another burst of shouting.
Edmund immediately got everyone ready for battle.
But soon I saw Taylor running back excitedly.
"Lieutenant Colonel, we have won!" Taylor said, "The enemy has escaped!"
"The enemy escaped?"
"Yes!" Taylor replied: "We encountered our own troops in front, and we have occupied the hospital!"
The German soldiers couldn't help but cheer.
But Lieutenant Colonel Edmund didn't think this was a good thing. He looked around and asked, "Where did they escape from?"
"I don't know, Lieutenant Colonel!" Taylor replied: "But it should be from the sewer... It is said that they came in from there and occupied the hospital, and now they escaped in the same way, like rats!"
Lieutenant Colonel Edmond still felt something was wrong. Victory came too easily.
Just when Lieutenant Colonel Edmond couldn't guess what medicine the Russians were selling, gunshots and explosions suddenly came from a few miles behind them.
Lieutenant Colonel Edmund's expression changed and he ordered: "These bastards, we have been fooled! Go back immediately, to Mamayev Heights..."
"What happened?" the adjutant caught up and asked.
"Sewers, Schaeffer!" Lieutenant Colonel Edmund said: "They can attack the hospital from the sewers, and they can also attack other places through the sewers!"
"Lieutenant Colonel, you mean... they attacked Mamayev Heights by surprise?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Edmund replied angrily.
But in fact, Lieutenant Colonel Edmond did not completely guess correctly, although he guessed the general direction and strategic goal.
Shulka would not be so impulsive as to directly attack Mamayev Heights.
You must know that the German army has an infantry battalion stationed at Mamayev Heights and has also built complete fortifications. It is not easy to sneak attack and capture it in a short time.
Therefore, if a direct sneak attack on Mamayev Heights was carried out, the result would probably be that the main force of the German 87th Regiment would turn around and surround and annihilate the Soviet army which had no defensive basis.
But occupying the cemetery is another story.
There are a large number of tombstones in the cemetery. These tombstones are like a jungle... Although it looks and is actually a plain, it is easy for a regiment of troops to find no one when they dig in, especially in the dark.
However, a road capable of maneuvering tanks and cars runs straight through the cemetery to Mamayev Hill.
In other words, occupying the cemetery can also cut off the supply line to Mamayev Heights.
And this time, the 82nd Infantry Regiment actually compressed the encirclement and abandoned the main German force outside Mamayev Hill... The only thing the Soviet army had to deal with was an infantry battalion stationed on Mamayev Hill.
More than three hundred enemies.
"Comrade Golikov!" After occupying the cemetery, Mikhailovich immediately contacted the army headquarters.
"Attack the Mamayev Hills immediately, we have surrounded them!" Mikhailovich said.
"Surround them? Of course I know we have surrounded them!" Golikov replied: "But they have geographical advantages and tank cover..."
"They have no tanks!" Mikhailovich replied: "Their tanks are blocked by us!"
"What?" Golikov was a little confused about what was going on.
"We moved our position, Comrade Golikov!" Mikhailovich explained: "We attacked and occupied the cemetery. There was only one infantry battalion left on Mamayev Ridge. This was the target of our attack.