The soldiers shouted and charged towards the Mamayev Heights position.
The most difficult part of the whole battle is the beginning.
The German army was worried that the enemy would outflank it from the rear, so it took precautions. The first thing the Soviet army had to break through was the obstacle area mixed with mines and barbed wire... Although the previous artillery preparations had partially cleared it, it was not
It's possible to clean them completely.
The troubles caused by landmines to offensive troops are not only physical injuries and psychological fear, they can also affect the offensive formation of the troops.
Because from the perspective of attacking the enemy's position, the formation should be to fully deploy the troops, that is, facing the enemy in a capital "one" formation. This can maximize the contact area with the enemy and make the enemy withstand it in a short period of time.
The biggest impact possible.
Otherwise, if you set up a "1" snake formation facing the enemy, only a few soldiers in front can play a role in the unit time, and the enemy only needs one machine gun to sweep from start to finish.
But if it is aimed at minefields, it is exactly the opposite, because the former will allow soldiers to step on as many mines as possible in a short time, while the latter will be safe after the front has stepped on the mines.
Therefore, at this time, the charge formation must try to find a middle value between the two considerations, neither too dispersed nor too concentrated.
The entire team charges in columns with squads as units. At the same time, the reserve team must remember the route of the front troops and charge closely following its route... Only in this way does it make sense for the front charging units to step on minefields.
However, stepping on thunder depends largely on luck.
When Shulka was charging, he saw that the soldiers at the front were okay, but the soldiers at the back were knocked to the ground and screamed in agony while holding their feet.
Fortunately, what he stepped on was a Soviet wooden shell mine. If it was a German "S"-shaped jumping mine...Shurka was only two bodies away from him, and the steel balls shot out instantly would definitely hit Shurka.
Give it a few blows.
But after seeing this scene, Shulka felt more relieved.
Because he knew that the German defenders stationed at Mamayev Heights were insufficiently supplied, or that their rear areas were insufficiently prepared, otherwise they would not have deployed wooden shell mines.
Shulka believes there are two reasons for this:
One is that it is no secret that the German troops at Mamaev Kurgan are short of supplies... The hospital and school were occupied by the 82nd Infantry Regiment, and as a result, the supply line was cut off.
The only way for the German army to obtain supplies was through airdrops.
But airdrops are limited after all, and they will definitely focus on more needed or urgently needed supplies.
Such as fuel, artillery shells, bullets, tank parts, etc.
Compared to these, landmines are not a necessity.
Another reason is that the main direction of the German defense is the front, that is, to the east of Mamayev Hill, where at least two regiments of enemies have gathered and will launch a fierce attack on them at any time.
Therefore, even if there are mines, the German army will prioritize laying them to the east rather than to the rear.
This enabled the 82nd Infantry Regiment to successfully rush into the German position at Mamayev Hill.
To be precise, it was a Soviet position, but it was occupied by the Germans and used by them.
However, the advantage of the Soviet army lies precisely here.
Prior to this, Shulka communicated with the 62nd Army headquarters.
The 62nd Army Headquarters even sent a defense map.
On this defense map, the locations and directions of the trenches, bunkers and air-raid shelters on Mamayev Hill are marked in detail.
It even states which bunkers have been blown up and which have not.
It is not difficult to obtain this information.
Golikov only had to ask a few survivors of Mamayev Kurgan...the Germans had taken the position from them, so they knew all about it.
After finishing, Golikov also reminded: "They have been occupied by the enemy for more than 24 hours. We don't know to what extent the enemy will restore them!"
"I know, General!" Shulka replied: "I will pay attention to this!"
In fact, there is no need to worry too much about this, because as mentioned before, the west is not the key direction of German defense, so although these fortifications will be repaired to some extent, not much will be repaired.
This is indeed the case. The German army did not even change its machine gun firepower.
This information is very important to the Soviet army, especially in night battles.
Usually in night battles, the soldiers at the front are charged to test the enemy's fire points, and then targeted flares are used to knock out or suppress these fire points before launching a charge.
Otherwise, they just rush forward without caring about anything, and a few machine guns forming a crossfire can mow down everyone on the battlefield.
However, now the 82nd Infantry Regiment does not need this step.
As soon as the mortars came up, they bombarded the "suspected" machine gun fire point, and the machine gun also fired fiercely at the position... This does not mean that the enemy can be killed. In fact, it is difficult to fire at a large position in the dark.
Kill the target.
However, these bullets and artillery shells exploded nearby, causing shrapnel and bullets to fly randomly. Not only would the enemy be suppressed and unable to raise their heads, the smoke would also temporarily obscure the sight of the machine gunner.
At this time, the Soviet infantry approached the fire point, threw a few grenades and charged again. The problem that originally required a lot of time and lives was solved.
Because the Soviet offensive was fast, violent and precise, the enemy and we entered into hand-to-hand combat within a few minutes of the start of the battle.
The hand-to-hand combat was a completely one-sided situation.
There is a saying that two fists are difficult to defeat with four hands. The side with more people will take advantage in hand-to-hand combat, and it will be a big advantage.
The total strength of the German army deployed in the rear was less than 100 men, while the first batch of Soviet troops came up with a battalion of more than 300 people, and there was another battalion that followed... In fact, the subsequent battalion was basically used to clean up the mess.
When Shulka rushed forward, the ground was full of soldiers struggling with each other.
Shulka did not hesitate, stepped forward, put his pistol to the German soldier's head and pulled the trigger.
With a "bang", the German soldier's head turned to the side and then fell to the ground.
He was unable to resist until his death, because he and the Soviet soldiers below were strangling each other's necks.
He even saw Shulka pointing a pistol at his head.
But he could do nothing but watch all this happen, his eyes full of despair and fear, and finally fell in a pool of blood.
This was not a good experience for Shulka either, because it was like shooting a defenseless prisoner, although Shulka knew that was not the case.
However, Shulka did not hesitate, grabbed the pistol and continued to move towards the next...