The preparation time was more than expected, because the German train did not leave from the south bank to the north bank until one o'clock in the morning.
The reason why it was chosen at one o'clock in the morning was because the Soviet army had been using various artillery to block the railway bridge during the day... This was Batrakov's death order to the artillery. The purpose was of course to prevent German trains and reinforcements from crossing the bridge.
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Therefore, the German army did not dare to let the train cross the bridge easily during the day. After all, the train was something running on the railway. A few rounds of artillery shells could blow up the rails and make the train impassable.
It is much safer to use fire transport after dark, because it is very difficult for artillery to hit the narrow railway bridge at night.
So after a period of emergency repairs and fire cover, a train consisting of more than 20 carriages loaded with supplies and tanks drove to the north bank. At the same time, troops also poured into the north bank in batches to prepare for the attack.
Major General Jonas breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the train passed the railway bridge smoothly and entered the shelter area to unload equipment.
Although the results of the whole day today were not great, they finally opened up a space on the north bank and established a firm foothold.
Starting from tomorrow, resources and troops will be continuously sent to the Soviet flanks via railway lines and then flow towards the enemy like a tide and compress their living space.
The German army was well supplied and morale was high, but the enemy was surrounded from all sides.
Major General Jonas confidently believed that the entire defense of Stalingrad would collapse before long.
Thinking of this, Major General Jonas sat back in his chair easily, took out the brandy shipped from France from the drawer and poured himself a glass.
While Major General Jonas was enjoying the wine in his glass leisurely and comfortably, the adjutant came in with a telegram and reported: "General, the enemy has launched a counterattack in the direction of the granary. Major Paul is requesting reinforcements!"
Jonas replied in a deep voice while shaking the wine glass in his hand: "I will not send reinforcements. Let Paul retreat and order him to appear in front of me within half an hour!"
"Yes, General!"
Major General Jonas was very dissatisfied with Paul's performance today. He originally hoped that Paul's troops could cover the flanks of the main force, but unexpectedly they were blocked just after they attacked the granary.
"This useless guy!" Major General Jonas couldn't help but cursed: "He occupied an artillery regiment, a bomber squadron, and sent reinforcements several times, but he was still beaten in such a mess!"
In Major General Jonas's mind, Major Paul's career was over.
On the other hand, the reason why Major General Jonas calmly withdrew the troops from the granary was because at this time the supply line of the railway bridge and the defense circle on the north bank had been completed, and the German army no longer needed to rely on the supply line of the granary.
However, what Major General Jonas did not expect was that this was the stupidest decision he made in this battle. He should send reinforcements in the direction of the granary, no matter how much it was, it was worth it.
But in fact, it was already too late for Major General Jonas to send reinforcements.
The reason was that the Soviet army launched a fierce attack on the German troops stationed outside the granary in the dark.
The attacking infantry consisted of two battalions, plus a newly transferred artillery regiment and an engineer battalion.
The outer perimeter of the German garrison was a wilderness with its back to the river bank. More importantly, the melting of ice and snow in summer made the ground muddy, which made it difficult for the Germans to even build individual bunkers... As long as they dug a deeper hole, they would
If dirty water is poured into it, the bunker will soon become a bathtub. Although it can barely hide bullets and artillery shells, soaking the whole body in dirty water will not only be uncomfortable, but also cause firearms and ammunition to jam due to moisture or debris.
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Therefore, many German troops could only rely on a few armored vehicles.
This might be enough during the day, but at night after the Soviet army added artillery, these armored vehicles were just a perfect target.
With a roar, several armored vehicles blocking the position were blown into the sky.
Then, as several signal flares rose into the air, Soviet soldiers emerged from the bunkers and ruins in groups and rushed towards the enemy positions.
The Soviet army's attack was very interesting because the ground was muddy and they could not move forward quickly, so they almost fell down every few steps while crawling forward, and occasionally got up and rushed a few steps...
But it seems that this is the correct way to attack.
Later Shulka learned that the 17th Battalion that was brought up to lead the battle was formed from Stalingrad, and most of them came from the countryside.
Coming from the countryside means... they are already accustomed to the mud in summer, and they know how to move forward in the mud and protect themselves.
Sure enough, when the German machine guns rang out and bullets flew in the air, not many Soviet soldiers were actually shot and fell. They all "fell down" in time.
Then crawl in the mud.
The German troops who were also in the mud could not stop these enemies crawling towards them like snails. The German troops could feel their presence, but if they looked carefully, there was nothing in the darkness. A shuttle of bullets could not even stir up a splash of water.
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Soon, suddenly several grenades flew in the darkness, with a "boom" and then nothing.
Fortunately, Major General Jonas gave the order to retreat, otherwise Major Paul's troops would probably have been wiped out.
The Soviet army quickly occupied the area from the granary to the Tsaritsa River, or it can be said that it opened the channel from the granary to the Tsaritsa River.
Engineers follow closely behind the combat troops. The troops in the front advance and the engineers in the rear follow to build roads.
In fact, what they did cannot be called road construction.
Because they only filled some puddles and bomb craters, otherwise the amphibious landing ship would be stuck in it and unable to move when it passed here.
Due to the simplicity of the project, the engineers built a road to the Tsaritsa River within ten minutes after the combat troops took control of the area... although it could only accommodate three amphibious landing craft traveling side by side.
Then, a flashlight flashed rhythmically several times on the other side of the granary, which was a signal that the amphibious landing ship was about to arrive... The Soviet army's communication equipment was backward, and communication between troops was especially difficult.
For example, the communication between the naval infantry brigade and the infantry requires transfer between various headquarters, so it is more convenient and timely to use some simple and original communication methods.
A few minutes later, with a burst of motors and weak light, the amphibious landing craft drove into the granary one after another along the cleared streets, and then drove along the road to the Tsaritsa River.
It can be said that their forward troops did not pause for a moment, and marched directly from the street, in fact from the train station, to the Tsaritsa River, which was the battlefield.
In addition to the twenty-odd vehicles assigned to the Shulka cadet unit. (To be continued)