Chapter seven hundred and ninety seventh monitoring
Almost no one can describe the power of cannon shells.
The reason is that after the large-scale bombing, there was smoke everywhere and visibility was poor. Those who could see the smoke raised by the giant cannon were from a relatively close distance, and those who were closer were almost killed.
If I want to describe it, it would be that the soldiers who were added later found a huge pit, and then expanded outward with the pit as the center. For tens of meters away, there were corpses that were shocked and bleeding to death. After that, there were corpses that were shocked to death.
Shocking, deafening.
Of course, not many people cared about this at the time.
Because the German tanks and troops immediately found this gap and launched a focused attack towards this gap.
At this time, Manstein was observing the battlefield with a telescope from a high trench, and then he discovered that the breakthrough effect was not satisfactory.
Tanks and infantry covered each other's advance, with few enemies able to resist them but progress was slow.
"What's going on?" Manstein asked anxiously, "Order them to speed up!"
"Yes, Marshal!" The adjutant immediately dialed the frontline phone number.
But not long after, the adjutant reported: "Marshal, they can't speed up because there are barbed wires everywhere and the engineers are cleaning them!"
After hearing this, Manstein unconsciously put down his telescope.
He had thought that the German offensive would be in trouble, but he did not expect that it would be in trouble as soon as the attack started.
barbed wire...
Later, Manstein understood that this may be the reason why he prematurely leaked the existence of the giant cannon. The thing the Russians used to deal with the giant cannon was barbed wire.
On the surface, the two pieces of equipment, barbed wire and giant cannon, seem to have nothing to do with each other, but in fact they are not.
The giant cannon cannot blow up the barbed wire, or to be precise, it cannot blow up the barbed wire laid over a large area, but these dense barbed wires can stop the tanks from moving forward, unless the German tanks risk being caught in the track by the barbed wire.
Needless to say what the enemy will do next...their infantry will soon fill the gap, and then the road in front of the tank will be filled with anti-tank guns or rocket launchers.
Manstein turned his attention to the map. After looking at it for a while, he pointed at a point and ordered: "Order the heavy artillery brigade to move the next attack point five kilometers north!"
"yes!"
Manstein hoped to use his usual tactic: a pincer attack.
If it is difficult to break through the enemy on the front, then surround the enemy from the weak two wings... This seems to be common sense.
The problem is that the Soviet defense line seems to have weak points everywhere but also quagmire everywhere.
Shurka's troop deployment seemed to be aimed at the German artillery assault tactics. There were not many troops on the defense line, but there were layers of trenches, barbed wire and anti-tank trenches, making it difficult for the German tanks to move forward from the beginning.
The basis of "Blitzkrieg".
But even so, Paulus breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that the Don Army Group had launched an attack.
He immediately addressed the entire army via radio:
"All officers and soldiers of the 6th Army, maybe you have heard that Marshal Manstein is leading the Don Army to attack the enemy's defense line. Or maybe you have also felt it, because the number of transport planes transporting supplies to us has decreased, because
They are assisting the Don Army Group in fighting. Therefore, the Russian lies have been shattered, the Don Army Group is not surrounded, and of course they are not retreating! On the contrary, they are advancing, and the progress is very smooth..."
In fact, the Soviet army did not say that the Don Army Group was surrounded or retreated. These were all imagined by the German soldiers themselves.
However, in order to stabilize the morale of the army, Paulus was of course willing to put this label on the Soviet army and use it to prove that everything else the Soviet army said were lies.
"So!" Paulus continued: "In the next few days, who you choose to believe will be the key! Believe in the enemy, or ourselves? Our motherland?! I am willing to believe in myself and the motherland. At least, destiny is
In our own hands rather than at the mercy of others, and the so-called amnesty order, do you think the Russians will keep their promises? No, never! All we need is to wait, and then Karachi will be ours
A bridge back to my hometown and reunited with my family..."
Paulus's speech was very contagious, and it was also true that the German army was attacking Karachi, so the German army was pulled back to the line of resolute resistance, or it was "temporarily" pulled back.
However, Paulus, who said these words, did not believe his own words.
Because on this day, although the Air Force's transportation to the 6th Group Army was reduced, a colonel was still airborne.
This colonel's name was Keother, and he ostensibly gave Paulus the rank of Field Marshal, but Paulus knew that Colonel Keother was a Gestapo and a confidant of Hitler.
Paulus had every reason to believe that Colonel Kooser had contacted Major General Hartmann of the Special Operations Force before he landed.
In addition, Paulus discovered that there were suddenly a few unfamiliar faces among the guards.
Paulus was not a fool. He knew that he had actually been monitored and his personal freedom had been restricted to some extent. The person responsible for monitoring him was Colonel Cooser, who came to confer the title and then never returned.
Needless to say what the purpose was, it was just to worry about surrendering with the troops.
Paulus felt insulted.
This seems to be excusable, because Paulus did have the idea of surrender in his heart and even said so in his telegram to Hitler.
But as a soldier, Paulus was still reluctant to be treated like this.
More importantly, although Paulus won the argument between Manstein, he kept thinking about Manstein's words... "If we launch an attack now, we may lose the rescue of No. 6 forever."
Opportunity to form an army!”
If what Manstein said is true, that is to say, the Don Army Group cannot rescue itself, what will happen?
Paulus didn't know the outcome, and he was hesitating in his mind whether to surrender or continue to persevere.
But after some consideration, Paulus finally chose the former.
Because Paulus thought of one thing: At this time, the German Air Force's transport planes could still land in Stalingrad without any obstacles. In other words, as long as Hitler wanted, he could use transport planes to transport the main officers of the 6th Army, including Paulus.
Si evacuated inside.
But Hitler did not do this. Instead, he gave Paulus the rank of Field Marshal and sent people to monitor him.
Therefore, Hitler's intention was obvious. He wanted Paulus to live and die with the 6th Army, and even chose to commit suicide at the last moment.
"No!" Paulus said to himself in his heart: "I will not die for that Austrian corporal!" (To be continued)