Chapter 841 Returning in defeat (Part 2)

As early as mid-October, the Lyudnikov Division, which stood firm at the barricade factory, was attacked by the 305th Infantry Division. They occupied an excellent defensive position. With the cooperation of the remnants of the 138th and 308th Infantry Divisions, they used Every factory building in the factory and every ruined wall in the ruins are carrying out tenacious defense, so that the German army's plan to seize the factory failed.

  Especially a heavy rain in late October brought the German offensive to a standstill. Chuikov took advantage of this favorable opportunity and ordered Lyudnikov to launch a counterattack against the 305th Infantry Division. After the defensive areas of the 576th and 578th regiments of the German army were attacked by artillery fire from the east bank of the Volga River, Lyudnikov sent two regiments to launch a counterattack on the enemy's position.

  The troops of both sides launched a fierce tug-of-war around the No. 6 production workshop and the No. 4 assembly workshop in the factory area. In the end, Obenland, the commander of the 305th Division, saw that his troops suffered heavy casualties, and ordered the troops to withdraw from the barricade factory without asking the commander of the 51st Army, Kurzbach.

  Because of Auburn Rand's unauthorized claims, he was quickly dismissed by Paulus, and the troops were also transferred to the second line for rest. It was under such circumstances that Steinmetz was appointed as the acting division commander of the 305th Division. On the second day after taking office, his rank was promoted from colonel to major general, and his position was changed from acting division commander to official division commander.

Now the 577th Regiment of the 305th Division of the German Army has returned to the Barricade Factory. The central factory area, the southern factory area, and a part of the northern factory area that the two sides had repeatedly competed for have completely fallen into the hands of the German army. What Lyudnikov Division can control is only Part of the narrow area in the north.

  While the troops were still gathering, Steinmetz received a call from Brandt from the front: "Your Excellency, the scouts I sent reported that the Russians sent reinforcements to the factory."

  When he learned that the Soviet army had increased its troops, Steinmetz couldn't help being surprised, and quickly asked, "How many troops are there, and are there any heavy weapons?"

   "There are about a thousand people." Brandt replied: "They are all equipped with German equipment. Except for a few MG34 general-purpose machine guns, they do not have any heavy weapons."

"What, all German-style equipment?" Brandt really didn't take it seriously when he first heard that the Soviet reinforcements were only a thousand or so. According to his thinking, a company of his troops could deal with the Russians. With one battalion commander and more than a thousand reinforcements, he only needs to send two companies to clean them up. But after hearing that the reinforcements were all equipped with German-style equipment, he suddenly thought of a troop that frightened him, and asked tentatively, "Have you figured out the number of this troop?"

   "Not yet." Brandt replied: "Because the battle has not yet started, we have not captured any prisoners, so we cannot find out the number of the Russian unit that came to reinforce it."

"Lieutenant Colonel Brandt," when Brandt replied that he didn't know the number of the other party, a trace of dissatisfaction immediately surged in his heart. The battle is not easy to fight. Thinking of this, he said in a stern tone: "I'll give you half an hour to find out the number of the Russian troops that reinforce the barricade factory. Do you understand?"

"Half an hour?" Brandt felt a headache from Steinmetz's order. The scouts he sent reported that the Russians were heavily defended, and they couldn't approach the opponent's position at all. Under such circumstances, how could they Capture the prisoner and ask the other party's number? Thinking of this, he tentatively asked: "Your Excellency, half an hour is too short, can you give me a little more time?"

"No time, Lieutenant Colonel Brandt." Steinmetz said to Brandt in an unquestionable tone, "I'll only give you half an hour. If the time is up, you haven't figured it out yet to reinforce this army." The number of the Russian unit, I will find someone to take your place, you can do it yourself."

  When Steinmetz put down the phone, the chief of staff of the division standing next to him asked curiously: "Your Excellency, have you figured out the number of the Russians? Does it have any effect on our offensive?"

"Chief of staff!" Seeing that his chief of staff was so indifferent to the reinforcements from the barricade factory, Steinmetz said to him with a straight face: "If other Russian troops come, no matter how many reinforcements they come, I have the confidence to send them Annihilated in the factory. But if Sokov's troops came, it would be bad news for us."

  The chief of staff of the division originally thought that the division commander was a little nervous, but there are only a thousand Russian troops, and it only takes two companies to defeat them or even annihilate them. But when he heard Sokov's name mentioned by the other party, he couldn't help but feel moved: "Master, are you talking about the Sokov who sticks to Mamayev Post?"

"If it's not him, who else could it be?" Steinmetz was in a particularly complicated mood at the moment. He thought that capturing the barricade factory would be his first victory after taking office, which would help him establish enough prestige in the division, but he didn't expect that A reinforcement troop appeared out of thin air, and it might even be the troop he feared the most. He couldn't help but worry about the battle that would unfold next. "If it is really his troops who come for reinforcements, our original combat plan may have to be adjusted, and the other two regiments must also be transferred."

  Although the chief of staff of the division had also heard about Sokov, he only heard about it. After all, his troops had never dealt with Sokov's troops. He sometimes even thought that the rumors he had heard were unreliable. If Stalingrad really had such an army, why did the hundreds of thousands of Russian troops retreat from the Don River to Stalingrad so quickly? Le? This is obviously a rumor deliberately spread by the Russians in order to stabilize the morale of the army.

"Your Excellency, I don't think it's such a coincidence. After all, there is a Red October factory between us and Mamayev Gang." After a brief consideration, the chief of staff of the division said to Steinmetz : "So what if Sokov brings troops to reinforce himself? There are only a thousand people and no heavy weapons. Unless he is God, he will not be able to stop our army's attack at all."

The words of the chief of staff of the division did not make Steinmetz let go of his fear of Sokov. He smiled wryly and said, "Chief of staff, immediately inform Colonel Wenzel of the 578th Regiment and ask him to start gathering troops immediately. Ready to go into the barricade to support the 577th if necessary."

  Sokov never dreamed that his name would frighten Steinmetz, the commander of the German 305th Division. He was assigning tasks to Lieutenant Porochenko, the artillery company commander of the downsizing regiment.

   "Comrade Lieutenant," Sokov asked Porochenko: "How many rocket launchers are equipped in your company?"

  Some time ago, as soon as the rocket launchers from Moscow arrived, Sokov asked Porochenko and the others to receive the equipment, and asked them to learn how to use the rocket launchers from the instructors. In order for these secret weapons to play a huge role in defense, Sokov must know what to expect.

"Report to Comrade Commander," Porochenko replied, "We only brought ten rocket launchers here, and the rest are stored in the underground warehouse of the Red October factory, guarded by a squad of soldiers." When the husband asked again, he took the initiative to explain, "I prepared for the worst. Even if we all died in the battle to defend the barricade factory, the remaining soldiers are still an anti-tank force that cannot be underestimated."

Sokov was very satisfied with Porochenko's precautionary approach. He nodded, and then asked: "How far can you effectively destroy the enemy's target?" The data sounds pretty good, but the actual situation can only be figured out through the use on the battlefield.

"During training, our fighters can accurately hit targets at a range of eighty meters." Porochenko said cautiously: "But we have never used this weapon on the battlefield, I don't know When the fighters see the tank coming towards them, will they become panicked and affect their performance."

"Comrade Lieutenant, as a special anti-tank force, you don't necessarily have to face the enemy's tanks head-on." Sokov reminded the other party: "You know, the frontal armor of tanks is the thickest. When a shot is fired, a ricochet is formed, which will have a negative impact on the confidence of the soldiers. Therefore, I think you should lurk in the way of German tanks or assault guns, and attack their sides, so that the rockets can easily hit them. Wear the target."

When Sokov and Porochenko were talking, Lyudnikov, who was sitting not far away, glanced at them from time to time. He really wanted to interject and ask, what kind of bazooka were they talking about? Against enemy tanks? But out of politeness, he didn't interrupt the two casually, but sat aside and listened quietly.

   After finally waiting for Porochenko to leave, Lyudnikov immediately asked impatiently: "Colonel Sokov, I want to ask you, what is the rocket launcher you just mentioned?"

   "It is a new type of individual anti-tank weapon." Sokov said briefly: "It can destroy enemy tanks or assault guns at a long distance, so that our soldiers don't have to risk their lives to blow up tanks at close range."

  Because he didn’t see the real thing, Lyudnikov couldn’t imagine what the rocket launcher looked like, so he tentatively asked: “What kind of weapon is that, is it similar to an anti-tank gun?”

   Sokov picked up the pen and paper on the table, drew a sketch on it, and then pushed it to Lyudnikov to explain the structure and working principle of the bazooka to him.

After listening to Sokov's introduction, Lyudnikov felt a little disapproving. He thought that this new type of anti-tank weapon might be better than an anti-tank gun, but definitely not as good as an anti-tank gun. After all, it is an individual weapon. , no matter how strong it can be. He tried his best to ask in a calm tone: "Colonel Sokov, when do you plan to use this force?"

   "I don't know, Comrade Colonel." Sokov replied unexpectedly: "I don't know when to use this force."

  Sokov's words made Lyudnikov dumbfounded. He thought to himself that you, as a division commander, don't know how to send a unit under your command to fight. This is simply a fantasy.

Sokov saw Lyudnikov's doubts, and explained to him: "Comrade Colonel, this is a brand new anti-tank force, and their role on the battlefield will far exceed our imagination. , so I will use them as a secret weapon, and when the situation is critical, I will send them into the field to deal with the German tanks."

  From Sokov's tone, Lyudnikov understood that he might be somewhat disappointed that he might not see this special anti-tank unit participating in the battle in a short period of time. But when he thought about the upcoming battle, he asked worriedly: "Colonel Sokov, do you think our current arrangement can stop the new German attack?"

   As soon as he finished speaking, before Sokov could make a statement, the phone on the desk rang. He picked up the microphone, and the voice of Major Savage, the commander of the artillery regiment, came from inside: "Comrade commander, the enemy has begun to attack me again."

   "The enemy is attacking again?!" Lyudnikov heard Savage's report, glanced at Sokov next to him, and asked in a raised voice, "How many troops does the enemy have, and are there any tanks accompanying them?"

   "The attacking infantry has about a battalion, and six assault guns." Savage replied: "Comrade Commander, what should we do next?"

   Lyudnikov did not answer immediately, but looked at Sokov again, as if asking for his opinion. Sokov looked at him for a moment, then stretched out his hand, and asked politely, "Comrade Colonel, can I give an order to Major Savage?"

"Please, Colonel Sokov." Lyudnikov considered that Sokov saw the establishment of the artillery emplacement with his own eyes and was more familiar with how to use artillery than himself, so he immediately passed the microphone over and said politely: "I think it is more appropriate for you to command the artillery than me."

  After receiving Lyudnikov's authorization, Sokov said into the microphone: "Major Savage, Commander Lyudnikov has authorized me to use artillery. From now on, you follow my orders."

Savage didn't expect Lyudnikov to hand over the command of the artillery to Sokov, but he soon realized that the soldiers on the artillery positions are basically Sokov's subordinates, and it is natural for him to command Better than Lyudnikov, he replied loudly: "Yes, Comrade Colonel! I will obey your orders!"

"Major, I order you now, fire immediately!" Seeing that the opponent was willing to obey his order, Sokov decisively gave the order: "Use armor-piercing shells to deal with the enemy's assault guns, and use high-explosive shells to deal with the infantry behind the assault guns." .”

  As the order is issued, the artillery distributed in different positions fires simultaneously. The assault gun that opened the way in front became the first target to attack. Don't see that the assault gun has no turret, the whole body is low, and the artillery is difficult to aim, but it can't stand the 76mm artillery. The second and third shells came one after another, blowing up the assault guns into burning torches in an instant.

  The assault gun was destroyed, and the infantry following behind was also attacked by high-explosive shells. The shrapnel flying horizontally cut down the German soldiers near the explosion point in pieces. The soldiers who were lucky enough not to be hit by the shrapnel jumped into the nearby crater one after another, lying on the bottom of the crater not daring to move.

  In just five minutes of shelling, all the German assault guns were destroyed, and half of the infantry who followed the attack were killed or injured. As soon as the Soviet artillery fire stopped, the German soldiers hiding in the bomb crater hurriedly climbed out, spread their feet and ran towards their positions.

Lyudnikov thought that another **** battle would be necessary to repel the German attack, but he was surprised that the artillery deployed in the rear fired a round of artillery and easily crushed the enemy's attack. endlessly. He looked at Sokov and asked in surprise: "Colonel Sokov, the enemy's attack was repelled by us just like this?"

"Yes, I was repulsed." Sokov just went to the door to see that the enemy who had suffered losses was indeed fleeing, so he said in a positive tone: "If you don't believe it, you can go to the door to take a look, even if you don't need it." With the telescope, you can clearly see that the enemy is retreating."

   "How is this possible?" Lyudnikov hadn't recovered from the shock, he said in surprise: "I didn't expect that the artillery bombarded the enemy for a while, and it smashed the enemy's attack. This is simply unbelievable."

  (end of this chapter)