Chapter 970 captures a German division commander

   Fortunately, Merkulov, according to Sokov's order, let the artillery regiment follow the infantry forward.

   Seeing the infantry attacking in front, they were suppressed by the enemy's intensive firepower and couldn't move. The artillery immediately pushed the artillery forward, chose a suitable shooting position, and aimed the muzzle at the firepower points of the several carriages.

Because the troops attacking the station did not prepare for artillery fire before the attack, the Germans misjudged that the Soviet troops rushing into the station did not have any heavy firepower. There is simply nothing that can be done. The machine guns in the carriage unscrupulously fired at the hiding places of the soldiers, trying to use intensive firepower to wipe out all the attacking commanders and fighters.

  The two cannons that were set up first aimed at one of the carriages and fired. After two loud bangs, the targeted carriage was hit directly, and was instantly enveloped in flames and thick smoke. The soldiers who were shooting in the carriage were either killed or injured, and the snipers hiding under the carriage were also crushed into meat paste by the collapsed floor.

  The German soldiers in the other carriages didn’t know what kind of super weapons the Soviet army used, but they would reimburse a carriage in an instant. As soon as their shooting stopped, they saw the Soviet troops who had been suppressed by the firepower get up from the ground, rushing towards them, and continued to shoot in a hurry.

  The Soviet artillery regiment set up another five or six artillery pieces, aimed at the remaining carriages and fired. The fired shells flew towards the target as if they had eyes, turning the carriage into **** of fire.

  The German shooting stopped completely. The German soldiers who were lucky to have nothing happened threw away their weapons and fled towards the rear position without looking back, hoping to stay as far away as possible. Seeing the Germans fleeing, the Soviet commanders and fighters lying on the ground jumped up one after another, holding their weapons and pounced on the fleeing German soldiers.

  German army commander von Drebel was not worried when he learned that the Soviet army was attacking the station. Based on his knowledge of the Soviet army, it would take at least four or five days to conquer a position like the station. Therefore he rejected the proposal of the chief of staff and did not ask Paulus for help.

Even when his subordinates used landmines and explosives to drive out the Soviet troops who entered the ticket hall, he proudly said to the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, have you seen it? Russian tactical veneers, their soldiers And lack of sufficient training, if you want to seize the position from our division, the chance of success is not high at all."

When the chief of staff heard what von Drebel said, he kept flattering and said: "Your Excellency, you still have a vision, and you can see that the Russian offensive is difficult to be effective. I want to ask, will the Russian offensive come again later?" When they are repelled by us, do they need to organize a counterattack to completely defeat their attacking forces?"

"No need." Von Drebel rejected the chief of staff's proposal without hesitation: "There are ruins everywhere inside and outside the station, which is not conducive to the deployment of troops. If soldiers maintain a dense formation when counterattacking, they are likely to be attacked. to the attack of the mysterious weapons of the Russians."

Although von Drebel did not explain what the mysterious weapon was, the chief of staff knew very well that the new rockets of the Soviet army were not only powerful, but could also establish launch positions at any location. Launching two bombs when the attacking troops are crowded together will cause heavy losses to the troops.

  I thought that after the Soviet attack was repelled, it would take at least a few hours before a new attack could be launched. Unexpectedly, in less than half an hour, the military officers at the front reported that the Soviet army attacked the ticket hall with mysterious weapons, causing the mines and explosives buried inside to explode, and the defenders in the hall were completely wiped out.

  Hearing the bad news, von Drebel was taken aback for a moment, and then ordered the chief of staff: "Let the defenders on the platform take up positions immediately to stop the Russians rushing in."

  The chief of staff thought to himself that the fortifications on the platform were all made of sandbags, and it would be difficult to block the Russian attack. However, since it was an order issued by the division commander, he could only truthfully convey it to the troops at the front and let them firmly guard it.

   But less than half an hour after the order was issued, bad news came from outside again, saying that the Russian troops had rushed to the platform and were constantly advancing. Moreover, two-thirds of the platforms have already fallen into the hands of the Russians.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander." After hearing the battle report from the front, the division chief of staff was completely mad, and he quickly proposed to von Drebel: "I think we should ask the commander for help and ask him to send reinforcements to reinforce us. .”

"Don't worry, don't worry." Knowing that the Soviet attacking force was approaching his headquarters step by step, von Drebel still pretended to be calm and said: "Don't forget that we used carriages to form fortifications in the middle of the station." Well, the machine guns in the carriages can form cross-fire points and block the way forward for the Russians. Those snipers hidden under the carriages can easily kill the Russian commanders who lead the charge, so that the Russian army loses its unified command Into chaos."

   A few months ago, von Drebel used this tactic to defeat the Soviet troops who counterattacked him many times. He originally thought that he could repeat the same trick and use firepower to consume the vital strength of the Soviet army. But he never dreamed that this attacking force was actually under the indirect command of Sokov, and the bayonet tactics on the cannons were specially used to deal with such strong firepower points. Those carriages parked on the railway tracks with sandbags piled up at the door were just a bunch of immovable targets in front of the Soviet artillery. After a few rounds of shooting, they turned them into groups of burning wreckage.

  Knowing that the Soviet army had broken through the defense line of the carriage and was rushing towards the position of his headquarters, von Drebel was dumbfounded. He hurriedly shouted at the chief of staff: "Immediately send a report to Your Excellency Commander, requesting reinforcements, requesting reinforcements."

"It's too late, Master Commander." The chief of staff said with a sad face, "The Russians are only 300 meters away from our headquarters. When the reinforcements arrive, I'm afraid we will all be prisoners. The only way at present is to break through immediately. Get out."

   "Break out, yes, break out immediately." Von Drebel ordered in a panic: "Chief of Staff, you and I each take a part of the division members and break out in the direction of the department store."

  Since it is a breakout, it must not be as leisurely as the transfer. As soon as the order to break out was issued, the German command immediately fell into chaos. Von Drebel said to the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, you first lead a company of the guard battalion to break out in the southwest direction, and I will lead people to catch up later."

  The chief of staff agreed and led a company of guards to break out towards the southwest. Although there were Soviet resistance along the way, facing one or two hundred German soldiers who were equipped with submachine guns and were desperate, the squads along the way were either wiped out by them or dispersed.

   After running for more than half an hour, the troops finally left the station and came to ruins. The chief of staff counted the number of people and found that there were only about forty people left around him, and the rest were either killed or scattered. He shouted at the soldiers: "Which of you saw the division commander? Did any of you see the division commander?..."

When he shouted the second time, a German sergeant with a wounded arm came over and said: "Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, I just looked back, and the division commander seems to have led the members of the guard battalion and division headquarters to break through to the west. "

   "What, the division commander broke through to the west?" Hearing what the sergeant said, the division chief of staff grabbed him by the lapel and asked, "Is what you said true?"

"Of course it's true, Your Excellency Chief of Staff." The sergeant replied with a bitter face: "I think the division commander wanted me to attract the attention of the Russians, and then he took the members of the guard battalion and division headquarters and made a smooth flight from other directions. Break out."

   Regarding the sergeant's statement, the chief of staff thought for a while and found it very reasonable. It seemed to be the first time that von Drebel let himself act separately from him. It seemed that the other party really wanted to use him as a bait to attract the attention of the Russians so that he could break through smoothly.

   "Your Excellency, Chief of Staff," someone among the surrounding soldiers asked the Chief of Staff: "What shall we do next?"

   "What else can we do, of course, continue to break through." The chief of staff gritted his teeth and replied, "As long as we have one person left, we must find ways to escape to the department store and report the situation here to Your Excellency the Commander."

  Under the strict order of the division chief of staff, these surviving German officers and soldiers re-checked their weapons, wrapped up their wounds, and fled towards the southwest like a bereaved dog.

   But they didn't encounter any Soviet troops along the way, so they could continue to escape at the fastest speed. I don't know how long they ran, but suddenly there was a shooting sound in front of them. Hearing the gunshots, everyone immediately lay down on the spot, looking for a suitable hiding place, and prepared to shoot back.

  At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the opposite side: "Hey, which part are you from?"

   Hearing clearly that the other party was using standard German, the chief of staff of the division quickly emerged from his hiding place and shouted to the opposite side: "I am the chief of staff of the 297th Infantry Division. Which part do you belong to?"

   "We belong to the 100th Jaeger Division."

   "It's the 100th Jaeger Division." The officers and soldiers immediately cheered when they heard the other party's reply: "We have successfully broken through and escaped from the encirclement of the Russians."

  Although the opposite party said that he belonged to the 100th Jaeger Division, the chief of staff of the division continued to squat in the hiding place. He was afraid that the other party was in disguise from the Soviet army, so he wanted to see it before talking.

  At this time, three people walked out of the opposite position, and the leader was an officer wearing a big-brimmed hat, walking towards his position without haste. The division chief called the sergeant and told him, "Sergeant, go over there and see if those guys are really the 100th Jagers. If they are, send me a signal."

  After receiving the order, the sergeant immediately trotted over to greet him, and confirmed that the person who came to meet him was indeed from the 100th Jaeger Division, and desperately waved his arms at the division chief of staff. The division chief confirmed that this was the position of the 100th Jaeger Division, so he came out of his hiding place and walked over with the rest of the soldiers.

   Soon, the chief of staff of the division was sent to Paulus. Paulus looked at his subordinate and asked him, "Tell me, what happened at the Central Station?"

   "Report to Your Excellency, Commander," the division chief of staff replied in a panic: "The Russians launched an attack on the Central Railway Station. It took just over an hour to occupy most of the station..."

  Paulus asked angrily after hearing this: "Since the Russians are attacking the station, as the chief of staff of the division, you are not directing the battle at the station. What are you doing here?"

   "Your Excellency, Commander, I was ordered to break through." The division chief of staff justified himself and said: "The division commander ordered me to lead a guard company to open the way ahead, and he followed with the guard battalion and members of the command headquarters."

   "Since it was a scattered breakout." Paulus asked coldly, "Then why didn't you wait for General von Drebel to leave the train station together?"

"After I led the troops to break through the encirclement of the Russians, I found that the division commander hadn't followed. I planned to go back and look for it, but some soldiers told me that the division commander did not break out in the same direction as us. He ordered me to break out to the southwest. And he led the people westward."

"What, General von Drebel told you to break out to the southwest, but he went to the west?" Paulus thought it was a bit absurd at first, but after thinking about it, this was just in line with the characteristics of these generals who were afraid of death. In order to escape successfully, he would use his subordinates as bait to attract the attention of the Russians. He hesitated for a moment, and asked with some embarrassment, "Did he break out?"

"I don't know, Commander." The chief of staff of the division replied: "At that time, there were less than forty people left with me, and I couldn't go back to fight the Russians again, so I brought them here to report to you." .”

   "I know." Paulus nodded and waved at the other party: "You have worked hard, go down and rest first."

After the division chief of staff left, Schmidt walked up to Paulus and reminded him: "Your Excellency, since the Russians have launched an attack on the station, will their next attack target be our station?" What about the department store?"

   "It's possible." Paulus nodded, and asked, "Can we draw troops from somewhere to strengthen the defense here?"

   "Now all our troops are entangled by the Russian army. If they are mobilized casually, I'm afraid..."

Although Schmidt's words were not finished, Paulus also understood what the other party was worried about, so he could only say with a wry smile: "Since this is the case, we can only ask the 100th Jaeger Division to reinforce the fortifications, hoping to stop the Russian attack." .”

  ...

   Besides, when General von Drebel led the guard battalion and division members to break through, he was discovered by the artillery deployed on the platform. The artillery immediately turned its muzzle, aimed at the fleeing German troops and bombarded them, blowing them to pieces.

  General von Drebel was stunned by the shell and fell directly into a crater. The accompanying soldiers saw him fall into a crater after the shelling, thought he was killed, and didn't bother to check, so they ran away with their heads in their hands.

  After the shelling stopped, Soviet infantry surrounded the remaining German officers and soldiers from all directions. Seeing that they had nowhere to retreat, they all raised their hands in surrender.

  When the Soviet soldiers were cleaning the battlefield, they accidentally discovered that General von Drebel was still lying in the bomb crater, and quickly reported the good news to Merkulov. Upon hearing the news, Merkulov excitedly reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, good news, really great news. Our soldiers captured a German division commander."

  (end of this chapter)