USSR 1941

Chapter 625: muddy

??Chapter 625 Muddy

??The preparation time was more than expected, because the German train did not depart from the south bank to the north bank until one o'clock in the morning.

??The reason why we chose one o'clock in the morning is because the Soviet army has been using various artillery to block the railway bridge during the day... This is Batlakov's death order to the artillery. The purpose is of course to prevent the German trains and reinforcements from crossing the bridge.

?? Therefore, the German army did not dare to let the train cross the bridge easily during the day. After all, the train is something that runs on the railway. A few shells can 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, and at the same time, troops 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 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 gained a firm foothold.

??Starting tomorrow, resources and troops will be continuously sent to the flanks of the Soviet army by the railway line, and then rush to the enemy like a tide and compress their living space.

??The German army has sufficient supplies and high morale, but the enemy is surrounded by several sides.

??Major General Jonas confidently believed that it would not take long for the entire defense of Stalingrad to collapse.

??Thinking of this, Major General Jonas sat back on the 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 a leisurely tasting cup, the adjutant came in with a telegram and reported: "General, the enemy is launching a counterattack in the direction of the granary. Major Paul requests 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 flank of the main force, but he didn't expect to be blocked when he attacked the granary.

?? "This useless guy!" Major General Jonas couldn't help cursing: "He occupied an artillery regiment, a bomber squadron, and sent reinforcements several times, but he was still beaten so embarrassingly!"

?? In the heart of Major General Jonas, Major Paul's career is over.

?? On the other hand, the reason why Major General Jonas calmly withdrew the troops from the granary was because the supply line of the railway bridge and the defensive circle on the north shore had been completed at this time, 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 had made in this battle. He should send reinforcements to the granary, no matter how much it was worth.

?? But in fact, even if Major General Jonas sent reinforcements, it was already too late.

??The reason was that the Soviet army launched a fierce attack on the German army stationed outside the granary in the dark.

?? There are two battalions of infantry attacking, plus a newly transferred artillery regiment and an engineer battalion.

The periphery of the German garrison is a wilderness against the river bank. More importantly, the ground is muddy after the ice and snow melt in summer. This makes it difficult for the German army to even build individual bunkers. Dirty water is poured in, and the bunker will soon become a bathtub. Although it can barely hide bullets and shells, soaking the whole body in dirty water is not only uncomfortable, but also causes firearms and ammunition to jam due to moisture or debris.

?? As a result, many German troops could rely on only a few armored vehicles.

?? This may be enough during the day, but at night after the Soviets supplemented their artillery, these armored vehicles were just a perfect target.

??With a bang, several armored vehicles in front of the position were blown into the sky.

?? Then, while several signal flares rose into the air, groups of Soviet soldiers emerged from the bunkers and ruins and rushed towards the enemy's position.

??The attack of the Soviet army is very interesting. The reason is that the ground is muddy and unable to move forward quickly, so they almost stumbled and crawled forward while falling, and occasionally got up and rushed a few steps...

??But it seems that this is the correct way to attack.

??It was later that Shulka learned that the 217th Battalion, which was brought up to take the lead, was formed from Stalingrad, and most of them came from the countryside.

?? Being from the country means...they're used to the mud in the summer, they know how to move and protect themselves in the mud.

Sure enough, when the German machine guns sounded "da da da" and the bullets "swish" and flew in the void, not many Soviet soldiers were actually shot and fell down. They all "fall down" in time Then crawl in the mud.

The German army in the mud couldn't stop these enemies crawling towards them like snails. The German army could feel their presence, but when they looked carefully at the darkness, there was nothing. A shuttle of bullets passed by without even a splash .

?? Soon, suddenly a few grenades flew in the dark, with a "boom" and then nothing.

?? Fortunately, Major General Jonas gave the order to retreat, otherwise Major Paul's troops would probably be completely wiped out.

??The Soviet army quickly occupied a section from the granary to the Tsaritsa River, or it can be said that the passage from the granary to the Tsaritsa River was opened.

??The engineers followed closely behind the combat troops, the front troops advanced, and the rear engineers followed to build roads.

?? In fact, what they did could not be called building roads.

??Because they just filled in some puddles and bomb craters, otherwise the amphibious landing ship would be stuck inside and unable to move when passing here.

??Due to the simplicity of the project, within ten minutes after the combat troops took control of this area, the engineers repaired a road leading to the Tsaritsa River... although it can only accommodate three amphibious landing ships moving forward side by side.

??Then, the flashlight flashed rhythmically on the other side of the granary, which was a signal that the amphibious landing ship was about to arrive... The communication equipment of the Soviet army was backward, especially the communication between troops was very difficult.

??For example, the communication between the naval infantry brigade and the infantry needs to be transferred by various headquarters, so it is more convenient and timely to use some simple and primitive communication methods.

?? A few minutes later, in a burst of motors and weak light, the amphibious landing boats drove into the granary along the emptied streets one after another, and then drove along the road to the Tsaritsa River.

??It can be said that their forward troops did not stop for a moment, and they drove directly from the street, in fact, from the train station to the Tsaritsa River, which is the battlefield.

?? In addition to the two dozen vehicles assigned to the Shulka cadet unit.

??(end of this chapter)