Red Moscow

The time for the counter-assault attack in the Mamayev Gang area was set at 6:00 am on September 14. However, the troops participating in the attack were not the three divisions mentioned by Chuikov, but the 10th Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. , 38th Motorized Rifle Brigade, and 42nd Independent Rifle Brigade.

According to the prior combat plan, the 38th Motorized Rifle Brigade, with the cooperation of a reinforced motorized infantry company and the attached artillery battalion, attacked the village southeast of Razgulyevka; A regiment of troops counterattacked the enemy, targeting Height 126.3 and then Height 144.3; while a mixed regiment and a tank brigade counterattacked in the direction of Ananda Agorodok and Height 153.7. The 42nd Independent Infantry Brigade is preparing to attack the hospital and the direction of 153.7 Heights in order to support this counter-assault operation.

However, due to the lack of air support and the limited number of artillery that can provide artillery support for the counterattack forces, the damage to the German field fortifications was limited. As a result, the Soviet counterattack forces had to pay a huge price in order to capture these fortifications.

After Paulus learned that the Soviet army had launched a counterattack in the Mamayev Gang area, he immediately dispatched the air force to bomb the counterattack forces and the positions they occupied. Shelling and bombing caused heavy casualties to the Soviet counterattack troops. In order to avoid the complete annihilation of the counterattack force, at noon, Chuikov gave an order to stop the attack and transfer to Mamayev Post.

Seeing that the Soviet attack was repelled, the German army took the opportunity to invest a large number of infantry and tanks, and launched an attack on the retreating Soviet army. The first to achieve victory was General Hartmann's 71st Infantry Division. After breaking through the Soviet defenses, they managed to pass through the city center and established a narrow passage directly to the Volga.

The German army has always been thinking about the commanding heights of Mamayev Hill, so the 295th Infantry Division they invested in, with the support of the 204th Armored Regiment belonging to the 22nd Armored Division, launched an attack on the northern hill of Mamayev Hill. attack.

Otherwise, the 4th Battalion and the 192nd Battalion were defending Beigang. The commander of the 4th Battalion, Briski, reported to Sokov immediately after the enemy's offensive began: "Comrade Brigadier, the enemy dispatched a regiment of infantry. Under the cover of many tanks, they launched a fierce attack on our position? We do not have anti-tank weapons, please send an anti-tank dog company to support us."

"Don't worry, Comrade Captain." Sukov considered that the North Shore, like his own, has perfect tunnel fortifications. No matter how fierce the German offensive is, it will not be easy to successfully occupy the North Hill. But if the German tanks were allowed to approach the hill, they could support the infantry attacking Beigang with artillery fire, so he simply replied: "I will immediately send Captain O'Shaning with the dog company to support you."

The reason why Sokov only sent the dog company to support it was because the surface space of Beigang was limited and could not accommodate too many troops; it was because a German army passed through the old city. He seized the central railway station in his hands, directly threatening the safety of the flank of Mamayev Gang.

After he put down the phone, he called a staff officer and asked him to inform Oshaning to lead people from the tunnel to Beigang, and cooperate with the defenders there to destroy the enemy's tanks. After finishing all this, he returned to the table, looked at Sidolin and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, haven't the scouts we sent back yet? Which part of the enemy is occupying the Central Station?"

"Comrade Brigadier," Seeing Sukov's restless look, Sidolin quickly comforted him and said, "It is the reconnaissance company commander, Lieutenant Christopher, who leads the team personally. I believe he will be able to get what we urgently need. information."

The reason why Sokov was so impatient was because he knew that the most difficult period for Stalingrad was coming. Although the German army had tried to attack Mamayev Gang many times before, and they all failed in the end, Sokov had no idea whether he could hold the position this time. In addition, the commanders and fighters in the brigade all witnessed how the counterattack organized by Cuikov ended in failure, which would have a negative impact on the morale of their own troops.

The battle on the North Slope has begun.

The military dog ​​platoon sent by Captain O'Shaning showed great power on the battlefield. Thanks to Sokov's guidance, the attack of the military dogs was changed to a single or double dog attack, which greatly avoided the incident of four or five military dogs bombing the same tank. In less than 20 minutes, thirteen German tanks were blown up by military dogs and burned on the open ground. The infantry, who had lost the cover of the tank, had just rushed to the foot of Beigang Mountain, but were beaten by the commanders and fighters of the fourth battalion with machine guns, submachine guns, rifles and grenades, and had to withdraw temporarily.

Sokov heard that the north bank was fighting well, so he took a guard along a hidden corridor to an observation post that had just been built on the top of the mountain, and observed the fighting between the two sides with his own eyes. Unexpectedly, not long after entering, the enemy's artillery observers discovered this observation post and immediately directed the artillery to the direction of the artillery attack.

Sokov was looking into the distance with his binoculars, when he suddenly heard the screaming sound of shells piercing the air. A moment later, a shell landed in an open space more than 20 meters away and exploded, setting off a huge explosion. of a piece of soil.

"Comrade Brigadier," an experienced observation post knew that this was a test firing by the German army, so he quickly reminded Sokov: "This place should be discovered by the enemy, let's move it immediately!"

Hearing what the observation post said, Sokov also realized that something was wrong, and quickly put down the binoculars and ran outside. Unexpectedly, as soon as he ran out of the observation post, shells landed near the observation post one after another and exploded. The soil kicked up by the air waves sprinkled Sokov all over. Sokov didn't care about dusting off the dirt on his body, so he bent over and continued to run towards a nearby hole, preparing to return to his command post through there.

When Sokov returned to his command post covered in dust, he was surprised to find that Christopher, whom he had sent out for reconnaissance, was here. He quickly grabbed Christopher, and asked nervously, "How about it, have you figured it out? What is the number of the German army occupying the train station?"

"I figured it out." Christopher nodded and said, "The one occupying the central station is a grenadier battalion of the German 24th Armored Division. The battalion commander is Major von Heydn. There are more than 500 people in the battalion."

"More than five hundred people?" Sokov was surprised by the number Christopher said. He originally thought that the enemy occupying the central railway station was at best a company, but unexpectedly there was a battalion, and there were more than 500 people. According to the combat effectiveness of the German army, even if you bring twice as many troops, it is not easy to get the train station from their hands. "Is this news true?"

Christopher nodded and replied: "In order to find out the real strength of the German army, we captured four or five prisoners. After interrogation, their statements were all the same."

Sokov did not ask how these prisoners were disposed of, but he was sure that the German army threatening his flank was the 24th Panzergrenadier Battalion. Knowing that there were more than 500 enemies occupying the train station, Sokov couldn't help hesitating. He had limited troops. If he wanted to storm the station, it was hard to say whether he could take it down. Even if it is defeated, it will not be able to defend against the frenzied counterattack of the German army.

Seeing that Sokov was silent, Sidolin quickly reminded him: "Comrade Brigadier, since the enemy has occupied the railway station, they will definitely set up a solid defense there and use it as their new starting point for their offensive. You see, Do we need to send troops to shoot them?"

Sokov was thinking about the forces he could use: the fourth battalion and the 192nd battalion are currently holding the northern hillock, and these two battalions must not be used. Although Nangang has an organizational system of three battalions, the first and second battalions must stick to their positions and cannot be mobilized; after the third battalion has performed two consecutive missions, the number of troops has been reduced by half.

"Comrade Brigadier," Belkin echoed Sidolin's proposal, "I think what Comrade Chief of Staff said makes sense. We should take the initiative to attack and wipe out or drive away all the enemies occupying the station..."

"Comrade Commissar, please wait a moment," Sokov looked at Belkin and asked back: "I want to ask, are you familiar with the terrain of the station? Do you know how the enemy's deployment in the station is like? Just in such a hurry Hurry up and launch an attack, don't you let the commanders and fighters die?"

Sukov's words immediately discouraged Sidolin. According to his thinking, Sokov heard that the German army had occupied the Central Station. In order to ensure the safety of the left wing, he would definitely send troops to retake the station without hesitation.

Seeing Sidolin's dejected look, Sokov raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder, comforting him and said, "Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff, it's not that we don't want to take back the Central Station, but that the conditions are not yet ripe." .”

"The conditions are not yet ripe?" Sidolin's eyes widened in surprise when he heard Sokov say this: "Comrade Brigadier, you know, our infantry brigade has nearly 5,000 commanders and fighters, even if we only send 1,000 people, The station can also be taken back from the enemy. If the troops stay still, the enemy can launch an attack on our Mamayev Post from the direction of the station at any time."

"That's right, there are more than 5,000 people in our brigade." Sokov did not deny Sidolin's statement, but nodded his head in affirmation: "But have you ever thought that if we are capturing the station? The process has consumed too much force, so how should we fight the next battle?"

Seeing that Sidolin opened his mouth, as if he wanted to refute something, Sokov continued: "The reason why I say the timing is not ripe is because a guard division will come to the city tomorrow at the latest. The superiors will give them the task of taking back the Central Station."

"Comrade Brigadier," Sidolin finally waited for Sukov to finish speaking, and immediately continued, "How do you know that a guard division will enter the city, and the superior will send them to retake the railway station?"

To Sidolin's question, Sokov replied without even blinking his eyelids: "When I went to the army headquarters two days ago, I heard from the commander himself. He said that the superior sent an elite guard division , will cross the river into Stalingrad in these two days, so I infer that the superiors will send them to retake the railway station."

Sokov said so, but there is a basis. In real history, on the second day after the German army occupied Mamayev Gang, the troops of the 13th Guards Division of Rodimtsev crossed the river and came to the city. And under the arrangement of Zhukov, the troops were divided into several groups to capture Mamayev Hill, the Central Railway Station and the Expert Building, stabilizing the Soviet defense line in Stalingrad. However, the casualties of the division were also huge. The troops of more than 10,000 people fought for only three days, and only more than 1,000 people died in the whole division.

When thinking of Rodimtsev's 13th Guards Division, Sokov inevitably thought of the famous sniper Vasily Zaitsev. Although there are elements of the Black Soviet Union in the movie "Soldiers at the City", it is true that more than a thousand soldiers of the 13th Guards Division entered the city of Stalingrad without weapons. And the scene of the recruits charging was near the train station, because the sculpture of the young pioneers dancing around the crocodile left a deep impression on Sokov.

Sokov thought to himself: If the superior asked him to provide them with weapons, could he consider drawing Vasily Zaitsev into his army? With such a sniper joining, he could also organize an army The squad went deep into various battle locations to snipe and kill German officers and soldiers.

Sidolin saw that Sokov didn't speak, but the expression on his face was very exciting, with a serious expression for a while, and a smirk for a while. Seeing this situation, he thought that Sokov had been in the tunnel for a long time, causing his nerves to be a little abnormal, and after coughing heavily, he continued to ask: "Comrade Brigadier, you haven't answered my question yet. "

"It's very simple." After regaining his senses, Sokov immediately replied: "Under the current situation, the 13th Guards Division is undoubtedly the most well-organized unit, and they are the most suitable for such tough tasks."

Although his troops were not attacking the Central Railway Station, it was impossible for Sokov to stand on the sidelines. He said to Christopher: "Comrade Lieutenant, although our troops are not attacking the Railway Station, your reconnaissance will continue. Definitely It is necessary to find out the enemy's firepower configuration and force distribution. In this way, as soon as the friendly forces arrive, we can provide them with useful information so that they can take the Central Station back from the enemy's hands in the shortest possible time."

"I understand, Comrade Brigadier." Hearing Sokov's order, Krasovsky nodded quickly and said, "I will keep someone near the train station to continue the reconnaissance and find out the situation of the German army's firepower and troop distribution. .”