Steel Soviet Union

Chuikov's worry is not unreasonable. The Germans' ambitions for Mamayev Heights must be exactly the same as their actual actions.

19 T34 tanks fought fiercely with the swarming German tanks on the front slope of Mamayev Hill.

The German tanks with numerical superiority went crazy and violently attacked the second position supported by T34 tanks regardless of the cost.

The German army, which was trying hard to eat Mamayev Heights in one go, did not even leave the opponent a chance to have lunch. With its strong numerical advantage, the German army divided into multiple attacking batches and took turns to engage in wheel battles. . Every round of German troops charging towards the Soviet positions were fresh troops with high morale and full strength. The Red Army soldiers stationed on the positions faced unprecedented pressure, and almost all of them were tortured by high-intensity fighting. I couldn't stand even when I was exhausted.

Shortly after twelve o'clock at noon, the German troops who took turns finally penetrated another defensive position on Mamayev Hill in one go. Only 2 of the 19 T34 tanks sent to defeat the German armored forces were withdrawn alive, and the entire tank brigade actually existed in name only.

Like a wind-up alarm clock, the German army still refused to give up. It took half a day for the German forward troops to advance to the mountainside of Mamayev Hill and called for artillery support from the rear.

The German artillery observers accompanying the attack on the same line of troops accurately observed the impact point of each artillery shell, and constantly reported updated coordinates to correct the bombardment direction.

The artillery barrages flying from the foot of Mamayev Ridge became increasingly dense and precise, and the Red Army soldiers stationed in the follow-up positions had to repeatedly hide in anti-artillery hole bunkers.

This battle, in which the forward troops advanced slowly and the rear artillery played the main role, continued until about three o'clock in the afternoon.

Malashenko, who felt that the whole mountain of Mamayev Ridge was shaking, was about to call the Army Group Headquarters to ask whether the First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment was not needed to charge into the battle at this time. He never thought of starting from Political Commissar Petrov, who quickly ran into the forward observation post from the traffic trench, was the first to get the upper hand.

"Malashenko! I just received news that the army headquarters was directly hit by a German artillery barrage and has been completely destroyed!"

Malashenko, who had already held the phone in his right hand, heard this and his eyes widened in disbelief for a long time. After a few seconds, he responded to Commissar Petrov with a slightly trembling tone.

"What are you talking about? The Army Headquarters is gone? The German artillery blew up the Army Headquarters!?"

Seeing that Malashenko had some misunderstandings, Commissar Petrov, who had been running outside all afternoon on a hot day, waved his hand to let himself take a breath, grabbed the kettle on the table and shut it off twice to put the fire in his throat. After being suppressed, he finally breathed slightly and spoke.

"It's not as serious as you think! The Army Headquarters immediately began to move after noticing something was wrong with the German shelling. What was blown up was only the empty command post on the top of the hill. Commander Chuikov and the entire headquarters have been moved Continue to direct the battle when we reach the reverse slope of the hill, where the German artillery can't blast now."

Before Malashenko could breathe a sigh of relief after hearing this, Commissar Petrov, who was conveying orders on foot, spoke to Malashenko again.

"Our regiment has a mission, Malashenko. The army headquarters received news that some blocks around the train station have been broken through by the enemy. The Germans are still continuing to advance in the direction of the train station, with the obvious intention of taking over. Here. Commander Chuikov ordered our regiment to move out immediately. The battle on the hill will be completed by other friendly forces. We must act immediately. "

After hearing the order relayed to him by Commissar Petrov, Malashenko was unexpectedly very silent.

Malashenko, who was standing in his regiment headquarters that had not been destroyed by artillery fire, could even use his binoculars to see the German infantry with all kinds of things in their hands. They were moving covertly to cover the attack at least a kilometer away.

The sound of artillery that started after the second line of defense fell and was occupied by the Germans at around 12 noon and lasted until 3 pm finally stopped, but at this moment, it was still a continuous stream of sounds that echoed in Malashenko's ears. The sound of gunfire was heard nearby.

Mamayev Hill, which was originally lush with green grass, has now been bombed into a shabby tomb with green smoke. Countless German infantrymen are still rushing up the mountain from the foot of the mountain like crazy to support the battle. The density of troops is huge. It even surpassed the actual deployment of German troops in any previous battle.

The Red Army soldiers stationed at the top of the post refused to give an inch, using rifles, machine guns, submachine guns, grenades, and even anti-tank rifles aimed directly at the bodies of the German infantry.

The fighting was unprecedentedly brutal. The roaring German troops charging toward the top of the mountain fought with their opponents who also bared their teeth and roared loudly. The cold weapons clashed with each other, causing the hot blood to spurt out even more wantonly and crazily.

Every trench, every foxhole, and every position became a graveyard for soldiers from both the Soviet and German armies who died on the spot. Countless corpses were piled up and down at the feet, so much that anyone who stepped into the trenches would instantly stumble. The blood that had been absorbed by the land and was saturated gathered in the low-lying areas and flowed into small blood bubbles. The places with the largest accumulation of corpses could even stop the flowing river of blood.

There are no tactics left in this purgatory that leads to death. In peacetime, a liter of human blood spilled on the streets would be enough to shock society. Here, there is an unlimited supply of blood.

Endless corpses and shell casings and fragments that would make you slip on the spot are the only scenery here. The smell of burnt land and the fishy smell of human blood are the only smells that exist on the hills.

Malashenko, who had witnessed the whole fighting situation in front of him, was very unwilling. Malashenko was almost certain that if he left Mamayev Heights in this way, he would definitely repeat the same mistakes in history.

But the No. 1 train station at the foot of the mountain also needs its own emergency assistance. Malashenko cannot imagine whether this historical trajectory, which has been disrupted due to his own butterfly effect, will really continue to develop according to the original historical trend. .

Gritting his teeth, he took one last look at the German troops who were still approaching at least one kilometer away. Knowing that he had little time left, Malashenko turned around, took off the infantry helmet hanging on the stake behind him, buckled it on his forehead, and tied the rope with it. The tank cap was hung on his waist and he picked up the Somi submachine gun that was lying on the table at hand.

The sound of bullets being loaded echoed in the temporary regiment headquarters and lingered for a long time.