The decisive battle against the Third Reich

The Soviet troops stationed at the airport had a reinforced battalion.

No one from the Brandenburg Army can sneak in here. The reason is that the airport can be regarded as the hinterland of the Soviet army, and it is also a relatively important place... Originally, the airport should be a strategic location and the focus of the struggle between the enemy and us, because it It can provide a place for fighter planes to take off and land for the party that grabs it.

But because the Soviet army has basically lost air superiority, it can only be regarded as "relatively important" at best.

Here, every Soviet soldier is registered, and "combat teams" are not allowed to enter... As mentioned before, Chuikov broke the troops into pieces and carried out urban guerrilla warfare in the form of "combat teams." Bran The Denburg troops took advantage of this loophole and sneaked into train stations and schools.

Therefore, the airport loses the conditions to sneak in.

However, this does not affect the assault plan of the 21st Armored Division, because there are much more German troops than Soviet troops in this local area...

The 5th Armored Regiment immediately divided into two parts. Two armored battalions and one infantry battalion launched a fierce attack on the Soviet troops stationed at the airport.

Another armored battalion covered the two battalions of the 1st Infantry Regiment, bypassing the airport and heading straight to Mamayev Hill.

The total distance was 9 miles, and it only took half an hour to reach Mamayev Hill.

The two companies of Soviet soldiers stationed on Mamayev Hill were completely unprepared. This can be seen from the fact that they ran back and forth to transport ammunition and set up anti-tank guns in the direction where the German troops appeared.

But these are obviously useless efforts.

Colonel Slain reported to General Strike on the walkie-talkie: "Arrived at the cemetery, arrived at the cemetery!"

The cemetery refers to Mamayev Hill.

It can be said that it is a cemetery, because it is a hill formed by ancient Tatar graves. The name Mamayev comes from Batu Khan of the Mongolian army.

"Woo!" With the roar of artillery shells, the German artillery preparations did not start until then.

An artillery regiment of more than fifty howitzers, under the guidance of artillery observers, poured a large number of artillery shells on the Mamayev Hill. In an instant, the high ground was bombarded with thick smoke and shrapnel flying everywhere. The Soviet army had just set up anti-tank guns. It was immediately blown into the sky, and the sandbags in the machine gun position were also blown to pieces, not to mention obstacles such as mines and barbed wire.

The artillery preparations lasted ten minutes, and then Qin Chuan led the soldiers to launch a charge under the cover of tank machine guns and artillery fire.

The charge went very smoothly. The Soviet defenders who were almost paralyzed by artillery fire had no time to react on the hill and fell one by one to the muzzles of the German MP43.

But Qin Chuan didn't think this was a good thing... because he saw few solid fortifications on Mamayev Hill, which meant that Mamayev Hill was easy to attack and difficult to defend.

If there is any good thing, it is that you can indeed see the central crossing on the Volga River from Mamayev Kurgan.

Qinchuan was most concerned about this, so as soon as he climbed the hill, he raised his binoculars and looked in the direction of the central ferry before even clearing out the remaining enemies: at this time, the ferry was densely packed with people, most of them Soviet logistics troops and wounded. Mixed in were civilians responsible for logistics and rescue missions.

There is always thick black smoke around it... It is the Soviet soldiers burning used tires in order to prevent German pilots from bombing and to observe the situation at the ferry.

This is also the reason why Mamayev Hill is so important. Under the cover of gunpowder smoke, dust and black tire smoke, it is difficult for German pilots to guide the artillery, but Mamayev Hill can be observed from the ground. More importantly, the large caliber mortars placed here can hit the ferry directly.

Then, Qin Chuan said in surprise when he saw the piles of boxes piled up at the ferry: "We seem to have come at the right time, Eberhard!"

"What?" Eberhard was a little confused.

“See what’s piled up at the ferry?”

Eberhard looked through the binoculars and almost jumped up: "Ammunition!"

Obviously, this is the ammunition that the Soviet army transported across the river last night... The Soviet army usually chooses to transport ammunition at night, because German fighter planes will block the Volga River during the day, and the ship transporting ammunition is likely to be hit. Explosions will occur.

However, the 21st Armored Division launched the attack at dawn. Due to the speed of the attack, it happened to be just in time before the Soviet army had time to evacuate ammunition.

"Direct the artillery bombardment immediately!" Qin Chuan ordered.

"Yes, Major!" Eberhard responded, and immediately shouted to the rear: "Captain Krause, bring your artillery observer up immediately!"

"But sir!" Captain Claus replied, "We're not under control yet!"

Artillery observers tend to be the enemy's first targets, so they usually wait until the battle is over before moving into position.

"Forget it!" Eberhard shouted: "The opportunity will slip away from us when the battle is over!"

"Yes, sir!" Captain Claus obeyed the order even though he didn't know what opportunity it was.

The speed of the German artillery observers was very fast. Within five minutes, several artillery shells accurately landed on the central ferry. Then suddenly there was a loud sound of artillery. Hundreds of artillery roared at the same time, and radiating shells appeared on the central ferry. Thick smoke, then only a loud "boom" was heard, a dazzling light flashed at the ferry, a mushroom-like smoke slowly rose by the Volga River, and the shock and shock waves from the explosion were It can also be felt a few kilometers away in Mamayev Kurgan.

"Great!" Eberhard shouted: "We have control of the Soviet crossing!"

Qinchuan knew why Eberhard was excited. If this continued, the supplies, ammunition and soldiers available to the Soviets would decrease exponentially.

Of course, a complete blockade was impossible, and the Soviets would still transport under artillery fire.

But if this continues for a long time, it is conceivable that the Soviet troops stationed in Stagrad will only become weaker and weaker.

However, at this moment, the roar of artillery shells came from the direction of the Soviet army.

"Lie down!" Qin Chuan shouted and rolled into the trench.

A barrage of artillery shells came one after another, shaking the Mamayev Hills like an earthquake.

This is what Qin Chuan was worried about before.

Mamayev Hill is the highest point in the vicinity, which is both its advantage and disadvantage.

The advantage is that it overlooks the entire Stalingrad and the Volga River.

The disadvantage is that the Mamayev Hill can be seen from any place around, even the artillery deployed on the east bank of the Volga River, as long as they raise their heads.

In other words, Mamayev Heights stood in the middle of the Soviet army like a target.