USSR 1941

Lieutenant Colonel Edmund was resting on a bed in the lounge of the headquarters at this time.

This battle was completely beyond Lieutenant Colonel Edmund's expectations. From the moment he attacked the hospital, he thought it would end soon, then he thought it would end soon when he attacked the cemetery, and then the horses again. Mayev Gang...

The German army has great advantages in every battle. For example, the battles in hospitals and cemeteries have absolute superiority in strength, and Mamayev Post has air supremacy, as well as advantages in artillery and tanks.

On the battlefield, the German army often wins the strong with the weak and the strong with the few, so Edmund always thought that it would not take long to end when he had the upper hand, so he always thought about winning or ending the battle. time to rest.

However, he seems to have fallen into one trap, one after another, which never ends.

Finally, Lieutenant Colonel Edmund couldn't take it anymore. After several days of commanding almost without sleep, he went into the lounge and lay down on the bed without taking off his uniform.

Lieutenant Colonel Edmund slept so deeply that he only asked when the adjutant reported to him that the enemy was attacking.

"Attack the hilltop position?" Lieutenant Colonel Edmund sat up and asked vaguely.

"Yes!" replied the adjutant.

"Let Lieutenant Colonel Bauer take full responsibility!" Lieutenant Colonel Edmund ordered.

"Yes, lieutenant colonel!" The adjutant answered and went out.

Lieutenant Colonel Edmund lay back on the bed and continued to sleep, despite the sound of artillery from the other direction.

This is because Lieutenant Colonel Edmund is very relieved about the defense line of the hilltop position. Before that, he had seen the defense map sent back by Major Klein, and there were no omissions.

Among them, especially the use of the wreckage of the assault gun, which can be regarded as a stroke of genius.

Lieutenant Colonel Edmond's evaluation of this is: "If the Russians really attack our defense line and plan to take Mamayev back by night, then they will be disappointed!"

This is the reason why Lieutenant Colonel Edmund rested assuredly and continued to rest. He hoped to take advantage of this time to replenish some physical strength and energy to cope with the final battle of the next day... If there is no accident, the sky will dawn They will be able to completely occupy the Mamayev post, and thus block the supply line of Stalingrad.

But before Lieutenant Colonel Edmund slept long, he was woken up again by the adjutant.

"I said it!" Lieutenant Colonel Edmund, who was awakened, shouted at the adjutant: "Let Lieutenant Colonel Bauer take full command!"

"But, Lieutenant Colonel!" The adjutant replied in a silent voice, "It was Lieutenant Colonel Bauer who asked me to wake you up!"

Lieutenant Colonel Edmund couldn't help being taken aback when he heard the words, then turned over and sat up, took his hat from the table next to him, put it on, and strode towards the headquarters.

Lieutenant Colonel Edmund knew that if Lieutenant Colonel Bauer woke him up, it meant that there was a change in the battlefield or some accident required him to make a decision.

However, Lieutenant Colonel Edmund never expected that Lieutenant Colonel Bauer did not need him to make a decision, because it was too late to make any decision at this time, and everything happened too fast.

"What's the situation?" Lieutenant Colonel Edmund asked after entering the headquarters.

"We failed!" Lieutenant Colonel Bauer replied: "They broke through our defenses!"

Lieutenant Colonel Edmund was stunned on the spot, and then he laughed: "It's impossible, Ball... Could it be that I overslept and forgot the time?"

As Lieutenant Colonel Edmund looked at his watch, he became even more puzzled: "If I'm not mistaken, it's been less than an hour since they launched their attack, and it took them only an hour to break through our defense line? "

"Yes!" Lieutenant Colonel Bauer replied palely, "They didn't attack from the front, but from the flank..."

While speaking, Lieutenant Colonel Bauer pointed to the map and said: "From here, under the cover of artillery, they broke through our defense line in only ten minutes. Our arrangement near the top of the mountain did not work at all!"

"Quick!" Lieutenant Colonel Edmund ordered: "Immediately provide reinforcements for the frontal slope! At the same time, order Major Klein to flank the enemy!"

"We've already done that!" Lieutenant Colonel Ball replied, "But I think it's too late!"

Lieutenant Colonel Edmund stared blankly at Lieutenant Colonel Bauer, speechless for a while.

"We must be prepared for a complete loss!" Lieutenant Colonel Bauer said, "I mean Mamayev Hill. That is to say, we should build a defensive line at the foot of the mountain, otherwise..."

Lieutenant Colonel Edmund knew what Lieutenant Colonel Ball meant.

If a line of defense had not been built at the foot of the mountain, the Russians probably would not have occupied Mamayev Post alone.

Lieutenant Colonel Edmond nodded helplessly, and ordered to organize a defense at the foot of the mountain.

Facts have proved that the choices of Lieutenant Colonel Edmund and Lieutenant Colonel Bauer are correct.

Because when the 82nd Infantry Regiment broke through the German defenses from the flank and entered the front slope, it had already completed the encirclement of Mamayev Gang.

And Major Klein, who was on the ground at this time, didn't even know about this... The Russian Guards Infantry Regiment was launching a fierce attack on his line of defense.

You must know that this is the Russian Guards Infantry Regiment, and it is still at night.

Therefore, although Major Klein was fully prepared, he still did not dare to slack off.

Then, the connection between the front finger and the rear regiment headquarters was suddenly broken.

"What's going on?" Major Klein had a sense of foreboding.

"The Russians bombarded my rear with intensive artillery fire!" The adjutant reported: "Perhaps the shells broke the telephone line!"

Major Klein nodded.

He wasn't surprised that the Russians were bombing the rear, because it was a common tactic on the battlefield... using artillery fire to prevent enemy reinforcements and supplies from getting to the front.

"Fix these phone lines immediately!" Major Klein ordered.

Although there are radios, because of signal interference and other reasons, short-distance communication is faster and more economical than the telephone.

"Yes, Major!" The adjutant replied, and immediately got out of the bomb hole to convey the order.

But he ran back after only two minutes, and reported with a changed face: "Major, I don't think it's just a problem of the artillery fire blowing up the telephone line. The front slope seems to be infiltrated by the enemy!"

"What did you say?" Major Klein's eyes widened: "Is there an enemy on the slope?"

"Yes!" the adjutant replied, "I heard shouts from that direction, and gunshots!"

It's normal to have explosions, and if there are gunshots... that means there is a battle going on in that direction.

Major Klein rushed out of the blast hole without saying a word, then poked his head out a little to look behind.

Sure enough, there were bursts of intense gunfire from the direction of the slope.

"No, Hans!" Major Klein said, "That's not the enemy's infiltration, it's the enemy's rushing into the front slope and surrounding us!"