USSR 1941

Major General Jonas' tactics put the Soviet army into a passive position immediately.

The two artillery regiments were bombed to the point where there were only fifteen guns and a few shells left. If they hadn't withdrawn quickly, I'm afraid there would be nothing left.

And these dozens of cannons played no role in such artillery battles at all, so of course the "suppression of enemy artillery fire" that Major General Batlakov said could not be realized.

Batrakov immediately asked the Army Command for help.

Golikov also knew the importance of the No. 2 railway station, so he immediately agreed: "I will immediately organize an artillery regiment to reinforce you, but it may not arrive until tomorrow night! So, you must persist until the evening!"

"I understand, Comrade Golikov!" Batrakov couldn't help sighing.

Batrakov knew what was going on, and it was already daylight when he called for help.

Since the Germans will suddenly launch such a large-scale artillery battle against the 10th Division and plan to destroy the two artillery regiments at the first time... then they obviously will not let the 10th Division get new artillery reinforcements so easily.

This was easy for the Germans because they had air superiority, and their fighters and bombers could block streets from the air as soon as it was daylight.

If it is infantry, the German fighters and bombers may not be able to do anything, because the infantry targets are too small, and the infantry can still advance against the buildings on both sides of the street, it is difficult for the pilots on the air fighters to find them.

But if it's artillery...

Large-caliber howitzers need to be towed by cars, and they also need to be loaded with shells. It is difficult for such a large target to drive on the street without being spotted. As long as the German fighter planes swoop down and shoot a shuttle of bullets, it can cause a disaster. , Even burning old tires on the ground will not help.

On the other hand, even if the German fighter planes and bombers failed to stop the artillery, the reconnaissance plane could still inform the artillery of the coordinates of these artillery, and then a round of artillery fire came... These artillery will be blown into the sky before they can enter the preset position and play a role .

Therefore, the artillery of the Soviet army usually can only maneuver at night, and they are in a dormant state during the day and even have to be very careful when firing.

This also means that the 10th Division will have no artillery available for at least a whole day.

"Comrade Batrakov!" The staff officer who answered the phone raised his head and reported: "The enemy has begun to attack.

It is estimated that there is at least one armored regiment and two infantry regiments! "

This is the first offensive force of the German army. They put the main force, an infantry regiment and an armored regiment, on the front of the No. 2 railway station.

This is done for two reasons:

One is that the muddy land on the banks of the Tsaritsa River is not suitable for armored troops to advance.

The battlefield of the Soviet Union has this characteristic. In winter, it is freezing cold and the whole world is surrounded by ice and snow. When the ice and snow melt in summer, there will be mud everywhere.

The vicinity of Stalingrad is no exception, especially on the outskirts of the river. In contrast, the road conditions in the city are much better. Although it is blocked by ruins from time to time, at least the tanks can still drive and fight normally.

Another reason is that the German commander, Major General Jonas, thinks this is more confusing... Usually the main force of the army is the main direction of strategic attack.

Batrakov was fooled.

This is actually not surprising at all. The tasks of the internal affairs troops are more internal, such as quelling rebellions, suppressing bandits, and protecting railways.

Its nature is somewhat similar to that of the German special operations team, both of which are domestic irregular combat forces and have a detached status.

But it is one thing to have a detached position in the country, and another to command operations on the battlefield.

In other words, it is precisely because they have a detached position in the country and deal with weak enemies such as guerrillas that they lack combat experience or misjudge the enemy.

This is probably the case of Major General Batrakov. He knew that the German army deployed an infantry regiment and an armored regiment on the front, and immediately transferred the main force to the front of No. 2 Railway Station.

This is clearly in Jonas's favor.

So, after more than an hour of fighting, there was another burst of intensive artillery fire.

This time, the artillery shells concentrated on the banks of the Tsaritsa River, and then a motorized unit suddenly burst out from the flank to the 42nd Infantry Brigade stationed by the river.

The 42nd Infantry Brigade was commanded by the 10th Division. It was a brigade in name, but its strength was less than that of a regiment due to days of fighting.

The Germans were smart at this point, they sent out motorized raids instead of armored units:

The motorized troops are equipped with side tricycles, armored vehicles and other equipment. They can carry more ammunition and have a certain amount of armor protection. They are more than enough to deal with infantry light weapons. At the same time, they will not be immobilized in the mud like tanks. .

If there is any disadvantage of the motorized army, it is that it cannot withstand the enemy's artillery coverage... But this worry is unnecessary, because most of the Soviet army's artillery fire has been destroyed by the German army.

So this motorized unit broke through the defense line of the 42nd Soviet Infantry Brigade in only ten minutes.

When the news reached the headquarters of the 10th Division, Batrakov realized that he had been fooled, and quickly ordered: "Reinforce the 42nd Infantry Brigade immediately!"

"The reinforcements have been blocked, Comrade Batrakov!" The staff officer replied: "The Germans occupied the buildings along the coast, and then used the buildings as a basis to coordinate artillery and air defense!"

This is the importance of military quality.

In many cases on the battlefield, it is not the strength of the troops, but the coordination ability.

For example, now, the German army only needs a small number of troops to occupy a building, and then guide the artillery and air force to attack, and can easily block dozens of times the enemy from the building.

Batrakov was on the ground looking down along the bank, and then beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.

After thinking about it, he ordered: "Blow up the railway bridge immediately!"

If the railway bridge was kept because it could be blown up at any time, then now is the last critical moment.

But after an anxious phone call, the staff officer reported: "Comrade Batrakov! We have lost contact with the railway bridge!"

"Send someone to notify them!" Batrakov shouted angrily: "Immediately!"

"Yes, Comrade Batrakov!"

After the staff officer hurried out of the headquarters, Batrakov sat back on the chair heavily.

Before that, Batrakov may have thought that the situation at No. 2 train station was severe, but he never thought that it would suddenly deteriorate to this extent.

In other words, Major General Batrakov was overwhelmed by these sudden situations and didn't know how to deal with the situation.