Red Moscow

  Chapter 392 Defeat is imminent

  The attacking Soviet infantry returned to the trenches smoothly, but came to support their armored trains, which were still hit by long-range German artillery fire at this moment. The German army used at least ten heavy artillery pieces to bombard the armored train running on the track. The shells roared and fell around the track, making earth-shattering explosions.

  The battalion commander of the Armored Train Battalion saw that the enemy attacking the 105th regiment's position had been repulsed, but his own train had become the target of the German army's key attack. He quickly ordered the driver: "Stop advancing, reverse, and return to the base as quickly as possible."

  When the train was moving fast towards the base, the captain walked up to the battalion commander and asked worriedly: "Comrade battalion commander, do you think we can return to the base smoothly?"

   "I don't know, I don't know." The battalion commander said angrily: "The German army concentrated so many heavy artillery and bombarded our train. It seems that they will not let us go until we are killed."

  The captain couldn't help but raised his heart when he heard the sound of explosions outside the car and the clink of shrapnel hitting the armor plate. He secretly prayed in his heart: God, bless us to return to the base safely.

  Dubyansky looked at the armored train passing quickly through the gunpowder through the binoculars, and couldn't help asking the head of the regiment worriedly: "Comrade Colonel, tell me, can our armored train return to the base safely?"

"It's hard to say." Hearing Dubyanski's question, the head of the regiment said in an uncertain tone: "It is reasonable to say that it is not so easy for the German long-range artillery to hit the high-speed train. Even if their shells fall It exploded next to the railroad track, and the shrapnel produced would not pose any threat to the train..."

Unexpectedly, before he finished his words, the fast-moving armored train was directly hit by a shell, the body shook violently, and a raging fire ignited in the middle of the carriage. The train with billowing black smoke, under the huge inertia Down, moving forward at high speed along the rails.

  However, not long after driving, the ammunition stored in the carriage exploded, and a bright orange fireball rushed out of the smoke and dust, forming a huge tumbling black mushroom in the air. The train seemed to be lifted up by an invisible hand, and a larger-scale explosion occurred during the rollover. In the deafening explosions, gunpowder smoke and flames rose into the sky. Completely blown to pieces.

  Among the smoke and dust that covered the sky and the sun, among the fragments of the armor that were blown away, various fragments and parts were mixed, sweeping across all objects within a radius of nearly 200 meters. The commanders and fighters of the guards near the railroad tracks, those who reacted quickly, lay down on the spot; those who reacted slowly, were swept down by flying fragments and shrapnel...

  The division chief of staff and regimental commander, who were still worried about the fate of the armored train, stared dumbfounded at the armored train that terrified the German army. After being hit by a shell, it was directly blown to pieces. I don't know how long it took before Dubyansky said to the regimental commander in a hoarse voice: "Give the troops an order to rescue the comrades in the train."

"Comrade deputy commander," the head of the regiment said with a distressed expression on his face when he heard this order, "It's useless. The people in the car had been blown to pieces when the explosion happened. None of the corpses could be found."

Regarding the statement made by the head of the regiment, Dubyansky nodded slightly, and said in a helpless tone: "Yes, Comrade Colonel, you are right. All the commanders and fighters on the armored train should have been killed. You inform the troops, Hurry up to repair the fortifications and prepare for a new round of attacks that may be launched by the German invaders."

Glazkov and Zalitsman, who were staying in the division headquarters, heard a huge explosion coming from the front and felt the ground tremble violently at the same time. Guessing that something serious might have happened, they hurried out of the headquarters. Wanted to see what happened. But they couldn't see anything except the black mushroom cloud rising in the distance.

Judging from the location, Glazkov knew that the place where the explosion occurred was in the defense zone of the 102nd regiment, so he hurried back to the headquarters and called Dubyansky, who was supervising the battle there: "Deputy commander, the big explosion just happened in your place what's going on?"

"Comrade Commander," Dubyansky hurriedly reported upon hearing Grazkov's question, "the armored train supporting us was destroyed by long-range German artillery fire. The explosion you heard just now was from the train It is emitted when the ammunition explodes."

  Grazkov was silent for a moment, and asked tentatively, "Are there any survivors?"

"No." Dubyansky replied very simply: "I just received a call from the frontline troops. There are many commanders and fighters near the bombing site. We waited for evasive action, but because they were too close to the bombing point, they were all shocked to death."

  Grazkov heard the bad news, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help twitching violently, "How many casualties are there?"

"Nearly a hundred people were killed by the shock on the spot or by the flying shrapnel." Dubyansky reported: "There are also some soldiers who were injured by the shock. It seems that the injuries are not serious. Can they survive?" Come down, it depends on their luck."

  The armored train that could provide artillery support for his troops was destroyed, and Glazkov's expression became serious. He knew very well in his heart that once such powerful fire support was lost, the next battle would be difficult to fight. However, before receiving the order from his superiors, even knowing that the troops suffered heavy casualties, he could not let the troops retreat. He could only continue to stick to the existing position and deal with the enemy. Therefore, he said into the microphone: "Comrade deputy commander, in the next During the battle, you have no artillery support, if you want to block the enemy, you must have solid fortifications, even if you only have one minute of preparation time, you must order the troops to repair the fortifications. Do you understand?"

   "Understood, Comrade Division Commander." Dubyansky replied cautiously: "We will do everything possible to block the German attack."

  ...

  The explosion of the armored train was discovered by the observation post on Mamayev Post, and he immediately reported the information to the brigade headquarters. Knowing that the armored train was destroyed by the German artillery fire, Sidolin couldn't help but turn pale with fright. He said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, the armored train has been destroyed by the enemy, so we will not be able to get the victory in the next battle." Any artillery support is gone."

   "Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov waited for Sidolin to finish speaking, looked at him and asked, "Don't we fight without the support of armored trains?"

Seeing that Sidolin was speechless, Sokov continued: "We have built solid fortifications on Mamayev Hill. Even without the support of armored trains, with our strength, if we want to block the enemy's attack , shouldn't be a problem."

Hearing Sokov say in such a confident tone that he could hold on to Mamayev Post, Sidolin couldn't help showing a surprised expression: "Comrade Brigadier, do you really think that we can hold on to Mamayev Post?" Yevgang?"

Seeing that Sidolin was still questioning whether his troops were capable of holding Mamayev Post, Sokov said with some displeasure: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you have been in the infantry brigade for a long time, don't you think that by relying on Can our thousands of commanders and fighters not defend these two small hills?"

Sidolin quickly waved his hand and explained to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, you have misunderstood. I am not questioning the combat effectiveness of our brigade. But the enemy is much stronger than us in terms of strength and weapons and equipment." There are too many, I am afraid that no matter how heroic our commanders and fighters are, it will not be an easy task to hold Mamayev Post."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, if we only have a superficial position on Mamayev Gang, I agree with you very much." Sukov felt that the war was imminent, and the brigade commanders must first unify their thinking, otherwise they would be defeated. Affecting the morale and morale of the army, he explained to Sidolin again: "But don't forget, we still have perfect tunnel fortifications. Even if the Germans occupy our surface positions, we can use the tunnel fortifications to deal with them. to consume their vitality."

   "Comrade Brigadier, your phone number." Just as Sokov was comforting Sidolin, a staff officer not far away called Sokov with a microphone: "It's a call from the Army Group Command."

   Knowing that it was the call from the Army Group Command, Sokov guessed that Cuikov must have an important task to explain to himself, so he quickly walked over and took the phone from the staff officer: "I am Sokov."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the 35th Guards Division has been severely attacked by the Germans." As expected, Chuikov's voice came from the receiver. With the support of the battalion, the German attack was repelled. But at this moment, the armored train has been destroyed by German artillery fire. If it is attacked again, it may not be able to hold the existing position.”

   "Comrade Commander," Sokov heard that there was something in Chuikov's words, and said to himself that he would not let him send troops for reinforcements, would he? In that case, the defense of Mamayev Gang would be weakened, so he hurriedly asked, "I wonder if you have any instructions?"

   "In the headquarters, someone suggested to me." Chuikov did not answer Sukov's question, but said to himself: "Let you send troops to support the 35th Guards Division..."

"No, Comrade Commander, the troops on Mamayev Post cannot be transferred casually." Sokov heard Chuikov say that he would send himself to support the 35th Guards Division, interrupted him hastily, and said excitedly: In the next battle, the German army will definitely concentrate its superior forces and attack Mamayev Post. If troops are deployed to reinforce the 35th Guards Division, our defense here will become empty. Once attacked by the German army, can we Stopping them is still an unknown.”

While Sokov was making an impassioned speech, Chuikov covered the microphone with his hands, and said to Krylov who was standing beside him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, listen, it really is as we expected, Sokov is resolute Refuse to send troops to reinforce the 35th Guards Division."

"Comrade Commander, I think Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's approach is correct." After hearing what Chuikov said, Krylov quickly expressed his attitude: "The task of their brigade is to stick to the Mamayev Post. They can completely ignore the battle that happened. If I were to be the brigade commander, maybe I would not easily send troops to support the friendly army."

Chuikov let go of his hand covering the microphone, and said to Sokov who was still chattering: "Okay, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, stop complaining, I just said that someone persuaded me to transfer you to support the 35th Guards Division, and there is no real plan to mobilize your troops."

Chuikov's words were like giving Sokov a reassurance. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Comrade Commander, please finish what you have to say at one time. Don't keep talking halfway, it scares my cold sweat." Out."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," Chuikov said, "the troops of the 35th Guards Division have been severely reduced after a long period of fighting. With their current strength, they may not be able to hold their positions. I have given General Glazkov has issued an order that if the line of defense is lost, the troops will be transferred to Mamayev Post, and I hope you can meet them then."

Hearing that it was only to meet the retreating 35th Guards Division, Sokov immediately patted his chest and assured Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, don't worry. As long as the 35th Guards Division retreats to us, I will definitely send a powerful to ensure that they reach Mamayev Kurgan safely."

After receiving Sokov's assurance, Chuikov put down the phone and said to Krylov who was standing next to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have already agreed with Sokov that once the 35th Guards Division sends Mamayev If the post is lowered and the transfer is made, he will send troops to respond. You immediately call the 35th Guards Division and inform General Glazkov of this."

   From the phone call from Chuikov, Sokov knew that the 35th Guards Division was about to be defeated, so as soon as he put down the phone, he began to arrange for the corresponding troops. He looked at Sidolin and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, maybe in a short while, the troops of the 35th Guards Division will be withdrawn to Mamayev Hill. Which troops do you think we should arrange to meet them?"

"The third battalion will definitely not work." Sidolin was afraid that Sokov would send Andrei's third battalion to carry out this task, so he quickly objected: "After repeated battles, the whole battalion has been greatly reduced. It is impossible to accept such a combat mission. In my opinion, let Captain Golia’s 192nd Battalion go to meet the retreating 35th Guards Division.”

Hearing the conversation between Sokov and Sidolin, Belkin couldn't help thinking about it, and hurriedly asked: "Comrade Brigadier, I wonder if after the 35th Guards Division arrives at Mamayev Post, can we How about requesting the headquarters to let the division transfer some troops to strengthen the defense here?"

Regarding Belkin's thoughts, Sokov naturally understood what was going on. According to various signs, after the division withdrew to Mamayev Post, it would definitely be urgently transferred to the rear to make up for it. The higher-ups would definitely not agree to replenish the soldiers they needed there. Therefore, he reminded Belkin tactfully: "Comrade Comrade, I think that once the 35th Guards Division is withdrawn, it will be transferred to the east bank by the superior to make up for it. Definitely wouldn't agree."

  (end of this chapter)