Red Moscow

  Chapter 393 Transfer

  After the German army destroyed the armored train that posed a great threat to them, after a two-hour rest, they launched a new round of offensive to the position of the 35th Guards Division again.

  Deployed in the 101st regiment on the right wing, although the casualties were similar to the two regiments on the left wing, but because they were not supplemented by the militia, there are only more than 300 people left on the position.

Seeing the German tanks appearing in the distance, the head of the 101st Regiment immediately ordered a battalion commander with a bandaged head beside him: "Third Battalion Commander, the Germans dispatched seven tanks, you immediately go and arrange a few soldiers to hide in the In the crater in front of the position, wait for the tank to approach and blow it up with an anti-tank grenade or a cluster grenade."

The young battalion commander couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth violently when he heard the order from the regiment commander. He knew very well that no matter whether it was an anti-tank grenade or a cluster grenade, due to their weight, they couldn't be thrown too far, that is, Said that the soldiers sent to blow up the tanks were either killed by German bullets, or died with the German tanks, and there was no hope of surviving. But after hesitating for a while, he still replied resolutely: "Understood, Comrade Leader, I will arrange it right away."

  The commander of the third battalion walked out of the headquarters that was half destroyed by the bombardment, and came to the area where his own battalion was standing. The soldiers were sitting and resting in the trench. When they saw the battalion commander approaching, they stood up one after another, leaning their backs against the trench wall and paying attention to him.

  After repeated battles in the third battalion, there were only more than 80 people left, which was less than the strength of a company. To blow up the seven German tanks rushing over, at least double the number of people must be dispatched, that is to say, another fourteen people must be subtracted from the existing force.

The commander of the third battalion stopped and said in a voice that everyone could hear: "Comrades, the enemy tanks are rushing towards us. I need fourteen people to hide in the bomb crater outside. When the tanks approach, Blow it up with an anti-tank grenade or a cluster grenade. Which of you would like to take on that mission?"

   After a brief silence, more than twenty fighters immediately took a step forward, expressing their willingness to carry out this mission of narrow escape. Seeing these soldiers, the third battalion commander's eyes became moist. He sniffed, walked over to pick out fourteen soldiers, and then said to the rest of the soldiers with red eyes: "You stay here first, and wait until they haven't completed their tasks." , you go on again."

  Fourteen soldiers took anti-tank grenades or cluster grenades, climbed out of the trenches, and crawled to the bomb crater in front of the position to hide. According to their thinking, as long as the German tanks pass by, they can blow up the tanks as long as they stand up and throw grenades or grenades.

However, after the Germans suffered several losses from the Soviets, they also became clever. They knew that the Soviets on this defensive position did not have long-range anti-tank weapons, so the tanks marched very slowly to ensure that the infantry who protected them could keep up with them. superior. When the first German tank approached the crater where the Soviet soldiers were hiding, the soldier hiding inside suddenly stood up and raised the anti-tank grenade in his hand. Just as he was about to throw it out, the German soldiers behind the car The infantry opened fire, shooting and killing the fighters who were trying to drop the bombs.

   Discovering that there were Soviet anti-tank fighters hiding in the crater, the infantry quickened their pace, passed the slow-moving tanks, and carefully searched for the crater ahead. Once the Soviet soldiers hiding inside were found, they were shot and killed immediately. In just a few minutes, eight soldiers were killed in the bomb crater by the German infantry.

   Seeing their comrades die one after another under the guns of the enemy, the commanders and fighters on the ground became anxious. The commander of the third battalion came to a light machine gun and said to the machine gun shooter: "Machine gun, kill those damned German devils."

  The machine gunner nodded, immediately pulled the trigger, and fired at the German soldiers who were searching and advancing. After being hit by bullets, several unlucky German soldiers whirled into the crater on the side. When the German tanks found the machine gun fire on the Soviet position, they stopped immediately, turned their muzzles and fired there. Although the shot was missed, the soil kicked up by the explosion wave still scattered the third battalion commander and the machine gunner.

  The third battalion commander saw that the situation was not good, and quickly said to the machine gunner: "No, the enemy has found your position, and immediately moved to a new shooting position."

  The machine gunner put away the machine gun, bent over and ran a few steps along the trench. The shooting position just now was hit by a shell fired by another tank. A stream of soil mixed with countless bullet casings rose into the sky, and when it fell, it jingled the helmets of nearby soldiers.

   Taking advantage of the attention of the German tanks and infantry, while being attracted by the machine guns on the position, a soldier not far from the tank jumped out of the crater and rushed into the bottom of a tank next to him. After a loud bang, the body of the tank jumped on the spot, and puffs of black smoke came out from lying on the spot. Two tankers who were covered in fire helped each other climb out of the open turret, stumbled ran back.

  The remaining four fighters, seeing their comrades successfully blow up a German tank, also jumped out of the crater where they were hiding, desperately rushed to the German tank not far away, and died with them. But in the end only one soldier succeeded, and the other three soldiers fell under the guns of the German infantry hiding behind the tank.

   Two of the seven tanks were blown up, and the remaining five speeded up in order to prevent them from being blown up again, leaving behind the infantry covering them and rushing towards the Soviet position.

  Looking at the tanks rushing over, those soldiers who had just been brushed down, before the third battalion commander gave an order, strapped grenades to their bodies, and climbed out of the trenches one after another, so the German tanks galloped away.

The commander of the third battalion saw his soldiers crawling towards the German tanks again, and quickly shouted at the machine gunner beside him: "Machine gun fire, destroy the infantry behind those tanks." Following the order, the machine gunner set up the machine gun , and shot at the infantry behind the tank so that his comrades could approach the German tanks smoothly.

  The German tank that was driving found that the machine gun on the position had been revived again, and it also caused a lot of danger to the infantry behind him, so he quickly used the vehicle-mounted machine gun to suppress the firepower of the Soviet army. Under the intensive firepower of the German army, the Soviet machine gunner was shot and lay next to the machine gun before he finished firing a cartridge.

  Seeing the sacrifice of the machine gunner, the commander of the third battalion quickly pulled out the machine gun from under his body, put one on the mound next to him, and continued to shoot at the German infantry behind the tank. Seeing that the machine guns on the position were silent for a moment, the German tanks started firing again, stopped quickly, and fired a shot at the position of the commander of the third battalion.

  The shell exploded behind the trench, and the flying shrapnel hit the back of the third battalion commander. He endured the pain, and after firing the last bullet in the magazine, his body tilted and fell into the trench. Thanks to the support of machine gun fire, the soldiers who climbed out of the trench this time approached the German tanks with only two sacrifices, and died with them.

  The German tanks were blown up, and the German infantry lost their support. They immediately lost the courage to move on and retreated from the Soviet positions one after another.

   Seeing the retreat of the German army, the commanders and fighters of the third battalion who stood firm in this area did not cheer. Although the intensity of the battle that just ended was not high, they paid a huge price. Not only the battalion commander died, but also more than 20 soldiers were sacrificed in order to blow up the German tanks. In the end, there were only 50 soldiers left in the battalion.

  After learning that the third battalion had suffered heavy losses, the regiment leader felt that with his current strength, as long as the German army made another such assault, his position would be broken through. So he called Glazkov and asked him for instructions: "Comrade Commander, our regiment only has more than 200 people left, and it lacks anti-tank weapons. Once the German army launches another attack, we will not be able to defend it at all." of."

   Hearing the report from the head of the 101st Regiment, Glazkov glanced at Zalitsman next to him. He wanted to let the other party take the remaining militia company to reinforce the 101st Regiment. But after thinking about it, this militia force of more than 100 people has no combat effectiveness. Even if they are sent to the defense area of ​​the 101st regiment, it may be difficult to hold their positions. Anyway, Commander Chuikov had informed himself that if he couldn't hold his ground, he could take his troops back to Mamayev Post. Thinking of this, he said into the microphone: "Comrade Colonel, since the German attack has been temporarily repelled by you, you should immediately take the troops to the direction of Mamayev Post."

"What?!" Hearing Grazkov's order, the head of the 101st Regiment was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "Comrade Commander, we are six or seven kilometers away from Mamayev Post. If they are pursued by the German army, their entire army may be wiped out."

Zalitsman overheard the conversation between Grazkov and the regimental commander and suggested: "Comrade General, if you have no objection, the troops of the 101st regiment can be withdrawn to our Dzerzhinsky factory area. After they rest there for a while, they will retreat along the Volga River to Mamayev Hill."

Regarding Zalitsman's proposal, Glazkov frowned and thought about it, thinking it would be a good idea. At this moment, if the 101st regiment is transferred, it will definitely be chased by the German army. Mayev Gang has already collapsed or been wiped out. So he nodded to Zalitsman, expressing his agreement with the other party's opinion, and then said into the microphone, "Comrade Colonel, you immediately withdraw your troops from the position and move in the direction of the Dzerzhinsky factory. Send someone to pick you up."

After putting down the phone, Glazkov looked at Zalitsman and said, "Comrade deputy factory director, the 101st Regiment may be withdrawn soon, and I will trouble you to take the militiamen to meet them and bring them to the Dzerzhinsky factory."

"Comrade General," Zalitsman asked hesitantly after Grazkov finished speaking, "If I take the troops away, what will you do here?" After the hand-to-hand combat, there were no more than ten living people left in the entire division. If the German army rushed over again, they would have no power to fight back.

"Comrade Zalitsman, don't worry." Glazkov guessed what Zalitsman was thinking, and said to him with a smile: "You took my 101st regiment to Dzerzhinsky, and I There will probably be no danger in taking the other two regiments to Mamayev Kurgan."

   After Zalitsman left with the militia, Grazkov immediately called the 102nd Regiment and ordered Dubyansky, who was supervising the battle there, to immediately take the troops to the direction of Mamayev Post.

Dubyansky heard this order from Grazkov and asked with some doubts: "Comrade commander, if we retreat at this time, the enemy will rush to the factory area. There are no regular troops in the factory area. It is some newly formed militia, do you think they can hold off the enemy?"

"Comrade Deputy Division Commander," Glazkov said dissatisfied with Dubyansky's question, "the retreat was approved by the Army Group Command. , Can you block the enemy's attack?"

  Grazkov's rhetorical question left Dubyansky speechless. After a long silence, he replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I will immediately organize the 102nd Regiment to prepare for the retreat."

   When calling the regiment headquarters of the 100th regiment, the chief of staff of the division who supervised the battle here heard the retreat order and did not raise any doubts, saying that it would be implemented immediately. But he asked another question: "Comrade Commander, I heard that there are not many people left in the division headquarters. Do you think I need to send a small force to protect you?"

   "No." Glazkov replied simply, "I still have a few staff officers who can fight by my side, and we can reach Mamayev Post safely. Hurry up and prepare for the transfer."

  Although Glazkov kept saying that he didn't need protection, the chief of staff of the division was not at ease. After he finished talking with Grazkov, he immediately called the deputy division commander Dubyansky: "Comrade deputy division commander, have you also received the division commander's retreat order?"

"Yes, we have received an order to retreat and are preparing." Dubyanski knew that the chief of staff of the division would not call him casually, and there must be something important, so he quickly asked: "Do you have anything to do?" ?”

"That's right, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." The division chief of staff quickly replied: "After the division was attacked by the German army, there were not many people left. I was worried that the division commander would encounter danger when he moved, so I planned to send people to protect him."

   "Comrade Chief of Staff." Dubyansky did not wait for the Chief of Staff to finish, then interrupted him: "Based on my understanding of the division commander, he definitely did not agree with your suggestion."

   "Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander." The division chief of staff nodded and said, "The division commander rejected my proposal to send someone to protect him."

"Chief of staff, listen to me." Dubyanski felt that Grazkov's safety was very important, so he said to the division chief of staff: "You and I will each send a platoon back to the division headquarters to protect the division commander from going to Mamaye. Fugang."

  (end of this chapter)