The Soviet infantrymen who attacked successfully returned to the trenches and came to support their armored trains, and were also hit by German long-range artillery fire. The Germans used at least ten heavy artillery pieces to bombard the armored trains running on the tracks. The shells roared around the railway tracks, making a shocking explosion.
The battalion commander of the armored train battalion saw that the enemy attacking the 105th Regiment's position had been repelled, but his train had become the target of the German army's key attack, so he quickly ordered the driver: "Stop moving forward, reverse, and return to the base as fast as possible."
When the train was driving quickly towards the base, the captain walked 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 has concentrated so many heavy artillery to bombard our trains. It seems that they will not let it go if they kill us."
The captain couldn't help but raise his throat when he heard the explosion from outside the car and the jingle of shrapnel hitting the armored plate. He prayed in his heart: God, bless us to return to the base safely.
Dubiyansky looked at the armored train passing through the smoke through the telescope, and couldn't help but ask the commander worriedly: "Comrade Colonel, tell me, can our armored train return to the base safely?"
"This is hard to say." Hearing Dubiyansky's question, the regiment commander said in an uncertain tone: "Realistically speaking, it is not that easy for German long-range artillery fire to hit high-speed trains. Even if their shells explode next to the rails, the shrapnel generated will not pose any threat to the train..."
Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, the fast-moving armored train was hit directly by a shell. The body of the car suddenly shook, and a raging fire immediately ignited in the middle of the car. The train with rolling black smoke was moving forward along the rails under huge inertia.
However, not long after driving, the ammunition stored in the car exploded. A bright orange fireball rushed out of smoke and dust, forming huge rolling black mushrooms in the air. The train seemed to be lifted up by an invisible hand, and a larger explosion occurred in the rolling. In the deafening explosion, the smoke and fire light rose into the air. The body of the car was first blown into pieces, and then completely exploded into pieces.
In the smoke and dust that covered the sky, the broken armor fragments were mixed with various pieces and parts, sweeping all objects within a radius of nearly two hundred meters. The commanders and soldiers of the Guard Division near the railway tracks, who reacted quickly, fell down directly on the spot; those who reacted slowly, were swept down by the flying fragments and shrapnel...
The Chief of Staff and the regiment commander, who were originally worried about the fate of the armored train, stared at the armored train that made the German army frightened. After being hit by a shell, they were blown to pieces. It took not long before Dubiyansky said to the regiment commander in a hoarse voice: "Give orders to the troops and ask them to rescue the comrades in the train."
"Comrade Deputy Commander," the commander said with a heartbroken expression on his face when the commander heard this order: "It's useless. The people in the car had been blown to pieces when the explosion occurred. We may not be able to find a complete corpse."
Regarding the regiment commander's statement, Dubiyansky nodded slightly and said in a helpless tone: "Yes, comrade Colonel, you are right. The commanders and fighters on the armored train should have been killed. You notify the troops and hurry up and prepare for the new round of attacks that the Germans may launch."
Glazkov and Zalitzman, who were staying in the division command, heard the loud explosion coming from the front, and felt the ground trembling violently. They guessed that something big might have happened. They hurriedly ran out of the command center to see what was going on. But they could not see anything except seeing the black mushroom cloud rising in the distance.
Based on the location, Glazkov judged it and knew that the explosion was in the defense area of ​​the 102nd Regiment. He hurried back to the command center and called Dubiyansky, who was supervising the battle there: "Deputy Division Commander, what's going on with the big explosion that just happened to yours?"
"Comrade Commander," Dubiyansky heard the problem of Grazkov and quickly reported: "The armored train that supported our operations was destroyed by the German long-range artillery fire. The explosion you just heard was emitted when the ammunition in the train exploded."
Grazkov was silent for a moment and asked tentatively: "Are there any survivors?"
"No." Dubiyansky replied very simply: "I just received a call from the frontier troops. There were many of our commanders and fighters near the explosion site. Although many people continued to take evasive actions such as lying down when the explosion occurred, they were all shocked to death because they were too close to the explosion site."
When Grazkov heard the bad news, his mouth twitched violently, "How many are our casualties?"
"Nearly a hundred people were killed by the scene or were killed by flying shrapnel." Dubiyanski reported: "There are also some soldiers injured by the shock. It seems that their injuries are not light. Whether they can survive depends on their luck."
The armored train that could provide artillery support to his troops was destroyed, and Grazkov's expression became serious. He knew in his heart that once he lost such powerful firepower support, the next battle would be difficult to fight. However, before receiving the order from his superiors, even if he knew that the troops suffered heavy casualties, he could not let the troops retreat. He could only continue to stick to the existing positions and deal with the enemy. Therefore, he said to the microphone: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, in the next battle, you will have no artillery support. If you want to block the enemy, you must have strong fortifications. Even if you only have one minute of preparation time, you must order the troops to repair fortifications. Do you understand?"
"I understand, comrade of the division commander." Dubiyansky replied cautiously: "We will do everything we can to block the German attack."
…………
The explosion of the armored train was discovered by an observation post set up on Mamayev's hill. He immediately reported the information to the brigade headquarters. When he learned that the armored train was destroyed by German artillery fire, Sidorin was shocked. He said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the armored train was destroyed by the enemy, so we will not get any artillery support in the next battle."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov, after he finished speaking, looked at him and asked, "Does we not fight without the support of the armored train?"
Seeing that Sidolin was speechless, Sokov continued: "We have built strong fortifications on the Mamayev hill. Even without the support of armored trains, with our strength, there should be no problem in order to block the enemy's attack."
When Sadolin heard Sokov say that he could hold Mamayev's hill in such a confident tone, he couldn't help but show a surprised expression on his face: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you really think that we can hold Mamayev's hill?"
Seeing that Sidolin was still questioning whether his troops were capable of defending the Mamayev hill at this moment, Sokov said unhappily: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you have been to the Infantry Brigade for a long time. Do you think that with our thousands of commanders and fighters, you can't defend such two small hills?"
Sidolin waved his hand quickly and explained to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you misunderstood. I am not questioning the combat effectiveness of our brigade. However, the enemy is much better than us in terms of military strength and weapons and equipment. I am worried that no matter how brave our commanders and soldiers are, it may not be easy to defend Mamayev's post."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, if we only have surface positions in Mamayev's hill, I agree with your statement." Sokov felt that the war was imminent, and first of all, he must unify the thoughts of the brigade-level commander, otherwise it will affect the morale and morale of the army, so he explained to Cidolin again: "But don't forget that we still have complete tunnel fortifications. Even if the Germans occupy our surface positions, we can use tunnel fortifications to deal with them to consume their vitality."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, your phone number." Just as Sokov was comforting Sidolin, a staff officer not far away held a microphone and shouted Sokov: "It's the phone number from the Army Command."
When he learned that it was the call from the Army Command, Sokov guessed that Cuikov must have an important task to explain himself. He quickly walked over and took the call from the staff officer: "I am Sokov."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the 35th Guard Division, was violently attacked by the German army." Cuikov's voice came from the receiver. He did not go around in circles, but said straight to the point: "Although they repelled the German attack after receiving the support of the 30th Independent Armored Train Battalion, the armored train had been destroyed by German artillery fire at this moment. If it was attacked again, they might not be able to defend their existing positions."
"Comrade Commander," Sokov heard something in Cuikov's words, thinking that he would not send troops to reinforce, right? In that case, the defense of Mamayevgang would be weakened, and he quickly asked first: "I wonder what instructions do you have?"
"In the headquarters, someone suggested to me." Cuikov did not answer Sokov's question, but said to himself: "Let you send troops to support the 35th Guard Division..."
"No, comrade Commander, the troops in Mamayevgang cannot be transferred at will." Sokov heard Cuikov say that he would send him to support the 35th Guard Division, and hurriedly interrupted him, and said excitedly: "In the next battle, the German army will definitely concentrate superior forces to attack the Mamayevgang. If the troops are drawn to reinforce the 35th Guard Division, our defense here will become empty. Once attacked by the German army, it is still unknown whether they can be blocked."
Just as Sokov was making a generous speech, Cuikov covered the microphone with his hand and said to Krelov who was standing beside him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, listen, it is indeed not as expected by us. Sokov is determined not to send troops to reinforce the 35th Guard Division."
"Comrade Commander, I think Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's approach is right." Krelov quickly expressed his attitude after hearing Cuikov's words: "Their brigade's mission was to stick to the Mamayev post. They could ignore the battles that took place in other areas. If I had become this brigade commander, maybe I wouldn't have sent troops to support friendly forces easily."
Cuikov let go of his hand covering the microphone and said to Sokov who was still chattering: "Okay, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, don't continue to complain. I just said that someone advised me to transfer you to support the 35th Guard Division, but I didn't really intend to mobilize your troops."
Cui Kov's words were equivalent to giving Sokov a reassurance. He said with a sigh of relief: "Comrade Commander, please let me finish what you say at once. Don't always say half of it, which scares my cold sweat out."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," said Cuikov. "The troops of the 35th Guard Division have been greatly reduced after a long battle. With their existing strength, they may not be able to defend their positions. I have given orders to General Grazkov. If the defense line is lost, I will take the troops to Mamayev. I hope you can pick them up at that time."
Hearing that he was just a 35th Guard Division, Sokov immediately patted his chest and assured Cuikov, "Comrade Commander, don't worry. As long as the 35th Guard Division retreats to us, I will definitely send a capable army to ensure that they can safely arrive at Mamayev's hill."
After getting Sokov's assurance, Trekov put down the phone and said to Krelov standing next to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have already agreed with Sokov that once the 35th Guard Division of the 35th Guard Division is put down and transferred to Mamayev's Gate, he will send troops to respond. You immediately call the 35th Guard Division and notify General Glazkov of this matter."
From the call from Cuikov, Sokov knew that the 35th Guard Division was about to be defeated, so he put down the phone and began to arrange the troops to receive them. He looked at Cidolin and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, maybe in the near future, the troops of the 35th Guard Division will retreat to Mamayev's Gate. What troops should we arrange to pick them up?"
"The third battalion is definitely not possible," Sidolin was afraid that Sokov would send Andre's third battalion to carry out this task, so he quickly opposed it: "After repeated battles, the entire battalion was very severely reduced and could not accept such combat missions for the time being. I think it would be better to let Captain Goria's 192nd Battalion go to pick up the 35th Guard Division that was retreating."
When Belkin heard the conversation between Sokov and Cydolin, he couldn't help but have a thought and asked quickly: "Comrade Commander, I wonder if you can ask the headquarters to ask the division to draw some troops to strengthen the defense here after the 35th Guard Division arrives at Mamayevgang?"
Chapter completed!