The situation faced by the 101st Regiment, which lost its anti-tank position, immediately became serious. As soon as the machine gun fire points on the position were fired, they would be immediately attacked by German tank fire. As long as they were hit by one shot, the machine guns and shooters would be blown into the sky. Therefore, after the machine gunner finished firing a plate of bullets, he had to move immediately and find a new place to establish a machine gun position. He was unable to form suppressive firepower against the approaching German troops.
Not only did the German army have the support of tank artillery fire, they also established mortar positions and machine gun firepower points at 500 meters and 300 meters respectively, using powerful firepower to suppress the Soviet troops on the position to cover the charge of their own soldiers. The Soviet soldiers who stood up to shoot in the trenches were hit by flying shrapnel or machine gun bullets from time to time, and fell into the trenches in various postures.
In the regiment command post a few hundred meters away, the regiment leader saw that his men were constantly being killed and wounded under the fierce German firepower. He couldn't help but feel heartbroken, but he was helpless. Because during the early breakout, all the heavy weapons in the regiment, including mortars and heavy machine guns, were discarded. Now they can only use light weapons to deal with the enemies who are armed to the teeth.
The regiment chief of staff, standing next to the regiment leader, saw the critical situation at the front and quickly made suggestions to the regiment leader: "Comrade regiment leader, I suggest that we report our situation to the division headquarters immediately and ask the division to provide us with Artillery support." Unexpectedly, after he finished speaking, he found that the regiment commander had no reaction at all, as if he had not heard his words at all. He quickly added, "The enemy is only one or two hundred meters away from our position. Once they rush into the trenches, , then our defense line will collapse."
"It's useless." When the regiment leader heard what the chief of staff said, the muscles on his face twitched violently. Seeing that the situation at the front was so bad, he never thought of asking for help from the division headquarters. However, he knew very well that the division's artillery regiment also lost all its artillery during the breakout process, and was now assigned to the 102nd Regiment as infantry. "Don't you know that the division's artillery regiment has been converted into infantry and assigned to the 102nd Regiment for combat? Now that the division doesn't even have a single artillery piece, how can it provide us with artillery support?"
However, the regiment leader also knew in his heart that it was only a matter of time before the enemy broke through the forward position. After saying these words, he immediately ordered the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, you immediately bring the guard platoon and all those who can fight to support the front line." , we must hold our position. Do you understand?"
"Comrade commander," the regiment chief of staff said with some embarrassment after hearing this order: "If I take away the guard platoon, there will be no one around you. You see..."
"Go ahead," before the chief of staff of the regiment finished speaking, the regiment commander said in a tone that left no doubt: "If we can't hold the position, what's the use of the guard platoon staying at the regiment headquarters."
Seeing that the regiment leader's attitude was so resolute, the regiment chief of staff quickly agreed and called on the staff and correspondents in the headquarters to leave with him and go with the guard platoon to reinforce the front line.
The situation was not only tight for the 100th and 101st regiments. The 102nd regiment, which was deployed on the far left, faced the fierce German offensive and could only make a distress call to the division commander Glazkov. The regiment commander was crying. Said: "Comrade Division Commander, the enemy's infantry, under the cover of tanks, launched a swooping attack on our regiment's position. One of my battalions has been wiped out. Please send a reserve team to support us as soon as possible, otherwise the position may be lost." .”
"Comrade Colonel," Glazkov shouted into the microphone after hearing the cry of the commander of the 102nd Regiment: "As long as one of you is alive, you must hold your position resolutely. If you lose your position, I will shoot you. .”
Having said that, Glazkov is also aware of the seriousness of the problem. The defense areas of the three regiments adopt linear defense. Due to insufficient troops, there is no depth of defense at all. Once a certain point is lost, the entire defense line will collapse. of. Considering this, Glazkov quickly called his deputy division commander over and ordered: "Comrade deputy division commander, the situation of the 102nd Regiment is not good now. You should immediately bring Major Ibaru's teaching battalion to support."
Just after the deputy division commander left with his men, the 100th Regiment called for help again. The regiment leader said that his position had been breached. The regiment's political commissar and chief of staff led the troops and all died heroically in the counterattack. He asked Glazkov to provide him with the necessary support. Learning that the position of the 100th Regiment had been breached, Glazkov couldn't help but become anxious. He quickly called his chief of staff and asked directly: "How many troops do we have now?"
"There is also a guard battalion." After the chief of staff blurted out, he quickly added: "However, in the breakout battle, the battalion suffered heavy casualties, and now there are only more than a hundred people left."
"Chief of Staff, you immediately take the remaining members of the guard battalion to the defense area of the 100th Regiment and assist them in their defense." Glazkov was afraid that the Chief of Staff would not understand the importance of the defense line, so he specifically reminded him: "There are no friendly forces behind our defense area. Once the enemy breaks through our defense area, they can rush directly into the factory area."
After the teaching battalion and the guard battalion were dispatched, Glazkov saw that there were only more than a hundred staff, communications and logistics personnel left in the division headquarters. He was worried that if any danger appeared in a certain area, he would have no troops to send, so he quickly shook his head. I called the group army headquarters and reported to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, the Germans have launched a fierce attack on the defensive zone of our division. The current situation of the three regiments is not good, and the defense line is in danger of being broken through by the enemy at any time. I request you to immediately send troops for reinforcements."
Regarding Glazkov's request for help, Chuikov was silent for a long time. He knew that after a long battle, the 35th Guards Division's troops had been severely reduced in strength. If they were not replenished in time, they would never be able to hold the position. Therefore, after a fierce struggle in his mind, he said into the microphone: "General Glazkov, I will send reinforcements to you. I will contact the City Defense Committee immediately and ask them to send militia troops from the factory area to support you. …”
"What, militia troops?" Glazkov was secretly happy when he learned that Chuikov would provide him with reinforcements. But when he heard that the reinforcements were from the militia, his heart suddenly dropped. He said in surprise: "Comrade Commander , don’t you know that the militia units in the factory area have just been formed? They have no combat experience. They have neither been shot by German machine guns, nor have they seen German tanks rushing in front of them. If they deploy On the defensive line, before the German tanks can rush over, they will turn around and escape..."
"General Glazkov," Chuikov said with a straight face and a stern tone when he heard Glazkov commenting on the militia troops he was going to send to support the front line: "Who gave you the right to insult the working class? Did it? You don’t know that in order to stop the enemies rushing towards Stalingrad, it is not enough to rely on our army alone. We must also unite the vast number of workers and city residents. Only with their support and help can we hold on to this place. A city named after the supreme commander..."
Chuikov's words left Glazkov speechless for a while. After a long time, he said with some embarrassment: "Comrade Commander, no matter what, in the face of such an intense battle, it is impossible to throw in militia units with little combat effectiveness." I feel that fighting is inappropriate. Therefore, I still beg you to send me a regular army, even if it is only one battalion."
"General Glazkov, I don't have a single battalion in my hands at the moment." Regarding Glazkov's request, although he knew that the other party could not see it, Chuikov still shook his head resolutely: "In this way, I have an organic battalion in my hand. There is only one division of your troops, and the rest of the troops are still gathering their strength. It will take at least two to three days before they can go into battle. Therefore, under the current circumstances, you can only rely on the armed forces of the working class to crush the German attack Factory District Attack.”
As soon as Chuikov put down the phone, Krylov hurriedly said: "Comrade Commander, have you forgotten that there is an infantry brigade on Mamayev Ridge, and they can be used to support the 35th Guards Division." He He glanced down at the map on the table and added, "The distance is only five kilometers, and even walking on foot will only take two hours at most."
Krylov's proposal made Chuikov's heart beat. He knew the combat effectiveness of the 73rd Infantry Brigade very well. If this unit could be sent to reinforce the 35th Guards Division, there should be no problem in holding the position. But just when he picked up the phone, he suddenly changed his mind: "No, Comrade Chief of Staff, I can't give such an order to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. The mission of their brigade is to hold on to Mamayev Heights. If we transfer our troops to other places and Mamayev Heights falls due to lack of troops, then the garrison in Stalingrad will be divided into two disconnected parts. No, we absolutely cannot take this risk .”
When Krylov put forward this suggestion, he also had a sense of luck. He believed that the focus of the German offensive was in the factory area, and there was no time to take care of Mamayev Heights for the time being. Even if Sokov's troops were transferred, it would be impossible to attack Mamayev. The defense of Yevgan will also have no impact. But when Chuikov said this, he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly admitted his mistake to Chuikov: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I didn't think carefully. It seems that we can only ask the City Defense Committee for help. They sent the factory militia to support the 35th Guards Division."
"Call Sharayev," Chuikov said to Krylov: "Ask him to send militiamen to support the 35th Guards Division comrade, and then send the 30th Independent Armored Train Battalion to provide artillery support for our troops. "
