The bombers that bombed the front line of the German 113th Infantry Division came from the 16th Air Force Group of the Don Front. They were ordered by Rokossovsky to bomb enemy positions.
While the bombing was going on, at the front headquarters more than 100 kilometers away, Chief of Staff Malinin learned that the bomber group had begun bombing the German front line and asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, according to the Air Force's According to the report, the enemy's forward position has become a sea of fire, and there is no sign of counterattack on the ground."
Rokossovsky nodded and asked, "Where is General Kazakov?"
"He is in the artillery headquarters at the moment," Malinen replied, "waiting for your shelling order!"
"In ten minutes," Rokossovsky raised his hand to look at his watch and ordered Malinin, "order the artillery to fire at the front of the German 60th Motorized Division. The artillery fire will last no less than half an hour."
"Understood." Malinin agreed, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed the artillery headquarters: "General Kazakov, the commander ordered that the artillery fire on the front of the enemy's 60th Motorized Division in ten minutes. The shelling lasted no less than half an hour.”
After issuing the order, Malinin looked at Rokossovsky and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, after the artillery and bombing are over, do you still order General Galanin's 24th Army to attack the enemy's defense line?"
"Yes, if we delay launching a ground attack after bombing and shelling the enemy's front line, we will definitely find that we are feigning an attack." Rokossovsky replied with a smile: "We have launched such a heavy attack For the capital, you have to ask the Germans for interest."
"If the assembly of friendly troops and technical equipment had not been completed, we could have launched a full-scale attack on the German army in two days." Ma Lining said with regret: "What a pity, in order to ensure that the general offensive in more than ten days cannot be carried out Affected, this time we can only use the severely reduced 24th Group Army to launch a feint attack against the enemy."
"Chief of Staff, you are right." Regarding Malinin's statement, Rokossovsky nodded in agreement: "The divisions of the 24th Group Army have suffered serious attrition after a long and arduous battle. However, although the troops They are very tired and suffer heavy casualties, but the commanders and fighters are full of fighting spirit. They clearly realize that their recruiting action today will directly support the friendly forces fighting in Stalingrad, giving them more confidence to defend the city."
Malinin, one of the few insiders, waited for Rokossovsky to finish and said with a wry smile: "Comrade Commander, I really didn't expect that any action we took before was only done by the guerrillas behind enemy lines to cooperate with us. We made such a big noise today to cooperate with the guerrillas in launching an attack on the enemy's station."
"The two stations that the guerrillas are going to attack are important material transfer stations for the Germans. Once occupied, it means that the German supply lines have been cut off." Rokossovsky glanced down at the map on the table. He said thoughtfully: "At that time, the Germans may not have the intention to attack the city again, but will deploy sufficient troops to ensure the safety of their supply lines."
After finishing speaking, he picked up the tea cup and took a sip of water. He said with some laughter and tears: "Chief of Staff, although the superiors said that this attack plan behind enemy lines was formulated by a captain of the 41st Guards Division, in my estimation , this matter is inseparable from Misha. I really didn’t expect that although this guy was still a colonel, he indirectly commanded dozens of generals to mobilize the Germans according to his intentions to ensure that His men can complete this offensive behind enemy lines."
Rokossovsky did not expect that Sokov had no knowledge of the battle plan before it was reported. It was all a temporary combat plan formulated by Guchakov in order to give Sokov a break and retaliate against the German bombing of Mamayev Heights. But what everyone didn't expect was that it was originally just a combat plan for the guerrillas to work alone. After it was reported to the Supreme Command at all levels, the Don River Front Army received an order to cooperate in the operation.
When the artillery of the Don Front bombarded the front line of the German 60th Motorized Division, Paulus and Schmid began to study the Soviet intentions. Schmid said: "Your Excellency Commander, we originally thought that the Russians were preparing to break through from the direction of the 113th Infantry Division, but judging from their actions, it seems that they planned to break through from the direction of the 113th Infantry Division and the 60th Motorized Division at the same time. , carry out two simultaneous attacks."
"How is the defense situation of our army in this area?" The military situation was urgent. Paulus no longer cared about eating his second breakfast. He was now only concerned about whether the existing defensive positions could block the Soviet attack: "Can Block the Russian attack?"
"Your Excellency, Commander," as Paulus's chief of staff, Schmid was very competent. As soon as he heard Paulus's question, he immediately replied without thinking: "The defensive positions occupied by these two divisions were built by the Russians before. Not only was the terrain favorable, but it was also very strong and could block the Russians in a short time. There shouldn’t be any problem with attacking.”
After Paulus waited for Schmid to finish speaking, he slapped the map with his hand and said: "Chief of Staff, call the two division commanders again and order them to speed up the mobilization of troops. According to my estimation, when the bombing and the After the bombardment is over, the Russians will launch a massive attack, lest there be no defensive troops on the position by then."
"Don't worry, Commander." Schmid replied respectfully: "I have made it clear to the two division commanders the seriousness of the gaffe. They said they would use all transportation forces to move the troops to the front. but……"
"But what?" Seeing that the chief of staff suddenly showed a troubled expression on his face mid-sentence, Paulus urged impatiently: "Why don't you continue?"
"The two division commanders were worried that the troops would be bombed by Russian aircraft during the movement." Schmid reminded Paulus: "Judging from the bombing of the forward position of the 113th Division, the Russians are fully capable of dispatching two troops at the same time. The capability of three aviation divisions.”
"Then call the commander of the Fourth Air Force." Paulus waved his hand to Schmid and said: "Ask him to dispatch a fighter formation to cruise over the combat area to ensure that the air superiority of the battlefield is in our hands. "
After Schmid waited for Paulus to finish speaking, he asked tentatively: "Your Excellency, Commander, do you need to report the Russian counterattack to Berlin immediately?"
"Don't worry." Paulus shook his head and said: "We currently don't know the scale of the Russian counterattack. If we report it rashly and Berlin asks, we won't be able to tell clearly. It's better to wait until we find out. It will not be too late to report to Berlin the direction of the Russian counterattack, the troops and technical equipment used."
The Soviet bombing of the forward positions of the 113th Infantry Division lasted for nearly half an hour. After all the bombers dropped their bombs, they turned around and flew back to the airport. It was long after they left that the German fighter formation arrived belatedly.
A reconnaissance plane operating with the fighter formation lowered its altitude to take photos. It was surprised to find that the forward position where a battalion was originally stationed had been blown beyond recognition. There were blazing flames everywhere and darkness had covered several kilometers. Crater, no living creatures could be seen at all.
Shortly after the commander of the German 113th Division received the telegram from the front, he completely lost contact with the front. Not only was the phone call unreachable, but even the radio call received no response from the other party. After the division chief of staff reported the situation to the division commander, he sighed and said in annoyance: "Your Excellency, division commander, I think the whole battalion that is holding on to the forward position must have been destroyed."
"What, the whole army was destroyed?" When the division commander heard what the division chief of staff said, he immediately jumped up from his seat: "This is impossible, seven or eight hundred people, how can they be gone?"
"But we only received one telegram from the front line, and then we completely lost contact with them." Seeing the division commander's anger, the division chief of staff said cautiously: "The best case scenario is that the communications room is hit by a bomb, and the commander The systems and troops are still preserved.”
"Chief of Staff," in order to find out what was going on, the division commander ordered his chief of staff: "Immediately call the troops on the second line of defense and ask them to send people to the front immediately to see what is going on. "
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, I think you need to be mentally prepared." The division chief of staff couldn't help but shudder when he thought about the fate of the forward troops, and said cautiously: "If this battalion has been stationed in the fortifications established by the Russians, it will In the air raid that just ended, their losses were much smaller. After all, the Russian fortifications had air defense facilities. But in the past few days, the battalion commander felt that the Russians on the opposite side seemed to lack strength, so he took the decision without permission. , the original defense line advanced six hundred meters."
"What, that battalion commander pushed the defense line forward six hundred meters?" Hearing what the division chief of staff said, the division commander's eyes widened in surprise: "Why didn't anyone report this to me?"
The division chief of staff was really dumbfounded after hearing what the division commander said. He thought to himself, if the Russians had not launched a sudden attack today, maybe you would have wished that all the troops had pushed their defense lines forward to further reduce the Russians' space for movement. But he could only think about these words in his heart, but he did not dare to say them casually in front of his teacher. He paused for a long time and then said vaguely: "Perhaps the battalion commander is eager to achieve success and plans to move the defense line forward to facilitate the next possible attack."
The division commander looked down at the map in front of him and asked his chief of staff: "If the battalion commander moves the defense line forward without permission, then the distance between them and the second line of defense will be 1,200 meters. It’s 1,800 meters away, no wonder the second line of defense can’t see the situation there.”
He raised his head and ordered the chief of staff again: "Call the commander of the second line of defense immediately and ask him to immediately send scouts and ride motorcycles to the forward position to find out what the situation is there."
"Your Excellency, division commander, where is the battalion commander?" When the division chief of staff picked up the microphone again, he specifically asked: "What do you plan to do with him?"
Hearing this question from the chief of staff, the division commander gritted his teeth and said: "When we repulse the Russian attack, we will send this battalion commander to a military court. If everyone is like him, how can we command the troops."
…………
After the bombing and artillery bombardment, the Soviet army used two infantry divisions to simultaneously launch an attack on the defense areas of the 113th Infantry Division and the 60th Motorized Division under the cover of tanks and artillery fire.
This move by the Soviet army made Paulus and Schmid even more convinced that the Russians planned to launch an attack in this area to save Stalingrad from its imminent fall. Therefore, Paulus issued combat orders to the two divisions attacked by the Soviet army. At the same time, he also ordered several divisions in the factory area north of Stalingrad to suspend the attack and build defenses on the spot. And part of the 289th Infantry Division and the 295th Infantry Division were transferred to the areas attacked by the Soviet army.
After adjusting the deployment, Paulus breathed a sigh of relief and said to Schmid: "Chief of Staff, as long as the two divisions attacked by the Russians can withstand the whole morning, then the two divisions transferred back from the factory area will With one division, under the cover of aircraft, they can attack from the Russian flanks and cut off their attacking troops."
Schmid seemed to see the dawn of victory in Paulus's words, and he said excitedly: "You are right, Commander."
He raised his head and ordered the chief of staff again: "Call the commander of the second line of defense immediately and ask him to immediately send scouts and ride motorcycles to the forward position to find out what the situation is there."
"Your Excellency, division commander, where is the battalion commander?" When the division chief of staff picked up the microphone again, he specifically asked: "What do you plan to do with him?"
Hearing this question from the chief of staff, the division commander gritted his teeth and said: "When we repulse the Russian attack, we will send this battalion commander to a military court. If everyone is like him, how can we command the troops."
…………
After the bombing and artillery bombardment, the Soviet army used two infantry divisions to simultaneously launch an attack on the defense areas of the 113th Infantry Division and the 60th Motorized Division under the cover of tanks and artillery fire.
This move by the Soviet army made Paulus and Schmid even more convinced that the Russians planned to launch an attack in this area to save Stalingrad from its imminent fall. Therefore, Paulus issued combat orders to the two divisions attacked by the Soviet army. At the same time, he also ordered several divisions in the factory area north of Stalingrad to suspend the attack and build defenses on the spot. And part of the 289th Infantry Division and the 295th Infantry Division were transferred to the areas attacked by the Soviet army.
After adjusting the deployment, Paulus breathed a sigh of relief and said to Schmid: "Chief of Staff, as long as the two divisions attacked by the Russians can withstand the whole morning, then the two divisions transferred back from the factory area will With one division, under the cover of aircraft, they can attack from the Russian flanks and cut off their attacking troops."
Schmid seemed to see the dawn of victory in Paulus's words, and he said excitedly: "You are right, Commander."
