After Captain Rettenmaier confirmed through the documents on the fallen Soviet soldiers that the troops reinforcing the barricade factory were the troops commanded by Sokov, he immediately reported the matter to the regiment headquarters via the radio. The regiment leader, Colonel Wenzel, received the call and felt that the matter was of great importance, so he quickly called Steinmetz himself.
The person who answered the phone was Steinmetz's adjutant. After hearing Wenzel's voice, he said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Mr. Colonel, the division commander has taken a break. If you don't have anything important to do, please call again after dawn." Call me."
"Adjutant, wake up the division commander immediately." Although Steinmetz is the division commander, he has not been in office for a long time and has not yet fully established his prestige in the division. Therefore, when Wenzel heard the adjutant saying that the other party had taken a rest, he In a commanding tone, he said to the adjutant impatiently: "I have important information to report to him. If it delays the business, be careful with your head."
When the adjutant heard Wenzel's harsh tone, he immediately realized that it was very important for the other party to report the situation to the division commander. He quickly said with a smile: "Mr. Colonel, please wait a moment, I will ask the division commander to answer your call immediately."
Steinmetz was woken up from his sleep by his adjutant, with an unhappy face. Before he could get angry, the adjutant said first: "Your Excellency, division commander, this is the call from Colonel Wenzel, the commander of the 578th Regiment."
As soon as he heard the call from Wenzel, Steinmetz remembered that he had ordered the regiment to station at the barricade factory tonight. If he called himself at this moment, either the troops had been deployed or there were other important things to report. He took the microphone handed over by the adjutant, put it to his ear and said: "Colonel Wenzel? I am Steinmetz!"
"Your Excellency, Division Commander!" Wenzel reported: "I have just received a telegram from Captain Rettenmaier, commander of the 1st Battalion. He has figured out that the Russian troops reinforcing the barricade factory are members of the 41st Guards Division commanded by Sokov. department."
I was really afraid of something, but something happened to come. Steinmetz had been worried about the troops reinforcing the barricade factory, which were Sokov's Guards Division. When he heard Wenzel's report, he found that his worries had become a reality, which made him shudder. After a long silence, he asked hesitantly: "Colonel, is this information reliable?"
"Reliable, completely reliable!" Wenzel said conclusively: "In front of Captain Rettenmaier's troops stationed in Factory No. 4, a Russian force tried to sneak attack Factory No. 4, but was repelled by the defenders inside. . They came to the conclusion that the reinforcements were the 41st Guards Division from the documents on the Russians who were killed."
"This important information needs to be reported to the military headquarters and the army headquarters immediately." Steinmetz thought in his heart and asked casually: "Colonel Wenzel, have all your troops been stationed in the barricade factory?"
"The First Battalion has already stationed in Factory Building No. 4." Wenzel replied: "The Second Battalion, the Third Battalion and the regiment headquarters will arrive at the designated location before dawn."
Steinmetz was also a smart man. From Wenzel's report, he guessed that the other side had only dispatched the first battalion. The second and third battalions and the regiment headquarters were probably still in place. However, he did not expose the other party. He only said: "Everyone must be stationed in the barricade factory before dawn." After saying that, he hung up the phone directly.
After putting down the phone, Steinmetz couldn't fall asleep. After sitting by the bed and smoking a cigarette, he felt that he should report the matter to the military commander, so he put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray and picked up the bedside table. phone and dialed a number. After hearing a voice coming from inside, he said into the microphone: "I am General Steinmetz. Get me the military headquarters immediately and find General Kurtzbach."
Kurtzbach could not help but frown when he learned that the troops stationed at the barricade factory were Sokov's 41st Guards Division. Even though his troops have been winning steadily since the Battle of Kharkov, in several battles with Sokov's troops, his subordinates suffered heavy losses, so much so that the division commanders under him only had to listen to When Sokov's name is mentioned, everyone frowns.
Since his opponent was Sokov, Kurtzbach felt that he could not take it lightly and needed to report the matter immediately. He raised his hand and looked at his watch. It was already one o'clock in the morning. According to the time, Commander Paulus must have gone to bed. However, this matter was of great importance and could not be delayed. He could only bite the bullet and call the army headquarters.
The officer on duty heard the call from Kurtzbach and guessed that there must be something important. He quickly and respectfully said: "General Kurtzbach, please wait a moment. I will immediately transfer the call to the Chief of Staff." .”
When Chief of Staff Schmidt heard that the officer on duty said that he had Kurtzbach's phone number, he ordered the other party: "Transfer the call in." After the call was answered, he asked curiously: "General Kurtzbach, it's so late, what are you doing?" Call, is there anything important?"
"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff," Kurtzbach said quickly after hearing Schmidt's voice: "My subordinates reported to me that the Russian troops stationed at the barricade factory during the day were the 41st Guards Division commanded by Colonel Sokov. , I think we’re in trouble.”
"What's the 41st Guards Division?" Schmidt also felt a headache when he heard the number Kurtzbach said, but for the sake of safety, he asked: "It's the one holding Mamayev Heights. Russian troops?”
"Yes, it's them."
"Has this information been confirmed?" Schmidt asked with a serious expression.
"It has been confirmed, Chief of Staff." Kurtzbach replied: "This information was reported by Captain Rettenmaier, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 578th Regiment of the 305th Division. He was based on the bodies of the Russian soldiers who were killed. documents to determine the number of this Russian unit."
"It all looks real." After confirming that the Russian troops stationed at the barricade factory were indeed Sokov's 41st Guards Division, Schmidt also realized the seriousness of the problem: "General Kurtzbach, you have Can you deal with them?"
"It's very difficult, Chief of Staff." Kurtzbach complained to Schmidt: "You also know that several of my divisions have become very weak after a long battle. In addition, There is a supply problem now, and I think it will be very difficult to defeat Sokov's troops and capture the barricade factory."
As the chief of staff of the group army, Schmidt was very familiar with the situation of the soldiers in each division. He knew that Kurtzbach's words were not alarmist, but fact. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, thinking about how to help Kurtzbach. After thinking for a long time, he finally came up with a good idea, but he did not reveal any more information to Kurtzbach before getting Paulus's permission: "General Kurtzbach, I will send this to Kurtzbach after dawn. Report the matter to the Commander and ask him to send you reinforcements to eliminate the Russian troops in the factory area."
Kurtzbach knew Schmidt well and knew that he was not a person who wrote checks casually, so he smiled and said: "In that case, Chief of Staff, I will wait for your good news."
After finally staying up until dawn, Schmidt calculated the time and realized that Paulus should get up, so he took the call records between himself and Kurtzbach and headed to Paulus's bedroom.
Paulus had just gotten up and was sitting on the edge of the bed in the bedroom, eating his first breakfast. When he saw Schmidt walking in hurriedly, he put down the coffee in his hand, raised his head and asked: "Chief of Staff, what do you have?" Something?"
"Your Excellency, Commander," Schmidt came to Paulus, handed over the call record in his hand, and said at the same time: "A few hours ago, General Kurtzbach called me and said that they had It is clear that the Russian troops who reinforced the barricade factory during the day yesterday were the 41st Guards Division commanded by Sokov."
Upon hearing Sokov's name and unit number, the muscles on Paulus's face twitched violently twice. He quickly read the call record, then looked at Schmidt and asked: "Chief of Staff, where do you plan to transfer troops to strengthen the attack on the barricade factory?"
"Engineer battalion!" Schmidt said without hesitation: "I think we can send the 52nd, 162nd and 294th engineer battalions that have just been transferred to the city to the barricade factory to strengthen the offensive power there."
"What, send the engineer battalion to the barricade factory?" Paulus naturally knew that the three engineer battalions Schmidt mentioned were not the kind of troops that only knew about demining and erecting pontoon bridges, but a special combat force. Most of the officers and soldiers participated in the French campaign and made countless military exploits on the Russian battlefield. Paulus was somewhat reluctant to devote such an elite force to the battle to seize the barricade factory: "Chief of Staff, are there no other troops to send besides this?"
"We do have other troops that can be mobilized, but they are all incompletely organized troops." Seeing that Paulus was a little reluctant to put the engineer battalion into battle, Schmidt said cautiously: "The morale of these troops is generally low. , even if they are sent to the barricade factory, it may be difficult to seize the factory in a short time. And our engineer battalion..."
"Okay, Chief of Staff, you don't have to say any more." From Schmidt's words, Paulus realized that to seize the barricade factory as soon as possible, sending these three engineer battalions there was undoubtedly the best choice. He gritted his teeth and said to Schmidt: "Give the three engineer battalion commanders an order to rush to the barricade factory immediately and participate in the battle to capture the factory."
"Your Excellency, Commander, I would like to ask." Schmidt asked respectfully before leaving Paulus's bedroom: "Who should command these three engineer battalions?"
"As far as I know, these engineer battalions can maximize their combat effectiveness every time they fight independently." Paulus said without hesitation: "Tell these three battalion commanders that after entering the barricade factory, they do not need to Whoever obeys the command can flexibly use various tactics according to the actual situation on the battlefield."
"Understood, Your Excellency, Commander. I will immediately convey your message to the three engineer battalion commanders." After saying that, Schmidt bowed slightly to Paulus, then turned and walked out of the bedroom.
