Fortunately, Merkulov followed Sokov's order and asked the artillery regiment to advance along with the infantry.
Seeing that the infantry attacking from the front were suppressed by the enemy's intensive firepower and unable to move, the artillerymen immediately pushed the artillery forward, selected a suitable firing position, and aimed the muzzle at the firepower points of the carriages.
Since the troops attacking the station did not conduct artillery preparations before the attack, the Germans misjudged that the Soviet troops rushing into the station did not have heavy firepower. Facing a crossfire point consisting of several train cars, There is simply nothing that can be done. The machine guns in the carriage fired recklessly at the hiding positions of the soldiers, trying to use intensive firepower to eliminate all the attacking commanders and fighters.
The two artillery pieces that were set up first aimed at one of the carriages and fired. After two loud bangs, the targeted carriage was hit directly and was instantly enveloped in fire and thick smoke. The soldiers who were shooting in the carriage were killed or injured, and the snipers hiding under the carriage were also crushed to pieces by the collapsed floor.
The German soldiers in other carriages, who didn't know what kind of super weapons the Soviet army used, actually destroyed a carriage in an instant. As soon as their shooting stopped, they saw the Soviet troops who had been suppressed by fire getting up from the ground and rushing towards them, and hurriedly continued shooting.
The Soviet artillery regiment had five or six more artillery pieces set up, and they aimed at the remaining carriages and fired. The shells that came out of the barrel flew towards the target as if they had eyes, turning the carriage into balls of fire.
At this time, the German shooting stopped completely. The German soldiers who were lucky enough to be fine threw away their weapons and fled towards the rear positions without looking back, hoping to get as far away from here as possible. Seeing the Germans escaping, the Soviet commanders and soldiers lying on the ground jumped up one after another and pounced on the escaping German soldiers with their weapons in hand.
When the German division commander von Dreiber learned that the Soviet army had launched an attack on the station, he was not actually worried. Based on his understanding of the Soviet army, it would take at least four or five days to conquer a position like the station. Therefore, he rejected the proposal of his chief of staff and did not ask Paulus for help.
Even when his men used landmines and explosives to drive out the Soviet troops who had invaded the ticket hall, he proudly said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, have you seen it? The Russians' tactical veneer, their soldiers And lack of sufficient training, if you want to seize the position from our division, the chance of success is not high at all."
When the Chief of Staff heard what von Dreiber said, he kept flattering him and said: "Your Excellency, the division commander, has the foresight to see right away that the Russian attack will not be effective. I would like to ask, what will happen to the Russian attack later?" When we are repelled, do we need to organize a counterattack to completely defeat their attacking troops?"
"No need." Von Drebel rejected the chief of staff's proposal without hesitation: "There are ruins everywhere inside and outside the station, which is not conducive to the deployment of the troops. If the soldiers maintain a dense formation during a counterattack, they are likely to be attacked. To attack with that mysterious weapon of the Russians.”
Although von Drebel did not explain what the mysterious weapon was, the chief of staff knew very well that the Soviet army's new rockets were not only powerful, but could also establish a launch site anywhere. If two missiles are fired when the attacking troops are crowded together, the losses caused to the troops will be quite heavy.
It was thought that after the Soviet attack was repelled, it would take at least a few hours before a new attack could be launched. Unexpectedly, within half an hour, officers on the front line reported that the Soviet army used mysterious weapons to attack the ticket hall, causing the mines and explosives buried inside to explode, and the defenders in the hall had been completely wiped out.
Upon hearing the bad news, von Dreiber was stunned for a moment, and then ordered the chief of staff: "Let the defenders on the platform immediately take up positions to block the Russians who are rushing in."
The chief of staff thought that the fortifications on the platform were all made of sandbags, and it would be difficult to block the Russian attack. However, since it was an order issued by the division commander, he could only truthfully convey it to the troops at the front and ask them to hold on firmly.
But less than half an hour after the order was issued, bad news came again from outside, saying that the Russian troops had rushed to the platform and were advancing continuously. Moreover, two-thirds of the platforms have fallen into the hands of the Russians.
"Your Excellency, Division Commander," after hearing the battle report from the front, the division chief of staff went completely crazy. He quickly asked von Drebel: "I think we should ask the commander for help and let him send reinforcements to reinforce us. .”
"No rush, no rush." Knowing that the Soviet offensive troops were approaching his headquarters step by step, von Drebel still pretended to be calm and said: "Don't forget that we used carriages to form a fortification in the middle of the station. , the machine guns in the carriage can form a crossfire point and block the way forward for the Russians. Those snipers hidden under the carriage can easily kill the Russian commander who leads the charge, allowing the Russian army to lose its unified command. Into chaos."
A few months ago, von Dreiber had used this tactic to defeat Soviet troops who counterattacked him many times. He originally thought that he could repeat his old tricks and use firepower to consume the Soviet army's effective strength. But he never dreamed that this offensive force was actually indirectly commanded by Sokov. The tactic of bayonets on cannons was specifically used to deal with such strong firepower points. Those carriages parked on the rails with sandbags piled at the door were just a bunch of immovable targets in front of the Soviet artillery. After a few rounds of shooting, they turned into burning wreckage.
Von Drebel was immediately dumbfounded when he learned that the Soviet army had broken through the defense line of the carriage and was rushing towards the location of his headquarters. He quickly shouted to the chief of staff: "Immediately send a message to His Excellency the Commander, requesting reinforcements, requesting reinforcements."
"It's too late, Your Excellency, Division Commander." The Chief of Staff said with a sad face: "The Russians are only three hundred meters away from our headquarters. When the reinforcements arrive, I'm afraid we will all be prisoners. The only way at the moment is to break out of the encirclement immediately. Maybe we can still survive." Get out."
"Breakout, yes, break out immediately." Von Drebel ordered in a panic: "Chief of Staff, you and I will each take some division members and break out in the direction of the department store."
Since it's a breakout, we definitely can't move as leisurely as we would like. As soon as the breakout order was issued, the German command immediately fell into chaos. Von Drebel said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, you first lead a company of the guard battalion to break out toward the southwest, and I will lead the people to catch up later."
The chief of staff agreed and led a guard company to break out in the southwest direction. Although there were Soviet blockers along the way, facing one or two hundred German soldiers equipped with submachine guns and desperate for their lives, the small teams along the way were either wiped out by them or dispersed.
The troops ran for more than half an hour and finally left the station and came to a ruins. When the chief of staff counted the number of people, he found that there were only about forty people left around him, and the rest were either killed or dispersed. He shouted loudly to the soldiers: "Which of you has seen the division commander? Who of you has seen the division commander?..."
When he shouted for the second time, a German sergeant with a wounded arm came over and said: "Your Majesty, Chief of Staff, I just looked back and saw that the division commander seemed to be leading a breakout to the west with members of the guard battalion and division headquarters. "
"What, the division commander broke through to the west?" When the division chief of staff heard what the sergeant said, he went over and grabbed his collar and asked, "Is everything you said true?"
"Of course it's true, Your Excellency, Chief of Staff." The sergeant replied with a grimace: "I think the division commander wanted me to attract the attention of the Russians, and then he took the members of the guard battalion and the division headquarters and smoothly arrived from other directions. Break out."
Regarding the sergeant's statement, the chief of staff thought for a moment and felt that it was very reasonable. Von Drebel allowed himself to act separately from him. This seemed to be the first time that this happened. It seemed that the other party really wanted to use him as a bait to attract the attention of the Russians so that he could break out smoothly.
"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff," someone from the surrounding soldiers asked the Chief of Staff: "What should we do next?"
"What else can we do? Of course we should continue to break out." The chief of staff gritted his teeth and replied: "As long as there is one of us left, we must find ways to escape to the department store and report the situation here to the commander."
Under the strict orders of the division chief of staff, the surviving German officers and soldiers rechecked their weapons, wrapped their wounds, and fled toward the southwest like bereft dogs.
However, they did not encounter any Soviet troops along the way, allowing them to continue escaping as quickly as possible. I don’t know how long I ran, but suddenly there was the sound of shooting from ahead. Upon hearing the gunfire, everyone immediately lay down on the spot, looking for a suitable hiding place, and prepared to fire back.
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the opposite side: "Hey, which department are you from?"
After hearing clearly that the other party was speaking standard German, the division chief of staff quickly emerged from his hiding place and shouted to the other side: "I am the division chief of staff of the 297th Infantry Division. Which division are you from?"
"We are from the 100th Chasseur Division."
"It's the 100th Jäger Division." When the officers and soldiers heard the other party's reply, they immediately cheered: "We have successfully broken through and escaped from the Russian encirclement."
Although the other party said that he was from the 100th Chasseur Division, the division chief of staff continued to squat in the hiding place. He was deeply afraid that the other party was a Soviet army in disguise, and wanted to take a look before talking.
At this time, three people walked out of the opposite position. The leader was an officer wearing a large-brimmed hat, who was walking slowly towards his position. The division chief of staff called the sergeant and told him: "Sergeant, go over and see if those people are really the 100th Chasseur Division. If so, send me a signal."
After receiving the order, the sergeant immediately trotted over to meet him. After confirming that the person who came to meet him was indeed from the 100th Chasseur Division, he waved his arms desperately to the division chief of staff. The division chief of staff determined that this was the position of the 100th Chasseur Division, then came out of the hiding place and walked over with the remaining soldiers.
Soon, the division chief of staff was brought before Paulus. Paulus looked at his subordinate and asked him: "Tell me, what happened at the Central Station?"
"Report to your Excellency, Commander," the division chief of staff replied in a panic: "The Russians launched an attack on the central railway station. It took just over an hour to occupy most of the station..."
After hearing this, Paulus asked angrily: "Since the Russians are attacking the station, as the chief of staff of the division, you are not commanding the battle in the station, so why are you coming to me?"
"Your Excellency, Commander, I was ordered to break out of the encirclement." The division chief of staff defended himself: "The division commander ordered me to lead a guard company to open the way ahead, and he followed behind with members of the guard battalion and headquarters."
"Since it is a scattered breakout." Paulus asked coldly: "Then why don't you wait for General von Drebel to leave the train station together?"
"After I led my troops to break out of the Russian encirclement, I found that the division commander had not followed. I originally planned to go back to search, but a soldier told me that the division commander did not break out of the encirclement in the same direction as us. He ordered me to break out to the southwest. But he led the people toward the west."
Although the other party said that he was from the 100th Chasseur Division, the division chief of staff continued to squat in the hiding place. He was deeply afraid that the other party was a Soviet army in disguise, and wanted to take a look before talking.
At this time, three people walked out of the opposite position. The leader was an officer wearing a large-brimmed hat, who was walking slowly towards his position. The division chief of staff called the sergeant and told him: "Sergeant, go over and see if those people are really the 100th Chasseur Division. If so, send me a signal."
After receiving the order, the sergeant immediately trotted over to meet him. After confirming that the person who came to meet him was indeed from the 100th Chasseur Division, he waved his arms desperately to the division chief of staff. The division chief of staff determined that this was the position of the 100th Chasseur Division, then came out of the hiding place and walked over with the remaining soldiers.
Soon, the division chief of staff was brought before Paulus. Paulus looked at his subordinate and asked him: "Tell me, what happened at the Central Station?"
"Report to your Excellency, Commander," the division chief of staff replied in a panic: "The Russians launched an attack on the central railway station. It took just over an hour to occupy most of the station..."
After hearing this, Paulus asked angrily: "Since the Russians are attacking the station, as the chief of staff of the division, you are not commanding the battle in the station, so why are you coming to me?"
"Your Excellency, Commander, I was ordered to break out of the encirclement." The division chief of staff defended himself: "The division commander ordered me to lead a guard company to open the way ahead, and he followed behind with members of the guard battalion and headquarters."
"Since it is a scattered breakout." Paulus asked coldly: "Then why don't you wait for General von Drebel to leave the train station together?"
"After I led my troops to break out of the Russian encirclement, I found that the division commander had not followed. I originally planned to go back to search, but a soldier told me that the division commander did not break out of the encirclement in the same direction as us. He ordered me to break out to the southwest. But he led the people toward the west."
