Chapter 391: Hold your ground

  Chapter 391 Hold the position

  The driver and the fireman knew that the situation at the front was critical. After hearing the battalion commander's order, they immediately started adding water and coal as soon as possible, but it still took nearly an hour to complete the work. Seeing that the ammunition of the armored train had been replenished, as well as water and coal, the battalion commander gave the order to start again.

  When the armored train passed behind the positions of the 102nd and 100th regiments, the commanders and fighters on the positions stood up straight from the trenches, cheering and waving to the passing armored trains.

  The battalion commander in the car passed through the lookout hole and saw the reactions of the commanders and fighters outside. He couldn't help saying proudly: "It seems that we are still quite popular with the soldiers."

  The captain standing aside waited for him to finish speaking, and quickly said with a smile: "Comrade battalion commander, isn't it? If it wasn't for our support, they would still be fighting hard with the Germans."

The battalion commander listened to the cheers coming from outside the car and the sound of rumbling guns in the distance, and said to the captain: "Captain, there is still a regiment's defense area ahead, which is being attacked by the Germans. When we crush their attack, The train can go back to rest."

Probably because of repelling the attacks of two German troops in a row, the captain became more confident: "Comrade Battalion Commander, if the enemy has only the combat power of today, I believe that no matter how many they come, we can repel them." their attack."

The battalion commander grinned: "That's right, as long as our armored trains are here, the Germans will never think about crossing the railway line." He paused for a moment before continuing, "It is said that the Germans occupied the The south of Mamayev Kurgan, that is because our armored trains have not been dispatched, otherwise the Germans would not even be able to approach the railway line."

  Although Cuikov and the others did not publicize the victory that Sokov's troops had achieved a few days ago, those who are well-informed still heard some rumors. The captain said cautiously: "Comrade battalion commander, I heard that the reason why the Nangang position fell was not because our army could not hold it, but because they set a trap for the Germans."

After hearing the captain's words, the battalion commander couldn't help laughing, and said, "Comrade captain, you are so naive that you actually believe such a statement? Don't you know that once the Mamayev Post is lost, it is tantamount to allowing the Germans to occupy it?" Once they reach the commanding heights of the city, they can bombard the city with artillery fire, block the docks, and cut off the connection between the defenders in the city and the opposite shore. If you were the supreme commander, would you agree to such a risky plan?"

After he finished speaking, he saw the captain frowned and fell into deep thought, and continued to say: "I think it is probably the commander who sticks to Mamayev Post, in order to shirk responsibility and reduce the punishment he may receive. A deliberate lie..."

   Before the battalion commander could finish his sentence, there was a sudden scream of shells piercing the air, followed by two violent explosions. The battalion commander judged from the sound of the explosion that the opponent was using a large-caliber artillery, and was immediately frightened to arouse layers of goose bumps, his forehead and neck were covered with white sweat. The reason why he was so scared was because the impact points of the two cannonballs were very close to the train, and the shrapnel from the shells made the armor of the train jingle.

"Comrade battalion commander," not only the battalion commander was frightened by the sound of the guns, but even the captain was terrified. According to his rich professional knowledge, he heard that the bombardment was the German 150mm K39 howitzer, but he knew This kind of large-caliber artillery is powerful, among other things, if the two shells just now fell on the place where the troops were assembled, within a radius of 50 meters, there would be almost no living people. Although I was staying in the armored train, if I was shot twice, my life might be in danger, so I quickly asked the battalion commander: "The enemy is bombarding us with heavy artillery, what should we do next?"

  The battalion commander asked in a panic: "Where are we?"

  The captain quickly glanced out from the lookout hole, and then said: "Comrade battalion commander, we should have reached the area where the 102nd regiment fought. I saw enemy tanks and infantry rushing towards their positions."

"Find a place to stop and use artillery and machine gun fire to destroy the attacking enemy." The battalion commander grabbed the captain's hand and told him: "Comrade captain, remember, you must use the fastest speed to repel the Germans." attack. Otherwise we would be a target for German artillery, understand?"

   "Understood!" The captain agreed, and then began to issue orders to the gunners and machine gunners: "The artillerymen and machine gunners have selected their targets and are ready to fire."

  After the gunners and machine gunners were ready, the captain asked the battalion commander again: "Comrade battalion commander, the shooting preparations have been completed, shall we stop now?"

   "Stop, why stop? Stop to be a target for the Germans?" The battalion commander glared at the captain and said dissatisfiedly: "The train continues to move forward. We want to shoot at the enemy while moving."

"Comrade battalion commander, shooting on the move, the accuracy of shooting cannot be guaranteed." The captain said with some embarrassment to the battalion commander's order: "Maybe we wasted a lot of shells and bullets, but we didn't hit any valuable targets at all. .”

"Captain," seeing that the captain did not understand his intentions, the battalion commander said a little angrily: "Didn't you see the Germans bombard us with heavy artillery? If we stop, we will be the target of the Germans, so we can only shoot on the move , to avoid German fire, understand?"

   "Understood, Comrade Battalion Commander." Regarding the stubborn opinion of the battalion commander, the captain could only choose to obey: "The shooting preparations have been completed, can we fire now?"

   "Fire!"

  After getting the permission of the battalion commander, the captain raised his hand high above his head, then swung it down violently, and at the same time shouted loudly: "Fire!"

  The artillery and machine guns on the train fired at the same time. Although the train was moving, which affected the shooting accuracy, there were still German soldiers who were blown away by the artillery fire and smashed into a sieve by the machine gun bullets. But the enemy still rushed forward regardless, and there was a stance that they would never withdraw their troops unless they took down the Soviet army's position.

At this moment, on the 102nd regiment's position, because the firepower of the German army was suppressed by the armored train, the machine gunners who changed positions with one shuttle stopped one after another. Start shooting as fast as you can. The machine gunner pulled the trigger to the bottom, and in less than a minute, all the 47 bullets in the circular magazine were shot out, smashing the German soldiers who rushed nearby into a sieve.

  The German army, suppressed by the artillery fire and machine gun fire of the armored train, still did not give up their attack attempt. There were two mortar teams, and they established mortar positions in the bomb crater 50 to 60 meters away from the Soviet position. They adjusted the mortar to the maximum elevation angle, and no longer calculated the distance of the scale. They just needed to shoot it out at the fastest speed, because it was too close to the Soviet trenches, and at least half of the shells could fall into the enemy. In the trenches, each shell can overturn several defenders in the trenches.

  The intensity of the battle far exceeded the imagination of the head of the 102nd regiment. He thought that with the arrival of the armored train, the German troops attacking their defensive positions would definitely flee. Unexpectedly, the other party was being bombarded and strafed by armored trains at this moment, not only did they show no signs of retreating, on the contrary, the offensive became even more violent.

  Colonel Dubyansky, who was supervising the battle here, said to the head of the 102nd regiment with a straight face: "Comrade colonel, immediately mobilize all forces to carry out a counterattack against the German army. We must drive them away from the front of the position."

"Comrade Deputy Commander," the head of the regiment said with some embarrassment after hearing Dubyansky's order: "The teaching battalion you brought has been wiped out, and the battalion commander, Major Ibaru, has also died. Where do we have any?" What kind of force is fighting back?"

"Didn't Major Ibaru bring back two militia companies before he died?" Dubyanski knew that the combat effectiveness of the militia was poor, but under the current circumstances, he could only go to the doctor in a hurry: " Put them into battle immediately."

The head of the regiment tried to persuade Dubyansky again, and quickly said: "Comrade deputy commander, I have carefully observed these two militia companies. They are responsible for patrolling the city. If they are used to counterattack, I am afraid it will not be effective... "

   "Okay, Comrade Colonel, don't talk about it." Dubyansky raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then said: "Time is running out, put them into battle immediately, otherwise it will be too late."

  The head of the regiment saw that Dubyanski was stubborn, and no matter how much he persuaded him, it would have no effect, so he could only nod, called his deputy head, and ordered him to notify the militia company to join the counterattack.

The deputy commander left the regiment command post and came to the trench where the militia company was resting. He said loudly: "The company platoon leader, come to me for a while." Following his shout, more than 20 militiamen in civilian clothes came In front of him, these people were all platoon-level cadres of two militia companies.

Seeing that everyone was here, the deputy commander said loudly to them: "Comrades, you must have seen the situation at the front. The Germans are rushing to our position desperately. If we don't launch a counterattack as soon as possible , the position will no longer hold.”

  As soon as the deputy head finished speaking, a militia company commander immediately stated his position after seeing his rank clearly: "Comrade major, tell me, what should we do next?"

   "Call your soldiers together," the deputy commander said to the militia company commander: "We will immediately counterattack the Germans and drive them away from our positions."

   "Comrade Major, we have already made all preparations for battle." The militia company commander said with a firm expression: "Please issue a counterattack order."

The deputy head took a look at the place where the fierce battle was taking place, only 500 meters away, climbed out of the trench, turned around and shouted to the soldiers in the trench: "Brothers, follow me! Get the terrorists out of the way!" Drive away before our position." After shouting, he raised his pistol high and trotted towards the area where the fierce fighting was taking place.

Seeing that the deputy regimental commander had taken the lead in the charge, the company platoon leaders also climbed out of the trenches one after another, turned half-turned and shouted at the militiamen who were still in the trenches: "Comrades, what are you still hiding in the trenches for? Come out immediately, Come with us!"

  Seeing that the commanders were leading the charge, the militiamen in the trenches suddenly felt excited. They climbed out of the trenches one after another, followed their respective commanders, and rushed towards the place where the battle was most intense.

  The German army spotted the charging troops and immediately opened fire on them with mortars and machine guns. The militia's charging team was punched by the dense rain of bullets and flying shrapnel, but they were quickly filled by the people behind them. Within a short distance of a few hundred meters, countless figures fell down, but the rest People still rushed forward without hesitation.

  The commanders and fighters who were originally staying in the trenches saw the militiamen passing over their heads and rushed towards the enemy bravely. Not to be outdone, they jumped out of the trench one after another and rushed forward. When approaching the enemy, they threw out pieces of grenades and rushed forward quickly with the help of smoke from the explosion.

  Facing the fierce counterattack of the Soviet army, the frustrated German army became hesitant. Not only the soldiers were secretly retreating, but even the officers leading the team were also retreating. Who knows who yelled, turned his head and ran back. His running immediately became the last straw that crushed the German army's psychology.

  If it is said to be retreating slowly, the troops can still maintain a relatively complete organizational system, but a small number of soldiers turned around and immediately caused a series of chain reactions. From an orderly retreat to a big rout, the German officers and soldiers ran away like frightened rabbits, only regretting that they had lost two legs. For a time, the battlefield was full of broken soldiers, chasing soldiers, and German soldiers with their hands raised high.

  For the captives who surrendered and the defeated soldiers who fell in panic because of this, the commanders and fighters of the 102nd regiment immediately separated their hands to take these prisoners away, and the rest continued to chase the fleeing German troops...

  Dubyansky and the head of the 102nd regiment were in the command post and saw the counterattack by the commanders and militia through binoculars. The head of the regiment couldn't help saying with emotion: "If our armored trains hadn't fired while they were moving, perhaps the militiamen would not have needed to charge to defeat the enemy's attack."

After hearing the complaint from the head of the division, the chief of staff of the division smiled wryly and said: "Comrade Colonel, do you think the comrades of the armored train battalion don't want to stop and shoot? But no, the enemy's heavy artillery is constantly bombarding them. Once they stop , our armored trains were in danger of being destroyed by German artillery, so they could only fire on the move."

"It's a pity, it's a pity." Looking at the battle that was drawing to a close outside, the regiment leader said with a full face of regret: "If our armored trains didn't have to fire on the march to avoid the enemy's artillery fire, what could we do from our armored trains?" The number of enemies fleeing in front of the position will definitely not exceed one-fifth."

"Okay, Comrade Colonel, don't say these things are useless." Although the troops held their positions, Dubyansky was more calm than the regiment leader. He said with a straight face: "If our troops continue to chase, May be killed by German artillery fire, you immediately signal the troops to withdraw to their fortifications."

  (end of this chapter)