Chapter 689 Retreat

Malashenko's moment of respite did not last long.

Too much time has been wasted and a large number of precious troops have been wasted on this seemingly indestructible train station. The German commander, who was repeatedly urged by his superiors, made up his mind to completely capture this damn train station before dark. Down.

The German Air Force, which was busy with air strikes on various major strategic points in the city, detached some of its troops to support the battle at the train station. 12 Junkers 88 bombers carrying loads of bombs made a special trip to attack the Stalingrad No. 1 train station that had been unable to be conquered for a long time. , although the number is limited and far from the total number requested by the German ground commanders, it is already the limit that the German Fourth Air Force currently responsible for the skies over Stalingrad can allocate.

When the railway station was first fortified, air defense positions were set up around the railway station in the open space of several blocks to protect this vital strategic point.

However, with the fierce attack of the German army, several surrounding blocks around the train station have basically fallen. The Soviet anti-aircraft artillery positions deployed in these neighborhoods were either destroyed by the Germans or directly captured. Malashenko, who was a polished commander, now had no friendly air defense firepower to rely on.

Even though all the anti-aircraft positions in the blocks around Stalingrad No. 1 train station have been removed, the Luftwaffe pilots, who were a little nervous due to the ubiquitous Soviet anti-aircraft guns in the city, still did not dare to use risky low-altitude bombing methods to attack this area. This was a solid train station that the army had not taken down all morning.

The German pilots flying these Junkers 88s were looming. I always feel that there are so many Russian anti-aircraft guns hidden in the train station, lurking and camouflaging, waiting for them to take the bait before approaching and firing.

The Luftwaffe, which dropped bombs at a safe altitude of three thousand meters, seemed to be doing its job in a perfunctory manner and not doing its job well.

The German ground commanders' request for targeted bombing against proven tactical targets was not met by the Junkers 88 pilots.

The aerial bombs dropped by high-altitude horizontal bombing fell densely towards the train station on the ground. They completely collapsed most of the waiting hall in a straight line of fire in a violent explosion, and also destroyed two cars parked on the platform. Armored train skin.

It has been predicted that the waiting hall will definitely be the key target of the Luftwaffe's bombing. Malashenko, who caused the German ground troops to suffer heavy losses in this building this morning, does not believe that the Luftwaffe will turn a blind eye to it.

Although the air defense alarm was sounded early, the troops stationed in the waiting hall were evacuated in time, but after the explosion smoke dispersed, a very thorny problem faced Malashenko.

The ceiling of the entire waiting hall was blown to pieces and collapsed completely. Part of the aerial bomb that fell into the waiting hall before exploding after landing completely destroyed the load-bearing structure of the entire building. Naturally, the wall collapsed in the smoke and dust. It's inevitable.

What was left to Malashenko now was a mottled ruin with green smoke, and a large number of gravel bricks were blown away by the shock wave and scattered everywhere under his feet.

At most, less than 20% of the area is still barely supported but is already in dilapidated condition. It is obviously impossible for troops to continue to be stationed in it and wait to be bombed and buried alive by the German army.

Seeing that the toughest nut to crack had been completely solved, the German army took the opportunity to add insult to injury and immediately started another wave of ground offensive, leaving Malashenko not much time to think about countermeasures.

Seeing that it was impossible to go back and continue to defend the waiting hall, Malashenko directly led his team to use the collapsed ruins as a bunker to begin on-site defense and started fighting with the Germans. Several circular positions that originally surrounded the door of the waiting hall They were also used together with the communication trenches to improvise a poor defensive position to withstand the German offensive.

The already frustrated German commander deployed almost all available troops in this attack. Malashenko, who was defenseless, immediately felt the strong offensive pressure and was almost breathless.

The dilapidated defensive position consisting of a pool of ruins and several trenches and communication trenches alone was simply not enough to withstand the German offensive. The swarming German troops, under the cover of tanks and assault guns, took less than twenty minutes to rush to the ruins. , and began to engage in a face-to-face shooting battle with the Soviet army while stepping on broken bricks and rubble.

The sound of gunfire and even the fierce fighting became closer and closer, echoing in my ears. Political Commissar Petrov, who was lying on the ruins next to Malashenko's car and looking through binoculars, saw the rear area in the direction of the German attack. There are still more support troops coming out of the street one after another.

Foreboding that if the situation continued like this, the German army would be completely defeated and eliminated here. After a slight hesitation, Petrov, the political commissar, immediately made a decision and then crouched down next to Malashenko's car and stretched out his hand from the ground. Picking up half a brick, he knocked on the side armor of Malashenko's car with three long and two short strokes in the rhythm of the pre-arranged code.

Although the method is relatively crude, it is indeed effective in this special situation.

Malashenko, who heard the signal coming from outside the vehicle in the turret, opened the top of the turret, saw the opportunity, jumped out of the turret, and came to the political commissar Petrov who was using the tank as a bunker at the rear of the vehicle.

Before Malashenko could ask, Commissar Petrov, who seemed a little impatient, spoke first.

"Retreat, Malashenko! The waiting hall and the entire front of the train station must be undefendable now. There are four warehouses on the other side of the railway that can be used for defense. The armored train skins on the platform will block the German trains. Let’s buy some time for the big army. If we stay here any longer, everyone will die, including you and me!”

After listening to Commissar Petrov's loud words, Malashenko showed an expression of "I think so too". After all, relying on the ruins to continue fighting with the Germans was not an option. If the situation continued, the German army would have an absolute advantage in strength. It's only a matter of time before you pile your own side to death.

"Okay, you and Nikolaev lead the large troops to withdraw first, leaving Second Lieutenant Igor and his people to help me. Lavery and I will lead the tanks to hold off the pursuit of the Germans!"

Compared with an attack that can be won by a swarm of swarms in a battle with a favorable wind, retreat is often the ultimate test of whether an army can be called an ace force.

Throughout the ages, countless elite troops have fallen on the road to retreat. Malashenko, who knew that there must be no chaos during the retreat, decided to stay and command the battle himself.

Petrov, who had worked with Malashenko for a long time, did not refuse after hearing this. After nodding in agreement, he and Malashenko immediately started to separate.