Chapter 680 Death Station (I)
The sun rose as usual in the early morning, but it was not Natalia's soft and sweet voice that called Malashenko when he was in Moscow, but the gunfire that had been ringing in the ears of several blocks since the dawn.
"Hello, I can hear you, please speak, yes, this is the train station"
"I can hear you at the No. 1 train station, what did you say? Please repeat! Block 13 was breached by the Germans?"
"Hello? This is the No. 1 train station, hello? Can anyone hear it?"
The telephone lines connecting the defenders of several blocks were almost blown up since the dawn.
The German army, which had rested all night, seemed to be a group of vicious wolves. The Soviet army in several blocks was penetrated by the German army before they could fully react.
Through the fierce battle in the city that lasted all day yesterday, the German army, which discovered some obvious problems, was also subtly changing its tactics.
Large-scale troops like field groups are rarely seen in cities anymore. Instead, they are replaced by mechanized combat groups with multiple arms mixed at the company and platoon levels.
The German army hit all the armored vehicles at hand and advanced frantically along many main roads and blocks in the city towards the predetermined target location: the Volga River and the trestle connecting the north and south of the city.
The experienced German infantry relied on armored vehicles as cover to advance step by step. After quickly clearing the Soviet defense forces blocking the main road, they began to clear the buildings on both sides of the road.
The German soldiers, who were screaming, captured the first floor and seized the stairs leading to the second floor. The Soviet infantry who refused to come down from the second floor picked up the PPSh in their hands and fired a volley downstairs without even looking.
The dense bullets shot at the German soldiers on the first floor made it impossible for them to even lift their heads. The German soldiers who felt overwhelmed did not try to throw grenades at the second floor to solve the problem.
But what annoyed the Germans even more was that these bold Russians could throw grenades back from the second floor almost every time. The German soldiers who occupied the building not only didn't get to eat pork, but also were killed by the grenades thrown back by the Soviet soldiers. After repeated attempts without success, they could only use artillery to flatten the second floor and then start to clear it.
Similar situations are not just isolated cases. Wherever there are fierce battles between Soviet soldiers and German soldiers in the city, similar scenes will definitely be staged.
The brutal street fighting made the veterans of both the Soviet and German sides quickly adapt to the huge changes brought about by the new battlefield and integrate into it, using all the advantages around them to try to counter the opponent.
The German army, which had an absolute advantage in strength and a fierce offensive, did not take long to tear open the defense lines of several main blocks, and within a few hours, quickly advanced the front line to the first tactical target of the day: the area around Stalingrad No. 1 Railway Station.
Malashenko, who stayed in the railway station to command, learned from the phone that the German army had reached less than a block away from the railway station.
The sound of gunfire from the surroundings was getting louder and louder and getting closer. Malashenko, who had a clear judgment of the battle situation, knew very well that the brutal battle for the railway station was about to start.
Malashenko felt a little unexpected but at the same time it was reasonable.
The first troops to hit the railway station were not the German ground troops, but three Stukas that were unwilling to come along and bomb the railway station because they didn't find the bombing target.
Perhaps they had guessed in advance that the Soviet army had deployed heavy troops to defend the railway station. The three Stukas with bombs under their wings did not carry out low-altitude dive attacks, but controlled the bombing altitude at about 1,500 meters, and dropped the bombs directly at the railway station, which was a very obvious target and would not move.
The small-caliber anti-aircraft gun group deployed on the roof fired at full power and tried desperately to drive away these German strange birds, but the airspace where the three Stukas were located was too high and no anti-aircraft shells accurately hit the enemy planes.
While gently swinging the joystick to evade the Soviet anti-aircraft fire in a small range, he gently pressed down the wing to temporarily change the nose of the plane to point downward. Seven or eight black iron bombs instantly broke away from the Stuka's racks and dived straight down with a shrill scream.
Malashenko, who was standing in the yard of the railway station and watching the anti-aircraft guns fire, realized that something bad had happened. He quickly jumped into the nearest traffic trench and rolled into it.
Following Malashenko's steps, the 500-kilogram aerial bomb accurately hit the front yard of the platform and released a strong destructive force. The flying shrapnel and the shock wave of the explosion blew several telecommunication poles and lamp poles into several pieces and flew them more than ten meters away.
Malashenko, with his ears full of buzzing, struggled to get up from the traffic trench, shook off the explosion dust covering his back, and immediately raised his head and looked in the direction where the roar of the engine came from.
"Fuck! Is this the end of the matter?"
After dropping all their bombs at once, the three German Stukas immediately shook their wings and left without hesitation. Except for a 500-kilogram bomb that exploded in the forecourt of the platform where Malashenko was, the remaining bombs were dropped inside the train station and near the warehouse.
Although the explosion was quite loud, it did not cause any casualties. There were almost no Soviet troops stationed in the train station except for some pre-reinforced fortifications and positions.
"The planes left, and the German tanks are coming soon. Pah, your mouth is full of dirt!"
Malashenko, who dared not delay, immediately climbed out of the communication trench and ran quickly to the corner of the front yard where his car was parked.
Iushkin and others who boarded the car before Malashenko were already ready. After opening the top cover and jumping into the turret, Malashenko immediately grabbed the radio transmitter and adjusted the channel and shouted.
"Lavri, can you hear me?"
"Very clearly, I can hear you."
Malashenko, who was looking back at him, gestured to Seryosha to start the car. Malashenko, who was still holding the transmitter tightly in his hand, immediately continued to speak to Lavrinenko.
"The German ground forces should be here soon. According to what we discussed last night, remember not to take the initiative to attack. At most, treat the Germans as outside the train station. Remember that our forces are limited!"
Lavrinenko's car and the troops he commanded were about 700 meters away from Malashenko on the south side of the platform.
It was not yet clear which block the German army would break through from. For the sake of safety, Malashenko divided the main force into two parts, commanded by himself and Lavrinenko respectively. Once the main breakthrough target of the German army was determined, they could immediately provide support at a distance of several hundred meters.