Chapter 199 Battle of Dahequ Tribe (12)

"What should we do now? Why hasn't the commander's call back come yet?" Karpov, who is the spearhead of the entire army's offensive and has been strengthened by three divisions and one tank brigade, walked around the army headquarters in distress, 27 The army is the one facing the German defensive positions head-on, and it is not the only one that has not been affected by the penetration. However, it does not live in a vacuum. The intensive sound of firefights in the rear and the chaotic situation displayed in the radio system have inevitably disturbed the people. His determination. Although Chistyakov had clearly asked him to launch an attack as planned before tonight, he could not simply follow the orders indifferently after major changes in the situation. This would be disrespectful to the party, the people, and the troops. Be responsible.

"It is best to suggest Comrade Commander to postpone or cancel the attack..." Masnov frowned and said, "In fact, now it is more important to clarify the real purpose of the Germans - whether they are infiltrating in small formations or attacking in large units. Is it just a matter of getting away with it or does it have a deeper strategic purpose... Rushing to attack does not do us much good."

While I was thinking, a telegram from the staff officer broke the calm: "The commander of the group army sent a telegram. In view of the current chaos in the rear, the attack launch time has been advanced from 5:45 to 5:00. The original plan remains unchanged, and we will try to use the offensive To disrupt the enemy's deployment."

Karpov checked his watch. It was now 4:45. The sound of gunfire in the distance had been ringing in all directions. He shook his head and gave the order: "Prepare to attack!"

"No more fighting?" Masnov asked eagerly.

"It's useless. I know the commander better than you. He has made up his mind. When it is difficult to judge the seriousness of the situation, he would rather attack than wait passively and conservatively for the situation to become clear. That is not his style." Karl Bofu sighed, "He was right many times in the past. I hope he is still right this time."

Masnov thought for a moment and said slowly: "Even so, we must leave enough reserves and armor. If the rear requires rescue, the troops can adjust their direction in time."

Karpov nodded and told the staff: "Finely adjust the offensive plan and follow Comrade Buchin's opinions."

At 5 o'clock, the unaffected Red Army offensive troops launched artillery preparations on time. Artillery of various calibers poured ammunition on the German positions in front. The German troops who were initially responsible for the insertion mission were greatly surprised, thinking that their actions had been attacked by the enemy. After a strong interception, they found that all the firepower was fired from directly ahead. No one stopped to wait and see, and they all carried out their own penetration strategy.

Looking at the fierce artillery fire projected by the Red Army towards the defensive positions, Manstein and Heinrich in the rear headquarters suddenly laughed together, "These fools!"

In front of the 27th Army are three German infantry divisions that rely on a good fortification system to defend. Behind them on the second line of defense, Army Group South also holds the reserves of six infantry divisions, and the heavy 150mm howitzers of each infantry division are due to movement. Inconveniently, he did not go to the front line to undertake the insertion task at all, so this kind of defensive force could not be overcome by Karpov alone. At this moment, the Red Army was like a huge North American bison. It was about to be cut into pieces with knives. It didn't think about how to escape. Instead, it tried to use its horns to push open the stone wall in front of it - how unwise!

"Should we let them in?" Manstein suddenly turned his head and asked Heinrich, "This will be more beneficial to our attack."

The latter thought for a while and rejected this tempting suggestion: "Forget it, just to be on the safe side."

"Okay then, the heavy artillery will prepare for suppression and counter-artillery fire."

According to the Red Army's offensive routine, the attack is usually launched after 45-60 minutes of artillery preparations. However, because too many expectations were placed on the 27th Army's attack, this round of artillery preparations lasted a full 75 minutes before ending, and then the infantry A massive attack followed by barrages and tanks.

The sky was gradually getting brighter. Although the fierce attack on the front line was launched as planned, Chistyakov felt bitter in his heart. The mountains in front were shattered and the ground was shattered. His main force in the rear was Those who were disturbed by the Germans were thrown off their feet. Just as the Red Army was preparing for artillery fire, the anti-tank position that the 21st Army had finally gathered at dawn suffered a devastating blow: They were originally preparing to try to block the torrent of armor from the Guardsmen, but they did not expect the Germans to sacrifice 2 tanks. After being destroyed, he quickly retreated. Before the Red Army anti-tank troops could get overjoyed, the Guards quickly pushed the latest equipment they carried, a total of 16 self-propelled rocket launchers, to the front line. These rocket launchers, nicknamed "Himmler's Organ", were launched during the campaign by Hoffmann. The latest development under the request to deal with the Katyusha (Stalin Organ), installed on the SdKfz251/1 half-track armored vehicle, is a regiment-level fire support unit with a maximum range of more than 6,000 meters. The ammunition is equipped in a modular manner and can be used at one time. Launch 24 rockets in 7 seconds. Under the overwhelming coverage of nearly 400 rounds of 150mm rockets, the position that was finally built was shrouded in a sea of ​​​​fire and almost completely destroyed. After the ammunition was poured out, the self-propelled rocket launcher did not stay where it was and was beaten stupidly. Reload and continue to move forward with the armor torrent.

At 8:15 in the morning, the most important turning point in the Battle of the Hebend came: As it was known that the German army was launching a massive offensive, fierce exchanges of fire on the front lines, and the 21st Army was in urgent need of reinforcements, the units of the 24th Army that were crossing the river accelerated their advance, including tanks, artillery, etc. Heavy equipment became the priority unit to cross the river. However, the infantrymen on standby on the shore suddenly spotted a warship coming upstream from the downstream in the distance. When they saw clearly that the Romanian flag was flying above, everyone was shocked. Unfortunately, it was too late.

The formation commander, Colonel Bernard, was very satisfied with his efforts. The fleet hurriedly and slowly arrived at the designated location. Now that the pontoon was in sight, the only instruction was - fire! The entire formation opened fire together. A total of 12 127mm naval guns on the three destroyers and 10 240mm guns on the four shallow water gunboats quickly began to unleash their power, and large-scale firepower rushed towards the pontoon bridge. The Red Army soldiers on the pontoon bridge knew that something was wrong. Those in front rushed forward desperately, and those behind them retreated desperately, but it was too late. Fierce artillery fire continued to explode in the middle of the river, and the two front pontoon bridges were instantly destroyed. The Red Army soldiers, artillery, tanks and other heavy equipment that were crossing the river instantly fell into the cold and biting Don River. For them, the war was completely over.

The Red Army on the shore woke up and picked up various weapons to fight back, but no matter whether it was mortars, machine guns or rifles, it was difficult to shake the steel fleet on the river. These warships were inconspicuous little followers on the Black Sea, but When it arrived in the Don River, it was a behemoth that crushed everything. All resistance and counterattacks were torn to pieces by the naval guns. The river water was quickly dyed red with the blood of the Red Army soldiers, and both sides became a Shura hell.

"Attack..." After suppressing and destroying all resistance forces, a satisfied Bernard continued to command the fleet to move forward, preparing to destroy the three pontoon bridges further upstream.

In the Kremlin, Comrade Stalin was reviewing various documents and reports. Suddenly Zhukov and Vasilevsky came to his office together and reported in an anxious tone, "Comrade Kalanin, commander of the 24th Army, sent the latest report. ”

"Oh?" Stalin's attention was still focused on the documents, and he didn't pay attention to the faces and tone of his two men. He raised his head and asked with a smile on his face, "Has his army crossed the river so quickly?"

"No, we can't cross the river for the time being."

"What?" Stalin was stunned for a moment. He had already noticed that the two people looked wrong. After reading the telegram clearly, he threw the message paper to the ground angrily and roared, "Where did the Germans get the warships? Ours What is the Air Force doing?”

"The German Air Force is relatively powerful. Our air force has been covering the direction of the Caucasus. In addition, German aircraft have been indifferent to the pontoons for some time, and the frontline generals have relaxed their vigilance." Vasilevsky explained, "Yesterday was a snowy night , The visibility on the Don River is not high, and the warship may have gotten in like this.”

"Where's the 21st Army's report? Where's their attack?"

"This..." Zhukov and Vasilevsky looked at each other and said cautiously, "They were attacked by a large-scale enemy."

"Didn't Comrade Chistyakov say that the attack would be launched on time?" Stalin said coldly, "What was the result?"

"It's not ideal. Their situation is not good. The Germans have penetrated into the rear. Now the command system is out of order. Comrade Chistyakov is trying to adjust."

"Does this mean being surrounded?"

"It can't be said to be surrounded, but the order and command of the army headquarters obviously failed."

"What kind of failure method?" Stalin asked, "Can he attack? In other words, can he resist the enemy's attack?"

Zhukov sighed: "The structures of each unit are still there, but the defense line was smashed to pieces by the Germans. Now it needs to be sorted out and adjusted."

Stalin looked at him, then at Vasilevsky, and asked dissatisfied: "What do you think?"

"The 21st and 24th Army Groups attacked the German troops and regained control of the pontoon bridge as soon as possible."

"Hasn't it been destroyed? What can we take back?" Stalin was furious. "Why does it feel like overnight our commanders have become incompetent in fighting?"

The two nodded. This was where they were confused. No one could figure out what happened in the River Bend.

"Let the 24th Group Army cooperate with the 21st Group Army to eliminate the German troops that have penetrated, and let the 24th Group Army find another place to set up a pontoon bridge to quickly cross the river." Stalin thought for a while, "As for the few warships and gunboats on the river, let our bombers and Artillery to destroy them."

"yes!"

Comrade Stalin's will cannot be defied.