Chapter 488 Order No. 227
Originally, Shulka wanted to use Liao Yaoxiang's roller tactics to buy time for Stalingrad, that is, to block and retreat to Stalingrad, so as to consume the enemy's offensive ability to the maximum extent and preserve his own strength.
Even under these circumstances, Shulka believed that it would be far better to withdraw the Southeastern Front directly to Stalingrad.
The reason is that instead of blocking the German army on the battlefield, they consumed Stalingrad's supplies and sent them to the German army.
But as soon as Lieutenant General Goldov threw out such words, Shulka knew that his idea was impossible to realize.
No matter what it is, once "courage" and "defend to the death" are involved, it is difficult to say clearly, especially this is a city named after Stalin.
Sure enough, other officers echoed one by one: "I agree, we can't retreat, we will block the enemy on the way to Stalingrad like the defense of Moscow!"
"We should defend Stalingrad to the death!"
…
Soviet army, they don't know the phrase "do not care about the gains and losses of a city and a pool".
So Shulka had no choice but to withdraw from this discussion.
It was still Colonel Kaplanov who sent Shulka back to the city. He was silent for a long time before he said, "I think you are right, Captain!"
"What's right?"
"The Southeastern Front Army should retreat!" Colonel Kaplanov handed Shulka a cigarette, and after lighting each other, he continued: "Actually, they also know, you understand."
Colonel Kaplanov didn't say much, but Shulka understood what he meant.
That is to say, everyone, including Goldov, probably knows that Shulka is right, but they dare not use this tactic.
The reason is simple, it is retreating, and retreating would be considered a cowardly, passive act.
This would subject them to discipline, which could be dismissal or worse.
"But does it make any difference?" Shulka asked: "I mean, if they don't choose the right tactics, the next thing is that the Southeastern Front is defeated, and they will be responsible for this failure!"
"Of course there is a difference!" Kaplanov replied: "First of all, the Southeastern Front Army may not necessarily be defeated. At least they still have a glimmer of hope for it, or a miracle will come! Secondly, even if it fails, it can be said to be The southeast front army is weak in combat!"
So Shulka understood completely.
On the contrary, if they choose Shulka's battle plan, although it is correct and beneficial to the overall situation and the entire battle, Goldov and others will have to take greater risks.
Shuerka didn't expect that it was just a choice of a battle plan that would involve so many interests.
"As for the lives of frontline soldiers..." Kaplanov smiled wryly and shook his head.
"And the safety of Stalingrad!" Shulka added.
This is an irony. Everyone is vowing to defend Stalingrad, but they have chosen a plan that is not good for defending Stalingrad.
However, Shulka soon discovered that these seemingly selfish officers were not to blame at all.
Two days later, the German army launched an attack on the Southeast Front Army from the south.
Paulus adopted a tactic similar to "Tianji horse racing"... He ordered the Hungarian 2nd Army and the Italian 8th Army, which belonged to Army B, to launch defenses along the Don River.
As mentioned before, the Don River is an insurmountable barrier for the German army, and it is also true for the Soviet army.
Therefore, the German army's defense on the west bank of the Don River with the Italian army and the Hungarian army with weak combat effectiveness is enough to protect the safety of its flanks, even though the Stalingrad Front Army, the more elite Soviet army, is in the north.
Then, Paulus personally led the main force of Army Group B, the 6th Army, to carry out crossing operations against the Southeast Front Army from the lower reaches of Karachi.
The battle across the river took place at night.
The German army, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly launched a large-scale shelling of the Soviet army and sent troops to start crossing the river.
The Soviet army didn't think much, and immediately organized artillery to counterattack.
In this regard, the Soviet army took advantage of it, because before that, the Soviet artillery had adjusted the elements and aimed the muzzle at the surface of the Don River.
As soon as the artillery was fired at this time, the shells would blow up the river surface that was about to melt and cover the ice floes everywhere, so it is not difficult to imagine that the German offensive was blocked and unable to advance.
However, just when Goldov was secretly proud of repelling the German army, a few minutes later he received urgent information from the Southeast Front Army: "The German army has crossed the Don River!"
"What's going on?" Lieutenant General Goldov asked, "We just repelled them!"
"That's an enemy conspiracy, Comrade General!" Major General Filipovich replied: "Their actual point of crossing the river is two kilometers away, and they used infantry to crawl across the ice in dark and light armor!"
Lieutenant General Goldov was too shocked to speak.
It turned out that Paulus had scouts test the ice on the Don River and thought that the ice could barely bear the weight of the soldiers.
Of course, if the soldiers are fully armed and carry dozens of kilograms of equipment, it is obviously not acceptable.
So Paulus ordered the troops to leave everything else and only carry the necessary combat equipment, such as grenades, rifles, bullets, etc.
On the other hand, he ordered the soldiers to climb over the ice... This is to increase the contact area between the human body and the ice, which makes the ice less prone to cracking.
So, a battalion of the German army crawled across the Don River in black under the cover of the sound of artillery, and then suddenly attacked the Soviet army on the east bank of the Don River.
Catched off guard, the main reason was that the panic-stricken Soviet army was powerless to resist. They only persisted for more than ten minutes before leaving their positions and fleeing.
This enabled the German army to successfully open a breakthrough on the east bank of the Don River.
Then the engineers set up pontoon bridges to cross the tanks across the Don River... So far, the Soviet army can no longer resist the German army's march to Stalingrad.
In fact, not only was it impossible to resist, the Soviet army was almost defeated under the German attack. In just one night, they lost two lines of defense and were repelled for 30 kilometers. At the same time, a large number of Soviet troops surrendered to the German army.
Shulka and others in Stalingrad did not know this.
This is to avoid panic within Stalingrad, so when the front line is defeated, it is usually not advertised in the city.
But Shulka and others knew this from another side... Supreme Command issued Order No. 227 at this time: "We must tenaciously hold on to every position and every inch of Soviet territory until the last One drop of blood. We must hold on to every piece of our land and fight for it to the fullest! Not one step back!"
(end of this chapter)
