The coordination of the German artillery with the air force was well carried out.

The air force reconnaissance planes guide the artillery targets, and the artillery clears the enemy's ground anti-aircraft fire for the air force, and then makes every effort to intercept the Volga River transportation channel with excess firepower.

As a result, the Volga River was full of columns of water blown up by artillery shells and aerial bombs, fighter planes and bombers swooped down from the sky, and Soviet transport ships were blown to pieces or set on fire.

Within moments, corpses, supplies, and debris of transport ships were floating on the surface of the river, and large swaths of the body of water were on fire from the ignition of spilled fuel, and the river was dyed red.

Shulka, at the command of the 82nd Infantry Regiment, also felt pressure from the supply side.

Their troops on the front lines would have been given two slices of bread a day...... Two slices of bread can only be said to be enough to satisfy hunger, because the physical exertion of fighting on the front line is huge, and after a while, the hungry feet will be weak, which is not comparable to the rest on the second line, although there is only one slice of bread when resting.

But now, the meal has been reduced to one loaf of bread a day.

It is conceivable that the troops that did not directly participate in the war on the second line will definitely be halved.

If hunger can be endured for a few days, then the reduction in ammunition is even more alarming...... Front-line units like the 82nd Infantry Regiment had only half a base of about fifty rounds.

"Half a cardinal!" Major Mikhailvich anxiously yelled at the quartermaster on the phone: "Do you know what this means? The enemy only needs to charge at us for half an hour continuously, and we will be unable to resist their attack because we have no bullets! ”

"I know this, Comrade Mikhailvich!" The quartermaster replied: "But we only have so much ammunition in our hands, and we are trying to ......"

"Then you'd better hurry!" As he spoke, Mikhailvich hung up the phone with a "bang".

In fact, Mikhailvich also knew that it was useless to urge the quartermaster, which was obviously caused by the further strengthening of the blockade of Stalingrad by the German army.

Andrianka ran in from outside the rumbling of the cannonballs, and then whipped the dust on his body while reporting worriedly: "All parts are reporting a shortage of ammunition, and many soldiers are picking up the enemy's equipment and ammunition to use, and of course, food!" ”

At this time, two figures flashed into the commander in the smoke and dust, Shulka looked at it fixedly, and immediately stood up with Mikhailvich to salute, it turned out to be the commander of the army group Golikov and the staff officer Major Akimovich.

Golikov's arrival at the command of the 82nd Infantry Regiment can be said to be routine or deliberate.

The routine is because at this time there are already serious supply problems in the troops, and at this time it is often the time when the morale of the army is easily shaken, so it is necessary for the higher authorities to inspect the front line to stabilize the morale of the army.

Intentionally, the 82nd Infantry Regiment has had a lot of surprises lately, and Golikov wanted to see for himself.

"How's it going?" Golikov asked.

"The situation is not good, Comrade Golikov!" Major Mikhailvich said: "There are not enough supplies, and I am afraid that we will have to pay a heavy price to hold on......"

Golikov frowned and nodded.

Major Akimovich, who was on the sidelines, explained: "The enemy has suddenly increased the bombardment of our transport lines, and supplies on the east bank can hardly be transported across the Volga, and if we do not continue to produce ammunition in underground factories, I am afraid that even these ammunition will not be guaranteed!" ”

Stalingrad was originally an industrial city, and it had a complete production line for the production of ammunition, equipment and even tanks.

It's just that because of the bombing of the German army, the Soviet army can only move a limited number of production lines to the basement to continue production, of course, the production capacity and output are not as good as before.

"What about our Air Force?" Major Mikhailvich couldn't help but complain: "Why are all the planes seen in the air by Germans, if they could share the downward pressure, we would not be in such a situation!" ”

And no wonder Major Mikhailvich complained.

In fact, this is a common problem of the army...... Competition is everywhere in the armed forces, within the armed forces, between the armed forces, and between the armed forces.

Major Mikhailvich looked at the problem from the standpoint of the infantry, and those air forces enjoyed higher ranks and better treatment in peacetime, but in wartime they were almost ineffective, and the battles were almost always carried by the infantry.

So sometimes, of course, there will be a few words of dissatisfaction and complaining.

Major Akimovich shook his head and replied: "Our Air Force can't help, Comrade Mikhailvich!" They fought mainly in the Caucasus, and in the Stalingrad direction we had only a hundred of them in total...... We're using them more for emergencies or reconnaissance! ”

Shulka doesn't ask such questions at all, because he thinks more about the big picture.

"They've stepped up the artillery blockade, haven't they?" Shulka asked.

Golikov nodded, then pointed to the map and said: "We have always had a crisis, from west to east to the Volga, our defense depth is only 5 to 10 kilometers, and the maximum range of the enemy's howitzers is 10 kilometers!" This meant that the Germans only needed to place their artillery on the edge of Stalingrad to get the shells across Stalingrad to the Volga. ”

After a pause, Golikov continued: "Of course, if the Germans had been limited to this, they would not have done much harm to our river transport lines. However, as the German army went deeper, their artillery followed, so the depth and range of the river that their artillery could control became farther and farther! In particular, the artillery on the front of the Mamayev Heights...... While suppressing the anti-aircraft fire of our army, they also inflict a devastating blow on our supply lines! ”

"The artillery blockade is sometimes more terrible than the enemy's planes!" Major Akimovich added: "Because the bombing of aircraft at night will be limited, although they can also bomb at night, but there are not many of them." But the artillery blockade ...... As long as the reconnaissance aircraft fires a few flares in the air, soon there will be a wave of shells flying to the Volga to blow our transport ship to pieces! ”

Shulka certainly knows that.

Artillery has a special position on the battlefield, and if there is a cost-effective equipment on the battlefield, it is undoubtedly artillery...... It can fire a piece of artillery shells to inflict devastating blows on targets within range in a simple and brutal way, and it is also a long-term, large-scale or even continuous strike, sometimes even bombarding for days and nights in a row.

This advantage is not comparable to that of an airplane.