The Soviet troops stationed at the airfield had a reinforced battalion.

There were no Brandenburg troops to get in here, because the airfield could be regarded as the hinterland of the Soviet army, and it was a relatively important place...... Originally, the airport was supposed to be a strategic location, the focus of contention between the enemy and the enemy, because it could provide a place for fighter planes to take off and land for the side that grabbed it.

But because the Soviet army has basically lost air supremacy, it can only be regarded as "relatively important" at best.

Here, every soldier of the Soviet army was registered, and "combat groups" were not allowed to enter...... As mentioned earlier, Chuikov divided his troops into pieces and conducted urban guerrilla warfare in the form of "combat groups", and it was by this that the Brandenburg troops took advantage of this to infiltrate the railway stations and schools.

As a result, the airport loses the conditions for blending in.

However, this did not affect the assault plan of the 21st Panzer Division, since there were many more Germans than Soviets in this local......

The 5th Panzer Regiment was immediately divided into two parts, with two armoured battalions and an infantry battalion attacking the Soviet troops stationed at the airfield.

Another armored battalion covered two battalions of the 1st Infantry Regiment bypassing the airfield and the Soviets went straight to Mamayev Hills.

The total distance was 9 miles, and it took only half an hour to reach Mamayev Height.

The two companies of Soviet soldiers stationed at the Mamayev post were not at all guarded, as can be seen from the fact that they ran back and forth in the direction where the Germans appeared, transporting ammunition and erecting anti-tank guns.

But these are clearly useless efforts.

Colonel Slain reported to General Stryk on the walkie-talkie: "Arrived at the cemetery, arrived at the cemetery!" ”

The cemetery refers to the Mamayev Hills.

It is a veritable graveyard because it is a hill formed by the tombs of the ancient Tatars, and the name Mamayev is derived from the Batu Khan of the Mongol army.

"Whew!" With the whistling of shells, the German artillery preparations did not begin until this time.

Under the guidance of artillery observers, more than 50 howitzers of an artillery regiment poured a large number of shells on the Mamayev post, and in an instant, this high ground was blown up into thick smoke and shrapnel flew everywhere, and the anti-tank guns that the Soviet troops had just set up were immediately blown into the sky, and the sandbags in the machine-gun positions were also blown to pieces, not to mention mines, barbed wire, and other obstacles.

The artillery preparation lasted for ten minutes, and then Qin Chuan led the soldiers to charge under the cover of tank machine guns and artillery fire.

The charge went very smoothly, and the Soviet defenders, who were almost paralyzed by artillery fire, fell one by one under the guns of the German MP43 on the hill before they had time to react.

But Qin Chuan didn't think it was a good thing...... Because he basically did not see a few strong fortifications on the Mamayev Height, which means that the Mamayev Gang is easy to attack and difficult to defend.

If anything, it is that the central ferry port on the banks of the Volga can indeed be seen at Mamayev Heights.

Qin Chuan was also most concerned about this, so as soon as he climbed the hill, he raised his binoculars and looked in the direction of the central ferry without even waiting for the remnants of the enemy to be cleared: at this time, the ferry was densely packed with people, most of them were Soviet logistics troops and the wounded, mixed with the people who were responsible for logistics and rescue tasks.

There is always blackened smoke around it...... It was Soviet soldiers who burned used tires in order to prevent German pilots from bombing and observing the situation at the ferry.

This is also the reason why the Mamayev Gang is so important, under the cover of gunsmoke, dust and black smoke from the tires, it is difficult for German pilots to guide the artillery, while the Mamayev Gang is observed from the ground, and more importantly, the large-caliber mortars placed here can be placed directly to the ferry.

Then, Qin Chuan said in surprise when he saw the piles of boxes piled up at the ferry: "We seem to have come to the right time, Eberhard!" ”

"What?" Eberhard was puzzled.

"Look at what's stacked at the ferry?"

Eberhard looked through the binoculars, and then almost jumped: "Ammunition!" ”

It is clear that this is the ammunition that the Soviets transported across the river last night...... The Soviets usually chose to deliver ammunition at night, as German warplanes blockaded the Volga during the day, and ships carrying ammunition were likely to be killed if they were hit.

However, the 21st Panzer Division launched an attack at dawn, and because of the speed of the attack, it was just in time for the Soviets to evacuate the ammunition urgently.

"Immediately lead the artillery bombardment!" Qin Chuan ordered.

"Yes, Major!" Eberhard answered, and immediately shouted to the rear: "Captain Klaus, bring your artillery observers up at once!" ”

"But sir!" Captain Klaus replied, "We are not in control yet!" ”

Artillery observers tend to be the first target of the enemy, so they usually wait until the end of the battle to enter the position.

"Forget about it!" Eberhard shouted: "When the battle is over, the opportunity will slip away from us!" ”

"Yes, sir!" Captain Krauss, though he didn't know what the opportunity was, obeyed the order.

The speed of the German artillery observers was very fast, only five minutes before and after, a few shells fell accurately into the central ferry, and then suddenly the cannon roared, hundreds of artillery pieces roared at the same time, and the central ferry rose out of a radial smoke, and then only a loud "boom" was heard, a dazzling light flashed at the ferry, a mushroom-like smoke slowly rose on the Volga River, and the shock wave from the explosion could be felt even in the Mamayev Gang a few kilometers away.

"Great!" Eberhard shouted: "We have taken control of the ferry of the Soviets!" ”

Qin Chuan knew why Eberhard was excited, and if this continued, the supplies, ammunition, and soldiers available to the Soviets would be reduced exponentially.

Of course, a complete blockade was impossible, and the Soviets would have transported under artillery fire.

But if this continues for a long time, it is conceivable that the Soviet troops stationed at Stagrad will only become weaker and weaker.

However, at this moment, there was a whistling sound of artillery shells from the direction of the Soviet troops.

"Lie down!" Qin Chuan shouted and rolled into the trench.

A barrage of shells followed, shaking the Mamayev Gang as if it were an earthquake.

This was also what Qin Chuan was worried about before.

Mamayev Hill is the highest vantage point in the vicinity, which is both its advantage and its disadvantage.

The advantage is that it overlooks the whole of Stalingrad, as well as the Volga.

The disadvantage is that the artillery deployed anywhere around, even on the east bank of the Volga, can see the Mamayev Hill as soon as it looks up.

In other words, this Mamayev post stood like a target in the middle of the Soviet troops.