Werner is speaking of a paradox that is prevalent on the battlefield.

Soldiers sometimes couldn't tell whether to enjoy something good, like chocolate, first or save it for when they needed it more.

Enjoy it first, and you'll be like Werner, when you really need it, you won't have it.

Save it for when you need it more, and you will be like the thirty-five who died...... There's no chance to enjoy it.

This is a trivial matter for people living in a peaceful society, but on this battlefield where supplies are scarce, many soldiers will think about it and hesitate for a long time before deciding to eat a little.

Qin Chuan would be better in this regard, because compared to those soldiers who didn't need to think about it when the battle stopped, he still had to think about how to carry out or hold on to the next battle.

But it doesn't seem to be a big deal at this point.

Kuhn, who was looking out through the lookout hole in the bunker with a telescope, reported: "Major, it looks like the Soviets are going to attack!" ”

Kuhn said "as if" because the Soviets' shells blew up layers of gunpowder smoke outside the pillbox...... In fact, more of them were shells that exploded in the river, and their evaporated water vapor shrouded the sandbar like a layer of fog, making it difficult for the Germans to see the movement of the Soviet troops on the east bank.

Qin Chuan raised his binoculars and looked out, and he saw the busy shadow of a group of Soviet troops in the tumbling smoke.

"Prepare for battle!" Qin Chuan ordered loudly.

As soon as the soldiers rolled over, they sat up from the corner and scrambled to place their guns on the holes...... The Soviet pillbox fortifications were clearly built for anti-landing, and in addition to the larger heavy machine gun and artillery holes, there were rifle holes for individual use.

It's just that these rifle holes are designed for the Soviet Mosin Nagant and are relatively short, while the MP43 used by the Germans has a higher aiming baseline, and the field of view is not very clear.

This, of course, did not affect the combat effectiveness of the German army.

Anti-aircraft machine guns and small high-caliber anti-aircraft guns were also prepared, and their muzzles were aimed at the river in front of them and at a beach in front of them, which was already full of craters.

The sound of the cannon gradually subsided, and after a while it disappeared completely...... This was another advantage of the sandbar defense, because it was close to the east bank, so if the Soviets were to attack, they had to stop shelling, otherwise the shells would immediately cause accidental damage to the Soviets who were crossing the river.

There were a few faint sounds of wood pulp paddling in the smoke, and the Soviet soldiers had apparently entered the water, and were still slowly approaching the sandbar...... They did not dare to make too much noise, for fear that it would direct enemy fire towards them.

However, it didn't make much of a difference, because it wasn't long before the sun's rays pierced through the mist and cast dark shadows in it.

Qin Chuan couldn't help but be stunned the moment he saw the Soviet army's offensive formation, it was rafts and small fishing boats, and there were even kayaks, the Soviet army actually tried to use these things for landing operations, and they couldn't stop the bullets fired by the German camp at all.

But the fragility of the Soviet army was a good thing for the Germans.

Qin Chuan did not hesitate and shouted: "Fire!" ”

Suddenly the gunshots rang out, and the bullets drilled into the smoke like a gust of wind, and the screams and the sound of the boards breaking soon rang out.

As soon as the Soviets shouted, they increased the speed of rowing, and some assault boats and rubber boats even started motors.

Obviously, the Soviets hoped to break through the German fire blockade with speed, but this was nothing more than a luxury...... Anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns in German pillboxes soon rang out.

The bullets from the anti-aircraft machine guns made a series of splashes on the surface of the river, and the end of the splash hit the fishing boat.

Sawdust flew and blood splattered.

The fishing boat was immediately punched with rows of bullet holes the size of cups, and what was even more terrifying was the penetrating power of these bullets...... A 12.7 mm bullet can penetrate a 15 mm steel plate at a distance of 500 meters, while the Soviet fishing boats are only 200 meters away, and most of them are wooden structures, and the bullets will undoubtedly penetrate and hit the Soviet troops bent over and hidden in the hull.

Some anti-aircraft machine guns even shoot a few more bullets at a fishing boat, and even cut it in half like slicing tofu.

Even more terrible is the anti-aircraft guns...... The shells of anti-aircraft guns were time-delayed, and German soldiers with a lot of combat experience knew that the muzzle of the gun was slightly aimed over the target.

The reason is simple, shells aimed directly at the target are more likely to penetrate and explode into the water, so that the damage to the enemy will obviously be much smaller.

But if it is aimed over the target, the shell will explode in the air and shoot shrapnel in all directions to hit the Soviets below.

After the black smoke, not to mention the Soviet soldiers, even the fishing boats were blown up by shrapnel, and some shells happened to penetrate the target ship and exploded inside, which was even more miserable.

The wooden boats of the Soviet army rushed up one after another, row after row, and then they were pierced and shattered in pieces under the powerful fire of the German army, and then drifted and sank with the river.

In a short time, the river was littered with the wreckage of half-sunken and half-floating wooden boats and the corpses of Soviet soldiers, and occasionally a few boats, perhaps with their engines blown out, and the leaking gasoline ignited a raging fire on the water, followed by screams and cries.

The first attack of the Soviet army was repulsed without any suspense, although it was only a short period of more than 20 minutes, but the casualties of the Soviet army were thousands of people...... This was estimated by the size of the fleet from which the Soviet troops launched the charge.

The exact number is more than 1,300, because 300 of them were armed swimmers.

These armed Soviets were much luckier than those who charged in wooden boats...... The target of the wooden boat was too large, and it was destroyed as soon as a bullet came, and most of the Soviet troops on it could not swim, so countless people were killed and drowned.

On the contrary, the soldiers who swam across the river with arms had smaller targets, and it was difficult to detect their presence in the smoke and mist of gunpowder.

As a result, some of them even attacked the sandbar.

But these people were clearly not smart enough, and it was clear at first glance that attacking the sandbar would make no sense other than death: the bunkers were littered with mines, barbed wire, etc., and behind them were an MP43 pointed at the wide, unconcealed riverbank......

Ironically, these obstacles were constructed by the Soviets, but they did not play a role in the German offensive and became an insurmountable barrier for the Soviets.

With the explosion of mines and the sound of gunfire, the Soviet troops who rushed to the sandbar fell on the beach one by one, and the blood flowed down the river back to the Volga, adding a blinding red color to the Volga.