All the troops in Stalingrad knew the news, the special forces successfully attacked the German field airfield and blew up 57 German aircraft, at this critical moment, everyone was very excited, but in addition to the excitement, Andrei also knew that although the German air power was temporarily weakened, their technical equipment and firepower were still very strong, and now the German army is still very strong!

But the success of the special forces boosted the morale of the Soviet soldiers on the front line, and the artillery of the counterattack started on time at 3 o'clock. www.biquge.info The long-range howitzers and Katyusha rocket launchers began to leave the hiding point and fired at the German positions with confidence, because the Soviet positions were on both sides of the Volga River, so the German artillery could not reach them for a while, and because of the Soviet counterattack, the German artillery now had to do to support the front line.

But due to the insufficient reserve of shells, the shelling, which was supposed to be half an hour, lasted only fifteen minutes. After receiving the report from the artillery commander, Chuikov decisively gave an order to Krylov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately order all units to immediately launch a fierce attack on the enemy in front of you!" ”

Then the order of the command of the army group spread throughout the command posts of the front: "Comrade commander, the commander orders, in order to defend the great Stalingrad and destroy the fascist bandits, let's all act!" Advance and immediately charge towards the enemy's positions! ”

After the order to attack was issued, more than a dozen troops launched a fierce attack on the German troops entrenched outside the city from their respective starting positions.

From 4 o'clock onwards, the battle reports were continuously transmitted back to the headquarters, and the commanders of each unit reported that their troops had broken through the German positions in front of them, and at the 107.5 heights, the vanguard regiment of the 13th Guards Division of Rodimtsev regained the 107.5 heights and the light revival of Viejesdia Street after a bloody battle, and at the central railway station, the 4th regiment also quickly counterattacked and further recovered the positions of the central railway station, and in the attack, both sides relied on the ruins, and the four regiments advanced all the way under the cover of the howitzer battalion.

At the division headquarters of the Siberian Volunteer Division, other units and divisions of the 13th Guards Division, which had just successfully crossed the river by ferry, also drove into Stalingrad. He reported to us: "Report to the division commander, chief of staff, and deputy commander of the front army here, and now they are waiting outside the cave." ”

"General Golikov is here?" Andrei's mind wondered what this big man was doing. Praviov had already stood up before he could, and walked briskly to the door. As soon as he had walked a few steps, he seemed to think of going out to greet the superior commander, who should be led by the military commander of the division, so he stopped, turned around and said to me with a smile: "Comrade division commander, comrade deputy commander of the front army is now outside the cave, let's go out to meet him together." ”

After we welcomed Golikov into the headquarters, he walked over to the table and sat down. He took off his big-brimmed hat and threw it on the table, revealing his big bald head. Then he said to us: "Comrade Yakov, I came to see you. ”

The "look at us" staff officers and Andrei were flattered.

"That's right, comrades." General Golikov, who had served as the head of intelligence, saw everyone's doubts, and he said to everyone: "Originally, according to the orders of the Front, I stayed in the city to take charge of the connection between the Front Army and the 62nd, 64th, and 57th armies. But at noon today, I received a call from the Front Army, asking me to prepare weapons and equipment for the 13th Guards Division and the 42nd Infantry Brigade, which were about to cross the river. But thanks to the success of the special forces, our ships transporting weapons, when crossing the river, arrived without incident. So I received an order from Commander Yeremenko and Military Commissar Nikita Khrushchev to come here and check the work. ”

"There is also the 42nd Infantry Brigade crossing the river tonight, which means that the troops participating in the counterattack during the day tomorrow will have one more division and one brigade, so that we will have a greater chance of defeating the enemy." The staff officers were very excited to hear the good news.

But seeing the smiles on the faces of the staff officers, Andrei's mood was extremely heavy, and he didn't know anything else, but Andrei remembered the fate of the 13th Guards Division and the 42nd Infantry Brigade very clearly. Historically, the Guards Division was lost in a matter of days; And the situation of the 42nd Brigade was even worse, in the evening of the day of entry into the battlefield. The brigade was left with only 666 men, of which only 200 were infantry. Next, the Germans will definitely focus on attacking Mamayev Hill and Central Station, and then they will have to strike iron to see how hard they are.

And Golikov, who saw Andrei frowning a little, immediately asked: "Colonel Yakov, do you have anything to say?" Hearing Golikov's question, Andrei certainly could not have told him that it was impossible to drive out the Germans because the preparations for the campaign were too hasty, neither the sufficient forces were gathered, nor the necessary heavy equipment, especially the very limited number of artillery to cover the infantry attack. But hearing the deputy commander ask, Andrei quickly responded: "I'm sorry. Comrade Deputy Commander, I am thinking about how our division will cooperate with the operation in the next step, but we will not directly participate in this counterattack operation. I was too preoccupied with it for a while, so please forgive me. ”

A kind smile appeared on Golikov's face, and he said disappreciatively: "I thought you were thinking about something, but you were thinking about it." I will tell you that, according to our analysis, after the start of the counterattack, the Germans continued to storm the Mamayev Heights, which was a floodgate. You have to do everything you can to keep the Germans firmly in the way. They must not be allowed to storm Stalingrad. ”

And Andrei hurriedly replied: "Please rest assured, Comrade Deputy Commander, that our division will resolutely keep the Germans out of the Mamayev Heights, so that they cannot occupy the commanding heights and threaten our great city." I have one more request, though. ”

"What request? Listen, if I can do it, I'll solve it for you right away. Golikov replied lightly.

"Can you equip our division with a special anti-tank unit? It doesn't matter if it's an ordinary anti-tank rifle company or an anti-tank company, just one company is enough. You know, although there are artillery and tanks in my division, but the number is very small, and at the same time, the anti-tank weapons of our front-line troops are only a few hundred Molotov cocktails except for a few anti-tank grenades, and if the Germans only have a few tanks, there is no problem, if the number of tanks is large, we are helpless against them, our soldiers have paid huge sacrifices in the first few battles, and even commanders and fighters have died with explosives bags and German tanks! ”

Golikov thought for a while, and then said: "Colonel Yakov, I thought about it for a while, if you don't have anti-tank units, it will be difficult to hold the high ground. Well, I'll go back and report this to Commander Yeremenko, and try to send you two anti-tank artillery batteries and one anti-tank rifle company to strengthen the anti-tank forces on the heights. (To be continued.) )