The Luftwaffe's first attempt to change supply tactics was to drop paratroopers, but this proposal was immediately rejected because the Germans did not want to suffer heavy losses in the brutal battles fought in this very limited encirclement. Another method is to land in the encirclement with the Go242 glider carrying personnel and supplies, because the glider is unpowered, so its cost is much cheaper than that of a transport aircraft, and even if it suffers a lot of losses, it is acceptable.

Due to the lack of weapons for self-defense, gliders are usually gliders at 19 o'clock in the evening or in the morning, when they are least likely to be detected and shot down by the enemy. These gliders brought the defenders the medicines, weapons and ammunition they needed most, as well as reinforcements. Whenever these gliders circled in the air and landed on the spot, the German Stuka bombers and the positions near the Germans would suppress the Soviet troops on both sides of the runway, so that the gliders would not be fired upon by Soviet ground artillery fire when landing.

Each such flight was a one-off, and each such mission meant that the glider was removed from the roster, and the pilot who could no longer fly the glider after landing was transformed into an infantryman, fighting alongside the other besieged troops against enemy attacks. Transport planes could not land, gliders could no longer take the seriously wounded out of the encirclement, and the ruins of houses in the town of Holm were turned into makeshift wards, where the wounded had to tremble and suffer.

Despite the sluggish tactics of the Soviets and the morale of the Sherrell troops, the German defense area was reduced from 2 square kilometers to 1 square kilometers under the continuous onslaught of the 33rd and 391st Infantry Divisions of the Soviet Army. The glider could no longer land in such a situation. And the only way to supply the rest of the land - the supply dropped by air was either directly thrown to the Soviet army, or to the area of the battle where the Germans could not take back.

The German soldiers watched as the parachutes hanging the supply boxes fell into the middle of the no-man's land, and some bold Soviet soldiers on the opposite side tried to run over and drag the boxes away, but before they could get close to the target, they were stopped by the hail of German machine guns and rifles, some of them were immediately knocked down in the snow, and the rest fled back with rolling belts. It was not until night that the Germans sent a commando team to slowly crawl through the snow under the cover of night and drag the supply boxes back.

Although the air force's supply airdrops were regular, very few actually reached the defenders, so that during the siege, none of the German officers and men, from top to bottom, received a full ration of food, and to make matters worse, the meagre quota was further reduced in the early days of the siege.

February 1. The commander of the 39th Panzer Corps, General Anim, was informed by radio of the suffering of the Sherel battle group. Thus, a new rescue operation was again worked out and a new battle group was formed. He intends to engage in a fierce battle and open a road to the isolated defenders. Upon receiving the news, Sherel also felt that two small battle groups should be formed on the west side of his line, and that when the Anim forces attacked, they would also take action, and should join forces until contact was made with the rescue column.

The western breakthrough that Scherer had chosen for his small battle group was an open flat area, and the key problem was that there was a small high ground with superior terrain next to the open field. The Soviets occupying this high ground could easily blockade the area with firepower. If the Germans want to break through from here. It is better to take this small high ground first, and then break through from the high ground to the west. To this end, Sherrell sent the 8th (Mountain) Light Commando Team to take on this task, relying on its professional skills. They quickly drove the Soviet troops from the hills.

Immediately after a transport team composed of soldiers immediately transported the supplies and ammunition to the breakthrough troops to the mountain, just when they were nervous to carry the supplies, the weather suddenly turned bad, the blizzard suddenly came, the sharp east wind with ice like steel needles ruthlessly stabbed the cheeks of the Hunan porters, and the heavy ammunition and supplies on their shoulders in the waist-deep snow trek was even more painful, and the soldiers of the German detachment who had occupied the top of the mountain piled up a defensive position with snow blocks, Snow blocks are also piled up to form an Eskimo-style igloo to shelter from the cold winds.

Such weather not only caused great suffering to Sherrell's troops, but also swept away the reinforcements sent by the 39th Panzer Corps. Although they were only 15 kilometres from Holm, the lack of skid prevented trucks, armoured vehicles and tanks from navigating the frozen roads, so the burden of the attack fell on the shoulders of the infantry.

The first goal of the rescue force is to capture a high ground marked 72.7 on the map. When the Anim infantry attacked in this direction on 2 February, the Soviet 31st Infantry Brigade, which was defending the area, realized the important tactical value of the area and immediately engaged in a fierce battle with the invading Germans. The snow in this area is not just waist-deep, it has already reached the chests of the soldiers.

Not only did the German infantry have to engage the Soviets at all times, but they also had to hold their rifles and machine guns high above their heads when advancing in the snow to avoid the snow contaminating or freezing the bolts, and every 100 meters of advance was a great victory for their will. (Fighting in such snow and weather is really indescribable.) ）

After a whole day of relentless attack, the German advance company finally advanced to a position close to the top of the hill on the high ground. They only had one last stretch left to sprint to the top, but this gentle slope of about 300 meters became a natural "sniper zone". Before the first assault of the infantry, the Germans fired a barrage of barrage fire at the Soviet positions on the top of the hill with artillery, but the shells that exploded through the snow did not cause much damage to the Soviet troops. After the shelling stopped, the German infantry stood up and pushed forward with difficulty in a skirmish line, and was immediately repulsed by condescending Soviet fire.

The second, third, and every subsequent attack was like this, and they were forced to retreat to the attack line on the slope of 72.7 heights, lying tired and disappointed on the snow to rest. Then cheers were heard from the top of the mountain, and it was clear that the Soviets were about to launch a counteroffensive. "Ula", through the icy air, Soviet soldiers rushed down from the top of the hill towards the Germans, and the terrible battle cry came from far and near.

The Russians also had to trude through the snow with great difficulty, and although their forward line was slow, the momentum of the advance was very pressing. The exhausted Germans regained their courage to fight, and they decided to avenge the pain and suffering they had endured. Knowing that lying on their stomachs in the deep snow would not be beneficial to open fire, the soldiers all stood up and raised their guns to aim at the approaching Soviet troops.

…… (To be continued......)