By noon, the Germans had finally broken through the Don Bridge after paying the price of more than 100 tanks and thousands of casualties. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Immediately, a tidal wave of German troops poured across the Don bridge and into the city of Rostov-on-Don.

The 6th Marine Division has been stationed in the city for a long time, and they have built up a strong defense system here, and the many buildings and barricades built on the streets throughout the city will be the main defense of the city.

Moreover, the Sixth Marine Division, which is very large in size and supported by a large number of auxiliary units mobilized by the Navy, does not lack its own strength and all kinds of heavy weapons, and at the same time has sufficient supplies of all kinds. Plus the high quality and high morale of the officers and soldiers. Its will to fight is very strong.

Therefore, the Ming garrison in the city was not weakened by the Germans' storming of the city. On the contrary, because there are many buildings in the city, the traffic is complicated. The Ming army, which was hidden everywhere, used a variety of weapons to inflict great casualties on the Germans.

Rostov-on-Don is a large city with many multi-storey buildings, all of which are solid buildings made of reinforced concrete. The Ming army hid in various buildings in squads and platoons, and condescendingly attacked the Germans with various weapons. Many Ming troops even threw anti-tank mines and explosives packs directly from the upper floors above the German tanks driving on the streets to destroy German armored vehicles. The German troops who invaded the city were suffering huge casualties at every turn.

The snipers of the Ming army, who were standard in the squad, were like fish in water on this battlefield with complex terrain, hiding in hidden corners everywhere and dropping one German officer after another to the ground with accurate shots.

Moreover, in order for this battle to be successfully successful, the navy has made great efforts. They drew elite snipers from the Marines stationed throughout the Mediterranean to form a formidable sniper force for possible street fighting in Rostov-on-Don. And now, this elite force, which is no more than 100 people, has played a huge role in the street fighting.

According to post-war statistics, this elite sniper unit, with a total of about 130 people, killed and injured an average of more than 150 people. One of the most successful snipers was Second Lieutenant Ryazan from the 19th Marine Division stationed in Malta, who single-handedly killed 592 targets in the Rostov-on-Don blockade, becoming the best sniper on record. He even received a medal of the Order of Baoding for this, becoming the king of snipers on record.

The German offensive was so strong that they threw all their troops into it almost at once. In addition to fighting over the bridge, more troops were thrown into the ice below the bridge.

The Germans used more than six infantry divisions and numerous armoured units to force their way through the wide ice. More than 50,000 officers and men staggered forward under the cover of more than 200 tanks and armored vehicles in the thick snow. They gritted their teeth and fought under dense and dense firepower, and at great cost they trekked across the frozen Don River and rushed into the city of Rostov-on-Don.

By noon, the Germans had invested more than 100,000 men and most of their armored forces. Now Paulus has no reserves left in his hands. Even the artillery was already in constant mutual pressure and was about to be exhausted.

Paulus, with a calm face, stood in the artillery observation post and held a telescope to look at the city of Rostov-on-Don in the distance, which was filled with gunsmoke and flames. Although there is nothing to show on the surface, his heart is sinking little by little at the moment.

Paulus had already put all the forces in his hands, not only the Sixth Army, but even the troops of the Fourth Panzer Army had already rushed into the city for a fierce battle. However, there was no good news from the front. The army that invaded the city was like falling into a huge quagmire, and every step forward cost them with huge casualties.

Time is ticking, but the troops on the front line are struggling. For the Allies, time was the most important thing now. How could Paulus not be in a hurry?

"Are there any reserves?" General Hult, who was standing aside, put down the telescope in his hand and asked aloud.

"Nope." A wry smile appeared on the corner of Paulus's mouth, and he shook his head slightly in response, "All the reserves have been dispatched. Now there are only signal corps, medics and transports left. ”

After listening to Paulus's words, Hort was also silent. As high-ranking officers, they are well aware that they are now giving everything they have. In any case, it is impossible to squeeze out excess troops for the attack.

It's also sad to say, the powerful Allied forces, which originally had more than two million troops, can't come up with reserves at the moment. No one believed it. In fact, most of the Allied troops had been abandoned at this time, desperately resisting the attack of the Ming Army Group South on various positions. Coupled with the troops who were killed, captured and missing, and still hurrying on their legs on the cold snowfield, the troops that were really capable of fighting were already on the battlefield at this time.

"It's damn weather." Hult cursed under his breath.

In fact, the main reason why the Allies fell to this level was because of a lack of supplies. After all, without the support of various materials, such a huge army will naturally not be able to exert any combat effectiveness. But another important reason is that the bad weather conditions in Russia greatly affected the combat capability of the Allied forces.

The weather of minus 10 degrees Celsius and the heavy snow that kept falling almost pushed the Allied forces into a desperate situation. In such weather conditions, it became very difficult for the Allies to even mobilize their troops. If it weren't for the severe cold and heavy snowfall, the Allies would never have fallen into the current miserable situation. But in the bitterly cold weather conditions, the Allies suffered huge losses and blows.

Just when Paulus and Hort were worried, the adjutant suddenly shouted from the observation post: "Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief has arrived!" ”

Surprised, Paulus and Hoult hurriedly turned around and looked, and sure enough, they saw General Rundested, the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in the encirclement, walking in with a large number of high-ranking officers from various countries with various medals on their chests.

"Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief!" Paulus and Hort hurriedly saluted, "Why are you here?" ”

At nearly seventy years old, Ron Stead was definitely one of the most senior generals in the entire Allied army. If nothing else, the prestige he had accumulated over so many years in the army was enough to become the commander of any powerful legion. This was one of the main reasons why he was able to become the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in the encirclement.

"How's the battle going on the front?" After a brief military salute, Rondested immediately began to inquire about the situation at the front. The situation of the Allies was now extremely critical, and there was no room for commanders like them not to be nervous. This is a big matter that is really a matter of life and death, personal honor and disgrace. And not just individuals, the victory or defeat of this war is related to the fate of the entire country.

"The situation on the front line is not good." After thinking about it for a while, Paulus decided to tell the truth: "Although the troops have entered the city, the resistance of the Ming army is very strong. So far, there has been little decent progress. And the losses of the troops were very large. ”

"Why don't you send reserves?" Rondested asked with a frown.

Paulus and Hort looked at each other and said in a deep voice, "All the reserves have been dispatched. Since the launch of the attack, we have lost at least more than 30,000 officers and soldiers. ”

'Hiss~~~' Paulus's words made all the senior generals who had already had a large vote in Rundested gasp. These were not the Russian serfs who had been forcibly recruited, but the elite German troops. It was only half a day's work, and they had already suffered such huge losses, and the severity of the battle was greatly beyond everyone's expectations.

There was an indescribable silence at the observation post, and after a moment it was Rundstede who spoke, "I have received a telegram from Manstein. He explained that the army's armored forces were outflanking his retreat, and that he had no strength to stop him. He told me that he could only hold out for another day and that tomorrow he would retreat. ”

The news of "......" exploded in the outpost like a thunderbolt, and everyone's faces changed. The only hope they had for a successful breakthrough was the rescue force in Manstein. But now that Manstein is going to withdraw, how will their troops break through the encirclement?

"Why is this happening?" Paulus couldn't help but speak, "Why did General Manstein withdraw?" Why can't he stop the troops in his hands if they are so strong? ”

"There are no troops left." Rondestede shook his head helplessly when he heard this, "Manstein has sent a telegram saying that the troops in his hands are almost exhausted. Coupled with the reinforcements that came one after another, he had already lost thousands of tanks and armored vehicles. ”

"Hiss~~~" Hearing Rundested's words, many generals in the outpost couldn't help but be shocked again. How strong Manstein's troops were, everyone here knew very well. The armored units in his hands are all fully equipped elite with new tanks in China. It's only been a few days? How can you have lost so much?

"So what do we do now?" Paulus, who was bitter in his heart, asked aloud.

The situation of the Allies is simply dire. He had no hope that he would be able to make it out of the encirclement. The strength of the Ming army has reached the point of despair.

"There's no way back." "If we don't want our families to receive a death notice, or if we lose our honor as prisoners of war from the Ming army and send them to Siberia to cut wood, then we must do our best to break through the city in front of us and join Manstein's forces." The forward of his troops was only twenty kilometers away from us. (To be continued.) )