The failure of sniper tactics was not the most annoying thing for Neindorf, but what made him even more breathless was the Red Army's blatant deployment of artillery on nearby high ground and open areas in broad daylight. The military deployment at a distance that could be seen at a glance through such a telescope naturally did not escape the capabilities of the German artillery, but two of the only three 105-mm howitzers that could be counted on in the city had been destroyed in the battle with the Red Army artillery, and what was even more infuriating was that the only remaining one was temporarily unusable due to the damp barrel.

As for the eight powerful 150mm howitzers, more often than not, they were just decorations, and the Germans in the city dug three feet into the ground and gathered several boxes of ammunition (some of which did not have fuses yet). Neindorf wasn't going to let these baby bumps go to waste in a costly artillery bombardment where every shell had to be used to fend off the Red Army infantry.

What made the Red Army proud was not only the success of the offensive tactics, but also the bold and rational use of the scouts that showed that they had learned many, many ...... Before the offensive was launched, the Red Army would generally infiltrate a number of reconnaissance detachments in the direction of the main attack block, usually young and strong veterans with extensive combat experience.

These heroes had to use the darkness of night or buildings as cover to approach the German line quietly, and then wait quietly for their artillery to speak, taking advantage of the fact that the Germans were busy evading artillery fire to seize one or two fortifications that could be relied on, and provide the necessary support for the advance of the follow-up troops.

No words of praise are enough to describe the bravery of these valiant scouts, let alone overdo it! on the battlefield. These young men who led the way had to be on the lookout for German guns at all times. They must also endure the baptism of their own artillery fire. A lot of the time. They will watch their comrades die under their own fire, and they will have to bear the heart-rending pain alone.

Three days later, the area of the GomelFat factory on the other side of the Sozh River was completely occupied by the Red Army, and the increasingly shrewd Red Army commanders canceled their customary pre-war artillery preparations for the ensuing battle across the river. It was a wise decision, given that Gomel was already in ruins, and that no amount of artillery fire would at best blow up the rubble in the ruins, and not only would it not clear the way in the way (the Germans were accustomed to this, and the damage to their living forces was often about zero). As for the effective destruction of the fortifications, it is impossible to talk about it, because there are no fortifications in Gomel at all, and there is no place for people to hide in the ruined city! ）。 Moreover, artillery preparation often reminded the Germans, leaving the Germans more time to prepare.

Guarding the other side of the Sozh River was the 2nd Battalion of the 949th Grenadier Regiment, and although the Germans were somewhat surprised by the fact that they could not hear the roar of artillery fire before the battle, the roaring engine sound of the T-34 as it advanced still showed a flaw in the Red Army.

Since the surprise attack fails, let's attack it directly! The Red Army was now fully emboldened, and the Red Army tanks were generously advancing along the streets, but it was actually a disguise, and the Red Army soldiers with Bobosha and AS-30 assault rifles in their hands would advance along the layers of houses on both sides. When the German soldier hiding in the ruins looked up, he saw the muzzle of a black hole in front of him.

Fierce battles broke out between the two sides in the homes and shops of local residents. German soldiers with cigarettes in their mouths and Russian lads with vodka in their arms often inadvertently take a look. The next thing is to see who moves fast, the first to raise the gun and shoot is not necessarily the last person to survive, only the first to throw a grenade is the king!

The Reds' non-oppressive style of play made it difficult for their opponents to sustain themselves, and they had to gradually shrink their defensive lines towards the city center, and at one point Neindorf once severely scolded the commander of the 2nd Battalion, asking him to fight like a German soldier. And Neindorf received a reply: "My general, if you can find a young man over 20 years old alive in my troops, I will immediately let him shoot me!" ”

On the day of this unpleasant exchange, the Red Army began a ferocious penetration from the defense area of the 2nd Battalion and successfully approached the main road in Gomel. A frustrated Neindorf immediately drew a company from his remaining reserves to counterattack, but it turned out to be in vain.

Neindorf's aide-de-camp, Major Schmidt, recalled: "That counterattack made the general understand that the time had come to accept reality and that we could not hope for anything more than to maintain our positions...... For the first time since I was besieged, I have deeply felt the general's disappointment and helplessness! ”

In Gomel, the besieged German army endured much more than just the pressure from the battlefield, and mentally the Red Army also put heavy pressure on them. After a fierce battle, 32 captured German soldiers were returned to the city, and Zhukov hoped to break the will of the defenders in this way, but the results did not satisfy the future marshal.

The German prisoners of war understood that they could no longer tolerate either side of the battlefield, that "preaching" on behalf of the Russians would only provoke more resentment from their own compatriots, and that the Red Army would not allow them to return to the camps, so the only thing they could do was to remain silent or simply commit suicide.

After the complete siege of Gomel, the Red Army's loudspeakers never stopped working, shouting into the city in German, Polish, Hungarian and Russian: "...... The Great Red Army has returned, the liberation of Gomel is at hand, and all the Germans and their lackeys who are trying to die will be punished as they deserve! ”

It was not so much a shout to the inhabitants of the city as it was to Neindorf, but the Germans finally said: "No!" The Gestapo's monstrous legends about the Siberian prisoner of war camps had made the general determined to fight his opponents to the end, not to mention, he had been expecting his old friend Rouse to come and relieve the siege!

So did Rolls clear Neindorf? It should be said that the relationship between Rouse and Neindorf was quite good, and since the siege of Gomel, Admiral Rouse has been restless and waiting by the telephone all day. Every once in a while, he would ask his staff officers, "How's it going?" How long will it take for the rescue force to depart? ”

Years of friendship with Neindorf put a heavy psychological burden on Laws. His friend's life was largely in his hands. This is a sloppy trip. Forty tons of ammunition and a considerable amount of food, fuel and medicine had been piled up next to the railway station in Lechitsa in anticipation of reaching Gomel with the relief troops. Rouse knew full well that these things were what his friend needed most right now, and he had almost everything for Neindorf!

But to Law's disappointment, the patchwork rescue force was no match for the elite Red Army 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, and not far from Lechicha when the siege relief troops were driven back by the Red Army with tanks and artillery.

Continue back to Gomel, when the Red Army broke through to the central area of the city. They focused their attention on the Gomel railway station, the meeting point of the two railway lines that cross Gomel!

Neindorf asked Major Schmidt to personally lead a team to aid the defenders there, and the importance of the railway station was evident. However, Major Schmidt felt quite tricky and helpless about this task: "...... Everyone understands the importance there, but the Russians are shelling too hard, and their infantry is very good at coordinating the charge under the cover of tanks. The most tricky thing is that those damn Russian planes, which are almost flying against my head, and those Ivan pilots don't want to live anymore! Crazy, crazy! ”

Perhaps Neindorf had realized that the train station could not be held, or that the general, not wanting to lose his close assistant who had followed him for many years, recalled Schmidt to his headquarters that afternoon, just an hour after the major left. The Gomel railway station changed hands.

In other areas of the city, the defenders began to consciously shrink towards the center. The enormous pressure of the Red Army made them feel hopeless. By the end of the day's fighting, the German defense zone in the city had been reduced to a rectangle of one kilometer wide from east to west and one to 1.5 kilometers long from north to south.

To the Germans' headache, all the commanding heights in the entire area around Gomel had completely fallen into the hands of the Red Army, whose howitzers could bombard any target in the city at any time - they could do it if they wanted to!

But nothing bothered Neindorf and his staff more than the shortage of ammunition and medicine. Although there were not a few guns left, they had to be counted on to deal with the tanks of the Red Army. It was not impossible to destroy the T-34 with an explosive pack on his back, the problem was that Neindolf did not even have an explosive pack, and the powerful firepower of the Red Army would also blow any German army that tried to do so to smithereens.

Since there was no airfield in Gomel, it was estimated that even if there were, it was completely impossible to count on it, and the supply could only rely on airdrops, and the Red Army's strong anti-aircraft artillery fire and fighter hunting operations made the German pilots feel uneasy during the day, and could only sneak through the airdrops at night. But the defense area of the Gomelid army is getting smaller and smaller day by day, and the accurate airdrop of supplies to such a small area in the dark of night is too demanding!

Let's put it this way, these demanding requirements made transport pilots complain that they could go to the throwing competition of the Olympic Games. Of course, the results of the airdrop were quite chilling, 95% of the airdrop fell on the side of the Red Army, and the defenders only received 5%.

This made Neindorf so angry that he almost wanted to hang himself by his beard on impulse. The veteran was already a little desperate at the time, and he began to question (or complain) about Hitler's approach from the bottom of his heart, saying in a private telegram to Lauth: "My children are playing well, they have done their best. But the reality is that we can't resist for long, please ask the Führer to let us break through, this is the only way to survive! ”

It's just that Neindorf did not wait for the Führer's permission, and he did not have time to wait either. The Red Army's assault on Gomel will not stop for a moment. The "magical" Demuba Special Battalion repelled the Red Army infantry accompanied by tanks twice in a row under extremely difficult circumstances, but they were left with only a few fragmentary positions the size of a palm, while the Red Army did not know tired of launching attacks wave after wave.

As a last resort, Neindolf had no choice but to give up all of Gomel's eastern and southeastern defense zones to secure the city's center, and he did, but at the cost of taking all the reserves at hand.

Major Schmidt once recalled, not without irony: "I think it will soon be my turn to kill the Russians with a submachine gun with my general!" And Neindorf's heart is even more sad: "Today, my children fought very well, they took out ten Russian tanks. I'm proud of their performance. But the reality is brutal. I still don't see even the slightest glimmer of light. The end of Gomel is not far off......"

On the other hand, Zhukov was full of confidence, and he said in his autobiography: "Two more days, no, maybe just one day will be enough." I am convinced that Gomel will soon return to the hands of the Soviet people! ”

Zhukov did have such confidence, because at the time he wrote this, the general offensive against Gomel had already begun. The repeated shelling raised dust in the sky, and the Red Army, which had absolute superiority, proudly believed that they had enough confidence to abandon the "inaccessible" means of a surprise attack and generously engage in a "knightly" duel with their opponents.

Where is the counter-fire of the Germans? No way. Whoever let the vast majority of the airdropped ammunition supply boxes fall on the positions of the Red Army, Neindorf can only admit that he is short of breath. There is no need to worry, the Germans did not have the means to fight back, the Air Force began to stand up for these besieged people, and Stuka, who had been "hiding at home and pretending to be a lady" for some time, finally appeared, constantly flying over Gomel to interfere with the Red Army's offensive.

Of course, the Reds will not show weakness on their side, in addition to the La-5 and Yak-2 constantly chasing these pesky flies, the Black Death (Il-2) will also go-for-tat to return the color - if you blow up my tanks and infantry, then I will bomb your two more houses. Crush you with a few snipers!

Back on the ground, the threat from the air somewhat diminished the Red Army's infantry synergy. You must know that the T-34 marching on the narrow streets is an out-and-out live target in the eyes of the pilot.

Soon Zhukov was not optimistic, and after a day of general attack, many infantry and tank regiments were wiped out, but the battle line was still the same as before, and Zhukov realized that there was a hard bone in front of him.

Zhukov's response was also very fast, changing the fanfare of infantry and artillery coordination into a large-scale interspersed with multiple small units. In addition, don't be idle at night, the artillery will continue to bomb, the air force will continue to bomb, and it will not stop for a moment.

Don't underestimate Zhukov's two moves, they are quite powerful. The mental torture effect of attacks and harassment around the clock necessitates that the attention of the defenders must remain high for a long time, and over time they become tired, numb, and even difficult to maintain their sanity, and this mental torture is much more effective than physical blows.

Major Schmidt recalled: "The Russians began to harass us day and night, and the roar of artillery and the incessant gunfire made it difficult to sleep at any time. Look at the poor general, already tormented by the Russians to the point of nervous breakdown......"

Neindorf himself mentioned how cruel this mental torture was, saying in a telegram to his old friend Rouse: "My old friend, I don't think we have much more to last, and perhaps tomorrow will be the last days, and my men have done their best, but there is still no hope in sight......"

Neindorf was not right at all, he and his troops were indeed hopeless, and in fact the day after Neindorf sent this telegram, the veteran was killed in Gomel.

Major Schmidt recalled: "After lunch, the general and I went to the Sozh River to check the disposition of the Russians on the other side. At this moment, there was a sudden whistling sound of cannonballs in my ears, and I and the general instinctively fell to the ground, but it was too late, and the cannonballs exploded close to us...... It took me a while to recover from my coma, and when I woke up, I saw the general lying in a pool of blood, and I rushed forward, but he had stopped breathing...... Hearing the news, Feng rushed to the scene. Lieutenant Colonel Schuhanfil stood dumbfounded beside the general's body and muttered to himself in a low voice - what should we do? ”

The death of the Supreme Commander made the soldiers who were already in despair even more depressed, and every few tens of seconds a Red Army shell fell, and many of them had become numb to death.

At this time, as the successor commander, von . Lieutenant Colonel Schuhan Phil had to make a difficult decision - to break through. But to bring out the more than 1,500 exhausted and demoralized soldiers around him from an encirclement less than 1 kilometer in diameter and without any terrain to rely on, even the lieutenant colonel himself could not believe that this would be successful.

In fact, it was impossible to succeed, and the only effect of the breakthrough of the Gomel defenders was to push them from the brink of death to death, and the breakthrough force was quickly routed under the superior artillery fire of the Red Army.

A German soldier who had narrowly escaped the encirclement said to war correspondents: "It was a massacre!" Shells come at us from all directions, and often a single machine gun bullet can knock us down......"

Feng Zhang, who personally commanded the breakout. Lieutenant Colonel Schulhanfeld tripped over a corpse during the breakout, and then a shell hit him right where he was, according to Major Schmidt: "In an instant Lieutenant Colonel disappeared from this world, and my face and uniform were covered with his blood......" (To be continued. )