Now, the war is at its most advanced stage.

The Ernst Battle Cluster begins to put into the last reserves for a decisive battle!

The smoke of the battle had shrouded the place, and the clamor of artillery fire told the Russians of the determination of the Germans:

For the sake of victory - fight!

For the glory of Germany - fight!

The planes in the sky, the tanks on the ground, represent the determination of this German - fight, fight, fight!

No one can stop their majestic momentum, no one can stop their determination to win the victory.

If the Russians must choose this way, then give them all, give them all!

Raging planes, raging tanks, raging infantry, flooding Stalingrad like a tide, the strongest roar of Germany, is roaring in the city!

The troops of the 64th Army under the command of Major General Shumilov were the first to feel this German determination to win.

When Ernst. After Field Marshal Bream made up his mind to end the Battle of Stalingrad by May 10, the German soldiers had no choice:

The only thing they could do was to unswervingly fulfill the orders of Field Marshal Ernst!

The prospect of war is becoming clearer, and Major General Shumilov is well aware of this, however, he also received death orders from the Moscow side and Marshal Vasilevsky, and even from Comrade Stalin himself:

Don't take a step back!

This means that they have only two choices: defend Stalingrad or die all here!

To do the first point. In the current situation, it is clearly unlikely. Then, they are actually left with the last option.

The war turned Stalingrad into a living hell, where all people's lives were crushed like meat grinders......

Despair gripped all. Mechanicality, numbness, now, is the only attitude that every Russian can have. They can't control their own destiny, they don't even know what will happen in the next second.

General Shumilov still did something, he ordered all the soldiers to be as close to the Germans as possible, as close to the battle as possible, to weaken the enemy's air force and artillery superiority to the greatest extent.

Moscow is also not passively waiting. Despite the fact that the ground forces had been severely weakened in several major battles and could not give more ground support to Stalingrad, Moscow mobilized all of the country's air power. Sacrificing their lives and fighting for air supremacy with the Luftwaffe.

However, at this time, 45 battalions of German engineers specially trained in siege arrived at Stalingrad and were immediately put into battle.

This was quite a powerful force, and it also made the German attack smooth again......

April 29th. The Germans broke through to the Baflak building. Here, the Russians laid mines on the outer lines and placed a large number of machine guns in the windows, literally turning the building into a strong fortress.

The German troops in the assault suffered a great deal of hindrance here, and they had to send a large number of sappers to clear the mines on the perimeter, which largely wasted their time in advance.

Coincidentally, at a time when the Germans were trying to prepare for an attack on the Baflak building. Ernst. Field Marshal Bream also followed the headquarters of the 9th Army here.

When Wang Weiyi heard the situation in the building, he issued a new combat order without the slightest hesitation: "What I want is not how many prisoners to capture. All I want is victory! ”

When this order of Field Marshal Ernst was given, everything became simple.

12 guns, 21 tanks and self-propelled guns appeared outside the Baflak building, and after a brief preparation, all the artillery fire poured out towards the building. The deafening sound of artillery flooded the entire battlefield in an instant......

All that rang in my ears was the roar of artillery fire. The building collapsed layer by layer under the cover of artillery fire. The Russians, who were constantly trying to rush out, were hit with even more intense fire.

This is a naked slaughter, a naked destruction of life. But when war breaks out, the most despicable thing on the battlefield is undoubtedly human life.

The shelling continued, and one by one it was destroyed. The earth was engulfed in flames, and the sky was obscured by gunsmoke.

Under incessant artillery fire, the entire building was almost completely destroyed......

"This is what I want to see...... Wang Weiyi looked coldly at everything that happened in front of him: "Fighting, you don't need too complicated methods, I want the simplest means!" ”

This is what Wang Weiyi wants.

The advance speed of the German army on the entire battlefield began to become smoother from the original extremely slow. Although the Soviet army is still stubbornly and tirelessly resisting, the general direction of the entire battlefield has been determined.

General Shumilov saw this very clearly.

Arm by arm was wiped out, army by unit was wiped out, and positions were ruthlessly destroyed by the enemy.

Ask for reinforcements, ask for ammunition...... Constant requests from front-line troops were sent to General Shumilov, but he could not meet anything.

The entire supply line has been cut off, all the troops that can be deployed to the battlefield have appeared on the front line, and now, General Shumilov has nothing left in his hands.

This is probably the saddest thing for a commander......

He had to thank General Chuikov, who, even in such a difficult situation himself, managed to send him some reinforcements as he could, although it seemed like a drop in the bucket......

Marshal Vasilevsky was also working hard to restore the connection between the two sides of the Volga, but this seemed difficult to achieve under the strong blockade of the German army......

A pistol was placed in General Shumilov's hand, and if the war really reached the point of no return, then General Shumilov was left with the last option.

The pace of the enemy's advance is accelerating. This means that the defeat of the Soviet army is getting closer and closer.

On the night of the 29th, General Shumilov's headquarters was attacked by a detachment of German assault troops, but his guards fought back. Moreover, the German commandos did not know that they had captured the headquarters of one of the enemy's army groups, and after several unsuccessful attacks, the German commandos took the initiative to withdraw from the battlefield.

Although there is no danger, it is also sending a strong signal to the Russians:

There is no safe place in Stalingrad anymore......

After dark, Stalingrad, far from showing any signs of calm, was full of terror. By night, the Germans had become even more rampant. Under the cover of tanks and artillery, they attacked everywhere.

Shumilov's soldiers were still very brave in their steadfastness, but now they had to face one of the most serious problems:

They are running out of ammo!

The lifeline of Stalingrad was firmly in the hands of the Germans. The Soviet soldiers defending the city had to consume a lot of ammunition every minute to stop the German attack.

As long as it is consumed and there is no supply, even the bravest troops will not be able to hold out in such a war.

But for this serious situation. Neither Shumilov nor Chuikov had a good solution......

Combat effectiveness on the night of the 29th. The Mislov Brigade of the 64th Soviet Army was annihilated.

This is the most distressing thing for Shumilov. Few people know that Mislov was Shumilov's most beloved brother. At the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad, Mislov had high expectations from Shumilov, and every time the most brutal battles, the Mislov brigade was always placed in the most difficult positions.

He did his job well......

However, in the last battle, he was not able to avoid the torture of fate.

"He behaved very bravely...... "Chief of Staff Shikov told Shumilov: "The enemy used a large number of tanks and artillery to bombard Mislov's positions. The soldiers put up the most heroic resistance, but at 9 o'clock in the evening. Their flanks were broken by the enemy, after which the enemy completed the encirclement of them. The ammunition of the entire brigade was almost exhausted, and each soldier had an average of only two bullets left, but even in such a situation, the comrades did not give up the battle...... They killed many enemies, but the most ......"

At this point, Hickoff could no longer continue, and his voice became choked......

"They did a great job, they did a great job...... "Shumilov muttered, but no one could tell him that his heart felt like a knife was being wrenched.

"Comrade commander, if there are no further reinforcements, all our positions will be lost in three days." Shikov tried to calm his emotions: "The advance of the German troops has now become very violent, and they have launched massive raids on our positions from several directions. Since our supplies could not be reached to the front in time, there were many cases of fighters fighting the enemy with their bare hands on many positions, which was nothing short of a massacre......"

"No reinforcements, no ......," Shumilov looked so desperate: "I spoke with Marshal Vasilevsky on the phone, and although the marshal did not tell me the truth directly, I could hear from his words the tragedy of the current situation. The marshal has done everything he can, and he is equally powerless......"

Shikfu was silent for a long time: "Then what should we do now?" ”

"Count the loyalty of a Bolshevik." This is Shumilov telling his subordinates: "Turn this place into our grave!" ”

Yes, and here is turning into a grave for Russians......

The Germans had plenty of ammunition, the Germans were well-armed, and the morale of the Germans was high! On the other side of them, the Russians showed the morale they still maintained, but there was nothing left.

They had to risk heavy casualties to retrieve some ammunition from those corpses in front-line positions before returning to the fight...... And every time they do something like this, they always have to make more sacrifices......

The repetition reveals the endless sorrow of the Russians......

On the 30th, several positions of the 64th Army fell into the hands of the Germans. Although the street fighting was becoming more and more brutal, the balance of victory was rapidly tilting in favor of the Germans.

Not only the 64th Army, but also the 62nd Army commanded by Chuikov faced the same situation.

Many Soviet units have been dispersed. They had to fall into a solitary battle with a complete loss of command.

They have no reinforcements, they are enemies on all sides, and all their hopes for life have been completely interrupted.

Some surrendered, but many more died on the battlefield......

The Russians watched all this happen numbly, numbly waiting for the coming of the final judgment.

The battle in the skies, the Soviets were also not very optimistic, and the Luftwaffe was controlling the blue sky. The number of appearances of Soviet aircraft became less and less.

By the 30th, about the order of Moscow, the Soviet Red Army, which was already small, almost disappeared in the air.

This reflects a very terrible thing from the other side:

It is possible for Moscow to abandon Stalingrad!

If you even give up on your own people. So what's the point of the defenders here continuing to fight?

However, this information was strictly concealed from the junior officers and soldiers...... So no matter what happened, what awaited those Soviet officers and soldiers was non-stop fighting......

Blood washed over the land, and the whole of Stalingrad was completely soaked red......

Every Russian who could fight, was thrown to the front...... In fact, now there is no distinction between the front and the rear in Stalingrad......

Painful battles. Painful torment......

Even if it is a person with a tenacious will to fight. Faced with such a desperate situation, they will probably become frightened as well.

There was no order to retreat - no!

When ordinary soldiers saw their commanders, they would always tell them optimistically that a large number of reinforcements were about to arrive at Stalingrad and that the final victory would belong to the Soviets.

And this officer, when he meets a senior officer, the senior officer will tell them the same thing.

But what does the real situation look like?

The Soviet army is about to lose!

The time has come to test such a high-ranking general as Shumilov. Early in the morning of April 30, 1943, Shumilov gave the following order:

All officers and soldiers of the 64 Army. Get out of your trenches and launch the most heroic charge against the German fascists!

It looks very irrational. But in fact, this is Shumilov's last resort!

Strangled with the enemy - especially if you run out of ammunition!

Or is this the only way for the Russians to survive......

"The Russians are desperate!" When he heard the news of what happened on the battlefield, Wang Weiyi quickly made his own judgment: "Their ammunition has run out, they must be subjected to our fierce artillery fire, they are not stupid to charge!" ”

"So what should we do now?" Modell asked.

"All attacking German troops, once they encounter the enemy's charge, defend on the spot!" Wang Weiyi said coldly: "I believe that in the case of a serious shortage of ammunition, such a charge of the Russians can only be suicide!" And it won't last long! ”

When this order was issued, a very peculiar scene appeared on the battlefield......

The Russians, who were originally on the defensive, turned into a charge, and once they charged, the Germans quickly became the defensive.

This largely reduced the pressure on the German army.

Just as Wang Weiyi expected, the Soviet army's way of charging was simply suicide.

They were constantly shot by the Germans, and countless soldiers fell in their own way.

They even lack effective firepower......

The last bullet had also been sent out of the chamber, and Bobosha had simply turned into scrap metal, so a group of Russians with no more bullets became live targets for the Germans to practice shooting!

It was a sad war – at least for the Soviet army.

But you can't ask more of them, they have already interpreted with their lives what loyalty to the country is......

Charge after charge, not a single success, all this no longer matters to Shumilov.

What else can I do? What else can be done?

On the day of the 30th, Shumilov lost the vast majority of his army, and the entire 64 Army had basically lost its combat capability.

That night, Shumilov sent a telegram to Chuikov, in which he said that the 64th Army had done what they could, but for the entire army, the battle had so far been more or less over, and he had completely lost control of the troops. Now, he will only be able to wish Chuikov and his 62nd Army better luck......

After sending this telegram, Shumilov organized one of the last charges of his life:

A charge led by him personally!

Shumilov's body was found only two days later, and no one would have guessed that the owner of the body belonged to a general if it were not for the military uniform on his body indicating his identity.

He lay quietly in a pile of corpses, and from now on, he didn't have to think about how to command the battle, he got the best relief.

And his 64th Army, with the death of Shumilov, fell into a situation of complete collapse.

They showed great bravery in battle, which even the Germans had to admit.

But in the end, they still failed, but to be honest, the responsibility for the failure cannot be shifted to these fearless soldiers.

Even if they die, they are worthy of their country! (To be continued......)