Six hours later, the command post of the 168th Division was busy with tension.

Lieutenant General Merr frowned and looked at the battle map in front of him, thinking seriously.

His task was to make a feint attack on the Mamayev Gang from the west, forcing the southern defensive line of the Soviet army to loosen under pressure, and also creating favorable conditions for Xia Ming to tear apart the opponent's defensive line.

After Xia Ming tore through the defensive line, he concentrated his firepower to advance and divide and destroy the Soviet troops here, and encircled Mamayev Gang together.

This was the battle plan that General Paulus had drawn up for him.

In fact, Mer is a little unhappy, which indirectly shows that General Paulus thinks that Xia Ming's combat power of the integrated 27th Division is higher than that of his 168th Division.

So I can only give him a hand and cooperate with the battle.

This made Mer, who had always thought highly of himself, very uncomfortable.

You must know that his 168th Division has always been an ace unit. Although he had been serving as an escort when he entered Stalingrad, he was the first division to lead the troops to successfully cross the Don River.

He was also the one who caused the 62nd Army to lose its armor.

Although he lacked a certain amount of experience in urban warfare, he did not think that his division was weaker than a newly formed miscellaneous division, both in terms of equipment morale and execution.

But when the real fight began, he realized that the current Soviet army was no longer the opponent defeated in Karachi a few months ago. They still had a way out at that time, and field combat was originally the strong point of the German army.

The current Soviet army is simply like crazy. They have no way back now, and to defend the city is to defend their mother. All of them are not afraid of death, and if they want to step through their defenses, they must step on the corpses of everyone, and even if there is only one left, they will fight stubbornly.

This kind of confrontation of intensity made Mer, who had been a little absent from the battle formation for a long time, very unaccustomed.

Originally, he planned to turn his feint attack into the initiative and fight with Xia Ming for speed, but the first line of defense made him suffer. You have to know that the defensive intensity of the west side is not very high, but even then he feels a lot of pressure.

He felt that it would take at least a few days for him to push this line through. If it is not taken at all costs, the casualties will be enormous. The city has long been unrecognizable, full of ditches and minefields, and the difficult terrain will definitely make him vomit blood.

Street fighting of this intensity is really terrifying.

He really admires Xia Ming now, this guy actually fought on such a battlefield for a few months, and he became a hero and got the first Army Diamond Iron Cross. How strong is the will and ability to fight to do this? No wonder even Lieutenant General Hu Bei, who had his nose facing the sky, didn't care about Xia Ming's confrontation, but still admired him so much.

Thinking of this, Mer was a little discouraged, and he felt that he seemed to be a little struggling with the task of feints now. How can you make their defense chaotic if it doesn't hurt them?

You must know that General Paulus only gave them two days, and now he felt how difficult the order was.

If you can't complete the task, how can you have the face to go back and face the chief?

"MD, can't hesitate any longer. Lao Tzu fought hard, and an all-out attack must be launched. Mer gritted his teeth and drew a circle on the map, ready to ask the staff officer to give him a new order.

"General, the separate assault regiment has broken through the blockade. But because the enemy troops on the opposite side suddenly withdrew to the west, I don't know if they wanted to lure us. Ralph, the head of the regiment, urgently calls for instructions. Just as Merr was making up his mind to prepare for a decisive battle, the staff officer hurried in.

"What? They retreated?? "Mer was a little caught off guard by the sudden good news, could it be that these Russians knew that they were going to run away first? ?

Of course it can't be..

Mer quickly dismissed this unrealistic fantasy and pondered the reason.

It's not impossible for a tactical retreat to lure them deeper, but if so, it means they still have strategic depth to navigate. You must know that if you take the initiative to give up the fortifications that have been built with great difficulty, if you don't have enough strategic space and troops to encircle them, wouldn't it be worth the loss? Besides, now they have a way out? Behind is the Mamayev Gang, and there are Xia Ming's troops attacking in the south.

Could it be that Xia Ming was killed??

It can't be, it can't be...

Mer shook his head.

Could it be...? Merr suddenly thought of a possibility, but he was even more reluctant to believe it.

"Report, a secret telegram from General Paulus."

Just then, a herald walked in quickly.

"Read.." Merr stood very solemnly and pricked up his ears. What orders will General Paulus give him at this time? It can't be a retreat, right?

"Division Commander Xia Ming has led the 27th Division to break through most of the southern defense line and is moving closer to your department. I order you to immediately mobilize the whole division and cooperate with Xia Ming to flank the remaining enemy forces, and make sure to form an encirclement of Mamayev before two o'clock in the afternoon.

After the meeting, the 168th Division was temporarily under the unified command of Xia Ming, and you served as the deputy. I hope that you will learn more from Xia Ming in future battles and work together to occupy the city. ”

".....," Merr sighed softly as he listened to General Paulus's order in silence. He didn't want to believe it, but it was only logical that there was such a possibility.

It turned out that it was really because Xia Ming broke through the defense line that caused the west to retreat in a hurry, because if he didn't retreat back, he would be attacked from both sides.

It's really ironic to think about it, it was originally him who made a feint, but now it has become a favor for him. If he saw Xia Ming, he really didn't know where to put his face.

Thinking of this, Merr quickly ordered to the staff officer: "Tell Ralph to attack the retreating enemy troops as quickly as possible, and cut off their rear roads as much as possible." The whole army charged forward with me, telling him that I would rush to support at once. ”

Mer quickly put on his hat and hurried out.

It's already slow, and if you grind and chirp again, it's really shameless. He, the division commander, can't stand still now, and must lead the troops to move forward at full speed.

"Yes!" The staff officer was also terrified, but he didn't expect this to be the case. I've long heard that General Xia Ming is very capable of fighting, but this is too capable of fighting, right? How is this done??

At this time, in the west, Xia Ming was leading the assault battalion to advance frantically. The enemy is very good at fighting, so he must be better than them.

The Star Iron Cross strengthened the assault battalion, and here he selected veterans. They were like a sharp knife that divided the enemy's positions several times. The effect is even better than Xia Ming imagined.

Especially after entering the battlefield, Xia Ming, the division commander, took the lead on the battlefield and quickly spread out. Every force attacked like crazy, and even the defenders on the opposite side were shocked by the momentum.

The most powerful thing is the reference materials that Xia Ming prepared for them in advance, and there are eight CDs that are used on the blade. For a moment, the seemingly sharp defense line on the opposite side collapsed. Taking care of one or the other, it quickly became a mess.

One shot killed the enemy troops in ambush in the wreckage of a plane in front of him, and Xia Ming made a gesture to the trumpeter next to him.

The familiar sound of the charge horn made everyone move forward as quickly as if they had been beaten with chicken blood.

"MD, it's amazing, I admire myself a little." Muller followed Xia Ming all the way over, and he was also overwhelmed. He felt that he was in surprisingly good shape today, not only with quick reflexes and strong shooting skills, but also with a much clearer mind.

In short, fighting with Xia Ming is enjoyable.

"Did our battalion suffer big losses??" Xia Ming was very concerned about the issue of battle damage, and asked unconsciously.

"Well, there are no statistics yet, but I don't think there will be more than 50 casualties." Mueller replied with a serious glance.

"Hmm..."Xia Ming led the battalion headquarters to stop.

The Soviet defense line had completely collapsed, and his task could be considered complete. This kind of loss is not small, and it is estimated that other troops will lose even more. Although the defenders were disrupted, the belief in defending to the death was still there, and it was still quite tenacious. If the ordinary troops encountered a tiger and wolf army with explosive morale like him, they would definitely collapse at the first touch.

Looking up at Gao Gang in the distance, Xia Ming took a deep breath.

I'm afraid they don't have much time to rest, and there are more intense battles waiting for him.