In this way, the tanks of Wren and others rushed through the camp of an infantry battalion of the Soviet Union, killing 50 Soviet soldiers almost as they passed, and five Tiger tanks drove across the road, leaving a mess on the ground.

Soon after, they were only 15 kilometers away from their goal, and they did not encounter anything else along the way, in a small village where Soviet anti-aircraft artillery units were supposed to be stationed, at about 2 o'clock in the morning, Wren and others met the German special forces who had seized the place and cooperated with the paratroopers to form a temporary ring defensive position.

"It's a pleasure to see you, not far ahead of you is the bridge you have to defend, you see, you have come at a good time. A German paratrooper officer received Wren and the others, and then they were arranged to rest in the house, after all, they did not have much energy to devote to the battle now, and everyone had to rest for more than two hours to recover some strength.

The rumbling sound of cannon in the distance made people's chests feel dull, Wren and the others leaned against the corner of the messy room, leaning on some blankets to keep out the cold and quickly fall asleep, being able to fall asleep in a noisy environment is also a skill, a very useful practical skill on the battlefield.

......

While Wren and the others were resting in the small village, there was a man who had not closed his eyes since the German attack began. This man was Rokossovsky, the commander-in-chief of the USSR on the Southern Front, a general who had always been convinced that the Germans were playing tricks.

Now it turned out that he was right, but his troops proved to be defenseless in the face of the Germans' multi-faceted attacks. All his efforts seemed to be in vain, and the frontal Soviet army had managed to accumulate 150,000 front-line troops, which might become the record of the German army again.

Radio communications have now been restored, and many Soviet troops have stopped suspicion and attacks after receiving orders. However, the general offensive of the German army had already begun, and the front of the 166th Division had been broken through by the Germans, while the 160th Division, which had suffered heavy losses in the infighting, had been divided and surrounded and annihilated on the positions it was stationing.

The entire front-line positions completely collapsed, some bridges were destroyed by German special forces, and the rest were either blown up by the Soviets themselves in a panic or had already fallen into the hands of the Germans. The entire route of the retreat of the troops was full of German traps, and it was impossible to retreat in such a state.

Road signs have been altered, almost all of the directions are incorrect, most of the roads are buried with mines, and in some places a few burned wreckage trucks are simply piled up as roadblocks, and they will escape along these roads, or they will be caught up by German tanks in a few hours, and then easily annihilated.

And the strongest and widest railway bridge in the entire rear, as the last straw for the Soviet army, as early as yesterday afternoon, Rokossovsky sent his most elite troops to repeatedly fight with the German paratroopers. Although the other side suffered huge losses, the bridge was still under the control of the Germans, and his troops could not even touch the steel at the bridgehead.

This is the second time that Rokossovsky has encountered German paratroopers head-on, the last time he turned around and retreated in an extremely disgraceful way, leaving the German paratroopers to scare off the Soviet Guards, this time he did not flinch, and had a real battle with the most elite airborne troops of the German army.

It turned out that the last time he left the German paratroopers behind, he fled without regard for face was really a wise move. If he hadn't walked so crisply last time, it would probably have been planted on these seemingly weak German paratrooper lines. Now he attacked with all his might, and the result was really the most stubborn resistance he could think of.

Who would have thought that there really was a force in this world that could fight the enemy's tanks with flesh and blood, and who would have thought that those dirty airborne troops with similar equipment to light infantry could fight battles that would make armored commanders all over the world sink again and again?

"Damn, Marshal Tukhachevsky advocated the creation of paratroopers in 1932, which idiot caught such a person and shot him. Looking at the black circle on the map, which represented the defensive nodes of the German paratroopers, Rokossovsky cursed unconsciously.

After venting his emotions, he also knew that he couldn't take the one who killed Tukhachevsky, and he didn't really want to summon the spirit of the undead who had been dead for years. So Rokossovsky had no choice but to rub his dry eyes with his hands and call his adjutant: "What are the chances of recapturing that railway bridge at night?"

"Comrade General, I have been watching the progress of our two infantry divisions and two armored divisions outside, and the Germans are still in control of the bridge, and I will inform you as soon as there is any breakthrough. The adjutant whispered to the commander, who hadn't slept for a long time.

At this time, an officer walked in, stood in front of Rokossovsky and hesitated, not speaking immediately. Obviously, he brought some important information, but he didn't know whether to say it at this time.

"What's going on? I've gotten more bad news in the last 24 hours than I've had in the previous 24 years, and there's nothing to be afraid of. Rokossovsky, after laughing at himself, motioned for something to be explained quickly.

"Just now, Comrade General, the commander of an infantry battalion called by civilian telephone to report that some German armored units had appeared in the village of Kovac...... That is, on the road near the village codenamed Y17 on the map, his camp was attacked. Eventually, the officer spoke up about what he had just gotten.

"The Germans are in ...... "After searching for about a few seconds on the map, Rokossovsky found the small, usually little-known village, but it was already geographically located deep in the Soviets, very close to the railway bridge he was fighting for.

"They are sending reinforcements there...... They are strengthening the defenses there, and in the early hours of the morning our tanks ...... Not sure, not sure. Rokossovsky muttered in annoyance. His plan to attack and retake the bridge seemed to have failed, and the Germans now showed that they had established themselves there.

He was a little dizzy, and staggered to hold on to the table beside him. In fact, the efforts to save 150,000 Soviet troops on the front line can only be regarded as a remedy, and as for how much success can be achieved, even Rokossovsky himself has little hope. But once things are confirmed, once any hope is dashed over time, it can still feel devastated by the moment.

"The early morning armored attack is destined to have no effect, and the recapture of the railway bridge will only have to be done at night! We only have two hours left! We must be fast!" Gritting his teeth, Rokossovsky gave the order to continue the offensive, he wanted to fight for the last shred of life for the troops on the front line, so these things had to be done.

Then he canceled another attack plan that had been prepared for a long time: "Cancel the tank attack launched in the early morning, and the German armored units will definitely arrive there before the early morning to build fortifications...... Tear through the German paratrooper line reinforced by tanks, if we had this ability, we would not have been able to take that bridge until now. ”

He walked back to the map, stared at the bridge, and finally made a great decision: "Go and tell the artillery commander to come to my office for a meeting! ”

"Yes, Comrade General!" the adjutant saluted, and turned to leave the office with the officer who had come to report the news, leaving Rokossovsky alone with his hands behind his back and staring intently at the bridge.

Since the 150,000 troops on the front line could not be saved, they could only destroy the railway bridge as soon as possible, interfere with the eastward advance of the German armored forces, and buy time for the Soviet army to set up defenses on the periphery of Stalingrad. This is what Rokossovsky intended, or the worst he now had to consider.

After all, being able to prevent the German army from using this railway bridge is undoubtedly the best solution that the Soviet Union can choose in the event of a last resort. As the commander of the entire front, he Rokossovsky had to prepare the means of response in advance. He was not worried about the defense of Stalingrad, because the Soviet Union had been reinforcing the outer defense line of Stalingrad for the last ten days, and he was confident that he would hold on to the city and leave the Germans with an unforgettable siege of the city.

Thinking of this, Rokossovsky remembered what the man with the scar on his face had said to him a day earlier: "The Germans have some very dangerous troops, these troops are very powerful, if you find out their offensive intentions, you must let me stop them as soon as possible, otherwise you will lose everything." ”

The indifference and arrogance of the man when he spoke was really unbearable. However, Rokossovsky had not yet figured out what the real intentions of the Germans were at that time, so he did not pay attention to the man's words. Now that I think about it, what the scar-faced man said was indeed right.

"Someone! Go and call the captain of the tank detachment named Wolf! I'm going to talk to him. Thinking of this, Rokossovsky decided to put down his face and let the man, who looked very reliable, fight for a glimmer of life for his besieged troops. Whether it succeeds in the end or not, you have to give it a try, don't you?