Iron Cross

Beginning in 1926, the famous Russian writer Mikhail Alexanderovich Sholokhov spent 14 years writing "The Quiet Don", which depicts the love and hatred of the Cossacks in the 1920s. Twenty years later, the famous meander of the Don River ushered in its second bloody battle in 1942.

During the German offensive three months ago, Army Group "B" caught the tail of the Red Army at the great bend of the Don River, wiped out 12 Soviet divisions in one breath, and drove the Red Army far across the Don River to the Volga. River, and threatened Stalingrad; a month and a half ago, the continuously advancing German army suddenly retreated without any obvious signs. They used successive coverings as a means to get rid of the Red Army in front of them, and retreated across the Don River again, leaving only The Red Army and military observers from various countries were stunned.

At first, everyone in the Red Army thought that the Germans were playing a hard-to-get game, and no one dared to move forward for fear of becoming the next target of being beaten. However, a month and a half later, there was still no movement in the expected continuation of the offensive. On the contrary, The German army began to build a tight defense line along the Don River. As time went by, when the German defense line was basically completed, the drums of Operation Uranus also began to beat in full swing.

The heavily-armed group composed of the Don, Southwest, and Stalingrad fronts advanced slowly toward the Don River, preparing to attack across this river that left a deep memory for the Red Army.

"Comrade Commander, the commander of the group army issued an order asking us to start a trial crossing of the river in the afternoon in accordance with the request of the head of the front army to verify the strength of the German army on the opposite side. The group army will provide us with fire support." Maslov, political commissar of the 27th Army of the Red Army said.

"Crossing the river?" Army Commander Karpov looked depressed. "There is not even a bridge across the river from the front. Is it possible to swim directly across the 400-meter-wide Don River on such a cold day..."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"wait!"

"What? What is your attitude?"

"Don't you know that the Don River will start to freeze in three weeks? If it takes a month, the ice will even be thick enough that even tanks can drive directly over it."

"But this is impossible..." Maslov sighed, "Your views are still typical of military correctness and political zero points. Do you know that Deputy Commander Zhukov has already talked to Comrade Stalin about the delay of this offensive? He has been forced to do so three times, and the last time he guaranteed it with his head and party spirit, how can you let him delay any longer? Do you want his head? "

"But why do I think this is the right approach? You see, the aviation force allocated to us is not in place, the number of artillery is not enough, and even the ammunition is only 3 base... Comrade Maslov, we are attacking, we are attacking Attacking the fascist German army, which is known as the world's largest army... is not an armed march, how can I not be cautious? "

"No matter what you think, the erection of the pontoon bridge must begin this afternoon. The commander of the group army has agreed to lend us the engineer brigade directly under the group army, and has also prepared 200 large-caliber artillery support. He hopes to erect at least one pontoon bridge before sunset. ”

"Will the Germans let us build a pontoon bridge in such a big way?"

"How do you know you can't do it if you don't try?" Maslov glared at the other party and said angrily, "Comrade Commander, this is not a discussion with you, this is an order from your superiors, do you understand?"

Surprisingly, the erection of the pontoon bridge went smoothly. Except for 3-4 German aircraft dropping bombs and strafing during the process, the German army did not launch a large-scale attack in this direction. Even large-caliber artillery shells fell very few. With the concerted help of ground anti-aircraft guns and engineers, the first pontoon bridge was established by 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

"The pontoon bridge has been erected..." Maslov happily pointed to another construction site not far away and said to Karpov, "It's still early and the engineers are very energetic. They want to grab the second one before sunset. A floating bridge was also erected.”

"But why didn't the Germans attack?"

"Comrade Commander, whose position are you on? Do you really expect the Germans to attack us?"

"Of course not..." Karpov sighed, "I just find it strange. Why would the Germans give up such a good offensive opportunity so easily?"

"The comrades of the reconnaissance company are back, let's listen to their opinions." Maslov said, "It's better than making wild guesses like you and me."

"Where is the movement of the German troops on the other side?"

"There was no movement. Our reconnaissance company advanced 20 kilometers, and we didn't see even half a German ghost. Even the long-range artillery fire was half-hearted... At first, we could still see a few planes in the distance. Later, we The fighter jets came, but the two sides struggled for a while and then flew away, never to come again. "The commander of the reconnaissance company was one of the few veterans in the army. He had already served in the reconnaissance company during the Soviet-Finnish War. He took out his weapon. A simple map depicting several key hills and highlands, "There are almost no people on the other side of the Don River. There are Cossacks who are also ill-intentioned towards us. There is a Cossack in our company, but he is not a Don Cossack. He is For the sake of the Kuban Cossacks, we found the guide and asked about the situation. He said that the Germans retreated three days ago, and it is said that they were heading northwest..."

"Indeed, we also had a few planes here, but they flew away without causing any impact." Karpov nodded thoughtfully, "This statement is consistent with the results of the front army's aerial reconnaissance."

"Strange, why did the Germans go northwest?" Maslov looked at the map, "There are no dangerous places in the northwest."

"They should be attacking friendly forces in the direction of Voronezh and Bryansk." Karpov gestured on the map. "If we go according to this reconnaissance result, the enemy's defense line has been reduced in depth by at least 20 kilometers, and it is far from Stalingrad. The distance is also 20 kilometers away.”

"There must be more, otherwise they wouldn't have retreated without seeing the Germans." Maslov asked, "The Germans wouldn't have run back to the Donets River, right?"

"It makes no sense. If the Don River is left undefended, the Germans have lost their minds?" Karpov asked in disbelief.

"Who says it's not the case? They ignored the advantageous situation of attacking two months ago and suddenly fled back. Do you know that when the Germans crossed the meander of the Great River and threatened the outskirts of Stalingrad, even the top was shaken? , thinking that Stalingrad could not be saved, but the stupid enemy actually gave up the great opportunity, stopped and even retreated, giving us a precious chance to breathe. The residents and factories of Stalingrad also seized the opportunity to pay tribute to the enemy. Part of the rear was evacuated.”

While he was talking, the chief of staff came over: "I received the latest telegram from the army headquarters, which stated the whereabouts of the Germans - they are attacking the Bryansk and Voronezh fronts. They have concentrated more than 1,000 tanks. The offensive is said to be very large. Violent, I don’t think they expected us to attack from here on the Don River.”

"Comrade Maslov, do you believe that is the main force of the Germans?"

"It's hard to say, but it doesn't look like the news on the telegram is false, but we have to cross the river anyway." Maslov pointed to the pontoon bridge and said, "You see, even the second bridge has been erected. If we don't There is no way to explain to the commander when crossing the river, and our army is the vanguard of the entire army. How can we know where the main force of the Germans is if we don’t try?”

"Okay." Karpov was convinced. In fact, he also knew that it could not be delayed indefinitely. "The entire army crossed the river in batches. Pay attention to concealment and move quickly to prevent the enemy from making a sudden attack."

Perhaps because there was no interference, the engineers moved unexpectedly quickly. A total of three pontoon bridges were erected one after another just before dark. Each bridge was about less than 2 kilometers apart. Looking from the air, the three winding bridges were Thousands of Red Army soldiers lined up to cross the river. One of the pontoon bridges was specially widened and reinforced because tanks, trucks and heavy artillery must pass on it.

After dark, the air raid factor basically disappeared, and the heavily equipped troops began to cross the river. After the first T-34 passed, the lanterns on the other side waved three times in total, indicating that each part of the pontoon bridge was strong enough to support heavy equipment crossing the river. Then 5 T-34s lined up to cross the river in sequence, which was also very smooth, indicating that the pontoon bridge could withstand multiple tanks crossing the river at the same time. However, the entire army only had these 5 tanks in total. Behind them were the army artillerymen crossing the river, and they were pulled by trucks and carriages. Howitzers and ammunition trucks of various calibers slowly passed by. It was not until the first battalion arrived safely on the other side that the two army leaders felt relieved.

Karpov, who successfully crossed the river, was still very cautious. After crossing the river, he did not rush to advance but asked his men to occupy a stable bridgehead first to prevent the German army from making a surprise attack. He instinctively believed that there was a trap here, but he could not see it for the time being.

Artillery, infantry, baggage troops, and logistics agencies all began to cross the river in an orderly manner. Apart from the sound of running water, only political commissars at all levels lowered their voices to encourage them - "Follow," "Follow." superior".

This calmness was broken until the sound of the ship's engine came from upstream. Karpov was startled when he caught a glimpse of the ship coming down from the upstream. He was about to warn the people below, but before he could give the order, all the soldiers cheered. "Ula..." Those coming are friendly forces from the Volga River Fleet. The Don River is connected to the Volga River behind it through its tributaries, so the inland river fleet can provide support more conveniently, although it is only two ships of less than 100 tons. It was a small gunboat, but it still gave the Red Army soldiers a great morale boost, and they crossed the river faster.