The decisive battle against the Third Reich

"Attack it and save it?" Colonel Slain said, "Are you talking about the Central Ferry?"

Everyone knows that the intermediate ferry at this time is the focus of Stalingrad, because almost all equipment, supplies and even troops of the Soviet army are transported into Stalingrad through this ferry.

(Note: Equipment and supplies need to be unloaded in large quantities at ferry facilities. It is more flexible for troops to cross the river and can be transported at temporary ports)

After a pause, Colonel Slain said: "But that is the focus of the Soviets' defense. Their remaining fifty tanks are deployed there. If we can hit the central ferry, we will almost wipe out the Soviets." "

This is one of the reasons why the German army has not attacked the ferry... The Soviet army can almost be said to be defending around the central ferry. As Colonel Sline said, occupying the central ferry is no lower than directly occupying Stalingrad.

"No, not Central Ferry!" Qin Chuan replied.

"Then..." Colonel Slaine spread his hands and said, "I can't think of any other place they must rescue!"

Qin Chuan pointed to a point on the map and said: "Mamayev Hill!"

"Mamayev Hill?" Colonel Slain was a little confused: "Why is it?"

"Although it is only 102 meters above sea level!" Qinchuan said: "But it is the only commanding height in Stalingrad. More importantly... it is only six kilometers away from the central ferry. Artillery observers can directly observe the central ferry here!"

Colonel Laing couldn't help but exclaimed: "That means we can use artillery fire to block the central ferry!"

"Yes!" Qin Chuan nodded.

"But Mamayev Heights is located on the banks of the Volga River!" Colonel Slain said, "It's not easy to hit it!"

"Look at this!" Qin Chuan pointed at the map and said, "This is the train station, then the Sixth School, then the airport, and about two hundred meters further you'll reach Mamayev Heights!"

Colonel Slaine couldn't help but nodded after hearing this.

This is what he thought of. Railway stations, schools, and airports are all places with single buildings, large open spaces, and wide views. It is conceivable that there will not be too many ruins in these locations suitable for the German armored forces to fight. On the contrary, the Soviet army It is impossible to carry out "close combat" on such terrain with a wide field of vision.

As a result, unconventional warfare will transform into conventional warfare.

And because Mamayev Hill must be saved by the Soviet army...if not rescued, the German army can direct artillery here to bomb and block the central ferry, so the Soviet army must take the initiative to attack Mamayev Hill.

Of course Colonel Slain had no problem with Qinchuan's plan. He immediately reported the plan to Major General Strike, who in turn reported it to Major General Wittelsheim.

"But our artillery offensive is almost ready!" Major General Wittelsheim said.

Due to the increased manpower to speed up the assembly process, the "Dora" cannon will be assembled and put into use in another week, and the "Karl" is also ready.

"General!" Major General Strike said: "This does not conflict with our artillery offensive, and can even make it more powerful. What I mean is that if they occupy Mamayev Hill and guide the artillery... "

There was no need to say anything else, Major General Wittelsheim quickly nodded in agreement.

Of course, these are actually not the decisions of Major General Wittelsheim, and they still have to report to Paulus.

As everyone imagined, Paulus had no objection.

So that evening, the 21st Armored Division withdrew from Stalingrad, and the 60th Motorized Infantry Division came up to take over the defense.

Then when changing defense, Qin Chuan said the same words to Major Stagg as last time, and finally wished Major Stagg good luck.

For a long time, Qin Chuan wanted to laugh whenever he thought of the hopeless and bitter look on Major Stagg's face.

However, Major Tagg has nothing to complain about in its implementation. If he knew that the 1st Infantry Regiment was transferred back to the second line not to rest but to have more important and dangerous tasks, he should have a balance in his heart.

The 21st Armored Division was arranged to rest in a camp on the western outskirts of Stalingrad.

Almost everyone fell down on the ground and slept like dead people as soon as they arrived at the camp... They had not been able to sleep peacefully for too long, although the western suburbs cannot be said to be very safe. Occasionally, a few artillery shells still hit near the camp, but this is much better than the situation in Stalingrad where even the snoring of the enemy can be heard.

Qinchuan was not as lucky as them. He still had to work out an attack plan for the next day with General Strike and others.

"This area is not a key defense direction for the Soviets!" This plan is in charge of General Strike, so he has already sent people to reconnoiter this area:

"According to the intelligence we have detected, they only have one regiment defending this area!"

This is not surprising because this area is a middle ground.

The so-called middle zone refers to the area between the industrial area in the north of Stalingrad and the main urban area in the south.

Compared with other places, the terrain of this area is more complicated. It is a Mamayev Mountain with an altitude of 102 meters. To the north is the deep Banne Canyon, and to the south are the Krutoy and Dorji ravines.

(Note: Gully refers to when there is heavy rain, the water in the low areas of the highlands is large and has greater energy. Over time, gullies are formed that are several meters, tens of meters, or even hundreds of meters deep.)

As mentioned before, the Soviet Union was a planned economy, and its industry and architecture were always better and more regularly planned, so the buildings in Stalingrad deliberately avoided this middle area.

The result was that there were fewer buildings in this area, mostly bungalows or barns.

The Soviet army relied on buildings to fight the German army, so there was only one regiment stationed here.

Obviously, the Soviets at this time did not realize the importance of this area.

"After taking the railway station, school and airport, we must defend them!" Qin Chuan pointed to the map and said, "Because they are our logistics supply lines, otherwise we will be surrounded by the Soviets when we attack Mamayev Kurgan!"

"Of course!" General Strike nodded and said, "The 2nd Infantry Regiment is responsible for guarding the railway station, school and protecting logistics transportation, and the 3rd Armored Regiment is responsible for the airport!"

General Strike's allocation makes sense, because the railway station and school have more buildings, which need infantry garrison, and the airport is more open and suitable for armored units to fight. At the same time, the 3rd Armored Regiment also needs to provide firepower for the 1st Infantry Regiment to attack Mamayev Kurgan!

Qin Chuan had no doubts about this. He only added: "General, I hope we can occupy these buildings like the Soviets did. What I mean is... in addition to the buildings, there are also tunnels!"