The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Chuikov used close-quarters tactics at Stalingrad in order to keep the two armies locked together so that German air power and tanks could not function.

If the German army wants to win, they should try to avoid this situation.

Qinchuan did the opposite and used close-fitting tactics at Mamayev Heights.

But this actually makes sense, because different battlefields have different situations.

Mamayev Heights was almost inevitably exposed to Soviet artillery fire, and the Soviet artillery fire even had an advantage. There was only one way to defend Mamayev Heights, and that was to work together with the enemy. The Soviet artillery's rat-throwing device failed to work.

Qin Chuan's tactics are actually very simple. He follows two principles:

First, do not place troops on Mamayev Hill, otherwise these troops will be heavily killed by enemy artillery fire. Of course, we cannot stop sending troops completely, otherwise we will not know when the Soviet army will attack.

Qinchuan set up a reconnaissance squad on Mamayev Hill. This squad was dispersed and built a deep individual fortification... The artillery has a certain probability of killing, and the probability of killing a thousand people is 100. Fifty percent, the probability of killing ten people is almost the same number.

Although the two suffered more than half casualties, there was an essential difference... The former's five hundred people would seriously affect combat effectiveness and morale, while the latter's loss of five people was basically negligible.

The survivors of this reconnaissance squad can inform the location of the German enemies lurking under Mamayev Hill through signal flags or telephones (if the telephone lines are not blown down).

The German army then responded accordingly.

This reaction is of course not to launch a charge, because this is usually when the Soviet artillery fire is extended. The Soviet army launches a charge following these artillery fires. German soldiers will inevitably be killed by artillery fire if they rush forward.

The German army responded in the same way as the Soviet army, using artillery fire to fire a large number of shells to block the charging Soviet army.

Of course, this only killed some Soviet troops, and the surviving Soviet troops would eventually rush to Mamayev Hill despite artillery fire.

At this time, the German army launched a counterattack under the cover of artillery fire and entangled the Soviet army...

Just like now, as soon as the artillery fire from the direction of the Soviet army stopped, the German troops jumped up from their hiding places and rushed up the hill with shouts.

As soon as the Soviet army occupied Mamayev Hill with its front foot, the German army rushed forward with its rear foot.

The distance between the enemy and ourselves was so close that the Soviet army could not use artillery fire to implement a blockade, so it quickly turned into a close fight.

The Germans did not suffer in close combat, because the Germans had MP43s in their hands, especially since the Soviet charge had been broken up by artillery fire. They rushed up the hill in small groups, but the Germans rushed up in groups, so a The charge severely beat down the Soviet army.

After the Soviet army was knocked down from Mamayev Hill, the German army repeated its old tricks and retreated from the hill again.

"Comrade Rodimtsev!" Glinka, commander of the 39th Regiment of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, reported to Rodimtsev: "We have occupied Mamayev Hill several times, but the Germans have We were beaten back by the enemy's counterattack. The enemy's counterattack was very fierce. They were all equipped with submachine guns. Our firepower was completely suppressed by the opponent! "

This seemingly normal report by Glinka actually contains two errors:

One is that the German army is not counterattacking, but is garrisoning in a situation that looks like a counteroffensive.

The other one is that the German army has an assault rifle instead of a submachine gun.

The second error doesn't matter yet, since it's just a matter of name. The first mistake made Rodimtsev think that the Soviet army was on the verge of capturing Mamayev Hill. As long as they worked harder or invested more troops, they could capture Mamayev Hill.

What's worse is... Rodimtsev took it for granted that in this kind of artillery battle and close combat, the number of casualties suffered by the Soviet army would also be the same as the number of German casualties.

This judgment may be true in other battlefields, but it is not the case in Mamayev Hills.

So Rodimtsev didn't think much and immediately ordered: "Comrade Glinka, attack at all costs. The enemy also has the same difficulties as us. You must persist. Soon the fascists will collapse in front of our offensive. Understand?"

"Yes, Comrade Rodimtsev!"

In accordance with Rodimtsev's order, Glinka continued to attack Mamayev Heights. When it got dark in the evening, a regiment of more than 2,000 people had almost finished fighting. Colonel Glinka was killed on the spot, and Rodimtsev The husband felt something was wrong and finally stopped this unnecessary attack.

After political commissar Kokov got in touch with Stalingrad, he reported to Rodimtsev: "Comrade Rodimtsev, our people saw that the Germans did not actually occupy Mamayev Hill. Charge back and forth to the high ground like us!"

Hearing this, the muscles on the left side of Rodimtsev's face couldn't help but twitch... The left side of his face was injured when he participated in the Spanish Civil War. A piece of shrapnel penetrated the cheek and got stuck in the jaw. Although the shrapnel was successfully removed, it caused The mouth is tilted to the left, and the muscles on the left side of the face can't help but twitch when nervous or angry.

At this time, he realized that he had been fooled. The Germans were not fighting a war of attrition with themselves, and their casualties would probably be much less than the Soviet army.

Rodimtsev's guess was correct. With the advantage of the MP43 and the coordination of mortars, long-range artillery and even tanks, the Germans suffered only more than 200 casualties on this day, with a casualty ratio of 10 to 1.

But even so, Qin Chuan still felt heartache, because the 1st Infantry Regiment was the elite of the German army, and the casualties of more than 200 people were not small.

But Qin Chuan had no choice.

Because only in this way can the Soviet army's central ferry be effectively blocked and the Soviet army's strength... It is conceivable that if the Soviet army cannot untie this knot, the Soviet army's effective strength in Stalingrad will soon be exhausted. Before long, Stalingrad will become an undefended empty city.

Rodimtsev on the other side knew this too.

But he obviously would not let the war situation continue to develop like this.

After thinking about it, Rodimtsev asked Kokov: "How many troops do we have in our 'punishment battalion'?"

"More than five hundred people!" Kokrov replied.

"I need a thousand people!" Rodimtsev said: "Ask for more from the NKVD troops. If it's not enough, let them grab some more!"

"Yes, Comrade Rodimov!"

After a pause, Rodimtsev added: "Move them all here immediately and prepare for battle!"

"Yes, Comrade Rodimtsev!" Kokov seemed to have guessed what Rodimtsev was going to do, so he couldn't help but gasp when he turned around.