Chapter 599: Tsaritsa River
It is located on the banks of the Tsaritsa River in the southernmost part of Stalingrad.
The banks of the Tsaritsa River, which separates Stalin's southern area of effect from the city center, pass through a deep gorge, along which the railway lines from the Voroponovo and Sadovaya stations run eastward and then turn around. Going north, through the southern part of Stalingrad via station No. 2 to station No. 1, the most important strategic location in the center of Stalingrad.
(Note: There are a large number of warehouses storing supplies at Station 1, and the port is close to Station 1. It can be said that as long as Station 1 is captured, the southern residential area of Stalingrad will exist in name only)
Although the Tsaritsa River provided a defensive barrier to the south of Stalingrad...the defense of the Soviet army in the south was along the Tsaritsa River. As the temperature rose and the river melted, it was very difficult for the German mechanized troops to cross the river to attack.
So the Germans changed their direction, and they attacked along the Tsaritsa River.
In this way, the German army has an absolute advantage.
The reason is that the German army has an advantage in flanking the Soviet army at any time... They deployed artillery on the other side of the Tsaritsa River to cover the German coastal offensive forces, and occasionally even sent landing ships to harass the Soviet army to distract them.
This made the Soviet army deployed along the Tsaritsa River very passive, and was once beaten into Station 2 by the German army. If Golikov hadn't organized several counterattacks, the German army would have completely occupied Station 2 and stood firm. Heel up.
The location of Station No. 2 is equally important to Stalingrad, because it is the fulcrum in the south of Stalingrad. Its loss means that the German army has fought along the Tsaritsa River to the Volga River, and then can follow the railway line And the Volga River is approaching Station No. 1, and by the way, the residential area in the south of Stalingrad will be surrounded tightly.
So when Shulka reported to Golikov that he was going to transfer the students of the sniper school and the mortar school to fight on the Tsaritsa River, Golikov agreed without thinking.
"No problem, Comrade Shulka!" Golikov said: "It is in trouble there and needs reinforcements, but I think you should worry, the Germans are aggressively attacking that area!"
"I will be careful, Comrade Golikov!" Shulka said.
Then, that night, Shulka and Vasily drove to the No. 2 station with the troops.
This took two hours, as the cadets had to move forward on foot...all means of transport were put into the port for supplies, including horse carts and carts.
Stationed here is the 10th Division of NKVD, an internal guard force, and the division commander is Major General Batrakov.
This is one of the reasons why Vasily was reluctant to choose this battlefield at the beginning. He didn't like dealing with internal affairs troops, even if they were already combat troops at this time.
Shuerka first went to the headquarters to report, and the major general had a good attitude towards Shurka at the beginning.
"Welcome, Comrade Shulka!" Major General Batrakov enthusiastically shook Shulka's hand and said, "I'm glad you came to reinforce us. The superiors finally realized the danger of Station 2!"
Shuerka couldn't help but frowned when he heard this, wondering if the teacher misunderstood something?
Major General Batrakov pulled Shulka to the front of the map without saying a word, and said: "The 10th Division guards the No. 2 railway station and the railway bridge over the Tsaritsa River. We have not blown up the railway bridge, and the enemy has not destroyed it." This was not done. This is the defense zone of the 42nd Rifle Brigade, which is occupying defenses along the banks of the Tsaritsa River near Pushkin Street. The enemy's attack after attack has caused them heavy casualties. We need reinforcements! How many people do you have?"
"Two companies, Comrade Batrakov!" Shulka replied.
"Two..." Then Major General Batrakov was stunned. He raised his head and looked at Shulka with disbelief, and asked, "What did you say, two companies?"
"Yes, two companies!" Shulka replied.
"So, when will the other troops arrive?" Batrakov asked again.
"Sorry, Comrade Batrakov!" Shulka replied: "There are no other troops!"
"I don't understand!" Batrakov said angrily, "You are the regiment leader, and you are also a 'breakout hero'. Why did the superior let you bring only two companies to reinforce us?"
It turned out that Golikov did not explain the situation to Batrakov, perhaps because there were too many things, or because it was irrelevant, so Golikov simply said: "The deputy commander of the 82nd Infantry Regiment Comrade Shulka will bring reinforcements to you, you arrange it!"
So Batrakov took it for granted that there was at least one battalion, otherwise how could he need a deputy head to lead the team.
Who knew that the deputy commander was also a "hero" and only brought two companies.
Batrakov said to Shulka with some disappointment: "Comrade Captain, maybe you don't know that the number of casualties in our battlefield is as high as thousands every day, two companies... they may not have reacted or have not yet If you see the enemy, you will be wiped out!"
"I don't think so, Comrade General!" Shulka replied: "Actually, I think there is some misunderstanding. I brought students from the sniper school and mortar school here for training!"
Batrakov was taken aback for a moment, and then gave a wry smile.
"That's how it is!" Batrakov said: "That's indeed my misunderstanding. I thought they finally knew how serious the situation is here... Well, Comrade Shulka, you can continue your training!"
As he spoke, he turned his head to sort out the files and ignored Shulka.
Shulka knew that in the eyes of Batrakov at this time, the reinforcements of Shulka and these two companies were not reinforcements at all, and they were even here to hold back, because the supplies needed for training obviously required the 10th Division bear.
No one likes something like this.
Shulka did not explain, he continued to report: "Comrade Batrakov, we need coordination!"
"Yes, we are willing to cooperate!" Batrakov replied casually: "I will pass on the order!"
However, this is obviously not enough. Shulka knows the execution ability of the Soviet army. It would be good if Batrakov's casual sentence can be effectively executed tomorrow, not to mention that he didn't take this matter to heart at all.
"Is there any other request, Comrade Captain?" Batrakov asked suspiciously when he saw that Shulka hadn't left yet.
"I need a staff officer, Comrade Batrakov!" Shulka said: "Because we are about to enter the battlefield, orders alone are obviously not enough!"
(end of this chapter)