Steel Soviet Union

Paulus, who had only slept for less than four hours when he was woken up, felt a little dazed. Even when he grabbed the military uniform on the hanger on the bedside and put it on, his eyes were blurred.

Paulus didn't feel that there was anything wrong with his body. It was probably just that the news of the Soviet counterattack came too suddenly and he was not expecting it. Paulus, who was forcibly comforting himself in his heart, was shaking his hands. After putting on the clothes, he immediately buttoned up and walked out.

"Where is Colonel Henderson now?"

"Someone has been sent to call him, General. Colonel Henderson was not on duty last night. He has already asked for leave. He has some stomach problems and needs to rest. This is the advice of the military doctor."

Colonel Henderson was the intelligence minister next to Paulus, and all the work of monitoring Soviet radio stations and telegrams was done under his name. This happened without any warning or advance notice, which made Paulus very angry and prepared to take Colonel Henderson to task.

After hearing the answer from the staff officer on duty next to him, Paulus tied the last button on his collar with both hands, frowned, and then spoke.

"As long as he can still get out of bed, let him come to see me immediately! Otherwise, I will go over to see him in person and tell him so!"

"In addition, tell Schmidt to summon all the staff officers and relevant personnel on and off duty to arrive immediately. The Russians are making a last ditch effort to fight against the trapped beast. As long as they can survive this wave of Russian madness, they will be blocked in this place. Once the city is destroyed, victory will be within easy reach for us!”

Even now, Paulus believes that the victory of the Battle of Stalingrad has been won by him. The only uncertainty and need to work hard is the time when the battle will end.

Paulus confidently regarded this local counterattack launched by Zhukov as the Soviet army's last ditch attempt to break through and escape Stalingrad. Although this can be regarded as a matter of course from the perspective of the superior German army, the subsequent facts proved that Paulus would pay an eternal price for his repeated misjudgments of the battlefield situation.

The headquarters of the Sixth Army was in chaos because of the sudden dawn attack launched by the Soviet army. After calming down, it immediately wound up like a machine with full power to prepare to deal with and repel the Soviet counterattack.

Paulus, who forced himself to calm down and calm down, carefully listened to the battle report hosted by Chief of Staff Major General Schmidt. He confidently believed that he was holding the most powerful field army in the entire Wehrmacht at this moment. Facing the Soviet attack This kind of painless counterattack does not require timidity and conservative tactics. It just shows the arrogance on the face.

"Gentlemen, since these Russians are anxious to die, well, we will help them do it, and we will do it in the fastest and most efficient way!"

"Send a report to the 14th Armored Corps and tell them to start attacking immediately according to the previously assigned attack formation! The goal is to repel Ivan who is facing the enemy and attack the city! In addition, contact Baron Richthofen immediately and tell him to All the planes that can drop bombs are sent to the front line to stop these Russians from going crazy. We need maximum air support immediately!"

Paulus was woken up from his sleep and still had a strong urge to wake up even after almost an hour had passed.

For those hateful Russians who gave him a splitting headache and wanted to sleep but had no chance, Paulus, who was annoyed and felt that he had been provoked, decided to use the most violent attacks to crush and completely eliminate them, in order to let these Russians understand If they dared to leave the protection of the broken city of Stalingrad, it would be equivalent to entering the grave early.

At this moment, the Luftwaffe unit responsible for providing air support to Paulus's Sixth Army was very powerful. The Luftwaffe 4th Air Force, commanded by Baron Wolfram von Richthofen, could It is said to be the most luxurious and powerful air force in the German Air Force at the moment.

The total strength of the entire Luftwaffe accounts for 54% of the current total strength of the German Air Force. Paulus asked such an air force to send "all aircraft capable of dropping bombs to the front line." This move meant a terrible death. Of course, there is no need to say more about the storm.

Baron Wolfram von Richthofen, who served as the commander of the 4th Air Force, is even more legendary. This man shot down 80 enemy planes during World War I and was nicknamed the "Red Baron". A distant cousin of Manfred von Richthofen.

Back when his elder brother, the Red Baron, was flying a double-winged classic plane in a bloody battle in the sky, killing British cows and cows who could not find their way around, little Richthofen, as his younger brother, was still riding a horse on the ground as a cavalryman.

His younger brother Richthofen Jr. ended up in the Air Force just like his elder brother.

Hitler's rise to power brought about a huge turn in Richthofen's fate. He eventually gave up his saber and got rid of the cavalry and rose through the ranks. In 1942, he became a general of the Luftwaffe, in charge of the largest and most powerful force in the Luftwaffe. The elite Fourth Air Force battles in the skies over Stalingrad.

The man who turned Stalingrad into a sea of ​​flames and completely turned it into ruins was Baron Richthofen. Now, Paulus hoped that this meticulous and rigorous German air force general could throw the same destruction into the Soviet Union. above the heads of the army's counterattack troops.

Malashenko didn't know and didn't have time to think about how Paulus, an indecisive coward who bullied the weak and feared the strong, was planning how to deal with him. When the preparations for the overwhelming and violent artillery fire that shook the earth and the mountains were over, he had already switched on the radio communication station in his hand. Malashenko, who was on the microphone, then roared.

"Charge! Crush those Germans, Ulla!"

Malashenko's loud shouting was even and powerful, but unfortunately not all the crews of the First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment could hear this shout.

Those zombie tanks sent after being repaired and some T34 medium tanks sent in the form of troop reorganization after being defeated are almost all "basic simplified versions" without on-board communication radios.

Malashenko once asked Zhukov on the phone whether there were any remaining tanks with radio communication stations in stock in Stalingrad. If possible, Malashenko wanted to obtain enough quantity to urgently install the tanks under his command. Go up.

However, Zhukov's unconventional answer on the other end of the phone left Malashenko speechless.

"There is no radio. Don't ask me what to do. You can figure it out yourself. If you can deal with the Germans, you will be able to handle battlefield communications. This is the inevitable result!"