Steel Soviet Union

The large size 45 military boots stepped through the mud puddles filled by rain, and the wet mud was lifted up from the soles and sprinkled on the ground in front of them.

The owner of the boots was walking in a hurry, obviously not caring about the heavy raindrops of soybeans that were still falling around him. As the top commander of the railway station's defense, Malashenko still had important things to do now.

"Get a few people and scoop out all the water in the machine gun bunker over there. Don't let the weapons soak in the water! Move quickly!"

The heavy rain that started at around 1 a.m. continued all night long, and by daybreak it still showed no signs of stopping.

The backflow of rainwater filled up various bunkers and positions that were temporarily excavated just last night. The cross-flow scene of mud and sewage mixed together is enough to make any field commander who witnesses this scene feel miserable, and Malashenko also No exception.

The pouring rain posed a great challenge to the Soviet defense, and also had a huge impact on the German attack that had originally planned to start early in the morning.

The German reinforcements that came to support last night came all the way under pouring rain.

The heavy downpour filled the shoes of every German soldier who was marching wildly with rainwater. The uniforms and bags on his body were soaked by the rain and weighed perhaps more than ten kilograms.

As rain evaporates from the body's surface, it robs the body of warmth, and the moist air around it can make this process colder. Many of the German soldiers sitting around the limited fire indoors were shivering. The weather, which had been unbearably hot during the day the day before, had dropped by at least ten degrees after a heavy rain.

On a normal day, the soldiers of the Reed Army might praise the fact that the weather is finally cooler, but in the long and exhausted night, when they are soaked in the rain and shivering in a drafty environment, the feeling can only be described as bad. describe.

"Hell, I hate this damn Russia! The sun above our heads almost scorched people the day before, and a heavy rain at night can freeze people into this ghostly state. Conquering this bitter cold place is very important to us. What's the use? I'm starting to hate this damn city."

Several German soldiers who had just rushed to the train station after running for several kilometers were barely warming themselves by the fire in a small train station room that looked like a guard box under the cover of rainy night.

Several Mauser 98K rifles were set up like a stand with the butts down and the muzzles facing up. The wet coats were placed on them and they were slowly dried closer to the fire. Only the German soldiers in their vests were left inside. The soldiers sat around the fire and discussed in low voices.

"Who doesn't? We all hate Russia, but what can be done?"

"The will of the head of state, the orders of the generals, our destiny. This is life that cannot be changed, Shidel, it cannot be changed from the moment we put on this uniform, even if you believe in God, it is useless."

The battle in Stalingrad that has just begun cannot be said to be protracted for the time being, but the Soviet army's desperate resistance in the city has made some German soldiers become irritable, anxious, manic, and even uneasy.

General Wittelsgeim of the 14th Armored Corps was dismissed by Commander Paulus. This was news that had spread among the entire grassroots officers and soldiers of the German army.

There was only one simple reason why General Wittelsgeim was given command by Paulus. After encountering a fierce Soviet counterattack, he was in a dilemma for a week and was almost defeated. The counterattacking Red Army troops with high morale were surrounded.

Paulus mobilized two infantry corps and several scattered infantry divisions. It took him a week to rescue his powerful general and his troops, and in a critical moment he prevented the 14th Armored Corps from being encircled and annihilated. Tragedy.

But what Paulus didn't expect was that General Wittelsgeim described the Russians as invincible when summarizing to him face to face.

General Wittelsgeim said that the Russians had mobilized all the people, and even the old people who were killed were holding old Mosin Nagant rifles that had been worn away. It was almost impossible for the Sixth Army to defeat such an enemy. Surrender, this is an indestructible giant-like city.

Paulus had not personally experienced the dilemma and despair that General Wittelsgeim felt when he was almost surrounded. He stubbornly believed that the general had betrayed the oath he had made and was no longer fit to fight for the Führer and the Empire. And continued to lead the elite 14th Armored Corps, he issued a warrant and drove the general who "praised the Russians profusely" back to his hometown to eat himself.

Paulus didn't know that what he did actually saved General Wittelsgeim's life. At least he would not have to stay in a Soviet prisoner of war camp digging potatoes or doing other terrible things this time next year. matter.

However, the last words of General Wittelsgeim to Paulus were spread like wildfire. The German soldiers who had entered the main city of Stalingrad and started a fierce street battle with the Soviet army were almost Everyone learned of the dismissal of General Wittelsgeim and of his "treasonous remarks."

There are many fanatics who laugh at General Wittelsgeim, but there are also many German soldiers who carefully appreciate these words based on their own personal experience.

A small fire set up with a few sticks of firewood was dancing with flames that seemed to be pulsing with life. The few German soldiers sitting around the fire staring blankly at the scene in front of them did not speak and remained silent.

I don’t know how long it took, but a voice that spoke quietly revealed what everyone present was thinking about or had already considered.

"Maybe this is really a giant city. Do you remember that "Ivan the Scarecrow"?"

"Ivan the Scarecrow" was the nickname given by these German soldiers who belonged to the same squad to an incident that happened two days ago.

A Soviet soldier who was probably the last living Soviet soldier in the entire block was surrounded by German soldiers from all directions. The Bobosha submachine gun in his hand had been run out of bullets. The German commander who led the team realized this situation and did not He planned to kill him, as if he wanted to persuade him to surrender and keep him for some kind of use.

But what no one expected was that this lonely Soviet soldier suddenly pulled out a pistol hidden in his clothes while being pointed at the muzzles of more than a dozen guns at the same time.

Of course, such behavior would have no practical effect under the direct sight of the surrounding German soldiers' guns.