Chapter 627 Emergency

The sound of shells exploding overhead continued. Malashenko, who sat on the ground and panted heavily, could still feel the floor beneath his butt shaking wildly. This storage room ten meters underground was enough to judge how fierce the German artillery bombardment on the ground was.

The light in the storage room was very dark. Only a kerosene lamp that the regiment staff had just found lit up a small area.

The sand and dust above his head kept falling like rain. More than a dozen regiment staff who had just been evacuated from the second floor formed a small circle, waiting for Malashenko, who rarely sat in the regiment headquarters, to give orders.

Sitting on the ground and panting for a long time, he felt that he had almost recovered. Thinking that the bombardment above his head would not stop for a while, Malashenko glanced at the wooden door beside him. Judging from the movement just now, the corridor outside the door was now at least half pressed by the collapsed rubble.

Although this also means that the dusty storage room where he is is not safe, there is no other way or place to go except to stay here. On the contrary, if he is still alive after the shelling stops, how to leave here is a problem.

"Comrade Political Commissar, is there any other back door here? How should we get out after the shelling stops?"

Faced with Malashenko's question, Political Commissar Petrov, who was also a little out of breath due to his age, quickly gave an answer.

"There is no other way, only this one door! In addition, instead of how to get out later, think about whether you will be suffocated. This place used to store sundries and furniture. There is no ventilation facility at all. It depends on the corridor with the door open for ventilation. If the corridor is completely blocked, we may be suffocated here first."

""

Malashenko was speechless because he didn't expect the situation to be like this.

If he was suffocated to death in this underground storage room, Malashenko would never accept it no matter what. This was even more unacceptable than being crushed by a German artillery shell.

The dust that was shaken off the ceiling above his head continued to fall, and everyone around Malashenko was strangely silent.

The power of mankind is so small in front of the war machine he made with his own hands, and the truth that unity is powerful is simply worthless at the moment.

Now, more than a dozen men have no other choice but to pray that the German shells will not hit their heads accurately, and that the corridor outside the door will not be completely blocked by the collapse caused by the artillery bombardment.

"Hey, damn, what the hell is going on!? Why did I run back to the regiment headquarters for no reason?"

There are many things happening at the same time in the world that are not subject to human will.

For example, when Malashenko was pinned down and beaten by the German heavy artillery group in the basement, the front headquarters, which was also in the city and suffered from the bombing of the German Air Force, finally restored contact with the outside world.

"Comrade Commander, communication has been restored! The telephone line is connected, and the telegraph can also be used. We can contact the front-line troops immediately!"

Yeryomenko, who was standing in front of the map and discussing the situation in the war zone with Vasilevsky, suddenly looked back after hearing this. Major General Korshev, the communications director of the front headquarters, was standing behind him with a happy face.

"Quick! Immediately contact the division and army-level command posts on the main defense direction of the front. If you can use the phone, use the phone. If the phone can't get through, use the telegram. I want to know the current situation immediately!"

The person who loudly ordered Major General Korshev was not Commander Yeryomenko, but General Vasilevsky, who came to Stalingrad to supervise the battle with the order of his father Comrade Stalin.

As the commander, Yeremenko was undoubtedly anxious about the war on the front line, but Vasilevsky, who was entrusted with important tasks, was even more anxious than Yeremenko. The headquarters was as terrified by the interruption of external contact as by the muzzle of a German gun. Vasilevsky, who was afraid that something might go wrong in the next few hours, almost shouted his orders.

"What you said is already being done! Deputy Commander Major General Kovalenko has arrived at the 62nd Army Headquarters to personally command the battle. He reported that the counterattack plan of the front headquarters was organized smoothly, and 3 infantry divisions, 1 tank brigade, and 1 tank army were basically ready. They could launch a counterattack against the German army in front of them tonight as scheduled."

After listening to the narration, he snatched the telegram from Major General Korshov and read it quickly at a speed of ten lines at a glance.

Organizing a counterattack at the army level at night is extremely disadvantageous, both for the attackers and the defenders, especially when the Soviet army is still so passive and suffering huge losses.

However, the 60-kilometer-long and 8-kilometer-wide corridor formed by the 14th Panzer Corps of the German Army, whose number has been identified, between the two main armies must be eliminated as soon as possible.

From the past battles since the start of the war last year, Vasilevsky knew that every time the Soviet army was surrounded and destroyed, it often started with the large-scale troops at the army level being put into the pocket by the Germans.

The power of the German armored group, which is good at long-distance mobility and deep penetration, is clearly there. If this German armored group corridor is not eliminated as soon as possible and the connection is not re-established, Vasilevsky can almost conclude that the destruction of Stalingrad will start from here.

No matter what, tonight's counterattack will be the most important to determine the direction of the future battle! Even if it is pitch dark, we must fight, there is no other choice.

After reading the telegram in his hand, he handed it to Yelyomenko next to him. Vasilevsky, who was still worried about the situation on the front line, spoke again to Major General Korshov who was on standby in front of him.

"What about other directions? Are there any new updates?"

"Not much. Currently, only a few major troops have reestablished contact with the headquarters. The rest are still in contact, but there is one piece of news that deserves attention. The fighter aviation reported that more than two hours ago, a German bomber formation that was bombing the central area of ​​the city suddenly changed its route and avoided our fighter aviation units that were ready to intercept them on the scheduled route."

"The fighter aviation units sent to intercept this German bomber formation immediately changed their route to other airspace to support the battle, but they reported that this German bomber formation changed its route to the tractor factory, and the Germans did not drop any bombs, so it should be fully loaded with weapons."