Chapter 716 Water Mine

Then the Soviet army launched two more attacks, but both ended in failure.

By dusk, the sandbar was even filled with wooden boat debris and the bodies of Soviet soldiers who were white and swollen by the river. The whole sandbar seemed to be surrounded by a pile of garbage.

Qin Chuan couldn't help but sigh: "If I had known that I would have to face these, I might not have chosen to attack the sandbar!"

Eberhard couldn't help but laugh: "Our legendary sergeant was not defeated by the enemy, but by these garbage!"

Compared with the victory of the German army, the Soviet command was shrouded in a cloud.

Yelyomenko stared at the map in a daze. He really didn't expect that a small sandbar would cause them so much trouble. What made him even more unimaginable was... there were only two hundred German soldiers occupying the sandbar.

Two hundred people, if placed in the Soviet army, it would be a drop in the ocean, but the German army could play such a big role with just two hundred people.

However, Yeremenko's thinking was not objective, because these two hundred people were not just any two hundred people, but the elite selected from the elite First Infantry Regiment. They had various combat skills and were equipped with modern equipment... In fact, the Soviets' own anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns played a greater role.

Khrushchev also noticed this.

"Comrade Yeremenko!" Khrushchev said: "I have investigated, and there are at least 300,000 anti-aircraft machine gun bullets and 50,000 anti-aircraft artillery shells on the sandbar!"

Yeremenko calculated and frowned: "In other words, if they continue to fight at the intensity of today, they can at least hold out for seven days!"

"Yes!" Khrushchev replied: "Maybe it will be longer, because they can suppress us with artillery and aircraft!"

Yeremenko shook his head. Even seven days was enough for them. At this time, Stalingrad could not hold out for seven days with basically no supplies.

Therefore, one thing is certain: if the ammunition on the sandbar is to be consumed, Stalingrad will definitely fall first.

But what else can be done?

Yelyomenko has tried all the tactics that can be used. He even divided the attacking force into several parts, that is, to attack the sandbar from four directions at the same time.

This offensive tactic should be said to be very smart, because Yelyomenko knew that the biggest weakness of the Germans was insufficient manpower. Two hundred people were divided into several directions, and there were only fifty people in each direction. If the number of casualties was deducted, there would probably be less than fifty people.

The problem is that amphibious landing operations are too difficult.

Of course, this should be specifically referring to the "Soviet Army".

Because if it were the British and American troops, they would already have special landing ships or even tank landing ships at this time, and then there would be a large number of warships and fighter planes to cooperate, that is, landing under the full control of air and sea power, the difficulty would be reduced exponentially.

But the Soviet army, without air and sea control, relied on wooden boats to conduct amphibious landings... There was basically only one result, which was that they unfortunately became the perfect target for the enemy's firepower on the open river.

Therefore, even though the German army was seriously short of manpower, it was always able to defeat the Soviet army's charge with artillery and fighter planes.

At the end of the day, the Soviet army had lost more than 2,000 people in the offensive.

"We may attack at night!" Khrushchev said: "I mean armed swimming and launching a sneak attack!"

Yeryomenko shook his head and said: "Armed swimming can only bring light weapons. How can they break through the enemy's bunkers? Moreover, these Germans on the sandbar are well-trained, and it is difficult for us not to be discovered by them... Once exposed, we will suffer another heavy loss!"

"These are all worth it, aren't they?" Khrushchev replied: "For Stalingrad, take risks, even at the cost of life!"

Yeryomenko thought about it, nodded heavily and agreed to this plan.

So a night attack was launched under Khrushchev's command.

It should be said that Khrushchev's suggestion made some sense, which was actually taking advantage of the lack of manpower of the German army... The lack of manpower was not a big problem during the day, because they could see at a glance from which direction the Soviet army was attacking on the river and make reasonable deployment of troops while hiding in the bunker.

But in the dark night, and the Soviet army was still armed and swimming, it was difficult for the German army to be comprehensive unless everyone kept their eyes open and stared at the river.

In fact, it was difficult for German soldiers to do this, because they had fought all day during the day and needed to rest at night, otherwise they would be dragged down in a few days.

But fortunately, Yelyomenko guessed it right again this time... The well-trained elite of the First Infantry Regiment, their defense line would certainly not be so easily attacked and infiltrated.

The method is mines.

The method to prevent the enemy from attacking at night has always been landmines. This is one of the reasons why the troops always lay mines around the camp at night to block the position, because the loud noise of the mines is telling the defenders which direction the enemy will attack from.

This time is no exception. The first infantry regiment used landmines to prevent the Soviet army from attacking at night on the sandbar.

The problem is... the sandbar is surrounded by wet land that is half water and half sand. Whether it is wooden shell mines or ordinary mines laid in it, they are likely to lose their effectiveness due to moisture.

On the other hand, laying mines using ordinary methods may not be effective. The enemy only needs to send a few experienced engineers to go ahead and test with bayonets while moving forward, and it is still possible to penetrate the minefield and infiltrate the defense line.

The mine-laying method used by German soldiers is certainly not this "ordinary method".

In fact, they did not bury the mines in the beach but "buried" them in the water. The German soldiers called it "water mines".

The method is very simple, just put the wooden shell mines and some stones in a waterproof bag, tie the bag tightly, and then sink it into the surrounding waters... There are many waterproof bags in the Soviet warehouses. They are used by the Soviet army to ensure that the ammunition stored in the underground warehouse is not damp.

As for putting some stones in it, it is to make it sink to the bottom of the river.

Of course, you must be careful when doing this, because the mines are already in the activated state when they are put into the waterproof bag, and the workmanship of the Soviet wooden shell mines is still very rough. Some are too sensitive and will explode in your hands if you are not careful.

Therefore, at this time, soldiers actually prefer iron shell mines, because they can even save the step of adding stones. They will sink directly when put into the bag. All you have to do is to expel as much air as possible from the bag.