Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 1267 The Landmark Winter Palace!
Of course, this place will eventually fall with the passage of time and the strengthening of the dragon army.At this time, the dragon army had already pressed down to the north and west of Gelet Mountain on the south bank of the Neva River.After the Soviet army lost almost half of the remaining artillery, the soldiers of the two Soviet militia divisions finally couldn't stand it anymore: after launching a round of assault, the 83rd Infantry Division of the Dragon Army was killed in a field of Swedes and A foothold was established between the villas built by the Finns.At the same time, fierce hand-to-hand combat was fought from villa to villa, and other assault teams infiltrated the Isaac Orthodox Cathedral between Gretel Hill and Victory Square. The final defense line of the defenders was about to collapse. The vanguard of the Dragon Army can now reach the first target, the Winter Palace, in just 10 minutes!
A child named Pete later recalled: "It was a horrible time. I was a teenager at the time and I remember being in the basement with candles for most of the siege, walking around. There were piles of stored food and coal. The whole city was shaken to pieces. At night a young soldier came and stayed with us in the basement. I remember his name was Ivanov, only a few years older than me. He couldn't help sobbing because he missed his family. He said he didn't want to die alone in Stalingrad. My mother and aunt tried to comfort him. But one day he never came back. We have no concept of time, My mother was nearly devastated by the sound of anti-aircraft guns fired by Chinese bombers on December Revolutionary Island. Every day, several bombs would hit the buildings around us. One day the sounds of fighting became very close, and I remember a group of young Soldiers garrisoned our house and told us to stay in the basement. Presently there was a terrible noise from the back upstairs, shouts, grenade explosions, machine gun fire, boots stomping back and forth It was mixed with the screams of people. Through the window, I saw in our garden, a Chinese soldier stepped on the head of a captured Soviet soldier with his boots, and then pulled his forehead with the muzzle of a gun. trigger"

With all hopes of rescue dashed and ammunition supplies depleted, the resistance of the Stalingrad fortress is drawing to a close. At 7:26 on July 15, Lieutenant General Huo Jin's defenders sent the following telegram: "Our supplies have been exhausted to the last clip, the question now is whether to be captured or try to fight desperately to escape from the encirclement. Therefore, I will command those remaining capable of fighting to launch the assault."

But for the Soviet officers and soldiers standing near the position and other besieged Red Guard militia soldiers, this order was issued too late.Even so, the remaining teams are still carefully preparing for the breakout.In order to travel lightly, all heavy weapons that had run out of ammunition were destroyed.

That night, Soviet planes airdropped 6 tons of food and some medicines in Stalingrad. However, for Huo Zin, this was almost the same as not dropping the supplies. Of course, it could not change his idea of ​​breaking out.

At 22:[-], Huo Jin went to meet Zhdanov with a plan, but the other party refused to break through.He told Khozin that even if he escaped from Stalingrad, he would just jump from one "cauldron" to another "cauldron", and as the head of the party, government and army in the Stalingrad area, he could not go back and talk to Pavlov was shot like that.He'd rather be in his office for the final moments.

At this time, the fighting continued in the streets of Stalingrad.In the brutal street fighting, many wounded and militiamen were often executed by the dragon army because they did not have military uniforms, because for many soldiers who are red-eyed, according to international law, those who do not wear military uniforms but hold weapons are not protected in war .Of course, the NVD special forces of the Soviet Army also shot and killed the Dragon Army prisoners in the square in front of the Winter Palace.

At this dangerous time, most Russians were somewhat shaken, and many desperate Red Guards began to take off their uniforms and armbands and slip off the line of fire.At the Lenin Victory Stadium, Zhudanov, commander of the 8th Battalion of the [-]th Militia Division, declared to his remnants that despite the risk of being shot as deserters by NVD troops, it was better for everyone to go home, in his words: "The only thing we can do now is to let them go home, otherwise, why not let them throw stones at Chinese tanks?"

With the end of the peripheral battle, the troops of the Dragon Army began to advance in the direction of Vasilyevsky Island.Vasilievsky Island is a sandbar, surrounded by water, located between the Great Neva River and the Randville Canal. It is shaped like a huge rugby ball, with two sharp corners pointing to the northwest and southeast respectively. It is about 8 miles long. About 2 kilometers wide.It turned out that the main organs of Tsarist Russia, including the Imperial Office, the Capitol and the Winter Palace, were all located in this area, including Khozin himself.Defending Vasilievsky Island is the 47th Infantry Division, the 18th Armored Division, a security brigade of the NVD, and some navy troops who have retreated here and the remnants of several disbanded troops. , controlled all approaches and passages through the sandbar by fire.

Since July 7, the Fourth Armored Army of the Dragon Army has surrounded Vasilievsky Island.

On July 7, the Dragon Army greatly compressed the encirclement of Vasilievsky Island, and several armies all pressed on the river bank to prepare for the forced crossing.When preparing to attack, the troops of the Dragon Army received such an order: "Don't feel sorry for the shells, and you don't need to save bullets. Mortar shells and grenades must be fired openly." Here comes the matter.Artillery guns of various calibers, from anti-tank guns to powerful fortress guns, such as the caliber Type 26 heavy howitzer, are all used for direct fire.Even various types of rocket launchers and train guns were pushed directly to the river bank under the cover of smoke and smoke, and fired salvos at the Soviet fortifications.This time, the combat characteristics of the Dragon Army's "winning by force" were fully demonstrated.

By the early morning of the 27th, thousands of Soviet soldiers and civilians had poured into the forests and swamps in northern Leningrad, and in some areas the number even exceeded that of the Chinese garrison.In order to escape as soon as possible, these exhausted survivors trudged through the snow, forests, hills and swamps. The severely damaged Soviet Air Force also tried its best to attack. For a time, the Soviet troops in the entire west and southern Karelia Engines roared constantly at the airport, and some pilots even took off with injured planes. Their purpose was only one: to cover the escape of the remaining defenders as much as possible!

The dragon army immediately launched a large-scale round-up. This time it was like a large-scale hunting activity. For most of the dragon army soldiers, this could no longer be called a battle.Within a few days they managed to block most of the breakout route and patrolled around Stalingrad in half-track armored personnel carriers and tanks, issuing passes to those who surrendered.Soviet soldiers and militiamen who broke out from the siege fell into traps and were captured. Most of the captured people were shot immediately because they were not required to wear Soviet military uniforms.So a lot of people are being treated as guerrillas and local resistance.The bodies of these people were then thrown into the burial pit.

On July 7, the Imperial Expeditionary Force Command sent a telegram to Beijing: "Your Majesty, our army has completely controlled the city of Stalingrad yesterday, July 27, after several days of bloody battles. In three months, we wiped out the Stalingrad Front Army, including the 7th, 26nd, 4th, 52th, 55nd, 59th, 42th, 67nd, and 20th Army of the Red Army, the 2rd and 10th Groups of the Air Force, About 3 enemy troops destroyed and captured more than 6 tanks, 270000 artillery pieces, and 3000 aircraft. Basically wiped out the strength of the Soviet army in the north. Long live the empire, long live the emperor! Pu Yin, July 1578. "

However, although Pu Yin's telegram was sent, the gunfire in Stalingrad still did not end, and the Soviet army was still guarding the Winter Palace, the last place in Stalingrad.

The Winter Palace was first built in 1754 and completed in 1762. It is the greatest monument of Russian Baroque architectural art in the middle of the 18th century. In 1837, a fire destroyed it, and it was rebuilt in 18381839-230.Designed by renowned architect Rastrelli.The Winter Palace is a blue and white building, three stories high, about 140 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 1050 meters high, in a closed rectangular shape.Originally, the Winter Palace had 7 rooms, 1886 stairs, 45 doors and [-] windows.

The four sides of the Winter Palace have their own characteristics, but the interior design and decoration style are strictly unified.On the side facing the palace square, the center is slightly protruding, with three arched iron gates, and there are statues of Atlas giants at the entrance.There are two rows of colonnades around the palace, which are magnificent.The palace is gorgeously decorated, and many halls are decorated with Russian gemstones, malachite, jasper, and agate products. For example, the Peacock Hall has more than 2 pieces of malachite, and the parquet floor is made of precious wood.Behind the throne in the Throne Hall (also known as George Hall), there is a map inlaid with 4.5 colored stones.

The Alexander Column of the Winter Palace was built in 1830-1839 to commemorate the great achievement of Alexander I who led the Russian army to defeat Napoleon's army.The entire Winter Palace includes five buildings: the Winter Palace, the Hermitage, the Old Hermitage, the Hermitage Theatre, and the New Hermitage.

At this time, the supreme commander of Stalingrad, Zhdanov, was there, enjoying the last supper. At this time, the 30th and 150st infantry divisions and three combat engineer brigades of the 171th Dragon Army Rifle Corps began The battle to capture the fortress began.

The first place they attacked was the Hermitage Palace.

The Hermitage Palace is located in the northeast corner of the Winter Palace, near the Petrograd Gate. It is a domed building that has become an empty behemoth due to repeated bombings.A ring of defenses was set up around the Hermitage Palace.There is an open small square on the west side of the palace, and trenches and traffic trenches have been dug on the north, northwest and south sides, and some trenches are filled with water.All the doors and windows of the palace were blocked with bricks.Only small launch holes and observation holes were left, and high walls and parapets were built in front of the main entrances and exits.There are about 12001800 remnants of the Soviet army in the palace (mainly composed of Soviet Red Army infantry, pilots, cadets, sailors, and NDV troops). .

(End of this chapter)