The Germans who held out at the Gumkole airfield, although they did not receive the reinforcements promised by Paulus, they still showed extraordinary combat effectiveness. Because both officers and soldiers know in their hearts that this is the only way to keep in touch with the outside world, and once it is lost, then the entire group army will fall into a situation from which it will never recover.

In the face of the Soviet commanders and fighters rushing over like a tide, the German machine gunners hiding behind the snow wall shot desperately, and the 7.92 mm bullets knocked the soldiers who were exposed to the open ground to the ground, and the blood stained the snow-white snow.

A tank, accompanied by an infantry charge, stopped and fired a shot, destroying a point of fire hidden behind a wall of snow. Perhaps when it had chosen its next target, a German soldier in a white camouflage suit burst out of the snowdrift next to it, holding two anti-tank grenades, and rushed forward without hesitation. After a loud bang, the German soldiers were blown to pieces, and the Soviet tanks were surrounded by fire and smoke.

Due to the cold weather, the Soviet commanders and fighters during the attack could not be as skilled in tactical movements as usual, and as a result, they suffered extremely heavy casualties under the blow of German machine-gun fire. In addition, the German anti-tank fighters were hiding in snowdrifts, and as soon as the Soviet tanks approached their side, they rushed up with anti-tank grenades or explosive packs, and died with the tanks. After two successive attacks failed, Chistyakov decisively ordered the troops to stop the offensive.

After Rokossovsky learned the news of the failure of the attack on the Gumkole airfield, he did not blame Chistyakov, he knew in his heart that this airfield was the only window for the Germans to communicate with the outside world, and they were absolutely unwilling to let the Soviets take it so easily, and they would definitely be in a desperate struggle. Therefore, he calmly asked: "Comrade Chistyakov, when you were attacking the enemy's airfield, did the enemy still have planes taking off and landing?" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Chistyakov paused for a moment, and quickly covered the microphone with his hand and asked the chief of staff next to him: "Comrade Pian Kokovsky, when our troops launched an attack on the airfield, were the enemy's planes still taking off and landing?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Piankovsky nodded and replied: "Just as our troops were attacking the airfield, there were several German Junker Ju-52 transport planes, which forcibly landed at the airfield. ”

Chistyakov, who learned about the situation from Piankovsky, hurriedly let go of the hand covering the microphone and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, you have correctly analyzed, at the same time as our army attacked the airfield, there were indeed several Junkers transport planes that forcibly landed in the Gumkole airfield. ”

Having figured out what was happening about the enemy's risky take-off and landing in the airfield, Rokossovsky immediately ordered Chistyakov: "Comrade General, you arrange anti-aircraft positions on the flight path of the German troops as soon as possible, and destroy them all during the take-off or landing of the German planes. At the same time, artillery was ordered to bombard the runway of the airfield so that enemy aircraft could not take off. ”

"I see, Comrade Commander." Hearing Rokossovsky's order, Chistyakov's eyes suddenly lit up, because no matter whether the enemy plane landed or took off, it had to pass through the sky over its position at a low altitude, and this kind of Junkers transport plane with slow speed and huge target was simply a good target for shooting, so he agreed very simply: "I will deploy the air defense position and artillery position as soon as possible to complete the blockade of the airfield." ”

After Chistyakov put down the phone, he said to Pian Kowski: "Chief of Staff, immediately order the 1263rd and 1068th anti-aircraft artillery regiments to be stationed in positions west of the airport and block the air passage of the German army. In addition, the 17th Guards Rocket Artillery Brigade was ordered to bombard the runway of the Gumkole airfield, and we must not allow the Germans to take off and land at this airfield. ”

After recording the order, Piankovsky did not immediately go to convey the order, but stopped where he was and asked Chistyakov: "Comrade commander, when will we attack the airfield again?" ”

Hearing the question from the chief of staff, Chistyakov stared at the map in front of him for a while, and then began to issue a new order: "The attack on the airfield is to be carried out by the 52nd Guards Division of Major General Kozin, and the 1st Independent Tank Regiment and the 21st and 99th Independent Ski Battalions are transferred to cooperate with them. Speaking of this, he raised his hand and looked at his watch, adding, "Their offensive will officially start at seven o'clock tomorrow morning." ”

As rocket artillery and anti-aircraft artillery entered the designated positions, the countdown to the destruction of the German army at the Gumkole airfield began. The German Junkers were prepared to take the risk of landing at the small airfield, dropping off the supplies they needed, loading the wounded and taking off. However, the Soviet army set up an air defense position on the west side of the airport, and all transport planes were hit by fierce anti-aircraft artillery fire during take-off and landing. Even if the transport plane forced to land, the situation was very bad, the runway was potholed by Soviet artillery fire, and either fell headlong into the pit and caused an explosion, or broke the landing gear, broke its wings, and stopped around the runway and could not move.

After paying a high price, the German transport fleet found that Gumkohl Airport had become a place of death, so they had to give up their intention to land, and after increasing their altitude, they dropped the supplies from the heights indiscriminately, and then turned back.

After dark, the Soviet ski battalions also carried out several small-scale tentative attacks to figure out the German defenses. Although the Soviet army had no intention of rushing into the airport, it also made the defenders of the airport angry.

Early the next morning, the Guards Rocket Brigade and several artillery regiments, deployed near the airfield, poured intensive artillery fire into the interior of the airfield. Since Rokossovsky had told Chistyakov that this airfield was the only window of contact between the besieged German army and the outside world, if it could not be captured completely, it would be completely destroyed.

It is precisely because of the receipt of such an order that the artillerymen, when bombarding the airfield, did not throw a rat as they did yesterday. The first thing they destroyed was the airfield and the conning tower, so that the Germans could be driven to the open and destroyed. But what the Soviet artillery did not expect was that the waiting hall was full of seriously wounded German soldiers who were preparing to move out of the encirclement, and when the shells destroyed the building, these wounded, who had basically lost their mobility, were either killed on the spot or smashed to death by falling ceilings. For a moment, the screams in the ruins were endless, the last sounds of the seriously wounded before they died.

After the shelling, the direction of the airfield had turned into a sea of fire, and the commanders and fighters of the 52nd Guards Division, who had been prepared for a long time, accompanied by tanks, launched a final assault on the Gumkole airfield.