The first thing the Luftwaffe proposed when changing the supply tactics was airdrop paratroopers, but this suggestion was immediately denied as soon as it was proposed, because the German army did not want these elite troops to suffer huge losses in the cruel battles carried in this very limited encirclement. Another method is to use the go242 glider to carry personnel and supplies to land in the encirclement. Because the glider is powerless, its cost is much cheaper than that of the transport aircraft, and even if it suffers a large amount of losses, it is within an acceptable range.

Due to the lack of self-defense weapons, gliding opportunities are usually at 19 pm or in the morning, and they are least likely to be discovered and shot down by the enemy at these two times. These gliders brought the defenders the medicines, weapons, ammunition and other supplies they need most, as well as reinforcements. Whenever these gliders hover in the air, the German Stuka bombers and positions near the German army will suppress the Soviet army on both sides of the runway, so as not to be fired by Soviet ground artillery when landing.

Every flight like this is a one-time, and every mission like this means that the glider is pulled off the roster. After landing, the pilot who can no longer fly on the glider will become an infantryman, fighting side by side with other surrounded troops to resist the enemy's attack. The transport plane cannot land, and it is no longer possible to bring seriously injured people out of the encirclement through the glider. The ruins of the houses in Holm town become temporary wards, where the wounded are trembling and suffering.

Although the Soviet army adopted extremely rigid tactics and Sherel was still constantly encouraging the morale of the troops, the German defense area still shrank from 2 square kilometers to 1 square kilometer under the continuous impact of the 33rd and 391st infantry divisions of the Soviet army for several days. The glider could no longer land under such circumstances. The only way to supply the remaining area - the airdrop supply was either directly sent to the Soviet army or to a place where the German army could not recover in the war areas.

The German soldiers watched the parachutes with supply boxes falling to the uninhabited area in the middle. On the other side, some bold Soviet soldiers wanted to run over and drag the boxes away. Before they could get close to the target, they were blocked by hail-like German machine guns and rifles. Some people were immediately knocked down in the snow, and the rest rolled and crawled back. It was not until night that the German army sent commandos to slowly climb over the snow under the cover of night to drag the supply boxes back.

Although the air force's supply airdrop operations were regular, few actually reached the hands of the defenders. Therefore, during the siege, none of the German officers and soldiers had received sufficient food rations from top to bottom. What's worse is that the pitifully small quota was forced to be further reduced in the early stages of being surrounded.

On February 1, General Anim, the commander of the 39th Armored Army, learned through radio that the Sherell battle group was currently suffering. Therefore, he formulated a new rescue operation and formed a new battle group. He planned to conduct a fierce battle to open up a road and go straight to the isolated defenders. After receiving the news, Scherer also felt determined to form two small battle groups on the west side of his defense line. When Anim's troops launched an attack, the two battle groups would also take action, working inside and outside until they got in contact with the rescue column.

The western breakthrough area that Scherer chose for his small battle group was an open flat land. The key problem was that there was a small highland with superior terrain next to the open land. The Soviet army occupying this highland could easily block the area with firepower. If the German army wanted to break out from here, it would be best to seize the small highland first and then break west from the highland. For this purpose, Scherer sent the 8th (mountain) light commando to take on this task, and with his professional skills, they quickly drove the Soviet army away on the mountain.

Immediately afterwards, a team of soldiers immediately transported the supply and ammunition that the troops were about to use. Just as they were nervously transporting supplies, the weather suddenly became worse, and a blizzard suddenly came. The sharp east wind ruthlessly stabbed the Xiang transport personnel on the cheeks, and carrying heavy ammunition and supplies on their shoulders was extremely painful to trekking in the waist-deep snow. The soldiers of the German squad who had occupied the top of the mountain built a defensive position with snow blocks and used snow blocks to form Eskimo-style dome huts to avoid the invasion of the cold wind.

Such weather not only brought great pain to Sherel's troops, but also swept through the reinforcements sent by the 39th Armored Army. Although their departure location was only 15 kilometers away from Holm, due to the lack of anti-slip devices, trucks, armored vehicles and tanks, and the burden of attack fell on the shoulders of the infantry.

The first goal of the rescue troops was to occupy a highland marked with codename 72.7 on the map. When the infantry sent by Anim launched an attack in this direction on February 2, the 31st Infantry Brigade of the Soviet Army, which was defending here, also realized the important tactical value here and immediately launched a fierce battle with the invading German army. The snow in this area was not only waist-deep, but had already flooded the soldiers' chests.

Not only did the German infantry exchange fire with the Soviet army at any time, but they also had to raise their rifles and machine guns over their heads when advancing in the snow, so as to avoid snow from contaminating the bolt or freezing it. Every 100 meters of advance is a great victory for them. (There is no way to describe such wars in snow and weather.)

After a whole day of unremitting attack, the German pilot company finally advanced to the top of the highland. They only had the last distance to sprint to reach the top of the mountain, but this gentle slope of about 300 meters long became a natural "sniper zone". Before the infantry launched the first round of attack, the German army first used artillery to shoot the Soviet positions on the top of the mountain, but the shells that exploded into the snow did not cause much damage to the Soviet army. After the artillery was stopped, the German infantry stood up and launched the scattered line to advance with difficulty, and was immediately repelled by the condescending Soviet firepower.

The second, third, and every subsequent attack was like this. They were forced to retreat to the attack launch line on the slope of the 72.7 highland, lying tired and disappointed in the snow to rest. Then they heard cheers coming from the top of the mountain. It was obvious that the Soviet army was about to launch a counterattack. "Wula", through the cold air, the Soviet soldiers rushed down from the top of the mountain toward the German army, and the terrifying battle shouts came from far to near.

The Russians also had to travel in the snow with difficulty. Although their forward line was moving slowly, their momentum was very imminent. The exhausted German army regained the courage to fight, and they decided to avenge the pain and hardships they had suffered before. Knowing that lying in the deep snow would not be beneficial to fire, the soldiers all stood up and raised their guns to aim at the approaching Soviet army.

… (To be continued, please search Piaotianwen, novels are better, updated and faster!
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