Chapter 542 Tank Battalion, Assault (Part 1)

   All the tankers gathered around to watch the phone in Bely's hand. The second lieutenant of the tanker even got into the tank on purpose, started the tank, and tested the effect of the phone.

After some tests, the second lieutenant of the tank soldier climbed out of the tank after turning off the engine, and asked Bely excitedly: "Comrade Colonel, the person who can come up with this method is simply a genius. In this way, we will be in harmony with When the infantry cooperates in combat, there is no longer any need to worry about inconvenient communication."

Bely pointed to Sokov who was standing not far away with his hand, and introduced to his subordinates: "Here, it is him, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, from now on, all of us Under his command, the unit's new designation is the 73rd Infantry Brigade Tank Battalion."

   "What, shrink our brigade into a battalion?" The tank soldiers couldn't help being uproar when they heard what Bely said: "Comrade brigade commander, why is this?"

  Biely didn't want to explain too much to his subordinates on this occasion, so he said with a straight face: "The troops are reduced to a battalion. I will act as the commander of the tank battalion. This is an order from the superior. Why, do you want to disobey?"

  Seeing that Bere was angry, the tank soldier still felt very uncomfortable, but he also obediently kept his mouth shut. After all, the brigade commander did not express any objection to his appointment as acting battalion commander, so what else could his subordinates say.

   Belei saw that the soldiers were quiet, so he asked again: "Can any of you tell me how long it will take to install telephones on these more than forty tanks?"

The second lieutenant of the tank soldier glanced at the phone behind the tank, thought for a moment, and replied: "Comrade Brigadier, if we do it now, I think there should be no problem installing phones on all the tanks within three days." .”

"No, three days is too long, maybe tomorrow we will be at war with the Germans, so all the installation must be completed before dawn." After Bely said this in an unquestionable tone, he added: "Yes Now, from now on, don't call me the brigade commander, but the battalion commander. There is only one brigade commander in the 73rd Infantry Brigade, and that is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Understand?"

   "Understood!" The tank soldiers agreed in unison, and began to install phones on the tanks.

  Sokov and Yakov saw that Bely had finished lecturing his subordinates, so they walked over and said: "Comrade Colonel, let your subordinates familiarize themselves with technical equipment here, let's go back to the command post."

Bely wanted to know about Sokov's next plan, so he nodded, called a captain from another group of tank soldiers, and said to him: "Captain Sereda, I have something important to do, and I will leave it to you here." .” His eyes swept over the tanks parked in the underground tank depot one by one, “Maybe we will drive these tanks to the battlefield soon, please let comrades take the time to familiarize themselves with the equipment.”

  Captain Sereda quickly replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Brigadier..."

  Before he finished speaking, Bely raised his hand to stop him: "From now on, I am no longer the brigade commander, but the acting battalion commander of the tank battalion. You will call me battalion commander from now on."

  Watching Bely leave with Sokov and Yakov, Sereda scratched the back of his head and said in a daze: "It's strange, don't call him brigade commander or battalion commander. What's going on?"

  The three of them returned to the command post. Before they could sit down, Biely couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Brigadier, I would like to ask, what are your plans for the future?"

"In two or three days, our army will launch a counterattack against the enemy." Sokov got up and poured a cup of hot tea, put it in front of Bely, and continued: "Although our brigade focuses on defense, we will not participate in this battle." A counterattack, but now that there are so many tanks, I have a new idea."

  "New ideas?" Bely took the tea mug from Sokov and asked curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, if you have any ideas, you might as well tell them."

"Comrade Colonel, come and take a look." Sokov took out a map from his satchel, spread it on the table, pointed with his finger and said, "In the north of the factory area, there is a regiment-level command post of the German army. About three kilometers. I originally planned to send troops to attack in the dark, but now that I have the tank battalion under your command, I have changed my mind. We can use the coordinated approach of infantry and tanks to attack the enemy's defense area."

   Bely stared at the map for a while, and then asked his own question: "Comrade Brigadier, please forgive me, when do you plan to attack the enemy?"

   "If the tank phone can be installed, I plan to launch an attack tomorrow." Sokov said confidently: "I think your subordinates can go into battle as long as they are a little familiar with these tanks."

"My subordinates have participated in many battles, and there must be no problem with their cooperation." Bely asked with some concern: "But now the city's air supremacy is in the hands of the enemy. If we attack during the day, the enemy will If the air force is dispatched to attack our attacking force, won't that cause huge casualties?"

   "We are on the offensive, and it is inevitable that we will be bombed by the German army." Sokov replied, "But don't worry, I have a solution."

  Bely didn't believe that Sokov had any good solution. He asked his subordinates not to make unnecessary sacrifices, "Comrade Brigadier, can you tell me how you plan to solve it?"

   "The superior assigned the 437th Fighter Flight Regiment to my command," Sokov said to Bely with a smile: "After our offensive battle starts, I can order the fighter formation to attack and disperse the enemy planes that are trying to bomb us."

It was the first time that Bely heard that there was actually a fighter jet regiment in the troops commanded by Sokov, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise, and asked suspiciously: "Comrade Brigadier, is what you said true?" ?”

"Comrade Colonel, I can testify to that." Briski, who had remained silent all along, interjected, "Colonel Khorstnikov's fighter regiment is indeed under our command. The radio that the pilots communicate with, so that we can direct their air combat or ground support according to the situation on the battlefield."

   Knowing that there are fighter jets to assist in the battle, most of Bely's worries disappeared. However, after a moment of silence, he continued to ask: "Comrade Brigadier, now that we have tanks and an air force, do we need to prepare for artillery fire before attacking?"

"No need." Sokov waved his hand and said, "According to the information provided by our scouts, there are no permanent fortifications outside the headquarters of the German regiment, but some simple night battle fortifications. A tank battalion can destroy the entire area with a single assault." They were crushed to pieces."

Seeing Sokov's optimism, Biely was still a little worried: "You just mentioned the Butan coordination, my last question is, which troops do you plan to use to follow us in the attack?" Briski, who was sitting opposite, took a look and said bluntly, "If I'm not mistaken, you only have more than a hundred people left under your command, plus the workers in the assembly workshop, the total strength is only three or four hundred People. With this little force, can we destroy the enemy's regiment headquarters?"

"Comrade Colonel, before you come here, you should know that the main force of our brigade is defending Mamayev Kurgan." To Bely's question, Sokov replied: "I plan to draw another company of troops from there. , Participate in the attack on the German regiment headquarters. The fighters under my command are all experienced in battle, and with the cooperation of the tank battalion and the air force, there should be no problem for them to take down the German regiment headquarters."

Seeing that Sokov had considered all the issues that should be considered, Bely did not ask about the offensive anymore, but turned the topic to the fuel and ammunition of the tank battalion: "Comrade brigade commander, I would like to ask, tank battalion Where should we get the ammunition and fuel we need?"

"Fuel is easy to handle. There are several underground oil tanks in the factory area, which are full of the fuel needed by the tank. You can have as much as you want. As for ammunition," Soko said. The husband had asked Zinchenko before, so he knew how to answer Bely: "It is relatively troublesome. After all, the Red October Tractor Factory was not a military factory before, and they did not have much ammunition in stock. Therefore, they can only give You provide a basic ammunition, and you need to figure out the other ammunition by yourself.”

When Bely heard this, he immediately jumped up from his seat: "Comrade Brigadier, where can I find a way? Go to the Germans to grab it? You know, the caliber of their No. 3 and No. 4 tanks, a One is 50mm, one is 75mm, even if their shells are seized, they cannot be used at all."

"Yes, Misha." Hearing this, Yakov couldn't help but speak for Bere: "Don't say that tank shells are not universal, even machine gun bullets are not universal. We use 7.62mm bullets, and they It used 7.92mm bullets."

  The problem Bely raised really stumped Sokov. The artillery shells and machine gun bullets needed by the tank battalion obviously cannot be obtained from the Germans, or they can only rely on the ammunition transported across the Volga River. Don't look at the ferry boats running back and forth on the Volga River every day, but they have to transport too many supplies. In addition to the soldiers and supplies needed in the city, they are all kinds of weapons and ammunition. The artillery was deployed on the east bank, and there were very few tanks left in the city, so there were hardly any shells in the ammunition shipped.

  After thinking for a long time, Sokov said to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, I will report this problem to the commander and see if he has any solution."

  Biely sighed, and said: "Now it seems that this is the only way to go." After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment, and then asked again: "Comrade Brigadier, how did you arrange the formation of the tank battalion?"

"There used to be a tank company in my brigade. Because the tanks were lost in the battle, the tank soldiers are now used as infantry. This time to form a new tank battalion, I plan to let the original tank company commander, Lieutenant Alitai, serve as The commander of the third company. The commanders and soldiers of the first and second companies are all composed of your original subordinates. What do you think?"

Hearing that Sokov planned to appoint his former tank company commander as the commander of the third company, Bely had no objection. After thinking for a while, he said, "Comrade brigade commander, I have arranged this: the commander of the first tank company will be appointed as the commander of the third company." Captain Sereda is in charge, and the company has eighteen tanks. Do you have any objections?"

   After writing down the name Bely said in his notebook, Sokov nodded and said, "I have no objection. What about the establishment of the Second Company?"

   "The second tank company is headed by Captain Ivantsov, and the number of tanks in the whole company is still eighteen."

"Comrade Colonel," Briski couldn't help complaining when he heard this, "there are only forty-five tanks in total, and your two companies accounted for thirty-six tanks, leaving only nine tanks for the third company." Yes, isn't that a bit too much?"

   "Comrade Captain, you don't need to say anything." Sokov raised his hand and interrupted Briski's following words: "I have no opinion on Colonel Bely's distribution method."

   "Comrade Brigadier." Seeing that Sokov actually agreed with Bely's distribution plan, Briski asked in puzzlement, "Why did you agree to such an unfair distribution plan?"

"Comrade Captain," Sokov explained to Briski, seeing that Briski couldn't figure it out: "Tanks fight on the battlefield, relying on mutual understanding. Colonel Bely's subordinates are very familiar with each other, even if there is no communication equipment. , and know how to cooperate in combat. What about Lieutenant Alitai’s troops? Although they used to have tanks, they have been serving as infantry now. If you give them too many tanks at once, do you think they will cooperate? , can it compare with Colonel Bely's men?"

  Sokov's words made Briski fall into deep thought. He thought for a long time, finally shook his head slowly, and said: "I think Lieutenant Ali Tai and the others are definitely not comparable to Colonel Bely's subordinates."

  Seeing that Briski understood his intentions, Sokov turned his head and said to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, I completely agree with your plan, and the formation of the troops will be done according to what you said."

  Bereti was still sweating when he proposed the distribution plan, worried that Sokov would object. After all, each of his companies had twice as many tanks as Lieutenant Ali Tai's company. Seeing that Sokov agreed to his situation so readily, he also breathed a sigh of relief. He said to Sokov, "Comrade Brigadier, I will go to the tank depot first and arrange the new establishment."

  After sending Bely away, Briski asked with some concern: "Comrade Brigadier, do you think Colonel Bely's troops will follow your command on the battlefield?"

Sokov turned to look at Briski, and said with a smile: "You can rest assured on this point. Judging from Colonel Bely's attitude, he is very willing to cooperate with me. In battle, if there is anything, I can directly Give the order to Colonel Bely, and he will pass it on to the tank soldiers under him, so that there is no need to worry about anyone disobeying my order."

"High, it's really high." Hearing this, Yakov couldn't help giving Sokov a thumbs up, and said approvingly: "Only Colonel Bely is willing to cooperate with your work, even if his tank soldiers If you have a problem with you, you can only obediently follow your orders."

  (end of this chapter)