Chapter 1087

Although a number of the latest tanks have been acquired through Ustinov, there is still a more important thing to do before these tanks are officially equipped with troops.

On the way back to the headquarters of the group army, I said to bezikov, "chief of staff, I have something to hand over to you, which will start tomorrow at first."

Although bezikov didn't know what important task I would give him, he still respectfully asked, "Rita, please tell me, I will complete your task successfully."

"Well, the superior will allocate a batch of new tanks to us in the near future." Although I mentioned the new weapons to him and rasmihin when I just got on the bus, I mentioned the new tanks again when I was assigning tasks“ Now the roads to the south of Kursk are all dirt roads. When it rains, they are muddy and it becomes difficult for vehicles to pass. So I order you to immediately deploy manpower to repair all roads in the defense area. "

Bezikov was silent after listening, and seemed to be thinking about how to complete the task I gave him. In order not to interrupt his thought, I just looked at him without saying a word, and wanted to hear what he thought of completing the task.

Before he could speak, rasmishin, who was sitting in the front row, turned to me and said, "Comrade commander, I don't think it's easy to finish this task."

"Comrade commander, why?" I don't know why rasmishin said it, so I asked in a strange way.

"The amount of road construction is too large," rasmishin said hesitantly when he heard my question: "not only do we need more manpower, but also the construction period is long. It will take at least half a year to complete the construction of all roads from Kursk to the frontier, but can the Germans give us so much time?"

Hearing what rasmishin said, I suddenly thought of the use of cinder to pave the road. Only me and bezikov knew about the whole army. No wonder rasmishin was so worried. When he finished, I said with a smile: "Comrade commander, you may not know that before I came to the 6th group army of the Jinwei, I proposed to Marshal Zhukov to use cinders to pave the road. In a short period of half a year and half a time, the repair work of the section of hundreds of kilometers from Moscow to Kursk was completed. If we open up roads in our defense area, it will be finished in about 20 days. "

"Comrade commander, I don't understand." Rasmishin asked blankly, "why do we repair the road?"

The Soviet army has not paid attention to the construction of road traffic network, so it is inevitable that the task I assigned to make intermediate commanders like rasmishin feel confused. In order to effectively carry out the tasks I assigned, I need to give him a detailed explanation: "Comrade commander, if we have a perfect traffic network, we can quickly transfer the reinforcements to important areas. If we don't repair the roads, once the front line is tight and our roads are too muddy for vehicles, not only tanks and artillery can't get through, but also vehicles transporting infantry can't get through. Simply relying on the two legs of the commanders and fighters, when they arrive at the battlefield, they will lose their combat effectiveness in a short time because of fatigue. "

"Is cinder good for paving?" Rasmishin seemed to accept my statement, and then asked his own question: "can you pass tanks, artillery and all kinds of vehicles?"

"Absolutely, comrade commander." Bezikov, who had been silent for a long time, said: "first, dump the cinder on the muddy road with a truck, and then roll it repeatedly with a road roller, and the road will be basically formed. Compared with roads paved with bunches of firewood or timber, they are not only faster but also more robust. "

When he heard what bzikov said, rasmishin asked with some doubts: "Comrade chief of staff, since you know it's so convenient to use cinder to pave the road, why have you been so worried just now?"

Bezikov gave a wry smile and said, "what worries me is where to look for cinders. Although there are too many cinders in Moscow to use up, it's more than 600 kilometers away from here. It's a long time on the road. "

I could not help laughing when I heard clearly that what bezikov was worried about was only building materials. Then I gave him some advice and said, "Comrade chief of staff, don't always look at Moscow. Don't forget, I'm asking you to repair the road from Kursk to the frontier. You can get all the cinders you need from Kursk, even in a small city like prohorovka in our defense area. If the materials are not enough, let the commanders and fighters cut down some trees. "

"I see." After bezikov agreed, he asked, "I don't know which army I should transfer to complete the task of repairing the road?"

After thinking for a moment, I replied, "the 89th and 90th divisions of Jinwei arrived one after another yesterday. Let's transfer one regiment from each of these two divisions to complete the road construction task."

"Yes, I see." Bzikov readily agreed.

We returned to the headquarters. As soon as we entered the room, a commander sitting next to Danilov stood up and raised his hand to salute me. When I looked closely, it turned out that it was Colonel berey, commander of the 33rd tank army. It made me very excited to see my comrades who had fought side by side in Stalingrad. I stepped forward, took his hand and asked with concern, "Hello, comrade Colonel! How are you? Are you all right? "

"Thank you for your concern. It's almost over." "Bielei replied with a smile:" I was still recovering in the hospital, but I heard that you nominated me to be the commander of the newly formed 33rd tank army, so I couldn't sit any longer. So I went to the president of the hospital and asked him to give me a discharge certificate, so I answered in advance

Colonel berey's reply made me feel uneasy: "is it appropriate for you to come back to the front line before your injuries are healed?"

"There's nothing wrong, comrade commander." "In a month or two, I don't have to drive the tank myself," he said. Is it better for me to stay in the headquarters every day than to do recovery treatment in the hospital? "

Although berey didn't care a bit about what he said, I didn't dare to take it lightly, because in the next battle, the tank troops of our army were the key to the victory of the battle, because I turned around and told the nearby bezikov: "chief of staff, send a military doctor and a health officer to take care of Colonel berey to ensure that his injury can recover as soon as possible. If his injury festers and worsens, I can ask you. Do you understand? "

"I see, comrade commander." Bezikov called me my rank directly in public. He assured me, "I will send the best military doctors and health workers to take care of Colonel Berek."

When I said that, I asked everyone to sit down, looked at berey and asked, "Comrade Colonel, if you have any difficulties, please let me know. If I can solve it, I will help you solve it as soon as possible; If I can't solve it, I will report it to the higher authorities and solve the problem for you as soon as possible. "

After hearing what I said, bielei nodded and then said, "Comrade commander, today I went to the two tank brigades below. Except for a small number of T-34, the rest of the troops are T-26 tanks. You know, these old tanks can't even beat the German No. 4 tank, let alone the leopard and Tiger tanks. If we don't change the equipment of our troops and rush into the battle, we will let our tank soldiers be the targets of the enemy. "

"Yes, comrade commander." Danilov said: "before you come back, Colonel berey is talking to me about this. He hopes we can find a way to replace the tank army with a new batch of tanks. Look at this... "

Danilov didn't finish what he said, but I understood what he meant. I quickly raised my hand and interrupted what he said behind him. With a smile, I said to berey, "don't worry, comrade colonel. I just applied to the Armament Department for a batch of new tanks today. I can equip the troops in a day or two at most."

When berey heard me say this, he didn't show a happy expression on his face. Instead, he asked cautiously, "I don't know how high the winning rate of the new tank against the leopard or Tiger tanks of the German army is?"

I organized some words in my mind, and then explained to berey, "Comrade Colonel, at present, our army's T-34 tanks, which are heavily equipped, can only penetrate the side armor of Tiger tanks at a distance of 400 meters. If they are hit by Tiger tanks, our tanks will be destroyed. But the new tank can penetrate the front armor of the Tiger tank at a distance of 1000 meters, and even if it is hit by the enemy at the same distance, the tank will not lose its combat effectiveness. "

Hearing such parameters, don't Lei not only didn't feel happy, but frowned even more: "Comrade commander, is our new tank really so powerful?"

"That's right." I said with certainty: "I have witnessed the power of the new type of tank in the test field. When the Tiger Tank hits our tank from a kilometer away, it can only make a white mark on the armor plate, and it can't break through effectively. And our tanks can not only destroy each other with one shot, but also have the ability to shoot high hits on the move. " Originally, I wanted to report a long list of data, but I couldn't remember it in a hurry, so I had to give up. Anyway, what I said was enough for him to digest for a while.

Colonel berey looked at me with a look of doubt and said, "Comrade commander, how can I listen to what you have said and seem so untrustworthy?" He had witnessed with his own eyes how the German Tiger tanks annihilated our tank troops like shooting targets. Now I suddenly told him that there was a kind of tank whose combat effectiveness and production capacity far exceeded the German Tiger tanks. Naturally, he could not accept it. If I haven't worked with him, even if I'm the commander of the group army, he will be angry with me and say that I'm talking nonsense.

As for berey's query, I kept silent and began to recall the various parameters of the t-5455 tank. After thinking about it, I said to him, "Comrade Colonel, if you didn't take part in the May Day parade in red square, you certainly didn't have a chance to see such excellent tanks that transcend the times. Let's just say that general katukov was beside me during the parade. When he saw the appearance of new tanks, he was stunned. He wanted to let the Armament Department equip them with these tanks immediately. "

"Really?" When berey heard this, he raised his eyebrows. It seems that I am right to mention katukov. At least he has unconsciously believed my words.

Seeing his suspicions weakened, I took the opportunity to introduce the parameters of the new tank: "the main weapon of the new tank is a 100 mm linear tank gun, and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun is installed on individual tanks, which can not only strafe enemy infantry, but also be used for air defense.

... the new type of tank has simple and reliable machinery, and has low requirements for the operation level of the crew; The tank volume is relatively small, which means that the target provided to the enemy on the battlefield is also smaller; The tank is light in weight, wide in track and good in starting performance at low temperature. Compared with the tanks in active service of our army, its combat effectiveness and production capacity have been significantly improved. " After hearing me finish a series of parameters, bielei couldn't help getting excited and asked repeatedly, "Comrade commander, I don't know how many new tanks our superior can give us?" I sighed and said, "originally I wanted 300 cars, but after a long time, the superior only promised us 80. At my repeated request, I approved another 20 T-34 tanks for us. "“ That's enough, comrade commander. " Colonel berey said excitedly: "if the new tanks really have the performance you said, let alone 80, even if only 18, I can lead the troops, and the enemy's armored forces will be defeated in the future." When I heard that he used the word "lead" instead of "command", I couldn't help but put a face on him and said to him seriously, "Comrade Colonel, I'm here to remind you that you are not allowed to drive tanks to fight until your injury is healed. This is my order. Do you understand me? "“ I see, comrade commander. " Although Colonel berey was criticized by me, he still had a smile on his face, because he understood that I gave such an order for his consideration, so he agreed very readily“ After the new tanks arrive in the army, you must make the tank soldiers familiar with these equipment as soon as possible. " When I thought of the imminent battle of Kursk, I was upset. "Otherwise, even if you drive new tanks to the battlefield, you can't beat those experienced Germans."“ Comrade commander, please rest assured. " Colonel berey stood up and assured me, "as long as the new tanks arrive in the army, for a week at most, I will familiarize all the tank soldiers with their new partners. When we are on the battlefield, we will use these new tanks to teach the Germans a lesson, a shame on zaborosh