"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, let me tell you good news." The telephones used by the Front Army Headquarters are better than those used by Sokov, and there is usually no sound leakage, so the difference between Sokov and Ustinov
Malinin did not hear the conversation at all. Sokov said to him excitedly: "Comrade Ustinov told me that Colonel Belkin came to us, and at the same time, there were 30 ships operating with him.
hovercraft."
"Great, this is simply great." Malinen said excitedly: "With these hovercrafts, your troops can quickly pass through the swamp areas and quickly occupy the Germans before they recover.
position."
"Yes, it is indeed like this." Sokov waited for Malinin to finish and continued: "In addition to transporting soldiers, it can also transport supplies. You know, this kind of hovercraft is all-terrain, whether it is in swamps or mud.
The road will not affect its driving speed."
"It's indeed a good thing..."
Before Ma Lining could finish speaking, a loud voice suddenly came from the door: "What is something nice?"
The two turned around and saw that Rokossovsky was back.
Sokov quickly stood up, raised his right hand to his forehead, and shook hands with Rokossovsky who had just entered the door.
Rokossovsky stepped forward to shake hands with Sokov and asked politely: "Misha, when did you come?"
"I have been here for less than half an hour. Before you came back, I was chatting with Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army."
"Comrade Commander," Malinin said to Rokossovsky with a smile: "Have you gained much from going to the 65th Group Army this time?"
"Big, very big!" Rokossovsky nodded and said: "General Bartov asked me to watch the wave of tanks on the swamp behind his army group. We observed for an hour and a half to see how the tanks moved one after another.
One drove into the swamp and climbed out of it. Their tank crews, together with the engineers, equipped each tank with firewood bundles, logs and special triangles to enable the tank to pass through wide ravines."
After saying this, Rokossovsky remembered that when he entered the door, he heard half of what Malinin said, and asked curiously: "By the way, Chief of Staff, what did you just say that is good?"
Malinin did not immediately answer Rokossovsky's question, but turned his attention to Sokov and said with a smile: "Comrade Commander, I think it is better for Comrade Sokov to report this matter to you. He is better than
I made it clearer."
Seeing Rokossovsky's eyes turned to him, Sokov quickly said: "Comrade General, the situation is like this. I have a partner who is now in the Weapons and Equipment Department and has taken over Yasha's original job. Not long ago I
Get in touch with him and hope he can provide us with a batch of hovercrafts..."
"Wait a minute, Misha." Rokossovsky interrupted Sokov and asked in confusion: "What is a hovercraft?"
"Hovercraft is a new type of transportation. It can transport soldiers and supplies for us at high speeds on complex terrains such as swamps and lakes..." Seeing that Rokossovsky didn't know about hovercraft, Sokov patiently said
He imparted knowledge about hovercraft to him, and finally said: "Now 30 hovercraft are about to arrive. With these hovercrafts, our troops can greatly shorten the time to pass through the swamp and break through the German defensive positions faster."
After Rokossovsky waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he asked tentatively: "Misha, this hovercraft sounds very powerful, but has it been tested in actual combat? During the test, all performances were good, etc.
When I entered the battlefield, my true colors were immediately revealed. Not only was I unable to help you, I became a burden to you."
"Comrade General, you can rest assured on this." Sokov said confidently: "In fact, we have already used hovercrafts, and in the battles to attack Belgorod and Kharkov, my troops used hovercrafts.
The hovercraft carried out cross-river operations, and the Germans on the other side easily broke through their river defense positions before they could recover."
"Oh, is this hovercraft really so magical?" Rokossovsky said with emotion: "After Belkin sends the hovercraft to your army, I want to go over and see it."
"No problem, Comrade General." Sokov said cheerfully: "On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the 48th Group Army, I welcome you and the Chief of Staff!"
"Comrade Sokov, let me forget it." Malinin waved his hands and said: "When Comrade Commander is away from the headquarters, someone needs to be responsible for handling all affairs here. If we all leave and something really happens, who will
To solve it?"
Seeing that Malinin could not visit the hovercraft, Sokov did not force it, but said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, although you do not have the opportunity to visit my unit, I can order someone to bring the hovercraft here so that you can
Take a closer look. What do you think?"
"That's really great." Ma Lining said excitedly: "This way I can see the most advanced transportation tools when I stay in the headquarters. This is really great."
"Misha, I want to talk to you about something serious next." Rokossovsky said: "Judging from the current distribution of troops, the 3rd Army is guarding an area north of Rogachev on the west bank of the Dnieper River.
A large landing ground, it is fully suitable for the operations of various arms in the direction of Bobruisk.
The situation of your 48th Army is much worse. You occupy an area along the north bank of the Berezina River south of the Zhlobin-Bobruisk railway line, and there is a landing site on the other side of the river. It seems like
It is very advantageous, but after careful inspection, I found that it is impossible to attack from here. The terrain here is so bad that even if a mortar is placed, a row of logs must be laid on the ground. Moreover, it is surrounded by swamps and overgrown trees.
It is a small island of shrubs and dense forests, and it is simply impossible to concentrate tanks and heavy artillery for an assault here."
"Yes, Comrade General, you are very correct." Sokov nodded in approval of Rokossovsky's statement, "But we also need the 30 hovercraft provided by the Weaponry and Equipment Department. This problem can be solved
Solution. The transport-type hovercraft can transport our tanks and heavy artillery to the other side of the swamp, thus strengthening the ability of our offensive forces to attack difficult problems."
Regarding Sokov's statement, Rokossovsky was skeptical: "Can a hovercraft carry tanks weighing dozens of tons?"
"Yes, Comrade General." Sokov nodded and said, "Each transport-type hovercraft can carry a 32-ton T-34 tank or 40 soldiers at a time."
After listening to the data Sokov said, Rokossovsky was shocked: "Oh my God, the transportation capacity of the transport type hovercraft is so powerful!"
"The earliest hovercraft launched had weaker functions." Sokov continued: "After continuous improvements by the weapons and equipment department, today's transportation capabilities have been greatly improved."
"Misha, I suddenly thought of a question." Rokossovsky said.
"what is the problem?"
"Does this transport-type hovercraft have the ability to defend itself?"
"Uh, no."
"If you don't have the ability to defend yourself, it will be difficult." Rokossovsky frowned and said, "If we were attacked by the Germans during transportation, wouldn't we suffer heavy losses?"
"Comrade Commander's words reminded me of the T-26 tanks that were previously equipped in the army." Malinen said: "The maneuverability of this light tank is jaw-dropping, but when fighting on the battlefield, it is basically the same as a German tank.
Target. Comrade Sokov, the transport hovercraft you mentioned is similar to the previous T-26 light tank. If it has no self-defense capability, it will be a target for the enemy to attack on the battlefield."
"Comrade General, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Seeing that the two misunderstood, Sokov quickly explained: "Although the transport-type hovercraft has no self-defense capability, there is also a combat-type hovercraft that can play an escort role."
"Oh, there is also a combat-type hovercraft." Ma Lining asked curiously: "What does it look like?"
"The combat hovercraft is equipped with twin 14.5 mm anti-aircraft machine guns." Sokov explained: "It can be used for both shooting and level shooting. When transporting supplies, it can serve as an escort; but it can be used to break through the enemy.
When used as a river defense position, it can also provide fire support for transport ships."
After hearing this, Rokossovsky was silent for a while, and then said casually: "I think it is a bit inappropriate to install a 14.5 mm anti-aircraft machine gun on a combat hovercraft."
"Comrade Commander," Malinin heard Rokossovsky say this and couldn't help but asked curiously: "Why?"
"Because there is still a caliber of 12.7 mm in our army's weapons and equipment sequence, the combat functions of the two overlap. Although the 14.5 mm machine gun is more powerful, the range of the two is not much different." Rokossovsky
Explained: "In terms of armor penetration, the 14.5mm machine gun cannot penetrate the side armor of German tanks at all. Instead of using it, it is better to directly use the 20mm small-caliber cannon. This caliber of ammunition already has the ability to kill areas, and its combat
The effectiveness is far greater than that of machine gun bullets. Because the warhead is larger, more tricks can be played in it. The range, power, and armor-piercing thickness are much greater than those of 14.5mm bullets, but they are almost the same in terms of weight and ammunition carrying capacity.
big.
As an infantry support weapon, no matter how light the 14.5mm machine gun is, it is much heavier than an ordinary machine gun, so I still recommend using a 12.7mm machine gun, which not only can carry more ammunition, but also costs less."
After listening to Rokossovsky's speech, Sokov nodded and said: "Comrade General, after Colonel Belkin arrives, I will convey your wishes to him and let them carry out the training of the combat hovercraft.
The weapons carried are improved.”
"By the way, Comrade General." Sokov suddenly remembered that Rokossovsky had urgently summoned him, and there must be something important. He quickly asked: "Why did you summon me to the headquarters?
Something?"
"That's right, Misha." Rokossovsky nodded and said affirmatively: "I summoned you here because there is indeed a very important matter." Sokov did not speak, but looked at Roko.
Sovsky quietly waited for the other party to reveal the purpose of summoning him.
"A month or two ago, did General Zakharov, the chief of staff of the Second Ukrainian Front, ask you about the Allied forces opening a second battlefield?"
"Yes, this does happen."
"You told him at that time that the most likely place for the Allied forces to launch a landing was Normandy in northern France." Rokossovsky continued to ask: "Is this true?"
"Yes." Hearing Rokossovsky suddenly ask about this matter, Sokov couldn't help but tremble in his heart. He secretly said that just because of the appearance of his little butterfly, he would not change the original true history and make the Allied forces
Are you not planning to land in Normandy? Out of this consideration, he asked tremblingly: "Comrade General, what's the problem?"
"I heard that after your plan was reported to Zakharov, everyone in the General Staff did not take it seriously. They thought you were taking it too much for granted. Instead of launching an attack from Calais, which is a short flight, you would attack from Normandy, which is a long way away.
A normal person would never make such a choice."
Malinin didn't know about this. After hearing what Rokossovsky said, he couldn't help but ask: "Comrade Commander, is Sokov's statement correct or wrong?"
Rokossovsky did not answer the question immediately, but asked Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the battle plan we designated was rejected after it was reported to the Supreme Command and the General Staff. Okay.
With Zhukov's help, I argued with the Supreme Commander himself, and today's Operation Bagration was launched."
Hearing what Rokossovsky said, Malinin immediately understood his intention: "Comrade Commander, I understand what you mean. Although the results of Sokov's analysis are completely opposite to those analyzed by the General Staff, his
The judgment is correct, am I understanding correctly?"
"Yes, your understanding is completely correct."
After listening to the conversation between Rokossovsky and Malinin, Sokov realized that he had thought too much. The Normandy landing was a classic battle recorded in history, and it could not be easily changed. He breathed a sigh of relief.
, asked tentatively: "Comrade General, so do the Allies really plan to land in Normandy?"
"Misha, be confident." Rokossovsky said with a smile: "The Allies are not planning to land in Normandy, but have already launched a landing operation in the Normandy area. It is estimated that we will know the Allied forces by noon tomorrow at the latest
Was the login successful?"
"Since the Allied forces carried out the landing operation in Normandy just like real history, then they will definitely not be able to escape if the landing is successful." Sokov thought in his heart, but he said: "If the Allied forces succeed in landing,
I don’t know whether the Germans will transfer troops from the Eastern Front to reinforce the defenders of Normandy.”
"Misha, tell me, can the Allied landing operation be successful?"
"Comrade General," Sokov said carefully after organizing the words in his mind: "If the Allied forces' deception operation before the attack is effective, then the German army will focus its defense on the Calais area and the Normandy area.
The defense will appear relatively weak. In this case, the chance of their landing successfully is still very high."
When Sokov expressed his views, he deliberately used an uncertain tone to hide the fact that he knew the outcome of the battle.
As expected, Rokossovsky was deceived by him. On the contrary, he said with great interest: "Misha, the Allied forces have launched an offensive in the Normandy area. We will know whether your judgment is accurate by noon tomorrow.
"
But Malinen poured cold water on the side: "Will the Allied forces report to us their battle report on the Normandy landing in a short time?"
"I think it should be possible." Rokossovsky said: "We will know at noon tomorrow at the latest."
This chapter has been completed!