Two days later, Ozor took the initiative to come to Sokov and told him with excitement: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the tunnel fortifications on the north and south slopes have been roughly completed. I'm here to ask you to inspect it."
"Approximately completed?" Sokov heard the word used by Ozor and asked curiously: "What does it mean?"
"I didn't make it clear." Ozor explained: "The main work of the tunnel has been completed, and the remaining work is to reinforce the key parts with reinforced concrete."
"Comrade Political Commissar," Sokov has been to the tunnel fortifications only a handful of times since the construction began. When he heard that it was basically completed, he smiled and said to Belgin: "Let's go and see the tunnel fortifications together."
Under the leadership of Ozor, the two came to the foot of the southern slope. There was a cave entrance as high as a person, which seemed to lead to the tunnel fortifications. Ozor stopped at the entrance of the cave and asked Sokov and Bel.
Jin said: "Lieutenant Colonel, Comrade Political Commissar, there are twelve exits on the south slope, and this is one of them."
Sokov and Belkin followed Ozor and found that there was a corridor going up diagonally. The corridor was about one meter wide and two meters high inside. Even a tall warrior could walk in it without bending.
Every ten meters or so on the earthen wall, there is a gas lamp for lighting.
Ozor, who was leading the way, turned around and explained to Sokov and Belkin behind him as he walked: "Lieutenant Colonel, political commissar, this is a backup corridor. After the battle starts, we will seal it to avoid being blocked by the enemy."
Discover. If we want to attack, we can open the exit in the shortest time."
The three of them walked forward for more than a hundred meters and felt that the corridor suddenly widened. There were adjacent rooms on both sides of the corridor. Seeing this, Belkin asked curiously: "Major Ozor, these are
What is the room used for?”
"Comrade Political Commissar," Ozor stopped and swung the flashlight into the dark room: "These rooms are used to store ammunition and food. After all, the troops have to spend a lot of time in the tunnels.
Not one or two days."
"Just having a place to store ammunition and food is not enough," Sokov secretly counted the rooms. There were about twenty of them. If they were filled with the ammunition and food needed by the troops, they would be able to be used for about half a month.
But when he saw the tunnel, he thought of Shangganling. He didn't want the troops to be short of water near the Volga River, so he continued to ask: "I want to ask where the water we usually use is stored.
place?"
"Don't worry, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I have already thought about it." Ozor took Sokov and Belkin to another place that can accommodate hundreds of people, and said to them: "You see
Are there those metal buckets with lids in the row against the wall? One bucket holds 500 kilograms of drinking water, and twelve buckets are six tons of water." He stamped a square cement board on the ground with his foot, and there was a sound coming from under the cement board.
He heard the hollow sound and said, "There is underground water under this cement slab. Once there is a shortage of water, you can open this cement slab to get water."
Hearing that ammunition, food and water were stored somewhere, Sokov looked up and asked with some concern: "Major Ozor, can the soil above withstand the bombardment of German heavy artillery?"
"Don't worry, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Hearing Sokov's question, Ozor grinned and said, "The soil above is more than fifteen meters, and we need to reinforce it with reinforced concrete.
No matter how dense the German heavy artillery is, they can't even think of blowing up the tunnel fortifications."
When Belkin heard what Ozor said, he smiled and squinted his eyes and said: "Great, this is great. As long as we hide in the fortifications, no matter how fierce the German artillery fire is, we can reduce the casualties of our commanders and soldiers to
lowest."
"The tunnel cannot be used simply for defense. We must also use it as a base for attack." Sokov said to Ozor: "Comrade Major, please take us to see other exits."
The three of them spent more than an hour walking through the tunnel fortifications on the south slope. When they came from the tunnel to the trench, Ozor asked with some anxiety: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how do you feel about this fortification?"
satisfied?"
Sokov thought for a while and then said: "These entrances and exits set up in the trenches are too narrow, which is not conducive to the troops' attack. Think about it, when the enemy's shelling ends and their infantry attacks the hillside,
And our soldiers are squeezed into the tunnel and unable to come out in time because the exit is too narrow. Is this going to be a bad thing?"
"Understood, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." In response to Sokov's suggestion, Ozor nodded: "I will have someone widen the exit of the tunnel later."
While Sokov was talking to Ozor, an armored train passed by the railway a few hundred meters away and headed towards the factory area. Seeing the only three 76.2 mm caliber guns on the armored train, Sokov
There was a murmur in his heart. He didn't think that the existing equipment of the armored train could stop the German tanks. If he wanted to deal with the German tanks, he had to find a way on his own.
After the train had gone away, Sokov turned around and asked Ozor: "Major Ozor, if the German army targets Mamayev Heights, they will definitely use tanks to cover the infantry charge. Although the north and south sides are
The slope is so steep that enemy tanks cannot drive up it, but if they are allowed to stop at the foot of the slope and use tank guns and machine guns to provide fire support to the infantry, it will also be a headache for us."
Ozor guessed what Sokov wanted to express, and asked tentatively: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are you planning to build an anti-tank trench near the railway?"
"That's right, that's right." Seeing that Ozor understood his intention, Sokov nodded and said, "I just plan to dig an anti-tank trench in front of the minefield and barbed wire to prevent enemy tanks from driving over.
."
"This is easy to handle." Regarding Sokov's idea, Ozor said carelessly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you only need to give me two thousand people, and I can build a road in front of Mamayev Hill in two days at most.
Circular anti-tank trench."
"Wait a minute, Major Ozor." Seeing that Ozor agreed so readily, Sokov decided to move the "Golan Trench" in future generations to the Battle of Stalingrad in advance. He tentatively asked Ozor.
Zoll said: "The anti-tank trench I want to build is 6 meters wide at the mouth, 4 meters wide at the bottom, and 9 meters deep. Generally, when building anti-tank trenches, the excavated soil should be piled on both sides, but this kind of anti-tank trench
All the excavated soil should be piled close to our army's position and formed into a soft earth embankment more than two meters high..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, please stop talking." Before Sokov could finish speaking, Ozor interrupted him: "Do you know how much work we have to do to dig such a fortification?"
Sokov only thought about how to copy the "Golan Trench", but he really didn't consider how much work it would take to dig such an anti-tank trench. Therefore, after hearing Ozor's question, he was stunned at first, and then
Shaking his head, he asked: "How big is it?"
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let me calculate it for you now. The anti-tank trench you mentioned is trapezoidal. Calculate it according to the trapezoidal formula: trapezoid area = (upper base + lower base) × height ÷ 2. In other words,
(4+6)×9÷2=45, multiplied by the length of the anti-tank trench, which is about 3,800 meters, the total earthwork to be excavated should be 171,000 cubic meters. Even if two thousand soldiers participate in the construction, the earthwork to be excavated by each person will be
85.5 cubic meters.”
After listening to Ozor's calculations, Sokov couldn't help but be surprised: "Ah, everyone has to dig so much earth? So we don't have the ability to complete such an anti-tank trench now?"
"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what you said is absolutely correct." Ozor nodded and said firmly: "You requested that the depth of the anti-tank trench be nine meters. Without the help of excavators and heavy lifting machinery,
, relying on the soldiers to use shovels and pickaxes to dig, even if it takes two months, they will not be able to complete the work."
"Since the amount of the project is so large," Sokov felt that he was taking it for granted, so he could only say helplessly: "Then forget it."
Although I heard Sokov say that no more anti-tank trenches would be built, some of the words he just said aroused Ozor's curiosity: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can I ask why this kind of anti-tank trenches are dug?"
Are you going to hide all the mud that comes out of the ground close to our army’s position?”
Although it was impossible to build a "Golan trench" in front of Mamayev Hill, Sokov did not give up. He thought it was better to tell Ozor about the characteristics of this anti-tank trench, which might be put to use in the future: "German Army
Seeing that there are anti-tank trenches blocking the road ahead, even if bulldozers are used, since all the soil is piled on the side of our army, the bulldozers will have no soil to fill.
If they build a bridge over an anti-tank trench, the other end of the trench will be more than two meters higher. One end of the bridge will be higher and the other lower, and the higher end will be built on a soft earth embankment, causing the tanks crossing the bridge to swing left and right.
It shakes and falls into the trench at every turn.
Even if the tanks can get over by luck, a tragic fate awaits them. Because when crossing the earth embankment, the vehicle body lifts up, exposing the weak bottom of the armor; when crossing the earth embankment and coming down, the fragile top is exposed, which is equivalent to
It gave our army two excellent opportunities to aim and shoot. Even anti-tank rifles with unsatisfactory penetration can kill these tanks."
After listening to Sokov's words, Ozor opened his eyes in surprise, looked at Sokov with admiration and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are really amazing. The anti-tank trench you mentioned,
I have never heard of it before. If time were not pressed and there were no supporting construction machinery, I would personally lead people to build the kind of anti-tank trench you mentioned."
"Comrade Brigadier," Belkin said disapprovingly after listening to Sokov's words: "This kind of anti-tank trench of yours can certainly block enemy tanks, but it will also limit the range of activities of our tanks.
.”
"Comrade Political Commissar, it's not what you imagined." Before Sokov could speak this time, Ozor had already defended him: "Isn't the soil dug out from the anti-tank trench piled on one side of our army?
?We can use bulldozers to push the soil into anti-tank trenches, or clear one or two gaps in the earth wall, and then build rutted bridges to allow our tanks to pass smoothly."
After listening to Ozor's explanation, Belkin was stunned for a moment, then looked at Sokov and said with a smile: "Comrade Brigadier, you are really not simple, you can actually come up with such a clever anti-tank trench. It's a pity that we
There is not enough time and the necessary construction machinery, otherwise we can really consider digging such an anti-tank trench to prevent German tanks from approaching Mamayev Hill."
"Since we can't dig an anti-tank trench, forget it." Although Sokov felt very sorry that he couldn't build this famous "Golan trench", there was nothing he could do. He could only use other methods.
, to deal with the German tanks: "Comrade Major, when laying out the minefield, you should lay more anti-tank mines on the inside of the railway, near the Mamayev Hill. This will also destroy some of the German tanks."
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you should have told me about this earlier." When Ozor heard what Sokov said, he showed a troubled expression on his face: "When I went to the warehouse to collect mines and explosives two days ago, I heard that the military supplies
The official said that all anti-tank mines were handed over to the defense troops outside the city..."
There was no way to dig anti-tank trenches, and Sokov was still able to get through it; but now, he didn't even have the anti-tank mines he desperately needed, so how could he deal with German tanks in the next battle? Thinking of this, Sokov
The husband's brows twisted into a knot.
"Alas, we can't dig anti-tank trenches, and there are no anti-tank mines." Belgin sighed and said: "When the battle starts, we can only watch the enemy tanks rush to the foot of Mamayev Hill.
Use tank guns and machine guns to cover the infantry charge."
Seeing Sokov's silence, Ozor asked cautiously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, is there any other way you can deal with the German tanks?"
"Trap!" Hearing Ozor ask himself, Sokov couldn't help blurting out: "Even if there are no anti-tank mines and no anti-tank trenches, we can still dig traps to deal with enemy tanks."
"Dig a trap?" Hearing Sokov say this, Ozor couldn't help but feel a little lost, and then asked curiously: "How to dig?"
"Comrade Major, we can dig some deep rectangular pits two to three meters deep inside the railway, cover them with wooden boards, and then sprinkle soil." Sokov introduced a new trap he had come up with to Ozor:
"The German infantry had no problem stepping on it. But when their tanks ran over it, the wooden boards would break because they could not bear the weight of the tanks, allowing the enemy tanks to roll over or fall directly into deep pits.
"
"Yes, this is a good idea." After listening to Sokov's words, Ozor immediately clapped his hands and applauded: "Dig a few such traps in front of the minefield, and it will definitely not attract the enemy's attention. Wait for the tanks to run over them.
, the heavy car body would collapse the wooden planks covering the deep pit, causing the tank to fall into the pit. This is really a good idea, and I immediately arranged for manpower to dig the pit."
This chapter has been completed!