All the tank crews gathered around to watch the phone in Bely's hand. The second lieutenant of the tank crew even got into the tank and started the tank to test the effect of the phone call.
After some tests, the second lieutenant of the tank crew turned off the engine, climbed out of the tank, and asked Bely excitedly: "Comrade Colonel, the person who can come up with this method is simply a genius. In this way, we are fighting with
When infantrymen fight together, they no longer have to worry about inconvenient communication."
Bely pointed with his hand at Sokov, who was standing not far away, and introduced to his subordinates: "Here, it's 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, reduce our brigade to a battalion?" When the tank soldiers heard what Bely said, they couldn't help but burst into an uproar: "Comrade Brigade Commander, why is this?"
Bely didn't want to explain too much to his subordinates on this occasion, so he said with a straight face: "The troops have been reduced to battalions, and I am acting as the commander of the tank battalion. This is an order from my superiors. What, do you want to disobey?"
Seeing that Bely was angry, the tank soldier, although he still felt very uncomfortable, obediently kept his mouth shut. After all, the brigade commander did not express any objection to his appointment as acting battalion commander. What else could his subordinates say.
Seeing that the soldiers were quiet, Bieley asked again: "Can any of you tell me how long it will take to install telephones on all these forty tanks?"
The second lieutenant of the tank crew glanced at the phone on the back of the tank, thought for a moment, and replied: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if we start now, I think there should be no problem if we install phones on all tanks within three days.
.”
"No, three days is too long. We might have to fight the Germans tomorrow, so everything must be installed before dawn." After Bely said these words in an unquestionable tone, he added: "Yes.
Well, from now on, don’t call me brigade commander, call me battalion commander. The 73rd Infantry Brigade has only one brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Do you understand?”
"Understood!" The tank soldiers agreed in unison and began to install telephones in the tanks.
When Sokov and Yakov saw that Bely had finished training his subordinates, they came over and said: "Comrade Colonel, let your subordinates get familiar with the technical equipment here. Let's go back to the command post."
Bely was just trying to understand Sokov's next plan, so he nodded, called a captain from another group of tank soldiers, and said to him: "Captain Sereda, I have other important things, and I'll leave them to you.
." His eyes swept across the tanks parked in the underground tank depot one by one, "Maybe we will be driving these tanks onto the battlefield soon, so please let the comrades seize the time to familiarize themselves with the equipment."
Before he could finish 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 all call me battalion commander from now on."
Seeing Bely leaving with Sokov and Yakov, Sereda scratched the back of his head and said in confusion: "It's weird, he's not called brigade commander, he's called battalion commander. What's going on?"
The three of them returned to the command post. Before sitting down, Belei couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I would like to ask, what are your plans next?"
"In two or three days, our army will launch a counterattack against the enemy." Sokov stood up, poured a cup of hot tea, placed it in front of Bely, and continued: "Although our brigade focuses on defense, we will not participate in this
There were several counterattacks, but now that there are so many tanks, I have new ideas."
"New ideas?" Bely took the tea jar from Sokov's hand and asked curiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if you have any ideas, you might as well tell them."
"Comrade Colonel, come and see." Sokov took out a map from his bag, spread it on the table, pointed with his finger and said: "To the north of the factory area, there is a German regiment-level command post, about 100 meters away from here.
About three kilometers. I originally planned to take advantage of the darkness to send troops for a sneak attack, but now that we have the tank battalion under your command, I have changed my mind. We can use infantry and tank coordination to launch an attack on 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 men 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 our cooperation." Bely asked with some worry: "But now the city's air control is in the hands of the enemy. If we launch an attack during the day, the enemy will
If the air force is dispatched to attack our offensive troops, wouldn't it cause huge casualties?"
"It is inevitable that we will be bombed by the German army during the attack." Sokov replied: "But don't worry, I have a solution."
Bely did not believe that Sokov had any good ideas. In order to prevent his subordinates from making unnecessary sacrifices, he asked: "Comrade Brigadier, can you tell me how you plan to solve it?"
"The superiors have placed the 437th Fighter Flight Regiment under my command," Sokov said to Bely with a smile: "After our offensive battle begins, I can order the fighter formation to attack and drive away those enemy planes trying to bomb us."
This was the first time that Bely heard that there was actually a fighter jet group in the troops commanded by Sokov. He could not help but widen his eyes in surprise and asked doubtfully: "Comrade Brigadier, is everything you said true?
?”
"Comrade Colonel, I can testify to this." Briski, who had always remained silent, interjected: "Colonel Khostnikov's fighter flight regiment is indeed under our command now. Our superiors have also equipped us with equipment that can directly communicate with
An intercom for pilots to communicate, so that we can direct their air combat or ground support according to the battlefield situation."
When he learned that there were fighter jets to assist in the battle, most of Belly's worries disappeared. However, after a moment of silence, he continued to ask: "Comrade Brigade Commander, now that we have tanks and air force, do we need to prepare 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 German regiment headquarters, just some simple night fighting fortifications. The tank battalion can attack them with just one assault.
They were crushed to pieces."
Seeing that Sokov was so optimistic, Bely was still a little worried: "You just mentioned the infantry-tank coordination. My last question is, which troops do you plan to use to follow our attack?" At this point, he asked
Briski, who was sitting opposite, took a look and said rudely, "If I'm not mistaken, you only have more than a hundred people left. Adding in the workers in the assembly workshop, the total strength is only three to four hundred."
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 on Mamayev Hill." In response to Bely's question, Sokov replied: "I plan to transfer another company of troops from there.
, participating in the attack on the German regiment headquarters. My soldiers are all battle-hardened, 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 attack anymore, but turned the topic to the fuel and ammunition of the tank battalion: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I would like to ask, the 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 fuel for tanks. You can have as much as you want. As for ammunition," Soko said.
My husband once asked Zinchenko, 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 inventory. Therefore, they could only give
You provide a basic amount of ammunition, and you need to figure out the other ammunition yourself."
When Bely heard this, he immediately jumped up from his seat: "Comrade Brigade Commander, where can I go to find a solution? Go and grab it from the Germans? You know, the caliber of their No. 3 and No. 4 tanks is,
One is 50mm and the other is 75mm. Even if their shells are captured, they cannot be used at all."
"Yes, Misha." When Yakov heard this, he couldn't help but speak for Bely: "Don't say that tank shells are not universal, even machine gun bullets are not universal. We use 7.62 mm bullets, and they
The 7.92mm bullet was used.”
The difficult problem raised by Bely 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 ammunition transported from the other side of the Volga River. Don’t look at it.
Ferries on the Volga River run back and forth every day, but they have to transport too many supplies. In addition to the soldiers and supplies needed in the city, they also include various weapons and ammunition. Artillery is deployed on the east bank, and there are not many tanks left in the city.
Therefore, there were almost no shells in the ammunition shipped.
After thinking for a long time, Sokov said to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, don't be anxious. I will report this problem to the commander and see if he has any solution."
Belei sighed and said: "Now it seems that this is the only way." After saying that, he paused for a moment and then asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, how did you arrange the organization of the tank battalion?"
"There used to be a tank company in my brigade. Since the tanks were lost in the battle, the tank soldiers are now used as infantry. This time when a new tank battalion is formed, I plan to let the original tank company commander, Lieutenant Ali Tai, 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 of this?"
Hearing that Sokov planned to appoint his original tank company commander as the commander of the third company, Belly had no objection. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is how I arranged it: the commander of the first tank company will be
Captain Shereda is in charge, and the company has eighteen tanks. Do you have any objections?"
After Sokov wrote down the name Bely mentioned in his notebook, he nodded and said, "I have no objection. What about the organization of the Second Company?"
"The Second Tank Company is led by Captain Ivantsov, and the number of tanks in the entire company is still eighteen."
"Comrade Colonel," Briski couldn't help complaining after hearing this, "there are only forty-five tanks in total, and your two companies accounted for thirty-six of them, leaving only nine for the third company.
A car, isn’t it a bit too much?”
"Comrade Captain, you don't have to say anything." Sokov raised his hand and interrupted Briski's words: "I have no objection to Colonel Bely's allocation method."
"Comrade Brigadier." Seeing that Sokov actually agreed to Bely's distribution plan, Briski asked in confusion: "Why did you agree to such an unfair distribution plan?"
"Comrade Captain," Seeing that Briski couldn't figure it out, Sokov explained to him: "Tanks fighting on the battlefield rely on mutual understanding. Colonel Bely's subordinates are all very familiar with each other, even without communication equipment.
, they also know how to cooperate during combat. And what about Lieutenant Alitai’s troops? Although they once had tanks, they have been serving as infantry now. If they are given too many tanks at once, do you think their cooperation will be better?
, can it be compared to Colonel Bely’s men?”
Sokov's words made Briski fall into deep thought. He thought for a long time, and finally slowly shook his head and said: "I think Lieutenant Aritai and his men are definitely not comparable to Colonel Bely's men."
Seeing that Brisky understood his intention, Sokov turned to Bely and said: "Comrade Colonel, I completely agree with your plan. The formation of the troops will be done according to what you said."
When Berreti proposed the distribution plan, his hands were still sweating, worried that Sokov would object. After all, each of his companies had twice as many tanks as Lieutenant Alitai's company. Now he saw Sokov
Sokov actually agreed to his situation so readily, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I will go to the tank depot first to arrange the new organization."
After seeing off Bely, Brisky asked with some worry: "Comrade Brigadier, do you think Colonel Bely's troops will obey your command on the battlefield?"
Sokov turned to look at Briski and said with a smile: "You can rest assured about this. Judging from Colonel Bely's attitude, he is very willing to cooperate with me in my work. During the battle, if anything happens, I can directly
Give orders to Colonel Bely, and let him pass them on to his tank crews, so that you don’t have to worry about anyone disobeying my orders."
"High, really high." When Yakov heard this, he couldn't help but give a thumbs up to Sokov and said approvingly: "Only Colonel Bely is willing to cooperate with your work, even if his tank soldiers
If I have any objections to you, I can only obey your orders obediently."