"Not enough manpower?!" Sokov stared at Alitai and the tank soldiers behind him, frowned and asked, "Lieutenant Alitai, what do you mean? What does it mean that there is not enough manpower?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Alitai said with a sad face: "I received a notice to come here to observe the military competition with friendly forces. I thought that there were definitely no tank soldiers, so I only brought eight people here, of which there were only two drivers. You must know that two drivers cannot drive three tanks at the same time. If I want to participate in the competition, I will send someone back and call a driver here immediately?"
Sokov almost agreed to Alitai's request casually, but then he thought that he could drive a tank anyway, and he was just driving a tank competition, so he was fully capable of dealing with it. So he waved his hand at Alitai and said, "No need, Comrade Lieutenant, please let the soldiers get on the car, I will drive the remaining tank."
As soon as Sokov said, not only Rotmistrov was shocked, but even Alitai's face showed an incredible expression: "Comrade Brigade Commander, what did you say? You came to drive the tank yourself. I heard it right?"
"Yes, comrade Lieutenant, you heard it right. I will drive the tank to participate in the competition myself." Sokov said, waved his hand at Alitai, and ordered: "Let the soldiers wait for the car and prepare to set off."
Rotmistrov, who was standing aside, quickly stopped him and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, no matter whether you can drive a tank or not, I would recommend that you not take this risk. Just wait for this tank lieutenant to find another driver. It doesn't matter if we wait for a while, if any accidents happen to you in the game, there will be a big problem."
"Don't worry, Comrade General." Sokov smiled at Rotmistrov, "I believe that with his tank driving skills, no accidents should happen. Just watch on the stage." After that, he jumped off the viewing platform and led Alitai and others toward the tank not far away.
Before boarding the car, Sokov whispered some precautions to Alitai and others, then took the tank cap handed to him by the tank soldiers, put it on his head, and got into the tank in the middle.
The chief of staff of the tank army standing on the stage asked Rotmistrov with some concern: "Comrade Commander, is it a bit too risky to let Lieutenant Colonel Sokov drive a tank to participate in the competition? You must know that he is an infantry rather than a tank soldier. Isn't anything going to happen?"
Regarding the Chief of Staff’s question, Rotmistrov was silent for a moment and said, “Based on my understanding of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, he is not a reckless person. I guess he can really drive a tank. We might as well watch him perform here.”
The officers and fighters present knew that Sokov could drive tanks, so everyone stared at the tank in the middle. Especially the officers and fighters of the infantry brigade, when they saw the tanks start up and quickly heading towards the competition area, many people were sweating in their hands.
But the scene that happened next made everyone feel much more at ease: three tanks advanced side by side, sometimes galloping on the plains, sometimes climbing over hills. Seeing Sokov's tank driving skills so skillful, Rotmistrov couldn't help but open his mouth in surprise, thinking that Sokov was not simple, and his driving skills did not require the tank soldiers under his command at all.
Soon, the tanks approached the gully, and the logs laid on the gully had long been removed. If the tanks that Sokov and others wanted to pass through, they could only use the logs to build a bridge again. The three tanks stopped more than ten meters away from the gully, and then tank soldiers drilled out of the tank, unloaded the logs tied to the tank body, and carried them over to build the bridge. Seeing them put all the logs in the same place, the Chief of Staff said to Rotmistrov in surprise: "Comrade Commander, look, they laid all the wood in one place. Are they planning to pass all the tanks from the same place?"
Rotmistrov looked at the tank soldiers who were building the bridge, nodded slightly, and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't you think their approach is correct?"
"Comrade Commander," the chief of staff looked at Rotmistrov in confusion, "I don't quite understand what you mean."
"When our tanks pass through the gully, each tank uses four logs to build bridges on the ditch." Rotmistrov pointed to his chief of staff and explained: "The width of the simple bridge built in this way must be the same as the width of the track, otherwise it may be planted into the ditch when they pass through the ditch. And they put all the logs together to build a bridge, which is equivalent to a plane, and even a driver with average driving skills can drive the tank to pass through the ditch smoothly."
Speaking of this, Rotmistrov nodded again and said with a smile: "This Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is really not simple. He actually used this method to strengthen it. It seems that they won again in this competition."
"No." Hearing Rotmistrov say this, the Chief of Staff said unwillingly: "After all, they have not passed the gully yet, so it is still unclear who will lose and who will win."
But the scene that happened next confirmed that Rotmistrov's guess was completely correct. Because the wide plane formed by the twelve logs allowed the driver to drive the tank through the bridge without repeatedly adjusting the position of the logs, so that the tank team commanded by Sokov passed through the simple wooden bridge was more than twice as fast as the tank soldiers just now.
Seeing the three tanks returning to the viewing platform and stopped, Rotmistrov immediately jumped off the stage, walked over quickly, shook hands with Sokov who had just emerged from the tank and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I really didn't expect that you were so skillful in driving the tank."
"I used to drive a crawler tractor when I was in a collective farm." Hearing Rotmstrov's praise, Sokov brought out the rhetoric he used in order to prevent the other party's suspicion: "That is why he can drive a tank so skillfully."
After Sokov finished speaking, he smiled bitterly and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, we can still understand that shooting and stinging are lost to you. But now even the tank driving competition has lost to you, which makes us feel ashamed."
"Comrade General, you are too modest." Although Sokov won three games in a row today, in order not to make Rotmistrov feel too embarrassed, he still explained with a smile: "If there was no such gully blocking the road, we would have definitely lost in this tank driving game."
"That's right, Comrade General." Alitai, who was standing next to Sokov, added in time: "Before we got on the bus, the brigade commander had specifically told us that all logs should be used together when building the bridge, so that the bridge deck was wide and the tank could pass directly without sending people to adjust the width specifically. If it weren't for saving a lot of time when crossing the bridge, we would definitely lose in this game."
"If you win, you win, you lose." Rotmistrov said generously to his chief of staff: "Chief of staff, announce the result of the game to everyone."
The Chief of Staff agreed, climbed onto one of the tanks, looked around, and said loudly: "Comrades, I now announce that the 73rd Infantry Brigade won the tank driving competition that just ended!"
When they heard that a new tank driving competition was added, the commanders and soldiers of the infantry brigade felt particularly unfair: We are infantry, but you want to compete with us to pilot tanks. Why don’t you compete with us to pilot aircraft? But when they saw the tanks driven by their brigade commander flying on the plains and hills, they felt a little relieved, and felt that even if they lost, they would not lose too badly. At this moment, when the chief of staff of the tank army announced in public that the infantry brigade had won, the soldiers immediately cheered like thunderous thunder, and the military cap that they had just picked up flew into the air again.
When the troops of both sides returned to their respective stations, Rotmistrov said to Sokov: "Come lieutenant colonel, can you talk a few words?"
Sokov nodded and said, "Yes."
The two of them were given to the roadside so as not to block the commanders and fighters who were about to return to the battalion. Rotmistrov said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, thank you."
"Thank me?!" Sokov asked in confusion about Rotmistrov's sudden thanks to him, "Why?"
Rotmistrov first handed Sokov a cigarette, and then said, "You also saw today that when our tanks pass through gullies or anti-tank trenches, they use logs to build bridges. In order to make the width of the bridge consistent with the width of the tracks on both sides of the tank, a lot of time is usually wasted. But you concentrated on using logs to build bridges to let our soldiers understand that using this method to pass through obstacles will save a lot of time."
After figuring out what happened, Sokov grinned and said, "Comrade General, this is just a trivial matter. You are so over-reward."
After the two chatted for a few more times, Rotmestrov said to Sokov: "I received a telegram from the front commander last night, saying that it was reinforcements sent by the base camp and would arrive in about one or two days. Once they arrived, our defense power in Kursk City would be greatly improved. At that time, your brigade can search for the defense line and concentrate on defending one direction."
When Sokov learned that the reinforcements from the base camp were coming, not only did he not feel happy, but his expression on his face became solemn. Seeing Sokov's reaction, Rotmistrov couldn't help but be curious: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, when he heard that the reinforcements were coming, I see that you are not only not happy, but instead have a worried expression on your face. What's going on?"
"Comrade General, it is naturally a good thing to have more troops in the city." Sokov did not hide it, but answered truthfully: "But if there is no unified command, then when facing the enemy's attack, the troops in the city will fight on their own. Once the German army is too strong, we will be at risk of being defeated by them."
Sokov's words reminded Rotmistrov. He knew that among the troops to reinforce, in addition to the infantry division, there were also tank brigades and artillery regiments. If these troops were from the Bryansk Front, perhaps their superiors might hand over the troops to be commanded by themselves, but now these troops are from the base camp reserves. Not to mention himself, even the commander General Rokosovsky would not have the right to command.
Thinking of this, he said to Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, your concern is very correct. I will return to the command later and report this to General Rokosovsky."
When Sokov returned to the command center, Belkin, who was staying here, immediately met. Although he had already learned from other soldiers that the Infantry Brigade had won all three competitions, when he saw Sokov appearing in front of him, he couldn't help asking: "Comrade Brigade Commander, have we won all the victories in today's game?"
"Yes, Comrade Political Commissar." Since one of the wins was personally directed, Sokov said excitedly: "Not only the shooting and stinging competitions, we won. Even General Rotmistrov's temporary tank driving competition, we also won."
"This is really unfair." Although the competition has been won, Belkin still has to send a few complaints about Rotmistrov in front of Sokov: "We are obviously an infantry brigade, but General Rotmistrov wants to compete with us with tank driving skills. Isn't this a tough guy?"
Sokov laughed dryly and said, "No matter what, we are the final winners. Comrade Political Commissar, come to the map, and I have other things to say to you."
Sokov pointed to the map hanging on the wall and said to Berkin: "I heard General Rotmistrov said that the reinforcements given to us by the base camp will soon arrive in Kursk. Once they arrive, the defense zone of our brigade will shrink and turn from the original two defense directions to one. Tell me, which direction should we choose to defend?"
"Is that necessary?" Belkin walked to the wall, took a photo below the map with his hands, and said confidently: "Of course, he is responsible for the defense in the south of the city. There is a barrier from the Tenebra River here. The German army cannot invest heavily in this direction. There is no problem in defending here with our strength."
Chapter completed!