"Colin," Sokov replied with a smile: "Rational use of tactics on the battlefield can reduce casualties between our army and eliminate more enemies."
If Sokov said this before repelling the German army, I'm afraid that Lyudnikov would still be half-doubted. But at this moment he was convinced. After all, the enemy who launched the attack did not even have a chance to shoot, and was defeated by the sudden artillery fire and retreated in shame.
Lyudnikov thought to himself that if Sokov was not here, he would have achieved such a victory. He had just come up with such a thought, and he had denied it. He smiled bitterly and shook his head and thought, if it weren't for Sokov, he would have probably not got any artillery stored in the underground warehouse even if all the artillery was in the hands of the Germans, let alone to repel the enemy's attack.
But while he was happy, he still felt a little regretful. He took out a pack of wrinkled cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to Sokov, "Come on, Colonel Sokov." Seeing the other party waved his hand, he added, "Don't worry, it's not German cigarettes, but cigarettes produced in Moscow."
Since Sokov smoked German cigarettes once and felt a smell of horse manure, he kept his distance from this cigarette. Seeing Lyudnikov handing him a pack of cigarettes, he instinctively thought that it might be German cigarettes. He wanted to shake his hand and refuse, but when he heard that it was a cigarette produced in Moscow, he took it and pulled it out and held it in his mouth.
When the two began to suck the clouds and mist, Lyudnikov humbly asked Sokov: "Col. Sokov, do you think we can defend the barricade factory?"
Hearing Lyudnikov's question, Sokov couldn't help but smile. He remembered that in real history, the troops under Lyudnikov not only defended the barricade factory, but also caused the 305th German Infantry Division, which was attacking the factory to be abolished. Now, with his own assistance, the confidence to defend the factory will be even greater. Moreover, in a week, the Soviet army's comprehensive counterattack will begin, and the crisis of the barricade factory will be lifted.
Thinking of this, he said with a smile: "Don't worry, comrade Colonel, I think there should be no big problem for our two divisions to join forces to guard the barricade factory."
"That's good, that's good." Lyudnikov got the answer he wanted and felt much better. "My army has been greatly weakened after such a long battle. Without your help, I really don't have much confidence in whether I can defend the barricade factory."
The two chatted for a few more times, and Lyudnikov suddenly said with emotion: "Col. Sokov, the batch of 76mm cannons you brought to deal with the enemy's tanks and infantry, which is quite effective. Especially for the German assault guns, they were killed in just a few shots, but I think there are still some unsatisfactory aspects."
Lyudnikov's words aroused Sokov's curiosity, and he asked with interest: "Col. Tell me, where is it not satisfactory?"
"Although this ZIS-3 76.2mm cannon is relatively light in weight, it can be towed by various trucks or even jeeps during marching, and can even be dragged by animals and artillerymen." Lyudnikov said thoughtfully: "But I think its mobility is not enough. If it is in pursuit, it will be almost useless. By the time our artillery rebuilds the artillery position, the enemy may have escaped the range of the artillery fire, and it would be great if they could be as flexible as the German assault guns."
The speaker is unintentional and the listener is intentional. Lyudnikov originally just sighed casually, but a thought suddenly appeared in Sokov's mind: Didn't this ZIS-3 76.2mm cannon be changed to SU76 self-propelled cannon? Since Lyudnikov said that its mobility was not enough, why not just change these cannons to self-propelled cannons? In this way, he had a mobile artillery in his hand, which would be easier to smash the German attack.
Because he was so fascinated by the thought, Sokov forgot to hold the cigarette that he had not finished smoking. He woke up from his meditation when he knew that the cigarette butt was burned. He hurriedly threw the cigarette butt on the ground, crushed it with his toes, and looked at Lyudnikov and said, "Comrade Colonel, you are such a genius, an amazing genius."
Lyudnikov was confused about Sokov's praise: "What did I say, Colonel Sokov?"
"Didn't you say that the ZIS-3 76.2mm cannon cannon can be maneuvered on the battlefield at any time like the German assault guns?" Sokov said hurriedly: "I think you're very reasonable. We can install a chassis on the cannon to make it more mobile, so that our artillery can carry out artillery fire strikes on the enemy anywhere."
Lyudnikov's eyes lit up first, and then he said with a hint of dismay: "Col. Sokov, your idea is good, but it is not something we can do to add a chassis to the cannon."
"Don't worry, colonel." Sokov said confidently: "Although we don't have the ability to add a chassis to the cannon, someone can do it. We can just leave this kind of thing to professionals to do."
After saying that, he pointed his hand at the phone on the table and asked Lyudnikov: "Col. Can your phone contact the Red October Factory?"
Instead of answering Sokov's question immediately, Lyudnikov turned his head and asked the correspondent sitting in the corner: "Can our phone call be with the Red October factory?"
"Comrade Commander," the communications soldier stood up and replied respectfully: "Since the enemy attacked the city, all the telephones of the residents in the city were cut off, and all civilian lines were requisitioned by the army. In other words, we can not only use military lines, but also the original civilian lines..."
"Okay, okay, don't talk so much nonsense." Lyudnikov interrupted the words behind him without waiting for the correspondent to finish his sentence and asked, "You just have to tell me if we can talk to the Red October Factory?"
"Yes, comrade commander." The communications soldier asked with a blushing face: "Do you need me to help you take over the Red October Factory?"
Lyudnikov turned his head and looked at Sokov, wanting to hear who he planned to call the Red October factory. Sokov learned that he could talk directly to the Red October factory here, and he felt much more at ease. He quickly said to the correspondents: "Please take over the switchboard of the Red October factory immediately, and said that Colonel Sokov had an urgent matter to contact Director Peter."
The correspondent soldier quickly connected the switchboard of the Red October factory. The operator heard that Colonel Sokov was looking for Director Peter. He knew that there must be something big, so he did not dare to neglect it. He quickly transferred the phone to the director's office.
"Hello, Misha." I don't know when Director Peter no longer called Sokov's surname and military rank, but kindly called his nickname. When he received a call from Sokov, he guessed that there must be something important, so he didn't talk nonsense, but asked straight to the point: "You call me, do you want to produce something again?"
"Yes, Comrade Director." Sokov saw that the other party guessed the purpose of his phone call, so he simply said: "I thought of a new weapon, and I hope I can get your help."
Peter had seen new rockets and rockets, and knew that everything Sokov developed was usually the most suitable for the battlefield. At this moment, he heard that he had thought of a new weapon again, and he couldn't help but feel ecstatic. He couldn't help but urge him: "Misha, what good ideas do you have? Tell me quickly!"
Before expressing his thoughts, Sokov asked the other party tentatively: "Comrade Director, have you heard of the ZIS-3 76.2mm cannon?"
"Nonsense, can I still not know about this kind of artillery?" Peter sneered and replied, "This is a kind of artillery mainly produced by the barricade factory. Why, is the new weapon you think is related to this kind of artillery?"
"Yes, Comrade Director. Today we used this artillery to smash a German attack, destroying several of their assault guns and hundreds of soldiers." Sokov briefly introduced the results of the battle and then expressed his thoughts: "I think this artillery lacks sufficient mobility. I am considering whether it can install a chassis for it and convert it into a self-propelled artillery, which can be as flexible as the German assault guns."
Sokov thought Peter would immediately agree with his opinion, but who knew that after he finished speaking, the other party suddenly became silent. He thought the telephone line was interrupted, so he hurriedly shouted at the microphone: "Hey, hey, comrade director, are you still here?"
"I'm still here!" Peter replied in a muffled voice.
Sokov didn't understand why Peter suddenly became silent after hearing his words, so he asked tentatively: "Have you heard what I said?"
"I heard it!" Peter's voice suddenly became cold and stiff: "Col. Sokov, can you tell me, who told you about putting the cannon on the chassis and turning it into a self-propelled cannon?"
When Sokov heard Peter's name changed from a nickname to a surname, and using a respectful title, he felt something was wrong. He frowned and replied, "No one told me, I thought of it with a flash of inspiration in my mind."
After listening to Sokov's answer, Peter's tone became eased: "So that's the case. I thought it was told by someone else. You and I are not outsiders, and I don't want to hide it. In mid-October, I received a letter from weapons and equipment, ordering us to carry out research on the installation of the ZIS-3 76.2mm cannon on the tank territory. Since the superiors strictly keep it confidential, there are not many people who know about this. I just heard you mention it, and I thought that someone under my command was not strict and told you about this."
When Sokov learned that the Red October factory had already started the development of self-propelled artillery, he couldn't help but think in his heart, and asked quickly: "Comrade Director, can I ask how the development progress is? When will the self-propelled artillery be put into actual combat?"
"It's very difficult, Misha." Peter sighed and said, "It's not a big problem to install cannons onto the tank territory. It can be completed in half a day at most. But the problem we are facing is that the cannons installed on the chassis cannot rotate at all."
"Why do you need to rotate the muzzle?" Sokov asked strangely: "Don't you know that because the German assault guns do not have turrets, the rotation of the muzzle is done by the steering of the vehicle body."
As soon as this was said, Peter fell silent again. Sokov didn't know what he said. He was about to ask carefully, but he heard the sound of slapping the table in the receiver. Then he heard Peter say excitedly: "Misha, you are right. We are so stubborn. Why do we have to make the muzzle rotate? We can completely aim the target through the steering of the chassis."
After solving a technical problem, Sokov asked tentatively: "Comrade Director, then when can you get the sample car?"
"I'm afraid it will take another week." Peter said embarrassedly: "There are two problems to be solved at present. One is what kind of chassis should the artillery be installed on? Some comrades said that the T-26 chassis should be used. The reason is that the tank has been discontinued now, but there are still many chassis left, which we can use; some comrades said that from a long-term perspective, the chassis of the T-70 tank should be used..."
"Comrade Director," after Peter finished speaking, Sokov expressed his "view": "I think it's better to install the ZIS-3 76.2mm cannon on the chassis of the T-70 tank, and also need to increase the length of the vehicle and the load-bearing wheel."
"Increase the length of the whole vehicle and the load-bearing wheel?" Peter said with a wry smile: "Misa, if we really change this way, I'm afraid the time for our finished product will be delayed."
"Comrade Director, I think you can fix the cannons directly on the tank chassis according to the original idea." Sokov organized a vocabulary in his mind and continued: "We will conduct inspections in actual combat so that we can give you more suggestions for improvement."
"That's fine." Peter thought for a moment and agreed readily: "We have produced two prototypes, one with the cannons installed on the chassis of the T-26 tank, and the other with the chassis of the T-70. But it has just been manufactured and has not been tested yet, and I don't know how effective it is. Are you really sure that you need to use these two prototypes and participate in actual combat without completing the test?"
"Yes, comrade director." Sokov was eager to see the modified automatic artillery, so he replied without hesitation: "If it were normal, we would definitely have to wait for you to complete various tests before equipping with new technical equipment. But the situation in the barricade factory is very critical now, and we don't have time to wait for you to complete the tests, so we can only test the new self-propelled artillery and can only take risks on the battlefield."
Peter thought about Sokov's proposal for a long time, and finally nodded and said to the microphone: "Okay, Misha, I will send someone to deliver the sample car to you immediately. At the same time, I will send a few technicians to accompany the car to let them count various data in time so that we can improve better."
Chapter completed!