Stalingrad is not only the largest transportation hub in southern Russia, but also the largest petrochemical center in southern Russia.
With the German army occupying more than half of the urban area of Stalingrad, especially the railway station, which has become a battlefield for dozens of battles between the Soviet Union and Germany, the transportation line for oil from the Baku Oilfield to the north has actually been completely cut off since the end of August.
This has caused a very embarrassing situation. The Baku oil field alone can easily produce 20 million tons of light crude oil per year in peacetime. Now the oil field is still trying to maintain production capacity, but the oil cannot be transported out. It is like a person struggling to
When chewing bread, only a small part of the bread in the stomach pouch enters the intestines. In order to avoid the dilemma, the temporary solution is to shut up the person.
So by mid-October, nearly 4,000 oil wells in the Baku Oilfield had been artificially closed. The crude oil that had been mined and undergone certain distillation operations was poured back into the oil wells and continued to be stored underground.
Some of these oil wells had their pipelines blown up by the Soviet army, some had their kowtow machines destroyed, and some had their pipelines directly blocked with concrete.
The reduction of overcapacity in the Baku oil field was completely forced. Of course, the Soviet army also thought of other ways to transport the oil out.
However, the Soviet Union had relied on railways to transport oil for a long time. The crude oil carriers on the Caspian Sea were not only small in tonnage but also small in number. The authorities were forced to simply throw metal cans full of oil into the Caspian Sea. They were connected in series with iron chains and were transported by tugboats.
They were dragged to Turkmen ports for smelting.
However, this operation is not economical, so under the pressure of reality, a new railway branch line running north along the shore of the Caspian Sea is being built with the efforts of millions of Soviet heroes.
The current oil production capacity of the Soviet Union has entered a terrible low. Even if it fell into a war in the second half of the year, the Soviet Union still produced 28 million tons of crude oil in 1941. Now it is October 1942, and the total crude oil production is less than 1,000 tons.
Five million tons.
The biggest factor is the large-scale shutdown of oil wells in the Baku oil field.
So what is the current situation of the German army?
Long before the Blue Plan, the German army had seriously considered the fuel consumption of this operation during the preparation period for the offensive operation.
Under the advice of a group of generals with normal IQs, Mustache still insisted on fighting a protracted war with the Soviet Union. However, by the summer of 1942, the German army probably had no more choice but to bite the bullet and fight a protracted war with the Soviet Union.
To defeat the Soviet Union, probably the most feasible plan is to occupy the Soviet Union's Southern Russia.
Mustache is not a pure fool. He understands the production capacity of the Baku oil field very well. It is a huge oil field with an annual output of 20 million tons. Even if its production capacity plummeted after the war, the German army only needs to control it and restore the production capacity of 10 million tons.
Is it a problem?
Today, the German army's demand for fuel is not that extreme. As long as Germany has a supply of six million tons of crude oil, it can basically meet the operation of the armored forces and all logistics vehicles.
Germany is now stepping up its production of tanks and trucks, and its production capacity is considerable. Especially in terms of trucks, its production capacity and quality are stronger than those of the Soviet Union.
In terms of production capacity of various armored vehicles, Germany is weaker than the Soviet Union.
In June, Mustache asked Antonescu, the actual leader of Romania, to push Romania's oil production capacity to a peak, that is, 300,000 tons of crude oil would be sold to Germany in July. After being refined, this crude oil can be supplied to Germany.
How far can the chariot travel?
Reality forced the German troops on the front line to save fuel.
In fact, the front-line Soviet troops are also saving fuel.
Oil does not end when it is mined. Before the war, several major oil smelting centers in the Soviet Union were either under siege, occupied, or caught in the flames of war. The authorities estimated that the oil production capacity in 1942 was 17 million tons, but the smelting efficiency was already only
That leaves one-third of the peacetime figure.
In a sense, the Soviet Union was really short of oil. Even though the Soviet Union was working hard to build new refineries in Asia, with their support, the recovery speed of its oil refining capacity was not fast enough, and the increase was not satisfactory.
A large amount of oil cannot be smelted, but it will not be simply thrown into oil depots waiting for smelting. Due to the fall of the Donbas region, the Soviet Union's coal consumption suddenly became tight, and many factories simply used oil as a substitute for coal.
There is no shortage of food in the Soviet Union as a whole. The food provided by the allies is almost all ready-to-eat military rations. The quantity they arrive is not large, and they are the icing on the cake.
However, the gasoline and diesel shipped by the allies were large enough in quantity and of high quality to provide significant help to the Soviet army at a time when the Soviet Union's oil production and refining was facing difficulties.
At least Novosibirsk has an oil refinery, which itself is a young factory.
During the Soviet Union's strategic shift at the beginning of the war, it was impossible to move many equipment from large oil refineries in the west in an instant, so experienced workers and their families took their luggage and boarded the train one after another to run away.
Under the wave of forced skilled migration, a group of refinery workers were resettled in large cities along the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Strong industrial cities like Novosibirsk provided local steel plants and various mechanical engineering technical drawings, and new oil refining equipment quickly rolled off the production line.
Oil from small fields in the Far East, and some from fields in the western Ural Mountains, began to be diverted to small refineries in Novosibirsk.
The gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and other output produced in Novosibirsk have become the energy supply for the operation of various machinery in the city. For example, due to the collapse of the Donbas coal mining area, all coal mines discovered in Siberia must be recovered.
Spend some money to support the west.
The thermal coal gap in Novosibirsk City is naturally replaced by oil. Those precious high-quality coking coals are no longer used as thermal coal, but as smelting energy for various heavy industrial enterprises in the city.
Therefore, the central heating system in Novosibirsk City largely relies on burning oil to heat water.
Once upon a time, Yang Mingzhi only had a general understanding of the current oil industry in the Soviet Union. He was still a little surprised. Lysenko told him so much. Did he understand the oil industry, or did he really pay special attention to these related reports?
Lysenko finally took out his pocket watch: "Ah, it's getting late. Comrade Berekov, I'm sorry that I took the liberty to come here and tell you so much just after you finished your long journey."
"It's okay." Lysenko was clearly about to leave. Yang Mingzhi thought about it and realized that he happened to have some other things to say to this old guy.
He quickly said: "Dear Comrade Dean, have you really decided to accept my proposal to build those cheap greenhouses?"
"Of course! They may be cheap. I firmly believe that your thinking is full of wisdom. I will supervise this matter immediately. Haha, I really want to thank you for this matter. I will achieve great success. That time
I will point out to the leader your contribution in this regard."
"Really? That's great."
"This is very necessary. Thank you for bringing me important news. So do you have any other requirements? For example, regarding your weapons design bureau, I will try my best to satisfy you."
Lysenko's question happened to be on point. Yang Mingzhi slapped his forehead and said deliberately: "Ah, thank you for reminding me. I happen to want to ask you something."
"Please speak."
"For example, regarding Comrade Kalashnikov I brought back from Moscow, I remember that his information was sent to you by telegram a few days ago. Comrade Kalashnikov will be a new member of my design bureau, and his
Various organizational relationships have also been transferred to the Academy of Sciences, and this matter..."
"Of course! I know this person, he is in your big office." Lysenko said bluntly, "In fact, the written files about him were also sent to Novosibirsk from his hometown. After all, Kazakhstan is not far away from us.
Too far."
"That's great. So about his treatment. You should understand one thing. He is a young weapons designer and a young man who Comrade Stalin has high hopes for."
"I understand everything, but the Academy of Sciences has a set of regulations on the payment of subsidies. Even according to the regulations, Comrade Kalashnikov's salary is much higher than that of ordinary staff. We will act according to the regulations."
Yang Mingzhi nodded. His original intention was to get more benefits for the Ka family, but it seemed that was not possible.
However, Kaiser was not at a disadvantage, because he not only served in the military but also won awards in weapons design. The level of such talents is inherently high. According to the Soviet salary system, the higher the level, the higher the salary.
The salary is high, but Yang Mingzhi doesn't think the current high salary has any advantages. His basic allowance is as high as 6,000 rubles, so what? There is nothing good in state-owned stores. The entire alliance is no longer deflation, but strength.
The rationing system is becoming more and more intense. Under such circumstances, only a few things that are in short supply can be obtained through some special privileges.
As far as food is concerned, just supplying beetroots to the Academy of Sciences is simply a favor from Governor Umov.
This favor is short-lived. I'm afraid that in another week, everyone will start eating pickles again.
Thinking about it, if Lysenko shows strong subjective initiative and the ten-hectare greenhouse is put into operation, eating tomatoes will be in March next year. By March, I am afraid that the German army in southern Russia will be gone.
Yang Mingzhi continued: "I heard that my factory has been built and even the workers are in place. What about their wages?"
"This matter... the salaries of those people are not under the control of the Academy of Sciences." Lysenko shrugged, "You can ask Governor Umov about this. I think that comrade is also very eager to meet you in person.
"
"Yes! I really should have a good chat with him about the production of assault rifles."
"Haha." Lysenko said with a smile, "Not today, it's too late. Comrade Berekov, if you are interested in meeting him, I can contact his secretary and make an appointment for you."
"Really?" Yang Mingzhi suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Lysenko seriously: "Oh, thank you so much. Then please help me make an appointment for a morning meeting. I will talk to him about the factory and
About the assault rifle.”
"Okay, we've made an agreement."
At this point, Lysenko did not stay any longer.
Lysenko tightly wrapped his black woolen coat, walked out of the warm room ably, returned to his car, and then slowly disappeared into the brightly lit streets.
Yang Mingzhi watched the car disappear and yawned inadvertently.
Popov didn't know what the director and the dean secretly talked about in the hut, and he didn't want to eavesdrop like a spy, so he moved closer to Yang Mingzhi, who was standing in the snow.
"Comrade Director, have you discussed important matters?"
"Oh? Comrade Popov, it's you... do you want to know?"
"No! I...I'm just a little curious."
"There's nothing to be curious about, it's all about work." Yang Mingzhi waved his hand, "Let's go inside first."
The time was already late enough, it was close to ten o'clock Moscow time. Only then did Yang Mingzhi feel that he and Lysenko had been chatting too much. At this time, he was afraid that his wife had already fallen asleep. No, she would stay awake and wait.
Go back by yourself.
I saw that my subordinates were still burning the midnight oil to fight, especially when I saw that Kalashnikov was still meticulously looking through old drawings.
Ordinary people will feel uncomfortable after looking at these drawings for a while, and ordinary workers will not be bored because they feel boring. Kalashnikov is clearly not that kind of ordinary person, he is desperately trying to acquire knowledge, and this process is probably not boring at all.
It's boring. I'm afraid he still can't wait and needs to study all day and night.
Not only Ka, but also the female generals actually worked so late without showing any signs of laziness. Yang Mingzhi was very pleased.
Of course, maybe this diligence at ten o'clock at night has some elements of practice?
Yang Mingzhi estimated that everyone was very tired, and if they continued to copy and draw old drawings, it would be easy for them to make mistakes.
The design bureau is currently copying the drawings. Firstly, it is for backup, and secondly, after copying, they are packaged and handed over to distant factories. Among them are the production drawings for assault rifles.
After all, the Soviet Union did not recognize any intellectual property rights. The authorities believed that so-called knowledge belonged to all mankind.
For this reason, Yang Mingzhi also feels guilty. In the final analysis, the so-called assault rifle he developed was a copy of Kalashnikov's design from another dimension. Now in this dimension, his own achievements are officially recognized as
, is a design that “fully studied the principles of Fedorov automatic firearms”.
Yang Mingzhi called Popov to his side again and explained to him his work tomorrow.
"Although I'm back, you will still be the person in charge of the daily operations of the design bureau in the next few days. I'm afraid that for a period of time, my personal focus will be on the operation of those two factories. When everything is stable, I will personally lead
The team is developing remote-controlled rockets."
Popov nodded deeply: "I completely understand you. I believe that your biggest task now is to achieve mass production of the design bureau's assault rifles."
"That's right! Mass production is achieved in our affiliated factories. The design bureau has complete management rights over this. Hehe, the production tasks are completely handled by us. The superiors have given me a lot of autonomy. Dear Popov
Comrade, everything seems to be back to the swamp again."