This problem was certainly not the first that Shulka discovered, because it had happened time and time again on the battlefield.
The reason why no one raised it... On the one hand, it is because casualties on the battlefield are normal, on the other hand, the Soviet army emphasizes "combat spirit" and "bravery and fearlessness", so they do not think this is a "problem"
.
If it is regarded as a "problem", it is a cowardly performance of deliberately avoiding the enemy's attack.
But the colonel didn't seem to have such thoughts.
"Do you have a solution to this problem, Comrade Sisoy?" the colonel said.
Sisoy thought for a while, then shook his head and said: "This is difficult to do, Comrade Colonel, maybe... we can shorten the length of the antenna to make it less conspicuous, or move its position so that it is not easy for the enemy to detect it. But
It’s impossible to cover it completely, otherwise it won’t be able to receive the signal!”
The colonel frowned and nodded in agreement.
Shulka couldn't help but rolled his eyes and said: "The solution to this problem is very simple, Colonel, we just need to install an antenna on all other tanks!"
Sisoy couldn't help but be stunned, and then looked at Shulka with a surprised face: "What a great idea, Second Lieutenant! And it's really simple..."
Of course it's very simple, because you only need to install a fake antenna for other tanks. It's like a brain teaser.
However, it was not invented by Shulka himself. The modern 59 tank command vehicle of our army has two antennas, one for communicating with superiors and the other for communicating with subordinates.
So the Vietnamese looked for tanks with two antennas to fight.
After knowing this, all 59s were equipped with two antennas, of course one of which was fake... If the antennas cannot be hidden, then let other tanks be the same. This is also a kind of hiding.
The same is true for the antenna of the T34 command vehicle.
"It is indeed a good idea, Comrade Shulka!" The colonel smiled and nodded.
"Comrade Colonel!" Shulka was a little surprised that the colonel actually knew his name.
"I've seen your photo!" The colonel shook hands with Shulka and explained: "In the newspaper, 'Breakout Hero' Shulka..."
Sisoy looked at Shulka in surprise: "Colonel, you mean...he is the one who thought of installing a phone on the tank!"
"Yes!" the colonel replied: "I knew he would join the Fourth Brigade, but I didn't expect that he would solve a problem as soon as he came! My name is Katukov, it is an honor to meet you..."
"It's an honor for me too, Colonel!" Shulka replied.
But he was stunned the next second. The seemingly ordinary colonel with a great sense of humor in front of him was actually Katukov... Katukov, known as the number one tank soldier in the Soviet Union, was the newly formed
Commander of the 4th Tank Brigade?!
However, this does not seem to be surprising. To form a mobile force capable of fighting the German army, of course, a commander with strong organizational skills and excellent military quality is needed.
Katukov certainly fits the bill.
Due to the urgent military situation, the 4th Tank Brigade started training the next day.
"We only have one week!" Katukov made this clear to everyone from the beginning: "You know why, we don't have much time to train, otherwise the enemy will hit Moscow! So, use
You should use all the time you can to get familiar with tanks, get familiar with your comrades, get familiar with everything! Only in this way can you defeat the Germans and become the backbone of the defense of Moscow!"
Katukov meant what he said. During this week, except for a few hours of sleep, the tank soldiers and mechanized infantry trained almost non-stop.
Practice tactics, practice coordination, build bridges, pave roads, clear mines, design forward routes for tanks, etc.
Practice during the day and practice at night.
The veteran complained: "These are things that engineers should do, and we are infantry!"
"That's right!" The actor also expressed dissatisfaction: "If we are half exhausted from building roads on the road, how can we still pick up our guns to fight the enemy on the battlefield?"
"This guy is simply a spy sent by the Germans. He just wants to tire us out!"
…
So "Spy" became Katukov's nickname in private.
This nickname is not pleasant to hear, and may even cause misunderstandings, especially by those in the Ministry of Internal Affairs who always keep an eye on their own people.
But Katukov didn't mind when he heard the nickname.
"If they hate me so much!" Katukov said, "that means I have trained enough!"
One day Leonev complained to Shulka: "Comrade company commander! Why don't you report it to your superiors?"
"Report what?" Shulka asked.
"I think such training is meaningless!" Leonev said: "As they say, we are almost being treated as sappers!"
"I don't think there's anything wrong with that!" Shulka said.
"What?" The soldiers couldn't help but be stunned after hearing this answer.
"It's like a tank soldier learning how to repair a tank!" Shulka said: "That's what the maintenance soldier does too."
"But this has nothing to do with us..." the actor said.
"The war has something to do with each of us, Okunev!" Shulka interrupted Okunev: "We are a force and have to face the same enemy, so it has something to do with us!"
After a pause, Shulka continued: "The fourth brigade is a fast mobile force, comrades! The purpose of forming this force is to arrive at the destination in the shortest possible time and fill the gap... If
What should we do if we don’t have engineers or not enough engineers? Why don’t we move forward and wait for the engineers to arrive?”
After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but fell silent, so the training continued.
However, Katukov's training is quite ruthless: what he often does is to drive a few T34 vehicles into the mud and get stuck in them, and let the soldiers find ways to get them out.
It's a small thing to bother people like this, but those T34s are very valuable... The T34s that were immediately shipped to the front line for rescue as soon as they were produced can be said to not be exchanged for gold.
Just because the fourth tank brigade was to be formed, all the T34s shipped to the front line were cut off during this period, and even some of the T34s fighting on the front line were withdrawn.
The cost of doing this is a sudden increase in casualties on the front line.
With the firepower and defense on the frontline reduced, it would be natural to use human lives to block the German attack. Sometimes, even if we use human lives to build up tanks, we can’t even build them up... Tanks, in some cases, no matter how many lives it takes to build them up, it won’t be possible.
It's all for nothing.
Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that these T34s were purchased with blood and lives.
If the soldiers on the front line knew that some tanks were driven into the mud by Katukov, they would probably think Katukov was a spy.