The next day, when the 4th Tank Brigade arrived at its destination, they could hardly believe that this was the Moscow they had just left a few days before:
There are long queues everywhere in the streets and alleys, waiting for the weapons and tools distributed to arm themselves.
The Soviet political commissar or instructor with a pistol hanging from his waist stood on the wooden box, waving his arms and using a small loudspeaker to call out to the people nearby.
This is the establishment of a civil defense division. It is said that 100,000 residents were recruited at one time. They only received a few days of training and almost learned to shoot before being sent to the battlefield.
In addition, there are independent worker battalions. They are engaged in labor production and also perform military service. That is to say, they pick up guns and train during their breaks to prepare for street battles with the enemy.
Old people who were unable to fight, women and even children participated in digging fortifications for Moscow's second and final line of defense... Vyazma was originally the last line of defense. After it was breached by the Germans, Moscow took advantage of the German army to encircle Vyazma.
A line of defense was built outside Moscow between several Army Groups, namely the Mozhaysk Defense Line. (Mozhaysk is located to the west of Mosk, with a road mileage of only 96 kilometers. This is why the train stopped at the front line instead of heading to the front line.
The reason for being in Moscow...the front line is too close to Moscow, and the train will easily be bombed by the enemy if it continues to move forward)
They worked in three shifts, day and night, building anti-tank trenches, pulling barbed wire fences, constructing infantry trench roadblocks, etc. under cold rain and even German bombing.
Almost everyone was mobilized, and the pedestrians who could be seen walking around were either carrying guns or shovels for building fortifications.
Therefore, when Shulka and others got off the bus, the people were not surprised or welcomed the soldiers who came down as before... Their mentality has changed: in the past, the soldiers coming from the train station were to defend Moscow.
It was to protect them. But now, they are defending Moscow themselves, and they are soldiers themselves.
It wasn't until the canvas on the flatbed truck was lifted and the tanks drove down one after another that applause and cheers could be heard vaguely from the surroundings.
However, this seemed different from the pure cheers before. They seemed to be welcoming their friendly forces.
When they walked out of the train station, Shulka thought there would be a car waiting for them as before, or a car assigned to the 333rd Regiment.
Mechanized infantry, of course, must have cars.
But he soon became disappointed.
Following the command, the team formed a neat formation and followed the tanks on foot towards the military camp.
Cars were used for intensive transportation of troops, supplies, and equipment, including transporting civilians out to build trenches and provide them with food.
Therefore, there are no extra cars to be allocated to the 333rd Regiment, and of course there are no anti-tank guns.
In other words, the 333rd Regiment became a veritable infantry regiment the moment it stepped off the train.
The anti-aircraft artillery battalion was no exception. They failed to obtain the anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns they needed... Even if they did obtain these, they did not have cars to tow and transport ammunition.
"It won't make any difference!" Major Gavrilov comforted the soldiers: "Because the enemy is so close that we don't need cars to transport supplies!"
The soldiers all laughed, but everyone knew that this was not true. No matter how close the defense line was, the tanks still needed cars to follow them to transport diesel and ammunition. We couldn't rely on soldiers pushing oil drums forward!
Katukov also knew this, so he kept asking his superiors for a car from the moment he stepped off the train. Finally, he went to the headquarters in person to pester Zhukov for a while... At this time, the Fourth Tank Brigade was the Western Front.
Directly affiliated troops are directly commanded by the front army.
Katukov's efforts soon bore fruit, as the front army transferred 30 vehicles to the Fourth Tank Brigade.
These cars are only enough for tank regiments.
For this reason, Uncle Alek felt dissatisfied.
"What should I do?" Uncle Alek said: "If I don't have a car, am I still allowed to pick up a rifle?"
Before he finished speaking, Major Gavrilov ordered: "The driver gets the rifle!"
"No!" Uncle Alek protested: "I haven't shot for more than ten years. I only use the rifle as a steering wheel!"
"Take it, Uncle Alek!" General Shulka put the rifle in his hand: "I'm afraid you won't even have the rifle anymore. You don't want to face the Germans with bare hands, or use the steering wheel to deal with them, right?
!”
After hearing this, Alek Dapi lost his voice, silently took the rifle and reviewed the shooting essentials.
While at the military camp, a very strange unit joined the 4th Tank Brigade.
Its designation is the 5th Light Infantry Company. It has a small number of troops, less than a hundred men, but it has 108 dogs.
There are all kinds of dogs, shepherds, golden retrievers, Labradors...
"What do they do?" Shulka asked the instructor.
"I don't know!" The instructor shook his head: "Maybe it is used for reconnaissance or something else!"
Shurka soon discovered the problem. These dogs would drill into the tank chassis according to the instructions, and only drill into the tank chassis... At this time, the dogs were doing this, and groups gathered under the tank chassis, and then the soldiers made a sound
Praise and toss them food.
Shulka and the instructor looked at each other, and then they knew what these dogs were for.
"Hey!" Shulka shouted to the soldiers of the light infantry company: "Can you guarantee that they will not get into our own tanks on the battlefield?"
"No, we can't guarantee that!" replied the commander of the light infantry company: "So you'd better turn off the engines when they move out!"
"Turn off the engine?"
"Yes!" the company commander explained: "We used tractors to train them. They can only get food by getting under the tractor when the engine is rumbling, otherwise they will starve!"
It's indeed a good method.
Shulka nodded... It was just a bit cruel to those dogs. They thought they could get food by getting under the enemy tanks, but in fact what was waiting for them was to be blown to pieces.
But this seems normal. People are dying at the gunpoint in droves. Who cares about these dogs?!
Then, Shulka and others saw the light infantry tying a saddlebag made of linen to the dog.
This saddle bag is just like a horse saddle, except that it has two bags on both sides.
Needless to say what these two bags are used for, they will be loaded with high explosives or anti-tank mines during combat.
As for the detonating device, it was a four-inch wooden pole that stood on the dog's back. Once bent, the explosive would explode.