What Shulka did not say is that compared to the British and American troops, the overall quality of the Soviet army will be worse, or it can be said that the Soviets are generally more careless... They always like to deal with things simply and roughly, what?
Everything is just so-so.
Therefore, it is not a big problem for the British army in Africa to mix two types of equipment at the same time, and only use American equipment for tanks and machine guns.
But for the Soviet army, it would be an absolute nightmare to use British, American, and Soviet equipment at the same time.
This can actually explain the problem. The situation of the British army is completely different from that of the Soviet army. It is obviously inappropriate for Colonel Stephen to boss around in front of the Soviet army with the idea of "having experience in fighting the German army".
In particular, the so-called "experience" of the British army was combat experience in the high-temperature deserts of Africa, while the Soviet army fought in low-temperature snow.
Not to mention that most of the British troops were chased and beaten by the German troops.
"Okay!" Colonel Stephen spread his hands and replied: "I agree!"
"In addition..." Shulka said: "I think these tanks are more suitable for fighting enemy infantry, so we should train against enemy infantry divisions!"
"No, Captain!" Stephen's face became very ugly: "Do you mean to say that our tanks are vulnerable to the Germans? I think you are wrong. We used these tanks to block the Germans on the battlefield.
The attack..."
"So, can you tell me the battles you won?" Shulka asked, "or how many German tanks were destroyed in the battle? 'No. 3', 'No. 4'? Or the Italian M11,
m13 tank?”
Stephen couldn't help but have a flash of surprise in his eyes. He thought that the Soviets didn't know what happened on the African battlefield, but that didn't seem to be the case... At least the captain in front of him knew the model of the Italian tank.
In fact, Shulka knew much more than Stephen imagined.
But he seemed to have let something slip just now, so he quickly added: "Colonel, we also have Italians here, the Italian Expeditionary Force... We can get some information from them, so we are not ignorant!"
Stephen nodded helplessly and spread his hands: "Okay, Captain! This is your battle, do whatever you want! I just want to remind you... If you use these tanks against enemy infantry, then what will you use against Germany?
Where are the human armored units?”
This is indeed a problem.
The best tank is of course the T34, but because the Soviet army is moving industry to the rear, tank production is seriously insufficient. The tanks produced in Stalingrad are far from enough for battlefield consumption. Now even the 1st Guards Tank Brigade is in a state of despair.
The tank's usable status... The First Guards Tank Brigade previously had a dozen T34s, but because they were coming to Stalingrad to receive these British and American tanks, those dozen T34s were assigned to other troops for use on the battlefield.
.
On the other hand, the Far East Front's main opponent is the Japanese, and the Japanese tanks Su Bian were experienced in the Battle of Nomonhan...The Soviet T26, KV 1 and other tanks are enough to deal with it.
As a result, the Far East Front troops who came for reinforcements did not have many T34s in their hands.
Stephen said: "So, I think you'd better ask your superior, Captain!"
"This is a problem we need to consider, Colonel!" Shulka left these words and left.
Then Shulka found Katukov. At least Stephen was right. Shulka really needed to ask his superiors for advice.
"I think all our training is unnecessary, Comrade Colonel!" Shulka reported to Katukov with some frustration: "These tanks are not suitable to fight the Germans. If they must be sent to the battlefield...
…They are better suited for dealing with enemy infantry!”
"What do you think..." Katukov asked.
"I think these tanks should not be our equipment!" Shulka said: "We are the First Guards Tank Brigade and experienced tank soldiers. We should use T34 so that we can compete with the Germans on the battlefield.
Come on! If these tanks are used... we won't even be able to program the T34 anymore!"
This is determined by the speed of the tank. The "Matilda" and "Valentin" tanks have a maximum speed of 24 kilometers per hour on the road and 15 kilometers off-road. The m3 medium tank is better, with a maximum speed of 42 kilometers per hour on the road and 26 kilometers per hour off-road...
The T34's integration with these tanks means that it must slow down to adapt to the "Matilda" and "Valentin".
This was a nightmare for the Soviet army that had no air superiority. They would be blown up completely by German air power on the way forward.
The 1st Guards Tank Brigade should not have been wiped out by the enemy on the battlefield like this.
"Comrade Shulka!" Katukov said: "This is one of the reasons why I let you participate in the training!"
"What?"
"We have no choice!" Katukov said: "In fact, not long ago I had the same idea as you, leaving these tanks to others and letting the superiors arrange T34 for us... But you know how Comrade Zhukov answered
?”
Before Shulka could ask, Katukov continued: "He told me on the phone: If you don't plan to use these tanks, then go fight the enemy with rifles! Do you want this?"
"No!" Shulka shook his head.
Of course not, it would be difficult for infantry to fight armor unless there was a lake everywhere and the Germans were fooled every time.
"Then find a way to use them!" Katukov said.
Having said this, Katukov looked around and lowered his voice and said: "We are organizing a counterattack, do you understand?"
Shulka nodded.
It was almost time to counterattack. The temperature dropped sharply and reinforcements arrived, but the German army seemed to have lost all its energy... Launching a counterattack at this time would not only smash the German army's plan to attack Moscow, but also attack the German army's effective strength and create a buffer for Moscow.
zone.
Counterattack means investing all the equipment, whether it is British, American or Soviet.
At the same time, only the 1st Guards Tank Brigade can use these equipment now.
However……
"But their top speed off-road is only a dozen kilometers per hour, Comrade Colonel!" Shulka said: "It's hard to imagine that we actually have to drive them to chase the enemy. They are even slower than horse-drawn carriages, and they may also have high malfunctions.
Rate!"
"I know this, Comrade Shulka!" Katukov replied: "But we must make use of them!"