The tankers surrounded him and watched the phone in Bielei's hand. The tank soldier lieutenant even deliberately got into the tank and started the tank to test the effect of the phone.
After some tests, the second lieutenant of the tank turned off the engine and crawled out of the tank, and asked Bere excitedly: "Comrade Colonel, the person who can come up with this method is simply a genius. In this way, when we are fighting with the infantry, we no longer have to worry about inconvenience in contact."
Bere pointed at Sokov, who was standing not far away, and introduced to his subordinates: "Here, it is him, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade. From now on, we all accept his command. The new number of the troops is Tank Battalion of the 73rd Infantry Brigade."
"What, reduce our brigade into a battalion?" The tank soldiers were upset when they heard Bi Lei say this: "Comrade Brigade Commander, why is this?"
Bi Lei didn't want to explain too much to his subordinates on such occasions, so he said with a stern face: "The army is reduced to a battalion, and I acted as the battalion commander of the tank battalion. This is the order of the superior. Why, do you want to obey?"
Seeing that Bo Lei was angry, the tank soldier was still very uncomfortable, but he obediently closed his mouth. After all, the brigade commander did not object to his acting battalion commander. What else can his subordinates say?
Seeing that the soldiers were quiet, Bi Lei asked again: "Who can tell me how long it will take to install the phone number of these more than 40 tanks?"
The second lieutenant of the tank looked at the phone behind the tank, thought for a moment, and replied: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if we do it now, I think there should be no problem in installing all the tanks within three days."
"No, three days are too long, maybe we will fight the Germans tomorrow, so we must all be installed before dawn." After saying this in an unquestionable tone, Bie Lei added: "By the way, from now on, don't call me brigade commander, call me battalion commander. There is only one brigade commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, which is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Do you understand?"
"I understand!" the tank soldiers agreed in unison and began to install a telephone number for the tank.
Seeing that Berei had finished speaking with his subordinates, Sokov and Yakov walked over and said, "Comrade Colonel, let your subordinates be familiar with the technical equipment here, let's go back to the command post."
Just as Bere was about to understand Sokov's next plan, he nodded, called a captain from another group of tank soldiers, and said to him: "Captain Shereda, I still have important things, so I will leave it to you to take charge of this place." His eyes swept over the tanks parked in the underground tank Curry one by one, "Maybe we will drive these tanks to the battlefield soon, so that comrades can hurry up and get familiar with the equipment."
Captain Xie Lieda quickly replied: "Don't worry, comrade comrade commander..."
Before he could finish speaking, Bi Lei raised his hand to stop him: "From now on, I am no longer the brigade commander, but the acting battalion commander of the Tank Battalion. You all call me battalion commander in the future."
Seeing Bere leaving Sokov and Yakov, Shereda scratched the back of his head and said in confusion: "Strange thing, don't call him the brigade commander the battalion commander, what's going on?"
The three of them returned to the command post. Before they could sit down, they couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I want to ask, what are your plans next?"
"In another two or three days, our army will launch a counterattack against the enemy." Sokov stood up and poured a cup of hot tea, placed it in front of Bie Lei, and continued: "Although our brigade focuses on defense and does not participate in this counterattack, now with so many tanks, I have new ideas."
"New idea?" Bere took the tea jar from Sokov's hand and asked curiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, what do you think, why not say it."
"Comrade Colonel, come and see." Sokov took out a map from his bag, spread it on the table, and pointed it with his fingers: "To the north of the factory, there is a regiment-level command post of the German army, about three kilometers away. I originally planned to send troops to attack in the night, but now with the tank battalion you command, I changed my mind. We can use the method of stairs and tanks to attack the enemy's defense zone."
Bi Lei stared at the map for a while, then raised his own question: "Comrade Brigade Commander, please be honest, when do you plan to attack the enemy?"
"If the tank phone can be installed, I plan to launch an attack tomorrow." Sokov said confidently: "I think your subordinates can get into the battle as long as they get a little familiar with these tanks."
"My subordinates have participated in many battles, and there is definitely no problem in their cooperation with each other." Bie Lei asked with some concern: "But now the city's air supremacy is in the hands of the enemy. If we launch an attack during the day, the enemy dispatches the air force to attack our attacking troops, will it cause huge casualties?"
"It is inevitable that we are bombarded by the German army during the attack." Sokov replied: "But you don't have to worry, I have a solution."
Bilei didn't believe that Sokov had any good solutions. In order to prevent his subordinates from making unnecessary sacrifices, he asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, can you tell me, how do you plan to solve the problem?"
"The superiors assigned the 437th Fighter Flight Regiment to my command," Sokov said with a smile to Bereh: "After our offensive battle begins, I can order the fighter formation to attack and disperse the enemy planes that attempt to bombard us."
This was the first time Bere heard that there was a fighter flight regiment in the troops commanded by Sokov. He couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise and asked suspiciously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, are you all saying true?"
"Comrade Colonel, I can testify to this." Brisky, who had always remained silent, interjected: "Col. Khhorstnikov's fighter flight regiment is now under our command. The superiors also equipped us with phone calls that can directly call the pilots, so that we can command their air combat or ground support according to the situation on the battlefield."
After learning that fighter jets were assisting the war, most of the worries in Bi Lei disappeared. However, after a moment of silence, he continued to ask: "Comrade Brigade Commander, now there are tanks and air force. So, do you need to prepare artillery fire before attacking?"
"No," Sokov waved his hand and said, "According to the information provided by our scouts, there are no permanent fortifications outside the German regiment command, but just some simple night battle fortifications. The tank battalion can crush them to pieces with just one assault."
Seeing Sokov so optimistic, Bi Lei was still a little worried: "You just mentioned the Band and Tan coordination. My last question is, which unit do you plan to use to follow us to attack?" At this point, he glanced at Brisky, who was sitting opposite, and said bluntly, "If I'm not wrong, you will only have more than 100 people left, plus the workers in the assembly workshop, the total strength is only three or four hundred. With this little force, can the enemy's regiment command be eliminated?"
"Comrade Colonel, before you come here, you should know that the main force of my brigade is defending Mamayev." Regarding Bere's question, Sokov replied: "I plan to draw another company of troops from there to participate in the attack on the German Corps Command. The soldiers under my command are all experienced in battles, and with the cooperation of the tank battalion and the air force, they should have no problem in getting rid of the German Corps Command."
Seeing that Sokov had taken all the issues that should be considered, Bere did not ask about the attack anymore, but turned the topic to the fuel and ammunition of the Tank Battalion: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I want to ask, where should we collect the ammunition and fuel needed by the Tank Battalion?"
"Fuel is easy to deal with. There are several underground oil tanks in the factory area, which are filled with the fuel needed by the tank. You can get as much as you want. As for ammunition," Sokov once asked Zinchenko about the fuel and ammunition required by the tank, so he knew how to answer Bere: "It's relatively troublesome. After all, the Red October Tractor Factory was not a military factory before, and they didn't have much ammunition inventory. Therefore, they can only provide you with a base ammunition, and other ammunitions need to be figured out by yourself."
When Bi Lei heard this, he immediately jumped out of his seat: "Comrade Brigade Commander, where can I go to find a way? Can I grab it from the Germans? You know, their No. 3 and No. 4 tanks are caliber, one is 50mm and the other is 75mm. Even if their shells are seized, they cannot be used at all."
"Yes, Misha." When Yakov heard this, he couldn't help but speak for Bere: "Don't say that tank shells are not universal, even machine gun bullets are not universal. We used 7.62mm bullets, while they used 7.92mm bullets."
The problems raised by Bere really stumped Sokov. The shells and machine gun bullets needed by the tank battalion were obviously not allowed to be handled from the Germans, or they could only rely on the ammunition transported on the other side of the Volga River. Although the ferries on the Volga River run back and forth every day, they had to transport too much supplies. In addition to the soldiers and supplies needed in the city, there were all kinds of weapons and ammunition. The artillery was deployed on the east coast, and there were only a few tanks left in the city, so there were almost no shells in the ammunition transported.
After thinking for a long time, Sokov said to Bere: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, I will report this problem to the commander to see if he has any solution."
Bi Lei sighed and said, "It seems that this is the only way." After saying that, he paused for a moment and asked again, "Comrade Brigade Commander, how did you arrange the establishment of the Tank Battalion?"
"There was a tank company in my brigade. Since tanks were lost in combat, the tank soldiers are now used as infantry. This time, I plan to establish a new tank battalion. Lieutenant Alitai, the former commander of the tank company, serve as the company commander of the third company. The company commander and soldiers of the first company and the second company are all composed of your original subordinates. What do you think of this?"
When he heard Sokov planned to appoint his original tank company commander as the company commander of the Third Company, Bere had no objection. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is what I arranged: Captain Sereda, the company commander of the first tank company is served by Captain Sereda, and there are eighteen tanks in the company. Do you have no objection?"
After Sokov wrote down the name Bere said in his notebook, he nodded and said, "I have no objection. What about the establishment of the second company?"
"Captain Ivanzov is the company commander of the second tank company, and the number of tanks in the entire company is still eighteen."
"Comrade Colonel," Brisky couldn't help but complain when he heard this, "There are only forty-five tanks in total, and your two companies occupied thirty-six, leaving only nine for the third company. Isn't it a bit too much?"
"Comrade Captain, you don't have to say anything." Sokov raised his hand and interrupted Brisky's later words: "I have no objection to the way Colonel Beret's allocation."
"Comrade Brigade Commander." Brisky saw that Sokov actually agreed to Bere's allocation plan, and asked in confusion: "Why do you have to agree to such an unfair distribution plan?"
"Comrade Captain," saw that Brisky couldn't figure it out, Sokov explained to him: "Tans fight on the battlefield because of tacit understanding between each other. Colonel Bere's subordinates are very familiar with each other, and even if they don't have communication equipment, they know how to cooperate during combat. And what about Lieutenant Alitai's troops? Although they have tanks before, they are now infantry. If they give them too many tanks at once, do you think their cooperation can be comparable to Colonel Bere's subordinates?"
Sokov's words made Brisky fall into deep thought. He thought for a long time, and finally shook his head slowly and said, "I think Lieutenant Alitai and others will definitely not be compared with Colonel Bere's subordinates."
Seeing that Brisky understood his intention, Sokov turned his head and said to Bere: "Comrade Colonel, I fully agree with your plan. The troops will do what you said."
When Beret made the allocation plan, he was still sweating in his hand, worried that Sokov would object. After all, each company owned twice as many tanks than Lieutenant Alitai's company. Now seeing Sokov agreeing to his situation so readily, he breathed a sigh of relief. He said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I will go to the tank database first and arrange the new organization."
After seeing off Bere, Brisky asked with some concern: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you think Colonel Bere's troops will obey your command on the battlefield?"
Sokov turned his head to look at Brisky and said with a smile: "You can rest assured about this. Judging from Colonel Bere's attitude, he is very willing to cooperate with my work. During the battle, if anything happens, I can directly issue an order to Colonel Bere, and then he will convey it to the tank soldiers under his command. In this way, there is no need to worry about anyone disobeying my order."
Chapter completed!