After leaving the city of Yelniya, the military column heading north to the shore of Lake Ladoga galloped across the grassland. The tanks and technical equipment belonging to the independent first heavy tank breakthrough battalion were tied to carts and howled in the cold.
In the wind, the local situation was excellent after the Yelniya salient had just been recovered, so Malashenko did not have to worry about the German air force coming to attack.
In the passenger compartment at the front of the train, Malashenko, holding a pencil in his hand, was discussing the upcoming action strategy with his deputy Lavrinenko, who was sitting across the table from him, and Captain Karamov, commander of the field maintenance company.
"Although the carrying capacity of the regional squadron stationed by the Baltic Fleet on Lake Ladoga is not clear, judging from the depth of Lake Ladoga, it should be capable of sailing heavy-duty transport ships. After all, this is not only our motherland.
It is also the largest freshwater lake in Europe."
After listening to Malashenko's analysis, which was the first to speak, Lavrinenko, who was sitting next to him as the deputy battalion commander, took over and continued to speak.
"For other technical equipment, I can say that it is not difficult for 34, trucks and tankers to cross the lake. Slightly larger civilian cargo ships can carry these equipment across the lake."
"But the problem is that our battalion is a genuine heavy tank breakthrough battalion. After the post-war replenishment and rest in Yelniya, we now have a total of 41 1 heavy tanks that can be put into battle at any time."
"It is not an easy task to carry these big guys weighing 47 tons across the river. Comrade Battalion Commander, I am worried that there will not be so many heavy-duty transport ships available for us to use. I heard that
The transportation route on Lake Doga is now delivering supplies to the city of Leningrad every day, and the city is about to suffer from famine due to the blockade of those damn Germans."
In fact, Lavrinenko's concerns are actually justified.
Because the German Army Group Northern commanded by Marshal Loeb surrounded Leningrad on three sides, completely cutting off the Soviet holy city's land connections with the outside world.
At present, the entire front army and the residents of Leningrad rely on Lake Ladoga, the only remaining water transportation channel, for their daily supplies. The citizens of Leningrad, who are in despair, even praise Lake Ladoga as "life."
"Lake", its importance to the entire Leningrad military and civilians can be seen from this.
Under this extremely difficult special situation, the regional squadron stationed by the Baltic Fleet on Lake Ladoga will predictably give the transportation of supplies as its top priority. After all, filling one's stomach is the most basic way to persevere and resist.
The bottom line is, if people really starve to death, the spiritual food of Sovietism alone cannot support them and continue the fight.
Even Malashenko, who was holding orders from Zhukov, had no idea how many ships the Lake Ladoga Squadron, which was busy transporting supplies, could spare to transport its own troops across the lake.
What's more, the large transport ships that can transport heavy tanks across the lake must be the core and main force in transporting supplies. It is estimated that it will be difficult to win over these big guys to transport your own troops.
Thinking of this, Malashenko felt a headache in his head and couldn't help but stretched out his hand to rub his hair. Sometimes this kind of annoying trouble is more difficult to solve than fighting to eliminate the enemy on the battlefield.
Seeing the annoyed expressions of the two officers in front of him, Captain Karamov, who was chatting with Malashenko and Lavrinenko across the table, suddenly smiled at this moment.
"I think we don't need to worry too much about this. Two comrades, the battalion commanders, I have basically conceived a specific plan for how our battalion will cross the lake."
After hearing this, Malashenko and Lavrinenko, who looked at each other for a moment, asked questions. Captain Karamov immediately revealed the plan he had prepared in his heart.
"The situation is probably like this. After we arrive at the Ladoga Lakeside transportation terminal, we can dismantle and separate our heavy tanks. At most, the three large parts of the tank, the turret, the body, and the engine, can be split into three parts and transported separately.
This is equivalent to dividing the total combat weight of 47 tons into several parts of different sizes to distribute the total weight."
"Ordinary civilian ships with slightly lower load-carrying capacity can participate in transportation work through this method, and it does not necessarily have to be those large military transport ships."
"In addition, the three modular components of the engine, hull, and turret are the easiest to replace and assemble. We can assemble the tank immediately after crossing the lake."
"As long as the tools are in place, it only takes me and my men an average of half an hour to restart a heavy tank after crossing the lake. In addition, clearing the tank's internal ammunition rack and transporting the shells separately can also ensure the safety of transportation.
At the same time, part of the total combat weight will be reduced. After taking these factors into consideration, we believe that the difficulty of crossing the lake will be much smaller."
As the saying goes, "There is a priority in learning the Tao, and there is a specialization in the art."
In the eyes of Malashenko and Lavrinenko, the two "big bosses" who are mainly responsible for commanding front-line battles, they find it relatively difficult to transport tanks across the lake. They spend their whole day thinking about these logistical matters as their profession.
In the eyes of Captain Karamov, it is just a trivial matter, which makes people marvel at the magic and the importance of a team that works well together.
After hearing the plan from Captain Karamov, he felt suddenly enlightened. Malashenko, who was overjoyed, really wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate. Unfortunately, the train with limited supplies was not like when he was in the army, he could always be there.
Depending on your identity and position, you can receive supplies from the best military officers.
Perhaps he saw some clues from Malashenko's joyful expression. Lavrinenko, who guessed that the time was almost up, suddenly took out two bottles of Crystal from his suitcase.
The clear vodka was held in the palm of his hand, and the evil smile on his face seemed to Malashenko who was standing by him to be even more serious than a shameless thief who had stolen ** supplies.
"Comrade Battalion Commander, it's rare to have a quiet period of time during a journey. Anyway, the entire central front has been quiet since the recovery of the Yelnya salient. Since this opportunity is rare, we might as well take the opportunity to have a drink."
After saying that, Lavrinenko rummaged through his suitcase for a wine glass without waiting for Malashenko to reply. After all, these two bottles of vodka were not enough for three people to blow directly into each other's mouths.
"Russian soldiers who drink too little vodka are definitely not good at fighting. If you see a guy in the army who doesn't know how to drink vodka and is teetotal. Congratulations, because you have successfully discovered a NATO agent lurking in the Russian army.
Spy, those guys will give you a bonus for this."
Recalling this cold joke he heard from his best friend Rosov when he was studying abroad in Moscow in his previous life, Malashenko knew that vodka has been an integral part of the Russian army since ancient times.
Nodding quietly.
"Karamov, let's go see if there's anything delicious in the dining car. I think we need some appetizers to accompany the meal."