"Yasha," Sokov said after Yakov finished reporting the quantity of weapons and equipment: "The problem of weapons and ammunition has been solved, and the next thing to consider is the transportation problem.
The rest of the country we live in has just been liberated, and it will take some time for the railway lines to be restored. It is obviously unrealistic to transport by railway. And transporting by truck seems to be a big problem. After all, troops on all fronts now need
To replenish the lost weapons and ammunition, our army's transportation capacity has reached its limit. It will take at least a few months to wait for the equipment to be transported to us, and we cannot wait that long."
"You're right, Misha." Yakov also agreed with Sokov's statement. Even if he could rely on his connections to let the transport team give priority to transporting weapons and ammunition for Sokov's troops, I'm afraid it wouldn't be possible.
It will take half a month or even longer for these weapons and ammunition to be delivered to their destination. "Today's transportation capacity is tight, and you will have to wait a long time to get this batch of ammunition."
"Is there any other way?" Sokov asked tentatively: "How about using a transport plane to transport it for us?"
"This is impossible." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he was rejected by Yakov: "You know, except for refueling and maintenance, Moscow's transport planes are almost all flying in the sky, and they can't spare any time.
Transport weapons and ammunition for you."
Seeing that Yakov rejected his proposal to use a transport plane to transport supplies, Sokov could only choose the last option: "Yasha, can you use a hovercraft to transport supplies for us?"
He was deeply afraid that Yakov would reject his proposal again, so he quickly continued: "March is about to enter, and it will be the spring thaw season in Ukraine. The roads will become muddy, making our road transportation more difficult.
.And if you use hovercraft, you can overcome this problem. A hovercraft can carry eight tons of supplies or 30 soldiers, which is equivalent to a large load truck. As long as there are 20 hovercrafts, I think it can be used within a week.
All supplies have arrived.”
"Misha, have you considered that the distance from Moscow to your place is almost a thousand kilometers?" Yakov said on the phone: "Perhaps after these hovercraft transport supplies arrive at your place, they will all be canceled due to malfunctions.
.You know, this thing is expensive to make. If it is really damaged, who will be responsible?"
Sokov was just about to say that there was a problem and I would be responsible, but he heard Yakov continue: "And the hovercraft is highly confidential. Once it is captured by the Germans and copied in large quantities, they can quickly mobilize troops and
supplies to launch a new attack on us at any location. In order to avoid this situation, we will now seal the hovercraft."
Perhaps guessing what Sokov would say, he specifically added: "This matter is of great importance. If something really goes wrong, you are certainly responsible, and our weapons and equipment department is also involved, and it may even implicate Us."
Comrade Zinov."
These words Yakov said completely blocked Sokov's mouth, making it difficult for him to say anything. After all, once the hovercraft fell into the hands of the German army and they began to imitate it, it would be a disaster for the Soviet army.
A disaster.
When Yakov heard Sokov suddenly stopped talking, he guessed that he must be feeling depressed at the moment, so he comforted him and said: "Misha, according to my analysis, in half a month to a month, where you are
There will definitely be no new battles in the area, which means you have enough time to wait for the arrival of weapons and ammunition."
"However, the equipment of the 53rd Group Army is too weak." Sokov said with some lack of confidence: "And the enemy opposite us is the 1st Tank Division and the Flag Guard Division, the most elite German army. Once a new round of offensive and defensive battles begins,
, my troops may not be able to stop the attack of these two German armies."
"Misha, don't worry." Yakov's tone suddenly became calm: "I will find a way to solve the problem of insufficient firepower for you. Comrade People's Commissar and I are going to have a meeting. I will talk to you next time."
After that, Sokov hung up the phone without waiting for anything to say.
Smirnov heard some of the conversation between Sokov and Yakov. After Sokov put down the phone, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, what is the hovercraft you are talking about? How can I
Never heard of it?"
"It is a new type of transportation. In addition to being able to travel on roads, it can also travel quickly on lakes and swamps." Since it was his chief of staff who asked, Sokov naturally would not hide anything from him.
After all, there are many commanders and fighters who have seen this kind of weapon: "Hovercraft are divided into two types: assault type and transport type. The assault type hovercraft can carry 7 soldiers and a 14.5 mm anti-aircraft machine gun; while the other type is a transport hovercraft
, can carry 30 soldiers or eight tons of cargo."
After listening to Sokov talk about the transport capacity of the hovercraft, Smirnov couldn't help but his eyes lit up, and then asked: "Comrade Commander, how fast is the hovercraft's speed?"
"The design speed is sixty knots per hour, but when traveling on water, it can reach thirty-five knots."
Smirnov was in the army, not the navy, so when he heard that speed was calculated in knots, he couldn't help but scratch his head and didn't know how to calculate it.
At this time, a voice sounded next to him: "The internationally accepted formula is 1 knot = 1 nautical mile/hour, 1 nautical mile = 1.852 kilometers, and 35 knots is 64.82 kilometers/hour."
Smirnov glanced at Gorokhov who was speaking, and said in surprise: "That speed is really not slow." Then he looked at Sokov and said, "Comrade Commander, we are more than a thousand kilometers away from Moscow.
If the hovercraft is really used for transportation, the supplies can be delivered within 24 hours."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think so." Sokov sighed and said: "You know, these hovercrafts can not only transport supplies, but can also be used for great purposes during cross-river assaults."
"Has the hovercraft ever been put into actual combat?"
"He must have participated in actual combat." Sokov nodded and said: "On a river with a width of several hundred meters, a hovercraft with commanders and combatants rushed directly to the other shore in less than a minute, so that the German troops defending on the shore
The officers and soldiers were not even ready for battle. After all, in their minds, it would take more than ten minutes to cross such a wide river, even if they rowed at full strength."
After digesting what Sokov said in his mind, Smirnov asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, although the Weapons and Equipment Department is unwilling to use hovercraft to transport supplies for us, when our army crosses the river, can we
Are the hovercraft coming to support us? I just heard you say that the ship is equipped with a 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine gun, which is enough to suppress the German firepower on the other side."
As soon as Smirnov mentioned the 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine gun, Sokov began to think that maybe he should tell Yakov to replace the 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine gun with a 12.7mm machine gun. This way, the weight saved can carry more weight.
ammunition.
"Comrade Commander, what are you thinking about?" Seeing Sokov's eyes suddenly become unfocused, Smirnov knew what problem he was thinking about again, and asked quickly: "Are you considering when to use the hovercraft?
"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I think you should know that the left bank of our country's rivers is flat, while the right bank is full of cliffs." Sokov said: "Even if the hovercraft can travel in various complex terrains, it cannot
There is no way to climb the mountain. Therefore, even if the assault hovercraft is given to us before Ukraine is liberated, it will not be of much use."
A man hurriedly walked in from outside. Sokov thought he was a staff officer, so he glanced at it casually. But he soon realized that he was wrong. He was not a staff officer, but the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps.
General Selivanov quickly stood up and greeted him with a smile: "Hello, General Selivanov!"
Selivanov first raised his hand to salute Sokov, then took hold of the other person's outstretched hand and said politely: "Hello, General Sokov."
After inviting Selivanov to sit down, Smirnov personally poured a cup of tea, placed it in front of him, and said enthusiastically: "General Selivanov, why do you have time to come here today?"
"General Smirnov," although the two of them had the same military rank, Selivanov stood up and said respectfully out of respect for the older general: "I came in here to tell you that I just received an order from my superiors.
, leading the cavalry army to return to the army as soon as possible. Although this matter can be discussed on the phone, I thought about it carefully and thought it would be better to explain it clearly to you in person."
"What, are you going to return to the state?" Sokov was very surprised when he heard what the other party said: "When did you receive the order from your superiors? Why didn't I know about this?"
"Half an hour ago." Selivanov looked at Sokov and said: "I could have called you to inform you and then left directly with the troops. But considering your Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko,
Now the acting commander of the 66th Cavalry Division, I feel that I should come over and say hello to you to see how to arrange for him. Should he stay or officially become a member of the cavalry corps."
The return of the cavalry army was too sudden for Sokov, and he was not prepared at all. Now Selivanov has heard whether to keep Muzichenko or leave with the cavalry army, leaving Sokov
It's difficult. Muzichenko finally became the acting commander of the cavalry division. If you order him to stay, he will definitely not say anything, but there will be a knot in his heart.
But it seems not a good thing to let him leave with the cavalry army. After all, today's cavalry is a useless unit, and there may not be many opportunities to participate in major battles. In other words, it is possible that Muzichenko continues to stay in the cavalry army.
There are no opportunities to make achievements.
Seeing that Sokov remained silent, Selivanov said: "General Sokov, since the appearance of a large number of automatic weapons, rapid-fire artillery, tanks and aircraft on the battlefield, armies have appeared on the front and hidden in bunkers.
With the army protected by barbed wire, the cavalry has lost its former role.
I think this battle our army participated in should be the last one. From now on, we will probably be arranged to maintain order in the rear, transport supplies, etc., and there will be almost no chance of participating in the battle again. I think, for
For the sake of Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko's future, let him stay. By staying by your side, he may be able to achieve more achievements."
Selivanov's words may seem high-sounding on the surface, but in fact he also has unspeakable difficulties. Based on Muzichenko's performance on the battlefield, he originally wanted to apply to his superiors to officially become the
Commander of the 66th Cavalry Division. But someone stopped him and said that Muzichenko had just been reviewed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and that rashly recommending him to officially serve as the commander of the Cavalry Division might have an adverse impact on him.
It is for this reason that after repeated consideration, Selivanov finally decided to give up. After all, an excellent subordinate is not as important as his own future. But he struggled to express his feelings to Sokov
After reading this point of view, I couldn't help but feel anxious, deeply afraid of being rejected by Sokov.
However, what he worried about did not happen. On the contrary, Sokov replied readily: "Okay, let Muzichenko stay. Please go back and tell him later and let him report back as soon as possible.
"
Selivanov thought he was doing a good job, but not only Sokov, but also Gorokhov saw through his little thoughts. As soon as Selivanov left, he snorted coldly, and then
To Sokov: "Comrade Commander, it seems that the commander of the Cavalry Corps is worried that Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko will cause unnecessary trouble to him if he stays with him, so he came to us specially.
Get rid of this baggage."
Sokov also understood the opponent's psychology. Today's cavalry army does not have many opportunities to make contributions. If Muzichenko affects its future again, it will really be more than worth the loss. He waved his hand to Gorokhov and said:
"Comrade Military Commissar, this matter ends here. There is no need to say anything more. The return of Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko is not a bad thing for us. I don't think it will be long before we may launch an attack on the Uman area.
This is his chance to wash away his shame. If he really leaves with the cavalry army, this will probably become a lifelong regret for him."
Gorokhov thought about it carefully and found out that this was really the case. The three former generals Ponedelin, Muzichenko and Kirillov were unfortunately captured by the Germans during the Battle of Uman. Now the troops and
Uman is close at hand, and it is only a matter of time to launch an attack there. As long as they can defeat Uman's German army, the three of them can wash away the shame of the past.
However, Gorokhov still asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, after Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko returns, how do you plan to arrange his work?"
"Since he is a member of the advisory group, he will continue to stay in the advisory group and advise us when commanding operations." Sokov said: "As for Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov, he will continue to serve as his infantry division commander.
.”
"Comrade Commander, I have a suggestion." Smirnov, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said: "Aren't we planning to recruit new soldiers from the local area to enrich our troops? I think we can put the work of recruiting new soldiers into
, leave it to Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko to complete."
"This is a good idea." Sokov considered that Muzichenko had basically nothing to do when he returned to the headquarters. It would be better to arrange some work for him so that he would not be too bored, so he nodded in agreement: "More
Assign a few people from the student team to assist him in completing this work."