"Colonel Bely," seeing Bely's hesitant look, Krylov urged anxiously: "If you have anything to say, just say it. Even if you say something wrong, we won't blame you.
"
"Our brigade now has more than 300 people left, but there are less than ten tanks." Bely said hesitantly: "Do you think you can allow us to receive these tanks and use them in the counterattack after today?"
Chuikov couldn't help but feel excited about Bely's proposal. He thought to himself that if the 4th Bely Tank Brigade could get these tanks, the troops would be able to cooperate tacitly without any training, and their combat effectiveness would definitely be better than Sokov's.
Minato's tank unit was strong. He almost agreed to Bely's request, but then he thought, No, Sokov asked him for tank crews to form a tank unit in order to better defend Mamayev Hills and Red Army.
If the October Tractor Factory takes its own initiative and gives tanks to Bely's troops, resulting in the loss of Mamayev Heights or the factory, then the gains will outweigh the losses.
Thinking of this, he shook his head and said: "I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel, I can't give you even a single tank in this batch."
Bely originally thought that even if Chuikov could not fully agree to his request, it would still be possible to at least give him half of the tank, but unexpectedly he refused so simply. He asked in confusion: "Comrade Commander, why is this?"
ah?"
"Comrade Colonel," Chuikov specifically explained to Bely in order to prevent him from having bad thoughts: "I do not deny that I gave the tank to your brigade, and you can put it to great use in the next battle. But So
Kokov wants to set up a tank unit in order to better hold on to the Mamayev Hills and the Red October Factory. If our counterattack is unsuccessful, we will have another chance in the future, but if these two important places are lost, we will have to regain control.
What a heavy price to pay to take it back."
Belly was originally very disappointed, but after hearing Chuikov's words, he couldn't help but fell into deep thought. With these tanks, his troops could be rebuilt and play a big role in the upcoming counterattack. However,
Once the counterattack fails and all the tanks are lost, what kind of force will the workers of the Red October Factory use to defend the factory?
Seeing that Bely was silent, Chuikov knew that the other party was having a fierce ideological struggle, so he did not disturb him. Instead, he turned to ask Krylov: "Chief of Staff, when will the tank soldiers assigned to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov be available?"
Set off?"
Krylov raised his hand and looked at his watch and said: "It will take half an hour at the fastest to gather them together..."
"Then I'll give you an hour." Chuikov didn't wait for Krylov to finish, and interrupted what he was saying: "They must rush to the Red October Factory as soon as possible, familiarize themselves with the technical equipment as soon as possible, and be ready to fight against the enemy at any time.
The enemies entering the factory area started fighting."
"Commander, Chief of Staff, I have a suggestion." Bely interjected from the side: "Why don't we send our brigade to the Red October Factory, so that we don't have to send tank troops there."
Regarding Bely's attitude, Chuikov asked with some confusion: "Why are you being sent there?"
"To fight tanks, you don't just need to find a group of tank crews who can drive tanks and fire guns." Belei said plausibly: "There needs to be a tacit understanding between tanks. If Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's tank unit is divided into eight pieces,
If they are assembled together, the cooperation on the battlefield will be unsatisfactory. But my tank brigade does not have such a problem. As long as the soldiers receive the new tanks, they can immediately form combat effectiveness."
The first time Bely mentioned that his troops could form combat effectiveness in the shortest time after receiving tanks, this made Chuikov's heart move. At this moment, he mentioned the same problem again, but the premise was that the troops were transferred to the Red October Factory. Therefore.
Chuikov asked hesitantly: "Colonel Bely, although Sokov's military rank is lower than yours, he is also the brigade commander. If you go to the Red October Factory, will you command him or will he command you?"
"Comrade Commander," Bely knew very well in his heart that if the troops were transferred to the Red October Factory by Chuikov, he would definitely not be able to serve as the supreme commander. Instead of being rejected when he proposed it, it would be better to be more generous and still give him something to the commander.
Leave a good impression: "Since we are cooperating with Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, then naturally he will lead me."
Hearing what Bely said, Chuikov and Krylov couldn't help but smile at each other. After seeing their expressions, Bely asked curiously: "Commander, Chief of Staff, did I say something wrong?"
"No, you said nothing wrong." Chuikov waved to Bely and said: "The chief of staff and I laughed because we thought that Colonel Vitkov, deputy chief of staff of the group army, was sent to the 73rd Infantry Brigade some time ago.
Serve as deputy brigade commander. I didn’t expect that now, you, a colonel, will be under the command of a lieutenant colonel."
Fortunately, as long as Bely can attack the enemy, his position does not matter. He said with a normal expression: "As long as I can win, let alone listen to the command of a lieutenant colonel, even if I listen to the command of a lieutenant, I will
No complaints whatsoever.”
"Colonel Bely, since you are determined to go to the Red October Factory, then I agree to your request." After Chuikov expressed his agreement, he continued: "However, all your troops cannot be transferred."
"Can't they all be transferred?" Bely was stunned for a moment, and then he understood what Chuikov meant. He nodded and said: "I understand, Comrade Commander, if our entire brigade leaves its current position, the defense there will be compromised.
Become weak. Let’s do this, I’ll keep the deputy brigade commander and the ten tanks. What do you think?”
"Okay!" Seeing that Bely understood his intention, Chuikov nodded and said, "That's it. Comrade Colonel, you go back and arrange your work, and then rush to the Red October Factory as soon as possible."
…………
Besides, after Sokov called Krylov, he guessed with Yakov and Brisky how many tank troops the Army Headquarters could send to him?
"Misha," Yakov spoke first: "The two areas you are defending are very important. Once one of them is lost, the defense line will be divided by the enemy. If I were the commander of the group army, I would definitely not do anything.
I agree to your request without hesitation."
"I don't think so." Briski has been in the city for a long time and knows that the attrition of each unit is very serious. Therefore, he is very pessimistic about how many tank troops his superiors can replenish for him: "The seven tanks mentioned by the chief of staff
More than ten tankers, I guess, is the limit, and more is impossible."
After both of them had expressed their opinions, Sokov said: "Even if the chief of staff can only provide us with more than seventy tank soldiers, plus the original tank company in the brigade, I think we can guarantee that at least 25 tanks can be used."
For combat. If you still want more tanks to go into battle, the best way is to ask deputy factory director Zinchenko for help and transfer some workers from the factory who can drive tanks into our new tank brigade."
"This is a good idea." Yakov agreed with Sokov's statement: "Let workers serve as tank drivers, and the original drivers can serve as commanders or gunners. In this way,
Come, we can use more tanks."
"We have tank crews," Kalashnikov, who remained silent, said, "but what about the cooperation between tanks? Without a period of cooperation, it will be difficult for a tank battalion to form a tacit understanding during combat."
When it comes to tanks, Kalashnikov has the most say in this room. After hearing what he said, everyone couldn't help but feel worried again. Sokov asked with a wry smile: "Comrade Lieutenant, do you have any good solutions?"
Is this a problem?”
"Only after a long period of training can a tacit understanding be formed between tank crews." When Kalashnikov said this, he couldn't help but sigh: "It's a pity that the enemy will not give us that long time."
Kalashnikov's words reminded Sokov, and he said with a frown: "Also, among the tank crews sent by the chief of staff, let's see if we can find two officers who can serve as battalion commanders. In the brigade
The tank company commander, Lieutenant Alitai, has limited abilities. He is fine as a company commander, but he is not qualified to be a battalion commander."
"Misha, if you didn't tell me, I almost forgot about the commander." Yakov also worked in the tank division before. Although he was an artilleryman and not a tank soldier, he knew very well that if the tank battalion wanted to fight
To win the battle, there must be an excellent commander. The Altai lieutenant once saw that he was at best a company commander. He turned his attention to Kalashnikov and asked Sokov tentatively: "Misha, how about
, how about you let Kalashnikov serve as the battalion commander?"
"Let Kalashnikov serve as the tank battalion commander?" Hearing Yakov's suggestion, Sokov stared at Kalashnikov standing aside, thinking secretly: With the emergence of his butterfly
, it may not be realistic for him to think of being the father of the AK47. He was originally planned to be a weapons engineer, but now that the tank brigade commander position is vacant, he is a suitable candidate.
Seeing that everyone was focusing on him, Kalashnikov immediately guessed what they were thinking, and quickly waved his hands and said: "I am not good, and my ability is not qualified for the position of tank battalion commander.
He raised his right hand that could not be bent due to injury and continued, "Look, my hand is like this. Can I still be a tanker?"
Sokov looked at Kalashnikov's hands and felt that in his current situation, he was indeed not suitable to be a tank driver anymore. He sighed and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant, although you can no longer be a tank driver now."
, but you have a more important job."
"A more important job?" Kalashnikov had a confused expression on his face: "What important job?"
"Have you forgotten the tank phone number I just mentioned?" Seeing that Kalashnikov had not recovered for a while, Sokov reminded him: "There are more than 40 tanks in the underground tank depot. I hope you can
Can we install telephones on them all within three days? How about that? Can it be done?"
Kalashnikov hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if you can give me enough manpower, I will be able to install telephones on all the tanks within three days."
"Wait a minute, Misha." Maybe seeing that the conversation between the two was a bit too casual, Yakov came out to remind Sokov: "Why don't you install one first and try it out? If it's good, I will give it to each one.
The tanks are all equipped with telephones; but if the desired effect cannot be achieved, I think there is no need to bother."
"Major Yakov is right." Briski continued: "Let's try one first. If the effect is good, it won't be too late to install telephones on all the tanks. If not, don't waste our precious resources now."
resources.”
"Comrade Lieutenant," Seeing that both Yakov and Briski suggested trying the effect first, Sokov did not insist on his own opinion. After all, he had read about installing a phone on the tank in a book. Whether it would be applicable specifically needed to be done in advance.
Verification is the only way to do it, so he said to Kalashnikov: "You can work hard tonight and find a tank to install a phone. We will try it tomorrow to see how it works."
"Okay," Kalashnikov agreed readily, "as long as you arrange assistants and preparation tools for me, I can start now."
"Comrade Lieutenant," Sokov said to him when he saw that only Brisky could run errands for him in the room: "Go and find Cousteau and ask him to arrange some assistants for Lieutenant Kalashnikov."
Not long after Briskie left the house, the phone on the table rang. Sokov thought it was Briskie, so he picked up the phone and put it to his ear and asked: "How are you? Do you have any good news for me?"
?”
When the caller heard what Sokov said, he couldn't help but be silent for a moment, and then laughed and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, are you good at telling fortunes? You actually know that I have good news to tell you."
"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov heard that the speaker was actually Krylov, Chief of Staff of the Army Group. He was startled and asked hurriedly: "What instructions do you have?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I'm calling you to tell you." Krylov said on the phone: "After research by Comrade Commander and I, those tank troops will not be sent to you."
Hearing Krylov say this, Sokov's heart sank suddenly and he hurriedly asked: "Why?"
Krylov laughed twice at first, and then said: "This is the good news I want to tell you. Colonel Bely, commander of the 84th Tank Brigade, offered to take some tank troops to the Red October Tractor Factory to participate in
How is your tank battalion? Are you welcome?"
"Welcome, of course." Sokov replied in a panic. After a moment of pause, he remembered that Bely's military rank was higher than his own, so he asked awkwardly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Colonel Bely's military rank is higher than mine, he
After we get here, who should we listen to?"
"Who else can I listen to? Of course it is you." Krylov said: "Since you are commanding the battle to defend the factory, everyone who cooperates with you in the battle must obey your command."
"This is not good!" Sokov couldn't help but feel happy when he learned that Colonel Bely was going to be under his command, but he still said insincerely: "His military rank is higher than mine, how can he let me
Where is the lieutenant colonel going to command the colonel?"