The solemn parade phalanx was led by the commander of the Moscow garrison, which, according to tradition, was opened by the drummers of the Moscow Military Music School. Ninety-six young soldiers dressed in black military uniforms and wearing large-brimmed hats, 12 in a row, lined up in nine rows, beat the small snare drum hanging on their chests with drumsticks, beat the beat of the parade pace, and marched with neat steps, vigorously following the tall horse of the garrison commander.

This was followed by a team of flag-bearers consisting of the flag of the Soviet Union, the flag of Lenin and the flag of the armed forces of the USSR, three squadrons of flag-bearers marching in parallel. Walking in the middle is the flag of the Soviet Union; On the left is the Lenin flag, on the right is the military flag.

Accompanying the flag-bearers was the guard of honor of the Soviet Navy, Army and Air Force. The honor guards of the navy, land and air force wore three-color military uniforms, except for the flag bearer and the officer holding the command knife, the rest of the soldiers carried the rifle with the red flag on the bayonet, and walked forward in unison with their hands shaken.

This was followed by the cavalry honor guard of the Central Guard Regiment of the Kremlin Guard, the knights wore sky-blue classical military uniforms, and the war horses under the crotch were all excellent breeds from Kalinin and Belarus. The knights, controlling the speed of their horses, rode in four columns, marched neatly through Lenin's tomb and followed the road drawn in the square towards the Vasily slope.

After passing through Lenin's Tomb, the drummers turned to the left in unison and, with a neat pace, joined the mixed military band standing in the middle of Red Square, and played with them for the parade troops passing through the square.

Next came the infantry phalanxes of loyal soldiers from the Soviet republics.

One infantry phalanx after another passed in front of my eyes, and the sound of uniform footsteps, like dozens of drums beating drums, hit people's hearts with the beat of the drums.

I carefully observed the weapons in the hands of the fighters, and although most of them were Mosin Lagan rifles and Bobosha submachine guns, there were several phalanx fighters with assault rifles in their hands that I was familiar with. Judging by their clothing, they were either Guards soldiers or marines from various naval units. It seems that in Ustinov's new weapons installation plan, it is these units that have made great achievements in arming assault rifles first.

When the infantry phalanx had all passed through Red Square, a mixed marching band of thousands of military musicians. Collectively turning backwards to the beat of the drums, they strode in the direction of the Grand Mall of Gum, apparently to make room for the mechanized platoon to pass. As the marching band left me, I regained the sound of the horns on the field, and only listened to the male announcer introduce in a deep voice: "...... The conductor of the orchestra is the commander-in-chief of the military band, Major General Aleksandrov of the Soviet People's Artist, who has conducted the military band to perform different military music songs for each unit in addition to today. He also led the famous Red Flag Song and Dance Troupe to the front line to perform thousands of times for our troops who fought bravely, which greatly boosted the morale of our front-line commanders and fighters. ……”

With the roar of powerful engines, the mechanical team drove into Red Square. The first to appear was the armored car platoon. Three cars in a row, along the marked line. The announcer's voice came from the radio again: "The first thing that appeared in front of us was the armored vehicle platoon, which was mainly equipped with reconnaissance units, which had a wide range of uses and could be used in complex terrain, and the platoon commander was the battalion commander...... Senior captain. ”

After the armored car battalion has passed, what appears in our field of vision is an armored transporter that is slightly different from the armored car. The male announcer went on to explain: "It is the armored transport battalion that is now on Red Square. The battalion is a separate brigade from the Marine Corps of the Black Sea Fleet, with crews of all Crimeans and Sevastopols. The flags of the Republic of Crimea and the Black Sea Fleet were flying on the transporters. ……”

At this time, Katukov, who had been silent, touched my arm and asked in a low voice: "Hey, I said Comrade Oshanina, where are the new tanks you are talking about?" These armored vehicles and armored transporters are not produced by our own country, but are aided to us by our US allies. ”

Seeing Katukov in such a hurry. I smiled and said to him, "Comrade General, don't be in such a hurry, the good things must be the last." Just past two mechanized squadrons, there are still more troops to refer to later, so you can wait patiently. ”

After listening to Katukov. Saying nothing, he shrugged his shoulders and continued to watch the armored vehicles drive in front of us. Perhaps because he didn't see the technical equipment he wanted to see, for the next period of time, Katukov showed much depression, whether it was a truck-drawn cannon, howitzer, or a terrifying Katyusha rocket launcher, which did not arouse much interest in him.

But when a phalanx of ZSU-57-2 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns appeared in our field of vision, Katukov's interest was aroused at once, he pointed to the vehicle consisting of an armored chassis, a rotating turret, and twin guns, and asked me curiously: "Oshanina, do you know what kind of equipment it is, it looks like it is for air defense?" ”

I am naturally very familiar with this equipment, which was finalized in 55 years and equipped with the Soviet army in 57 years, but here I cannot sell everything I know, so I have to simply explain to Katukov: "Comrade General, this is a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun that our army has just developed, which can provide the necessary anti-aircraft support for the armored forces launching an attack. ”

The reason why I know about this self-propelled anti-aircraft gun is because I come from a later life, and if the Soviet army really withdrew from something that was beyond my time, I would definitely not see whether it was good or bad. And after only a few glances, Katukov couldn't help but pat me the shoulder and said excitedly: "With this new weapon, even if our air force cannot master the air supremacy of the battlefield, then the air defense capability of the ground forces can be greatly improved." At this point, he removed his hand from my shoulder, clenched his hands into fists and waved them violently, and said excitedly, "I believe that the new tank that will appear later will bring us even greater surprises." ”

After the passage of the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun battalion, it was the SU-100 tank destroyer battalion that entered Red Square, another vehicle that was launched ahead of schedule because of Floning's butterfly. This time, it was not only Katukov who was excited, but also the people around me, whether they were soldiers or ordinary leaders, pointed to this new vehicle and talked about it. I heard someone behind me asking, "...... Hey, I mean, this tank looks so strange with its turret and thicker barrel than a normal tank gun. ”

"What tanks." As soon as his words fell, someone next to him immediately corrected him, "Didn't you hear the announcer just now, this is not a tank, it's an anti-tank destroyer, specially designed to fight German tanks." ”

The one who spoke first said thoughtfully, "Yes." The mobility of this destroyer is not bad, and it is perfect for dealing with the tanks of the Germans. I don't know if the superiors will hand over the production task of this equipment to our factory to complete. ”

"Why do you want your factory to complete this task?" Another person said unconvinced: "Last time, the task of producing the T-34 tank was handed over to your factory by the superiors, and this time it will be our factory's turn." ”

While the two factory directors behind me were still arguing, the tank phalanx drove into Red Square in the eyes of everyone. Naturally, the first tank could not be the most advanced T-54/55 tank, but the T-34 tank that the Soviet army is currently equipped with. Rao is so, and it still makes the people on the viewing platform excited.

When the first new T-54/55 tank appeared in everyone's field of vision. The noisy viewing platform suddenly fell silent, because it was a new type of tank that no one had ever seen before. After a while, I heard the two factory directors behind me start talking again.

Factory Director A said: "You are right just now, since the task of producing tanks was entrusted to our factory some time ago, then the task of producing anti-tank destroyers should still be entrusted to your factory." Don't worry, the next time you come to the bureau for a meeting. I will discuss with Comrade Director General and ask him to take over the task of producing fighter vehicles. Leave it to your factory to finish. ”

"No, resolutely not." A few minutes ago, the director of the factory, who wanted to compete for the task of producing tank destroyers, changed his mind and said dissatisfiedly: "Our factory is fully capable of producing this new type of tank, and I think the superiors should hand over the task of producing fighter vehicles to your factory, and we should produce this new type of tank." ”

Katukov looked at the new tanks that drove by on the field and nodded with satisfaction. He said to me, "Yes, that's good." If my troops can be equipped with such tanks, then against the German armored forces, it will be no problem. ”

I nodded, and then told Katukov about the characteristics of this tank: "Comrade General. This new type of tank has good weapons and armor, is relatively easy to use and maintain, easy to install and has strong night combat capabilities. However, the main disadvantages were the small depression angle of the artillery, the primitive active system, the limited firing range of the artillery, and the easy fire of the outer group of fuel tanks after being hit. ”

"As long as the battlefield survivability is strong, these shortcomings are nothing." After listening to this, Katukov said disapprenously: "As long as it is easy to use and repair, even if it is damaged by enemy artillery fire, it can be repaired as soon as possible to restore its combat effectiveness." ”

From what I just heard from the conversation between the two factory directors, I know that the production of new tanks should not be a big problem, the key is the person who drives the tank. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but ask Katukov: "Comrade General, even if your superiors equip your army with a large number of new tanks, do you have so many tankmen under your command?" ”

After listening to me, Katukov couldn't help but laugh dumbly, and then explained to me: "Oshanina, don't you know that the tracked tractors we use are operated in the same way, like tanks, with a handle? A tractor driver can become a qualified tank driver with only a short training. ”

"Why is it that after the loss of the German tank crew, the replenishment rate is so slow?" Although I heard Katukov say it so easily, I retorted unconvinced: "You must know that the Germans have such a large armored force, even if they lose tankmen, they can completely replace them with armored car drivers!" ”

Katukov couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw the reproachful look from the person next to him, and he stopped laughing and explained to me: "Oshanina, you have been on the battlefield for so long, I think you must have noticed that there are many half-tracked armored vehicles in the German army." Seeing that I nodded in agreement, he immediately threw another question at me, "Do you know why?" ”

I really didn't know the answer to Katukov's question, so I could only shake my head and answer honestly: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, I don't know. ”

"Because the driving device in this armored car is not operated by a handle, but by a steering wheel." Katukov confidently said to me: "In other words, once their tankmen are lost, it will take much longer to retrain new drivers than we do." In this way, by the time their drivers learn to drive tanks, our fighters who have turned careers will already be good drivers. ”

Just when I thought that the climax of the whole military parade had passed, the voice of the announcer on the radio suddenly became excited: "Citizens, what is now driving on Red Square is the latest tank of the great Red Army, which is equipped with advanced armed systems and can carry out ground and air strikes, and is the nemesis of all the active tanks of the fascist invaders. ”

I quickly turned my head to look, and saw that I had seen T-72 appear in my field of vision. Six tanks, divided into two rows, drove majestically along the small stone paved road in front of us.

At this moment, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my arm, and when I turned my head, it turned out that Katukov had grabbed my arm. I saw him staring intently at the T-72 passing by, and the hand he had grabbed my arm was still shaking because of his excitement. It wasn't until the tank drove past Lenin's tomb that he turned his head to look at me and asked with some gaffe: "Oshanina, why didn't you just tell me that this is the secret weapon of our army?" ”

To tell the truth, to a layman like me, whether it is a T-54/55 tank or a T-72 tank, from the outside, they are all the same. Only an expert like Katukov can see at a glance what makes this new tank special. Therefore, in the face of Katukov's questioning, I could only say vaguely: "Comrade General, these tanks were a top-secret existence before today, so even if I know anything, I have no right to tell you." Moreover, although the six tanks that appeared behind this are the most advanced at present, they may not be equipped with troops in the short term due to the immaturity of some technologies. All your troops can get is the tanks in the mechanized phalanx ahead. ”

We were talking when we suddenly heard an exclamation from the side. Bezikov said to me with a panicked expression: "Leda, look, that tank broke down on the Vasily slope, and smoke came out of the position of the engine, it can't be a fire, right?" (To be continued.) )