Although a batch of the latest tanks was obtained through Ustinov, there is one more important thing to do before this batch of tanks is officially equipped with troops.

On the way back to the headquarters of the army group, I said to Bezikov: "Chief of staff, I have something to hand over to you, which will be handled tomorrow initially. ”

Although Bezikov did not know what important task I would give him, he still respectfully asked: "Lida, please speak, I will definitely complete the task you have assigned to me successfully." ”

"That's right, the higher authorities will allocate a batch of new tanks to us in the near future." Although I had just mentioned to him and Rasmikhin about the new weapon when I first got into the car, I brought up the new tank again when I was assigning the mission. "Now the roads south of Kursk are dirt roads, and when it rains, they are muddy, and it becomes difficult for vehicles to pass. Therefore, I order you to immediately dispatch manpower to carry out emergency repairs on all roads in the defense area. ”

Bezikov was silent, as if he was thinking about how to accomplish the task I had given him. In order not to interrupt his train of thought, I just looked at him without saying a word, wanting to hear what he had to say about the completion of this task.

Before he could speak, Rasmikhin, who was sitting in the front row, turned to the side and said to me: "Comrade commander, I don't think this task is easy to complete. ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, why?" I didn't know why Rasmikhin said that, so I asked curiously.

"The amount of work to build the road is too large," Rasmikhin said with some hesitation when he heard my question: "Not only do we need a lot of manpower, but the construction period is also long, and it will take at least half a year to complete the construction of the entire road from Kursk to the front, but can the Germans give us that much time?" ”

Hear Rasmikhin say that. I suddenly remembered the use of cinders to pave the road, and it was only me and Bezikov in the entire army group who knew about it, so it was no wonder that Rasmikhin was so worried. When he finished speaking, I smiled and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you probably don't know, before the 6th Guards Army took office. I made a proposal to Marshal Zhukov to pave the road with cinders. In just half a short period of time, the repair work of the 100-kilometer section from Moscow to Kursk was completed. If we also open up roads and repair them, it will be completed in about 20 days. ”

"Comrade Commander, I don't understand." Rasmikhin asked with a blank face: "Why are we repairing the road?" ”

The Soviet army has not paid attention to the construction of the highway transportation network, so it is inevitable that this task I assigned will make a middle-level commander like Rasmikhin feel confused. In order for them to be able to carry out the tasks I have assigned to them in earnest, it is necessary for me to give him a detailed explanation: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if we have a well-developed transportation network. Reinforcements can be quickly moved to important locations. If we do not repair the roads, once the front line is tightened and our roads are muddy and impassable for vehicles, not only tanks and artillery will not be able to pass, but even vehicles transporting infantry will not be able to pass. ”

"Does cinder paving work well?" Rasmikhin seemed to accept my claims. Then he asked the question in his heart: "Can tanks, artillery and all kinds of vehicles pass?" ”

"Totally fine, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Bezikov, who had been silent, spoke: "First use the truck to dump the cinders on the muddy road. Roll it over and over again with a roller, and the road is basically formed. Compared to roads paved with bundles of firewood or wood, they are not only faster but also stronger. ”

Hearing what Bezikov said, Rasmikhin asked with some confusion: "Comrade Chief of Staff, since you know that it is so convenient to pave the road with cinders, why did you keep frowning just now?" ”

Bezkov smiled bitterly. "I'm worried about where to find cinders. Although there are too many cinders in Moscow to be used up, it is more than 600 kilometers away from here, and the delay on the road is too long. ”

I heard what Bezkov was worried about, it turned out to be only building materials, and I couldn't help but laugh dumbly. Then he gave him a suggestion: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't keep your eyes on Moscow. Don't forget, I'm asking you to repair the road from Kursk to the frontier, and you can get the cinders you need from Kursk, even in small cities like Prokhorovka in our defense zone. If none of this material is enough, let the commanders and fighters cut down some trees. ”

"Understood." After agreeing, Bezikov then asked: "I don't know which unit I should send to complete the task of repairing the road?" ”

I thought for a moment, and then replied, "Didn't the 89th and 90th Guards Divisions arrive one after another yesterday, so let's send a regiment from each of these two divisions to complete the task of building roads." ”

"Yes, understood." Bezzikov readily agreed.

We returned to the headquarters, and as soon as we entered the room, a commander sitting next to Danilov stood up and saluted me with his hand raised. When I looked closely, it turned out to be Colonel Bere, the commander of the 33rd Tank Army, and I was particularly excited to see my comrades who had fought side by side in Stalingrad. I took two steps forward to hold his hand and asked with concern, "Hello, Comrade Colonel!" How's it going, are the injuries all healed? ”

"Thank you Commander for your concern, it's almost over." Beray smiled and replied: "I was still recovering in the hospital, but when I heard that you nominated me to be the commander of the newly formed 33rd Tank Army, I couldn't sit still any longer, so I went to the director of the hospital and asked him to give me a discharge certificate, so I answered in advance that the army was coming." ”

Colonel Bere's answer made my heart very unsteady: "Is it appropriate for you to return to the front line before your injuries have healed?" ”

"Nothing out of place, Comrade Commander." Beray said to me disappreciatively: "Anyway, in a month or two, I won't have to drive the tank myself." Isn't it better for me to stay in the command every day than to do recovery treatment in the hospital? ”

Although Bere didn't care at all what he said, I didn't dare to take it lightly, because in the next battle, the tank units of our army were the key to the victory of the battle, because I turned around and ordered Bezikov, who was standing next to me: "Comrade Chief of Staff, send a military doctor and a hygienist to take care of Colonel Bere. Make sure he recovers from his injuries as soon as possible. If his injuries get worse and worse, I can ask you. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Bezikov referred to me directly in public as his rank, and he assured me: "I will send the best medic and hygienist to take care of Colonel Bere." ”

I had almost said that, and after beckoning everyone to sit down, I looked at Beray and asked, "Comrade Colonel." If you have any difficulties, just ask me. If I can solve it, I will help you solve it as soon as possible; If I can't solve it, I will also report it to my superiors and solve the problem for you as soon as possible. ”

After hearing my words, Belei nodded, and then said: "Comrade commander, today I went to see the two tank brigades below. Except for a few T-34s, the rest of the troops were T-26 tanks. To know these vintage tanks. Even the German tank No. 4 could not be beaten, let alone the Leopard and Tiger tanks. If we do not change the equipment of our troops, we rush into battle, which is tantamount to making our tank crews a target for the enemy. ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." "Before you come back, Colonel Bere is talking to me about this, and he wants us to find a way to replace the tank corps with a new batch of tanks. Look at this ......"

Danilov didn't finish his sentence, but I understood what he meant. Hurriedly raised his hand to interrupt his later words, and said to Bere with a smile: "Comrade Colonel." You can rest assured, I have just applied to the Ministry of Weapons and Equipment today for a batch of new tanks, which will be able to equip the troops in a day or two at most. ”

When Beray heard me say this, he did not show a happy expression on his face, but asked cautiously: "I wonder how high the victory rate of the new tank is against the German Leopard or Tiger tanks?" ”

I organized the vocabulary in my head. Later, he explained to Bere: "Comrade Colonel, at present, the T-34 tanks that our army is equipped with in large quantities can only penetrate the side armor of the Tiger tank at a distance of 400 meters, and if it is hit by the Tiger tank. Our tanks will be destroyed. However, the new tank can penetrate the frontal armor of the Tiger tank at a distance of 1,000 meters, and even if it is hit by the enemy at the same distance, the tank will not lose its combat effectiveness. ”

Hearing such parameters, Berei not only did not become happy, but frowned even tighter: "Comrade commander, is our new tank really so powerful?" ”

"That's right." "I have seen with my own eyes the power of the new tank at the test site, and the Tiger tank hits our tank from a thousand meters away, and it can only make a white mark on the armor plate, which cannot be effectively penetrated at all," I said with certainty. And our tanks can not only destroy the opponent with a single shot, but also have the ability to shoot high hits on the move. "Originally, I wanted to report a long list of data, but I couldn't remember it in a hurry, so I had to give up, anyway, what I said was enough for him to digest for a while.

Colonel Bere looked at me with questioning eyes and said, "Comrade Commander, how can I listen to what you say so untrustworthy?" "He had witnessed with his own eyes how the German Tiger tank annihilated our tank troops like a target, and at this moment I suddenly told him that there was a tank whose combat effectiveness and production capacity far surpassed that of the German Tiger tank, which naturally could not be accepted by him. If I hadn't worked with him, even if I were the commander of the army group, I guess he would have lashed out at me and said I was talking nonsense.

I fell silent in response to Bere's questioning and began to try to recall the parameters of the T-54/55 tank. When I had thought about it, I said to him: "Comrade Colonel, you did not participate in the 'May Day Military Parade' on Red Square, so naturally you did not have the opportunity to see such an excellent tank that has crossed the era. Let's put it this way, General Katukov was right next to me during the parade, and when he saw the new tank, he was stunned and eager to get the Armament Department to equip them with it. ”

"Really?" When Beray heard this, his eyebrows could not help but rise, and it seemed that I had taken the initiative to mention Katukov correctly, at least he had unconsciously believed my words.

Seeing that his suspicions weakened, I took the opportunity to introduce him to the parameters of the new tank: "The main weapon of the new tank is a 100mm rifled tank gun, and a 12.7mm heavy machine gun is also installed on individual tanks, which can not only strafe the enemy's infantry, but also be used for air defense.

…… The mechanics of the new tank are simple and reliable, and the requirements for the level of crew operation are low; The relatively small size of the tank means that the target provided to the enemy on the battlefield is also smaller; The tank has a low weight, a large track width, and good starting performance at low temperatures,...... Compared with the active tanks of our army, the combat effectiveness and production capacity have been significantly improved. ”

After listening to me finish a series of parameters, Bere couldn't help but get excited, and asked again and again: "Comrade commander, I don't know how many of these new tanks can be given to our army by my superiors?" ”

I sighed and said, "Originally, I wanted 300 cars, but after a long time, my superiors only promised us 80 cars. At my repeated requests, another 20 T-34 tanks were given to us. ”

"Enough is enough, Comrade Commander." Colonel Bere said excitedly: "If the new tank really has the performance you said, let alone eighty, even if there are only eighteen, I can lead the troops, and the enemy's armored forces that will attack in the future will be crushed." ”

When I heard him use the word "lead" instead of "command," I couldn't help but turn my face and say to him solemnly: "Comrade Colonel, I would like to remind you that you are not allowed to drive a tank into battle until your wounds have healed. This is my order, do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Colonel Bere, though he was criticized by me, still had a smile on his face, because he understood that I had given such an order solely for his own sake, so he readily agreed.

"After the new tanks arrive in the troops, you must familiarize the tank crews with these equipment as soon as possible." When I thought of the imminent Battle of Kursk, I felt irritated in my heart, "Otherwise, even if you drive new tanks into battle, you will not be able to defeat those experienced Germans." ”

"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Colonel Bere stood up and assured me: "As soon as the new tanks arrive in the troops, I will familiarize all the tankers with their new partners for a week at most." When we get to the battlefield, we will definitely use this batch of new tanks to teach the Germans a hard lesson, and the shame of Zaporosh will be revealed! (To be continued.) )

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