Red Moscow

"What means of transportation are you going to use?" Sokov thought to himself. Considering Russia's poor road conditions, if it is transported by truck, it will take at least two or three days to travel more than 600 kilometers. It will start at the beginning of the month. If the hovercraft is delivered too late, your troops will not have time to adapt. "How long will it take to arrive?"

"According to the plan, we plan to transport by train." Yakov said on the phone: "Depart from Moscow when it is dark, and arrive at Oboyan's train station when it is dawn. The rest of the journey can only be transported by car." .”

"Isn't the maximum speed of the hovercraft 60 knots?" Sokov silently calculated in his heart, one knot is equivalent to 1.852 kilometers per hour, and the speed of 60 knots is equal to 111.12 kilometers per hour, which only takes five or six hours You can reach your defense zone. "If you can't find a suitable means of transportation, I think you can directly arrange for people to drive the hovercraft to me."

"No, Misha, the hovercraft must not drive in directly." Yakov said seriously on the other end of the phone: "Not to mention driving in directly, this kind of transportation tool of our army will be exposed prematurely, and the long-distance The situation will also cause the hovercraft to malfunction. You must know that although the hovercraft has been successfully converted from drawings to real objects, it has not yet completed all tests. If there is a problem, it may be difficult to repair.”

Hearing what Yakov said, Sokov gave up his plan to let the hovercraft come directly from Moscow, but changed the subject in time: "Yasha, when your hovercraft is delivered, how many pilots and Will a mechanic technician come over? After all, this is a new type of transportation that no one has seen before, and without guidance, some problems will inevitably occur during use."

"Misha, you don't have to worry about this." Yakov said, "According to Comrade Ustinov's order, I will bring a group of technicians to your place with the hovercraft."

"That's great," Sokov couldn't help being elated when he learned that Yakov was coming to his army. "We finally have the chance to fight side by side again."

"Yeah, the last time we fought side by side was in Stalingrad, and it's been almost a year now."

"Yasha, when you arrive at Oboyan Railway Station, remember to call me, and I will pick you up in person."

"I don't think so. You are now the commander of the group army, and you are so busy every day." Yakov declined on the phone and said, "Let me contact the vehicle to transport it to you."

"Yasha, you don't understand what I mean." Seeing that Yakov misunderstood his intention, Sokov quickly explained: "I plan to find a hiding place first, let the troops involved in the assault familiarize themselves with the hovercraft, so that they can Better use of this new type of transport in combat."

"Okay, Misha. I'll make sure to call you when we get to Oboyan Station."

...

Two days later in the morning, Sokov, who was busy in the headquarters, received a call from Yakov: "Misha, my people and I have arrived at the train station in Oboyan."

"Great, this is really great." When the hovercraft finally arrived, Sokov was naturally overjoyed, and he hurriedly asked: "Yasha, how many cars do you need to carry the things you are carrying?" ?”

"In addition to the 22 ships for you, plus the entourage and some spare parts." Since Yakov made the call from the duty room of the station, in order to avoid leaking, he did not mention the hovercraft but the ship: "It will take about four Ten cars."

"Yasha, I'll be there in half an hour." Sokov said, "Please ask the military representatives at the station to send soldiers to guard the boat, and don't let anyone get close."

"Don't worry, Misha, I've considered your concerns a long time ago." Yakov replied, "This time, besides the technicians, there is also a squad of guard soldiers who are on board the ship. Serving as a security guard."

After putting down the phone, Sokov immediately shouted outside: "Come here!"

Following the shout, Seryosha trotted in from the outside. He came to the front of the developer, straightened his back and asked, "Comrade commander, what instructions do you have?"

Seryozha is now a deputy battalion commander of the guard regiment of the Army Group Command, but he also serves as the company commander. Sokov directly ordered him: "Seryozha, take a guard company and come with me. Oboyan's railway station."

Hearing Sokov's order, Seryozha didn't ask any questions, and immediately agreed, then turned and went out to gather troops.

After Seryozha left, Sokov looked at Sameko and Lunev and said, "Chief of Staff, Comrade Military Commissar, who of you would like to accompany me to Oboyan Railway Station?"

"I really want to see what this hovercraft looks like." Sameko said regretfully, "Unfortunately, I still have a lot of work to do, and I really can't get away. I can only let Comrade Military Commissioner accompany you for a while." trip."

The logistics department of the group army had already prepared a convoy of hovercraft. Sameko called the director of the logistics department, and the director arranged a sufficient number of cars to park on the street outside the headquarters in the shortest possible time.

Lunev followed Sokov out of the headquarters, saw the endless convoy outside, and asked Sokov worriedly: "Comrade Commander, we have put up such a big formation, if we encounter Germans on the road People's planes won't be the target of the enemy's bombing?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Military Commissar." Seeing Lunev's uneasy look, Sokov quickly comforted him and said, "Now our air force controls the air supremacy on the battlefield, and the German planes are all in Belgorod. De-Kharkov line, dare not fly here at all."

On the way, Lunev asked Sokov again: "Comrade Commander, so many hovercraft are placed at the train station, won't they be discovered by German spies?"

"I think Yakov and the others must have considered the issue of secrecy, and must have camouflaged the hovercraft." Sokov said: "I guess even if a German spy finds it, they will think it is an ordinary river crossing device. After all, we The attack on Belgorod will begin soon, and all troops are receiving equipment for crossing the river."

"Once we attack Belgorod, how long do you think it will take?"

Sokov knew that in real history, the German army had no intention of sticking to Belgorod at all. They focused their defense on Kharkov, so that within three days of the Soviet offensive, Belgorod fell was recovered. Therefore, when I heard Lunev's question, I answered with confidence: "Comrade Military Commissar, the enemy who stood firm in Belgorod suffered a heavy blow from us and has not yet recovered. If a formal offensive is to be launched, at most In three days, the city can be taken."

"Three days?" Lunev said with some surprise, "I thought it would take at least three weeks. I didn't expect you to be so confident."

"Comrade Military Commissar, don't forget that it only takes us a day or two to annihilate one of the enemy's divisions." Sokov said disapprovingly: "The remaining enemies in the city now face us. Such a huge offensive, they can't last long."

Sokov's new headquarters is only a dozen kilometers away from Oboyan Railway Station. According to the normal speed, it can be reached in half an hour at most. However, along the way, there are infantry, tanks and various transport vehicles that are heading south. So much so that Sokov and his convoy had to stop at any time to give way to the troops and vehicles heading south.

Two hours had passed by the time they arrived at Oboyan Railway Station.

Yakov, who had been waiting impatiently for a long time, saw Sokov's appearance, and said with some displeasure: "Misha, didn't you say that you can arrive in half an hour? You know, two hours have passed now." .”

"Colonel Yakov," Lunev saw the embarrassed expression on Sokov's face, and quickly defended him, "You don't know, there are a lot of troops going south now, and the road conditions are not ideal. The convoy has been stuck in traffic for a long time, which is why we are so late."

Yakov also knew that Sokov was not a punctual person, and the reason why he was late for such a long time must be something happened on the road. After listening to Lunev's explanation, his expression returned to normal. He looked at Lunev and asked, "Comrade General, I don't know what to call you?"

"Yasha, let me introduce you." Sokov interrupted in time, "This is Lieutenant General Lunev, the military commissar of our army. He is from the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"Lieutenant General Lunev?!" Yakov couldn't help raising his eyebrows after hearing the other party's name and military rank clearly: "Are you the deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"

Hearing Yakov reveal his past position, Lunev laughed dryly and said, "Colonel Yakov, that was my past position, and now I am the military commissar of Major General Sokov."

After the two sides exchanged a few simple greetings, Sokov asked, "Yasha, where are the things?"

"On platform No. 7, the trucks haven't been unloaded yet." Yakov said anxiously, "Misha, you'd better ask your people to help unload the trucks quickly."

Sokov agreed, and quickly called Sergey Sha, and asked him to take the soldiers to help unload the truck, and then move the unloaded things to the truck.

Taking advantage of the time when Seryozha led the soldiers to move the hovercraft, Sokov asked Yakov: "Yakov, how long are you going to stay in my army this time?"

"I heard that an attack on Belgorod and Kharkov will be launched soon." Yakov said, "I guess I won't be able to return to Moscow until I take these two cities." He raised his hand He patted Sokov on the shoulder and said with a wry smile, "I'm afraid I will stay with you for a long time this time."

Sokov felt that the Soviet army took Kharkov on August 23, and it was less than a month since it was fully charged, so he smiled and said to Yakov: "Yasha, our army is now attacking Berg Rhodes and Kharkov are assembled, do you think the enemy can last more than a month under the strong offensive of our army?"

"What, the enemy can't last a month?!" Yakov asked in surprise, "Misha, why are you so confident?"

"It has been less than half a month since the Germans launched the Battle of Kursk, but now our army has not only regained all the lost ground, but has even approached Belgorod from several directions, and is ready to attack at any time. The city launched an attack." Sokov said confidently: "I am analyzing based on the current situation, and we will definitely take back Belgorod and Khal from the enemy in less than a month. Cove."

Several people stayed in the duty room of the station for almost an hour before Sergesha came in from the outside and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, all the goods have been loaded and ready to leave at any time."

Sokov stood up, waved his hand, and announced loudly: "Let's go!"

On the way to the depths of the forest, Yakov, who was in the same car as Sokov, asked, "Misha, how is the enemy's defense on the opposite bank?"

Sergeant Fraser, who was sent to reconnaissance on the other side of the river, returned from the enemy's defense zone early this morning, and brought back a more accurate German defense map. "The scouts we sent to reconnaissance on the other side of the river have successfully returned this morning." Sokov said: "According to the defense map they provided, it can be seen that the enemy only has a few trenches and some civil firepower points by the river. I think Such a defensive position may not be enough to stop the hovercraft."

"If there are only trenches and civil firepower points, and there are no minefields or barbed wire fences, then there is not much threat to our hovercraft." Yakov nodded and said, "As long as the driver of the hovercraft is fully powered, he can fly in a very short distance. If you rush directly in front of the enemy, they will not even have time to react, and they will be completely wiped out by our army."

Although Sokov had already instilled a lot of common sense about hovercraft in Lunev, as the saying goes: hearing is believing, seeing is believing. Lunev always felt that the hovercraft in Sokov’s mouth was a bit too magical, and now he heard Yakov mentioned the hovercraft in such a positive tone, he asked with some anxiety: "Colonel Yakov, is the hovercraft really as amazing as you said? It can really carry our soldiers in a very short period of time. Across the wide waters, rush straight to the enemy's face."

Faced with Lunev's doubts, Yakov was not angry or refuted, but looked at Lunev with a smile, and said in a calm tone: "Comrade military commissar, although the function of the hovercraft is a bit too far-fetched." Tan, but I can tell you it's all true."

After a short pause, Yakov continued: "If you still don't believe it, when I get to the place later, I will have someone demonstrate it to you to see if it is as powerful as the legend."

Before Lunev left Moscow, he had visited the hovercraft, but it was still a semi-finished product at that time, and he had no idea how effective it would be. Hearing Yakov say this at this moment, he also smiled and said: "Well, Colonel Yakov, I will wait to see your subordinates give me a demonstration."