Red Moscow

"Yasha, there are only two of us here." After coming to the empty room next to him, Sokov closed the door and said to Yakov, "If you have anything to do, just say it."

"When you went to the headquarters for a meeting, I received a telegram from Comrade Ustinov."

"A telegram from Comrade Ustinov?!" Sokov asked in surprise when he learned of Ustinov's call, "Comrade People's Commissar, do you have something important to tell you?"

"When you returned to Moscow last time, I didn't tell you that our military experts had developed napalm, but because the laboratory was attacked by German secret agents, not only several military experts were killed, but all the information was stolen by the enemy. Burn it?"

Of course, Sokov remembered the reason why he returned to Moscow last time. The mother of the body he took away was unfortunately killed in the bombing of the German plane, and he went back to handle the funeral. So when he heard Yakov's question, he nodded and replied: "Yes, I remember this very clearly."

He wondered why Yakov would suddenly bring up such an old event, so he asked curiously: "Yasha, why did you suddenly mention this matter, is it possible that what you are going to talk about today is related to this matter? "

"That's right." Yakov nodded and replied, "Actually, for the sake of confidentiality, I didn't tell you that not all the military experts who participated in the experiment died, and one of the chief engineers in charge survived. come down."

"The chief engineer in charge survived?" Sokov said in surprise: "So, he has now restored all the napalm materials?"

"That's right, he has now rewritten all the information silently." After Yakov finished speaking, he did not wait for Sokov to ask again, and said first: "You may want to ask, why did he not Write yourself silently, right?"

Seeing Sokov nodded in agreement, he went on to say: "He was seriously injured at the time, and he didn't wake up until May. At the end of June, his body returned to a working state, and he began to sort out and recall those things. Documents burned by German agents."

"Yasha, I have a question." Sokov raised his hand and interrupted Yakov after hearing this: "Do you think the napalm information has been obtained by the German side?"

"Don't worry, Misha, the enemy has absolutely no access to our information, I can guarantee this." Yakov explained to Sukov: "German spies sneaked into the laboratory, killed our military experts, and took When the materials were about to leave, they were discovered by the guards, and there was a fierce exchange of fire between the two sides. Seeing that they could not get out, the German spies returned to the laboratory, and detonated the bomb hidden in the laboratory in advance, completely destroying the laboratory, making all inside All the information was destroyed.”

After listening to Yakov's narration, Sokov always felt something was wrong, so he frowned and asked, "If the German secret agents blew up the laboratory, how did the chief engineer survive? You know, there Under such circumstances, it is simply impossible for any living things to survive."

"You are right. Not only did everyone in the laboratory die, but even the commanders and fighters who participated in the siege suffered heavy casualties. Due to the power of the bomb, no one who approached the laboratory survived. "

"I still have that question, how the chief engineer survived, this is worth thinking about."

"It can be said that the chief engineer was lucky to survive." Yakov explained: "But the German spies killed everyone in the experiment and took the chief engineer away. But when the chief engineer saw the patrolling soldiers passing by He gave a loud warning, and after the secret agent fired several shots at him, he started a gun battle with our soldiers, and seeing that there was no hope of breaking through, he retreated to the laboratory."

Perhaps seeing that Sokov was still frowning, Yakov continued to explain to him: "Misha, I know what you are thinking in your heart, but I think your guess is wrong." He pointed with his finger. own chest, "the chief engineer was shot several times, and one of the bullets hit near the heart. If he deviates by even one centimeter, he would be dead. If he is really a spy of the Germans lurking in our military industry department, why? Is it possible to do such an adventurous thing?"

Sokov really suspected that there was something wrong with the chief engineer, but after listening to Yakov's narration, he felt that he seemed a little paranoid. If the chief engineer is really a spy for the Germans, how dare he take such a risk? You must know that under the circumstances at that time, even the sharpshooter with the best marksmanship may miss the target because of nervousness.

Thinking of this, Sokov stopped entangled with the chief engineer, but asked Yakov curiously: "Yasha, now you can tell me what your real purpose is for calling me here."

"That's right, Comrade Ustinov asked me to ask you, after we have mastered the technology of napalm bombs, should we produce aerial bombs or artillery shells?"

Sokov thought of his impression that he had only heard of napalm bombs dropped by aircraft, but had never heard of the shells used by artillery, so he said to Yakov with some surprise: "I think this technology is still used to produce Aerial bombs are fine, don’t use them to produce shells.”

"Why?"

"After the napalm bomb explodes, it will form a layer of flames that splash around, emitting a high temperature of about 1000°C, and can stick to other objects and burn for a long time." Sukov said thoughtfully: "If The artillery uses napalm bombs, and if only one napalm bomb is detonated by the enemy's counterfire or bombing, the entire artillery position will be destroyed. Do you understand?"

In fact, Sokov didn't know why there was no shell made of napalm, so he naturally didn't know how to explain it, so he could only cheat Yakov by changing the concept.

But Yakov actually listened to Sokov's words. He nodded and said, "Understood, I will send a telegram to Comrade Ustinov later, tell him what you mean, and let him do his best." Produce bombs."

"That's right, more aerial bombs should be produced." Sokov said to Yakov: "Maybe in a few months, we will drive the enemy out of our land, and when we advance to the enemy's lair, there will be more bombs along the way." We encountered many fortresses. To deal with these fortresses in the traditional sense, it is far from enough to rely on artillery of various calibers, and then we can use napalm bombs to deal with those stubborn enemies hiding in the fortress.”

Yakov didn't seem to be very interested in the future that Sokov envisioned. After Sokov finished speaking, he said, "Comrade Ustinov also said in the telegram that they produced twelve special new rockets. , ready to be shipped in the near future, let us test the power of this napalm bomb."

Knowing that the weapons and equipment department actually produced twelve modified napalm bombs, Sokov couldn't help but shudder. If it was transported by train, if any accident happened on the road, the entire train would be basically safe. He tentatively asked: "I wonder how Comrade Ustinov plans to transport these twelve special rockets?"

"Of course it will be transported by train." Yakov replied: "I was planning to transport it by car, but considering the unsatisfactory road conditions from Moscow, he was worried that the road would be too bumpy and some accidents might happen, so he changed it temporarily. The special rockets will be transported by train."

"Yasha, haven't you considered that if an accident occurs during the transportation of these rockets, the entire train may be burned down."

"Misha, I understand what you mean, but transporting by train is undoubtedly the safest way." Seeing Sokov's worried expression, Yakov comforted him and said, "I understand Us. Comrade Zinov, he is a very cautious person, he will definitely come up with a good way to avoid accidents with these rockets on the way."

"Well, since Comrade Ustinov will consider the issue of transportation safety, I won't bother." After Sukov finished speaking, he asked Yakov: "I don't know when it will be delivered to us. zone?"

"I'm afraid it won't arrive until August 2 or 3 at the earliest." After Yakov told the approximate arrival time, he asked Sokov curiously: "Misha, when do you plan to use this special rocket?" bomb?"

"With our current strength, it is definitely not necessary to attack the position on the other side of the river, because the hovercraft on which our assault troops are riding can completely rush to the enemy before they recover, and easily get out of their hands. Seize the position here.” Sokov said slowly: “In the city of Belgorod, it seems that such special rockets are not used. Not only will it hurt the residents of the city when used, but it may also Falsely injuring friendly forces attacking from other directions."

Seeing that Sokov tactfully refused to use special rockets in the Belgorod area, Yakov couldn't help feeling a little anxious: "So, you plan to let these special rockets go idle?"

"It's not enough to be idle." Sokov waved his hands and said: "After the liberation of Belgorod, our army will definitely continue to advance to Kharkov. At that time, the large number of fortifications built by the enemy outside the city will become The biggest obstacle on our way forward. At that time, I can try to use special rockets to see if it can destroy the enemies hiding in the strong fortifications."

Seeing that the battle to attack Belgorod has not started yet, and Sokov is already considering the issue of capturing Kharkov, Yakov couldn't help laughing: "Misha, I know that there will be an attack on Belgorod in the near future. Attack, but how long do you think it will take you to take this city?"

"Three to five days." Sokov did not tell Yakov directly that the Soviet army liberated the city occupied by the enemy in only three days, but said in general: "Now Belgorod The enemies in the city, after being repeatedly attacked by our army, have already lost their morale and their morale is low. Facing the joint attack launched by our two front armies, they will not be able to resist for long."

"Misha, I think you are too confident." Yakov shook his head when he heard Sokov say this: "Although the enemy suffered defeats in the two directions of Prokhorovka and Oboyan, but now There are quite a few troops entrenched in the city, and if we want to take the city, I am afraid it will take a long time for fierce fighting."

Yakov frowned and thought for a while, then stretched out a finger and said, "In my opinion, it will take a month at the fastest to take Belgorod down."

Sokov laughed and said, "Yasha, you say I am too confident. But I want to say that you are too pessimistic. The hundreds of thousands of troops of the two front armies need to be replaced by tens of thousands of German troops." It should not be too difficult to seize a city from the hands of the people. If it takes a month to liberate Belgorod, then liberating Kharkov, which has solid fortifications and a perfect defense system, will take two or three Months or even longer?"

When Yakov opened his mouth and seemed to want to say something, Sokov raised his hand to stop him: "Yasha, I don't think we need to argue about this kind of thing. Facts speak louder than words. Wait for the battle to start." Afterwards, you will know whether I am right or your judgment is correct."

"Okay, Misha, since you said so, I won't argue with you anymore." Since Sokov is unwilling to argue meaninglessly on this kind of matter, Yakov is no longer aggressive, he Looking at his friend, he said, "Let's just let the facts speak for themselves."

Before the two left the room, Yakov worried that Sokov would tell others about the special rocket, so he quickly reminded him: "The special rocket is still a weapon that needs to be kept strictly confidential. I hope you don't tell anyone, including Sakov. Chief of Staff Meko and General Lunev."

"Don't worry, Yasha." Sokov raised his hand and patted the opponent's shoulder, and said, "I won't tell anyone casually until the special rocket is officially put into use."

When Sokov returned to the headquarters, Lunev immediately greeted him and asked anxiously, "Comrade Commander, what is the important matter for Colonel Yakov to ask you?"

Sokov looked at Lunev and said apologetically, "Comrade Military Commissar, although I really want to tell you the truth about the relationship between myself and Yakov. But no, this involves confidentiality. You are a An old commander should understand the secrecy regulations, not to say what should not be said, not to inquire about what should not be inquired about."

Hearing what Sokov said, Lunev immediately realized the seriousness of the problem, nodded and said, "So that's the case, then I understand. Don't worry, I won't ask any more casually."

Seeing Lunev's aggrieved face, Sokov couldn't bear it, so he approached him and said, "Comrade Military Commissar, although I can't tell you what is going on right now. But as long as you wait patiently for two days , After the battle starts, you will understand what is going on."

"Comrade Commander," Sameko came over and reported to Sokov, "I have officially notified the logistics department and asked them to refit the two marine brigades overnight. Each assault rifle must be equipped with at least three A base number of ammunition to ensure that they have enough ammunition to stop the enemy when they face the enemy's counterattack after occupying the German position on the opposite bank."

For Sameko's arrangement, Sokov felt a bit superfluous. With the existence of black technology such as hovercraft, it will take no more than two hours to add two marine brigades or even an infantry division. In such a short period of time, the commanders and fighters of the Marine Brigade may not even be able to use up one base of ammunition, let alone three bases.

However, Sokov did not easily deny Sameko's work, so he nodded and said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are very thoughtful, so let's execute according to your arrangement."