Red Moscow

"Come on, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Krylov saw Sokov's little trick, and said disdainfully: "My deputy chief of staff is under your command as deputy brigade commander, and I didn't see you ashamed." Now what is a tank brigade commander to you to be the battalion commander? As long as I can defeat the Japanese invaders, even if you let me be your subordinate, I will not have any complaints."

Seeing that Krylov saw through him, Sokov laughed a little embarrassedly.

"Stop laughing, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Krylov's tone suddenly became severe: "With the help of Colonel Bely and his subordinates, your strength has been greatly improved. If you Next, if there are any problems in the Mamayev Gang and the Red October Tractor Factory, you can wait to go to the military court."

Sokov realized that Krylov was not joking with himself, and quickly restrained the smile on his face, and replied respectfully: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I assure you with my head that as long as the tank battalion exists for a day, no matter whether it is a horse Neither Mayev Gang nor the Red October Tractor Factory will be occupied by the enemy."

Krylov snorted heavily, and said, "Actually, we are not worried about the Red October Tractor Factory at all, because besides you, there is Guriyev's 38th Guards Division, which can fight tough battles." With them, even if the enemy occupies the factory area, they will be driven out. What worries us the most is Mamayev Gang.”

Krylov's words made Sokov a little depressed. He thought to himself: If my troops hadn't been desperately defending here, the enemy would have rushed into the factory area and formed a siege to the 39th Guards Division.

But these words can only be thought silently in the heart, but cannot be said. But when he heard that Krylov specifically mentioned Mamayev Post, he stated again: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please rest assured that there are people in the position. As long as one of us is there, Mamayev Post will never be destroyed." will fall."

"Good luck!" Krylov had finished what he was supposed to say, so he stopped talking nonsense with Sokov, and hung up the phone directly after saying a routine.

After waiting for Sokov to put down the phone, Yakov asked with a smile, "Misha, is there any good news?"

"The problem of the tank soldiers has been solved." Sokov said happily: "The Army Command assigned Colonel Bely's 84th Tank Brigade to my command temporarily."

"Colonel Bely's tank brigade?" When Sokov called, Yakov and Briski were discussing other things in a low voice, so they didn't hear what Krylov said. He asked curiously: "Mr. Sha, do you think a colonel can follow the command of a lieutenant colonel like you?"

"I have already asked the chief of staff." Sokov replied: "After Colonel Bely brought people here, he will serve as the commander of the tank battalion. He and his subordinates will be under my command."

"If that's the case, that's not bad." Regarding the arrangement of his superiors, Yakov nodded with satisfaction: "In any case, you have stayed here for a long time, and the situation is more familiar than Colonel Bely's, it's up to you It is a perfect fit to be the supreme commander."

Briski also said with great relief: "Comrade Brigadier, I was worried that there would be two commanders in a unit. In this way, when you have different opinions during the war, the soldiers would not know who to listen to. Or It’s too apologetic between you, and you wait for the other party to give orders when encountering anything, which will also delay the opportunity of the battle. Now that it’s all right, there is still only you as the commander, so I am completely relieved.”

Sokov is well aware of the fact that a unit has two commanders, which will make soldiers feel at a loss. But it was the first time he had heard of the second situation Briski mentioned. If it is really difficult to make a decision, the two commanders will shirk each other and wait for the other party to issue an order, which will also delay the fighter.

After waiting for more than an hour, the phone on the desk rang suddenly. Briski picked up the phone and asked, "I'm Briski, where are you?"

"Comrade Battalion Commander," the caller was a sentry outside the factory building, and he reported to Briski: "Some of our own people have come, including a colonel. He called to see the brigade commander."

Briski heard that several people had come outside, including a colonel, and guessed that it might be Colonel Bely. However, he did not immediately give the sentry an order to let go, but glanced at Sokov. Seeing that Sokov nodded in agreement, he said into the microphone: "Send someone to bring Comrade Commander in."

Not long after, a tall and thin middle-aged officer walked into the house led by a sentinel. As soon as he entered the room, he first introduced himself: "I am Bely, the commander of the 84th Tank Brigade. May I ask who is Lieutenant Colonel Sukov?"

"I am." Sokov hurried up to meet him, raised his hand to salute him, then stretched out his hand and said enthusiastically, "Comrade Colonel, welcome to our place."

"Hello, Comrade Brigadier." Bely did not immediately shake hands with Sokov, but raised his hand in salute, and said respectfully: "The acting battalion commander of the tank battalion, Colonel Bely, reports to you, and I obey your orders. ,Please advise!"

Sokov shook hands with Bely and introduced Yakov and Briski to him. When Bely heard Yakov's name, his eyebrows raised, and a surprised expression appeared on his face.

Sokov could see from his expression that the other party seemed to know Yakov's identity. However, under the current circumstances, Sokov didn't want to make Yakov's identity known to passers-by, so when he saw Bely opened his mouth and was going to ask Yakov something, he asked first: "Comrade Colonel, I want to ask, how many of you are here?"

Sure enough, Bely's attention was distracted by Sokov's question, and he quickly replied: "Report to Comrade Brigadier Commander, I brought a total of 160 people this time. But in order to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings, I only He brought five people over, and the rest stayed outside the factory."

"Comrade Colonel, maybe we will start a battle with the enemy at dawn." Sokov said to Bely: "So please send someone to notify the other tankers to come over as soon as possible."

Bieley nodded, turned around and walked to the door, and whispered some instructions to a subordinate standing at the door. The subordinate nodded, turned and left quickly. Bely walked back in front of Sokov and said to him: "Comrade Brigadier, my men will arrive at the earliest in half an hour. I don't know where the tanks prepared for us are. Can you show us?" see?"

Sokov stayed here for several days, so he naturally knew where the underground tank depot was, so he nodded in agreement. Before he left, he casually asked Yakov, "Yakov, are you coming too?"

"Let's go." Yakov stood up and said, "I want to see how Kalashnikov's phone is installed."

"Telephone, what telephone?" Bely heard Yakov say this, with a confused expression on his face, he looked at Sokov and asked in puzzlement: "Comrade Brigadier, what telephone are you planning to install on the tank? "

"Comrade Colonel," Sokov considered that Bely was a tank soldier, and he had the right to speak about the pros and cons of installing a telephone on a tank, so he explained his idea of ​​installing a telephone to Bely Yuanyuan, and finally said : "This is just my personal idea, and I don't know if it is applicable in combat, so I only let Lieutenant Kalashnikov install one first, and try to see how it works."

After hearing this, Beley nodded repeatedly and said: "Comrade Brigadier, your idea is very novel. If it is true that a telephone is installed behind each tank, then our coordinated operations with the infantry will become more convenient. "

When a few people came to the underground tank depot, it happened that Kalashnikov's phone had just been set up. Seeing Sokov and Yakov walking over with a colonel, he straightened up and stood at attention. His eyes flicked back and forth over the three of them, thinking about who to report to.

Bely waved his hand at Kalashnikov, and said carelessly: "Report to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, and now I am also following his command."

What, the colonel obeys the command of the lieutenant colonel? ! Kalashnikov had a surprised expression on his face when he heard what Bely said, but he still reported to Sokov according to what Bely said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the telephone has been installed, we are planning to What about the test?"

Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and ordered: "Time is running out, start the test immediately."

Kalashnikov promised, and when he was about to climb into the tank, Bely stopped him: "Wait a minute, Comrade Lieutenant. I will test it with you."

Kalashnikov heard what Bely said, and he didn't dare to be negligent. He helped the opponent get on the tank first, and then climbed up himself. After a while, Kalashnikov's muffled voice came from the open turret: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you can start."

Sokov and Yakov came to the back of the tank, and sure enough, they saw a phone. Sokov picked up the microphone and immediately heard Kalashnikov's voice from inside: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can you hear me?"

"I can hear you, very clearly."

As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he suddenly felt the body of the tank shake, as if Kalashnikov was about to launch the tank. He was afraid that the tank would back up, so he would crush himself under the tracks, and hurriedly took a few steps back while holding the microphone.

The tank started up, but it still stayed in place without moving. Sokov bravely approached the tank and put the microphone to his ear again. Due to the noise, he had to cover one ear with his hand and shouted loudly: "Hey, hey, Lieutenant Kalashnikov, can you hear me?" Is it time for me to speak?"

"I can hear." Although the tank engine was loud, Sokov could still clearly hear Kalashnikov's voice from inside: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I can hear you clearly."

In order to test whether the phone works, Sokov said loudly into the microphone: "Comrade Lieutenant, try turning the turret to the left?" After speaking, he looked up to see if the turret of the tank turned according to his instructions.

The turret slowly turned ninety degrees to the left, then stopped, and then Kalashnikov's voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, is my order correct?"

"Very correct." Seeing that the tank turret turned to the left as he instructed, Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed. He quickly said into the microphone: "Next step, turn to the right again and return to the original position."

A moment later, the turret turned right again, returning to its starting position. Seeing this, Sokov turned his head and said to Yakov: "Yakov, it seems that our method is completely feasible." Then, he said into the microphone, "Comrade Lieutenant, okay, Come out."

But Bely's voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Brigadier, I feel that after installing this phone, our communication with the infantry has become much more convenient. When can you install phones for all the tanks?" Woolen cloth?"

"As soon as possible, Comrade Colonel, I can only answer you, and the installation will be completed as soon as possible." Sokov said into the microphone: "Now, you can turn off the engine."

After the roar of the tank engine stopped, Bely got out of the tank first. He jumped off the tank body and said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, if we are going to fight the enemy at dawn tomorrow, what can we do?" Are the phones on?"

"This?!" Facing Bely's question, Sokov glanced at Kalashnikov, and said with some embarrassment: "Now there is only Lieutenant Kalashnikov. If you want to complete this work, A lot of people may be needed."

"Comrade Brigadier, you don't have to worry about this." Beley said carelessly: "Among the people I brought here this time, there are many soldiers who know how to maintain tanks. If they help, I believe that the project of installing the telephone will be very fast. it will be done.”

Among the more than 100 tanks that Bely brought, there were more than 20 fighters who knew how to maintain tanks. As soon as they arrived at the underground tank depot, Bely called them to the tank with the phone installed. Bely pointed to the phone behind the tank and said to them: "Comrades, have you seen this phone?"

"I see." The soldiers standing beside the tank replied in unison.

"Do you know what this phone is for?"

It was the first time for the tankers to see the installation of a telephone behind the tank, so after hearing this question from Bely, they collectively shook their heads, expressing that they did not know. One of the second lieutenants of the tank soldier asked puzzledly: "Comrade Colonel, what is the use of installing a telephone behind the tank? Is there anyone else who will call us during the battle?"

"Comrade Second Lieutenant, you are right." Beley nodded to the second lieutenant a few times, nodded and said, "That's right, this phone is used by the infantry to call us during battle."

"The infantry called us?!" Hearing what Bely said, everyone looked at each other, and the second lieutenant asked in amazement: "Colonel, why did the infantry call us?"

"You all have experience in fighting the German army. You should know that when we fight with infantry, communication is the biggest problem." Bely stepped forward, picked up the microphone, and said to his subordinates: "With this Just a phone, and the infantry can communicate with us and give us instructions on where to attack."