Red Moscow

Just when Gurdiyev promised to go out with Swerin, Sokov unexpectedly stopped him: "Comrade Colonel, please wait a moment, I haven't finished my sentence yet."

"Comrade Brigadier, please tell me."

The reason why Sokov stopped Gurdiyev was because he suddenly realized that the defense of the Soviet army was linear defense, and commanders were used to lining up troops in a line, facing the enemy face to face with hard steel. The position held by the 308th Division is not conducive to difficult defense because of the flat terrain. If the common defensive formation is adopted, it may suffer heavy casualties.

"Comrade Colonel, please come here." Sokov called Gurdiyev to the table, then drew a sketch on a piece of paper with a pen, and said to him: "We must not only deploy on the front of the defense, but also deploy Strong defensive firepower, and at the same time, it is necessary to find a suitable position in front of the position and establish several side firepower points."

"Side firing point?" Although after the outbreak of the war, the Soviet army had used side firing points in defensive operations in different areas, Gurdiyev was stunned for a moment when he heard this new word. Then he asked back: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I don't quite understand, can you explain it to me?"

Sokov knew very well that people are skeptical about things they are not familiar with, and Gurdiyev is no exception. He patiently explained to him: "Side fire points, as the name suggests, refer to fire points deployed on the flanks of the German offensive line, which can assist in the defense of frontal fire points to eliminate enemies that enter the range."

Gurdiyev nodded half-understanding, and then asked: "If our frontal defense firepower is strong enough, I don't think it is necessary to establish side firepower points at all. Because once such firepower points are exposed, they can be easily cleared by the enemy. .”

Regarding Gurdiyev's question, Sokov said with a normal expression: "When the MG34 machine gun we seized is used as a heavy machine gun, it is linked to each other with 50 rounds of ammunition chains and has a capacity of 250 rounds. If you charge forward If you shoot from the enemy coming up, you can effectively hit 30 targets. But if you shoot from the side firing point, the number of targets you can hit will rise to 120."

"My God." Hearing this, Swerling couldn't help exclaiming: "Shooting from the side can actually hit so many targets, isn't it equivalent to killing an enemy every two bullets?"

Swerling is a political cadre. When he heard that the number of bullets is equal, the target hit by the side fire point is several times more than the frontal fire. Gurdiyev, on the other hand, was much calmer. He did not blindly believe the data that Sokov said, but instead asked: "Comrade Brigadier, I would like to ask, is the data you said reliable?"

"Absolutely reliable." The data that Sokov said are all from the books of later generations, but the authenticity has not been tested in practice. However, since Gurdiyev raised such a question, he still put on a serious look and said: "These data are all provided by the technicians of the Weapons and Equipment Department."

Originally, what Gurdiyev said to Sokov was still doubtful, but when he heard that the data came from the Weapons and Equipment Department, the doubts in his heart suddenly disappeared. He wishfully believed that these data must have been said by Yakov and Sokov during the chat. He knew that Yakov was from the Weapons and Equipment Department, and the data he said would never be wrong.

After dispelling the doubts in his heart, Gurdiyev nodded and said: "I understand. After receiving the ammunition, I will deploy a few side firepower points in front of the position. If the Germans don't attack, it's fine. If they want to If I attack, I will definitely make them pay a heavy price."

After Gurdiyev left, Sokov asked Samoilov to take Bauer and Jurgen to rest, and then said to Bely: "Colonel Bely, if friendly troops come to take over our defense, what will you do?" Plan? Stay or follow us?"

Bely understood why Sokov asked himself this way. Staying here means that he will start a bloody battle with the enemy here. Whether he can survive depends on his luck; it is much safer to move with Sokov , but all the existing tanks must be handed over to the friendly army, and the tank soldiers and the subordinates have changed from tank soldiers to infantry again.

Seeing that Bely was frowning and thinking hard, Sokov guessed that he might be in a dilemma and didn't know what decision to make, so he took the initiative to ask: "Colonel Bely, do you want to hear my opinion?" ?”

"Please tell me, Comrade Brigadier Commander." Bely wanted to hear what Sokov thought, so he said politely, "I want to hear how you plan to arrange our tank unit."

"Colonel Bely, before answering your question, I would like to ask you a question." Sokov looked at Bely and asked, "Do you think General Rokossovsky's troops can rush into the encirclement from here?" , join the defenders in the city?"

"It may be possible to break through the encirclement, but you must join the defenders in the city..." When Bely said this, he shook his head with a wry smile, "The last time a tank brigade under General Rokossovsky was not a success. successfully broke through the German lines, but they were completely annihilated by the enemy on the way to Orlovka."

From Bely's voiceover, Sokov heard that he was not optimistic about the attack launched by Rokossovsky's troops from here, and he felt much more at ease, knowing that the next persuasion would be easier: " That's right, Colonel Bely, last time I led the troops to Orlovka to meet the friendly forces, but they didn't arrive at the designated place within the stipulated time, and we had to withdraw in the end."

"Misha," Bely waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and asked by his nickname, "It seems that you plan to let us retreat with you?"

"That's right, Colonel Bely." It's easy to talk to smart people. Before he could say anything, Bely guessed what he wanted to say. But Sukov saw that Bely still had some scruples, and quickly asked, "Do you have any worries?"

"Misha, you should be very clear about the terrain here. Our tanks can't drive down such a steep hillside. Even if we try to drive down, we won't be able to reach it without bridges and ferries. On the other side." Bely frowned and said: "So if we want to retreat with you, we can only hand over these tanks to friendly forces. Have you ever thought that using well-trained tank soldiers as infantry is simply a kind of waste."

"Colonel Bely, I understand your feelings, and I also understand the tank soldiers' feelings for tanks." Sokov knew in his heart that even if he evacuated this position, he would not be able to stay away from Stalingrad. Enter the city in the direction and continue to command the troops standing on Mamayev Post. If you can let Bely follow you, then after the counterattack begins, you will have a well-trained tank unit under your command, and you can make more achievements. "But even if you hand over these tanks to friendly forces, you can get new tanks soon."

"Is this true, Misha?" Sokov's words surprised Bely, and he asked in surprise: "Will the superiors replenish us with new tanks in the shortest possible time?"

"I think there should be no problem." Sokov knew that if he didn't untie Bely's knot, he would not be willing to follow him, so he said with a smile: "Colonel Bely, maybe we just arrived in Xiaoyi Vannovka, the superiors will order us to return to the city. You know, the Red October factory we are sticking to is currently producing T-34 tanks on a large scale. At that time, let the factory director Peter allocate dozens more to us , it must not be too difficult."

Bely had stayed in the Red October factory for a while, so he naturally knew that the factory was still producing tanks, but he was worried that his superiors would not easily deliver the new tanks to him: "Misha, we have received an order from the factory director Peter. There were more than 40 tanks received there, only a few days later, and I want to get a new tank from him, even if he agrees, the superior will probably not agree."

"You think too much, Colonel Bely." Sokov was very sure about getting the new tank from Peter. Seeing that Bely was still worried, he said to him with a relaxed expression: "If we are In order to defend the Red October factory, some tanks are needed to fight the attacking enemies, I think Factory Director Peter will definitely agree."

Bely stood up and said to Sokov, "Misha, then I'll go back to the army first, gather all the soldiers, and get them ready for transfer."

"You need me to go with you." As Bely changed his address, the relationship between the two became much closer. Seeing that Bely was going to find his subordinates, Sokov offered, "Maybe I can Help you do your ideological work."

"No need." Regarding Sokov's kindness, Bely said disapprovingly: "I know my subordinates, no matter what decision I make, they will resolutely obey."

But what Bere didn't expect was that he summoned all his subordinates, and just said that he was going to abandon the tank and follow Sokov and the others to move in the direction of Little Ivanovka, the second company commander Ivanovka became emotional Said: "Comrade Colonel, how can we retreat at this time? You know, in these two days of fighting, how many of our good comrades in arms died on this land, and even the company commander Sereda also lost Seriously injured, how can we be deserters at this time?"

"Who said that retreating is a deserter?!" Belei saw that Ivantsov, whom he trusted the most, actually sang against him in public. Once there, hand over these tanks to them, and then everyone retreats with Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."