Red Moscow

"Comrade Commander," as soon as Sokov put down the phone, Sidolin asked in a puzzled way, "Why didn't you tell the commander the secret of the Flying Thunder Cannon directly instead of asking him to come?"

"The reason is very simple," Sokov replied with a normal expression, "Because I don't plan to spread the Flying Thunder Cannon throughout the entire army, so I can only trouble Comrade Commander to go there in person."

"Why?" Sokov's words surprised everyone, and Ivanov asked the question in his heart on behalf of everyone: "If the Flying Thunder Cannon is promoted throughout the entire army, won't it be possible to destroy more enemies?"

"That's right, theoretically speaking, doing this can destroy more enemies." Sokov did not directly explain his reason to everyone, but asked instead: "I think everyone has seen the power of the flying thunder cannon." Right. But have you ever thought about what will happen if the enemy uses the Thunder Cannon against us, and will we still be able to hold Mamayev Post?"

"That can't be defended." The power of the thunder cannon, not to mention commanders with rich combat experience like Ivanov and Sidolin, even political commissar Anisimov is clear, Sokov As soon as he finished speaking, he blurted out: "I heard from the soldiers who cleaned the battlefield that some of the enemy's corpses did not have any injuries on the outside, but they were shocked to death by the shock wave generated by the explosion. If the enemy used the same weapon to attack To deal with us, even if we hide in the tunnel, I am afraid that the casualties will not be small."

This statement was uttered by a political commissar who was a layman in military affairs, and it was far more convincing to those present than Sokov's utterance, so all objections disappeared. Everyone thinks that if you want to keep Mamayev Gang, the technology of this kind of flying mine cannon can't be taught to other troops casually, even the third battalion in the urban area can't let them master this technology, so as not to cause disastrous results. Necessary disclosure.

Chuikov was eager to know what new defensive weapon Sokov had invented, and after explaining a few words to Krylov, he hurried to Mamayev Post with a few guards.

There are observation posts arranged by Sokov on the two hills in the north and the south. Cuikov and his party were two or three kilometers away from the north hill, and they were discovered by the observation post. The observation post hurriedly called Sokov and reported to him that the commander was coming towards the north hill.

Sokov put down the phone, thinking that he might be scolded if he went to see Chuikov alone, so he decided to pull Ivanov on, and let the other party be his shield if necessary, and politely treated Ivanov Said: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, Comrade Commander will soon arrive at Beigang, let's meet him."

Ivanov never dreamed that the real purpose of Sokov calling him was to divert Chuikov's attention, so he readily agreed: "Okay, Comrade Commander, let's go now."

When the two arrived at the Beigang command post along the tunnel, they found Cuikov sitting inside, talking to Lieutenant Colonel Ershakov, the commander of the 125th regiment. Seeing Sokov and the others walk in, Ershakov quickly stood up and saluted them: "Master, deputy commander, hello!"

The two Sokovs nodded at Yershakov, then quickly came to Chuikov, raised their hands to salute him, and reported in accordance with the regulations: "Comrade Commander, Sokov, commander of the 41st Guards Division, , Deputy Commander Ivanov reports to you, we obey your orders, please instruct!"

Chuikov raised his hand to return the salute, and said impatiently: "Colonel Sokov, just now Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov introduced to me the flying mine cannon you use. Since there is such a powerful weapon, why is it so powerful? Not reporting to us in time and promoting it throughout the Army. Do you have any idea how much it would cost the Germans if every army fighting in the factory district was equipped with this weapon?"

Seeing that Chuikov really met, Sokov questioned himself, smiled wryly, and was about to explain his difficulties to him, but unexpectedly Ivanov said first: "Comrade commander, can you listen to my explanation?" ?"

Although Chuikov was extremely dissatisfied with Sokov, his attitude towards Ivanov was much better. He nodded slightly and said, "Colonel Ivanov, if you have anything to say, just say it."

"When the division commander decides not to promote this new type of weapon to other troops, we also have different opinions." When Ivanov said this, he instinctively glanced at Sokov, and saw that the other party was staring straight ahead. , and continued: "But after his explanation, we feel that his concerns are correct, so we all agree not to promote this weapon to other troops."

If it was Sokov who said these words at this moment, it is estimated that Chuikov is not in the mood to listen to his explanation, but since it was Ivanov who said it, out of politeness, he still wanted to hear the reason, so he pointed his chin towards the other party. Yi Yang, "Tell me, what concerns does Colonel Sokov have?"

"Colonel Sokov said that this weapon is powerful, and it is very effective against tanks, armored vehicles, field fortifications and dense combat formations." Ivanov said to Chuikov: "If it is promoted within the entire army, There will definitely be some flying thunder cannons that will be captured by the enemy. Once this thing falls into the enemy's hands and then turns against us, I am afraid we will not be able to resist the enemy's attack."

After listening to Ivanov's explanation, the expression on Chuikov's face became much softer, and he looked at Sokov and asked, "Colonel Sokov, is everything Ivanov said true? "

"Yes, Comrade Commander, our army does not have any perfect and solid fortifications in the factory area in the north of the city. Once the enemy uses thunder cannons to deal with our defenders, then our commanders and fighters will not be able to block the enemy's attack." Soko When the husband said this, he paused for a moment. Seeing that Chuikov showed no sign of getting angry, he continued: "Besides, the amount of explosives required for this kind of flying thunder cannon is amazing. One explosive package weighs ten kilograms, and one hundred One ton of explosives is needed for the explosive kit. Even if we are not worried that the enemy will seize this kind of flying mine cannon, there is not enough explosives in the city to meet the needs of so many flying mine cannons."

Chuikov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, but did not express his opinion, but stood up and said to him, "Take me to see this flying thunder cannon!"

Knowing that Chuikov planned to go to the surface position to see the Thunder Cannon, Ershakov quickly reminded Sokov in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, the top of the mountain is too dangerous. There may be enemy snipers hiding nearby. It is better to let the soldiers take the guns." A flying thunder cannon comes down, let the commander comrade have a look?"

"Don't worry," Sokov said confidently, waving his hand at Yershakov, "After the battle just now, there won't be a single living enemy within 500 meters. Even if there were snipers, they would be within 500 meters." The chances of hitting the target at a meter distance are almost zero."

Sokov brought Chuikov to the top of Beigang, and introduced to him the flying mine cannon placed in front of the position: "Comrade commander, this is our flying mine cannon. The ejector of the explosive package is an empty gasoline barrel. After it is buried in the ground, fill the oil barrel with propellant, put the explosive package bundled into a disc shape into it, and then ignite the propellant, and the ten-kilogram explosive package can be thrown into the enemy's offensive formation.

The range of the Feilei Cannon is not far, only about 150 to 200 meters. However, due to the large volume of the explosive package fired, the strong explosion impact generated during the explosion will blow up all the solid fortifications. According to our observations, enemies within a blast radius of ten meters will certainly be blown to pieces, and even enemies with a radius of 20 meters will be shocked to death. "

Chuikov walked around an empty oil drum half buried in the ground twice, carefully looked at this crude new weapon, and said with emotion: "Colonel Sukov, I really can't imagine that you can research such a powerful weapon. , when we want to attack the enemy's strong position in the future, this thing will come in handy."

"Although this kind of thunder cannon is powerful, it also has many shortcomings." Sokov sighed lightly, and then continued to introduce to Chuikov: "First of all, it is poor in accuracy. The gasoline barrel is just a fixed explosive package. The throwing direction and how far the explosive package can be thrown depends entirely on the angle of the gasoline barrel and the amount of propellant. Therefore, when using it, we can only use intensive attacks to achieve the desired effect.

Secondly, because it takes a long time to bury the oil drums, once the enemy finds out, it may attract shelling or bombing. Therefore, the best place to use it is to fight the current defensive battle, or to attack the enemy in the future.

Third, the safety factor of this flying mine cannon is very poor, and it is possible that when it is fired, the chamber will explode and cause a large number of casualties to the surrounding soldiers..."

Through Sokov's explanation, Cuikov realized that he had wrongly blamed Sokov. He raised his hand and patted Sokov on the shoulder twice, and said, "Colonel Sokov, your decision is correct. Under the current circumstances, this kind of flying mine cannon is indeed not available except for you. It is suitable for promotion in other troops."

Seeing that Chuikov no longer pursued his responsibility, Sokov secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, how is the situation in the factory area?"

"It was a hard fight!" Chuikov shook his head and said, "Most of our army's defensive positions in the factory area were destroyed by the enemy's heavy artillery fire. As soon as the shelling ended, the enemy's infantry, under the cover of tanks, fired at several A factory launched a strong attack. Although our commanders and fighters carried out tenacious resistance, due to the lack of sufficient anti-tank weapons, many areas have already been broken through by the enemy. Moreover, when the enemy encountered positions that could not be broken through for a long time, they still The air force will be dispatched to bomb, which has caused great casualties to our army."