Steel Soviet Union

With the new anti-aircraft vehicles and new medium tanks, Comrade Lao Ma has been "floating" in the Far East in the past few days with great interest. At the same time, he is also looking forward to fighting against the little devils. Oh no, it should be to invite the little devils. It’s time for the devils to feast.

Kulbalov's first division arrived one after another through the railway line. The various IS7 and ISU-203 that stole the show at the Red Square military parade rushed out of the railway station freight yard and drove to the troop garrison and assembly on the outskirts of Khabarovsk. Click on standby.

The Varosha Second Division, which traveled all the way from Berlin to the Far East, took longer, but fortunately there was capacity coordination with Zhukov's name and personal supervision.

Everything was smooth sailing along the way. The Second Division, which spent all its meals and sleep on the train, also made rapid progress. It was the fastest among all the first-level units of the Red Army divisions that went to the Far East to gather for the war.

The only thing that wasn't so good was that the speed was really fast, but basically all the eating, drinking, sleeping, and sleeping were spent on the train, which made people feel a little uncomfortable.

To put it in down-to-earth terms, this is fucking intercontinental rail travel in a hard-sleeper green car.

Oh, no, the speed of trains these days is not even as fast as the green trains of later generations. In other words, the physical sensation of people riding the train is worse than that of intercontinental railway travel in hard-sleeper green trains.

Fortunately, although Varosha's Second Division is not as elite as Kulbalov's First Division, it is at least a proven veteran unit with meritorious service, one of the strongest among millions of Red Army troops.

We’ve all slept in Berlin’s smoldering construction rubbish dumps, so how about sleeping in a hard sleeper on an intercontinental trip? This is already considered a "luxury experience", right?

Malashenko once suggested that Varosha change planes and fly over first, and arrive early to prepare for the establishment of the division headquarters and other related matters that should be busy for him as a division commander.

Unexpectedly, Varosha, who had always obeyed the words of his former division commander and current comrade comrade commander, the fierce infantryman who was brought out from the dead in Stalingrad by Malashenko, this time uncharacteristically declined politely in the telegram. Malashenko's kindness was so great that he vowed that he would arrive by train with the soldiers.

"I don't understand. What's wrong with this kid this time? Last time he made the little nurse's belly grow bigger. After Berlin was beaten, I lifted him up and lowered him gently without dealing with him. Why is this kid At this time, he got very arrogant with me. Did he not understand what I meant when I asked him to come here early? Did he think I was going to punish him or something? "

Holding the fresh telegram that still smelled of ink in his hand, Malashenko felt a little confused and muttered to himself. In the end, he just made a cup of tea and was holding the political commissar who came over. The comrade came forward to give pointers.

"He's trying to get into trouble with Kulbalov.

"Ah? Kulbalov? What's going on between these two people? Don't tell me that it was Malashenko's right and left men who started fighting each other. I only have two divisions under my command, and the two division commanders are fighting in private. ? Then I can’t beat this Japanese devil anymore?”

Malashenko subconsciously thought that the two people didn't like each other or something, but his expression suddenly became much more serious, wondering if something had happened. Fortunately, Comrade Political Commissar's additional explanation came quickly.

"It's not that serious. It's just a matter of comparing who is stronger."

He put the cup of tea he was holding on the table that he had brewed for Comrade Commander. Recently, Malashenko, who had nothing to do, took over many political commissar comrades who were doing civilian work. They became much more leisurely than before. , of course, there will be more time to do one's own work - issues related to the ideological construction of senior commanders.

As for the matter between Varosha and Kulbalov, it was just discovered not long ago by Comrade Political Commissar in the process of handling work in the past few days.

"Didn't Kurbalov take the train from Moscow and follow the troops all the way here?"

"In the end, Varosha probably thought this was an opportunity. He should show himself to be stronger than Kulbalov, or at least not inferior to him."

"Comrade Commander's flight is a matter of Comrade Commander and has nothing to do with the division commander. Varosha identified his rival as Kulbalov. Since Kulbalov came by train, then He can’t fly, he looks squeamish and weak.”

"On the contrary, taking a train from Berlin to the Far East is a better demonstration of "strength" than taking a train from Moscow to the Far East. It just so happens that the preparation time for this battle is quite sufficient and there is no rush. As for Varosha, he probably wants to seize this Opportunity to prove yourself.”

""

Is there no competition between you two? Who can stand the test of time on a train? Whoever is the most durable is the real man?

Malashenko, who was speechless, half-opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words when they reached his lips.

The ethos that soldiers should have is to be martial, respect the strong, and compete with each other in legitimate ways and on legitimate channels. This is of course a good thing, and Malashenko does not object to it.

But do these two people really have to compete with each other on something like taking a train?

Oh, you take the train, then I have to take the train too. If I take the plane, I will look weaker and inferior to you. I will definitely not do the things of self-reduction, and I have to take a longer train than you. to surpass you.

What kind of bullshit logic is this! ?

"Forget it, let's do whatever it takes, as long as these two people don't miss my business. Wingdings: ♦︎♦︎⬧︎♦︎◆︎⌧︎♦︎♦︎□︎❍︎ Also tell Varosha to keep an eye on the time. Please make sure you know the time, and I will deal with him even if he arrives half a day late without any legitimate reason."

In all senses of the past and present, he has formed an indissoluble bond with the Slavs, but Malashenko is still not able to understand some incredible things that seem to be "Slavic performance art".

Just these things, sometimes they always happen when you least expect them, and to people you least expect. Even if you are very familiar with this person, you will still have a feeling like "What the hell, can this happen!?"

Neither understanding nor wanting to get to the bottom of it, the matter of taking the train for the match was just a thing of the past, at least for Malashenko.

Malashenko, who had been sitting in the office all morning correcting documents, raised his hand and glanced at his watch. He looked at the time and took a sip of tea brewed by the political commissar himself. He thought that if he went out for a walk to relax, he would be more efficient at work when he came back. It happened to be There were still some things that I needed to see for myself, so I simply raised my head and spoke quietly to my comrade, the political commissar.

"Let's go to the outskirts of the city and go to the river to have a look. I won't feel relieved if I don't see it with my own eyes."

There is a prerequisite for the leading army to move south and crush the Kwantung Army. The Ussuri River lying in front of them is a hurdle that must be overcome.

However, the Wusuli River is not an ordinary river, with a width ranging from 200-500 meters to 1,000 meters in width.

If they attack rashly without preparation, this will be fatal to a heavy synthetic cluster like the Leader Army.

Even if the Japanese enemy on the opposite side only has 38 big guns in their hands, which will break no matter how hard they are used, your IS7 will still be blind if you can't cross the river. You must find a way to get the heavy equipment across in order to have combat effectiveness.

Fortunately, the combat operation against Japan was one of the battles that the Red Army had experienced since the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, with the most ample preparation time and the most complete coordination of forces that could be mobilized and dispatched.

This time, the initiative in the war is in the hands of the Soviet Union, and it is completely expected to fight again when it is well prepared. This is where Malashenko's greatest confidence lies in saying that his troops can cross the river.

Khabarovsk, where the military headquarters of the leading army is located, is on the bank of the Ussuri River. Accompanied by the political commissar, Malashenko all the way out of the city and to the outskirts of the city. Malashenko, who got out of the car, could see the calm water at a glance. The broad river.

The good news is that the flood season on the Wusuli River won’t arrive until July at the earliest.

Judging from the current battle preparation process, the battle will not reach that time and is expected to be ready to start in June. The heavy equipment of the leading army is fully capable of crossing the Henan Province before the arrival of the flood season.

In the future, the lighter supplies and non-combat vehicles used to support frontline operations will be easy to talk about. Even if the flood season comes, there will be a way to cross the river.

Standing on the soft grass by the river, feeling the warm spring breeze, with the unique coolness of the river blowing across his face, Malashenko looked at his hometown on the other side for a while, put down the telescope he held, and followed closely behind. The words immediately fell out of his mouth.

"How are the preparations at the engineering corps? Do you have any explanation?"

In order to support the leader's army's move south to cross the river, Zhukov specially sent an experienced engineering force to Malashenko to help, carrying equipment and materials specially prepared for combat operations against Japan.

There is only one purpose, to send these huge war machines of the Leader's Army across the Ussuri River and erect a steel pontoon bridge with a structural capacity of 80 tons, which is an unprecedented and arduous task.

The Red Army's engineering troops had never experienced such a mission before, and they had no ready-made equipment. Most of the mission materials required for this operation were specially customized.

As for the pontoon itself, it is not actually a problem. Buoyancy is an assembly that as long as you make the buoyancy container large and strong enough, even a warship of tens of thousands of tons can float on the water, with a structural capacity of 80 tons. The floating bridge can only be said to be a piece of cake, the principle is the same.

But the actual amount of the project was indeed much larger and more arduous, and the eldest girl had only been on the sedan chair for a while, so Malashenko specifically asked about the engineering troops.

"The engineering troops conducted on-site inspections immediately after arriving, even before the establishment of the leadership army headquarters. They were one of the first troops to arrive in Khabarovsk for battle preparations."

"The steel structural parts of the pontoon that need to be used are all specially customized, and the width and load-bearing capacity are completely tailor-made for our military. Also because they are too large and heavy, these steel structural parts and the buoyancy containers that need to be used , was broken up into more than a dozen trains and arrived one after another.”

"So far, all the materials and equipment required for the project have arrived, and the engineering troops have also signed for them. Colonel Franov, who led the team, believes that as long as they have 6 hours of safety time, they can complete the construction of the pontoon bridge. I hope we We must cover their construction to ensure that they are not attacked by the Japanese army.”

"Six hours?"

After hearing this, Malashenko frowned.

It's not that it's difficult to stop the Japanese from impeding the construction, but it's just that the construction time makes people really unhappy after hearing about it.

"Once the fighting starts, the Japanese will not wait for us to build the bridge. I am not afraid of them coming to attack the construction site. I am even afraid that they will not come. But what if these guys run away when the situation is bad?"

"Six hours plus the time required for the troops to cross the bridge and assemble after crossing the bridge, it may take 8 to 10 hours to launch the first large-scale group attack on the Japanese army. 10 hours means that even if the Japanese army has two They can run for their lives on even one leg, and they can also march quickly into the nearest stronghold or town."

"Don't tell me that the aviation force delays the enemy's retreat. Air force blocking is not a reason. What if the aviation force fails to complete its mission in an unexpected situation? Even if a large-scale assault is launched an hour late, the battlefield situation may undergo major changes, leaving the enemy with It’s never a good thing for it to take so long.”

Malashenko made his worries very clear. Knowing that the Red Army was powerful, the Japanese had a high probability of engaging in a shrinking defense.

If we really want these weaklings to defend a solid city or position, coupled with the high density of troops, not to mention how much trivial losses they can cause to the leader's army, it will take a lot longer to solve the problem, but it is fatal.

What does Malashenko lack most?

It's time.

Don't forget, Malashenko is also shouldering "additional combat tasks". It is obvious that he is competing for time and progress with the Transbaikal Front.

For the fully mechanized leadership army, 10 hours was too precious and too long. Malashenko did not want to waste so much time easily with just a touch of lip service.

Comrade Political Commissar can certainly understand Malashenko's mood, but the particularity of this mission is extraordinary, but it cannot be measured by ordinary bridge-building tasks.

The structural bearing capacity is 80 tons, and the erection of such an ultra-long steel pontoon is a task that has never been done before.

This is comparable to the difficulty of erecting a 60-ton pontoon bridge that is large enough for IS6 to pass, and is two levels of difficulty higher than that of a 10-ton bridge. Coupled with the long length across the Wusuli River, the overall difficulty can be imagined.

Comrade Comrade Political Commissar, after careful consideration, finally spoke calmly.

"I will communicate with Colonel Franov again to see if he still needs support. We can provide cooperation in manpower and material resources, and try to reduce the 6-hour project time."

"Actually, I don't want to be like this. I know that the people Marshal Zhukov sends to us must be the best of the best, but you know that we-hey"

After a long sigh, the words ended here. Malashenko believed that Comrade Political Commissar could understand clearly. At this point, he could only say that everything was gone.

However, just when Malashenko and the political commissar were chatting on the spot by the river, with a large group of staff and security personnel behind them, a group of people suddenly appeared on the other side of the river, coming from the slope. Then climb up and show up.

The figure with a long 38-meter cap on his shoulders was reflected in Malashenko's telescope at a glance. The sight was really off-putting and bad for the mood.