USSR 1941

When the 4th Tank Brigade arrived the next day, they could hardly believe that this was Moscow they had just left a few days earlier:

There are long queues everywhere in the streets and alleys, waiting for the distributed weapons and tools to arm themselves.

The Soviet political commissar or instructor with a pistol on his waist stood on the wooden box, waving his arms and using a small horn to call on the people nearby.

This is to form a civil defense division. It is said that 100,000 residents were recruited at one time. After only a few days of training, they almost learned how to shoot and then were sent to the battlefield.

In addition, there is an independent worker battalion. They are not only engaged in labor production, but also perform military service, that is, they pick up guns and train during the break to prepare for street fighting with the enemy.

Old people, women and even children who were unable to fight participated in the excavation for the second and last line of defense in Moscow... Vyazma was originally the last line of defense. Between the several armies of Ma, an additional line of defense was built outside Moscow, that is, the Mozhaisk line of defense. (Mozhaisk is located to the west of Mosk, and the road mileage is only 96 kilometers. This is why the train did not go to the front line but stopped in Moscow... The front line is too close to Moscow, and the train is easily bombed by the enemy if it continues to move forward. )

They worked in three shifts, regardless of day and night, and built anti-tank trenches, barbed wire fences, and infantry trench barriers under cold rain and even German bombing.

Almost everyone was mobilized, and the pedestrians who could be seen walking up and down were either carrying guns or shovels for building fortifications.

Therefore, when Shulka and others got off the train, the people did not feel surprised or welcomed these soldiers as before... Their mentality has changed: in the past, the soldiers who came from the train station were defending Moscow. It is to protect them. But now, they themselves are defending Moscow, they are soldiers themselves.

It wasn't until the canvas on the flatbed truck was lifted and the tanks came down one by one that there was a little applause and cheers around.

But this seems to be different from the pure cheers before, they are like welcoming their allies.

Walking out of the station, Shulka thought that there would be a car waiting for them as before, or a car assigned to the 333rd regiment.

Mechanized infantry, of course, must have cars.

But soon he was disappointed.

With a single command,

The team lined up in a neat formation and set off on foot towards the barracks behind the tanks.

Automobiles were used for the intensive movement of troops, supplies, and equipment, including transporting civilians out to build trenches and feed them.

So there were no extra cars deployed to the 333rd regiment at all, and of course no anti-tank guns.

In other words, the 333rd regiment became a veritable infantry regiment the moment it stepped off the train.

The anti-aircraft battalion was no exception, they didn't get the anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns they needed... and even if they got them, they didn't have cars to tow and transport ammunition.

"It won't make any difference!" Major Gavrilov reassured the soldiers: "Because the enemy is so close that we don't need cars to deliver supplies!"

The soldiers all laughed, but everyone knew that this was not true. No matter how close the line of defense was, tanks needed cars to follow them to deliver diesel and ammunition. You can't expect soldiers to push oil barrels forward!

Katukov also knew this, so from the moment he stepped off the train, he kept asking his superiors for a car, and finally went to the headquarters to pester Zhukov for a while... At this time, the Fourth Tank Brigade was the Western Front Directly under the troops, directly under the command of the front army.

Katukov's efforts soon paid off, and the front army transferred 30 vehicles for the 4th Tank Brigade.

These cars are only enough for tank regiments.

For this reason, Uncle Alek was dissatisfied.

"What am I supposed to do?" said Uncle Alek, "Should I pick up a rifle without a car?"

Before the words fell, Major Gavrilov ordered: "The driver gets the rifle!"

"No!" Uncle Alek protested: "I haven't shot for more than ten years, I only use the rifle as a steering wheel!"

"Take it, Uncle Alek!" Shulka stuffed the rifle brought by him into his hand: "I'm afraid you won't even have the rifle later, you don't want to face the Germans with your bare hands, or use the steering wheel to deal with them !"

Hearing this, Alec Dapi lost his voice, silently took the rifle and reviewed the shooting essentials.

While at the barracks, a very strange unit joined the 4th Tank Brigade.

Its designation is the 5th Light Infantry Company. It has a small force, less than a hundred people, but has 108 dogs.

There are all kinds of dogs, shepherds, golden retrievers, Labradors...

"What do they do?" Shulka asked the instructor.

"I don't know!" The instructor shook his head: "Maybe it's for reconnaissance or something else!"

Soon Shulka discovered the problem. These dogs would drill into the tank chassis according to the command, and only drill into the tank chassis... At this time, those dogs were doing this, and groups gathered under the tank chassis, and then the soldiers made a sound Praise and toss them food.

Shulka and the instructor looked at each other and knew what the dogs were for.

"Hey!" Shulka called to the soldiers of the light infantry company: "Can you guarantee that they will not drill into our own tanks on the battlefield?"

"No, we can't guarantee it!" replied the company commander of the light infantry company, "so you'd better turn off the engines when they go out!"

"Turn off the engine?"

"Yes!" The company commander explained: "We train them with tractors, and they can only get food when the engine is 'rumbling' under the tractor, otherwise they will starve!"

It is indeed a good way.

Shulka nodded... It's just a bit cruel to those dogs. They thought they could get food under the enemy tanks, but what was waiting for them was to be blown to pieces.

But this seems to be normal. People are dying at the muzzle of guns and guns in pieces. Who cares about these dogs? !

Then, Shulka and others saw the light infantrymen tie a saddle bag made of linen to the dog.

This saddlebag is like a saddle, except that there are two bags on either side of it.

Needless to say what these two bags are used for, they will be loaded with high explosives or anti-tank mines during combat.

As for the detonating device, it was a four-inch wooden bar that stood on the dog's back, and when bent the dynamite exploded.