USSR 1941

"So, if we use it for defense, we may fall into total passiveness!" Shulka said: "Because the Germans only need to find our perforations, and then bombard the building with artillery, it is enough to destroy our army's self-propelled guns." The artillery is destroyed!"

Golikov and Akimovich couldn't help but look at each other, because they knew that Shulka was right. The protection of the self-propelled gun was only a ring of iron around it, and there was no top protection. When a brick falls, the crew and gunner may be injured.

What's more, when being bombarded by the enemy, bricks and tiles are not the only things that fall from the top.

"Then..." Golikov said, "we have no choice but to attack!"

If passive defense is denied, then the only option is to attack, and the rest is how to attack.

"But, Comrade Shulka!" Akimovich said, "The enemy only attacks during the day, and when it gets dark they organize defenses on the spot. How should we attack the enemy's 'new tanks'?"

Shulka understood the meaning of Akimovich's words. If he wanted to use self-propelled artillery to deal with the enemy's "new tanks", then it should be when the "new tanks" appeared. It may be foolish to deploy the "new tank" at the forefront of the defense line or a position that can be easily spotted by the enemy as the enemy's target.

This is determined by the low reliability of the "Tiger" tank... Even if the German army knows that the Soviet army has almost no artillery that can pose a threat to the "Tiger", it is very likely that some parts will be damaged after a shot hits.

To be precise, even if the "Tiger" has good reliability, the Germans don't need to put it at the forefront. At least they should use tank bunkers to add camouflage, or hide in buildings for defense... The tank turret can rotate, hide In the building, it is very convenient to use windows, doors or bullet holes in all directions as perforations.

This makes it difficult for the Soviet self-propelled artillery to find the target when attacking. Instead, they will become the target of the enemy's "Tiger" tank.

Although self-propelled artillery has strong attack power, it is at the expense of protection. For example, the frontal armor of SU76 is only 35MM, and it cannot withstand the "Tiger" lightly fired.

"So our targets shouldn't all be the enemy's 'new tanks'!" Shulka said.

"What is that?" Akimovich asked puzzled.

"The enemy's defense lines, firepower points, and infantry!" Shulka replied: "The self-propelled artillery is a gun, a gun mounted on a tank chassis! When the enemy's "new tank" did not appear,

It can attack other targets... and since it's a gun, it can do it at greater distances, beyond the enemy's line of sight! "

Akimovich and Golikov nodded in agreement.

As long as there are artillery observers in front to report the coordinate parameters and provide guidance, the self-propelled artillery can fight. Whether it can hit the target is only a matter of the number of shells and the quality of the gunner.

At the same time, it can also be transferred quickly after firing, and in extreme cases, it can even be transferred while firing, so it is much more flexible than a towed artillery.

"So!" Shulka said: "We can wait for the enemy's 'new tank' to appear!"

Golikov nodded in agreement.

At this time, it was time for the German army to be embarrassed. Their "new tanks" were either exposed to the Soviet army and became targets of the Soviet army's self-propelled artillery, or they stayed in place and watched the Soviet army knock out the German firepower one by one.

After deciding on this battle plan, the next thing has a direction.

The first thing to look for is the self-propelled artillery crew... This crew is a bit tricky, because it is a combination of tank and artillery: the driver is the tankman, and the crew is the artillery.

The second is the need for artillery observers with night combat experience. They can be said to be the eyes of self-propelled artillery.

The third is to train tank drivers, artillerymen, and artillery observers so that they can cooperate effectively in wartime.

Obviously, the third point is the most difficult. The first two points are nothing more than transferring some people from various arms and bringing them together.

But Golikov didn't pay attention to the third point at all, or it can be said that he didn't care about it at all.

Originally Shulka wanted them to wait for the self-propelled artillery to arrive tonight and let them undergo the necessary training before going to the battlefield. After all, this is a new piece of equipment that Soviet soldiers have never used before.

However, Golikov thinks this is completely unnecessary.

"This is actually not new equipment, is it?" Golikov said: "The tank drivers drive the tanks they are familiar with, and the artillerymen control the artillery they are familiar with!"

"That's what I said, but..."

"No but, Comrade Shulka!" Golikov said. "Let them go, these lads can do it!"

Shulka doesn't know what to say, have the Soviets always been so nervous?

But not to mention, after Golikov's order was issued, the artillerymen, tank soldiers and observers who gathered together did not object. In their opinion, this seemed normal... Isn't it just that the gantry is placed on top of the tank? The artillery on the chassis, they can deal with it.

Even if they can't deal with it, they will understand when they fiddle with it!

As for whether there is time to play around on the battlefield, or whether you will be bombarded by the enemy because of this... that is a matter of luck.

So what else could Shulka say? I can only let it go!

However, at 10:20 that night, when the thirteen self-propelled artillery pieces that finally arrived in Stalingrad (another seventeen were blown up in transit) appeared in front of Shulka, Shulka and others were still caught by an accident. caught off guard...

This batch of self-propelled artillery is not all 76MM caliber guns, five of the thirteen are equipped with 76MM caliber, six are equipped with 85MM caliber, and two are equipped with 152MM caliber.

Shulka immediately called Hisoy: "You didn't tell me they come in three calibers!"

"But you didn't ask that, Comrade Shulka!" Hisoy replied.

Shulka couldn't help but almost fainted. He thought it was necessary information for the equipment handover, so he didn't ask.

Who knew that Sisoy, a scientist, didn't know anything about the information required by the battlefield, so he didn't say anything because Shulka didn't ask him.

"What about them?" Shulka asked. "Which caliber can handle the new enemy tanks?"

"It's all right!" Hisoy replied: "It's just that the distance is different. The 76MM caliber can penetrate at a distance of about 200 meters, the 85MM caliber can penetrate at a distance of 500 meters, and the 152MM caliber can penetrate at a distance of 700 meters!"

There is still a big gap compared with the "Tiger", because the "Tiger" can destroy all these models at a distance of one kilometer.

But now it's the only way to use them.