All the tank crews gathered around to watch the phone in Bely's hand. The second lieutenant of the tank crew even got into the tank and started the tank to test the effect of the phone call.
After some tests, the second lieutenant of the tank crew turned off the engine, climbed out of the tank, and excitedly asked Bely: "Comrade Colonel, the person who can come up with this method is simply a genius. In this way, we are fighting with When infantrymen work together, they no longer have to worry about inconvenient communication.”
Bely pointed with his hand at Sokov, who was standing not far away, and introduced to his subordinates: "Here, it's him, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade. From now on, all of us Under his command, the unit's new designation is the 73rd Infantry Brigade Tank Battalion."
"What, reduce our brigade to a battalion?" When the tank soldiers heard what Bely said, they couldn't help but burst into an uproar: "Comrade Brigade Commander, why is this?"
Bely didn't want to explain too much to his subordinates on this occasion, so he said with a straight face: "The troops have been reduced to battalions, and I am acting as the commander of the tank battalion. This is an order from my superiors. What, do you want to disobey?"
Seeing that Bely was angry, the tank soldier, although he still felt very uncomfortable, obediently kept his mouth shut. After all, the brigade commander did not express any objection to his appointment as acting battalion commander. What else could his subordinates say.
Seeing that the soldiers were quiet, Bieley asked again: "Can any of you tell me how long it will take to install telephones on all these forty tanks?"
The second lieutenant of the tank crew glanced at the phone on the back of the tank, thought for a moment, and replied: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if we start now, I think there should be no problem if we install phones on all tanks within three days. .”
"No, three days is too long. We might have to fight the Germans tomorrow, so everything must be installed before dawn." After Bely said these words in an unquestionable tone, he added: "Yes. From now on, don’t call me brigade commander, call me battalion commander. The 73rd Infantry Brigade has only one brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Do you understand?”
"Understood!" The tank soldiers agreed in unison and began to install telephones in the tanks.
When Sokov and Yakov saw that Bely had finished training his men, they came over and said: "Comrade Colonel, let your men get familiar with the technical equipment here. Let's go back to the command post."
Bely was just trying to understand Sokov's next plan, so he nodded, called a captain from another group of tank soldiers, and said to him: "Captain Sereda, I have other important things, and I'll leave them to you." ." His eyes swept across the tanks parked in the underground tank depot one by one, "Maybe we will be driving these tanks onto the battlefield soon, so please let the comrades take the time to familiarize themselves with the equipment."
Captain Shereda quickly replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Brigadier..."
Before he could finish speaking, Bely raised his hand to stop him: "From now on, I am no longer the brigade commander, but the acting battalion commander of the tank battalion. You will all call me battalion commander from now on."
Seeing Bely leaving with Sokov and Yakov, Sereda scratched the back of his head and said in confusion: "It's strange. He's not called brigade commander but battalion commander. What's going on?"
The three of them returned to the command post. Before sitting down, Belei couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I would like to ask, what are your plans next?"
"In two or three days, our army will launch a counterattack against the enemy." Sokov stood up, poured a cup of hot tea, placed it in front of Bely, and continued: "Although our brigade focuses on defense, we will not participate in this There were several counterattacks, but now that there are so many tanks, I have new ideas."
"New ideas?" Bely took the tea jar from Sokov's hand and asked curiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if you have any ideas, you might as well tell them."
"Comrade Colonel, come and see." Sokov took out a map from his bag, spread it on the table, pointed with his finger and said: "To the north of the factory, there is a German regiment-level command post, about 100 meters away from here. About three kilometers. I originally planned to send troops to sneak attack under the cover of night, but now that we have the tank battalion under your command, I have changed my mind. We can use infantry and tank coordination to launch an attack on the enemy's defense area."
Bely stared at the map for a while, and then asked his own question: "Comrade Brigadier, with all due respect, when do you plan to attack the enemy?"
"If the tank phone can be installed, I plan to launch an attack tomorrow." Sokov said confidently: "I think your men will be able to go into battle as long as they are a little familiar with these tanks."
"My subordinates have participated in many battles, and there must be no problem with their cooperation." Bely asked with some worry: "But now the city's air control is in the hands of the enemy. If we launch an attack during the day, the enemy will If the air force is dispatched to attack our attacking troops, wouldn't that cause huge casualties?"
"It is inevitable that we will be bombed by the German army during the attack." Sokov replied: "But don't worry, I have a solution."
Bely did not believe that Sokov had any good ideas. In order to prevent his subordinates from making unnecessary sacrifices, he asked: "Comrade Brigadier, can you tell me how you plan to solve it?"
"The superiors put the 437th Fighter Flight Regiment under my command," Sokov said to Bely with a smile: "After our offensive battle begins, I can order the fighter formation to attack and drive away the enemy planes that attempt to bomb us."
This was the first time that Bely heard that there was actually a fighter jet group in the troops commanded by Sokov. He could not help but widen his eyes in surprise and asked doubtfully: "Comrade Brigadier, is everything you said true? ?”
"Comrade Colonel, I can testify to this." Brisky, who had always remained silent, interjected: "Colonel Khostnikov's fighter flight regiment is indeed under our command now. Our superiors have also equipped us with equipment that can directly communicate with An intercom for pilots to communicate, so that we can direct their air combat or ground support according to the battlefield situation."
When he learned that there were fighter jets assisting him in the battle, most of Bely's worries disappeared. However, after a moment of silence, he continued to ask: "Comrade Brigade Commander, now that we have tanks and air force, do we need to prepare artillery fire before attacking?"
"No need." Sokov waved his hand and said: "According to the information provided by our scouts, there are no permanent fortifications outside the German regiment headquarters, just some simple night fighting fortifications. The tank battalion can attack them with just one assault. They were crushed to pieces.”
Seeing Sokov being so optimistic, Bely was still a little worried: "You just mentioned the infantry-tank coordination. My last question is, which troops do you plan to use to follow us in the attack?" At this point, he asked Briski, who was sitting opposite, took a look and said rudely, "If I'm not mistaken, you only have more than a hundred people left. Adding in the workers in the assembly workshop, the total strength is only three to four hundred." People. With this small force, can we destroy the enemy's regiment headquarters?"
"Comrade Colonel, before you come here, you should know that the main force of our brigade is defending on Mamayev Hill." In response to Bely's question, Sokov replied: "I plan to transfer another company of troops from there. , participating in the attack on the German regiment headquarters. My soldiers are all battle-hardened, and with the cooperation of the tank battalion and the air force, there should be no problem for them to take down the German regiment headquarters."
Seeing that Sokov had considered all the issues that should be considered, Bely did not ask about the attack anymore, but turned the topic to the fuel and ammunition of the tank battalion: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I would like to ask, the tank battalion Where should we get the ammunition and fuel we need?”
"As for fuel, it's easy to deal with. There are several underground oil tanks in the factory area, which are full of fuel for the tanks. You can have as much as you want. As for ammunition," Soko said. My husband once asked Zinchenko, so he knew how to answer Bely: "It is relatively troublesome. After all, the Red October Tractor Factory was not a military factory before, and they did not have much ammunition inventory. Therefore, they could only give You provide a basic amount of ammunition, and you need to figure out the other ammunition yourself."
When Bely heard this, he immediately jumped up from his seat: "Comrade Brigadier, where can I go to find a solution? Go and rob it from the Germans? You know, the caliber of their No. 3 and No. 4 tanks, one One is 50mm and the other is 75mm. Even if their shells are captured, they cannot be used at all."
"Yes, Misha." When Yakov heard this, he couldn't help but speak for Bely: "Don't say that tank shells are not universal, even machine gun bullets are not universal. We use 7.62 mm bullets, and they The 7.92mm bullet was used."
The difficult problem raised by Bely really stumped Sokov. The artillery shells and machine gun bullets needed by the tank battalion obviously could not be obtained from the Germans, or they could only rely on ammunition transported from the other side of the Volga River. Regardless of the ferries running back and forth on the Volga River every day, they have to transport too many supplies. In addition to the soldiers and supplies needed in the city, they also have various weapons and ammunition. Artillery was deployed on the east coast, and there were very few tanks left in the city, so there were almost no shells in the ammunition shipped.
After thinking for a long time, Sokov said to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, don't be anxious. I will report this problem to the commander and see if he has any solution."
Belei sighed and said: "Now it seems that this is the only way." After saying that, he paused for a moment and then asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, how did you arrange the organization of the tank battalion?"
"There used to be a tank company in my brigade. Since the tanks were lost in the battle, the tank soldiers are now used as infantry. This time when a new tank battalion is formed, I plan to let the original tank company commander, Lieutenant Ali Tai, serve as The commander of the third company. The commanders and soldiers of the first and second companies are all composed of your original subordinates. What do you think of this?"
Hearing that Sokov planned to appoint his original tank company commander as the commander of the third company, Bely had no objection. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is my arrangement: the commander of the first tank company will be Captain Shereda is in charge, and the company has eighteen tanks. Do you have any objection?"
After Sokov wrote down the name Bely mentioned in his notebook, he nodded and said, "I have no objection. What about the organization of the Second Company?"
"The Second Tank Company is led by Captain Ivantsov, and the number of tanks in the entire company is still eighteen."
"Comrade Colonel," Briski couldn't help complaining after hearing this, "there are only forty-five tanks in total, and your two companies accounted for thirty-six of them, leaving only nine for the third company. A car, isn’t it a bit too much?”
"Comrade Captain, you don't have to say anything." Sokov raised his hand and interrupted Brisky's words: "I have no objection to Colonel Bely's allocation method."
After thinking for a long time, Sokov said to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, don't be anxious. I will report this problem to the commander and see if he has any solution."
Belei sighed and said: "Now it seems that this is the only way." After saying that, he paused for a moment and then asked: "Comrade Brigadier, how did you arrange the formation of the tank battalion?"
"There used to be a tank company in my brigade. Since the tanks were lost in the battle, the tank soldiers are now used as infantry. When forming a new tank battalion this time, I plan to let the original tank company commander, Lieutenant Ali Tai, serve as The commander of the third company. The commanders and soldiers of the first and second companies are all composed of your original subordinates. What do you think of this?"
Hearing that Sokov planned to appoint his original tank company commander as the commander of the third company, Bely had no objection. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is my arrangement: the commander of the first tank company will be Captain Shereda is in charge, and the company has eighteen tanks. Do you have any objection?"
After Sokov wrote down the name Bely mentioned in his notebook, he nodded and said, "I have no objection. What about the organization of the Second Company?"
"The Second Tank Company is led by Captain Ivantsov, and the number of tanks in the entire company is still eighteen."
"Comrade Colonel," Briski couldn't help complaining after hearing this, "there are only forty-five tanks in total, and your two companies accounted for thirty-six of them, leaving only nine for the third company. A car, isn’t it a bit too much?”
"Comrade Captain, you don't have to say anything." Sokov raised his hand and interrupted Brisky's words: "I have no objection to Colonel Bely's allocation method."
"Comrade Colonel," Briski couldn't help complaining after hearing this, "there are only forty-five tanks in total, and your two companies accounted for thirty-six of them, leaving only nine for the third company. A car, isn’t it a bit too much?”
