Yakov's words finally made Sokov understand why the SS that Koida mentioned was completely different from the SS that he knew. But think about it, if you were on the battlefield and saw someone among the charging German officers and soldiers carrying a Czech-style light machine gun, it would feel a bit inconsistent.
In order to prevent Koida from unnecessary underestimation of the enemy based on wrong intelligence, Sokov said with a straight face: "Colonel Koida, the SS in the early days of the war may be as equipped as you said. and combat effectiveness are average. But now the situation has changed. Not only have their equipment been greatly improved, but their combat effectiveness has also made great progress. Not to mention that your mixed group only has more than 400 people, even if you include all the people in the assembly workshop With the addition of troops, we probably don’t have much confidence in winning against an equal number of SS troops with more than a thousand people.”
When Yakov first talked about the SS, Koida didn't pay attention. Now when he heard Sokov said the same thing, the expression on his face couldn't help but become serious: "Comrade Brigadier, what you said is true. Really? Are the German SS really that powerful?"
"That's right." Sokov nodded, and at the same time secretly murmured in his heart: Could it be that Colonel Koida came from an alien planet? He actually thought that the SS troops were vulnerable. Could it be that the division he commanded was almost completely wiped out in such a short period of time? This may have something to do with his rigid thinking: "I don't know about the early Party policies. How good is the combat effectiveness of the Guards, but Comrade Colonel, I can tell you now that our full Guards division may not be able to defeat their regiment..."
Just in the middle of Sokov's words, Yakov, who was sitting next to him, suddenly coughed violently as if he had acute tuberculosis. Sokov instinctively turned his head to look at Yakov and saw him winking at him desperately. Realizing that he might have said something wrong, he changed the subject in time: "Comrade Colonel, please go back to the army first. Wait until later." I will send someone to inform you when there is a combat mission."
After Koida and Mashkov left, Yakov immediately said to Sokov with a straight face: "Misha, what did you do? How can you say that one of our divisions cannot defeat the enemy's regiment? That's putting it lightly. , this is to boost the ambition of others and destroy your own prestige, which will affect the morale of the troops; to be serious, this is completely a defeatist argument."
Yakov's words made Sokov break into a cold sweat. He had just been talking happily, but he had ignored that in this era, some words should not be said casually, otherwise he might be killed. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat, and said with some embarrassment: "I just said it casually, there should be no problem."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, if you were just an ordinary commander, it would probably be fine if you said these words." Bely continued: "But you have a special status now. Once someone reports your words to the superiors, you will be in trouble." Get into unnecessary trouble."
Thinking that the words had been spoken, it was too late even if he wanted to take them back. If someone really wanted to secretly report to his superiors, there would be nothing he could do. Sokov resumed the interrupted topic: "If our superiors order us to report to the enemy Launch an attack, can that spherical tank enter the battle?"
Regarding Sokov's question, Yakov and Bely looked at each other, and both saw worry in each other's eyes. Bely hesitated for a moment and said with some embarrassment: "According to the reaction of the tank soldiers operating the ball tank, there is no problem driving this kind of tank on flat ground. If it wants to drive in an area full of craters, it is unclear whether it can drive normally. Know."
"Also," Yakov added: "The field of view of this tank is too narrow. It can only see enemies coming from the front. If the enemy comes from the side or rear, it can only be beaten passively. Therefore, even if When we dispatch ball tanks during the battle, we also need to dispatch additional tanks for cover."
After seeing the strange design of the spherical tank, Sokov thought that this kind of tank could show off its power on the battlefield. Now when he heard Yakov and the others saying that they could not fight alone, they must have other tanks to cooperate. I felt disappointed, but I didn't expect that the tank I had high hopes for turned out to be useless.
But considering that I went through all the troubles to get this prototype tank, I would still be a little unwilling to just put it in an underground tank depot and not use it. Therefore, after some consideration, Sokov said to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, although the ball tank is still a prototype that has not been tested on the battlefield, we should still try it to see how it performs on the battlefield. If it can really replace the T-34, the superiors can make an early decision to put this tank into the army as soon as possible."
Seeing Sokov's confidence, Bely smiled bitterly and said: "Well, Comrade Brigade Commander, since you are so confident, I will immediately make arrangements to find two skilled crews to cooperate with the ball tank operation. .”
…………
Sokov and the others had just finished lunch in the command post when they received a call from Chuikov. Chuikov asked on the phone: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, how is the situation there?"
"Everything is calm." Sokov replied casually: "Maybe it was the attack of friendly forces that attracted the attention of the Germans. Therefore, the soldiers could only listen to the sound of guns and artillery fighting between friendly forces and the enemy, and in their hearts Be anxious."
"Sokov, according to General Guryev's report, the German army launched a surprise attack on the flank of their attacking troops. Since he did not leave many troops to defend, the defense line has become precarious." Chuikov said anxiously on the phone Said: "You immediately dispatch a unit to support the 39th Guards Division to prevent their position from being breached."
Hearing what Chuikov said, Sokov immediately realized the danger faced by the 39th Guards Division. If the German troops attacking their flanks really broke through their defense lines, they might fall into an enemy encirclement. Thinking of this, Sokov immediately replied without hesitation: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I will immediately organize a force to reinforce the 39th Guards Division."
"Wait a minute." Just as Sokov was about to put down the phone, he suddenly heard Chuikov say: "You still need to leave enough garrison troops in the assembly workshop to ensure that they can block attacks from any direction."
After Sokov put down the phone, his mind began to spin at high speed, thinking about which troops should be brought for reinforcements and whose troops should be left behind for defense. He made a decision quickly, walked to the door, called a soldier, and told him: "Go and call Colonel Koida from the mixed regiment immediately, and tell him that I have something important to see him."
