"Comrade Commander," Sidorin asked with some confusion as soon as Sokov put down the phone, "Why don't you tell the commander the secret of the thunder cannon directly instead of asking him to make a trip?"
"The reason is very simple," Sokov replied with a normal expression: "Because I don't plan to promote the flying thunder cannon throughout the entire army, so I can only trouble Comrade Commander to make a trip in person."
"Why?" Sokov's words surprised everyone. Ivanov asked the question on behalf of everyone: "If the flying thunder cannon is promoted throughout the entire army, wouldn't it be possible to eliminate more enemies?"
"Yes, theoretically speaking, this can eliminate more enemies." Sokov did not directly explain his reasons to everyone, but asked: "I think everyone has seen the power of the flying thunder cannon. Right. But have you ever thought about what will happen if the enemy uses thunder cannons to deal with us? Will we still be able to defend Mamayev Heights by then?"
"That can't be defended." Not to mention commanders with rich combat experience like Ivanov and Sidorin, even political commissar Anisimov knew exactly how powerful the thunder cannon was. Sokov As soon as he finished speaking, he blurted out: "I heard from the soldiers cleaning the battlefield that some enemy corpses did not have any injuries at all from the outside, but they were killed by the shock wave generated by the explosion. If the enemy used the same weapon to attack Against us, even if we hide in the tunnel, the casualties will probably be huge."
These words, spoken by a political commissar who was a layman in the military, were far more convincing to those present than those spoken by Sokov, and all objections disappeared. Everyone believes that if we want to protect Mamayev Heights, this kind of flying thunder artillery technology cannot be taught to other troops casually. Even the third battalion in the city cannot let them master this technology, lest it cause inconvenience. Necessary leaks.
Chuikov was eager to know what new defensive weapon Sokov had invented. After explaining a few words to Krylov, he hurried to Mamayev Heights with a few guards.
There were observation posts arranged by Sokov on both the northern and southern hills. Chuikov and his party were discovered by the observation posts two or three kilometers away from the northern hill. The observation post quickly called Sokov and reported to him that the commander was heading towards Beigan.
Sokov put down the phone, thinking that he might get scolded if he went to see Chuikov alone, so he decided to bring Ivanov along, so that he could be his shield when necessary, so he politely treated Ivanov Said: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, Comrade Commander is coming to Beigang soon. Let's go and greet him."
Ivanov never dreamed that the real purpose of Sokov calling him was to divert Chuikov's attention, so he readily agreed: "Okay, comrade division commander, let's leave now."
When the two came to the Beigang command post along the tunnel, they found Chuikov sitting inside, talking to Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, the commander of the 125th Regiment. Seeing Sokov and the others walking in, Yershakov quickly stood up and saluted them: "Hello, division commander, deputy division commander!"
The two Sokovs nodded at Yershakov, then quickly came to Chuikov, raised their hands to salute him, and reported in accordance with the order: "Comrade Commander, Commander of the 41st Guards Division Sokov , Deputy Division Commander Ivanov reports to you, we obey your orders, please give instructions!"
Chuikov raised his hand in return and said impatiently: "Colonel Sokov, Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov just introduced me to the flying thunder cannon you are using. Since there is such a powerful weapon, why? Failure to report to us in time and promote it throughout the entire army. Do you know how much the Germans will pay if every unit fighting in the factory area is equipped with this weapon?"
When Sokov saw that Chuikov had indeed launched an attack on him as soon as they met, he smiled bitterly. He was about to explain his difficulties to him, but unexpectedly Ivanov said first: "Comrade Commander, can you please listen to my explanation?" ?"
Although Chuikov was extremely dissatisfied with Sokov, his attitude towards Ivanov was much better. He nodded slightly and said, "Colonel Ivanov, if you have anything to say, just say it."
"When the division commander decided not to promote this new weapon to other troops, we also had different opinions." When Ivanov said this, he instinctively glanced at Sokov and saw that the other party was staring straight ahead. , then continued: "But after his explanation, we feel that his concerns are correct, so we all agreed not to promote this weapon to other troops."
If it was Sokov who said this at this moment, Chuikov probably wouldn't be in the mood to listen to his explanation. However, since it was Ivanov who said it, out of politeness, he still wanted to hear the reason. He pointed his chin towards the other party. Yiyang said, "Tell me, what concerns does Colonel Sokov have?"
"Colonel Sokov said that this weapon is very powerful and is very effective against tanks, armored vehicles, field fortifications and dense combat formations." Ivanov said to Chuikov: "If it is promoted throughout the entire army, There will definitely be some flying thunder cannons that will be captured by the enemy. Once this thing falls into the hands of the enemy, and then turns against us, I am afraid we will not be able to withstand the enemy's attack."
After listening to Ivanov's explanation, the expression on Chuikov's face became much softer. Then he looked at Sokov and asked: "Colonel Sokov, is everything Ivanov said true? "
"Yes, Comrade Commander, our army does not have any complete and solid defenses in the factory area in the north of the city. Once the enemy uses thunder cannons to deal with our defenders, our commanders and fighters will not be able to block the enemy's attack." Soko When the husband said this, he paused for a moment. Seeing that Chuikov showed no signs of getting angry, he continued: "Moreover, the amount of explosives required for this kind of flying thunder cannon is very amazing. One explosive package weighs ten kilograms, and one hundred The explosive pack requires one ton of explosives. Even if we are not worried that the enemy will capture this kind of thunder cannon, the city does not have enough explosive reserves to meet the needs of so many thunder cannons."
After Chuikov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he did not express his position. Instead, he stood up and said to him: "Take me to see this flying thunder cannon!"
Knowing that Chuikov planned to go to the surface position to see the torpedo cannon, Yershakov quickly reminded Sokov in a low voice: "Comrade division commander, the top of the mountain is too dangerous. There may be enemy snipers hiding nearby. It is better to let the soldiers take it." Come down with a thunder cannon and show it to Comrade Commander?"
"Don't worry," Sokov waved his hand to Yershakov and said confidently: "After the battle just now, there will not be a living enemy within five hundred meters. Even if there are snipers, they will not be within five hundred meters." The chance of hitting the target from a distance of meters is almost zero.”
Sokov took Chuikov to the top of Beigang and introduced him to the thunder cannon placed in front of the position: "Comrade Commander, this is our thunder cannon. The projectile barrel of the explosive pack is an empty gasoline barrel. After it is buried in the ground, the oil drum is filled with propellant, and then the explosive package bundled into a disc shape is put in, and then the propellant is ignited, and the ten kilogram explosive package can be thrown into the enemy's attack queue.
The range of the thunder cannon is not far, only about 150 to 200 meters. However, due to the large size of the launched explosive package, the strong explosive impact generated during the explosion will blow away even the solid fortifications. According to our observations, enemies within a ten-meter radius of the explosion will be blown to pieces, and even enemies outside a radius of 20 meters will be blown to death. "
Chuikov walked twice around an empty oil drum half buried in the ground, carefully looked at this crude new weapon, and said with emotion: "Colonel Sokov, I can't believe that you can actually develop such a powerful weapon. , this thing will come in handy when we want to attack the enemy’s strong positions in the future.”
"Although this kind of thunder cannon is powerful, it also has many shortcomings." After Sokov sighed softly, he continued to introduce to Chuikov: "First of all, it is poor in accuracy. The gasoline barrel is just a fixed explosive package. The direction of projection, and how far the explosive package can be thrown, completely depends on the angle of the gasoline barrel and the amount of propellant. Therefore, when using it, we can only use intensive attacks to achieve the desired effect.
Secondly, since it takes a long time to bury oil barrels, once the enemy discovers it, it may lead to artillery fire or bombing. Therefore, the best place to use it is to fight the defensive battle at hand, or to attack the enemy in the future.
Third, the safety factor of this kind of thunder cannon is very poor. It may explode when fired, causing a large number of casualties to surrounding soldiers..."
Through Sokov's explanation, Chuikov realized that he had wrongly blamed Sokov. He raised his hand and patted Sokov gently on the shoulder twice, and said: "Colonel Sokov, your decision is correct. Under the current circumstances, this kind of flying thunder cannon is indeed useless except for you." Suitable for promotion in other troops.”
Seeing that Chuikov no longer held him responsible, Sokov was secretly relieved. He asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, how is the situation over there in the factory area?"
"The fighting was very hard!" Chuikov shook his head and said: "Most of our army's defensive positions in the factory area were destroyed by the enemy's fierce artillery fire. As soon as the shelling ended, the enemy infantry, under the cover of the tanks, fired at several A strong attack was launched on a factory. Although our commanders and fighters put up tenacious resistance, due to the lack of sufficient anti-tank weapons, many areas had been broken through by the enemy. Moreover, when the enemy encountered positions that were unable to break through, they still The air force will be dispatched for bombing, which will cause huge casualties to our army."
