"Colonel," Sokov replied with a smile: "Proper use of tactics on the battlefield can eliminate more enemies while reducing the casualties of our troops."
If Sokov had said this before repelling the German army this time, I am afraid Lyudnikov would still have doubts about it. But at this moment, he was convinced. After all, the enemy who launched the attack did not even have a chance to shoot, and was routed by the sudden artillery fire, and retreated in despair.
Lyudnikov secretly wondered, if Sokov was not here and he personally commanded the artillery regiment, could he have achieved such results? Such an idea was denied by him as soon as it came up. He shook his head with a wry smile and thought, if it weren't for Sokov, I'm afraid that even if all the artillery stored in the underground warehouse fell into the hands of the Germans, he would lose all of them. Not available, let alone used to repel enemy attacks.
But while he was happy, he still felt a little regretful. He took out a pack of crumpled cigarettes from his pocket and handed it to Sokov, "Have one, Colonel Sokov." Seeing the other party waving his hand, he added, "Don't worry, it's not German cigarettes, it's Cigarettes made in Moscow.”
After Sokov smoked German cigarettes once and felt they smelled like horse manure, he stayed away from these cigarettes. When Lyudnikov handed him a pack of cigarettes, he instinctively thought they might be German cigarettes. He originally wanted to wave his hand and refuse, but when he heard that they were cigarettes produced in Moscow, he took them and took one out to hold in his mouth. .
When the two began to smoke, Lyudnikov asked Sokov humbly: "Colonel Sokov, do you think we can hold the barricade factory?"
Hearing Lyudnikov ask this, Sokov couldn't help but smile. He recalled that in real history, the troops commanded by Lyudnikov not only defended the barricade factory, but even demobilized the German 305th Infantry Division that attacked the factory. Now, with his own help, he is more certain to defend the factory. Moreover, in a few weeks, the Soviet army's all-out counterattack will begin, and by then the crisis in the barricade factory will be lifted.
Thinking of this, he said with a smile: "Don't worry, Comrade Colonel, I think it won't be a big problem for our two divisions to join forces to defend the barricade factory."
"That's good, that's good." Lyudnikov got the answer he wanted, and he felt much better. "After such a long period of fighting, the strength of my troops has been greatly weakened. If not With your help, I really don’t have much confidence in being able to hold on to the barricade factory.”
The two chatted for a while, and Lyudnikov suddenly said with emotion: "Colonel Sokov, these 76mm cannons you got are very effective against enemy tanks and infantry. Especially It was against the German assault guns, and I killed them with a few shots, but I think there are still some things that are unsatisfactory.”
Lyudnikov's words aroused Sokov's curiosity, and he asked with interest: "Colonel, tell me, what is unsatisfactory?"
"Although this ZIS-3 76.2 mm cannon is relatively light in weight, it can be towed by various trucks or even jeeps when marching, and can even be towed forward by livestock and artillery." Lyudnikov said thoughtfully. Said thoughtfully: "But I think its mobility is not enough. If it is used in a pursuit battle, it will be of little use. By the time our artillery re-establishes its artillery position, the enemy may have escaped the range of the artillery fire. If only they were as mobile as the German assault guns."
The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. Lyudnikov was just sighing casually, but a thought suddenly came to Sokov's mind: This ZIS-3 76.2 mm cannon was later changed into a SU76 self-propelled artillery. What? Since Lyudnikov said that its mobility is not enough, why not simply change these artillery to self-propelled artillery? In this way, he has a mobile artillery in his hands, and it will be easier to crush the German attack.
Because he was so engrossed in his thoughts, Sokov forgot that he still had an unfinished cigarette in his hand. He only woke up from his reverie when the cigarette butt burned his hand. He hurriedly threw the cigarette butt on the ground, crushed it with his toes, looked at Lyudnikov and said: "Comrade Colonel, you are really a genius, an amazing genius."
Regarding Sokov's compliment, Lyudnikov looked blank: "What did I say, Colonel Sokov?"
"Didn't you say that the ZIS-3 76.2 mm cannon can be made like the German assault gun and can maneuver on the battlefield at any time?" Sokov said urgently: "I think what you said makes sense. , we can completely install a chassis on the cannon to make it more mobile, so that our artillery can carry out artillery strikes on the enemy at any place."
Lyudnikov's eyes lit up at first, and then he said with an expression of embarrassment: "Colonel Sokov, your idea is good, but adding a chassis to the cannon is not something we can do."
"Don't worry, Colonel." Sokov said confidently: "Although we don't have the ability to add a chassis to the cannon, there are people who can do it. We can just leave this kind of thing to professionals."
After speaking, he pointed to the telephone on the table and asked Lyudnikov: "Colonel, can your phone be in contact with the Red October Factory?"
Lyudnikov did not immediately answer Sokov's question, but turned to the communications soldier sitting in the corner: "Can our phone communicate with the Red October Factory?"
"Comrade division commander," the communications soldier stood up and replied respectfully: "Since the enemy attacked the city, all residents' telephone calls in the city have been cut off, and all civilian lines have been requisitioned by the army. In other words, not only can we use For military lines, the original civilian lines can also be used..."
"Okay, okay, don't talk so much nonsense." Lyudnikov didn't wait for the signal soldier to finish, then interrupted him and asked: "You just need to tell me, can we fight with Red October?" Factory call?”
"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." The communications soldier asked with a blushing face: "Do you need me to help you take over the Red October Factory?"
Lyudnikov turned to look at Sokov, wanting to hear who he planned to call at the Red October Factory. When Sokov learned that he could communicate directly with the Red October Factory, he felt much more at ease. He quickly said to the signal soldier: "Please take over the switchboard of the Red October Factory immediately and tell Colonel Sokov that he has urgent matters to see Peter." Factory director.”
The signal corpsman quickly connected to the switchboard of the Red October Factory. The operator heard that it was Colonel Sokov who was looking for Director Peter. He knew that there must be something important and did not dare to neglect, so he quickly transferred the call to the factory director's office.
"Hello, Misha." I don't know since when, director Peter stopped calling Sokov by his surname and military rank, but called him by his nickname affectionately. When he received a call from Sokov, he guessed that there must be something important, so he stopped talking nonsense and asked straight to the point: "You called me, did you want to produce something again?"
"Yes, Comrade Factory Director." Seeing that the other party immediately guessed the purpose of his call, Sokov said simply: "I have thought of a new weapon, and I hope to get your help."
Peter has seen new rockets and rockets, and knows that whatever Sokov develops is usually the most suitable for the battlefield. At this moment, I heard that he had thought of a new type of weapon. I couldn't help but feel ecstatic in my heart. I couldn't help but urged: "Misha, you have any good ideas, please tell me quickly!"
Before expressing his thoughts, Sokov asked the other party tentatively: "Comrade director, have you heard of the ZIS-3 76.2 mm cannon?"
"Nonsense, how can I not know about this kind of artillery?" Peter sneered and replied: "This is a kind of artillery mainly produced by the barricade factory. What, is the new weapon you want to talk about related to this kind of artillery? ?”
"Yes, Comrade Factory Director. We used this artillery today to crush an attack by the Germans and wipe out several of their assault guns and hundreds of soldiers." After briefly introducing the results of the battle, Sokov continued. He expressed his own thoughts: "I feel that this artillery lacks sufficient mobility. I am considering whether I can install a chassis on it and convert it into a self-propelled artillery that can be as flexible as the German assault gun."
Sokov originally thought that Peter would immediately agree with his opinion, but who knew that after he finished speaking, the other party suddenly fell silent. He thought the phone line was disconnected, so he quickly shouted twice into the phone: "Hello, hello, comrade factory director, are you still there?"
"I'm still here!" Peter replied angrily.
Sokov didn't understand why Peter suddenly became silent after hearing what he said, so he asked tentatively: "Did you hear everything I said?"
"I heard it!" Peter's voice suddenly became cold and stiff: "Colonel Sokov, can you tell me who told you about putting the artillery on the chassis and turning it into a self-propelled artillery?"
Hearing Peter address himself from his nickname to his surname, and also use his honorific, Sokov felt something was wrong. He frowned and replied: "No one told me, I just came up with it in a flash of inspiration."
After listening to Sokov's answer, Peter's tone softened: "So that's it, I thought someone else told you. You and I are not outsiders, and I don't want to hide it from you. In mid-October, I received An official letter of weapons and equipment ordered us to carry out research work on installing the ZIS-3 76.2 mm cannon on the tank site. Since the superiors required strict confidentiality, not many people knew about this matter. I just heard you mention it and thought it was my subordinates. Is there anyone who is not strict enough to tell you this?"
Knowing that the Red October Factory had started the development of self-propelled artillery, Sokov couldn't help but think to himself, and quickly asked: "Comrade Director, may I ask how the development is going? When will the self-propelled artillery be put into use?" Actual combat?”
"It's very difficult, Misha." Peter sighed and said: "It's not a big problem to install the cannon on the tank chassis. It can be completed in half a day at most. But the problem we are facing now is the artillery installed on the chassis. The muzzle cannot rotate at all.”
"Why do you need to rotate the muzzle?" Sokov asked strangely: "Don't you know that the German assault guns do not have a turret, so the rotation of the muzzle is accomplished through the steering of the body."
As soon as these words came out, Peter fell silent again. Sokov didn't know what he said. He was about to ask a cautious question when he heard the sound of slamming the table from the receiver, and then heard Peter say excitedly: "Misha, you are right, it's us. It’s confusing, why do you have to allow the muzzle to rotate? You can completely aim at the target through the steering of the chassis.”
After solving a technical problem, Sokov tentatively asked: "Comrade factory director, when will you be able to produce a prototype?"
"I'm afraid we have to wait for about a week." Peter said with some embarrassment: "There are still two problems to be solved. One is what kind of chassis should the artillery be installed on? Some comrades said that the T-26 chassis should be used. The reason is that this type of tank has been discontinued, but there are still a lot of chassis left, which we can fully utilize; some comrades also said that from a long-term perspective, the chassis of the T-70 tank should be used..."
"Comrade Director," after Peter finished speaking, Sokov expressed his "opinion": "I think it is best to install the ZIS-3 76.2 mm cannon on the chassis of the T-70 tank, and at the same time, additional The length of the vehicle and the road wheels.”
"Increase the length of the vehicle and the road wheels?" Peter said with a wry smile: "Misha, if we really change it like this, I'm afraid our production time of the finished product will be delayed."
"Comrade Factory Director, I think you can follow the original idea and fix the artillery directly on the tank chassis." Sokov organized the vocabulary in his mind and continued: "We will test it in actual combat so that we can provide you with Suggest more suggestions for improvement.”
"That's okay." Peter thought for a moment and agreed readily: "We have produced two prototypes. One is a gun installed on the chassis of a T-26 tank, and the other is installed on a T-26 tank. -70 chassis. But it has just been manufactured and has not been tested yet, and we don’t know how effective it will be. Are you really sure that you need to use these two prototype vehicles to participate in actual combat without completing the test? "
"That's right, Comrade Factory Director." Sokov was eager to see the modified automatic cannon, and replied without hesitation: "If it were in normal times, we would definitely wait for you to complete various tests before equipping the new automatic cannon. Technical equipment. But the situation at the barricade factory is very critical now. We don’t have time to wait for you to complete the test, so we can only test the new self-propelled artillery and we can only risk it on the battlefield."
Peter thought about Sokov's proposal for a long time, and finally nodded and said into the microphone: "Okay, Misha, I will send someone to deliver the prototype car to you immediately. At the same time, I will send a few more technicians to accompany you." We drive there and let them collect various data in a timely manner so that we can better improve.”
"On the road from the Red October Factory to the Barricade Factory, there may be a small group of Germans." Sokov was very happy to hear that Peter would soon send someone to deliver a prototype of the automatic artillery, but he thought On the road between the two factories, a small group of enemies might appear, so he took the initiative to propose to Peter: "For your safety, I will send someone to pick you up."
