Red Moscow

It is a very troublesome task to select soldiers who have served as tank soldiers or artillery soldiers and form new troops.

Even though Belkin was an experienced commander and had a lot of helpers, it still took quite a bit of effort to select suitable candidates from thousands of officers and soldiers.

Sokov stood outside the tent, looking at the chaotic scene in the distance, but his mind was constantly thinking: "Other people who traveled through time all brought various systems with them. After gaining a certain number of points, they could participate in a lottery. They could obtain various weapons, equipment and supplies that were beyond this era through the lottery. But I have traveled through time twice, and I got nothing last time. This time, it seems that I only got a reward of proficiency in German and rapid recovery from injuries. There is no trace of the system that can help me survive in this era."

He gritted his teeth and thought that if he could obtain weapons and equipment through the system, he would only need 100 T-80 main battle tanks, 50 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and 5,000 drones. Even if he faced Guderian's armored cluster, he could easily defeat it.

The two soldiers standing guard at the door of the tent saw Sokov's behavior and thought he was angry. Fearing that he would get into trouble, they quietly moved two steps to the side and kept a sufficient distance from him to avoid any unnecessary disaster.

Sokov did not notice anything unusual about the soldiers around him. He was still recalling the parameters of the T-80 main battle tank. This type of tank is equipped with a 2A46 smoothbore gun with a caliber of 125mm, a firing rate of 8 rounds per minute, an ammunition base of 40 rounds, and an automatic loader for loading shells.

In terms of protection, the front of the T-80 tank body is made of composite armor, with an outer layer of steel plate, a middle layer of fiberglass, and an inner lining of non-metallic materials. Additional reactive armor is installed on the front half of the turret and the front upper armor of the body. The function of explosive armor is that when the opponent's armor-piercing projectile contacts the tank armor, the explosive armor block explodes, generating a blast wave in the opposite direction, which deflects or weakens the metal jet generated by the explosion of the incoming armor-piercing projectile, thereby reducing or offsetting the damage to the tank itself, and improving the tank's battlefield survivability. It is one of the mainstream tank protection configurations in later generations.

During the Second Chechen War in 2000, a T-80 main battle tank was hit by three grenades, two mortar shells, and twenty rockets, but it was still active on the battlefield and crushed a battalion of Chechen rebels. Since then, the T-80 has been nicknamed the "undead monster", which shows how strong its defensive capabilities are.

As for the Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, it is a second-generation self-propelled anti-aircraft gun developed in the 1960s, replacing the first-generation optically aimed, manually operated ZSU-57-2 anti-aircraft tank, used to accompany tank regiments and motorized infantry regiments on the move for ultra-low-altitude air defense. It may not be as effective against jet aircraft, but it is still a dimensionality reduction strike against today's propeller aircraft.

Just as Sokov was lost in thought, he heard someone calling him from the tent: "Comrade Brigade Commander, your phone is ringing!"

When Sokov heard his call, he woke up from his thoughts and turned and walked into the tent.

Seeing Sokov enter the tent, the two soldiers standing guard at the door gathered together and whispered, "Did you see the brigade commander's expression? It was really scary."

Another soldier secretly speculated: "Is he worried about a possible new round of attacks by the German army?"

"I think there is a possibility..."

While the two soldiers were whispering, Sokov, who had walked into the tent, took the microphone from Karsokov: "I am Sokov!"

"Comrade Commander," Yefim's voice came from the receiver, and he said excitedly, "I have good news to tell you."

"What good news?" Sokov said this casually, and then suddenly thought of a possibility, so he asked tentatively: "Captain Yefim, did your people find the arsenal hidden in the forest?"

"That's right, Comrade Brigade Commander." Yefim replied in a positive tone: "After a difficult search, the men I sent out found a large arsenal three kilometers away from our battalion's position. According to the reports from the soldiers who returned, the weapons and equipment inside are more than enough to equip two divisions."

"Really?" Sokov was naturally overjoyed to learn that an arsenal capable of arming two divisions had been found in the forest. He continued to ask, "Did you find any artillery?"

"There are a batch of 76.2mm cannons and a large number of shells." The only artillery company of the infantry brigade is now deployed in front of the first battalion's position. Now that a large number of artillery pieces have been discovered, Yefim naturally has a new idea in his mind: "Comrade Brigade Commander, just now the deputy brigade commander brought people to our battalion to select soldiers who used to be artillerymen, so I am considering whether we can use the discovered artillery to form a new artillery unit. In this way, we can get the necessary artillery support in the battle."

"Captain Yefim, tell me first, have the weapons and ammunition been delivered?"

There was silence on the other end of the line for a long time before Yefim timidly said, "Not yet. As soon as I received the report, I called you to report. We haven't had time to send anyone to transport the supplies yet."

Sokov did not criticize the other party, but asked the question that concerned him the most: "Can vehicles pass there?" With so many weapons and ammunition, it would probably take a day or two to move them manually. But now the German army was not far away, and it was impossible to give himself a day or two to empty the arsenal.

"Of course." After Yefim understood what Sokov meant, he explained, "My subordinates told me that there are no traces of the enemy in that area for the time being. This means that we can safely send troops there to move all the weapons, ammunition and supplies out of the arsenal."

"Where is the soldier who came back to report now?"

"He is in my battalion command post right now." Yefim asked cautiously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you need me to send him over to give you a detailed report?"

"Just let him stay with you." Sokov said, "I will send a convoy over right away and have that soldier take them to the arsenal to move the supplies."

After hanging up the phone, Karsokov, who heard the conversation between Sokov and Yefim, was full of surprise. "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is great. Almost two divisions of equipment, especially a lot of artillery, will be used to equip our newly formed artillery unit after it is shipped back. With artillery, even if the enemy sends out armored units, we will be able to stop their attack."

Sokov walked to the door of the tent, called a soldier over, and told him, "Go and call the deputy brigade commander over."

A few minutes later, Belkin appeared at the door of the tent and asked Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, you asked someone to call me back. What's the matter?"

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, I have good news for you." Sokov said with a smile: "Captain Yefim, the commander of the first battalion, called and said that they have found the hidden arsenal..."

"Is this true?" Belkin interrupted Sokov impatiently, "I wonder how many weapons and ammunition are there?"

"According to the soldier who came back to report, the weapons and ammunition in the arsenal are enough to equip two divisions, and there are also a large number of artillery and matching shells."

"That's great," Belkin asked. "Who are you going to send to bring back the ammunition?"

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, this is what I am thinking. You take your men on a truck to the armory and empty the weapons and ammunition there as quickly as possible." Sokov said to Belkin, "Since there are artillery and shells in the armory, you can take the newly formed artillery unit with you when you go there, choose a suitable location to establish a new artillery position, and when the enemy launches an attack on our brigade's position, they can use artillery fire to support the troops holding the position."

"Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander." Belkin nodded and said, "I will immediately lead my men to the armory and try to empty it as quickly as possible, leaving not a single gun or bullet for the Germans."

When Sokov heard Karsokov's voice on the phone, he thought to himself that even if his troops obtained all the weapons and equipment in the arsenal, without air support and a solid position, they would not be able to hold out for a few days in the face of the frenzied attack of the German army.

After a while, Karsokov came out and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I have asked the two battalion commanders."

Sokov turned his head and looked at him: "What do the two battalion commanders say?"

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"The second battalion commander said that the people he sent out conducted a thorough search, but found nothing."

Seeing that the Second Battalion Commander had no gains, Sokov asked again: "What about the Third Battalion? Didn't they gain anything either?"

Hearing this question, Karsokov seemed a little hesitant.

Seeing the chief of staff's expression, Sokov urged, "Chief of Staff, tell me quickly, what did the third battalion commander say to you?"

"He said that the search team sent out sent someone back to report that they might have found the location of the arsenal."

"I found it, I found it." Sokov was not satisfied with Karsokov's answer. He said impatiently: "I didn't find it, I didn't find it. How can you say vaguely that you might have found it?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, please don't misunderstand me." Seeing that Sokov was about to get angry, Karsokov quickly explained: "The search team of the third battalion found some clues in the forest, but there were German troops there, so they didn't dare to act rashly."

After hearing this, Sokov immediately turned around and walked into the tent. Seeing that the call had been hung up, he quickly picked up the phone and connected to the Third Battalion.

Hearing the voice of Captain Nazorov, the commander of the third battalion, coming from the receiver, Sokov did not beat around the bush and asked directly: "Comrade Captain, how did the search team you sent out report to you?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, the soldiers who returned from the search team reported to me that they found a simple dirt road in the forest, which might be the road leading to the secret arsenal as you said." Nazorov replied, "They originally wanted to search along the dirt road, but they found traces of the German army. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, they had to temporarily stop the search and immediately send someone back to report to me."

"What kind of Germans are they?" Sokov asked directly, "How many people are there and what kind of equipment do they have?"

Unexpectedly, the topic raised by Sokov made Nazorov silent.

Sokov waited for a while, and seeing that the other party was still silent, he asked impatiently: "Captain Nazorov, what's wrong? Why don't you speak?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Nazorov replied in a panic, "My subordinates saw the Germans appear and felt it necessary to report to me as soon as possible, so they sent someone back to report to me. As for how many enemies there were and what equipment they used, I am not sure."

Sokov was very dissatisfied with Nazorov's answer. He said with a straight face: "Comrade Captain, as a commander, when you see the enemy appear, you must first find out the number of enemies and the weapons they use. After figuring out all this, it will not be too late to report to your superiors. Do you understand?"

Nazorov, who was rebuked by Sokov, blushed and replied: "I understand, Comrade Brigade Commander. I will immediately send people to the area for reconnaissance and report to you after finding out what is going on."

"That's right, Captain Nazorov." Sokov almost said "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle." Fortunately, he swallowed his words back in time and said in a slow tone: "Report to me after you understand the enemy's situation."

After hanging up the phone, Sokov turned to Karsokov who was standing next to him and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, Captain Nazorov made a small mistake. When he heard that his subordinates had discovered the enemy's traces, in addition to reporting to his superiors in a timely manner, he should have sent people to find out the enemy's situation. This would have helped the superior commanders make correct judgments and formulate corresponding solutions."

Although Sokov was talking about Captain Nazorov, Karsokov also understood the other party's other meaning and quickly said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, it is my negligence. When I heard Captain Nazorov's report just now, I should have urged him to send someone to conduct reconnaissance immediately."

"It's not too late now." Seeing that Karsokov understood his intention, Sokov showed a gratified smile on his face: "Every failure makes you wiser. If you encounter this kind of thing twice, you will have experience."

"If the Third Battalion finds that there are a large number of enemies gathered there after reconnaissance, what should we do?"

"To the north of the Third Battalion is the defense area of ​​the 316th Infantry Division." Sokov said, "If we really find a large number of enemies, we just need to do a good job of surveillance."