Red Moscow

"Of course, there are artillery in the arsenal!" Belkin replied excitedly, "There are 26 artillery pieces, all of which are 76.2 mm cannons."

"What, 26?" Karsokov said with his eyes wide open in surprise. "With the four guns of the artillery company sent by the headquarters, that means we now have 30 guns. By the way, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, how many shells do you have?"

"Since we didn't find the register, we can't be sure of the number of shells in the arsenal." Belkin looked at Sokov and said, "But according to my estimate, two basic shells for each gun are more than enough."

Sokov thought that the Soviet ZIS-3 76.2mm cannon had 60 rounds of ammunition per base, and 120 rounds per two bases. If all 30 guns were equipped with two bases, that would be 3,600 rounds, enough to provide sufficient artillery support for the frontline troops in a medium-sized battle.

"Oh, by the way, the artillery company assigned to the first battalion only has 20 shells for each gun." Sokov suddenly remembered the artillery company that was seriously short of ammunition, and asked quickly: "Since you got so many shells, did you provide them with supplements?"

"Needless to say," Belkin said, "In addition to sending them a batch of artillery shells, I also asked Captain Yefim to send them an infantry platoon to provide cover for the artillery company."

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, you did the right thing." Sokov agreed with Belkin's approach: "The artillery company was originally deployed far away from the infantry positions. Without the cover of the infantry, the enemy can easily destroy them."

"We have so many artillery pieces now. How should we distribute them?" Karsokov asked Sokov tentatively, "Should we distribute them to the battalions in companies?"

"No, these artillery pieces cannot be separated." Sokov shook his head and said, "They must be used together to achieve the greatest effect."

"Where do you intend to deploy the artillery?" asked Karsokov.

Sokov pointed to a location on the map and said decisively: "Deploy the artillery at this location. In this way, no matter which battalion is attacked by the Germans, our artillery can provide them with artillery support in time."

"Also," Karsokov continued, "one of our artillery battalions has 12 guns, and now we have 30, which is enough to form three artillery battalions..."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, we are only a brigade, and we cannot have three artillery battalions." Sokov interrupted Karsokov before he finished speaking: "The artillery company sent by the superiors will not be changed. I think we can form a reinforced artillery battalion with the other 26 artillery pieces. Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander," Sokov asked Belkin, "how many people are there in the artillery unit you have selected to form?"

"158 people, Comrade Brigade Commander."

"A ZIS-3 76.2mm cannon requires 6 to 8 people to operate, including the gunner, loader, aimer, etc. That means 26 cannons require at least 156 people." Sokov frowned slightly. "The current number of people is a little short. We should give them some more manpower."

"But I have already selected all the artillery officers and soldiers." Belkin said with some embarrassment: "Where can I find artillerymen?"

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, the new recruits don't necessarily have to be people who have served in the artillery." Sokov explained to Belkin: "For example, commanders of positions such as deputy battalion commander and deputy company commander can be people who have not served in the artillery."

After hearing Sokov's explanation, Belkin immediately understood: "I understand. I will go and select personnel to strengthen the artillery battalion later."

"Chief of Staff," Sokov turned to Karsokov again and said, "Once the artillery position is established, you order the communications platoon to pull a telephone line over to facilitate our command of the artillery operations."

"No problem. I'll convey your message to the communications platoon leader later."

When the headquarters sent telephones and telephone lines and other communication equipment to the infantry brigade, they also specially sent a communications squad. Sokov ordered Karsokov to select former communications soldiers from the soldiers to form a communications platoon. Since the communications platoon was formed after Belkin left, Belkin was not aware of it.

Hearing Sokov assigning tasks to the communications platoon, Belkin asked curiously, "Why, did the superiors assign a communications platoon to us?"

"No, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander." Seeing that Belkin had misunderstood, Karsokov quickly explained to him, "In order to strengthen the brigade's communications, the brigade commander specially ordered me to select soldiers who had served as communications soldiers to form a communications platoon based on the communications squad sent by the superiors."

"Oh, so that's what happened." After figuring out what happened, Belkin nodded and continued, "I was just about to tell you that we found five or six radios, dozens of telephones, and a large number of telephone lines in the arsenal. We were just about to find a time to suggest to you that we expand our communications squad, but I didn't expect you to have already considered this issue."

"There should be quite a few machine guns in the armory, right?" Sokov asked Belkin.

Belkin nodded and replied: "After inventory, there are 24 heavy machine guns and 145 light machine guns."

Hearing the data reported by Belkin, Sokov was overjoyed. You know, each of the three infantry battalions deployed on the front line only has a dozen light machine guns, and the ammunition is also very limited. Now that so many light and heavy machine guns have been obtained from the arsenal, they must be distributed to the three battalions to strengthen their firepower.

"18 of the 24 heavy machine guns and 120 of the 145 light machine guns will be evenly distributed to the three battalions." Sokov said, "The remaining light and heavy machine guns will be used to form a machine gun company directly under the brigade headquarters. How about it, do you agree with my proposal?"

"I agree." Belkin and Karsokov nodded in agreement with Sokov's proposal: "With a dedicated machine gun company, we can use them in important areas."

As the three were discussing the distribution of weapons and ammunition, the phone rang.

Karsokov picked up the phone and listened for a moment, his face showing joy: "Comrade Brigade Commander, Captain Nazorov, the commander of the third battalion, reported that the search team they sent out found an arsenal in the forest."

Upon learning that Nazorov's search team had also found the arsenal, Sokov quickly snatched the microphone from Karsokov's hand and asked impatiently: "Comrade Captain, did you really find the hidden arsenal?"

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander." Nazorov replied in an affirmative tone: "My men reported to me that they found a hidden arsenal deep in the forest."

"How many weapons and ammunition are there?" Sokov asked. "How far is it from your battalion's defense zone?"

"It's five or six kilometers away from our battalion's defense zone, and no more than one kilometer away from the friendly positions."

After hearing Nazorov's report, Sokov's heart sank. He thought that according to the agreement between him and the head of the 1073rd Regiment, if the arsenal was found, the weapons and ammunition stored in it would be divided between the two sides. His people were too far away from the arsenal. If both sides moved the weapons at the same time, most of the weapons, ammunition and supplies would probably be moved away by the 1073rd Regiment.

"Comrade Commander," Nazorov noticed that Sokov had suddenly stopped talking, and asked hurriedly, "Do you have any instructions?"

Sokov thought about it and did not give any instructions immediately. Instead, he asked tentatively: "What equipment is there in the armory?"

"According to reports from my subordinates, there are more than a dozen artillery pieces and two tanks inside. In addition..."

"Wait a minute," Sokov said when he heard that there were tanks in the arsenal. He immediately became interested: "You said there were two tanks in that arsenal, right?"

"M-30 122mm howitzers," Nazorov replied. "There are 12 of them in total."

After hearing the name of the artillery said by Nazorov, Sokov's mouth twitched twice. He thought to himself that this was one of the best heavy artillery currently available in the Soviet Army. The power of one artillery piece was equivalent to that of several 76.2 mm cannons.

"Captain Nazorov, listen to me." Sokov said into the microphone with a trembling voice: "I will immediately send people to your battalion's defense zone, and then you send someone to take them to the arsenal and pull back the tanks and artillery."

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"Pull back all the tanks and artillery?" Nazorov knew about the "gentleman's agreement" between Sokov and the 1073rd Regiment, so he asked hesitantly, "Is this appropriate?"

"Nothing is inappropriate." Sokov knew very well that once the two T-34 tanks and a dozen M-30 122mm howitzers were brought back, the firepower of his troops would be further strengthened, so he said firmly: "Just follow the order, and don't worry about the rest."

"Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander." Since Sokov had said this, Captain Nazorov, as his subordinate, would naturally not contradict him: "Send someone over as soon as possible and try to get the technical equipment back as soon as possible."

After Sokov hung up the phone, he said to Belkin and Karsokov: "Deputy Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, I have good news for you. In the newly discovered arsenal, there are two latest models of T-34 tanks and more than a dozen M-30 122mm howitzers. Now I plan to send people over to get the tanks and artillery back."

Hearing Sokov's words, Karsokov, who had the same concerns as Nazorov, carefully reminded Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if we bring back the tanks and artillery, will the comrades of the 1073rd Regiment have any objections?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry." Sokov waved his hand at Karsokov. "You know, this hidden arsenal was discovered by our soldiers. We only took away the tanks and artillery, and the rest was handed over to the 1073rd Regiment. They have already taken a big advantage, so I believe they will not protest to us."

Although Sokov had said this, Karsokov was still worried. However, he did not speak to persuade him, but looked at Belkin, hoping that he could say a few words for him.

After weighing the pros and cons, Belkin said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I think we should first talk to the comrades of the 1073rd Regiment to see what they think." Seeing Sokov's stern face, he quickly added, "I think when they find out that we only want tanks and artillery and give them the remaining weapons and ammunition, they will definitely not object."

"That's no problem. I'll call the commander of the 1073rd Regiment and inform him of this." Sokov said this, but he didn't call immediately. Instead, he said to Belkin, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, you have mobilized some people to form a tank company. Send a few tank soldiers over and bring the tanks back."

"It's no problem to bring the tanks back. After all, we have enough soldiers who used to be tank soldiers." Belkin expressed his concerns to Sokov: "But where can we find so many artillerymen to bring back the dozen M-30 122mm howitzers?"

Before Sokov could express his opinion, Karsokov said, "I think we can send a telegram to the army headquarters and ask them to send us some experienced artillerymen to help us form another heavy artillery battalion."

As soon as Karsokov finished speaking, an image of a commander wearing round-framed glasses emerged in Sokov's mind. He laughed heartily and said, "Captain Li, congratulations on your fortune." The equipment of a cavalry battalion that Captain Li had just received was "extorted" away by the brigade commander before it was even warmed up. If Rokossovsky knew that he had obtained more than a dozen 122mm howitzers, he would probably turn into "Brigade Commander Chen" and take away all the heavy artillery that he had just obtained.

"No, we can't report this to our superiors." Belkin stopped Karsokov in time: "If our superiors knew that we had obtained more than a dozen 122mm howitzers, they would definitely order us to hand them over to General Kazakov for unified command."

"Then what should we do?" Karsokov seemed to be in a dilemma after hearing what Belkin said: "If we don't report it to our superiors, they won't send us artillery personnel; but if we report it, they may take away the 122mm howitzers we have obtained. What should we do?"

Belkin stared at Sokov and said to Karsokov: "Chief of Staff, I think the brigade commander should make the decision on this matter."

After repeated thinking, Sokov decided not to report the matter to the army headquarters for the time being, lest the heavy artillery be taken away by the superiors: "I think it is better not to report the matter of getting the 122mm howitzers to the army headquarters."

"But if we don't report it, where can we find artillery?" Karsokov reminded Sokov: "If there is no artillery, then these artillery pieces are just a bunch of decorations."

"I think we can draw personnel from the artillery reinforcement battalion to form a heavy artillery battalion." Sokov said, "Except for the gunner, loader, and aimer of each gun, the rest of the personnel will be those who have never served in artillery. In this way, we will have enough manpower to form a new heavy artillery battalion."

Belkin and Karsokov murmured a few words about Sokov's arrangement, and then nodded in agreement: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we agree with your plan. Transfer personnel from the artillery reinforcement battalion to form a heavy artillery battalion."

"But we are only a brigade-level organization. Suddenly, two artillery battalions appeared. If our superiors knew about it, would they blame us?" Karsokov asked cautiously.

"Don't worry, our superiors have only given us an infantry brigade." Sokov waved his hand and said, "As for how many combat units we have, our superiors won't ask."