Steel Soviet Union

"How long have these cannons been going off? It's been an hour, right? Do you think Comrade Commander is planning to use cannonballs to bury the enemy? How long will it take for it to explode?"

The two brothers Alsim and Sulovechenko are still repairing the earth. Even at this moment when the 80-ton heavy pontoon bridge is about to be closed, the combat engineers who are doing whatever they have to do are still working hard.

Arsim, who was already burly, was still shirtless and sweating profusely, holding an engineering shovel in his hand and talking to Sulovechenko while working.

"What? Are you still afraid that the Japanese will not come to trouble you? I have almost forgotten the last time we had a serious positional battle. To be honest, I don't want to fight this kind of war in a pit. It’s fun to attack!”

"Now that the Japanese don't come and we're bombarded with artillery shells, I think that's good."

After taking a shovelful of soil out of the pit and placing it on the mound, Alsim was about to take a breather with the engineer's shovel in his hand as a walking stick.

"After digging this hole, it's time to kick the Japanese devils in the butt. I would like to see how badly these bastards were bombed, and see if they can compare with the Nazis, and see who can withstand the bombing better. "

"ha--"

Sitting on the mound, he took out a cigarette and handed one to Alsim.

After everyone started worshiping the gods at their respective points, there was another barrage of 310mm Andryusha rockets that roared like thunder, rising from the north of the Yangtze River and across the Ussuri River, passing over the heads of the Alsim Company. Pounce directly towards the enemy in the distance.

Seeing this scene, Sulovechenko, who was moved by the scene, couldn't help but stepped on the construction site under his feet and said.

"Then according to what you said, offense is the kingly way. Isn't it a bit redundant for us to dig this thing now? Huh?"

"It's not redundant. Do you think Comrade Commander will issue redundant orders? Even if we don't use this position, it will also be a bridgehead for crossing the river after the follow-up troops take over. It can be used in the future. No matter what, we must allow the garrison to have A place to stay.”

Although there was a period of time in the past, Alsim carried out Malashenko's orders with confusion and doubt.

But after experiencing many things and winning countless battles, Alsim began to realize that there must be a reason for Malashenko's order. Even if Malashenko did not explain it, he would still try to understand it on his own. .

Being able to think for yourself is a good thing, which is exactly what Malashenko expected.

After all, what Malashenko wants is not just a war machine that simply executes orders, not just a Slavic superman who will scare the enemy. He also hopes that Alsim can become a great weapon in the future and truly gain his own highest honor in his military career.

The premise of all this is that Alsim must be able to think for himself, learn to use his brain, and learn to think about why the order is given, instead of just executing the order as Malashenko says.

On the other hand, it was precisely because Sulovechenko, who had been told by Malashenko, also knew this that he asked this question.

Hearing Alsim's unsurprising answer, Sulovechenko, whose good brother is making progress and who is also happy himself, was about to stand up and say something, but he heard a sudden roar like a mountain roar and a tsunami at the riverside construction site behind him. of boiling.

"It's done! We did it! The pontoon is built!!!"

With the support of two-way construction, the construction speed of the 80-ton heavy-duty pontoon bridge was greatly accelerated, and it was completed nearly two hours earlier than the originally estimated project time.

On the battlefield, every second counts and soldiers are very fast. One minute can determine the outcome of the battle, not to mention the huge significance of nearly two hours.

Looking at the dancing and jubilant pontoon bridge troops and the engineering troops assisting in the construction, Sulovechenko, who was holding the engineering shovel in his hand, immediately came to Alsim, looked at the riverside and spoke quietly.

"What did you just say? Isn't it time to blow the asses of those Japanese devils?"

As soon as the front legs of the pontoon bridge were completed, the north bank of the river had already been assembled at the scheduled departure position, and the large troops waiting to cross the river immediately took action.

Standing on the ground that had not yet been completely repaired, Alsim could clearly see the first IS7 heavy tank slowly crossing the river, its wide and heavy tracks already crunching onto the steel bridge. noodle.

Including the weight of fuel and ammunition, the mass-produced IS7 heavy tank, with a total combat weight approaching the 70-ton mark, just entered the bridge. A large section of the bridge deck, which was provided with sufficient buoyancy by large pontoons, immediately collapsed.

Even though Alsim was watching with a telescope from such a long distance and was not at the scene, he still couldn't help but worry about whether something would happen if the bridge deck sank so drastically.

Fortunately, an 80-ton pontoon with sufficient buoyancy and redundancy is reserved, so it is easy to carry a heavy tank of nearly 70 tons.

It is better to make the buoyancy richer than to make the buoyancy insufficient.

No equipment or tools can continue to operate at maximum load all the time. This is a matter of common sense. Otherwise, sooner or later something will happen and the risk will be too great.

Looking at the IS7 tank cruising in second gear, it passed the pontoon bridge in an orderly manner at a steady speed. As the first vanguard tank in the army, it drove down the south end of the pontoon bridge and successfully crossed the Ussuri River.

Alsim slowly lowered his telescope amidst the cheers and raised the corners of his mouth, a smile indicating the end of the Japanese army appeared on his face.

"Okay, the work of repairing the earth is over. Everyone gathers! Get ready to set off to the battlefield!"

Alsim began to suspend construction and assemble troops, while more tanks and infantry fighting vehicles on the other side of the bridge were speeding up to cross the river and rushing to drive across.

At the same time, the pontoon bridge troops and engineering troops who had completed the construction of the first 80-ton heavy pontoon bridge had not yet come to rest.

Whether it was the number of equipment or combat strength, it was not inferior to the tank army. The leader army had only one heavy pontoon bridge, which was definitely not enough for the huge assets.

The first heavy pontoon bridge had just been completed and opened to traffic, and the construction of the second identical pontoon bridge had begun.

Malashenko's goal was to build at least 5 80-ton heavy pontoon bridges, which would not only undertake the passage of combat troops and the transportation of heavy equipment.

In the future, various supplies and heavy equipment would be transported to the front line for replenishment, and even the heavy equipment that was severely damaged in the front would be transported back to the rear for repair.

Fortunately, there was sufficient preparation for the battle in advance. The engineering materials needed to build such an extra-long and extra-heavy pontoon bridge were all ready-made goods prepared in advance, and even the bridge section itself was a prefabricated steel structure that was made and delivered in advance.

Coupled with the top construction team personally assigned by Zhukov, it can only be said that the project seems to be large and arduous, but the actual operation can still guarantee speed.

Malashenko, who had a taste of being a contractor, stood by the river and saw the crossing troops on one side and the busy construction site on the other. His mind had already flown to the battlefield where artillery fire was flying, and he couldn't help but quietly speak to the political commissar.

"I expect that the Japanese in that regiment have been bombed almost to death, and even if they want to run in this situation, they can't run well, let alone run far."

"While the effect of artillery suppression has not yet ended, I plan to immediately send a rapid reaction force to kill them first, intercept the retreat of these Japanese devils, and completely eat them up and leave them all. What do you think?"

In the initial scheduled combat plan, there was no plan to send a rapid reaction force to attack immediately after crossing the river.

But plans can't keep up with changes. Since the devils have so sincerely pulled an elite regiment to send heads, Malashenko feels that if his "hospitality" is not good enough, wouldn't it be a joke?

As soon as I heard what Malashenko said, I knew that Comrade Army Commander had a strong desire.

Looking at the leading crossing troops on the pontoon bridge, the tanks they carried were not IS6, but the latest T43A.

Comrade Political Commissar, who saw what Malashenko meant by this operation at a glance, smiled and spoke.

"Medium tanks are more reliable than heavy tanks, have less mechanized marching structure loss, and have longer average trouble-free hours. They are perfect for rapid attacks. Comrade Army Commander, this should be what you mean?"

It is true that IS7 and IS6 are now both reliable mass-produced heavy tanks, and they have indeed met the equipment acceptance indicators set by the Red Army. There is no such thing as forced acceptance to get by.

But meeting the acceptance indicators of heavy tanks does not mean that they can be comparable to or even surpass medium tanks in some performance.

Heavy tanks with wide bodies and fat bodies are heavy and huge. Even the lightest IS6 weighs more than 50 tons.

The weight of 50 tons and the weight of 30 tons are pressed on the chassis designed with the same materials and the same technical level.

It can only be said that which of the two tanks is more reliable, more suitable for rapid mechanized marches to kill the enemy, and has a relatively higher equipment availability rate when engaging the enemy in battle. The answer is obvious.

So even if Malashenko didn't say it at this moment, the political commissar could guess what the army commander wanted to do just by looking at the first wave of heavy equipment that crossed the river first, which was a medium tank that was more suitable for rapid attack, rather than a heavy tank that was more suitable for on-the-spot defense.

Seeing that his little tricks did not deceive the political commissar, Malashenko smiled and said no more, and immediately issued an attack order to Kurbalov.

After receiving the order, Kurbalov immediately took action, with the intention of giving the Japanese devils a strong medicine and doing a hard job, and making the first battle of the entire army crossing the river a model battle.

Kurbalov not only crossed the river to the south bank to organize the troops to assemble and prepare for the attack, but also brought his own IS7 command vehicle, intending to lead the team to send these half-dead Japanese devils to the sky.

30 T43A medium tanks and 30 BMP43 infantry fighting vehicles were assembled quickly, plus the IS7 heavy tanks of a guard company that he brought with him. With a fully mechanized, heavy firepower battalion, Kurbalov thought the time had come and was ready to attack and kill the enemy.

"Comrade division commander, we have been here repairing the earth for several hours. Even if we have no credit, we have worked hard. Can you take us with you?"

"Hmm?"

Looking at the "please" expression on Alsim's face who ran under the car to plead for mercy, and then looking at the sweaty and muddy combat engineers behind Alsim. But they were energetic and morale-boosted, they were already fully armed and ready to attack.

Kurbalov, who was embarrassed to say no, grinned, leaned on the turret and raised his hand to point to the fully staffed infantry fighting vehicles and T43A medium tanks, and the order that made Alsim ecstatic on the spot came immediately.

"You can go, but it's full. Do you want to reminisce about the good old days when tanks were plugged in?"

Therefore, Alsim, who had no choice but to give an order from the division commander, immediately led a group of his brothers and climbed onto the tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in a hurry. Holding on to the reserved handrail welded on the turret to steady his body, he rushed straight towards the battlefield with a kick of the accelerator from his mount.

"Hey! Do you remember the last time we hung up the tank and rushed outside? When was that?"

He leaned behind the turret of the tank and listened to Sulovechenko shouting loudly in the wind next to him.

After putting on his clothes and armor, feeling cool and comfortable in the wind of the grassland, Alsim thought about it for a moment, but he really couldn't remember the specific time.

Alsim, who was galloping across the Great Plains, also advanced deep into the northeastern land for the first time.

Looking at the foreign scenery in front of me, I can't help but sigh that such a place is really not suitable for armored group charge operations.

On the contrary, such an open plain terrain was destined to be covered and bombed by military-level field artillery on the march, and the Japanese were beaten continuously for more than an hour. The current situation was definitely not much better.

Alsim only hoped that the Japanese would never die.

Even if there are only a few hundred people left to clean up, it will be fine. If they are all killed by the explosion, then they will really become a commando team turned into a corpse collection team.

Alsim's worries did not last long.

Soon, when the boundary of the battlefield finally appeared in the field of vision, Alsim stood up and looked out while holding on to the tank turret. The scene he saw at first glance could only be said to be as expected.

"Sure enough, apart from the craters, there were only corpses and wreckage."

Bomb craters, a huge number of bomb craters, countless large bomb craters, plus layers and layers of densely packed Japanese corpses and equipment debris, are appearing in front of us in a manner comparable to a vegetable stall selling vegetables in a wet market.

"Get out of the car! Search the formation, spread out! Quick!"

He called the soldiers to get out of the car quickly, and he also shouted and moved out of the tank, jumping towards the floating soil under the car.

"Um?"

The moment I landed on the ground, I felt that the soles of my feet felt hollow and something was wrong.

Not only was it the ethereal feeling of stepping on a thick layer of shelled soil, Alsim could also feel as if he had stepped on something slippery and slippery, just like the feeling of stepping on river mud. .

The next moment he raised his feet and took a look, the scene he saw made Alsim frown.

The corpse of the Japanese, with half of his head blown off, was buried in the floating soil at this moment, being trampled under his feet.

I don't know what kind of disaster this devil suffered during his lifetime. His whole head was split in two along the central axis of the bridge of his nose. Only the right half of his head was left with his eyes wide open, and he didn't know where the missing half of his head had gone.

"It was probably a cannonball that penetrated the whole head along the chin, and it has to be a big enough cannonball."

When he came to Alsim, he saw such a scene. Sulovchenko spoke quietly and expressed his analysis. Alsim, who didn't care much, then turned around and left.

"I don't have time to look, so I quickly looked to see if there were any survivors and asked where the rest of the Japs had gone. I don't believe that these bastards could really be killed by a cannon."