Red Moscow.

Chapter 2829 The issue of the ownership of artillery

Before the tanks that went to transport heavy artillery and tanks came back, Sokov received a call from Colonel Zahar, the commander of the 1073rd Regiment: "Hello, Major Sokov! I heard from my subordinates that you found a hidden arsenal in the forest not far from my regiment's position. Is this true?"

"It's true, comrade Colonel." Sokov thought that most of the weapons and ammunition in the arsenal were to be handed over to the 1073rd Regiment, so he did not hide it, but replied truthfully: "My subordinates did find an arsenal not far from your regiment's position."

"Then how do you plan to allocate weapons and ammunition in the arsenal?"

Although Sokov was worried that the other party would covet heavy artillery and tanks in the arsenal, he also understood that since the other party called to ask about this, maybe the soldiers of the 1073rd Regiment had already arrived at the arsenal. Even if they wanted to hide it, they could not hide it. So he simply pointed out the matter to the other party: "Col. Zahar, there are more than a dozen 122mm howitzers in the arsenal and two T03 tanks. I only need heavy artillery, tanks, and supporting ammunition and fuel, and the rest of the weapons, equipment and supplies belong to you. What do you think?"

Zahar heard from his subordinates that he discovered a hidden arsenal containing a large number of weapons and ammunition, but he really didn't know what weapons and equipment were. At this moment, when he heard Sokov say that there were heavy artillery and tanks inside, he could not help but feel a little moved. But then I thought about it, not to mention that the arsenal was discovered first by friendly forces, they enjoy the right to choose first; even if they were asked to choose first, and the heavy artillery and tanks were pulled back, no one would know how to use it. It was not similar to scrap iron, but it would be better to hand it over to friendly forces and enhance their friendship.

After understanding this, Zahar said carelessly: "Major Sokov, this arsenal was discovered by you, and of course you have the right to choose first. Since you want heavy artillery and tanks, just take it away."

Sokov thought he would take some time to convince Zahar to give up the heavy artillery and tanks, but he didn't expect that the other party was so reasonable and directly asked himself to pull these technical equipment away. He felt a little guilty: "Comrade Colonel, we have heavy artillery and tanks, which can provide support for you in the battle. If you have any needs, just call."

"I will, Major Sokov." Zahar said with a smile: "If you have any needs, I will call you. Similarly, if you feel that there is something you need to help me, you can also call me."

After the friendly call, Sokov put down the phone with relief and then said to Belkin and Karsokov: "Deputy Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, Colonel Zahar, the commander of the 1073rd Regiment, has agreed to hand over the heavy artillery and tanks to our brigade. Now, you will immediately arrange the right candidates to serve as battalion commanders of the two artillery battalions."

Belkin and Karsokov naturally did not dare to neglect Sokov's arrangements. Just a few minutes later, the battalion commanders of the two artillery battalions were decided.

Sokov looked at his name and found that the ranks of the two battalion commanders were the same as that of him, with the rank of major.

He nodded, expressed his approval, and said, "From now on, for the sake of command, the artillery reinforcement battalion will be organized into the first artillery battalion, and the heavy artillery battalion will be organized into the second artillery battalion."

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Karsokov asked tentatively, "Do you want to meet two new artillery battalion commanders?"

"Of course, of course, I have to meet you." Sokov said to Karsokov: "Chief of Staff, call them."

Karsokov agreed and turned around and walked out of the tent.

After Karsokov left, Belkin said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I don't know if you plan to put the heavy artillery battalion. No, where is the Second Artillery Battalion deployed?"

"The first artillery battalion is between the brigade and the front-line position." Sokov said briefly: "The second artillery battalion can naturally not be placed in this position anymore. Otherwise, the German army dispatched aircraft bombing, or concentrated and dense artillery bombardment, and the two artillery battalions we had finally established could be destroyed. Therefore, I plan to place the artillery position of the second artillery battalion behind the brigade."

"Place the Second Artillery Battalion behind the brigade?" Belkin asked hesitantly: "Will it be too far from the front?"

"Not far at all." Sokov shook his head and said, "The range of the 122mm howitzer is 11,800 meters. If it weren't for the lack of a suitable artillery observer, I would have planned to deploy the Second Artillery Battalion seven or eight kilometers away."

Belkin widened his eyes in surprise, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I thought you formed an artillery battalion to use it when the enemy attacked our brigade positions and blocked the fire. But from the tone you just spoke, it seems that you are not satisfied with doing so."

"You are right, comrade of the deputy brigade commander." Sokov looked at Belkin and said, "If artillery troops were allowed to block the enemy, it would not only consume a large amount of shells, but also achieve very limited results. Moreover, long-term artillery attacks will expose the position of our artillery positions. You must know that now the Germans not only have air supremacy on the battlefield, but also the number of artillery and tanks far exceeds our army. If they found that our army's artillery positions were here, what do you think they would do?"

Belkin was not the first day to go to the battlefield, and not long ago, he commanded his troops to highlight the German encirclement and naturally had a good understanding of the German tactics. When he heard Sokov's question, he immediately replied without hesitation: "Is this a matter of saying that once we find that our artillery positions pose a threat to them, we will definitely concentrate our superior artillery fire to counter our artillery positions; or simply dispatch a group of bombers to bombard the location of the artillery positions."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, the two artillery battalion commanders are here!" Karsokov's voice came from the entrance of the tent.

The next moment, Karsokov took two majors into the tent.

After the two majors entered the tent, they immediately raised their hands to salute Sokov and Belkin.

Sokov had sharp eyes and could see clearly the artillery troops signs on the two men's seals. After nodding slightly, he asked, "Who are you battalion commanders of the first artillery battalion, and who are the battalion commanders of the second artillery battalion?"

On the way to the brigade headquarters, Karsokov briefly introduced the situation to the two, and they naturally knew what position they were in. Hearing Sokov's question, he answered separately, "Report to the brigade commander, I am Major Alten, the battalion commander of the first battalion!"

"Report to the brigade commander, I am Major Liewan, the battalion commander of the Second Artillery Battalion!"

After Shaking hands with the two battalion commanders one by one, Sokov called them to the table and pointed to the map to arrange the location of the artillery battalion to set up artillery positions for them.

Looking at the position of Sokov's finger, Lewan frowned slightly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, is our battalion a little far away from the front?" "Major Lewan, your battalion is equipped with heavy artillery." Sokov said with a stern face: "If it is too close to the front line, once the German army breaks through the infantry's defense line and rushes to the artillery position of your battalion, you will have no time to transfer. In this way, not only will you be in danger of being annihilated by the German army, but the heavy artillery we finally get will also fall into the hands of the enemy."

After hearing Sokov say this, Lewan didn't say anything. He knew very well that Sokov was right. A 122mm howitzer was a heavy artillery and could not be dragged by manpower, so he could only rely on a truck to pull it. If the artillery position is too far ahead, once the infantry position in front is broken, there will be no time to transfer the artillery.

Alten next to him had no objection to Sokov's arrangement. Although he commanded as many as 26 artillery pieces and was placed at a location less than 1,000 meters away from the front, the 76.2mm cannon was light and could be dragged away in time even if it was in danger.

"Major Lewan," Sokov continued to see that no one was speaking, "The mission of your battalion is to strike the enemy's artillery positions or the assembly site for personnel and armored vehicles. Therefore, several artillery observers need to be approached and provide shooting parameters for the heavy artillery in the rear in a timely manner. Do your battalion have such artillery observers?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Lewan thought for a while, then slowly shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, comrade comrade, our battalion really has no artillery observers."

Sokov turned his gaze to Alten next to him: "Major Alten, what about your camp?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, I'm so sorry, there is no such person in my battalion." Perhaps seeing Sokov's face changed, he quickly added: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you may not know that in every battle, artillery observers provide shooting parameters for artillery rear in order to better observe the enemy's movements and provide shooting parameters for artillery rear, so their position is very front, so the casualties are the greatest."

After Alten's explanation, Sokov immediately understood why both battalion commanders said that there were no artillery observers under his command.

Seeing Sokov's melancholy expression, Karsokov approached his ear and whispered: "Comrade Brigade Commander, now we can only report the discovery of artillery to the Army Command to see if they can send us a few artillery observers."

Sokov couldn't help but feel worried about Karsokov's proposal. Who can guarantee that Rokosovsky would not order himself to hand over these artillery to the army's artillery unit when he learned that he had obtained dozens of artillery, including more than a dozen 122mm heavy artillery?

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Belkin saw Sokov's concerns and hurried over and said in a low voice: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I understand your concerns. But if we want to use the artillery troops better in combat, artillery observers are essential. Therefore, we feel that we should try our luck and report this matter to the Army Command. If we are lucky, our superiors do not intend to take away these artillery."

"Okay." Sokov also made up his mind when he heard Belkin say this. If Rokosovsky really wanted to take away the cannons after reporting it truthfully, there would be no way to do it: "I will report to the Army Command now."

After saying that, Sokov turned around and rushed to Morozova, who was sitting aside, and said, "Comrade Radio, immediately send a message to the Group Army Command, saying that my brigade was searching and found two arsenals hidden in the forest..."

A few minutes later, Rokosovsky received a telegram from Sokov.

After browsing the above content, he threw the telegram on the table, looked at Malining, Kazakov and others and said, "I really didn't expect that Misha could actually discover a hidden arsenal in the forest and obtain so many artillery."

"Comrade Commander." As soon as Rokosovsky finished speaking, Kazakov couldn't wait to ask: "What are you going to deal with these artillery?"

Instead of expressing his opinion, Rokosovsky asked back, "What did you think, Comrade Director of Artillery?"

"I have limited artillery troops. If I can obtain this batch of artillery, then our strength will be improved." Kazakov replied without hesitation: "Comrade Commander, I strongly recommend that you give the infantry brigade to hand over this batch of artillery to enrich the power of the group army's artillery."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Rokosovsky smiled slightly after hearing this, then turned to look at Malining and asked, "What did you think about it?"

"Comrade Commander. Malining replied cautiously: "The infantry brigade has just been formed and is seriously lacking in heavy weapons. Without artillery, they would pay a heavy price when facing German tanks…”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are wrong." Unexpectedly, before Malining finished speaking, Kazakov interrupted his later words: "Even if they have these batches of artillery, can they block the attack of the Germans? You must know that artillery is a technical army, and it takes a long time of training to master the skills of artillery use. The infantry brigade, as the name suggests, is a unit composed of infantry, and cannot use these batches of artillery reasonably. Therefore, I strongly recommend that they hand over these batches of artillery again."

Rokosovsky didn't say anything, but kept tapping the table with his fingers, thinking quickly in his mind about how to deal with the batch of artillery found by Sokov.

Seeing that Rokosovsky was not speaking for a long time, Romanlov was worried that he would ask Sokov to hand over the artillery he had finally found, so he quickly persuaded: "Comrade Commander, I think it's better to leave this batch of artillery to Major Sokov's infantry brigade."

Rokosovsky looked up at Romanov and asked back, "Comrade Deputy Commander, tell me what you think, how did you think?"

Romanlov glanced at Kazakov, then turned his eyes to Rokosovsky and said, "Comrade Commander, Major Sokov's troops are nominally an infantry brigade, but among the commanders and fighters he accommodated, there are not only infantry, but also artillery, tank soldiers, communications soldiers and health soldiers. Therefore, I personally believe that even if these artillery are left in the infantry brigade, he has the ability to make these artillery play its due role."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you are right. Major Sokov used the artillery among the contained commanders and fighters to form two artillery battalions." Rokosovsky said: "The only thing you lack now is the lack of experienced artillery observers, so he sent a telegram to the headquarters for help."

Speaking of this, Rokosovsky turned his gaze to Kazakov and said with a smile: "Comrade Artillery Director, I think Major Sokov must have gone through repeated ideological struggles when he sent us this telegram, and was worried that we would take away the artillery in his hand. In my opinion, these artillery were left in the infantry brigade and then sent them a few artillery observers. Comrade Artillery Director, what do you think? ’

(End of this chapter)