Chapter 237 hidden
Colonel Katukov meant that the Soviet army only occupied Volokolamsk and did not expand its results. As a result, many German scouts were lurking nearby to observe the Soviet defense line.
If the Soviet army keeps the main force, especially the tank unit, it will be difficult to deceive the German scouts.
But it is not difficult to do this.
First of all, all the Soviet civilians in Volokolamsk were emptied.
In fact, this is the consistent practice of the Soviet army. Every time the Soviet army withdraws from a certain area, it will move all the people to Moscow. Food, clothing, etc., can be taken away, and all that cannot be taken away will be burned.
Needless to say why this is done, this is the so-called "clearing the wall and clearing the field", leaving nothing for the German army to use.
So there will be a very strange scene on the Soviet-German battlefield: the first thing the German army does when they occupy a certain area is to fight the fire. They hope to try to salvage something that can be used from the fire.
The reason why there are still people in Volokolamsk is because it was suddenly occupied by the German 10th Armored Division, and the people had no time to evacuate.
At this time, it is normal for the Fourth Tank Brigade to reoccupy the place and evacuate the people. Besides, after the previous battles, the villagers have long been frightened, and they all cooperate with the relocation.
So in just a few hours, several villages in Volokolamsk quickly became empty cities, only the Soviet army was active in it.
Slightly different from before, the house did not burn down.
When it was getting dark, tanks drove from Volokolamsk to the north in groups. Some of them even turned on their headlights, and they could vaguely see the neat formations in front of them advancing along the road. T34.
But of course, these are not real, only part of them are true, most of them are T34s disguised by barrel cars.
A few months ago on the African battlefield, Rommel used this method to deceive the British, making them believe that the German army had a large number of tanks entering Africa. The British were so frightened that they had the upper hand but turned around and fled. As a result, Rommel was absolutely weak. The troops chased and killed all the way and even reached Egypt.
Now, Shulka just used his own way to deal with his own body, and used the same method on the Germans.
The Fourth Tank Brigade has never left Volokolamsk, and the T34 is hidden in the houses of the people.
The doorway of the house is usually not wide enough, and sometimes it is even high enough... The height of the T34 car is 2.74, and the floor height of the house is usually not so high.
But this is not a problem. The engineers removed the gate a few times, and then removed some of the ceiling. After the tank retreated in, the removed gate was repaired. Only by close observation can we see that it has been demolished. Traces... The reason why the tanks are backed up is to allow the tanks to prepare for battle more quickly. Once they get the battle order, they only need to step up the accelerator and rush out of it.
These were all arranged under the cover of night, and the infantry coordinating with the tanks were also allocated in the same room as the tanks.
Shuerka and his subordinates were arranged in a two-story building.
In fact, this cannot be regarded as a two-story building. Many houses in the Soviet countryside have pointed roofs, and the upper part of the steeple is a triangular beam. The ladders are used for soldiers to go up and down, and in many places they can't even straighten their waists.
But this is much better than being outside in the wind and rain. What is especially amazing is that once the hatch on the top of the tank is opened...it is at the beam, and you can directly enter and exit the tank cabin from the second floor.
The tank cabin is warmer than the outside. After all, the space is narrow and there is thick armor, so the soldiers hope to squeeze into the tank.
And the tank soldiers have long been tired of staying in that kind of confined space, so they are also happy to change positions with the soldiers... In fact, Shulka believes that what the tanks want more is to communicate with other soldiers, after all, they are too often Fighting the enemy enclosed in a tank, especially without a radio, can feel like fighting alone.
"I heard that the tank call was your opinion?" Second Lieutenant Fedosiev was the commander of the No. 239 tank. He jumped out of the cabin and went straight to Shulka.
"Yes!" Shulka took the wine bottle handed over by Fedosiev, then raised his head and took two sips.
As mentioned earlier, the tankers had double their vodka rations, so they usually had no problem with alcohol.
It's just that Shulka is a little puzzled by the vodka ration during the battle... Especially the tank soldiers, don't they worry that they can't fight because they are drunk or do something wrong?
In fact, there is such a thing.
For example, in another unit that also had rations, Shulka waved a pistol and ordered his troops to charge the enemy after hearing that a battalion commander had drunk too much.
The result can be imagined. Without the cooperation of other troops, a battalion of troops charged to the enemy's line of defense... This is not enough to give the enemy teeth.
But no one can punish the battalion commander, because he himself died on the battlefield.
On the other hand, Shulka felt that having vodka was also a good thing, because it enabled the soldiers to anesthetize themselves to overcome the cold, and more importantly, they were less afraid of the battlefield.
"It's a great invention, Comrade Shulka!" Fedosyev said. "It makes us realize that we are not alone! I mean, we can finally know what the infantry around us is doing, or It is what we want us to do, and we can say when we need help..."
"Of course!" Shulka replied: "That's what the tank phone is for!"
The Soviet army has given a very vivid name to the phone on the tank..."Tank phone".
"So we all need to thank you!" Fedosiev laughed and said, "I mean all tank soldiers, you must not know that we often talk about you!"
"About me?" Shulka feigned surprise.
But in fact this is not a secret, because in addition to the invention of the "tank phone", Shulka also has a "self-rescue wood", which is a boon for every tank soldier.
Of course, Shulka can't answer "I know", which kills the chatter.
"Yes!" Fedosiev nodded: "We are thinking about how many tanks you helped, I mean...we believe that many tank soldiers survived because of you!"
"Actually, you don't have to thank me!" Shulka replied: "We are all for victory!"
"Yes, for victory!" Fedosyev took another wine bottle and touched Shulka, then raised his head and drank it all.
Shuerka cast his eyes on Uncle Alek, thinking that this Fedosiev would definitely become a confidant with Uncle Alek.
(end of this chapter)