Red Moscow

  Chapter 570 The Ball Tank Appears

Just as Bely was squatting beside the radio operator, waiting for him to get in touch with Lieutenant Valenra, the squad leader of the Guards who was in charge of defending here ran up to the rooftop and politely asked Sokov who was holding a binoculars: "Lieutenant Colonel Comrade, is there anything I can do for you?"

  When Sokov and the others first came, the squad leader was polite to them because the other party had a much higher rank than himself, and his attitude towards them was respectful and distant. Seeing that Sokov's troops repelled the German attack so easily, he realized that if he wanted to defend the club and his own life, it was necessary to hold Sokov's thigh tightly, so he took the initiative to come court.

"Comrade Sergeant," Seeing the squad leader's respectful attitude towards him, Sokov also said to him in a friendly tone: "Can you find someone to bring us the telephone line to the rooftop so that we can better communicate with you?" Command the troops."

When Bely heard Sokov say this, he immediately echoed: "That's right, Comrade Sergeant, we are staying in the office, but we can't keep abreast of the situation on the battlefield in a timely manner. Please arrange staff as soon as possible to help us connect the phone lines." Come to the rooftop."

   "Is that the only request?" The squad leader felt that Sukov and Bely's request was too simple, so he stood still: "Do you need me to send some food and drink to your soldiers?"

  Since the other party offered to bring water and food to the soldiers, Sokov naturally would not object. But he still asked: "Comrade Sergeant, can the defenders at the school and the stadium also bring them water and food?"

   "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," the sergeant squad leader said with some embarrassment to Sokov's question: "Our squad is responsible for sticking to the club, and the rest of the area is not our area of ​​responsibility."

  Squad leader’s words made Sokov realize that his request was a little too much. After all, others only had one class, and they were asked to deliver food and water to schools and stadiums. First, there were not enough manpower, and second, their food reserves might not be enough. Thinking of this, he waved his hand to the squad leader and said, "Comrade Sergeant, then you should first arrange the manpower and lead us a telephone line. Then, deliver food and water to the soldiers stationed in the club." Sergeant Smiling in agreement, he turned and left the rooftop.

  It took a long time for Bely to finally get in touch with Lieutenant Valenra. He asked anxiously, "Comrade Lieutenant, where have you been, and how long will it take to reach us?"

   "Comrade Colonel," Valenra said with a sad face, "We have just left the gate of the factory, and I am afraid it will take half an hour at the earliest before we can arrive at your place."

   "What? Wait for half an hour?" Hearing what Valenra said, Biely became a little angry: "The speed of a ball tank can reach a maximum of 60 kilometers per hour?"

"Comrade Colonel, you also know that is the top speed." Valenra explained to Bely: "We were driving a prototype vehicle, we could not reach that speed at all, and since we left the tank depot, the tank has been thrown several times. Anchored. I don't even know now if we'll get to where you are."

Sokov never dreamed that the spherical tank he had placed high hopes on would be so unreliable. On the road of just two or three kilometers, it would break down frequently and really go into battle. It won't reach the level I imagined.

But since they were all here, whether it was a mule or a horse, they always had to be taken out for a walk, so he walked up to Bely and said to him: "Comrade Colonel, don't blame Lieutenant Valenra, I think he has done his best. As for the performance of the ball tank on the battlefield, we will be able to figure it out after it is put into battle."

  The reason why Bely got angry at Valenra was because he was worried that Sokov would be angry when he saw the late arrival of the ball tank, so in front of the opponent, he taught his subordinates a lesson, which could be regarded as finding a way for himself. Hearing that Sokov didn't care so much at this moment, his heart became more at ease: "Okay, Lieutenant Valenra, you don't need to say any more, I understand your situation. Your task now is to bring the tank over as soon as possible. As for whether to use you, we will see the development of the battle situation later. Do you understand?"

"clear!"

  After returning the headset and microphone to the radio operator, Bely said to Sokov apologetically, "Comrade Brigadier, I'm really sorry. The performance of my subordinates has let you down."

"Look at what you said," Sokov said to Bely with a smile on his face: "This kind of spherical tank is just a prototype, whether it can be put into actual combat is a problem. It’s inevitable. Don’t blame Lieutenant Valenra, it’s not easy for him, he’s been working as a tank repairman along the way.”

  The two were talking, when they suddenly heard footsteps coming from the door of the rooftop. Turning their heads, it turned out that the squad leader came up with a communication soldier carrying a coil. The squad leader came to Sokov, nodded and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you know where to put the phone?"

  Sokov casually pointed to the location of the sandbag fortification and said, "Comrade Sergeant, put the sandbag here."

  The squad leader nodded, and called the communications soldiers to start connecting the telephone lines. The communications soldier was very nimble, and in just a few minutes, he installed the new phone in place. After passing the test, he nodded to the monitor to indicate that the phone was installed. The squad leader turned to Sokov and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the telephone has been installed, you can make calls now."

   "Thank you, Comrade Sergeant." For the help of the squad leader, Sokov said gratefully: "If necessary, I will say a few good words for you in front of General Guriyev."

  The squad leader of the sergeant is also a smart person. He naturally knows the meaning of what Sokov said about speaking well for himself in front of the teacher, which means that he has a bright future waiting for him. Therefore, after thanking Sukov a thousand times, he left the rooftop with the signal soldier.

  The sergeant and the signal soldier had just left, and the German army started to attack the school again. The Germans were very smart this time. Before attacking, they did not use heavy artillery to bombard the school for a while, because they knew that the damage that shelling could do to the Soviet army was limited. If they wanted to finally resolve the battle, they had to fight close to it.

  Before the attack, the German army fired a large number of smoke bombs at the school. For a while, the whole school was shrouded in smoke. Sokov couldn't help frowning when he saw the outline of the school in the distance because of the smog. Just when he was about to call Vanya to find out about the situation, the other party called first.

   "Comrade Brigadier," Vanya said anxiously on the phone, "the enemy fired a lot of smoke bombs into the school, making it impossible for us to see where the enemy is. What should we do?"

"Comrade Captain, don't panic." Sokov looked at the smoke in the distance and was also very anxious, but in order to prevent his subordinates from panicking, he forced himself to say calmly: "We can't see the enemy clearly, the enemy They can’t see us clearly either. Tell the soldiers to stay in the trenches and shoot when they see moving figures.”

   "However, Comrade Brigadier, our visibility is limited due to the heavy smoke." Vanya continued: "When we see someone moving, the enemy is not far away from us."

"Listen, Comrade Captain." Seeing that Vanya was a little nervous, Sokov hastily emphasized to him: "The smoke released by the enemy has exactly the same impact on both sides. You can't see them clearly, but they also see it." I don’t know about you. As long as the soldiers stay still in the trenches, the enemy will not be able to find them. In this way, the enemies who charge up will become targets for the soldiers to shoot, do you understand?”

   "I understand, Comrade Brigadier Commander." After Sokov's analysis, Vanya was overwhelmed with confidence. He quickly stated, "Don't worry, I will never let an enemy break into the school."

  Sokov put down the phone, raised his binoculars and looked at the school shrouded in thick smoke, his face full of worry. Seeing his situation, Beley quickly asked with concern: "Comrade Brigadier, what's the matter with you, you seem to be preoccupied?"

"Comrade Colonel, look." Although Sokov knew that he couldn't see anything clearly from the school, he still pointed there habitually: "The main force of the company is deployed in the direction of the school gate, and the teaching staff There were not many people guarding the building. If the Germans used the cover of smoke to bypass the heavily defended front and rush directly to the teaching building, our soldiers may be attacked by the enemy."

Regarding Sokov's statement, Bere thought for a moment, nodded his head and said in agreement: "Yes, Comrade Brigadier, you are right. The direction of the teaching building is the weak link of our defense. If the Germans really If we bypass the school gate, rush directly to the teaching building, and rely on the strong building for defense, our troops deployed in the direction of the school gate may fall into the enemy's siege."

   "Do you have any way to avoid letting the company fall into the situation of being attacked?"

"Let me think about it carefully." Bely stared at the direction of the school for a long time, and finally said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, the only way is to let the tanks move around the teaching building in a row. , in order to stop the enemies who might rush towards the teaching building."

   "This is a good idea." Sokov thought to himself that several tanks in the tank row were deployed around the teaching building at the same time. Once the enemy was attacked, they could quickly gather and give the enemy a head-on blow. He directed at Bely and said, "Comrade Colonel, then order the crew of the tank row to take action and set up defenses around the teaching building to prevent the enemy from approaching there."

Bely immediately went to the radio, picked up the microphone and contacted the second company commander Ivantsov: "Captain Ivantsov, I now order you to immediately let all the tanks in the tank row go to the school for teaching." The perimeter of the building was cordoned off against a possible surprise attack by the Germans."

   Seeing that Bely finished the call, Sokov was about to hand back the headset and microphone to the operator, so he stopped him: "Comrade Colonel, please wait a moment."

  Bely raised his head, looked at Sokov with strange eyes and asked, "Comrade Brigadier, is there anything else?"

   "I estimate that the German army attacking the school may not have many tanks. Why don't we let the ball tanks go there and see how effective it can be on the battlefield."

  Bely has been thinking about when and where the ball tank should be put into use. Now that Sokov had suggested sending the ball tanks towards the school, he did not object, but connected to Valenra's communication, and said bluntly: "Comrade Lieutenant, you should immediately head to the school for reinforcements." Our troops there. I repeat, you immediately head to the school to reinforce the troops there."

  After hearing Bely's order, Valenra agreed loudly: "Understood."

  ...

  The smog that shrouded the school gradually dispersed, and the commanders and fighters who stood firm at the school gate suddenly realized that there was no trace of the enemy in front of them. On the contrary, behind them, there was a roar of tank engines. Some experienced soldiers immediately recognized that it was a German tank, and they couldn't help but panic.

   A Soviet tank parked in the northwest of the teaching building noticed the silhouette of a tank appearing in the smoke. Before he could see what tank it was, the tank had already been hit by armor-piercing projectiles fired by the Germans first. The metal jet of the armor-piercing projectile, after penetrating the armor, produced a splash effect, and splashed around the tank body, first killing the tank crew inside, and then hitting the shell and causing a martyrdom explosion.

Hearing a loud "boom", the top cover of the T-34 tank was blown away by a huge shock wave, and then a dazzling flame, like a volcanic eruption, was ejected from the hatch without a top cover and rushed directly to the ground. Thirty to forty meters high.

  The German tanker who fired the gun did not expect that his own shell could achieve such a great result. While they were clapping their hands in the tank to celebrate, they suddenly heard the roar of the tank engine coming from the front. According to the commander's judgment, at least three Soviet tanks were coming towards them. He quickly issued a combat order, asked the loader to load the shells, and fired without hesitation as soon as he locked the position of the Soviet tank.

  However, when the German commander saw the coming tank clearly, he couldn't help being stunned. A spherical tank that he had never seen before appeared in front of him, rumbling towards him. This spherical tank did not appear alone. On the left and right sides of it, there was also a T-34 tank.

   "One to three!" After silently calculating the strength comparison between the enemy and us, the commander decisively ordered to aim at the weird tank, and decisively issued the order: "Fire!"

  As the order was issued, the gunner fired without hesitation, and the 75mm armor-piercing projectile escaped and flew towards the weird tank. "Another Russian tank was killed." The commander thought happily in his heart.

   But after a while, his smile froze on his face. The armor-piercing projectile that accurately hit the spherical tank turned into a ricochet and was bounced aside.

He thought he was delusional, so he rubbed his eyes hard and looked again. The weird ball-shaped tank continued to drive towards his position, and at the position hit by the armor-piercing projectile, he could only see a launch vehicle. White dimples. The commander couldn't believe what he saw. He muttered to himself: "Damn it, what kind of tank is this Russian? Our armor-piercing bullets can't penetrate it?"

   "Reload, reload immediately." Looking at the tank getting closer, the commander shouted hysterically at the loader: "Fire another armor-piercing projectile, and we must destroy it."

  (end of this chapter)