Chapter 398 Dress Up
This is also one of the reasons why Mechelis is eager to get the 1st Guards Tank Brigade back on the battlefield... Only the 1st Guards Tank Brigade goes to the front instead of sticking to Rzhev, and it is still under the command of Mechelis Only by going to the front line can the goal of "gold plating" be achieved.
Shuerka smiled inwardly.
Utilize, whoever exploits is not sure!
Thinking of this, Shulka sighed intentionally, and said, "Comrade Mechlis, I'm about to report to you!"
"Oh, just say it!" Mehlis replied, "You can report to me anytime!"
"The content of my report may frustrate you!" Shulka said: "I really hope to be able to pursue the enemy. If it was a few months ago, we would have such a capability. But now..."
"What's happening now? Didn't the 1st Guards Tank Brigade just win a few victories?"
"Yes, we did win a few victories!" Shulka replied: "But we could have won more brilliant victories, and I believe that if they hadn't replaced our tanks with British tanks, we might have all won." Fighting back to Brest splits the Germans in two... you know, many of us are from Brest, including myself!"
Since Mehlis is so happy, Shulka will draw a big cake for him.
"Oh, the British tank!" Mechlis knew nothing about it at the time, but still pretended to know everything.
"Yes!" Shulka replied: "You must be familiar with it, Comrade Mechelis!"
Shulka did not expose it, and flattered Mechlis by the way: "Not everyone has your vision, and they don't know the performance of British tanks... This kind of tank only has a speed of seven or eight kilometers per hour, and it can travel all the way. There was a breakdown, and we were seriously short of parts and personnel to repair it, and now we're on the ropes!"
"Yes, this is really stupid!" Mechlis said: "I always thought you were equipped with our tanks, T34, but I didn't expect them to be so stupid!"
Shuerka couldn't help but secretly apologized in his heart. In fact, it made sense for the top Soviet army to let the 1st Guards Tank Brigade try British and American tanks, but now they can only blame them for this situation.
"Remember the half-track vehicle we used?" Shulka continued: "It can reach a speed of 40 kilometers per hour, and the cross-country speed in the snow can reach 40 kilometers per hour, but it has to hide in a car with a speed of less than 10 kilometers per hour. Behind the British tanks! I can't imagine how to chase the fleeing enemy with such a slow tank...Even if we win the battle, the enemy can slip away from us at any time!"
"That's right, Comrade Shulka!" Mechelis said: "We should immediately replenish the 1st Guards Tank Brigade with T34s!"
Even though Mehlis knows nothing about the battlefield, he still knows about T34... It may not be easy to find someone from the Soviet Union who doesn't know about T34.
"This is a wise decision, Comrade Mehlis!" Shulka said: "Only by being fully prepared can we achieve a more brilliant victory!"
This is also in the interests of Mehlis... If you want to make contributions to gild yourself, how can you let the troops drive such tanks to the front line, so that the credit will not be taken away by other troops?
When he came out of the headquarters, Shulka heard Mechlis furious on the phone, asking who gave the order to equip the 1st Guards Tank Brigade with British tanks, and ordered the T34 to be brought up immediately for replacement.
Katukov looked at the smug Shulka suspiciously, and asked, "What's going on? I just received an order to suspend the attack!"
"I convinced him our tanks weren't good enough!" Shulka replied: "I think we'll be switching to T34s soon!"
Katukov couldn't help but smile when he heard this: "That's great, you guy!"
Then lowered his voice and asked, "How did you convince him?"
"I just convinced him!" Shulka shrugged.
In fact, this is not difficult. What Shulka did was to find common interests with each other, and then everything was easily solved and even the danger was saved.
As for the matter after equipping T34... It will take a certain amount of time to change to T34. By then, I am afraid that the ice and snow will melt and the war situation will undergo new changes.
Mechelis' influence is still quite large.
Because the first batch of 20 T34s were shipped the next day, they were shipped up as soon as they were produced as before.
The soldiers couldn't help but be ecstatic when they saw this batch of T34s, especially Fedosiev's tank soldiers. Before the tanks got off the flatbed, they couldn't wait to rush up, hug and jump...of course no one dared to kiss , because they all know that if they kiss the icy tank armor in this weather, their mouths will be frozen immediately and they have to tear off a piece of flesh.
"Their actions are too slow!" Mechelis complained angrily: "Only twenty vehicles were sent. They always have this excuse and that reason. They never know what the military emergency is all about!"
"Thank you, Comrade Mekhlis!" said Shulka, "Look how happy they are, we couldn't have gotten this without your help!"
Shulka's words are of course an exaggeration.
In fact, even if Mechlis didn't ask for it, Rokossovsky planned to change equipment for the 1st Guards Tank Brigade after this battle.
Now it's just going with the flow.
On the other hand, it is Shulka who knows... a selfish person like Mechlis, who feels a certain kind of positive energy, that is, gratitude from others, can be very useful, because what others give him is usually hatred, Curse and spit.
Sure enough, Mehlis felt a little embarrassed.
"Oh, it's nothing!" Mehlis replied, "I'm just doing the right thing, like I always do!"
"Of course, Comrade Mechelis!"
Of course, the equipment change is not as simple as Mechelis thought, nor is it so fast... Mechelis thought that it would be almost as long as the tank was brought up.
Shulka also intentionally didn't remind him before, otherwise Mechelis probably wouldn't have that much patience.
First of all, T34 is more difficult to get together. The reason is that the tanks at this time are still in short supply as before. As soon as they are produced, they are sent to the battlefield or even consumed within a few hours.
The second is the handover of British and American tanks.
This kind of handover is not a simple handover, but the formation process of another tank unit... As mentioned before, there are generally two sets of command systems in Soviet troops, and the 1st Guards Tank Brigade is no exception.
At this time it is easier to form a new army, and the command staff is ready-made.
The problem is that the soldiers who come in need training, especially the handling and combat experience of British and American tanks.
(end of this chapter)
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