Chapter 189 Hidden Vodka

After leaving Yelnya, the military column headed north to the shore of Lake Ladoga and sped across the grassland. The tanks and technical equipment belonging to the First Independent Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion were tied to the carts and roared in the cold wind. After the Yelnya salient was recovered, the local situation was very good, so Malashenko did not have to worry about the German Air Force coming to attack.

In the passenger car at the front of the train, Malashenko, holding a pencil, was discussing the upcoming action plan with his deputy Lavrinenko, who was sitting across the table in front of him, and Captain Karamov, the commander of the field maintenance company.

"Although the carrying capacity of the regional squadron stationed on Lake Ladoga by the Baltic Fleet is not clear, judging from the depth of Lake Ladoga, it should be capable of sailing heavy-load transport ships. After all, this is not only our motherland, but also the largest freshwater lake in Europe."

After listening to Malashenko's analysis, Lavrinenko, who was sitting next to him and served as the deputy battalion commander, took over the right to speak and continued to speak.

"Other technical equipment is easy to deal with. It is not difficult for T34, trucks and tankers to cross the lake. Slightly larger civilian cargo ships can carry these equipment across the lake."

"But the problem is that our battalion is a real heavy tank breakthrough battalion. After the post-war replenishment and rest in Yelnya, we now have a total of 41 KV1 heavy tanks that can be put into battle at any time."

"It is not an easy task to transport these 47-ton big guys across the river. Comrade Battalion Commander, I am worried that there will be so many heavy-loaded transport ships for us to use at that time. I heard that the transport routes on Lake Ladoga are now transporting supplies to Leningrad every day. The city is about to face famine because of the blockade of those damn Germans."

In fact, Lavrinenko's worries are not unreasonable.

Because the German Northern Army Group commanded by Marshal Loeb surrounded Leningrad on three sides, completely cutting off the Soviet holy city's land connection with the outside world.

At present, the supply of living materials for the entire front and the residents of Leningrad City depends on Lake Ladoga, the only remaining water transport channel. The desperate citizens of Leningrad even praised Lake Ladoga as the "Lake of Life", which shows its importance to the entire Leningrad military and civilians.

Under this extremely difficult and special situation, the regional squadron stationed on Lake Ladoga by the Baltic Fleet will foreseeably take the transportation of supplies as its primary task. After all, being able to fill your stomach is the most basic bottom line to hold on and resist. If you really starve people to death, you can't rely on the spiritual food of Sovietism to continue fighting.

How many ships can the Ladoga Lake Squadron, which is busy transporting supplies, take out to transport its troops across the lake? Even Malashenko, who holds the transfer order from Zhukov, has no idea.

Moreover, large transport ships that can transport heavy tanks across the lake are definitely the core force and the most popular ones for transporting materials. It is estimated that it is very difficult to win these big guys to transport their troops.

Thinking of this, Malashenko, who felt a headache, couldn't help but stretch out his hand to rub his hair. This annoying trouble is sometimes more difficult to solve than fighting on the battlefield to destroy the enemy.

Looking at the annoyed expressions of the two chief and deputy commanders in front of him, Captain Karamov, who was talking with Malashenko and Lavrinenko across the table, suddenly laughed at this moment.

"I think we don't have to worry too much about this. Comrades, the two battalion commanders, I have basically conceived a specific plan for how our battalion will cross the lake."

Before hearing this, Malashenko and Lavrinenko, who were slightly stunned and looked at each other, asked questions. Captain Karamov, who was about to speak, immediately revealed the plan he had prepared in his mind.

"The situation is probably like this. After we arrive at the transport terminal on Lake Ladoga, we can dismantle and separate our heavy tanks. At most, we can split the three large parts of the tank, namely the turret, body and engine, into three parts and transport them separately. In this way, the total weight of 47 tons of combat weight is divided into several parts of different sizes to share the total weight."

"Ordinary civilian ships with slightly lower load-carrying capacity can participate in the transportation work in this way. It is not necessary to use those large military transport ships."

"In addition, the three modules of engine, body and turret are the easiest to replace and assemble. After crossing the lake, we can immediately assemble the tank."

"As long as the tools are in place, my men and I can get a KV1 heavy tank moving again after crossing the lake in an average of half an hour. In addition, emptying the ammunition rack inside the tank and transporting the shells separately can also reduce part of the combat weight while ensuring transportation safety. After considering these factors comprehensively, I believe that the difficulty of crossing the lake will be much smaller."

As the saying goes, "There is a sequence in learning, and there is a specialization in skills."

In the eyes of Malashenko and Lavrinenko, the two "rough guys" who are mainly responsible for commanding the front-line battles, the relatively difficult problem of transporting tanks across the lake is a trivial matter in the eyes of Captain Karamov, who spends the whole day thinking about these logistical issues as his job. This makes people sigh at the magic and the importance of a whole team with tacit cooperation.

After hearing Captain Karamov's plan, Malashenko felt that he was suddenly enlightened. He was overjoyed and really wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate. It was a pity that the train with scarce supplies was not like the army, where one could get the best officer supplies at any time based on his identity and position.

Perhaps he saw some clues from Malashenko's happy expression. Lavrinenko, who estimated that the time was almost right, suddenly took out two bottles of crystal clear vodka from his carry-on suitcase and held them in his hands. Malashenko, who was grinning, looked even worse than the shameless thief who stole communist supplies.

"Comrade Battalion Commander, it's rare to have some peace and quiet during the journey. Anyway, the entire central front has been very quiet since the recovery of the Yelnya salient. Since this is a rare opportunity, we might as well take the opportunity to have a couple of drinks."

After saying that, Lavrinenko, without waiting for Malashenko to reply, went straight to his suitcase to look for wine glasses. After all, these two bottles of vodka were not enough for three people to drink directly from mouth to mouth.

"The Russian army that drinks less vodka must not be very effective. If you see a guy in the army who doesn't drink vodka at all. Then congratulations, because you have successfully identified a NATO spy lurking in the Russian army, and the FSB guys will give you a bonus for this."

Recalling this cold joke he heard from his best friend Rosov when he was studying in Moscow in his previous life, Malashenko, who knew that vodka had been an inseparable part of the army on this land of Russia since ancient times, nodded quietly.

"Karamov, go see if there's anything delicious in the dining car. I think we might need some snacks to go with our wine."