Chapter 3007 Preparing to Cross the River

With the new anti-aircraft vehicles and new medium tanks, Comrade Lao Ma has been "floating" in the Far East in the past few days with great interest. At the same time, he is also looking forward to fighting against the little devils. Oh no, it should be to invite the little devils. It’s time for the devils to feast.

Kulbalov's first division arrived one after another through the railway line, and various IS7 and ISU-203s that stole the show at the Red Square military parade rushed out of the railway station freight yard and headed to the troop garrison and assembly on the outskirts of Khabarovsk. Click on standby.

The Varosha Second Division, which traveled all the way from Berlin to the Far East, took longer, but fortunately there was capacity coordination with Zhukov's name and personal supervision.

Everything was smooth sailing along the way. The Second Division, which spent all its meals and sleep on the train, also made rapid progress. It was the fastest among all the first-level units of the Red Army divisions that went to the Far East to gather for the war.

The only thing that wasn't so good was that the speed was really fast, but basically all the eating, drinking and sleeping were spent on the train, which made people feel a little uncomfortable.

To put it in down-to-earth terms, this is fucking intercontinental rail travel in a hard-sleeper green car.

Oh, no, the speed of trains these days is not even as fast as the green trains of later generations. In other words, the physical sensation of people riding the train is worse than that of intercontinental railway travel in hard-sleeper green trains.

Fortunately, although Varosha's Second Division is not as elite as Kulbalov's First Division, it is at least a long-established and meritorious unit that has been tested for a long time. It is one of the strongest among millions of Red Army troops.

We’ve all slept in Berlin’s smoldering construction rubbish dumps, but now how about sleeping in a hard sleeper on an intercontinental trip? This is already considered a "luxury experience", right?

Malashenko once suggested that Varosha change planes and fly over first, and arrive early to prepare for the establishment of the division headquarters and other related matters that should be busy for him as a division commander.

Unexpectedly, Varosha, who had always obeyed the instructions of his former division commander and current comrade comrade commander, a fierce infantryman who was brought out from the dead in Stalingrad by Malashenko, uncharacteristically declined this time in a telegram. Malashenko's kindness was so great that he vowed that he would arrive by train with the soldiers.

"I don't understand. What's wrong with this kid this time? Last time he made the little nurse's belly grow bigger. After Berlin was beaten, I lifted him up and lowered him gently without dealing with him. Why is this kid At this time, he got very arrogant with me. Did he not understand what I meant when I asked him to come here early? Did he think I was going to punish him or something? "

Holding the fresh telegram that still smelled of ink in his hand, Malashenko felt a little confused and muttered to himself. In the end, he just made a cup of tea and was holding the political commissar who came over. The comrade came forward to give pointers.

"He's trying to get into trouble with Kulbalov.

"Huh? Kulbalov? What's going on between these two people? Don't tell me that it was Malashenko's right and left men who started fighting each other. I only have two divisions under my command, and the two division commanders are fighting in private. ? Then I can’t beat this Japanese devil anymore?”

Malashenko subconsciously thought that the two people didn't like each other or something, but his expression suddenly became much more serious, wondering if something had happened. Fortunately, the additional explanation from Comrade Political Commissar came quickly.

"It's not that serious. It's just a matter of comparing who is stronger."

He put the cup of tea he was holding on the table that he had brewed for Comrade Commander. Recently, Malashenko, who had nothing to do, had indeed taken over many political commissar comrades who were doing civilian work. They became much more leisurely than before. , of course, there will be more time to do one's own work - issues related to the ideological construction of senior commanders.

As for the matter between Varosha and Kulbalov, it was just discovered not long ago by Comrade Political Commissar in the process of handling work in the past few days.

"Didn't Kurbalov take the train from Moscow and follow the troops all the way here?"

"In the end, Varosha probably thought this was an opportunity. He should show himself to be stronger than Kulbalov, or at least not inferior to him."

"Comrade Commander's flight is a matter of Comrade Commander and has nothing to do with the division commander. Varosha identified his rival as Kulbalov. Since Kulbalov came by train, then He can’t fly, he looks squeamish and weak.”

"On the contrary, taking a train from Berlin to the Far East is a better demonstration of "strength" than taking a train from Moscow to the Far East. It just so happens that the preparation time for this battle is quite sufficient and there is no rush. As for Varosha, he probably wants to seize this Opportunity to prove yourself.”

""

Is there no competition between you two? Who can stand the test of time on a train? Whoever is the most durable is the real man?

Malashenko, who was speechless, half-opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words when they reached his lips.

The ethos that soldiers should have is to be martial, respect the strong, and compete with each other in legitimate ways and on legitimate channels to see who is stronger. This is of course a good thing, and Malashenko does not object to it.

But do these two people really have to compete with each other on something like taking a train?

Oh, if you take the train, then I have to take the train too. If I take the plane, I will look weaker and inferior to you. I will definitely not do the things of self-defeat. Moreover, I have to take a longer train than you. to surpass you.

What kind of bullshit logic is this! ?

"Forget it, let's do whatever it takes, as long as these two people don't miss my business. Wingdings: ♦︎♦︎⬧︎♦︎◆︎⌧︎♦︎♦︎□︎❍︎ Also tell Varosha to keep an eye on the time. Please make sure you know the time, and I will deal with him even if he arrives half a day late without any legitimate reason."

In all senses, he has had an indissoluble bond with the Slavs in his past and present lives, but Malashenko still can't quite understand some things, some incredible things that seem to be "Slavic performance art".

Just these things, sometimes they always happen when you least expect it, to people you least expect. Even if you are very familiar with this person, you will still have a feeling like "Fuck, can this happen!?"

Neither understand nor want to dig deep to find out, the matter of taking the train for the competition has been turned over, at least for Malashenko.

Malashenko, who had been sitting in the office editing documents all morning, raised his hand to look at his watch, looked at the time and drank a sip of tea made by Comrade Political Commissar himself, thinking that going out for a walk to relax would be more efficient, and there happened to be some things that needed to be seen in person, so he simply raised his head and spoke quietly to Comrade Political Commissar.

"Let's go to the outskirts of the city and take a look at the river. I will always be worried if I don't see it with my own eyes."

The leader's army must march south and crush the Kwantung Army. This has a prerequisite. The Ussuri River in front of them is a hurdle that must be crossed.

The Ussuri River is not an ordinary river. The width is at least 200-500 meters, and at most 1,000 meters.

If you attack rashly without preparation, it will be fatal to a heavy synthetic cluster like the leader's army.

Even if the Japanese devils on the opposite side only have the Type 38 rifle, which will be crushed no matter how hard you fight, it is useless if your IS7 cannot cross the river. You must find a way to get the heavy equipment across to have combat effectiveness.

Fortunately, the anti-Japanese operation was the most abundant preparation time and the most complete coordinated forces that the Red Army had experienced since the outbreak of the Patriotic War.

This time, the initiative of the war was in the hands of the Soviet Union, and it was completely foreseeable that they would fight after being fully prepared. This was also the reason why Malashenko said that his troops could cross the river with the greatest confidence.

Khabarovsk, where the headquarters of the Leader's Army is located, is on the bank of the Ussuri River. Accompanied by the political commissar, he left the city and came to the suburbs. When Malashenko got off the car, he could see the broad river with calm water at a glance.

The good news is that the flood season of the Ussuri River will not arrive until July at the earliest.

According to the current progress of the campaign preparations, the battle will not arrive by then, and it is expected that it will be ready to start in June. These heavy equipment of the Leader's Army are fully capable of crossing the river to the south before the flood season arrives.

In the future, those lighter supplies and non-combat vehicles used to support front-line operations will be easy to say, even if the flood season comes, there will be a way to get across the river.

Standing on the soft grass by the river, feeling the warm spring breeze, the coolness of the river water blowing across his face, and looking at his homeland on the other side for a while, Malashenko put down the telescope in his hand, and the words that followed immediately came out.

"How are the engineering troops preparing? Is there any news?"

In order to support the leader's army's southward crossing of the river, Zhukov specially sent an experienced engineering troop to Malashenko, carrying equipment and materials specially prepared in advance for the war against Japan.

There is only one purpose, to send the huge war machines of the leader's army across the Ussuri River, and to build a steel floating bridge with a structural bearing capacity of 80 tons is an unprecedented and arduous task.

The Red Army's engineering troop had never experienced such a task before, let alone ready-made equipment. Most of the task materials required for this operation were specially customized.

As for the floating bridge itself, it is not a difficult problem. As long as the buoyancy container is large and strong enough, even warships of tens of thousands of tons can float on the water. It is easy to float an assembled floating bridge with a structural bearing capacity of 80 tons. The principle is the same.

But the actual amount of work is indeed more huge and arduous, and it is the first time for a young lady to get married, so Malashenko specifically mentioned the inquiry of the engineering corps.

"The engineering troops conducted a field survey immediately after arriving, even before the construction of the leader's army headquarters was completed. They were one of the first troops to arrive in Khabarovsk to prepare for the battle."

"The steel structures needed for the pontoon bridge are specially customized, and the width and load-bearing capacity are completely tailored for our army. Because they are too large and too heavy, these steel structures and the buoyancy containers needed were disassembled into more than a dozen trains and transported one after another."

"So far, all the materials and equipment required for the project have arrived, and the engineering troops have signed for them. Colonel Vranov, who led the team, believes that as long as there is 6 hours of safety time, they can complete the construction of the pontoon bridge. He hopes that we can cover their construction and ensure that they are not harassed by the Japanese army."

"6 hours?"

After hearing this, Malashenko frowned.

It's not that it's difficult to stop the Japanese devils from interfering with the construction, but the construction time is really not happy after hearing it.

"Once the battle begins, the Japanese devils will not wait for us to build the bridge. I am not afraid that they will come to attack the construction site. I am even afraid that they will not come. But what if these guys run away when they see that the situation is not good?"

"Six hours plus the time required for the troops to cross the bridge and assemble after crossing the bridge, it may take 8 to 10 hours to launch the first large-scale group attack on the Japanese army. 10 hours means that even if the Japanese devils run for their lives, they can quickly march to the nearest strongholds and towns."

"Don't tell me that the aviation force delays the enemy's retreat. Air force blocking is not a reason. What if the aviation force fails to complete its mission in an unexpected situation? Even if a large-scale assault is launched an hour late, the battlefield situation may undergo major changes, leaving the enemy with It’s never a good thing for it to take so long.”

Malashenko made his worries very clear. Knowing that the Red Army was powerful, the Japanese had a high probability of engaging in a shrinking defense.

If we really want these weaklings to defend a solid city or position, coupled with the high density of troops, not to mention how much trivial losses they can cause to the leader's army, it will take a lot longer to solve the problem, but it is fatal.

What does Malashenko lack most?

It's time.

Don't forget, Malashenko is also shouldering "additional combat tasks". It is obvious that he is competing for time and progress with the Transbaikal Front.

For the fully mechanized leadership army, 10 hours was too precious and too long. Malashenko did not want to waste so much time easily by just talking.

Comrade Political Commissar can certainly understand Malashenko's mood, but the particularity of this mission is extraordinary, but it cannot be measured by ordinary bridge-building tasks.

The structural bearing capacity is 80 tons, and the erection of such an ultra-long steel pontoon is a task that has never been done before.

This is comparable to the difficulty of erecting a 60-ton pontoon bridge that is large enough for IS6 to pass, and is two levels of difficulty higher than the 10-ton level. Coupled with the long length across the Wusuli River, the overall difficulty can be imagined.

Comrade Comrade Political Commissar, after careful consideration, finally spoke calmly.

"I will communicate with Colonel Franov again to see if he still needs support. We can provide cooperation in terms of manpower and material resources, and try to reduce the 6-hour project time."

"Actually, I don't want to be like this. I know that the people Marshal Zhukov sends to us must be the best of the best, but you know that we-hey"

After a long sigh, the words ended here. Malashenko believed that the political commissar comrades could understand clearly. At this point, he could only say that everything was left unsaid.

However, just when Malashenko and the political commissar were chatting on the spot by the river, with a large group of staff and security personnel behind them, a group of people suddenly appeared on the other side of the river, coming from the slope. Then climb up and show up.

The figure carrying a long 38-meter cap on his shoulders was immediately reflected in Malashenko's telescope. The sight was really off-putting and bad for the mood.