USSR 1941

  Chapter 881 New Equipment

   "If that's the case..." Rokossovsky said: "Should our defense also be directed against enemy tanks?"

   "Yes!" Shulka replied: "The question is how to target the enemy tanks!"

  Hearing the words, everyone couldn't help being silent.

  From a defensive point of view, there are indeed many preparations that can be made, such as mines, barbed wire, anti-tank trenches, etc., but as the saying goes, where there is a spear, there is a shield. If the defender can have these arrangements, the enemy will of course have a solution.

  For example, you can use artillery to blow it up first, and then use infantry and engineers to open the way in front: demining, cutting barbed wire, clearing obstacles, filling trenches... The defensive side only needs a few days to open a road after a few months of tossing.

   Of course, this has to pay the price of blood and lives.

   "The Germans also have mine-sweeping tanks!" Vatutin said: "We captured one, they learned it from us!"

   As Vatutin spoke, he glanced at Shulka.

  Shuerka knew why Vatutin looked like this, because the minesweeper tank was invented by Shurka, and now it has become the equipment of the Germans in turn.

   "There is also a rocket launcher!" Rokossovsky said: "The Germans also learned it, and we have seen the enemy use it in battle..."

   "Is it our bazooka?" Vatutin asked: "It was captured by the Germans?"

"No, they developed it by themselves!" Zhukov said, flipping through the folder, and then took out a photo and said, "That's it, they added a shield to the rocket launcher, and the caliber is much larger than the rocket launcher. 88MM! We tested several of these bazookas and found that it has a longer range and more power than ours!"

   Shulka knows this, it is not actually called a bazooka, it is a German "tank killer", German soldiers often call it a "chimney", the reason is that when it is fired like a chimney, it produces a lot of smoke and exposes the shooter.

  The caliber of the bazooka is only 51MM, and the body of the bazooka is much smaller than that of the "tank killer". Of course, the range and power are also much smaller.

   "That is to say..." Vatutin said with some difficulty: "We may not only face tanks!"

   "In fact, there are more!" Then Zhukov took out another photo and put it in front of everyone.

   "What is this?" Vatutin asked suspiciously.

   "The rifles equipped by the Germans in Stalingrad!" Zhukov turned his gaze to Rokossovsky and gave him the right to speak.

   "The Germans call it a submachine gun, model MP43!" Rokossovsky explained: "But I don't think it is actually a submachine gun, because its bullets are not pistol bullets, but between rifle bullets and pistol bullets!"

As soon as you hear this model Shulka, you know that it is the German assault rifle STG44... The reason why the Germans called it a submachine gun in the early days and the model will be MP43 is because Hitler did not agree to the production. It was renamed as a submachine gun and secretly produced and put into the battlefield in the later period of the Battle of Stalingrad.

  Zhukov set his sights on Shulka: "This coincides with our Comrade Shulka's thinking!"

   "Oh, really?" Rokossovsky cast a surprised and questioning look at Shulka.

   "Yes!" Shulka did not deny: "I once suggested to Sisoy to produce this kind of bullet and its matching rifle! Our scientists are also developing it, but I think there is no result yet!"

  Zhukov nodded and said: "Bullets have been mass-produced, but a gun suitable for using this bullet has not yet been designed. I didn't expect the Germans to take the lead!"

"Your thinking is very forward-looking, Comrade Shulka!" Rokossovsky sighed: "Because the actual combat has proved that this rifle is very good, it almost completely suppresses all our individual weapons, including 'Bobo' Sa' submachine gun!"

   "Where's the machine gun?" Vatutin asked.

"They only need two or three of these rifles to overwhelm our machine guns!" Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "If the Germans were equipped with such weapons in large numbers, the Battle of Stalingrad might not be what it is now." The result!"

  Because this rifle is only equipped in a small amount in Stalingrad, and the Soviet army is worried that the spread of this weapon will cause unnecessary panic, so the Soviet commanders in other directions do not know for the time being, including Vatutin.

  Vatutin took a look at the photo and asked, "Its bullet is shorter than that of a rifle, that is, its range is not as good as that of a rifle, isn't it?"

"Yes!"

   "I can understand that the rifle can be suppressed, but why can the machine gun be suppressed?" Vatutin was a little disbelieving.

   "I'm talking about two or three people!" Rokossovsky replied: "They cover each other and shoot alternately. The firepower is even better than machine guns. In the ruins and street battles, both sides are within range of each other!"

  Vatutin also came out of the battlefield, so I understand.

   "Then, the 'Poposa' can be suppressed because they have a longer range!" Vatutin said.

"Yes!" Rokossovsky replied: "In fact, a considerable part of the range of our rifles is redundant! Few people can hit the target at a distance of 500 meters, and this equipment of the Germans is precisely Set the range at 500 meters, and at the same time reduce the recoil because of the reduced range, so that it can be used as an individual burst rifle!"

  Vatutin thought for a while, and said to Zhukov: "We need this rifle, Comrade Zhukov! Is it possible to equip the troops this winter?"

   "I'm not sure, Comrade Vatutin!" Zhukov replied: "In fact, scientists can't guarantee it! So, we must be prepared to not have such a rifle!"

"That is to say!" Vatutin said dejectedly: "What we are going to face is a lot of new equipment from the enemy, and the performance of these new equipment will completely surpass the existing equipment of our army... We must Consume their vitality?"

   "You can say that!" Zhukov nodded.

  Vatutin smiled bitterly and said, "We'd better not let our soldiers know about this, otherwise they won't have the confidence to fight this battle!"

   "No, we should let them know!" Shulka said: "We even have to assume that the enemy has a large number of these new equipment and train on this basis!"

  Zhukov nodded: "Otherwise, if they don't know until after the battle starts, it will be a nightmare!"

  This is the question of being mentally prepared and not being mentally prepared.

It looks like no difference on the surface, but it affects morale... The shock and fear that a new equipment suddenly brings to the troops is unparalleled, and it is often much greater than the damage that the equipment itself can cause , just like tanks first appeared on the battlefield.

  (end of this chapter)