A few more words about resignation, I resigned once half a year ago, but I didn't approve it! said that it would be approved in half a year, but now it is the second resignation in half a year, and if nothing else, it will be approved in about a month!

********

The train continued as it got dark.

Shulka believed that this was not to hide from the German aerial bombardment.

The reason is that at this time, the anti-aircraft firepower of the Soviet army has been superior, a large number of anti-aircraft guns are ambushed in the forests and snow around Moscow, coupled with anti-aircraft balloons and fighter air defense, etc., there are few German fighters in the sky over Moscow.

In fact, this is mainly related to the temperature and the logistics of the German army.

The Soviet Air Force had a number of well-equipped airfields near the front line, equipped with hangars that could pre-heat the fighters, which allowed the formations of Soviet fighters to take off quickly and repeatedly at low temperatures.

This was not the case with the Luftwaffe, because they were fast from the start.

This is true from a strategic point of view, especially since the Germans are still fighting a "blitzkrieg".

The problem was that the "blitzkrieg" required the Germans not to carry out large-scale refinement of rear facilities...... When the airfield facilities were perfected, the German front would push forward and then occupy the new airfield, and the airfield in the rear would be useless, so it was not necessary.

As a result, most of the airfields used by the Luftwaffe were rudimentary and temporary, and many of them were even leveled out to store some fuel. Such a primitive, improvised airfield is obviously not capable of getting planes out in time.

As a result, the Soviet air force and anti-aircraft fire gradually gained the initiative in the skies over Moscow, although the German fighters and pilots still had the upper hand.

This is one of the reasons why the Soviet army decided to launch a counteroffensive at this time.

The reason why the 1st Guards Tank Brigade still had to advance at night was more to avoid enemy reconnaissance...... After all, this is the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, and being discovered in their position almost means that the direction of the counteroffensive is exposed.

After the train started, the instructor looked out the window for a moment and whispered, "It's Klin!" ”

"What?"

"Our destination!"

Shulka let out an "oh".

In fact, Shulka was not surprised at all, not only because of his historical knowledge, but also because the situation on the battlefield at this time determined that Kling was the main point of the counteroffensive: the German encirclement of Moscow formed a semicircle, divided into three sides: north, west and south, and the turning point between north and west was Klin.

It was clear that if the Soviets had opened a gap from Kling and attacked in depth, they could have divided the German army, and to the north they could encircle the enemy in the north and have a tendency to encircle the enemy in the west.

Of course, the attack on such an important part had to be led by the 1st Guards Tank Brigade.

But it didn't take long for Shulka to learn that this was not the case.

The troops did get off at Klin...... Shulka and others are no strangers to Klin, and they have fought here several times and even set off from here to fight Tver.

However, when the soldiers stepped off the train in the dark of night, they barely recognized it, because it was full of tents, cars, and tanks, many of which were T34s.

This made Shulka and his men a little angry, especially the tankmen.

"Captain!" Fedosyev shouted to Shulka below from the turret of the tank: "Can we exchange these tanks for them?" I mean, the T34 is a waste in their hands! ”

As he spoke, he patted the armor of the M3 medium tank.

Fedosiev's words have some truth, if the other side does not know how to use those tanks.

"Don't think about it!" The instructor replied: "That's the 2nd Guards Tank Brigade, they know which tanks are better!" ”

2nd Guards Tank Brigade.

As can be seen from the number, they are second only to the tank units of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade.

In the Battle of Moscow, only three tank brigades received the number "Guards", the first was the 4th Tank Brigade, and the others were the 9th and 8th Tank Brigades, which received the numbers of the 2nd and 3rd Guards Brigades, respectively.

Obviously, the order of precedence is based on the merits of each unit.

That is, the exploits of the 2nd Guards Tank Brigade followed closely after the 1st Brigade.

"It's not fair!" Fedosyev said: "Why can they be armed with T34 and we are armed with these broken tanks? ”

Tank crews in particular account for this...... Whether or not the tank is on hand and whether the performance is excellent is directly related to the combat effectiveness of the troops and even their own lives, and tank crews will certainly care about this.

After Fedosyev asked his subordinates to stop the tank, he jumped out of the tank and said: "Comrade Captain, we are the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, we are the best tank crews, they should leave the T34 to us!" ”

"Forget about that!" Shulka replied: "Do you think they will drive these 'Tom' tanks?" (Another name for the American tank in the Soviet Army)

"That's why, Comrade Fedosyev!" The instructor said, "Because we are the best, these tanks can work in our hands!" ”

Fedosyev looked to the other side with envy and complained with some reluctance: "If so, we should not be so good!" ”

There was a burst of laughter from the soldiers around them.

At this time, Shulka realized that the 1st Guards Tank Brigade was likely to be placed in the second echelon, for the simple reason that they were equipped with inferior British and American tanks, which can be said to be an attempt or a kind of run-in.

Sure enough, the ensuing meeting validated Shulka's idea.

"The counteroffensive is divided into two directions, the northern and southern fronts!" Katukov pointed to the map and said: "The main breakthrough on the northern front is there, Klin. But we are not the main force, we follow the 2nd Guards Tank Brigade as a reserve! ”

The officers in the conference room were in chaos in an instant.

Armies fighting on the front lines are a bit strange in that they not only fight the enemy on the battlefield, but also often secretly compete with friendly forces, such as honors or assigned tasks.

For example, at this time, many officers were dissatisfied with the assigned tasks:

"We are the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, why are we following the 2nd Brigade and not them following us?"

"We are at the front when resisting the enemy's attack, but we are placed in the back when we counterattack!"

……

"Comrades!" Katukov, who seemed to have known for a long time that this would happen, explained: "This is not that we are inferior to the 2nd Guards Tank Brigade, but because we use new tanks, and the superiors think that we should be given time to adapt!" ”

"We have already trained in Stalingrad!" Lieutenant Colonel Zakhakavich said: "I think we are good enough to take on the task of a counteroffensive!" ”

"So......" Katukov asked, "do you think the T34 should follow behind the British tanks?" ”

This time everyone was silent.

It is true that the T34 is much faster than "Matilda" and "Valentine", and there is no reason to let them follow behind.