Shulka led his men to build fortifications on the position.

After the victory of the tank ambush, Volokolamsk will definitely not be able to stay, and the Germans will obviously not let go of the houses in those villages...... It is good to say that it is revenge, or to avoid being used by the Russian army again.

Therefore, the 4th Tank Brigade was withdrawn from the area west of Volokolamsk at the first time.

Sure enough, German artillery fire and bombers appeared over it, blowing up civilian houses one by one.

The German "Stukka" bombers used a tactic in which several bombers, usually six bombers, were grouped together to form a squad, which then circled around a bombing target in the sky, and then one followed by one to dive bomb the target.

It's a bit like Shulka forming a team between tanks and anti-tank guns, using impact points to correct the trajectory and improve the hit rate.

So, when the Germans were determined to blow up a target, they were often not spared.

The same goes for the houses in the villages, plus the Germans also drop gasoline...... At this time, the Germans rarely threw gasoline on the battlefield, on the one hand, the bombing effect was not very good, and on the other hand, the Germans themselves did not have enough gasoline.

From this, we can also see how much the Germans hated this defeat, or it can be said to be the 4th Russian tank brigade.

Soon, the village was filled with smoke and flames, except that the 4th Tank Brigade was no longer there.

At this time, the commander of the 4th Tank Brigade was the commander of the 4th Tank Regiment, Major Zakhakavich (Colonel Katukov was still in Tver).

There is no doubt about this, perhaps compared to Major Gavrilov, he has more combat experience and command experience, but after all, the 4th Tank Brigade is a tank force dominated by tanks, and Major Zakhakavich is clearly superior in this regard.

However, Colonel Katukov ordered: "Major Gavrilov's opinion should be fully heard!" ”

In fact, there is another meaning hidden in this statement: "fully listen to Comrade Shulka's opinion."

Because everyone knew that Major Gavrilov could "fully listen to Shulka's opinion."

For example, now, the 4th tank brigade is not deployed on the front line, but retreats to the line of defense and hides.

They continued to use the tactics of "mobile defense", but the "mobile defense" was narrowed to the defensive line around Volokolamsk.

This may seem like a normal tactical shift, but it was not easy to implement in Soviet units.

The reason is that it looks like an "escape" and is even strictly speaking a violation of Order No. 270.

Therefore, Major Zahakavich hesitated.

As a result, Major Gavrilov made a very resolute suggestion: "We should retreat immediately, and I will bear any problems!" ”

Commissar Fomin made similar assurances, so Major Zakhakavich dared to withdraw his troops to the second line.

Therefore, although Order No. 270 has a positive effect, that is, it discourages some soldiers who originally planned to flee with a fluke mentality, but it also has some negative effects.

For example, it will affect the commander's command and use tactics flexibly, and for example, it will force a group of people to surrender to the German army altogether.

It can even be said that some Soviet officers and soldiers will become spies for the German army, which is indirectly related to Order No. 270...... If they are captured, they are characterized as traitors, and after being put back, as long as the Germans casually reveal a little information, they will be dead, so they can only be willing to be used by the Germans, and even hope that the Germans will win in the end.

Of course, Shulka didn't need to think about this, he concentrated on the fortifications in front of him.

There are many ways to hide the tank, such as driving into the house as before, setting up a tent outside the tank, or even covering it with a canvas and getting some muddy water to camouflage it.

But the best way to do this is to dig a tank bunker for the tank, that is, to dig a pit for the tank to drive in, with only the turret exposed, or even the turret exposed...... The ideal tank bunker is that the bunker is divided into two layers, and the turret is not exposed when you take a step back, and the turret emerges when you step forward and the body is level, so you can shoot immediately.

Such a bunker makes it difficult for a tank to destroy even if it is detected by the enemy: it is difficult for the aircraft to find its exact location, and the shells must hit the bunker directly, otherwise it is difficult to damage the tank.

Shulka is building such a bunker.

The difficulty is that there will be water seepage all around, and it is necessary to build a drainage ditch for it and tamp the bottom with logs, stones, etc., otherwise it is not a good thing that the water will flood the tank or the tank will not be able to get out.

At this point, the instructor went over to the bunker and called Shulka out.

"As a company commander, you don't have to do this!" The instructor raised his head at the muddy water on Shulka's body, then handed over a dry towel.

Shulka took the dry towel and wiped his face and hands, shivering and rubbing his frozen hands...... It's really not a great experience to do these things in the cold months of October.

"It's a means, understand?" Shulka replied as he walked to the fire.

Compared with the German army, the Soviet army also had the advantage of daring to light fire on the front line.

The reason is that there are so many civilians on the front line of the Soviet army that they can almost not survive without making a fire.

But one benefit was soon discovered...... The more fires were made, not only would they not expose the target, but would become cover, because the Germans could not tell which fires belonged to the civilians and which were to the troops, and there were so many that the Germans could not bomb them one by one, so they could only let them go.

"Means?" The instructor asked.

"Yes, means!" Shulka sat down in front of the fire, and then placed his almost frozen hands on the flame to bake, and he longed to roast them, which were almost unconscious.

"Only then will they not feel distant from you!" Shulka said, "If I hadn't shivered as hard as they did, how many people would have been willing to obey my orders when I was asked to charge them in battle?" ”

The instructor couldn't help but nod, and then said to the orderly, "Go and prepare a sapper shovel for me!" ”

Shulka looked at the instructor suspiciously.

The instructor raised his eyebrows and said, "If you don't shiver like them, how many people are willing to believe me?" ”

Shulka couldn't help but laugh, the instructor was a quick learner.

"You've won again!" Said the instructor.

"Yes!" Shulka said, then took off his boots and put his feet in front of the fire, and immediately a foul smell wafted through the air.

The instructor frowned and covered his nose and said: "However, there is one thing that you did not expect, they do not plan to withdraw the troops attacking Tver!" ”

"What?" Shulka couldn't help but be stunned.