"Yes, Comrade General!" Shulka said: "First of all, I think we should have some changes in the use of artillery!" ”

"Artillery?" This took Zhukov and even Major Gavrilov by surprise.

Zhukov thought that Shulka should be talking about infantry or tanks.

"Is there anything wrong with the artillery?" Zhukov asked.

"I noticed that in our formation there is an infantry division with one or two artillery regiments!" At this point, Shulka paused.

"Yes!" Zhukov nodded.

There is nothing wrong with this kind of establishment in itself, and modern infantry divisions are also equipped with artillery regiments, because infantry operations and mechanized troops need artillery support.

Here's the problem......

"With all due respect, Comrade General!" Shulka said: "The commanders of our army are generally inexperienced and lack the ability to command multi-arms operations, and the training of our army's grassroots artillery is also insufficient, which creates the problem that artillery cannot or is difficult to play a role in the troops!" ”

Zhukov looked at Shulka with a little surprise in his eyes: "I think so too, Comrade Shulka. We are planning to bring part of the artillery under the unified command of the Front! ”

There is a saying called "adapt measures to local conditions and teach students according to their aptitude".

There is no one size or system that will fit all armies.

For troops with good military quality and rich command experience, it is of course better and more flexible to be equipped with artillery.

However, if it is outside of its command capability, then the subordinate artillery will not only not bring benefits, but will also be a heavy burden, because there are many logistics and artillery safety and infantry and infantry and tank coordination to consider.

Especially when it was compressed to a small space near Moscow for defensive warfare, the artillery of each division was senselessly moved back and forth in the rear due to poor coordination, and sometimes the artillery regiments of two divisions swapped positions, which had no impact on the overall deployment, but consumed a lot of transportation capacity and increased danger.

Such problems would not have arisen if they had been under the unified command of the front.

More importantly, if the artillery is used intensively, it can also offset the shortcomings of insufficient artillery training to some extent... It is difficult for dozens of guns of an artillery regiment to cover the designated target, and even if the same number of shells are fired several times, the target may have been shifted.

But if hundreds of guns of several artillery regiments were fired at the same time, the probability of hitting was obviously much greater.

"Very insightful, Comrade Shulka!" Zhukov said: "And then? ”

"I think there are some problems defensively, too!" "I don't know the other directions, but from the south, for example, in the Tula area...... Our army is fortified everywhere and deployed an average of troops, and it is impossible to judge the enemy's main attack direction in a timely and accurate manner, which puts our army in a passive state! ”

This is actually the "theory of offensive superiority" mentioned earlier, and this weakness is common on the defensive side, which of course cannot be blamed on Zhukov.

"This allows the enemy to pin down the main forces of our army in front with a small number of troops!" Shulka said: "Then concentrate the main forces to break through from a certain position and penetrate into the traffic towns behind the lines of our troops...... Our battle in Tula is an example of this! ”

"You're right, Comrade Shulka!" Zhukov frowned: "Although our deployment is comprehensive, it is completely unable to resist the powerful firepower of the enemy when it concentrates on one direction to break through, and the final result is that the battle line is broken through, the troops are divided, surrounded, and then annihilated one by one." This situation has even been repeated again and again on the battlefield, but what can we do to solve this problem? Decentralized defense? Guess which part they're going to attack? No, it won't work! ”

It really doesn't work.

Decentralized defense means that there are vulnerabilities everywhere, which is the equivalent of luring wolves into the house.

Guess the direction of the enemy's attack...... This can only be hoped for by luck, and even the enemy may change the target of the attack at any time, and it is obviously impossible to make an accurate estimate.

"Mobile defense, Comrade General!" Shulka said.

"Mobile defense?"

"Yes!" Shulka replied: "We must have one or several mechanized units that can flexibly move by road or rail, and can quickly replenish them in the event of a crisis in a certain position to block or repel the enemy......"

"This is not something that ordinary troops can do!" Major Gavrilov said: "It should even be said that this must be an elite unit, and the tanks must be at least as good as the enemy......

Major Gavrilov was right when he said that if a mobile defense is to be carried out, then this unit must have strong mobility and combat effectiveness, at least on a par with the Germans.

If you don't have the ability to maneuver, it means that you can't catch up with the enemy and can't plug the gap, and no matter how strong the battle is, it's useless.

If there is no combat effectiveness, even if you catch up, it will be in vain, it will just go up and die.

The First Battle of Tula actually exposed this problem.

If the Soviets had such a fast-moving force, they would not have gone for two days and one night without reinforcements arriving in Tula.

If the Soviet mobile units were strong enough, it would not be just a Branfenburg unit blocking reinforcements on the road.

On the other hand, if a highly combat-ready and rapidly mobile force had arrived in Tula, then the crisis of the First Battle of Tula would not have existed at all, and the Germans would have simply been beaten back.

However, it is clear that such a unit has high requirements for both personnel and equipment.

People may not be a problem, after all, there are so many people in the Soviet army, and one in a hundred miles can always pick out a good quality.

But the equipment is not something that can be caught up in a while.

"Our tank ......" Major Gavrilov also thought of this, and then shook his head slightly.

"No, Major!" Zhukov said: "We have tanks!" ”

"Comrade General!" Major Gavrilov said: "You may not understand what I mean, our tanks either have a high failure rate and are too slow, or they have insufficient protection and firepower......"

"No, Comrade Major!" Zhukov interrupted Major Gavrilov: "It's you who don't understand what I mean, we have tanks, and this tank is better in performance and maneuverability than the Germans!" ”

“T34？” Major Gavrilov looked at Zhukov with a puzzled look.

"Yes, T34!" Zhukov nodded.

It is not surprising that Major Gavrilov would know about the T34, since this tank has already been put into service on the battlefield, only in small quantities.

"Do we have enough T34s?" Major Gavrilov couldn't help but ask.

"We are seizing the time to produce day and night!" Zhukov said: "Before that, we almost produced one and immediately put it on the battlefield, and now ......"

As he spoke, Zhukov looked at Shulka and said, "I think we should use it to form an army!" ”