Training for the half-track began immediately.

It's more fun than training, because it's not stressful at all for the fighters.

The infantry of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade are all mechanized infantry, and they have been trained to drive cars before that, so they can almost drive one on it.

Ten half-track vehicles, each of which can carry 12 people, is a shift...... In fact, if you squeeze it, you can bring more people, but you have to reserve some space for the soldiers to fight and carry fuel and ammunition, otherwise it will be difficult to raise the gun and turn around.

The latest training is of course the triple.

They raced through the snow in their half-tracks, while the soldiers in the back cheered loudly in the cold wind, enjoying the thrill of this long-lost speed, especially after holding its breath after being used for so long.

"It came at the right time!" The instructor said, "With it we don't need those carriages anymore!" ”

"It's not just about transporting ammunition and supplies like a wagon, Comrade Instructor!" Shulka replied.

"I know, it can transport more troops!"

"That's not all!" Shulka said: "If you put a machine gun or a bazooka in the front of the car......

The instructor couldn't help but let out an "oh", and then his eyes lit up: "That's almost an armored car!" ”

Shulka nodded, and then shouted to Pukarev, who was directing the convoy back and forth: "Comrade lieutenant, we should go out for a walk!" ”

"Yes, Comrade Captain!" Pukarev willingly ordered the convoy to stop.

"Get ready for battle!" Shulka ordered: "Bring what you should bring!" ”

"Yes!" The fighters answered, and they got out of the car to replenish their ammunition.

At this time, there were many remnants of the German army scattered outside the Rzhev Line, and Shulka wanted to use them to test the combat capability of the half-track.

After a while, the fighters of the first company were ready to return to the half-track, and Shulka also climbed into the first car with a rifle and a few grenades.

Needless to say, Shulka had a DP machine gun (turntable machine gun) mounted on the roof of each car.

Then, at the sound of an order, the convoy drove westward, in the direction in which the Soviets were pursuing the Germans.

The half-track ride on the snow is fairly smooth, after all, most of it is the contact between the larger tracks and the ground.

So it's conceivable that it will also be much better to drive in the mud than a wheeled vehicle.

Like the rest of the Soviet army, it was mostly unequipped with radio equipment...... At this time, the Soviet army was not even equipped with tanks, let alone half-tracks.

Only the command car, car No. 1, had a radio.

But it's not a big problem.

On the one hand, the half-track vehicle is relatively spacious, and if necessary, Shulka and others can move the radio used by the infantry to the rear compartment.

On the other hand, the upper part of the half-track is open, so it is easy to communicate with each other in flags.

This is also the reason why Shulka did not propose to directly develop a modern closed full-tracked armored vehicle.

Modern enclosed full-tracked armored vehicles may have many advantages, such as better protection, greater maneuverability, cross-country ability, and even amphibious.

The problem was that the industrial capacity of the USSR was very tight at this time, and the vast majority of tracks had to be used on tanks rather than armored vehicles, and another important reason was that fully enclosed armored vehicles would only be a nightmare in the case of insufficient communication equipment...... It is difficult for them to perceive each other and collaborate effectively.

Half-tracks, on the other hand, do not have this problem, or this problem can be solved to some extent.

Even in order to facilitate the connection between the rear compartment and the cockpit, they took a phone call between the two, like a tank phone.

"Comrade Captain!" Uncle Alek shouted through the microphone in the cab to the rear, "I've never driven such a good car, I mean...... It looked safe and I could even put the baffle on the window down if I needed to! They can block bullets, don't they? ”

"Yes!" Shulka replied: "THE FRONT STEEL PLATE IS 12.7MM THICK, IT CAN BLOCK 12.7MM MACHINE GUN BULLETS!" ”

THE SIDE AND REAR ARMOR IS ONLY 7MM, WHICH IS THE RULE OF ALMOST ALL ARMORED VEHICLES.

"So, Comrade Captain!" Uncle Alek asked: "Can I call it a tank?" Can I get the treatment of a tank driver if I can? ”

"But...... Uncle Alek! Shulka then realized Alek's intention by saying these words: "You have been given double the waterga ration!" ”

"Forget it, Comrade Captain!" Uncle Alek replied, "Everyone knows that you gave me your share of my double ration...... I don't want to keep pretending to be like this! ”

The fighters couldn't help but laugh "haha" when they heard this.

At this time, only Pukarev shouted: "Enemy, ten o'clock direction!" ”

Looking in the direction indicated by Pukarev, he saw several figures stumbling and running in the snow, still holding guns in their hands.

"Surround them!" Shulka ordered: "Be careful to hide yourself, the armor next to you is used to block your bullets, understand?" ”

"Understood!" The fighters lowered their bodies in response, and the driver lowered the front baffle halfway and drove by relying on the lower half and the viewing hole in the baffle.

On the other hand, the herald used the signal flag to convey Shulka's orders to other vehicles.

Soon, the convoy was divided into two parts, like two long snakes, and flanked the suspicious position of the remnants of the German army.

The "bang-bang......" gunfire soon rang out, and the Germans lay on the ground and fired at the convoy, but of course the bullets could not penetrate the armor of the half-track, and they hit the armor with a "pop" sound like popping beans.

The warriors couldn't help but laugh proudly, and the veteran exclaimed, "It works, doesn't it?" They should have invented this thing sooner! ”

"Let them taste this!" Saying that, the Cossacks mounted the DP machine gun on the roof of the car, and then fired a shuttle of bullets at the position where the Germans were hiding, and immediately suppressed the fire of the Germans.

Then the battle ended, because the Soviets had completed the encirclement, and the remnants of the German army, realizing that they could not escape under such circumstances, raised their hands and surrendered.

This was a bit of a disappointment for the fighters, who preferred the Germans to resist a little longer.

The convoy stopped, and Shulka had people get out of the car to receive the prisoners.

But at this moment, two cannon shots and a vague gunshot were heard in the distance.

"'Three' tank!" The veteran judged from the sound of artillery: "At least two!" ”