A paratrooper brigade of the Soviet army has four paratrooper battalions of 458 people each. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In addition to the general paratroopers, the brigade artillery also has 6 76-mm infantry guns, 12 45-mm infantry guns, 6 82-mm mortars, and even more than a hundred bicycles.

But the 233rd Brigade of the Paratroopers will be lightly armed, and the accompanying heavy equipment may be able to be transported later, at least this time they will only carry light weapons.

After all, paratroopers are paratroopers, and the level of equipment and training investment far exceed that of ordinary infantry.

Therefore, their main armament was the SVT40, DP light machine guns and Popod submachine guns, and in terms of infantry support weapons, only mortars were carried.

Even so, because a large number of SVT40s are equipped with elite paratroopers, their individual combat capabilities and firepower density are superior to those of the German infantry.

According to the plan in front of the station, the Soviet Union had enough industrial strength to reload all its soldiers with semi-automatic rifles, as the United States did. However, due to the suddenness of the outbreak of the war, the rearmament had just begun, and only a few units received new rifles. But all the paratrooper units, they have completed the semi-automation of firearms.

Increased firepower means a significant increase in ammunition consumption. The paratroopers who were about to be airdropped into the swamp had a lot of ammunition in their equipment. Combined with personal groceries, food, and a full parachute bag, each person weighed a staggering fifty kilograms. Coupled with their own weight, when dozens of people are crowded on the transport plane, it is undoubtedly testing the carrying capacity of the aircraft.

Fortunately, none of these issues are a problem at the moment. As some of the heavy equipment that was scheduled to arrive in the swamps was suspended for cost-effective reasons, the space freed up was filled with very light military uniforms and other military supplies.

For several days, around the airport in Severodonetsk, there were unloading yards everywhere.

Dozens of divisions of the Southwestern Front were massing to this generation, and the soldiers believed that their actions were not only to consolidate the defensive line, but also to prepare for a new offensive. Large quantities of supplies were piled up in the city, making it easier to distribute them to the troops who arrived.

Similarly, the airfield was one of the main bases of the air force, and fighter jets took off frequently, not only to intercept enemy planes trying to attack it, but also to drop fire on German positions.

At 8 p.m. on March 29, the airport was busier than ever.

Under the moonlight, more than two hundred planes have begun to line up, and the huge plain has turned into a huge airport.

Behind each transport plane is towed a transport plane, with an exaggerated wingspan that does not require much power to gain sufficient lift. After all, such a glider has at least twenty tons of cargo in its belly, and the upper load limit is thirty tons.

The headquarters of Timoshenko's Front was not in the city, and since the operation involved paratroopers, a commissioner from Stalin from Moscow came here to personally supervise the entire operation.

However, this commissioner, who is equivalent to the "Chin Cha", could not dictate the task, because there were more professional people here, and the commander of the Second Paratrooper Army arrived in the city early with a lot of pressure.

On 23 March, the command of the Front decided that paratroopers would join the airdrop operation, and the army commander Rechkalov was at first full of confusion, after all, it was impossible to think about sending a brigade to the swamp.

But later, after listening carefully to Timoshenko's explanations and even imagining the future, he agreed with the decision of the commander of the front.

Since the Soviet army will counterattack sooner or later, it is not possible to counterattack on all fronts in a few months. Why not organize a surprise army in the enemy's hinterland, if you send paratroopers to the swamp and suddenly attack the enemy during a major counteroffensive, then the total strength of 20,000 men will be enough to deal a huge blow to the enemy!

It is a pity that after arriving at the destination, the paratroopers will be placed under the leadership of the 284th Guards Division, so that the commander of the corps Rechkalov will have too few troops to command. In case all the paratroopers are transported, there will be only a handful of army-affiliated tank units left on hand.

An order is an order! Unless in the future he himself jumps from the plane and continues to lead his own troops.

As a military commander, obeying the leadership of an infantry division is really not a good taste in my heart. But on second thought, maybe that infantry division will be upgraded in the future?

The operation was about to begin, and Thalechkalov was about to depart three high-ranking officers and commissars to his temporary office next to the airport, which was a large field tent.

His invitees were the commander of the 233 Brigade, Typlov, the deputy commander of the brigade, Besonov, and the brigade political commissar Zalasky, as well as the Moscow commissioner Salinchkin.

We've already had dinner, and we'll be able to eat another late-night snack just before we leave for a loaf of bread.

Seeing his subordinates, Rechkalov couldn't help but sigh.

"You're all here, and you all look in good spirits. In a few hours the empty operation will begin, and what awaits you is an unknown fate, sending you to the swamps surrounded by the Germans and living a difficult life, which is really difficult for you! ”

"It is the duty of a soldier to obey orders, and besides, this operation was approved by the leader! Even if I fight for my life, I have to complete the mission. The regiment commander Teplov said this not only in his own heart, but also in a more flattering way, that is, to the Moscow commissioner.

So the commissioner, Salinchkin, nodded with satisfaction. "I believe in your strength, and with this awareness, this operation will definitely succeed."

This commissioner was politically competent, but he knew nothing about military affairs, and he did not want to point fingers in this regard, because he really knew nothing about the work of paratroopers. And his colleague Mehris directed the actions of the Soviet army in the Crimea, which caused an essential difference, which must be because the commander of the Southwestern Front was Timoshenko!

On the military front, Rechkalov had already spoken to his men many times that he didn't need to worry too much.

Before he took action, he took out a bottle of vodka and counted it as a feat for the future.

Everyone raised their full wine glasses and stood up, and there was no tragedy in the atmosphere where the heroes would never return, only the expectations of the officers for their subordinates.

"Soon you will enter the swamp, the 284th Guards Division is a very powerful unit, and you are also an elite unit," Rechkalov said. In the swamps, you will be under the command of the infantry division, as paratroopers we already have a strong autonomy, and that unit has more autonomy because of the special combat environment. In the future, you must obey their leadership, just as I am the commander. Admittedly, the living conditions there are harsh, and you must say goodbye to the comfortable and dry wooden beds, the delicious bread and beef every day, and even the vodka you can't drink! ”

"That's not a problem!" The brigade commander said again: "The paratroopers have such an awareness, after all, we are born surrounded by the enemy. In terms of carrying out tasks and fighting hard in the midst of the siege, I believe that we are the strongest. ”

Rechkalov nodded with satisfaction, he looked at the others and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?" ”

"No more!"

"Well, let's drain this wine, and by ten o'clock, the paratrooper brigade group will urgently assemble. So we're just going to have one drink tonight. ”