It is said that Major Gavrilov also expressed his opinions to Katukov on this matter because he was heartbroken when he saw the brand-new T34s being commanded to drive into the mud and break down.

"Comrade Colonel!" Major Gavrilov rushed into Katukov's office and said: "I don't object to your training of the troops. In fact, I think this kind of training is very meaningful, but why don't we use other methods?

What about tank training? I mean...why don’t we use T26 and T28, they can achieve the same training effect, right?”

"Comrade Major!" Katukov, who was following the training progress, raised his head and replied: "The problem is that I don't think other tanks can achieve the same training effect... The T34 uses the 12-cylinder V-type that we successfully developed the year before last.

The power of a water-cooled four-stroke diesel engine is unmatched by other tanks. In this case, do you think we can achieve the same training effect by using a gasoline engine tank with a much smaller power?"

Hearing this, Major Gavrilov couldn't help but be stunned. He didn't expect Katukov's consideration to be so detailed and in-depth.

"No, Comrade Gavrilov!" Katukov said: "Taking into account factors such as vehicle weight, volume, etc., I think the effect of training with other tanks is completely different, which will make the soldiers respond to the situation on the battlefield.

Wrong estimation, for example, they thought the tank could pass through this muddy ground, but the fact was that the T34 could not pass through. They thought that the tank could break out of the swamp after filling enough rocks, but the fact was that it sank deeper and deeper... Gavri

Comrade Love, I don’t want these situations to happen on the battlefield!”

Major Gavrilov nodded and said: "You are right, Comrade Colonel!"

In fact, there is another benefit: more faults of the tank can be found and the tank crews can learn to troubleshoot them based on actual faults... This cannot be learned in the factory, because when the tank is still brand new after leaving the factory

, you can’t imagine what kind of malfunctions it will cause during use.

What's even more fatal is that the tank crew cannot determine what level the tank failure belongs to.

Is it a simple fault that the tank crew can troubleshoot by themselves or a complex fault that must be repaired by the maintenance engineers?

If you cannot accurately judge this, you will be in big trouble.

Throw T34s into the mud and let them cause some problems, and let the tank crews experience and try to troubleshoot them personally, while the tank maintenance crews provide guidance. This kind of progress cannot be compared with explaining it in the factory.

Therefore, it is the mechanized infantrymen like Shulka who suffer.

The choking exhaust fumes, the roaring noise, the mud was lifted up from under the tracks in pieces, and sometimes there were fill stones as big as a washbasin... The whole piece was lifted up by the tracks, brought to a height of more than half a meter, and then violently smashed.

If it hits you, it will be a disaster if you happen to be standing behind it.

Shulka and his soldiers carried stones and sandbags on their backs, filling piles of them under the tracks.

It is very troublesome for a tank to get stuck in the mud, just like Shurka used a trap to deal with German tanks... Once it gets stuck in a mud pit, it will often sink at an oblique downward angle, and the tilted tank body will

Most of the weight is placed on the softest sunken part, so no matter which direction the track turns, the tank digs deeper and deeper into the ground like a burrowing marmot, along with the excavated mud and water.

Come and fool you stupid humans.

At this time, you should not rush to activate the tank to escape the situation. The more you activate it, the worse it may be.

The method is to dig a small hole in front of the crawler track, use paving stones to compact the soil under and in front of the crawler track, and then drive the tank forward slowly in a low gear.

What made Shulka angry that day was that when he was leading his soldiers to eat mud and water while working under the tank, a tank lieutenant on the tank stood majestically on the turret, looking into the distance with a telescope, mouthing

He shouted to himself:

"Move quickly, comrades, a large number of enemy tanks are approaching us!"

"The enemy fighter jets dive towards us, everyone get down!"

"The enemy tank is three hundred meters away from us, organize a defense!"

…

"Comrade Lieutenant!" Shulka couldn't help but said: "We have enough troubles. Do me a favor, can you be quiet for a while?"

The tank lieutenant was not angry either. He chuckled and said: "I know, comrade. But the battlefield should be like this. I just want to make the training more vivid!"

"Have you been on the battlefield?" Shulka asked in confusion.

In Shulka's opinion, only those who have never been on the battlefield can dream about and imagine what the battlefield is like.

In the end, Shulka guessed it right. The tank lieutenant was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "No, I have never been on the battlefield!"

But then he asked again: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, I know you have fought in several battles. Do you think the situation I just described is similar to the real battlefield?"

"What you describe is much more complicated than the real battlefield!" Shulka replied.

"Oh, really?" The lieutenant was a little happy after hearing this, but the next sentence Shulka said immediately made him feel embarrassed.

"Of course, Comrade Lieutenant!" Shulka said: "In a real battlefield, a shell comes from nowhere, and then with a 'boom', nothing happens!"

The soldiers laughed one by one, and then started cheering:

"Or just one bullet!"

"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant, standing on the turret like you will become a good target for enemy snipers!"

"Comrade Lieutenant, you may know that the speed of a bullet is faster than the sound, which means that you can't hear the sound of the shot, and the bullet has already passed through your head!"

…

The lieutenant smiled sheepishly, as if he was sorry for his unprofessional "performance" before.

"Lieutenant!" Shulka quipped: "Have you ever thought about what to do when your tank is hit?"

"I will guard my tank until the end!" the lieutenant replied.

"No, you shouldn't do that!" Shulka replied: "You should get down and roll in the mud!"

"Thank you for your advice, second lieutenant!" said the tank crew lieutenant: "Maybe you are right!"

This lieutenant made Shulka feel a little strange. He seemed to have no superior-to-subordinate attitude at all.

Moreover...it is a bit unreasonable to become an officer of the tank crew of the 4th Tank Brigade without ever being on the battlefield.

So Shulka asked more: "Lieutenant, how did you...become a tank soldier?"

"You want to ask me how I became a lieutenant?" The lieutenant smiled: "I am a tank driver. I also designed a device to measure the number of bullets fired by a tank machine gun, and also designed a tank fuel consumption meter. Maybe they think that

I might be useful..."
Chapter completed!