Steel Soviet Union

There was no preset position on the beach on the other side of the river. The first problem that the first wave of beach-rushing troops had to face after landing on the beach was how to build an effective defensive position to cope with the arrival of the subsequent Zhou Qiao troops. ɱ

It is certainly unrealistic to directly pick up a pickaxe and dig on the spot.

Malashenko, who had not fought such fixed-position warfare for some time, thought of a way - to use artillery to explode.

Anyway, it's civil engineering work that breaks ground. Although Lao Ma is not a civil engineer, he still knows the reason.

When I dig with a pickaxe, I break the ground, and when I blast with a cannon, I break the ground. Moreover, the latter is more efficient and the construction area is large enough, so why not?

It's just that the floating soil blown up by the cannon is not neat and shapeless, but this is not a difficult task. Just send someone up to pick up the iron pickaxe and do some intensive construction.

In any case, it is better than a bunch of people just going up to repair the earth. It is always a way to speed up the construction progress, and it is the same.

As a result, this area plowed by heavy artillery and rocket barrages was filled with craters, and it became the construction site where Alsim and his party, who were the first wave to cross the river, built their positions.

As soon as he rushed into the bomb crater area, he immediately began to plan the layout. Alsim, who had not forgotten how to fight positional warfare, immediately ordered his soldiers to dig and build communication trenches.

The first thing to do is to connect the large craters together and build a systematic defensive position first, and then talk about further refinement.

Alsim, who was not just a supervisor, also stretched out his arms to do it. Seeing that no Japanese had come close to him, he hurriedly took the time. Throwing the gun behind him, he immediately rushed to the construction area brandishing an engineering shovel and transformed into a human bulldozer to start civil construction on the spot.

Alsim and his party, who crossed the river in the first wave, worked enthusiastically. The second and third waves of infantry who subsequently crossed the river joined them and began to help build defensive positions.

More and more troops successfully crossed the river, from half a company at the beginning to a company, from a company to a battalion, and quickly reached a scale of nearly a thousand people at a speed visible to the naked eye.

There are enough people, but the problem is that they are all light infantry.

The heaviest firepower on hand is mortars and 100mm super-caliber RPG rocket-propelled grenades.

For the leader's army who is used to winning battles with firepower, this level of firepower is nothing. The top priority is to transport the steel giants of the leader's army across the river.

The light infantry forcefully crossed the Ussuri River and went to the other side of the river to build defensive positions for only one purpose.

To prevent any possible beachhead counterattack by the Japanese army from damaging the construction operations of the pontoon bridge troops, we must ensure that the pontoon bridge is safely erected no matter what.

As long as the heavy equipment of the leader's army, even BMP43 infantry fighting vehicles, mechanized infantry, and medium tank units can successfully cross the river.

Considering the level of equipment of the Kwantung Army, which is nothing more than a tiger's, it is sheer fantasy to drive the leading army off the beach and destroy the pontoon bridge.

Therefore, the key to the problem lies in the few hours during which the light infantry builds defensive positions and covers the construction and construction of the pontoon bridge by the pontoon bridge troops.

After Malashenko, together with the political commissar comrades, and the colonel leading the pontoon bridge unit, discussed together, a pontoon bridge construction plan that can maximize construction efficiency has been taken shape.

In order to ensure the construction efficiency of the 80-ton heavy pontoon bridge, the first thing to do is to quickly build two 20-ton light pontoon bridges.

Don't get me wrong, these two pontoon bridges are not for heavy equipment. The 20-ton equipment cannot even pass a BMP43 infantry fighting vehicle, let alone a tank.

These two fast and light pontoon bridges are specially prepared for the construction of the pontoon bridge troops. Once these two pontoon bridges are quickly built, the pontoon bridge troop trucks carrying the heavy pontoon bridge prefabricated structural components and construction materials can immediately cross Wusu. Lijiang went to the other side of the river to start construction.

Therefore, the actual construction plan is not one-way construction, but simultaneous construction in both directions on both sides of the Ussuri River.

If the plan goes well, the 80-ton heavy-duty pontoon bridge will eventually be completed on the Ussuri River.

Not only will this directly double the construction efficiency, but considering that two additional light and fast pontoons will have to be built, doubling the efficiency is indeed impossible.

However, it is no exaggeration to say that the construction efficiency of the main project of the heavy pontoon bridge can be increased by more than 70%.

After all, one-way construction and two-way construction are two completely different concepts, and the efficiency is naturally incomparable.

So the current situation on the north bank of the Ussuri River is that construction of one large, two small, and three floating bridges has begun simultaneously.

The 80-ton heavy-duty pontoon bridge will be constructed as fast as possible, and we will try our best to construct it forward in one direction. At the same time, the two 20-ton light pontoon bridges are progressing almost in parallel because the construction difficulty has been greatly reduced. It is rapidly stretching towards the other side of the Ussuri River.

Regardless of the risk that Japanese artillery fire may strike at any time, I rushed to the riverside at dawn, bathed in the morning light and stared at the construction site of the pontoon bridge that was rapidly advancing on the river.

Malashenko put down his telescope and was about to say something to his entourage, when unexpectedly, the roar of engines suddenly came from the distant horizon behind him.

Turning my head in the direction of the sound, I saw a formation of fighters, attack planes, and twin-engine tactical bombers already appearing on the horizon, swooping towards the south bank of the Yangtze River with a momentum that could be described as blocking out the clouds and the sun.

The shining red stars on the wings are shining brightly in the morning light, which is dazzling and exciting.

"It's all up to them! We must let those Japanese devils eat all the aerial bombs, aerial fire, and machine guns!"

The habit of "Japanese devil" was first spread here by Malashenko.

Since the comrades and commanders of the army have called it this, people around them naturally spread the word from top to bottom.

By now, everyone from the commander to the soldiers knows that the Japanese army on the opposite side is nicknamed "Japanese Devils".

Even Lavrinenko, who stood next to Malashenko and looked up at the sky, shouting at the fleet of planes that blocked the sky, still used the Russian version of "Japanese devil".

"The mission of the aviation force on this trip is still very heavy. Firstly, it must suppress the Japanese army's garrison areas and troop assembly points to prevent them from gathering troops to counterattack; secondly, it must attack the Japanese army's frontline airports and seize air superiority on the airport runway. "Thirdly, we will bomb various Japanese artillery positions to neutralize the threat to the Red Army's ground troops gathering and marching and crossing the river."

"The planes are great, but the task is heavy if they can't stand them! Let our artillery prepare for counter-artillery fire. If we encounter enemy artillery fire, we definitely can't count on aviation for the first counter-artillery battle. The response speed is simply too late."

"It's better to rely on yourself than to rely on others. Let those little artillerymen of the Japanese devils know what it means to be an artilleryman, and give these Japanese bow-legs a good lesson!"

After hearing the order from Comrade Commander, the accompanying combat staff immediately took the order and went to convey the order.

Although the possibility is very low, even Malashenko himself does not think it, just because of the Japanese artillery's incredible mobility and range. They could also withstand the Red Army's artillery and air attacks, drag the small artillery close enough, and fire at their own pontoon bridge construction site.

But if you don’t think so, you don’t think so. The probability is low and the probability is low.

As usual, Malashenko would not pin his hopes of victory or the life and death of his soldiers on the fact that the Japanese were too stretched to carry out artillery interference.

Victory can only be in one's own hands. Whether it is against the Nazis in the past or against the Japanese today, this is Malashenko's unchanging creed from beginning to end.

Even if a group of armed bandits come across from him, Malashenko will still make all necessary preparations and go all out as usual.

Because those who capsize in the sewer will definitely regret why they were not prepared enough and underestimated the enemy. The reason is that simple.

Under Malashenko's personal command and supervision, the construction of two light pontoons extending from the north bank to the south bank of the river is progressing rapidly.

With well-prepared pontoon bridge prefabricated parts and light enough weight, the two pontoon bridges finally successfully reached the other side of the river and were opened to traffic two hours after the artillery preparations began.

At the same time, the construction progress of the 80-ton heavy-duty pontoon bridge has also made visible progress. It is about to reach the middle section of the river. The overall construction progress has been completed at least 35%, which is in line with the expected speed.

"Quick! The pontoon bridge troops immediately brought the construction materials across the river, went to the other side of the river to start construction, and drove out the heavy pontoon bridge as quickly as possible!"

There were no accompanying combat troops, but all heavy trucks loaded with construction materials and pontoon bridge prefabricated parts. One after another they drove onto the pontoon bridge and quickly headed to the other side of the river.

"Pfft-ha-hu-"

"Take a breath and stop what you are doing! Rest for ten minutes, drink water and smoke a cigarette. If we continue like this, we will be exhausted before the Japanese come up."

He thrust the engineering shovel in his hand into the soil and called on the soldiers to stop what they were doing and take a breather.

From the moment the first wave led the team across the river and arrived at the crater area until now, they have been digging soil for two hours without stopping.

Not even a Slavic superman like Alsim could withstand such consumption, so he had to take a breather.

Fighting is tiring, and marching in a hurry is even more tiring, but what is more tiring than the first two is earthwork with bare hands, digging trenches and building positions without mechanical assistance.

This is even one of the most tiring of all physical tasks that can be found on the battlefield.

If you don’t dance with a pickaxe, you will never realize how torturous and exhausting this seemingly mechanical and repetitive work is.

Sitting on the mound of earth dug by himself, with a cigarette in his mouth and a kettle in his hand, Alsim even took off his coat. Not only did he take off his plate armor, but he was now shirtless.

Covered with all kinds of war scars, the chest was undulating violently with lumps and flesh, making it appear even stronger and abnormally strong due to the sweat and dehydration.

Seeing this scene in front of him, Sulovechenko, who did not take off his shirt and shirtless like Alsim, sat on the ground with a cigarette in his mouth, a sapper shovel under his buttocks, and he puffed away. A smile.

"You have a decent figure, brother, have you seen your German big sister?"

""

To be honest, I didn't expect this kid to speak pornographically at this time. Alsim, who glared at Sulovechenko sideways, did not answer. He raised his hand holding a cigarette and pointed to another construction site on the riverside.

"It is estimated that in less than two hours, their side will be finished in less than two hours, and our side will almost be able to stop by then. As long as there is no defense as soon as the tanks come over, the Japanese devils will It’s time to meet your own end.”

"Yes, that's the truth, but the premise is that we can live in peace for the past two hours."

Looking at the Red Army fighter planes flying back and forth overhead, returning and going for bombing, the thoughtful Sulovechenko took a puff of his cigarette and then spoke.

"I hope the scouts sent out will not come back at this juncture. If they come back at this time, it will definitely be bad. There must be Japanese devils coming to cause trouble for us."

""

He finished his words without waiting for Alsim to reply.

Sulovechenko, who was a little puzzled, looked up and found Alsim staring into the distance without saying a word.

Looking up along Alsim's line of sight, Sulovechenko, who was quite surprised, saw that the scouts sent out earlier were running wildly on a two-wheeled scooter carried by a rubber boat. Returning, Alsim's words that were comparable to scolding sounded almost at the same time.

"I should take off my socks and stuff them in your mouth! You're such a foul-mouthed person, you just keep saying whatever you want!"