Chapter 781 German-Soviet War (87)

Although the capture of Smolensk was indeed a cause for celebration, troubles also followed. The further they advanced, the longer the German supply lines became, while the Soviet supply lines became shorter.

The first trouble was that the German army had to face increasingly worse road conditions. The first was the old problem that the Soviet railway standard was different from the international standard track gauge.

The international standard track gauge is 1435mm, while the Soviet track gauge is 1520mm wide gauge.

As for why the Soviets wanted to use wide-gauge railways in a unique way, this has to start from the Tsarist Russia period. Russia used, or more accurately, borrowed from the British track standard. In fact, the British track standard at that time was basically the world standard. There are two types of British track standards, one is 1524mm wide gauge and the other is 1435mm standard gauge. Because Russia was flat, the Russians were afraid that other European countries would use the railway to drive straight in, so they modified the British 1524mm wide gauge and built a 1520mm track. Russia's wide-gauge tradition was passed down like this. The Soviet Union inherited Russia's railway system. If a new railway was laid, it would cost a very high price. Therefore, the Soviets had no choice but to continue to build with wide-gauge railways from the perspective of safety or saving money.

Now the German army wants its trains to deliver supplies directly to the front line, so they can only rebuild these railways. This track gauge is not something that can be done by simply adjusting the track on one side a little inward. The different track gauges are on the one hand to adapt to the geographical environment, and on the other hand to create obstacles for the enemy. If it were so simple and easy, it would not be an obstacle. A series of equipment such as sleepers, gauge rods, turnouts (groups), turnout pull rods, electrical equipment, etc. need to be changed, which is simply a matter of moving the whole body!

Moreover, most sections of the railway in the Soviet Union are still at the level of decades ago. Most railways (except Kharkov to Moscow) are built on soft sand foundations, and the sleepers are also relatively soft pine wood, rather than stronger and more suitable wood for railway laying. The German standard railway load-bearing capacity is 49 kg/m, while the Soviet standard is 38 kg/m; the German railway has 1,600 sleepers per kilometer, while the Soviet Union has 1,440. The Germans use screws and washers to fix the rails, while the Soviets use long nails that are driven in once.

For this reason, Yannick simply decided to tear up all the Soviet railways and rebuild the railways to German standards. Although this is a big project, it is worthwhile to take advantage of the opportunity to use the prisoners of war at will to complete these major projects as much as possible.

The second trouble is that in addition to building railways, they also have to clear out the guerrillas, resistance fighters, and pro-Soviet civilians in the rear. These people will try their best to destroy the German transportation system, attack transport teams, blow up bridges, and destroy railways. During the Battle of Leningrad in the original time and space, a guerrilla force from the Orsha Locomotive Depot destroyed 93 military trains, 118 locomotives, and a large number of freight cars. Pavlov, a college student at the Moscow Railway Institute, led a guerrilla force and subverted 128 German military trains from 1941 to 1943.

As a result, the activities of these guerrillas made the German logistics supply very anxious. In the original Soviet-German battlefield, the German Central Army Group needed at least 75 trains of supplies every day, but in fact there were only 40 at most, and only 25 at the least. The Northern Army Group needed 30 trains every day, but in fact there were only 10. As the war dragged on, the supply of materials on the German front became increasingly tight.

Fortunately, Yannick used various experiences of later generations to eliminate these saboteurs, which can be said to have achieved remarkable results; the railway reconstruction project in front was also carried out in an orderly manner.

At a railway construction site near Smolensk, a shrill whistle sounded, and the German engineer Barak jumped out of the cab and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "The weather is getting hotter and hotter." He was driving a crane, responsible for placing rails one by one near the construction railway section. Because of the heat transfer from the engine and the sun, the cab was as hot as a stuffy cage. Now even home air conditioning is not popular, so it is impossible to equip his cab with air conditioning facilities. There is only a small fan with low power, and the wind blown out by that thing is still hot.

However, Barak is very satisfied with his current job. Compared with the soldiers who bled and died on the front line, as a railway engineer, he is already quite happy. There is almost no danger to life, plus they are technical soldiers, and the treatment is not bad.

Leisurely lighting a cigarette, Barak chatted with his colleagues. They are indeed colleagues. Compared with the soldiers who fought side by side and shared life and death on the front line, the relationship between these engineers is more like colleagues. After all, they work together every day, not risk fighting together. "It seems that we have to wait a while." The project stopped, and it must be that the railway ahead was destroyed by the Soviets. They are no longer surprised by this. When the Soviets retreated, they would blow up a section of the railway at a certain distance. The big pits blown out in front must be filled before they can move forward.

"Barak, what time is it? Should they be here?" His colleagues kept looking at the sky in the distance. Not only him, but most people around him were looking at the same place. Barak took out his pocket watch and looked at it, then replied. "It's almost time for them to come."

"Here they come, here they come!" Someone shouted first, and suddenly there was a warm cheer around them.

I saw a dozen black spots appear in the sky in the distance, their bodies gradually enlarged, and the roar of the engines became louder and louder. They were a dozen Stuka dive bombers.

The German soldier on guard took out a smoke bomb, pulled the safety pin, and threw it in the open space in the distance. People in the distance also threw smoke bombs one after another. As the smoke bombs billowed with thick smoke, these Stukas dispersed and began to dive down. Although the buzzer was removed, the high-speed diving bomber still made a buzzing sound from friction with the air.

When it was more than 600 meters above the ground, the Stuka dropped the "bomb" mounted on its belly and began to climb slowly. The "bomb" that fell rapidly ejected a parachute when it was more than 100 meters above the ground, and suddenly stopped in the air, but still hit heavily near the smoke bomb.

Barak, who had already taken out his lunch box and was waiting, rushed over with everyone, ran over to pour the liquid in the lunch box, and drank more than half of it in one gulp. This is a barrel of dark beer. The high-altitude flight reduced the temperature of these dark beers to below ten degrees. The cold liquid slid down the throat into the stomach, and the pores all over the body were stretched, and the heat in the body disappeared instantly.

"What a pleasure!" Barak shuddered violently. This was the most pleasant and refreshing moment of the day.