cicada

One day in June 1939.

The Red Russia and White Russia Military Region organized a military exercise in the Minsk area, the content of which was that the armored corps, with the cooperation of other troops, quickly shifted from defense to offense.

The scene of the performance was full of gunpowder and smoke, and the chariots quickly attacked the "enemy" position in an offensive formation, sometimes shooting while marching, and sometimes stopping and shooting.

The shell hit the target accurately, and amidst the sound of explosions and flames, groups of large-caliber howitzers began to set up positions to cover the target point with firepower.

Immediately, the engineers blasted the barbed wire fence, and when the forward passage was opened, countless Red Russian soldiers shouted Ulla and began to charge, and the cooperation among the various arms was smooth and smooth.

On a small hill one kilometer away from the performance field, the commander of the Belarusian Military Region put down his binoculars with satisfaction, and turned to look at a short middle-aged man next to him.

"Comrade Zhukov, tell me what you think of this performance."

"Yes, Comrade Commander."

Zhukov, who was less than 1.7 meters tall, had a serious expression and commented slowly: "The cooperation between armored troops and infantry troops still needs to be strengthened, and the actions are not decisive enough.

Our enemy has a large number of fighter planes and tanks, and the speed of advancement will be beyond imagination. The speed of reaction is the key to our victory over the imperialist conspirators. "

After listening to his words, the commander of the White Russian Military Region looked at the vast scene of tricks and fell into deep thought. Both of them knew who the enemy of Red Russia and the conspirator were.

With the fall of Austria and the Czech Republic, the ambitions of the Germans have become apparent, the atmosphere of war has become more and more intense, and the situation is imminent.

However, in order to target Red Russia, the Western world blindly condoned Germany's aggression, appeasement spread across the land of Europe, and peace is slowly moving away.

"I heard that the German Minister of Foreign Affairs┴ who was a beer machine businessman went to Moscow."

Suddenly, the commander of the Belarusian Military Region said something, referring to the German Minister of Foreign Affairs┴, his face was full of ridicule and disdain, and at the same time he was a little helpless.

As a rising star of the Red Russian Marshal Budyonny, Zhukov is well-informed, so he naturally knows about this matter and understands the reason and purpose of the other party's going to Moscow.

European and American countries, specifically Britain and France, placed bets on both sides. On the one hand, they ignored Germany's expansion, and on the other hand, they were preparing to conclude a so-called alliance with Red Russia.

Since April, British and French diplomats have been frequenting Moscow, trying to get Red Russia to come forward to keep an eye on the Germans, and then reap the benefits of the fisherman.

After the Germans found out about this incident, they also sent diplomats to Red Russia, proposing to sign a Russia-Germany non-aggression pact to deal with the United States, Britain and France together.

Zhukov frowned slightly, with a little worry on his brows: "I heard that, I think the sincerity of Britain and France is questionable, and the covenant is meaningless.

The Germans can't be trusted either, their intelligence agents are very active in the border areas, this is not a good sign, we need to be more vigilant. "

The commander of the Belarusian military region nodded and agreed that the purpose of the British-French alliance is not to maintain the overall situation of European peace, but to maintain its own hegemony.

This is a natural contradiction with the political attitude and ideology of Red Russia, and the negotiations will not lead to any results. On the contrary, the timing of the Germans' choice is very ingenious.

Just this month, the Japanese Kwantung Army provoked conflicts in the Far East and launched a shameless sneak attack on the great Soviet, and our own side was at risk of being attacked by the enemy.

Under such circumstances, Red Russia's choice to sign a non-aggression pact with Germany seems to be the best choice, and doing so is most in line with Red Russia's national interests.

Although the signing of the treaty is used to violate it, as long as the Germans can be stabilized and the war at Nomenkan can be ended as soon as possible, it will be a good thing for Red Russia.

Just when the two were about to end their conversation and order the troops to take them back to the camp, a motorcycle drove quickly from a distance and finally stopped at the foot of the hill.

An orderly wearing goggles jumped off his motorcycle, ran to the commander of the Belarusian military region and Zhukov, raised his hand and saluted and reported loudly.

"Comrade Deputy Commander, Mosk has sent an urgent message requesting you to leave immediately and report to Comrade Minister of Defense."

Back to Moscow?

Zhukov's heart tightened. In the past two years, similar orders basically represented the end of a person's political life. Did it finally come to him?

But the soldiers had to obey the orders. With a heavy face, he bid farewell to the commander of the Belarusian military region, got into a car and went to the airport under the protection of the guards.

Two hours later, an ANT-6 heavy transport plane converted from a bomber lifted off from the airport, quickly climbed up, and flew towards Mosk in the northeast.

The plane roared and flew over a residential area, a figure flashed behind one of the windows, and more than ten minutes later, a mysterious radio wave flew into the sky.

That night, Zhukov came to the Red Russian Ministry of Defense in the Kolymazhny neighborhood of Moscow, and met his old superior, Marshal Voroshilov.

"Hello, Comrade Marshal."

The guard with his head held high pushed open the red wooden door, and the future Red Russian God of War saw the Red Russian Marshal who was working at his desk, and immediately saluted and greeted him respectfully.

Voroshilov raised his head when he heard the sound, put down his pen with a smile, stood up and led Zhukov to a wall where a huge map of the Far East was hung.

"The Japanese suddenly invaded the frontiers of our allies, and according to the Russian-Mongolian Mutual Assistance Treaty, the Soviets are obliged to defend the other side from any foreign enemy."

Comrade Marshal didn't talk nonsense, he explained the reasons for the Kanmeno conflict in a simple and clear manner, picked up a wooden stick, and pointed to the map to introduce the situation on the front line.

"A few days ago, the Seventh Army and the 6th Cavalry Division of the Mongolian Army cooperated and fought a beautiful battle, and taught the arrogant Japanese a lesson.

However, because the supply line was too long and the losses were too great, the comrades of the Seventh Army gave up the pursuit and returned to the Halaha Hexi case for rest.

I think there is still a serious risk of war there, this event is far from over, can you take off immediately and go to the Far East.

Moreover, if necessary, can you shoulder the heavy responsibility of commanding the army, take over the command of the army, and control the war within a reasonable range.

You have to understand that our current biggest enemies are Germany, Britain and the United States, not those Japanese dwarfs. Of course, we must teach the Japanese a profound lesson. "

While Zhukov breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly realized that Mosk wanted to place himself on the chessboard of the Far East instead of sending him to a labor camp.

He glanced at the map of the Far East on the wall, and saw that a blue Japanese invasion route was very conspicuous from the east of the Haraha River to Nomenkan.

Although he did not yet know what kind of army he would command, nor did he know the details of the Japanese forces in the Far East, he had no choice.

But as a soldier, war is the best stage. He was willing to use this to test his skills and meet the challenge of the Japanese, so he immediately gave an answer.

"Comrade Marshal, I can take off now!"

"very good!"

Voroshilov was very satisfied, looked at his watch and said: "Your plane can be ready before 12 o'clock in the morning, at the Central Airport.

You first go to see the Comrade Chief of the General Staff, where you can get the necessary materials and at the same time determine the connection between the front line and the General Staff.

In addition, I sent several professional military officers to the Far East. They will wait for you on the plane on time. Goodbye, Comrade Zhukov, I wish you success! "

After assigning the task, Voroshilov asked the secretary to send Zhukov away. Zhukov then came to the General Staff Headquarters and met with the Chief of the Red Russian General Staff.

The other party did not add any questions, but hoped that Zhukov would find out the local situation as soon as possible and report what he saw and heard to Mosk accurately.

Zhukov seemed to understand something. This summoning was a bit strange. He neither sat down to study the map nor studied the strategy and tactics of the Japanese army.

And for such a big matter, the Kremlin didn't even meet him in person. It seems that Mosk no longer trusts the Far East military.

Combining the results of the previous two Nomenkan operations, it is obvious that Mosk wants to buy and accurately grasp the frontline situation before making relevant deployments.

Early in the morning.

ANT-6 took off again and flew towards Monte.

Before leaving the territory of Red Russia, the plane landed in Chita to replenish fuel, and the commander and military commissar of the Chita Military Region introduced the new situation to Zhukov.

After being defeated last time, Japanese fighter jets went deep into the territory of Mongolia many times, chasing and shooting Russian and Mongolian vehicles, interfering with logistics supply lines.

This is a very obvious signal for war. Zhukov sat in the cabin with a heavy heart, holding up a flashlight to study the terrain around Nuomenkan.

At sunrise, the plane landed in Tamtsag Prague, and Feklenko, Commander of the 57th Army, Nikishev, Political Commissar, and Kusev, Chief of Staff came to greet him.

Zhukov was not interested in making an official article, so he immediately asked about the current information, and when he learned that the frontline headquarters was located in the rear, he immediately lost his temper.

He snapped and asked Fekrenko: "Comrade Fekrenko, do you think it is possible to command troops from a place 120 kilometers away from the battlefield?"

Feklenko blushed and explained: "We must be a little far away here, but the conditions of the Nomen threshold are limited and we cannot command operations.

There is not even a kilometer of telephone and telegraph lines laid, and there is no ready-made command post and landing field. Drinking water is the biggest difficulty. "

"What are you going to do in the face of this situation?" Zhukov suppressed his anger and asked back.

"I have sent people to find wood and wires and start building the command post."

Feklenko replied as a matter of course, he felt that there was nothing wrong with this arrangement, and the dignified army commander couldn't sleep in the wild like a wild beast.

Zhukov opened his mouth and said nothing, deeply understanding why Mosk sent himself to the Far East, but what happened next made him even more speechless.

On the way back to the headquarters from the airport, Zhukov learned that no one had been to the conflict site except political commissar Nikishev.

The poor combat initiative of the 57th Army and the paralysis of thinking are really shocking. After thinking about it, he suggested that everyone go to the front line to take a look.

Unexpectedly, Feklenko excused that Mosk might call him at any time, and he was really unable to leave, so he ordered the political commissar to accompany Zhukov to Nomenkan.

If the generals of the Guojun heard this, they would definitely have a relationship with this guy. When it comes to fighting for merit and blame, they are definitely the same.

Zhukov almost laughed angrily, but thinking that the opponent was a veteran of the Red Russian Army after all, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and drive Nikishev to the front line.

Accompanied by Nikishev, a competent political commissar who was familiar with the entire army, Zhukov had an in-depth understanding of the battle zone.

He also had a conversation with the soldiers, gained a new understanding of the Japanese army's combat effectiveness and his own shortcomings, and then began to formulate a counterattack plan.

The next day, after returning to the Army Command to discuss with the officers of the 57th Army, Zhukov sent his first report to Mosk and the Ministry of Defense.

In the report, he proposed to increase troops to establish a landing field on the east bank of the Haraha River, preparing for a counterattack from the depth, and suggested that Feklenko should be removed from his position.

On the same day, the Red Russia┴Ministry of Defense and the Chief of General Staff called back immediately, and Mosk fully agreed with Zhukov's judgment on the situation and the next action plan.