cicada

Chapter 992

1939, end of June.

The Mengdi grassland has turned into a sea of ​​green, dotted with wild flowers of various colors competing to bloom┴, and the low hills in the distance and the blue sky gradually merge into one.

The breeze blew over the Red Russian field fortifications on the west bank of the Harha River, and the grass swayed slightly. Behind the observation hole, Zhukov held a telescope in his hand to observe the landing point on the east bank, with a serious expression on his face.

Since the establishment of the beachhead, the Japanese on the other side seem to have disappeared. This is not a good thing. The other side has withdrawn their fists.

Compared with the long logistics line of the 57th Army, the Japanese army can obtain supplies from nearby cities such as Harar.

Conversely, the longer the time, the greater the power the Japanese accumulate, and when they reach a critical point, they will destroy all obstacles in front of them like an avalanche.

Thinking that the reinforcements that were supposed to arrive at Nuomenkan a few days ago had not arrived, Zhukov frowned. In case the Kwantung Army launched an attack first, the current strength of the 57th Army could not resist it at all.

He turned his head slowly and said seriously: "Comrades, can any of you tell me how long it will take for the soldiers and equipment I need to reach the front line?"

Standing in front of Zhukov was the newly formed command team of the 57th Army, the head of some reinforcements and some staff members who had just been transferred from the Far East from Europe.

Hearing his words, the people present were silent. No one dared to answer the question of Comrade Commander casually. The army is different from other places. If you can’t complete what you say, you will be punished by military regulations.

The fortification became extremely quiet, and the guards were too frightened to speak out. In the end, Nikishev, the former political commissar of the 57th Army, stood up and smoothed things over for everyone.

“军长同志，按照莫斯克之前的计划，战役开始前会有57000名士兵、542门火炮、498辆战车、385辆装甲车和515架飞机被派来诺门坎。

Now the West-Berberal Railway is racing against time to transport personnel, equipment, and supplies. Many comrade drivers have not rested for several days and nights. I think it will not be long before more reinforcements arrive.

Although the patriotic enthusiasm of local comrades is worthy of admiration and praise, if the transportation volume is increased, accidents will easily occur. Once the railway is paralyzed, it will be more difficult for us to obtain reinforcements and support. "

Nikishev is a qualified political worker. He first explained the importance Mosk attached to the war and the support of the Red Russian masses for the front line, and then showed the objective difficulties, trying to calm Zhukov.

Because this is really impossible. Montenegro is not Europe. There is no perfect road, railway, and waterway transportation network. It is thousands of miles away from Europe to the Far East. It is normal for reinforcements to be slow.

"Comrade Political Commissar is right."

"Trains have limited transport capacity."

Before Nikishev finished his sentence, others agreed one after another. It was not because they were slack, but because the conditions did not allow it. If Nomenkan was in Europe, let alone 5 people, even the transportation of 50 people would be nothing.

But it was okay if everyone didn’t explain it, but it would be worse if they explained it. Hearing the “sophistry” of his subordinates, Zhukov’s already suppressed anger was ignited again. He patted the table on which the map was placed, and looked around.

"Comrades, I need to remind everyone, don't forget that we are in the Mengdi Grassland, where the rainy season begins in July, and those temporarily laid field roads will become very muddy.

At that time, it will be even more difficult to transport troops and supplies between Prague and Nomonkan. The cunning Japanese will not miss this good opportunity, understand? "

Zhukov said the most worrying thing in his heart. He liked the summary of the war by the people of the Republic of China. If you want to defeat the enemy, you must pay attention to the three points of weather, location, and people.

Now Red Russia does not have an advantage in terms of people and geographical advantages. If it is also at a disadvantage in terms of weather, even if it can win this war, it will have to pay a huge price.

Those present were all professional soldiers, regardless of their abilities, at least they had received a complete formal military education, and they knew exactly what the grassland traffic looked like in the rainy season, so they lowered their heads and pretended to be quails again.

Seeing that they stopped talking, Zhukov didn't talk nonsense. He clicked on the location of Tamtsag, Prague, Nomenkan and other places on the map, and directly gave the death order.

"Before July, the 7th Tank Brigade, the 11th, 7th, and 8th Armored Vehicle Brigades, the 9th Infantry Division, the Heavy Artillery Battalion, and the 36th Monte Cavalry Division, which is resting in Ulaanbaatar, must be in place.

After the other combat units arrived at Prague and got off the train, the elite troops took armored vehicles and drove to Nomenka at full speed. The military depots along the way had to be well supplied with supplies and fuel.

I don't care what the motorcycle hours are and what the road conditions are, even if they sleep on the car, eat on the car, from getting off to the assembly point, they should not exceed three days on the way.

The rest of the soldiers all rushed to the front line by car, and all the trucks and artillery tractors in the Far East were always on the move, so they must deliver the support as quickly as possible. "

Everyone was shocked when they heard the words. The use time of the chariot engine is fixed. This time is the motorcycle hour. When it is used up, it needs to be replaced with a new engine or overhauled.

It is an important indicator of a chariot. Under normal circumstances, in order to ensure combat effectiveness, it is necessary to reserve the motorcycle hours of the chariot, and the reserve time is not less than 50% of the motorcycle hours.

At the same time, the greater the power, the greater the loss of motorcycle hours. Therefore, in non-wartime, chariots are generally transported by train to the station closest to the front line, and then slowly drive to the front line.

Take the B2 engine currently equipped on the main tank of Red Russia as an example. At the beginning, the motorcycle hours were only 100 hours. After several years of improvement, the hours were increased to 250 hours.

According to Zhukov's order, even if these chariots have new engines, it will take 72 motorcycle hours to drive from Muchag Prague to Nomenkan at full speed just to drive.

In other words, less than half of the 125 reserves are left at most, which is only enough time for a small-scale battle, and the tank troops may be paralyzed at any time after exceeding.

What's more, the supporting tanks have a certain distance from the station to the train station, and the motorcycle hours cannot be zero. For example, the armored force camp of the Belarusian Military District is seven or eight hours away from the station.

The Red Russian officers wanted to make Zhukov dispel this crazy idea, but looking at the other party's cold expression and murderous eyes, they swallowed the words back to their stomachs.

Seeing that the atmosphere was too tense, political commissar Nikishev felt that the war had not yet started and he could not cause internal conflicts first, so he reported good news to Zhukov with a smile.

At the beginning of June, the Red Russian and Japanese air forces fought several fierce air battles over Nomenkan. In a few days, nearly sixty fighter jets from both sides crashed onto the grassland.

Among them, there are fewer in Japan and more in Red Russia. This is because the performance of the single-wing Type 15 fighter equipped by the Kwantung Army is more advanced than the double-wing Il-[-] equipped by Red Russia, and the pilot's level is also better.

However, as Zhukov persistently asked for reinforcements from the direction of Mosk, the most advanced I-16 aircraft and elite pilots of the Red Russian Air Force appeared in the air battle, and the advantage of air supremacy began to tilt towards Red Russia.

Now the air force part of the 57th Army is strong and strong, and the air force was transferred from the Transbaikal Military Region to expel the 22nd Regiment plus the former 100th Flying Brigade, a total of 123 combat aircraft.

In addition, numerous field airfields have also been opened up in Tamtsag, Prague, Sambes, Tanghe Ayla, Nomenkan and other places to facilitate the air force to support the front line.

The old Il-15 and Il-16 fighters cooperated in high and low, and under the control of the Red Russian pilots, they fought back and forth with the Japanese Type [-] fighters, and the losses were much smaller.

Zhukov was a little disappointed when he heard this. The Great Purge┴ caused the Red Russian army to lose too many talents, otherwise the results should have been better. After a moment of silence, he turned to ask about the movements of the Japanese army.

Hearing the question from Comrade Commander, the well-trained Red Russian intelligence staff did not check any information, and immediately gave an answer based on memory.

Five days ago, the main force of the Japanese 2nd Flying Group, a total of 78 aircraft, was deployed in Hailar, and the rest of the troops, a total of 41 aircraft, were deployed in the direction from Baicheng to Aershan Town, southeast of Nuomenkan.

Four days ago, an infantry regiment from the 23rd Division and the 7th Division completed their assembly at General Temple in the northeast of Nuomenkan. At the same time, a main tank regiment from the 1st Tank Division moved into the vicinity of Aershan Town.

The total strength of the Japanese army is estimated to be more than 2 people, 84 tanks, 180 aircraft, and 400 vehicles, and an unknown number of cavalry and logistics troops from the Mite Prefecture Border Force will be responsible for cooperation.

But what is strange is that the Japanese ground force suddenly entered a dormant state three days ago. Except for routine security tasks, the offensive behavior was stopped, and no further battle formation was carried out.

For this reason, the intelligence personnel of NK┴VD and the GRU in the Northeast did their best to investigate, but still did not find the reason. This is all the movements of the Japanese army that Red Russia currently has.

Zhukov frowned even tighter. What exactly did the Japanese want to do? Why did they stop fighting formation? This is the most important preparation before the war. Could it be that the opponent is not ready to fight?

No, it's impossible.

At present, the number of Japanese troops assembled around Nuomenkan has far exceeded the need for defense, and the daily consumption of so many troops and equipment is astronomical. If the combat plan is suspended, the loss will be very large.

Based on his understanding of the Japanese, this kind of thing should not happen to the Japanese army. Due to the repeated wars with the Republic of China, the opponent's economy is already on the verge of collapse, and they will never mobilize troops at will.

All this proves that the Japanese are definitely going to fight. The Japanese army is not organized now, and it is likely to be the same as the 57th Army, and it is also waiting for more support troops.

Zhukov had an ominous premonition. When Marshal Voroshilov met him, he said that it would be impossible to control the war within a reasonable range and defeat the invading Japanese army in the shortest possible time.

At this moment, the officer in charge of reporting from the 57th Army broke into the fortification directly, saluted with a telegram under everyone's gaze, and said a few words: "Urgent telegram from the Koremlin Palace! "

(End of this chapter)