Age of Rebirth

The counterattacks of the Outer Mongolian border guards were fierce and rhythmic. The combination of artillery fire and light and heavy weapons woven a deadly fire net on the surface of the Selenge River. And moving on is the result of yyng, and both will face the rain as dense as migratory locusts.

On the north bank of the Selenge River, the face of General Kurygin, commander of the Soviet Transcaucasus Military Region, had become gloomy. He never expected that an hour of shelling, plus 10 minutes of carbine shelling, would result in nearly [-] rounds of large-caliber artillery. It still didn't destroy the defense line of the Independent Division, and the enemy suffered heavy casualties. The firepower of the counterattack was still so fierce. Moreover, the artillery of the Independent Division, which had never shown up, also showed its power at this moment.

Not only bombarded the troops who were crossing the river, but also carried out suppressive bombardment of their own artillery positions. Although the number and caliber of the artillery were not enough to change the dominance of the battlefield, the so-called suppressive bombardment, in the opinion of General Kurygin , is more like harassment, but there is a reality that cannot but make him vigilant.

I suspect that the commander of the independent division on the opposite side is a smart person and a person who knows how to endure. After fighting for more than an hour, he did not use artillery firepower. So, what backhands or hidden tricks does he have to deal with it? Own offense?

The first battle to cross the Selenge River made General Kurygin very dissatisfied. One hour of artillery coverage, two to 10 minutes of artillery raids, three mechanized infantry divisions, four regiment-level attacks, the main assault In the direction, the troops of two regiments were released, but on the river, they became a living target for the soldiers of the Independent Division. The pontoon bridge built by the engineering troops was blown up to only a few wooden piles.This battle was won, useless! [

General Kurykin admitted that he overestimated the power of his own artillery fire and underestimated the battlefield survivability of the soldiers of the independent division. In the case of ebb and flow, coupled with the natural barrier of the Selenge River, the advantages of troops and firepower , was offset, as long as the tanks can't reach the south bank, infantry attacks alone.It is impossible to break through the defense line of the independent division.

General Kurykin put down his binoculars and said to Lieutenant General Zirenenko, Chief of Staff: "Comrade Zirenenko, convey my order, the troops stop attacking!"

The situation on the battlefield, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Zirenenko.You can clearly see it in your eyes, and continue to fight like this.Thousands of soldiers in four regiments.I am afraid that they will all become floating corpses on the surface of the Selenge River. Stopping the attack is the best choice. Now, Comrade Commander finally sees the situation clearly, which is great news for the attacking troops.He immediately conveyed the commander's order to the commanders of the first and third mechanized infantry divisions and the commander of the 37th mechanized infantry division of the third army.

On the surface of the Selenge River, Soviet soldiers who were beaten to death.After receiving the signal to stop the attack, Rumeng Amnesty hurriedly turned the assault boat and rowed to the north bank. On the south bank, the defending Outer Mongolia border guards soldiers would naturally not let go of such a good opportunity. Heavy machine guns and mortars, They extended their firepower one after another, and drove thousands of Soviet soldiers back to the north bank with a burst of dense bullets and artillery.

At around [-] a.m. on September [-]th, after more than two hours of fierce fighting, the Soviet army's first attack was repelled, and the surface of the Selenge River shrouded in a thin layer of cold mist returned to calm. , in the eastern sky, a round of rising sun is about to emerge.

Sun Zhenbang put down the binoculars and heaved a long sigh of relief. His military uniform was already wet with sweat. He grabbed the water bottle and drank heavily. Then he asked the staff: "Have the calls to the frontier positions been connected?"

Before the staff officer could answer, a soldier covered in blood broke into the headquarters and said to Sun Zhenbang with tears in his voice: "Commander, when Director Liu was rushing to the forward position to direct the rush to repair the telephone line, we were suddenly bombarded by the Soviet army. , is seriously injured, I'm afraid it's too late!"

The kettle in Sun Zhenbang's hand fell to the ground with a bang. The chiefs of the border defense army headquarters got along with him day and night. Director, when the Yellow River Defense Command was established, he was his old subordinate and served as the chief of the telecommunications department. Later, he followed him and became the Outer Mongolian Frontier Defense Force. He stayed in Outer Mongolia for several years. In those days, he was an old subordinate who shared weal and woe and shared weal and woe.

Sun Zhenbang grabbed the guard and asked eagerly, "Where is Director Liu?"

The guard replied: "It has been sent to the field hospital!"

Sun Zhenbang shouted loudly: "Guards, follow me to the field hospital. Chief of Operations, immediately count the casualties of the troops and the consumption of medicines. I'll see them when I come back!"

When Sun Zhenbang arrived at the field hospital, it was already late, and what he saw was a white sheet covered with a dead body. The director and the military doctor were ashamed, and when they saw the commander coming, they rushed to meet him.

The dean said: "Commander, we have tried our best. When Director Liu sent him here, he was already dead. The injury was too serious. The cannon exploded at close range, and the fragments almost tore everyone apart. We... "

Sun Zhenbang waved his hand, stopped the dean's words, and said in a low tone: "President Liao, I know that you have tried your best, and I hope that your hospital will arrange staff to send Director Liu back to Kulun. We can't bury him in the hospital. Here, let’s bury him in the cemetery of the border guard Kulun, and I will visit him after the battle is over!”

On the way back to the headquarters, Sun Zhenbang felt very heavy. This was the first person in charge of a department directly under the headquarters to be killed after the start of the Selenge River blockade. He was also the first to die among his comrades in arms. What the command said at the time, Sun Zhenbang blamed himself very much. If it weren't for his attitude, he would not have rushed to repair the telephone line after the first shelling by the Soviet army, and he would not have sacrificed.

Although it is said that death is unavoidable in war, but if it is because of his own reasons that the comrades around him are killed in battle, Sun Zhenbang can't let go of it.

On the north bank of the Selenge River, the Soviet Transcaucasus Military District regained the temporary headquarters of the Outer Mongolia Campaign Command. The commander, General Kurykin, is conducting an emergency military meeting. The division commanders of the four mechanized infantry divisions, four tank brigades, two armored brigades and The commanders of the four artillery divisions were all present.

Lieutenant General Zirenenko, chief of staff, is reporting the casualties of the troops, "The battle started at [-]:[-] am today and ended at [-]:[-] am. Our army dispatched a total of more than [-] troops from four infantry regiments. Launch the first attack on the independent division troops on the south bank."

"The results of the battle are as follows. The attacking troops suffered more than 280 casualties, the engineers who erected the pontoon bridge suffered more than 25 casualties, the artillery troops killed more than [-] people, and damaged [-] artillery pieces. Correspondingly, our army's first artillery fire The effect of coverage cannot be evaluated. The second artillery attack wiped out about one mortar regiment of the Independent Division, more than [-] mortars, and more than [-] soldiers of the Independent Division. The shelling effect on the artillery positions of the Independent Division is unknown. , this is the basic situation of the battle, please give instructions to comrade commander!" [

General Kurykin knocked on the table and said in a stern tone: "Comrades, everyone has heard, this is the result of spending more than 6000 cannons and dispatching more than [-] troops. The casualty ratio exceeds seven to one. Maybe, Some comrades will say that after the shelling, we can't see the result. I believe that the result will not let us mny. Just judging from the infantry firepower of the independent division's counterattack, Tang Qiuli's troops have not suffered serious damage at all. blow! This is an undeniable fact!"

The division commanders of the Soviet Army all bowed their heads and said nothing. Comrade Commander was in a fit of anger. Don’t ask for trouble.

In the tent, there was silence, only the roar of General Kurykin, and the dejected looks of the commanders made him even more angry. General Kurykin resisted the urge to curse, and then said: "Soldiers of the Independent Division, can you What is the secret to surviving our hour-long heavy shelling, does that comrade know?"

The division commanders raised their heads, and General Kurygin could see from their blank eyes that his words of enlightenment were aimed at Niu Qin, "The secret is that the soldiers of the Independent Division have excellent soil work ability. They hide themselves underground. Our artillery can't kill Chinese people. The soil on both sides of the Selenge River is not suitable for building solid fortifications on the surface. Therefore, the soldiers of the Independent Division hid themselves underground, which is a very clever way. ,” General Kurykin said word by word.

"So, how should we solve this problem?" General Kurykin said with inspiration. He very much hoped that some of his subordinates could propose even a relatively effective solution. However, he Disappointed, the eyes of the subordinates were still full of confusion.

General Kurykin sighed secretly, he could not count on these people, and shared his worries, he continued: "There is only one solution, which is to completely destroy the underground bunkers and artillery holes of the soldiers of the Independent Division. However, our artillery fire is against them. It cannot constitute a deadly wexe. Therefore, the only way to solve the problem is to dispatch the air force's bombers to bomb the positions of the independent division troops in an all-round and large-scale manner, especially in our main assault direction, and carry out saturated bombing! "

The commanders of the Soviet army woke up like a dream, yes, if the guns are not good enough, they will be bombed by air. Why didn't I think of it? It's really stupid!

General Kurykin disdain to see the admiring eyes of his subordinates, and said to Lieutenant General Zirenenko, the chief of staff: "Comrade Zirenenko, immediately convey my order to the Air Force to dispatch a bomber division. , must carry heavy aerial bombs, and must be able to destroy the bunkers and anti-blasting holes about four meters deep underground, and in addition, tell the comrades in the air force, I want to see our bomber fleet in an hour and a half!"

(To be continued) (To be continued. Mobile phone users, please go to read.)