Age of Rebirth

The chief of staff of the Transcaucasus Military Region of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General Zirenenko, was full of nei. He didn't want to see the entire battle fail because of the general's disagreement. That would not do him any good.

However, one is the suspicious No. [-] chief of the military region, and the other is the supreme commander of the military region's air force. At that time, the wording should be as tactful and polite as possible, abandoning the tough attitude of Comrade Commander, and seeking the opinion of General Konev, Commander of the Air Force of the Military Region, in a consultative tone.

Not bad, Admiral Konev called back very quickly, not only agreed happily, everything was in accordance with the combat plan of Comrade Commander Kurykin, but also came up with his own opinions, dispatching three fighter divisions at the same time to provide support for the two bombers. Division escort, this time, the Transcaucasus Military Region Air Force is fully deployed. It seems that Admiral Konev has also learned the lesson of the day, and Lieutenant General Zirnenko is very relieved.

He hurried to Commander Kurykin's tent and reported the attitude of Konev, Commander of the Air Force of the military region, and the measures taken by the Air Force. General Kurykin nodded without comment, and muttered vaguely , but the sharp-eared Lieutenant General Zirnenko still heard clearly, "He's smart!"

On the night of September 10,000th, the north bank of the Selenge River under the night was not peaceful. Two [-]+ Soviet troops were making careful preparations for the attack launched at five o'clock tomorrow morning. Sun Zhenbang on the south bank, naturally It is even less passive waiting. [

From the south bank of the Selenge River to the rocky mountain in the rear, at a distance of about [-] kilometers, under the cover of night, tens of thousands of officers and soldiers of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army were wielding shovels and picking picks.I worked hard and dug four traffic trenches leading to the forward positions. According to Commander Sun Zhenbang's request, the width of the traffic trenches was [-] meters and the depth reached more than [-] meters. Dig the blast holes.

So that when encountering Soviet shelling and bombing, the soldiers can quickly hide, which is to deal with the Soviet army with superior artillery fire.The ancient and effective method, Sun Zhenbang's idea is that even the artillery fire of the Soviet army blocked the road from the front to the rear and passed through the traffic trenches.It is also possible to quickly mobilize troops, deliver supplies and medicine, and evacuate the wounded.Can it stop the Soviet army for six days.Just rely on these traffic trenches.

However, adding up to a distance of more than ten kilometers is a huge amount of earthwork. Therefore, after nightfall, except in the forward position.A small number of troops were left to monitor the movement of the Soviet army, and the rest of the troops were devoted to this project.Even Sun Zhenbang, the commander, was no exception. At this moment, he was wearing a shirt, and the "whoosh" of the engineer's pick was blown by the wind. A staff officer ran over, lay next to his ear, and whispered: "Commander, received According to the report from the forward troops, the Soviet army on the other side has made unusual moves!"

Sun Zhenbang stopped his movements suddenly, wiped his sweat, and without alarming others, he took two guards and hurried back to the shelter where the headquarters was located. As he walked on the road, he murmured in his heart, "Could it be that the Soviet army is about to attack?" No, it has been quiet for a long time, the old man has no reason to attack at night? Besides, there is no sound of guns and shells, and the troops have discovered the intention of digging traffic trenches, so they should also be bombarded with artillery fire to destroy my actions?"

After entering the shelter, Sun Zhenbang lay on the lookout, raised his binoculars, and observed the movement of the Soviet army on the opposite side. He saw, in the deserted night, a string of not very dense lights, from far to near, and then came The sound of truck engines, the yelling of Soviet soldiers, and, in the distance, lights flashed from time to time, one after another.

Sun Zhenbang threw down the binoculars and muttered, "Damn it, the reinforcements from the Soviet army have arrived, and there are quite a few of them! At least there are five or six divisions of troops, staff officer! Staff officer! Report this situation to the division commander immediately, the Soviet army The second echelon arrived at the line of the Selenge River, and the preliminary estimate is that the strength is five to six divisions!"

Tang Qiuli, who received the telegram, couldn't help frowning. He ordered Sun Zhenbang's troops to abandon the defensive defense and stick to the Selenge River blockade line. This was based on the existing Soviet troops. Now, the follow-up troops of the Soviet army are coming Moreover, the strength of the troops has reached five or six divisions, which means that Sun Zhenbang, who originally fought against the four mechanized divisions of the Soviet Army, now wants to block ten infantry divisions of the Soviet Army, with about 16 people. The strength of the Soviet Army is Sun Zhenbang more than three times.

Tang Qiuli hesitated a little. He wanted to change the order again. He ordered Sun Zhenbang's troops to implement defensive tactics, but the military order changed three times in two days, and it was a taboo for commanders. Suitably, without changing the order, will Sun Zhenbang be able to withstand the Soviet army whose strength is more than three times that of his own?

Tang Qiuli was quite distressed, because there were too few troops available. If Tang Qiuli knew that the follow-up troops of the Soviet army were not five or six divisions, but nine infantry divisions, he would change his order without hesitation. , And, will order the first brigade and second brigade of the directly affiliated regiment who are rushing to the Selenge River battlefield to build a blocking line on the spot to meet Sun Zhenbang's troops.

However, the follow-up troops of the Soviet army came at night, and the intelligence could not have fallen into Tang Qiuli's hands so quickly, which prompted him to give up the idea of ​​changing the order and ordered Wang Jun, the chief of staff of the border guards, to give Sun Zhenbang replied, "Pay close attention to the movement of the Soviet army. Liu Cuigang's air force will provide air fire support for your department and immediately establish an effective ground-air communication network." Can't help pinching a sweat.

After dealing with Sun Zhenbang's telegram and looking at his watch, it was already past ten o'clock in the night of September [-]th. Tang Qiuli couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, feeling his head swollen. He was locked up in this temporary headquarters for more than ten hours , was about to go out to get some air, when a report came from outside the door, "Reporting to the division commander, I received an urgent telegram from the Zeng Shiqiang Brigade of the [-]rd Cavalry Brigade!"

"Zeng Shiqiang of the [-]rd Cavalry Brigade? Didn't he go across the north bank of the Selenge River? What kind of emergency will happen? Could it be that other units of the Soviet Army have been discovered. At the critical moment, don't make any troubles!" Tang Qiuli was stunned for a moment, feeling a little uneasy, "Come in!" he shouted.

A captain and staff officer came in and handed Tang Qiuli a telegram, and he hurriedly took it, "Master, after my Third Cavalry Brigade entered the area on the north bank of the Selenge River, the original plan was to go deep into the rear of the Soviet army and go around Passing through the frontal forces of the Soviet army, they attacked the Soviet army's transport convoys and logistics supply lines. However, our brigade, on the way of concealed movement, found the Soviet army in the Urigantala area, more than [-] kilometers away from the left wing of our army's defense line on the Selenge River. Army units, the strength of which is about two infantry divisions, and no tanks and armored units were found."

"Since the discovery of the target, I sent a cavalry reconnaissance team to track and reconnaissance the marching direction of the Soviet army. I found that the marching direction of this Soviet army was the western region of Outer Mongolia. , harassment, exhaustion, until the final annihilation of the two Soviet divisions, the combat plan is being formulated by the Brigade Operations Section, and then reported to the division commander for approval!"

Regardless of Zeng Shiqiang's request for a battle, first of all, Tang Qiuli was puzzled by the actions of these two Soviet divisions. The current main battlefield is on the line of the Selenge River. The main battlefield, running to the west of Outer Mongolia, what are they going to do?

Tang Qiuli immediately found Wurigentala on the map. He was even more puzzled when he saw the terrain conditions on the map. Many thoughts and judgments flashed into his mind one by one.

Could it be that they want to circumvent Sun Zhenbang's frontal defense line, surround his troops in a roundabout way, or go straight to Kulun? The infantry division, at best, has a strength of more than 2 but less than [-] troops. It can have no big effect. Moreover, there are local garrison troops of the Outer Mongolian Border Guards along the way from Urigentala to Kulun.

After exhausting all the way to the vicinity of Kulun, the Soviet army of the two divisions, how many troops are left, and the ability to attack Kulun, and Urigantala is far away from the Selenge River. The river in this section is turbulent. The banks of the river were so high that they were most unsuitable for crossing. Didn't the Soviet army ask for trouble? If they didn't detour to Sun Zhenbang's rear and didn't cross the Selenge River, what was the Soviet commander going to do?

Could it be that there is a bigger attempt that I can't judge?Tang Qiuli shook his head while denying each possibility. He was very puzzled. The sudden emergence of two Soviet infantry divisions might change the entire battle situation. [

At this time, Wang Jun, Chief of Staff of the Outer Mongolia Frontier Defense Army, came back after sending the telegram. Tang Qiuli handed Zeng Shiqiang's telegram to Wang Jun and said, "Chief of Staff Wang, look, this is from the Third Cavalry Brigade." In the telegram, two Soviet infantry divisions were found in the area of ​​Urigentala, and I can't judge their intentions! I don't know what the Soviet commander is going to do, it is very troublesome!"

When Wang Jun received the telegram, he also frowned and murmured, shaking his head and nodding his head for a while, making Tang Qiuli baffled. However, he waited patiently. Wang Jun, a local snake resident in Outer Mongolia, might , will see some tricks!

Suddenly, Wang Jun's eyes lit up, and he walked quickly to the map of Outer Mongolia, picked up a pencil, and drew a crooked line, starting from Urigantala, extending to the western part of Outer Mongolia, and reaching Kebu Most of the time, it stops abruptly, and around this line, circles are drawn from time to time, which are some key towns. Tang Qiuli seems to understand, but he still wants to hear Wang Jun's opinion.

Putting down the pencil, Wang Jun said excitedly: "Master, I have initially judged the intention of the two Soviet divisions sneaking here. The Soviet commander is quite insidious. Their goal is Khobduo, an important town in western Outer Mongolia!"

(to be continued) (to be continued...)