Age of Rebirth

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force of the Transcaucasus Military Region of the Soviet Union, Major General Sashkov, the air commander of the mixed formation that bombed the Selenge River independent division position, has already started to retreat in his heart, not only the three fighter divisions, but also facing the attack of the independent division fighter group , retreating steadily, and already in a state of despair, what affected his decision was the situation faced by the bomber fleet.

Major General Sashkov had to admit that his opponent Liu Cuigang was an excellent commander, and his use of air combat tactics had reached a level of proficiency. First, he used a similar number of fighters to face his escort fighter formation. When it was hard to separate, another part of the fighter group was sent to attack its own bomber group. This tactic was very effective.

Major General Sashkov received reports from the commanders of the two bomber divisions complaining, "Chief of Staff, the loss of the formation exceeds one-half. Our escort fighter jets can't stop the fighter jets of the independent division from attacking the bombers frantically. Now, The surviving bombers have completed their bombing missions, and I request the comrade chief of staff to allow the bomber formation to return according to the specific situation on the battlefield, otherwise, the losses will be even greater!"

In the reports of the two bomber division commanders, there was no mention of the bombing effect. Major General Sashkov, who is an expert, even thought with the back of his head, and knew that the bombing effect must be unsatisfactory. It was quite bad. Under the attack of the enemy, it can still accurately hit the bombing target, the devil would believe it!

Colonel Meng Qingpeng, who temporarily served as the air commander of the fighter formation of the Independent Division, was keenly aware of the changes on the battlefield and was developing in a direction beneficial to him. The Soviet fighter group already had the intention to retreat, so he immediately ordered: "No .15 Fighter Regiment. Take off immediately and rush to the Selenge River airspace battlefield, responsible for attacking the Soviet bomber fleet, allowing your regiment to pursue long-distance pursuit!" [

Meng Qingpeng's order was well-founded. The fighter jets of the two sides fought for nearly two hours. According to the fuel carried by the fighter jets, the time spent in the air was basically no more than 10 to [-] minutes. The air battle was about to end.Even if the mixed fleet of the Soviet army retreats, its own fleet cannot catch up too deeply. This is still in the case of carrying auxiliary fuel tanks, otherwise, it is impossible to even return.

The cutting-edge No.15 Fighter Regiment is different.With a full load of fuel and auxiliary fuel tanks, it's time to rush to the air combat battlefield.It was time for the Soviet mixed fleet to retreat.It is possible to beat up the Soviet bombers. Even if the Soviet fighters wanted to stop them, the fuel on board would not be enough to support their entanglement.Otherwise, before flying back to the airport in Chita and other places, it will fall halfway, so. The No.15 regiment is a cheap way to play.

Moreover, in Meng Qingpeng's mind, the most severe blow to the Soviet bomber formation can be permanently lifted. The wexe against Commander Sun's blocking position has no bombers, and the wexe against the ground position is only relying on Soviet fighter jets. , will drop to the lowest point. If the number of fighter jets in the reserve team is not too small, Meng Qingpeng will even order that the fleet go directly to several field airports of the Soviet army and beat him severely. Bad breath.

Major General Sashkov finally gave the order to mix the formation and withdraw from the battlefield. The remaining bombers of the Soviet Army, as if they were amnesty, turned around and ran back in a hurry. Under the cover of the Soviet fighters fighting and retreating, they gradually left the battlefield , Meng Qingpeng looked at the fuel gauge of his fighter plane, the pointer was already close to the red danger zone, sighed bitterly, and ordered: "All formations, return immediately!"

In the sky, the tranquility was restored. The smoke from the war just now was blown away by the morning wind on the grasslands of Outer Mongolia. The soldiers on both sides were dumbfounded when they saw a big air battle on the grasslands of Outer Mongolia. The Soviet soldiers thought that the air battle was over. According to the order of the headquarters, on the artillery positions of the Soviet army, the cannons raised their thick muzzles, and the engineering troops of the Soviet army were already preparing to build a pontoon bridge on the Selenge River.

The attacking Soviet troops had already entered the starting point of the attack. At this time, from the sky on the south bank of the Selenge River, the roar of aircraft engines was heard again, and the shrill sirens echoed on the Soviet positions. The army commanders shouted loudly: "Air attack! All disperse and hide! Anti-aircraft artillery fire is ready to shoot into the air!"

However, the Soviet officers and soldiers soon discovered that they were a false alarm. More than 60 independent division fighter jets passed quickly from high altitude and flew northward. The retreating Soviet mixed fleet was not so lucky.

The No.15 Fighter Regiment quickly caught up with the retreating Soviet aircraft fleet and rushed forward to fight fiercely. Moreover, they only picked bombers to start, but there were only more than 60 fighters. The fleet was in a mess, one after another Soviet bombers, with thick smoke and flames, plunged headlong into the ground.

Major General Sashkov hurriedly ordered: "All fighter formations, immediately eliminate this group of independent division fighters, and cover the return of the bomber fleet!"

But the answers of the commanders of each formation made Major General Sashkov feel very sad, "Chief of Staff, the fuel of the plane is close to the alarm, and the French will support the air battle again, and the French will support the air battle again!"

In fact, when Major General Sashkov gave the order, he knew that his order was difficult for others. Not to mention the fighter jets that have been engaged in air combat, even the fuel of his own plane was left, which was just enough to fly back to Chita Airport. Yes, but, you can't just watch, the fighters of the independent division shoot down your own bombers so recklessly.

So what if you are not reconciled, how many fighter jets are still capable of fighting again?Unless Major General Sashkov ordered all the fighters to fight more than 60 fighters of the Independent Division, and then dropped the fighters that ran out of fuel, the pilots parachuted collectively, and the Air Force of the Transcaucasus Military Region was wiped out, and nearly [-] fighters fought And the bombers, as soon as they return, otherwise, they can only let the fighters of these independent divisions run rampant.

This is a continuation of the air battle just now. The No.15 Fighter Regiment has been chasing and killing the Soviet army's return fleet, and went deep into the north bank of the Selenge River for more than [-] kilometers before returning. The Soviet fighters did not suffer any losses, but the bombers But the group suffered disaster, and nearly half of the remaining bombers were killed again!

Major General Sashkov was about to cry. The large aircraft fleet came in a threatening manner. The soldiers were defeated and returned in despondency. The specific losses have not yet been counted. ?

What Major General Sashkov thought about was how to explain to his superiors. General Konev, commander of the Transcaucasus Military Region Air Force, thought about how to explain to the commander of the military region, General Kurykin.

Admiral Konev, who has been staying in the air on the ground of Chita, is well aware of the process of the air battle and the results of the bombing. This time, he played all his cards and still did not get a bargain. However, it was his own command error. , or the fighter pilots are afraid to fight against the independent division aviation, or the tactical arrangement is improper, it can only be that their opponents are too strong and too cunning.

Admiral Konev suddenly felt a sense of strength, and with a mind of resignation, he waited for the storm from General Kurykin.

On the north bank of the Selenge River, at around seven o'clock in the morning on September 21, General Kurykin put down the binoculars in his hand, his face was gloomy, and he didn't say a word, as if he was a sign before the storm.

The staff officers around me were silent, looking at the face of Comrade Commander, they were extra careful when walking and talking. After staying in the headquarters of the military region for a long time, they all knew that this grumpy Commander was a ruthless master. , that unlucky guy has no eyes, hits the muzzle of the gun, he will become a comrade commander, an appetizer before the air force of the military region, as long as he is not blind, he has seen the effect of the bombing, how should I put it, the hit rate is probably not high to one percent. [

The damage effect on the position of the independent division is basically equal to zero. "Those guys in the air force of the military region are going to be unlucky!" , Comrade Commander with a bad temper, can you spare the Air Force?I'm afraid there will be many heads falling to the ground!

Not only the staff think so, but Lieutenant General Zirenenko, the chief of staff of the military region, also thinks so. Before that, Commander Kurygin wanted to get rid of General Konev. I feel sad for the Air Force of the Military Region, it’s not that I didn’t try my best. If we say that the Battle of Selenge River contributed the most and paid the most, everyone would say, “Air Force of the Military Region!” After all, even two days of bloody fighting in the sky, everyone You can see it all.

However, what is important in war is the result, not the process. Zirenenko can only say that Admiral Konev's luck is extremely bad. When he meets such an opponent, as the chief of staff, despite having many thoughts in his heart, he still You have to consider the problem from the perspective of the commander of the military region.

Although doing so was very dishonest and suspected of adding insult to injury, but there was no way, he was the chief of staff of General Kurykin, not General Konev.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Zirnenko tentatively said: "Comrade Commander, we have seen the bombing effect of the Air Force. It is very bad. I have already drawn up a telegram to report the process of this air battle to the General Staff. General Konev, commander of the Air Force, has an unshirkable responsibility and must be responsible for this. This is the draft of the telegram, please review it. If you have no comments, I will immediately order the telecommunications room to send it!"

General Kurykin took the draft of the telegram and read it carefully, with a wry smile on the corner of his mouth, his brows furrowed and then relaxed, as if he had made up his mind, he tore up the draft of the telegram, and with a wave of his hand, the pieces of paper were scattered Floating into the distance with the morning breeze.

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