Age of Rebirth

Countless mortars flew down like raindrops, beating the water of the Selenge River like a boiling pot of boiling water. Unlucky for the Soviet soldiers, their covering firepower on the north bank was basically facing the south bank, hiding in the trenches The mortars of the independent division of the Japanese army did not constitute any wexe. At this time, if the artillery bombardment was ordered, even the attacking Soviet troops would have to follow the bad luck and be bombed into the sky together.

The mortar units of the Independent Division shelled for more than 20 minutes, causing great casualties to the attacking Soviet troops of the twelve regiments. The remaining Soviet soldiers braved the mortars flying all over the sky, Finally approached the beachhead on the south bank, at this moment, the shelling of the Independent Division stopped abruptly.

Then, several light and heavy machine guns and submachine guns sprayed flames. When they covered their heads, they were like a three-dimensional metal wall. They hit their heads. On the ground, seven or eight blood holes appeared on his body, and the huge kinetic energy brought the corpse of the Soviet soldier to his back, and the blood that "cuckooed" stained the river red.

The Soviet soldiers were pressed by the rain on the river beach, unable to lift their heads. The dense gunfire suddenly became sparse, and there were only the roars of light and heavy machine guns. Just when the Soviet soldiers thought they could breathe a sigh of relief, the disaster was not over yet. , One after another, grenades flew over like black old ravens. The clever soldiers of the independent division learned how to fight the mortar artillery. Under the orders of the squad and platoon leaders, after firing the grenades, they threw them out three seconds .

Countless grenades exploded in the air, and pieces roared down. The Soviet soldiers lying on the wet and muddy river beach faced another burst of fear of death. After the grenades passed, dense gunshots rang out again. [

Sun Zhenbang is in the headquarters.Seeing the whole process of the battle, he laughed happily "quack", and said to the staff: "See, this is how blocking warfare is played. I learned this skill from our teacher. When fighting devils in China Son, use this trick a lot!"

General Kurykin standing on the high platform naturally saw all this, and he put down the binoculars vigorously with both hands.A little tired, he said to the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Zirenenko: "Chief of staff, order the troops to stop attacking and withdraw. Such attacks are futile and can only increase the casualties of the troops. Our opponent is a difficult commander. Officer. Mortars. Even using mortars, they repelled the attack of my twelve infantry regiments, which is unbelievable!"

It's no wonder that General Kurykin couldn't believe it. On the battlefield, tanks, armored vehicles and large-caliber artillery played the leading role.There are also aircraft, and mortars in the Transcaucasus Military Region can only be used as support firepower, not even artillery.It would be good if each battalion could equip a platoon with more than a dozen guns. In the mechanized units, mortars were not equipped at all. In his impression, mortars were equipment that could be eliminated.

And in today's offensive and defensive battle, General Kurykin had a new understanding of the mortars that he despised. The commander of the independent division on the other side actually took out mortars with more than three regiments Shock cannons, blowing up their own soldiers, blood and flesh flying everywhere, sinking corpses to the surface of the Lengge River, can use this kind of equipment that can be eliminated to achieve an effect no less than that of large-caliber artillery groups. This person's tactical command is sophisticated and vicious, It can be seen.

In fact, General Kurygin overestimated the role of the mortar troops of the Outer Mongolian Border Guards. In any case, mortars cannot replace the role of large-caliber artillery, but in terms of explosive power, it is not the same.

Sun Zhenbang had no choice but to do so. The Outer Mongolian Border Guards belonged to the second-line garrison. It was impossible for them to prepare large-caliber heavy artillery brigades and regiments like the other main field regiments. However, he did not want to reduce the heavy firepower of the troops. So, Then pay attention to the mortars that are not needed by the main corps. In each infantry battalion, there is a mortar company, and in each cavalry regiment, there is also a mortar company.

In this way, when encountering a small-scale battle, the artillery can be used as fire support. However, he did not expect that in today's blocking battle, he gave himself an unexpected surprise, which made General Kurygin, the supreme commander of the Soviet army, , very depressed.

The Soviet Army's first attack was repelled cleanly, and calm was restored on both sides of the Selenge River. The pontoon bridge that was opened and built.There is no shadow at all.

General Kurykin returned to the tent and took a few sips of strong vodka before suppressing his anger. The chief of staff, Lieutenant General Zirenenko, was reporting the situation of the attack, "Comrade Commander, from [-]:[-] At about nine o'clock, the first attack failed. During the one-and-a-half-hour battle, our attacking troops suffered more than [-] casualties, of which more than [-] were killed. people, the ratio of casualties reached about one-fifth of the attacking troops.”

Chief of Staff Zirenenko paused for a while, and added a few words, "All the casualties were after the river crossing started, which shows that our shelling did not destroy the defensive positions of the independent division troops. I was injured by mortar fire, commander, I suggest that the attack should be stopped and a safe solution should be found, otherwise, if this continues, the casualties of the troops will be too great!"

General Kurykin gasped. The battle lasted only an hour and a half, and more than two main regiments were disabled. He asked, "How are the enemy's casualties?" Consumption, even if the casualty ratio is two to one, it takes three to five days to fight, and there are not many independent division troops left for defense.

At best, there are no more than [-] to [-] troops. Can it withstand such consumption?With a defensive front more than [-] kilometers wide, how many troops can be defended per kilometer? As long as the frequency and density of attacks are not afraid of casualties, within a few days, the cunning independent division commander on the other side can be stretched out. Shou!

This is the most cruel way of fighting. Although doing so, the troops of the Transcaucasus Military Region will pay a great price in casualties, but in order not to be beheaded by Comrade Stalin, General Kurykin didn't care too much.

Chief of Staff Zirenenko replied hesitantly: "According to the reports of the generals in command, the enemy's casualties are no more than five hundred at most!" This number, Chief of Staff Zirenenko, still added some water Yes, in order to take care of the mood of Comrade Commander, in fact, the number of annihilated enemies according to the statistics will never exceed 300.

General Kurykin's complexion was extremely ugly, and he was choking on his chest. With a casualty ratio of more than ten to one, it is not an option to fight for consumption. If we continue to fight with such a casualty ratio, I am afraid that the troops of the independent division will not be exhausted. Comrade commander By himself, he became a polished commander, and his soldiers were available.

The next battle, how to fight, the safe method has been tested, the air force failed two consecutive bombings, and the rest is to let the troops detour to the two wings of the Selenge River, avoiding the frontal independent division defensive position, the idea is actually Ok, unfortunately it is difficult to achieve.

General Kurykin is an experienced commander. Naturally, he would not be in one place, strangled with the defense troops of the Independent Division, and repeatedly bumped into the iron plate without looking back. The terrain conditions along the coast were collected in great detail.

From the ferry in front of you, within more than 100 kilometers up and down, there is no place suitable for large troops to enter. Either the current is fast, the river is wide, and the river bottom is full of mud, making it difficult to erect a pontoon bridge, or both sides of the river are steep. More than [-] kilometers away from here, there is a place suitable for troops to cross the river. However, they have to pass through swamps tens of kilometers wide. If infantry walk, they can reach there.

Mechanized vehicles are difficult to move. The mechanized equipment in the Transcaucasus Military Region is not enough to fill the swamp. What role can the remaining pure infantry play? With 10,000+ troops, if only the infantry crosses the river and the troops from other parts of the Independent Division surround them, will the prospect be wonderful?The answer is obviously not. [

Moreover, if those cunning Chinese can ignore such an obvious place suitable for crossing the river, and take advantage of the time when the troops are crossing the river, they will attack halfway across the river, and the losses will not be what they are today, or the entire army will be wiped out Yes, so, limited by the topographical conditions of the Selenge River, the nearly 30 troops of the Transcaucasus Military Region can only be here to fight the border guards of Outer Mongolia. That is to say, Sun Zhenbang’s troops are controlled by Selenge The only passage to go down to Kulun in Henan, there is no other way, a natural barrier that cannot be bypassed.

Of course, if you wait for a month and a half to two months, everything will be easy to handle. On the grasslands of Outer Mongolia, there is heavy snow and freezing weather. Although it will cause considerable difficulties for the mechanized troops to march, Se Leng However, the Ge River has lost its role as a natural barrier. Mechanized troops can pass through the frozen river, but can General Kurykin wait?

The answer is still no, the General Staff will not give him time, and Comrade Stalin will not give him time, hoping that the weather will cool down a little bit, even if he allows himself to wait for the opportunity, by then, the war situation will become even worse.

For as long as one and a half to two months, the main force of the independent division will continue to come from China. At that time, the troops of the Transcaucasus Military Region, let alone attacking, should consider how not to be swarmed Then came the problem of encircling and annihilating the main corps of the Independent Division.

So General Kurykin didn't dare to wait, and couldn't afford to wait. He frowned, thought for a while, and said to Lieutenant General Zirenenko, Chief of Staff: "Convey my order, replace the troops that attacked in the first round, and go to the The rear was rested, and new cutting-edge troops were deployed, still in the size of twelve regiments. After one and a half hours, the second attack was launched! In addition, the shelling time was extended to one hour, and the main shelling target was our planned breakthrough direction! "

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