Age of Rebirth

General Kurykin lowered his head, mourned in silence for his failure, and was filled with resentment for winning the air supremacy for the law. Many complicated emotions stirred up a burning pain in his heart.

A sound of light footsteps awakened General Kurykin from his disappointment. It was Lieutenant General Zirenenko, the chief of staff, who had returned. The two looked at each other, and they both saw the complicated emotions in each other's hearts.

Comrade Kurykin, the commander, is bitter, while Lieutenant General Zirenenko, the chief of staff, is deeply worried.

General Kurykin said: "Comrade Zirnenko, tell me about the situation, I am mentally prepared for this!"

Lieutenant General Zirenenko took out a few pages and said: "The statistics of the losses of each unit have come up. The follow-up units of the second attack wave were severely damaged. The three infantry regiments lost more than 90.00% of their strength. The brigade, with more than 300 tanks, was blown up by the bombers of the independent division, and the battle damage rate exceeded more than half. Finish."[

Looking at General Kurykin's dull face, Lieutenant General Zirenenko went on to say: "Our troops on the south bank of the Selenge River have a total of fifteen regiments with a strength of more than 5. The loss was not large. I asked in detail about Major General Wadkin who was commanding on the south bank. The organizational system of each unit is relatively complete. However, Major General Wadkin emphasized that without reinforcements from follow-up troops, it is difficult to break through the independent division with the current strength. position."

"Moreover, Major General Wadkin also raised a question, whether the Chinese will take large-scale counterattacks when we have no tank fire to suppress the firepower of the independent division troops. The situation will be quite bad. After losing the foothold on the beach, the troops will be forced to retreat, and it is also a problem to meet tens of thousands of soldiers to cross the river."

General Kurykin sneered, and said: "Retreat? How could Vadkin think of this stupid question? After two days of fierce fighting, the Independent Division has already had a lot of consumption. They have launched a counterattack and gained a foothold. Point. How can you give up easily, joke, chief of staff, order the third echelon, and immediately start crossing the river to attack. The bombers of the independent division have returned, and we just want to seize this opportunity!"

"It's 25:[-] in the afternoon. Tell the troops. An hour later, an attack must be launched. Order the troops on the south bank to provide fire cover. The engineering troops continue to build bridges and continue to work. Don't stop at night. Tell him the engineering command. If I will not see a pontoon bridge for two tank brigades before six o'clock tomorrow morning. Their commanders, including political commissars, will be shot!"

Chief of Staff Zirenenko turned pale with fright. He had just returned from the third echelon that was preparing to assemble. He knew how badly the troops were bombed by the independent division. What about crossing the river?It is now 05:30 in the afternoon, and an hour later, it will be [-]:[-]. It is already late autumn, and it is dark early. Isn't it true that the troops are still crossing the river, and they are going to fight in the dark?

Attacking at night has never happened to the troops of the Transcaucasus Military Region. It is not easy to fight during the day, let alone fighting at night, and it is even more impossible for engineers to build bridges overnight.

The torrential river is difficult to operate even during the day. At night, if the pontoon bridge is not built, the equipment will be washed away by the river. Moreover, without the suppression of tank fire, the independent division can let the engineers build the pontoon bridge?The mortar bombing in the morning still remains in his mind deeply. Has Comrade Commander considered these issues?

Chief of Staff Zirenenko hurriedly said: "Comrade Commander, I understand your feelings, but the deployment of the campaign should also be carried out according to the actual situation. As the Chief of Staff, I reserve my personal opinion, and I do not agree with your decision."

Then, Lieutenant General Zirnenko made a detailed statement of the reasons for his objection, with a sincere and firm attitude.

General Kurykin would not have thought of this, but the attitude of his chief of staff was a bit unexpected, but he knew that these were real difficulties, but did he have other choices?

General Kurykin smiled wryly, and said in a gentle tone: "Comrade Zirenenko, I agree with your opinion, but it does not mean that I accept your suggestion. Today's battle, if there is no sudden appearance of the bomber group of the independent division, We have already set foot on the land on the south bank, so the lack of air supremacy is our greatest passiveness, and the troops on the south bank, the troops of the independent division who are firmly defended, are firmly suppressed on the river beach, extremely passive."

"If we don't take advantage of the situation and continue to attack, what if the independent division defends the army and launches a counterattack that night? After a scuffle, will the troops on the south bank still be able to take on the task of covering the follow-up troops to cross the river? If we still have to wait until the tank fire cover , the bomber fleet of the Independent Division will still come to bomb, we can't bear such a big loss again, and without the armored assault force, it will become very difficult to conquer the Battle of Kulun."

"Perhaps, before reaching the outskirts of Kulun, the cavalry units of the Independent Division Outer Mongolian Frontier Army will wear us down. Sergeyev's Third Army is an obvious example, so we must launch a continuous attack anyway. attack!"

Speaking of this, General Kurygin suddenly sighed, and then continued a little lonely: "Comrade Zirnenko, we have no time. The Selenge River has blocked us for more than two days. According to Comrade Stalin's instructions , Comrades in Outer Mongolia, there will be a riot, asking the air force of our military region to bomb Kulun to create opportunities for them. You also know that the current air force, after two large-scale air battles, has been severely damaged and capable of combat , is basically exhausted, and has no ability to organize a capable night bomber unit to bomb Kulun."

"The stipulated deadline is tomorrow night. Comrade Zirnenko, the air force of the military region can't count on it. We can only break through the defense line of the independent division as quickly as possible. Otherwise, there will be no external support. Comrades in Outer Mongolia will inevitably It will be massacred by Tang Qiuli's subordinates, so that the riot fails, this responsibility is more serious than the loss of tens of thousands of troops, it is not something you and I, or even the entire Transcaucasus Military Region, can bear!"

"I want to launch an attack after gaining air supremacy. Will the General Staff allow us to stay on the north bank of the Selenge River for too long? Comrade Stalin can accept our nearly [-] mechanized troops, and it is impossible to break through the second-rate troops of [-] to [-] independent divisions. , A solid line of defense? Neither, so, Comrade Chief of Staff, I don’t have to choose, I must launch a continuous offensive today, even if the troops lose a lot, I must do this! I hope you can support my work!”

Chief of Staff Zirenenko sighed deeply. He saw Nai in the eyes of Comrade Commander, he was silent for a moment, and said: "Comrade Commander, I understand. I will rush to the attacking force immediately and personally command the third Echelon and engineering units, since you don’t have to choose, I can only do my best as the Chief of Staff! I hope to fulfill your wish.”

However, when he said the last sentence, Chief of Staff Zirenenko didn't even have a clue in his own hands. Of course, General Kurykin also heard it. He smiled and squeezed the chief of staff's hand tightly. hand, watching him leave in a hurry.

On the south bank of the Selenge River, at the campaign headquarters of the Outer Mongolia Frontier Defense Army, at around five o'clock in the afternoon on September 21, Sun Zhenbang's spirit improved a bit, his face became less pale, and although he was still weak, he could think normally. With his eyes closed, he was listening to the report of Meng Zhaoxu, chief of the combat department. [

Meng Zhaoxu finished his concise report. After a long time, Sun Zhenbang opened his eyes and asked, "Zhaoxu, according to your judgment, after the bombing by our bomber fleet, will the Soviet attack come to an end here?"

Meng Zhaoxu replied cautiously: "Commander, according to my judgment, the Soviet army will attack again, at least today. The reason is very simple. The Soviet army's tanks have been severely damaged, and more than half of the follow-up troops that are crossing the river , Almost the entire army was wiped out, and they assembled their troops again to prepare to cross the river to attack, but within two or three hours, they couldn’t do it, and seeing the sun was about to set, crossing the river to fight would be extremely disadvantageous to the attacking side.”

Sun Zhenbang didn't express any opinion, he asked another question, "Zhao Xu, how about the casualties of the troops?"

Meng Zhaoxu replied in a heavy tone: "Commander, the troops suffered a lot of casualties, and the reduction reached about one-third, especially the troops of the First Brigade Commander Wang Qingshan, because they were guarding the main assault area of ​​the Soviet Army, and the casualties were more than 4000/2." More than one-third, especially the mortar troops, have lost more than half. Our two artillery brigades have less than two regiments of artillery that can continue to be used. Now, the number of troops capable of combat is more than [-] People, two days of fierce fighting, more than [-] casualties, and we have no reserve team, all the troops have gone into battle."

Sun Zhenbang closed his eyes and didn't speak for a long time. Meng Zhaoxu saw that the commander's eyes were shining with tears, and the muscles on his cheeks were twitching uncontrollably.

After a long time, Sun Zhenbang said in a weak tone: "Zhaoxu, in my judgment, the Soviet army will never let it go. They have already gained a foothold on the beach, which is their greatest reliance. Tell the brigade commanders that you must strengthen your guard tonight. , I always have a feeling that the Soviet army will launch an attack and take out all their property. As long as they survive tonight, reinforcements will arrive, and artillery, all the artillery will be fired, and the forward positions will also be given Provide fire support."

"It's time to fight desperately. Also, report the battle situation to the division commander frequently!" After saying these words, Sun Zhenbang passed out from exhaustion.

Meng Zhaoxu quietly exited Sun Zhenbang's ward and looked at his watch. It was just at [-]:[-], the sun seemed to be hanging in the sky, and the night was so far away. He had never felt that today was so long, so long crazy.

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