Age of Rebirth

General Kurykin, the commander of the Transcaucasus Military District of the Soviet Union, insisted on launching an attack on the independent division's position on the south bank of the Selenge River when the troops were not fully prepared.

After a few days of dispatching troops to Outer Mongolia, even after losing troops and losing generals, they failed to cross the Selenge River. The army of more than [-] troops was placed on the north bank, unable to advance or retreat. This has already aroused the concern of Marshal Petroshilov, the chief of staff Dissatisfied, he sent telegrams several times to reprimand him. This is the meaning of the question, and General Kurykin was not too worried.

What worried him was the attitude of Comrade Stalin. In a recent telegram from Marshal Petroshilov, it was simply revealed that the supreme leader's attitude towards himself and the Transcaucasus Military Region was quite dissatisfied. There was a vague plan to change coaches before the battle, which made General Kurykin shudder. He knew too well the methods of the supreme leader, so it was beyond what a cruel and ruthless person could say.

Therefore, we have to fight this battle, take an active offensive posture, show our heart, and then show Comrade Stalin that he is still working hard for the great cause of the Soviet Union. Compared with his own wealth and life, what is the life of a soldier in an ill-prepared attack?

Therefore, although the words of Lieutenant General Zirenenko, Chief of Staff, have a thousand reasons, there is one reason that cannot be avoided. What Comrade Stalin wants to see is the troops of the Transcaucasus Military District, which are in continuous offensive. [

After Lieutenant General Zirenenko finished speaking, General Kurykin said indifferently: "These situations are all within my expectations. Difficulties exist, but they should not be a reason not to launch an attack. I will convey my orders to the troops. At [-]:[-] p.m., the troops attacked on time! Don’t talk too much. Do your own thing!”

Chief of Staff Zirenenko sighed inwardly, and he also vaguely guessed the mind of Comrade Commander, so he knew that he was no longer insisting, promised, and staggered away, full of regret, "This is another game that can be done." Failure to foresee!" he thought to himself.

An hour and a half later, from behind the Soviet position, there was a loud noise like rolling thunder, and the artillery flew over the Selenge River.It landed on the position of the independent division, and a cloud of black smoke and mud was blown up. The Soviet attack officially began.

After the first batch of guns fell, the land on the south bank.Trembling for a while, I saw Liu Hongzhang who was shelled by the Soviet army.The mood is relaxed instead.He grinned at Ouyang Yishan, the deputy commander in chief, and said, "Brother Ouyang, how is it? A commander who has won all battles and counted omissions will also make mistakes in judgment. I really want to see the expression on the commander's face after receiving our telegram. It must be very rich! "

Ouyang Yishan replied helplessly: "Brother Hongzhang, you can describe your current performance in one sentence, you are so proud!"

Then.Ouyang Yishan turned his head and said to Liu Chenglin, Chief of Staff of the First Mechanized Brigade: "Chenglin, immediately call the division headquarters. The Soviet army bombarded our position at [-]:[-] p.m.! Let's start!"

Kulun, the headquarters of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Defense Army, the division commander's office, the chief of staff, Colonel Wang Jun, hurried in with a telegram, and said to Tang Qiuli and the chief of staff Zhao Yuhe: "Minister, chief of staff, received a letter from Selenge According to the telegram from the Heqian headquarters, the Soviet army started shelling our positions a few minutes ago, and Commander Liu Hongzhang reported that the Soviet army's attack is about to begin!"

Tang Qiuli was taken aback. He dropped the document in his hand and stood up. The telegram he sent to Liu Hongzhang was to judge that the Soviet army's attack would be around tomorrow afternoon. Under such circumstances, if Liu Hongzhang arranges troops according to his order, he will suffer a lot!

Tang Qiuli hurriedly asked: "Chief of Staff Wang, didn't Liu Hongzhang's telegram say how to arrange the forward troops?"

Wang Jun replied: "As you said, the two brigades directly under the corps are hidden in the anti-gun holes and shelters of the forward positions, leaving only a few troops to monitor the movements of the Soviet troops on the other side. Take a rest and join the battle at the forefront at any time!"

Then, Wang Jun added, "Master, Commander Liu was prepared and did not follow the orders of the division headquarters. In this way, he just won the opportunity and the troops will not suffer any losses."

Tang Qiuli sighed and said: "This is a lesson. Being in the rear is not as good as a commander on the front line. He understands and grasps the enemy's movements. Commanding blindly will cause big troubles. For all of us, It was a lesson!"

The shelling of the Soviet army continued. However, Lieutenant Colonel Meng Chaoxu, the chief of the combat section of the Outer Mongolia Frontier Army Headquarters, who had experienced the previous battles, clearly felt that the scale and force of the shelling by the Soviet army were far inferior to those of the previous few battles. Not only was the bombardment area reduced to a few points, but the density of the guns was also much lower than before. This can be clearly felt in the shelter.

Therefore, Meng Zhaoxu reported the doubts in his heart to Liu Hongzhang. Liu Hongzhang rolled his eyes a few times and said, "I can only prove one thing. The division commander's judgment is still correct. It’s not enough, it’s a matter of doing our best, or it’s okay, if we fight this kind of battle a few more times, we will be able to relax a lot! Anyway, if we stop the Soviet army for more than three days, the division commander will have another battle plan!”

After more than 40 minutes, the artillery fire of the Soviet army began to extend. Under the setting sun that was already slanting to the west, the north wind rose again. The Soviet soldiers on the north bank began to gather by the river. After several battles, the Soviet engineering troops lost The tragedy was that General Kurykin no longer planned to build a pontoon bridge. One after another, the rubber assault boats were thrown into the river. The Soviet soldiers jumped on the assault boats and began to paddle towards the south bank.

Liu Hongzhang smiled mockingly, muttered "old-fashioned!" and said to Liu Chenglin: "Chenglin, order the forward troops to enter the position and prepare to fight back the Soviet attack! Order the frontier troops of Outer Mongolia on the front line of Luanshi Mountain to prepare reinforcements." Front line preparations!"

At this moment, Meng Zhaoxu, who was observing the Soviet offensive, shouted loudly: "Commander Liu, Deputy Commander Ouyang, come and see, the Soviet tanks appeared on the beach on the north bank, and this is still the trick!"

Liu Hongzhang picked up the binoculars and observed carefully. He heard Meng Zhaoxu's introduction of the previous battles. Soviet tanks lined up on the beach on the north bank, using tank fire to suppress and clear the firepower points on the frontier positions of the Outer Mongolian border guards. , caused serious losses to the troops, and also caused Sun Zhenbang's battle to be extremely passive. The infantry was heavily fired and almost lost.

It has to be said that the tactics of the Soviet commanders are very creative, and they have played the role of heavy artillery. They can suppress the firepower of the defenders when the offensive troops are close to the enemy's positions. Most of the firepower of the light and heavy machine guns was knocked out in this way, and Meng Zhaoxu's face became tense. [

He looked at Liu Hongzhang and Ouyang Yishan with calm faces, thinking that these two commanders did not pay attention to the tactics of the Soviet army, so he couldn't help reminding: "Two commanders, I suggest that Immediately ask for help from the aviation unit. The troops of the Outer Mongolian Border Guards have suffered a great loss under the tactics of the Soviets. We have no artillery fire, and we have nothing to do with the Soviet tanks. The infantry counterattacked with light weapons! The battle was extremely aggrieved!"

Liu Hongzhang and Ouyang Yishan looked at each other and smiled. They didn't take the Soviet army's tactics very seriously. In their hands, they had weapons to restrain the Soviet army's tanks. That's a bunch of live targets.

Liu Hongzhang said to Meng Zhaoxu: "Meng Section Chief, let me show you our windfall today, Cheng Lin, change the order, the infantry will continue to hide for the time being, the bazooka and recoil artillery units, immediately enter the surface position, tell them, those old men I will hand over Maozi's iron bumps to them, and the Soviets will not dare to use this trick again!"

After Liu Chenglin went out, Liu Hongzhang then said to Meng Zhaoxu: "Meng Zhaoxu, there is another point. The Soviet army chose to attack in the afternoon to guard against our aviation bombers. When our planes arrived at the battlefield, it was already dark. The air method can accurately distinguish the ground target, and the bombing becomes empty talk, the calculation of the Soviets is very good!"

At this time, the assault boats of the attacking Soviet infantrymen had already crossed the middle of the river and were approaching the south bank. They were within the range of the light and heavy machine gun fire of the Independent Division. It was the best time to fight back. However, the south bank On the independent division's position, it was still quiet, and there was no flame from the muzzle of the gun.

General Kurykin put down the binoculars suspiciously. He couldn't figure out what kind of tricks the commander of the independent division was playing, but he never believed that with only one-third of the normal firepower density, those stubborn soldiers could be killed. The Chinese soldiers were blown up without a single one left.

Could it be that, after accepting the experience and lessons of the previous few times, after his infantry landed on the beach, they fought back, and the infantry on both sides mixed together to minimize the impact and damage of tank fire on them?General Kurykin thought suspiciously and expectantly.

If this is the case, it is not impossible to seize the beachhead on the south bank. General Kurykin has already made up his mind. If this goal is really achieved, he will spare no effort to launch an uninterrupted attack overnight, even if he pays a lot of casualties. , and no hesitation, the opportunity is rare!

The attack of the Soviet infantry went very smoothly. So far, there has been no counterattack. The Soviet tanks on the beachhead on the north bank began to turn their muzzles, looking for possible fire points. On the battlefield, there were no gunshots, only the explosion of the deep shelling artillery. The battlefield was suffocatingly silent.

Suddenly, several tongues of flame flew out from the dead and silent South Bank position of the Independent Division troops, and General Kurygin relaxed instead, as long as the Independent Division soldiers fought back.

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