Age of Rebirth

In the position on the south bank of the Selenge River, the cannons and bombs rang out indiscriminately. The explosions were like boiling a pot. The dust and smoke that rose up covered the rising sun, making one almost think it was a gloomy place. morning.

Liu Hongzhang held up the binoculars, his face covered with dark clouds, and carefully observed the Soviet infantrymen who were attacking the south bank in a rubber assault boat under the cover of firepower in the open space. Normally speaking, it would take another ten minutes for the Soviet army to arrive. When the middle of the river is slightly closer to the south bank, it is the best time to fight back. Whether it is a mortar or a light and heavy machine gun, it can beat the Soviet army with seven or eight regiments like dumplings.

But not now, the bombs and artillery above the head rained down, and the surface position was almost turned upside down. No matter how many troops were put on it, they would be blown to pieces in no time. Taking advantage of it, dozens of Soviet bombers were killed, but what followed was fierce retaliation from the Soviet artillery and bomber fleet.

When Liu Hongzhang saw that the situation was not good, he ordered all the artillery holes and shelters to be withdrawn. Of the hundreds of anti-aircraft firepower points, less than half of the soldiers returned. More than 400 people were killed, more than 2000 were injured, and hundreds of light and heavy machine guns and dozens of anti-tank guns were lost. Liu Hongzhang was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do.

The deputy commander, Ouyang Yishan, was on the side, and said anxiously: "Commander Liu, I'm afraid the casualties of the troops will not be small if the air strikes and artillery fire come down!" [

Liu Hongzhang knew what Ouyang Yishan was referring to. The anti-blasting holes and shelters built by Sun Zhenbang when he was there were basically damaged to varying degrees and could withstand the bombardment of artillery.But it couldn't bear the heavy air bombing, and it was expected that it would collapse.

Hiding in the bomb defense holes and shelters to be bombed, this battle was fought in a useless manner from the beginning, but it could only be fought like this. He was as bold as Liu Hongzhang, and he did not dare to risk the cannons and bombs flying all over the sky, ordering troops to enter the surface position, That's about the same as sending soldiers to die.

Liu Hongzhang gritted his teeth and said to Ouyang Yishan without turning his head: "Brother, there is no way. If you don't hide, you will suffer more casualties. There is no good way to fight now. Tell the troops to bring the Soviet army closer. Hit. Stir together, no matter whether it is a cannon or an aircraft, it is useless. Use grenades and submachine guns, wait for the old Maozi soldiers to approach and fight, and fight in close combat. Our soldiers directly under the regiment have never been afraid of anyone. How about the little devil? .The bayonet has also been fought!"

Ouyang Yishan nodded, Liu Hongzhang's words made sense, there was no artillery fire and aerial bombardment, and they fought face to face.The two brigades directly under the corps are mostly equipped with automatic weapons, which can ensure the intensity of firepower. The soldiers of the brigade have never been ashamed of fighting the Japanese or the British army, and they can't admit defeat when facing the Soviet army!

General Kurykin brought out the largest offensive lineup. Seven or eight regiments of the Soviet army approached the south bank without any resistance. The Soviet soldiers shouted "Ulla!" There was a splash of water all the way, rushing towards the positions of the independent division troops from four main directions.

At this time, the artillery fire of the Soviet Army began to extend. The bomber group had finished dropping its bombs and was ready to return. Soldiers of the Independent Division who came out.

Liu Hongzhang had already picked up the phone, and was about to give an order to counterattack. In the sky, the sound of machine guns from fighter jets was heard. Meng Qingpeng commanded all the fighter jets of the Northern Flying Group to rush to the sky above the Selenge River battlefield.

Liu Hongzhang put down his hand again, and said to himself: "It's finally here, it's not too late, I don't ask you winged ones to do anything, just kill the old Maozi's bombers, the rest of the work, my old Liu Do it yourself!"

Meng Qingpeng's fleet appeared above the battlefield, and the escorting Soviet fighter group immediately began to adjust its formation to face the battle immediately. Judging from the number of fighters, the reinforced Soviet fighters plus the remaining fighters of the Transcaucasus Military Region Air Force will go to the battlefield. More than the fighters of the Northern Flying Group, when they saw their opponents, they immediately rushed forward aggressively, showing a posture of fighting.

However, Meng Qingpeng's style of play is different from yesterday's. He is determined to take down the largest Soviet bomber facing the ground, causing heavy losses. The blocking pressure of ground forces.

Therefore, at the beginning of the air battle, it was divided into two battlefields. A small part of the fighter group of the Northern Flying Group faced the Soviet fighter group, and most of them threw off their opponents and went straight to the Soviet bomber group. Immediately start catching and fighting.

Meng Qingpeng was driving the fighter plane, turned over, dodged a shot from behind, and glanced at the situation on the ground. On the beachhead on the south bank of the Selenge River, there was a dense mass of Soviet soldiers, wading to attack. Meng Qingpeng He gritted his teeth fiercely. Although he was at a disadvantage in terms of the number of fighter jets, and was dealing with Soviet fighter jets and attacking Soviet bombers, he was not incapable of providing air fire support to ground troops.

"The third regiment and the fourth regiment, immediately attack the Soviet army on the ground!" Meng Qingpeng issued an order.

More than [-] fighter jets immediately abandoned the Soviet bombers that were about to be captured. With a touch of the joystick, the nose of the plane was pressed down, and the altitude was quickly lowered, and they rushed straight to the ground. Tongues of flames spewed out, like whips of fire, fiercely lashed at the Soviet troops who had already landed.

The blow from the air was different from a catastrophe for the Soviet attacking troops. Strings of guns swept over, hitting the river with white foam, and immediately there was a mass of flesh and blood flying everywhere. Rows of Soviet soldiers planted Fell in the river, in the muddy muddy water on the beach.

On the high ground, General Kurykin, who was observing the situation on the battlefield, put down his binoculars, and angrily shouted at the Chief of Staff Zirenenko next to him: "Ask the Air Force, what are they doing? With such a superior number of fighter jets, they still let the independent The fighters of the division, attack my offensive echelon?"

There is no need to ask questions. The commander of the Soviet air fleet in charge immediately realized this problem. More than 100 Soviet fighter jets broke away from the battle group and rushed towards the third and fourth regiments. At this time, two of the Northern Flying Group The fighters of the regiment have completed the first round of strafing, which completely disrupted the offensive rhythm of the Soviet army.

Meng Qingpeng smiled gratifiedly, that's enough, I can only do so much for the ground troops, the fighters of the third and fourth regiments, under his order, immediately climbed to the height, approached the large fleet, and joined the Soviet fighter group Kill in a ball.

Liu Hongzhang, who had witnessed all this, shouted excitedly: "Good job! What is needed is this moment, Cheng Lin, to order the troops to enter the surface fortification immediately, taking advantage of the time when the old Maozi soldiers were beaten dizzy by our plane , Start to fight back, don’t drive these guys back to the other side of the river, don’t allow the fight to end!”[

Soldiers from the [-]st and [-]nd Brigades directly under the Corps got out of the bomb holes and shelters, and before they had time to shake off the mud and dust on their bodies, and had no time to repair the fortifications that had been blown beyond recognition, they relied on the pits and started shooting violently.

Light and heavy machine guns and submachine guns roared, and the dense rain covered the Soviet soldiers on the beach. The sound of guns and artillery from the sky and the ground echoed each other, hitting the line of the Selenge River like a boiling water pot. Generally, glowing with blood and gunpowder.

Meng Qingpeng's tactics were very effective. A bomber division of the Soviet Army was surrounded by more than twice as many fighter jets from the Independent Division and fought hard. The Soviet fighter jets on the periphery rushed in desperately. Some fell to the ground with black smoke, but there were more Soviet fighter jets and bombers exploding in the air. This was an unprecedented melee. The scale may not be comparable to the scene of an air battle involving thousands of planes, but the level of jle is much higher. And not as good as.

The gunpowder smoke rising from the ground mixed with the gunpowder smoke in the air to form a thick three-dimensional cloud of smoke, covering both the sky and the ground in chaos. It was impossible to distinguish the gunshots from the sky or the gunshots from the ground. The screams of the soldiers, the explosion of the grenade, and the roar of the fighter jets turned a clear morning into a hellish slaughterhouse. The fighter pilots on both sides and the soldiers on the ground were all red-eyed.

Flesh and flesh were flying, pieces were roaring, and the ground defense battle was extremely fierce. The closest distance, the Soviet Army's ground offensive troops, were only a few tens of meters away from the independent division's position, and it seemed that they were within reach. However, the distance between them became a barrier of death. The bullets of light and heavy machine guns and submachine guns roared like tearing through the air, so that the morning air of the Outer Mongolia grassland was full of scorching heat.

From time to time, soldiers of the Independent Division were beaten with blood holes all over their bodies by Soviet machine guns, or were blown up to blood by hand grenades thrown by Soviet soldiers. The comrades around them continued to shoot without changing their expressions. Such scenes abound.

The veterans of the first brigade and the second brigade were used to this. Liu Hongzhang and Ouyang Yishan had long since left the headquarters and brought their respective guards into the fight.

After the attacking Soviet army landed on the beach, they encountered a hard nail and could no longer attack. General Kurykin, who was observing the situation on the battlefield in the rear, received a report, "Comrade Commander, the first echelon has suffered heavy casualties. , failed to break through the defensive position of the independent division, the frontline commander asked for instructions!"

General Kurykin looked at the sky full of fireworks. His own fighter group clearly had the upper hand. As expected, he said indifferently: "Order, the first echelon continues to attack, and the second echelon has six regiments. Jump into battle now!

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