Age of Rebirth

The plan for the Far East campaign was progressing smoothly. The front was blocked from the rear, and the left and right flanks were surrounded by surprise soldiers. It only took a day or two for the Soviet Far East Front Army to be encircled. Uneasiness comes from the sense of force that cannot control the overall situation.

The root cause of Prince Zairen's uneasiness is the tactics adopted by Tang Qiuli's troops on the line from Chita to Irkutsk. Prince Zairen absolutely believes that this is the intentional attack of some Chinese devil. For this reason, now, he himself can't be sure whether the Soviet Union's two front troops, when the Soviet Far East Front Army was encircled by the Imperial Japanese Army, will return to aid, and whether the China Devil's troops can match his own judgment In that way, pull the Soviets back?

"Being used once, and then turning around, left myself with such a big hidden danger that I can't control. This Chinese devil is so cunning and deceitful to the peak!" Regarding this, Prince Zairen could only sigh secretly.

Knowing that the Soviet Union's millions of troops stranded on the line from Chita to Irkutsk in the Far East is an uncontrollable and judgmental factor, the more it is the key to the success or failure of the Far East campaign, but Prince Zairen can't stop, Or adjust the battle. The three armies of the empire have been fully deployed, and the arrow has to be launched. Even if you want to end the battle now, you can't do it. At least, the Kwantung Army must join in.

Prince Zairen temporarily put aside the anxiety caused by Tang Qiuli in his heart, and devoted all his attention to the final stage of the Far East Campaign.

The Japanese army stepped up the trend of encircling the encirclement, and Zhukov, who was inside the encirclement, felt the increasing pressure and great danger. After the front army left the Buleya Mountains line and discovered the Japanese army, Zhukov received another call the next day. A piece of intelligence that made matters worse, "The Front Army Headquarters, the First Reconnaissance Brigade of the Intelligence Department, on the front line of the Kukan Mountains, discovered that the vanguard of the Japanese army and many mountain passes in the Kukan Mountains have been occupied by the Japanese army. This place is less than a distance from the battlefield Hundred kilometers!"

When Zhukov listened to Lieutenant General Godayav, the chief of staff, read this information, his face was numb and dull, and the successive blows had already left him without any excitement or surprise. So what if he knew the Japanese plot?

Wolves come at the front door, and tigers come at the back door. Two surprise soldiers of the Japanese army stabbed fiercely on the left and right wings of the Far East Front Army. On the frontal battlefield, the Japanese Kwantung Army troops fought more and more fiercely. It seems to have grasped Zhukov's weakness, and the mentality of not daring to use all the strength of the Far Eastern Front Army to fight a decisive battle with the Kwantung Army has brought magnetic tactics to the extreme.

Like brown sugar, they tightly held on to the troops of the Far East Front Army. Except for the three group army troops that were responsible for the cover, which were destined to stare at the battlefield, the No. 13, [-], and The troops of the Nineteenth Group Army also had to stop the evacuation and turned around to deal with the Kwantung Army's stalking. In fact, so far, the Soviet Far East Front Army has been successfully dragged on the battlefield by the Japanese Kwantung Army. Can't get away. [

In the combat sequence of the Far East Front Army, there are a total of ten group armies, and the troops dragged on the battlefield have as many as six group armies, accounting for about two-thirds of the total force. The strength of a group army, but he dare not use it. This is the battle reserve of the front army, ready to go in the most dangerous direction at any time, that is to say, except for the three group army troops withdrawn from the first echelon, the entire Far East front army , still trapped in the battlefield.

What was even more frightening was that the vanguard of the Japanese army was found on both the left and right flanks of the battlefield. Then, how many troops were left behind by the Japanese army?In what direction?The reconnaissance unit of the intelligence department of the front army has not sent any more valuable information, but Zhukov knows that in a certain area in the Far East, there must be a large number of Japanese troops coming over.

Faced with this situation, Zhukov was also somewhat at a loss. The only thing he could do was to order the troops withdrawn from the second echelon to get out of the battlefield as much as possible. Although this was difficult, it had to be done. According to the order of the Front Army Command , the No. 13th, [-]th, and [-]th Group Armies of the second echelon each drew out one army to hold their positions, while the rest of the troops withdrew from their positions one after another amidst the rumbling artillery fire of the Kwantung Army.

On the opposite side of the battlefield, General Nanjiro, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, has been in a very happy mood in the past few days. The Soviet army pressed and fought all the way from the Outer Xing'an Mountains, and they were beaten in a panic. They withdrew to the Kwantung Army troops in the Far East. Not optimistic, after thinking that it was a suicide attack, the results exceeded the expectations of the generals of the Kwantung Army.

After each saw-saw battle, when the commanders and division heads of the various units of the Kwantung Army counted the casualties of the troops, they were pleasantly surprised to find that although they were fighting an offensive battle, the casualties of the troops were far less than those of the Kwantung Army. In the previous defensive battle, moreover, the casualties of the Soviet troops were greater than their own. The corpses of Soviet soldiers strewn about on the battlefield proved all this favorably.

As a result, the resentment and anger brought to the generals of the Kwantung Army by Prince Zairen's seemingly order to kill people with a knife has disappeared. After receiving a strong counterattack from the Soviet army, they retreated immediately, but did not leave the battlefield. The Soviet army stopped counterattacking and looked for opportunities to resume their offensive. The generals of the Kwantung Army proudly called this tactic "leading the nose!"

Of course, as the battle went smoothly beyond expectations, the prestige of Commander-in-Chief Nanjiro also rose to an unprecedented height, and the morale of the low-level troops who were chased, intercepted and beaten by millions of Soviet troops gradually recovered. Over time, the Kwantung Army became one of the most elite imperial troops. During the battle, the generals of the Kwantung Army who had tasted the sweetness felt ashamed of their short-sightedness.

Looking back now, at the beginning, Commander-in-Chief Nanjiro's decision-making was so wise, decisive, and far-sighted. Flooded to the headquarters like a tide.

General Nanjiro enjoyed this praise very indifferently. The initial anxiety and anxiety, worry and fear have become a thing of the past. What I have to do now is to listen to Lieutenant General Matsuda Kenjiro, the chief of staff, report the battlefield situation and the casualties of various troops every day. The figures, as well as the casualties of the Soviet army, adopted an approach of non-interference in the specific attacks of each army and each division.

But there is one thing that General Nanjiro said, "We must always remember that our main purpose is to stick to the Soviet army, not to inflict heavy damage on the Soviet army. Therefore, in terms of tactics, we must be more flexible. Change, don't show off the bravery of ordinary people!"

A few words, to the point, General Nanjiro knew in his heart that from the battlefield of the Outer Xing'an Mountains to the plain battlefield between the two mountains in the Far East, more than a month of bloody fighting, the generals of the Kwantung Army at all levels, commanding the battle, has been fought If you are fine, you don't need your own specific guidance, and you are happy to be at ease, just control the general direction of the army.

Compared with Zhukov, who was haggard and battered, General Nanjiro even had leisure time on the battlefield full of gunfire. He tasted some sake every day, and then fell asleep peacefully. Of course, the sound of guns and guns is an indispensable lullaby. Booming gunfire, Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief cannot sleep well!

Lieutenant General Matsuda Kenjiro, Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army Headquarters, once said jokingly: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, since the beginning of the campaign, I have never seen you. You have such a relaxed and leisurely time! If there is another singing and dancing team , I almost had the illusion that this is not on the front line of artillery fire, but in a tavern in Ginza, Tokyo!"

General Nanjiro responded with a slight smile, and said something mysterious and profound, "Matsuda-san, the overall situation has been decided, what we need to do is not to wait for the result!"

Chief of Staff Matsuda believed it. As the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, he naturally knew the overall situation of the current battle situation, and the overall situation was settled. However, it can also be seen from this that there is a clear difference between General Nanjiro and Prince Zairen. [

Prince Zairen's vision is quite sensitive to various unexpected factors in the entire Far East and even Outer Mongolia, and he can smell them immediately. General Nanjiro's attention is on the battlefield in front of him, seeing Yes, it is Zhukov's increasingly passive trend. In terms of overall strategic vision and sensitivity to the battlefield, General Nanjiro is obviously inferior to Prince Zaijin, so the two are not a heavyweight.

The first echelon of the Soviet Far Eastern Front evacuated the three group armies from the battlefield, spread out to the left and right wings for strategic defense, and one group army unit moved closer to the Outer Xing'an Mountains Front Army as soon as possible. These were originally Zhukov's preventive measures to ensure that The retreat route of the front army will not be cut off by the Japanese army.

However, Prince Zairen was given every opportunity to break through. On the night of May 15rd, in Khabarovsk, in the headquarters of the Japanese Far East Campaign, Prince Zairen issued an order to the Kono Korean Garrison of the Japanese Far East Front Army. Combat orders to encircle and annihilate the No.21, [-], and [-] armies of the Soviet Far East Front.

"Lieutenant General Norigoro Ono, Commander of the Far East Expedition Army, and General Tanaka Shin, Commander of the North Korean Garrison, your main task now is to wipe out the troops of the Soviet Far East Front Army in the existing area. The specific battle plan, you The department can draw up by itself and report to the campaign headquarters!"

"There is only one requirement from the headquarters. Completely, cleanly, and swiftly annihilate the three Soviet army units, and completely close the passage for the Soviet army to retreat to Chita! Then, together with the Kwantung Army troops, encircle the Soviet Far Eastern Front Army on the Far Eastern battlefield!"

((To be continued.)