Age of Conquest Reborn

Countless mortar shells flew down like raindrops, turning the water of the Selenge River like a boiling pot of boiling water. The unlucky thing was the Soviet soldiers. Their covering firepower on the north bank was completely blocked by the south bank, hiding in the trenches.

The mortars of the ** Division did not pose any threat. At this time, if the artillery bombardment was ordered, the attacking Soviet troops would also be unlucky and be blown into the sky.

The mortar unit of the ** Division continued its bombardment for more than twenty minutes, causing heavy casualties to the attacking Soviet troops of the twelve regiments. The remaining Soviet soldiers braved the mortars flying in the sky.

The artillery shells finally landed on the beach on the south coast. At this time, the shelling by the ** Division troops came to an abrupt end.

Then, countless light and heavy machine guns and submachine guns erupted with tongues of flame. When their hoods came over, they were like a three-dimensional metal wall, hitting their heads. The Soviet soldiers who were still wading in the river water up to their knees were suddenly hit by bullets.

Seven or eight blood holes appeared on the body. The huge kinetic energy of the warhead carried the corpse of the Soviet soldier upside down. The blood that gurgled out dyed the river red.

The Soviet soldiers were pressed on the river beach by the hail of bullets, unable to raise their heads. The intensive gunfire suddenly became sparse, with only the roar of light and heavy machine guns. Just when the Soviet soldiers thought they could breathe a sigh of relief, the disaster was not yet there.

At the end, grenades flew in like black birds. The smart soldiers of the ** division learned how to fight mortars. Under the orders of the squad and platoon leaders, they delayed the firing of the grenades for three seconds.

Throw it out.

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

Sun Zhenbang saw the whole process of the battle in the headquarters. He laughed happily and said to the staff: "Did you see that this is how the blocking battle is fought? I learned this skill from our division commander.

When I was fighting Japanese enemies in China, I used this trick a lot!"

General Kulykin, standing on the high platform, naturally saw all this. He put down the telescope with weak hands. He said tiredly to the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Zernenko: "Chief of Staff, order the troops to stop the attack and withdraw.

, such an attack is futile and can only increase the casualties of the troops. Our opponent is a difficult commander. Mortar. He actually used mortars to repel the attack of twelve infantry regiments of mine. It is incredible.

!”

No wonder General Kulykin couldn't believe it. On the battlefield, the protagonists were tanks, armored vehicles, and large-caliber artillery. There were also airplanes, while mortars in the Transcaucasus Military District troops could only provide support firepower, and even artillery.

Neither of them can be called. It would be good if each battalion can equip a platoon with more than a dozen mortars. In the mechanized troops, there are no mortars at all. In his impression, mortars are equipment that can be eliminated.

But in today's offensive and defensive battle, General Kurekin gained a new understanding of the mortars that he despised. The commander of the ** division on the other side actually took out more than three regiments of mortars.

The mortar blasted his own soldiers, leaving their flesh and blood flying everywhere, leaving corpses on the surface of the Lenge River. To be able to use this kind of equipment that can be eliminated, to produce an effect that is no less than that of a large-caliber artillery group, this person's tactical command is experienced and ruthless.

, it can be seen.

In fact, General Kulykin overestimated the role of the mortar unit of the Outer Mongolia Border Guard. In any case, mortars cannot replace the role of large-caliber artillery, but the explosive power is different.

Sun Zhenbang had no choice. The Outer Mongolia Border Guard was a second-line garrison and could not prepare large-caliber heavy artillery brigades and regiments like other main field corps. However, he did not want to reduce the heavy firepower of the troops, so,

Then we focused our attention on the mortars that were not needed by the main force. Each infantry battalion had a mortar company, and each cavalry regiment also had a mortar company.

In this way, when encountering a small-scale offensive, the artillery can play a fire support role. However, he did not expect that today's blocking battle would give him an unexpected surprise. The top commander of the Soviet army, General Kulykin,

, very depressed.

The Soviet army's first attack was repulsed cleanly, and calm returned to both sides of the Selenge River. Naturally, the Soviet army's engineering troops had no achievements. Except for a few lonely wooden piles, for

There is no trace of the pontoon bridge built by the moving tanks.

General Kulykin returned to the tent and drank a few sips of strong vodka before suppressing his anger. Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Zernenko was reporting on the attack, "Comrade Commander, starting from 7:40

At around nine o'clock, the first attack failed. During the one and a half hour battle, our attacking troops suffered more than 4,600 casualties, of which more than 3,800 were killed.

The casualty ratio reached about one-fifth of the attacking force."

Chief of Staff Zernenko paused and added a few words, "All the casualties occurred after the river crossing began. This shows that our shelling did not destroy the defensive positions of the ** Division troops. Subsequently,

We were killed again by mortar fire. Commander, I suggest that we stop the attack and find a safe way. Otherwise, if this continues, the troops will suffer too many casualties!"

General Kulykin took a breath. The battle only lasted for an hour and a half, and more than two main regiments were crippled. He asked: "What are the enemy's casualties?" He still has a glimmer of hope, which is to use his strength.

Attrition, even if the casualty ratio is two to one, and it takes three to five days to defeat it, there will not be many people left in the defending ** division troops.

At best, there are only 50,000 to 60,000 troops. Can we withstand such consumption? How many troops can be defended per kilometer on a defense front of more than 20 kilometers wide? As long as we are not afraid of casualties and maintain the frequency and density of attacks, we can defeat the other side in a few days.

That cunning ** division commander is out of strength and has no one to defend his position!

This is the most cruel method of attack. Although the troops of the Transcaucasus Military District will pay a huge price in casualties, General Kulykin does not care much in order not to have his head chopped off by Comrade Stalin.

Chief of Staff Zirnenko hesitantly replied: "According to the reports of the generals commanding the front line, the number of enemy casualties is no more than five hundred at most!" Chief of Staff Zirnenko still added some moisture to this number.

Yes, in order to take care of the mood of Comrade Commander, in fact, the number of enemies annihilated according to statistics is definitely not more than 300.

General Kurekin's face was extremely ugly, and he choked on his chest. The casualty ratio was more than ten to one, and exhaustion was not an option. If we continue to fight at this casualty ratio, I am afraid that the troops of the ** division would not be completely exhausted before they could be exhausted. Commander

The comrades themselves have become mere commanders with no soldiers to spare.

How should the next battle be fought? A safe method has been tested. The air force failed to bomb twice in succession. The only thing left is to have the troops detour to the two flanks of the Selenga River to avoid the frontal defense positions of the Japanese division. Ideas

That's good, but unfortunately it's difficult to achieve.

General Kulykin is an experienced commander. Naturally, he will not fight with the defense forces of the ** division in one place, repeatedly hitting the iron plate without looking back. Before going south, the reconnaissance troops had already captured Se Lengge.

The terrain conditions along the north bank of the river have been collected in great detail.

Within more than 300 kilometers from the ferry in front of you, there is no place suitable for the large corps to enter. Either the water is fast, the river is wide, the river bottom is full of silt, making it difficult to erect pontoon bridges, or both sides are steep river banks.

More than a hundred kilometers away from here, there is a place suitable for troops to cross the river. However, they have to pass through a swamp dozens of kilometers wide. Infantry can reach there on foot.

It is difficult for mechanized vehicles to move forward. The mechanized equipment of the Transcaucasus Military Region is not enough to fill the swamp. What role can the remaining pure infantry play? The troops of the **Division of the Outer Mongolia Border Guard are not just the few divisions in front of them.

There are also hundreds of thousands of troops. If only the infantry crosses the river and troops from other parts of the ** Division surround them, will the prospect be wonderful? The answer is obviously not.

Moreover, those cunning Chinese could ignore such an obvious place suitable for crossing the river and attack halfway while the troops were crossing the river. The losses would not be what they are today, and the whole army might be annihilated.

of, so, the land of the Selenge River

Due to limited geographical conditions, the nearly 300,000 troops in the Transcaucasus Military Region can only fight with the Outer Mongolia border guards here. In other words, Sun Zhenbang's troops control the only passage south to Kulun through the Selenge River.

There is no other way, a natural barrier that cannot be bypassed.

Of course, if we wait for one and a half to two months, everything will be easier. On the grasslands of Outer Mongolia, there is heavy snowfall and freezing weather. Although it causes considerable difficulties for the mechanized troops to march, the color is stunned.

The Ge River has lost its role as a natural barrier. Mechanized troops can pass through the frozen river surface everywhere. However, can General Kulykin afford to wait?

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

For one and a half to two months, the main force of the ** Division will continue to arrive from China. At that time, the troops of the Transcaucasus Military Region, let alone attacking, should consider how not to be attacked.

The problem of surrounding and annihilating the main force of the ** division that swarmed in.

Therefore, General Kulykin did not dare to wait, and could not afford to wait. He frowned, thought for a while, and said to Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Zernenko: "Convey my order to replace the troops in the first round of attack and move to

We rested in the rear and mobilized new troops, which were still twelve regiments in size. An hour and a half later, we launched the second attack! In addition, the bombardment time was extended to one hour. The main target of the bombardment was our planned breakthrough direction!

"

(To be continued)(To be continued...)