Age of Conquest Reborn

After hearing what Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe said, Tang Qiuli's expression changed slightly, and he said covertly: "Liu Hongzhang, who always goes smoothly in battles, can only take advantage and cannot suffer losses. He just won the battle and was beaten by Su when he fought back. The message in the telegram must have been full of anger and curses!"

Zhao Yuhe said: "Commander, you guessed wrong this time. In the telegram, Brigadier Liu neither got angry nor cursed, but unexpectedly made a request for the division commander's approval. Should we abandon our defense line and retreat to the front line of Luanshi Mountain to block the Soviet army?"

Tang Qiuli was greatly surprised. Liu Hongzhang, who had always dared to fight tough battles and liked to fight tough battles, actually made such a request. It was abnormal in itself. Was it because he was frightened by the Soviet offensive or because the loss of the troops was too much for him to bear? From this point of view, the losses of the troops on the front line of the Selenge River must be heavy!

Tang Qiuli received the telegram and looked at it carefully, "Commander, in this afternoon's battle, our troops on the front line of the Selenge River encountered unprecedented pressure from the Soviet ground and air firepower, especially the Soviet bomber group. , almost destroyed the netww. .The Soviet infantry once captured the beachhead on the south bank, and was repulsed after a desperate counterattack by our troops, but our troops also paid a lot of money?a href='/txt/609/6983431 /'>Price!"

"The battle lasted more than four hours. The Soviet army dispatched about two infantry divisions and launched several waves of attacks. By the final stage of the battle, I was forced to devote all of my troops to the counterattack against the Soviet army. After counting the casualties of the troops, the loss was more than 6,500 troops, nearly two regiments. I personally think that if the Soviet army's air combat firepower dominance cannot be solved, the troops will be withdrawn to the second line of defense, the Luanshishan line. , more appropriate.”

"On the one hand, we can avoid the Soviet air firepower from attacking our existing positions; on the other hand, we can have a larger buffer space and use the existing communication trenches and tunnels to continue to block the Soviet army. Otherwise, if the troops stick to their original positions, they will only be able to It may be a situation of being beaten, so I would like to make this suggestion for the teacher’s reference!”

Tang Qiuli's face was very ugly, and he said angrily: "Confused. Liu Hongzhang was confused. When he was slightly frustrated, he retreated and gave up the favorable terrain conditions. He only had less than 60,000 troops and did not have a large number of troops. How could artillery support stop hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops? Even a mass pile of people could drown Liu Hongzhang!"

After getting angry, he turned to Zhao Yuhe and asked, "Yuhe, do you think Liu Hongzhang's suggestion is feasible?"

Zhao Yuhe shook his head without hesitation and said: "Commander, it is absolutely impossible. The Selenge River is a natural barrier and the only barrier north of Kulun. If we give up, a large number of Soviet troops will board the south bank, especially When the Soviet armored forces cross the river, our army will inevitably be unable to stop it. Division Commander, there are less than two days left in the original blocking time. By the afternoon of September 26, all troops have completed their battle deployment. ."

Zhao Yuhe paused, and Tang Qiuli urged: "Yuhe, keep talking!"

Zhao Yuhe continued: "However, judging from the casualties of the troops today, Brigadier Liu Hongzhang's concerns are also justified. If we continue to hold on to the current position, in the next two days, the troops on the front line of the Selenge River will inevitably... Hui's vitality is severely damaged, division commander, the elastic defense plan we formulated earlier was abandoned due to Commander Sun Zhenbang's insistence and the changes in the battlefield situation. Now, should we re-implement it and let the Soviet troops cross the river?"

Tang Qiuli also calmed down from his anger and ordered the troops to stick to the Selenge River defense line. This was also a last resort. If there were many terrains that could be used from the Selenge River to Kulun, he would never order the troops to fight.

This kind of head-on positional blocking battle was not his command style. However, there was no if, it was the Selenge River that forced him to fight in this way with the Soviet army.

Tang Qiuli was worried that if Liu Hongzhang gave up his position on the bank of the Selenge River, could he stop the Soviet army for two days with his second-line position at Luanshi Mountain? Of course, elastic defense was not impossible, but there was a problem.

If the Soviet army crossed the Selenge River and adopted a mechanized march, and the assault speed was too fast, other surrounding troops would be ineffective if they did not reach the designated battlefield.

If the reinforcements from the four armies of the Soviet Far Eastern Front escape the interception of Liu Tiehan's East Command troops, rush to the battlefield in Outer Mongolia, and join Kulykin's troops, no one can predict what the ensuing battle will look like.

!Elastic defense was an expedient strategy, based on the strength of the Soviet army faced by the Outer Mongolia border guards at that time.

At this time, the battlefield situation made it inappropriate to adopt elastic defense tactics. If the Soviet army crossing the Selenge River advanced too fast, it would affect the deployment of the entire Outer Mongolia campaign.

Therefore, Tang Qiuli categorically rejected the suggestion of Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe and said: "Yuhe, send a telegram to Liu Hongzhang and ask him if he has suffered any losses? You will become a weakling.

, frightened by the Soviets? Tell him not to worry about casualties.

When the troops were exhausted, I replenished them. When the officers were killed, I transferred them to him. Not only the brigades directly under the corps were treated like this, but the troops of the Outer Mongolia Border Guard were also treated in the same way. They were treated as firmly as nails.

Pinned to the position on the south bank of the Selenge River."

Probably feeling that the tone was too harsh, Tang Qiuli paused and continued: "Two days, I only need him to fight for two more days. Don't be afraid of casualties and troop losses. By 6:00 pm on September 26th, that is

If he doesn’t want to withdraw, he can’t! If he finds it difficult to complete the mission, he should hand over the command to Ouyang Yishan as soon as possible and return to Cullen, where he is still safe now in despair!”

Just in time, Wang Jun, Chief of Staff of the Outer Mongolia Border Guard, sent a telegram over. After hearing what the division commander Tang Qiuli said, he and Zhao Yuhe looked at each other. Both of them felt the anger in the division commander's heart and knew that it would be useless to talk anymore, which would make it easier for Zhao.

Together with Yu He, they went to send a telegram to Liu Hongzhang.

In the corridor, Wang Jun quietly asked Zhao Yuhe: "Chief of Staff Zhao, why did the division commander lose his temper?"

Zhao Yuhe sighed, shook his head and said: "It was not because of what happened on the Selenge River battlefield that the Soviet aviation force suddenly increased in strength and gained control of the air on the battlefield. Brigadier Liu's troops suffered a big loss, and the Northern Flying Group

Not taking advantage, Brigadier Liu suggested withdrawing to the second line of defense, that is, the front line of Luanshi Mountain. I also agreed with Brigadier Liu's suggestion. As a result, the division commander was furious at that time, which is why he wrote such a harsh telegram.

."

Wang Jun opened his mouth, but found that he had nothing to say, so he said comfortingly, "The ones we hit were the division commander's direct troops. It's normal for him to feel angry!"

Zhao Yuhe shook his head and said: "Chief of Staff Wang, the division commander's temper is probably not only related to this, but also related to Commander Liu Cuigang's injury. Let's see, the telegram has been sent to the front line. Maybe Brigadier Liu will cause a big fire?"

The so-called First Brigade of the Independent Division was scolded by the division commander for being useless. How can Brigadier Liu's temper be so bad? I'm really worried that he will lead his troops to fight against the Soviet army and do something outrageous!"

Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe knew Liu Hongzhang's character and temper very well. After the division commander's telegram was sent to the Selenge River frontline headquarters, sure enough, before the First Brigade Chief of Staff Liu Chenglin finished reading the telegram, he sat smoking.

The sullen Liu Hongzhang suddenly exploded!

He threw away the cigarette butt and slapped it on the table made of shell boxes, "Bang!" The telescope, magnifying glass, pencil and other objects on it jumped so fast that they almost fell to the ground, his face turned red, and his neck muscles jumped up.

, eyes widened

Like a bell, he yelled at the top of his lungs: "What? The teacher said that I was soft-spoken, cowardly, and didn't dare to fight hard. Isn't this a slanderous person? Ask around, and I, Liu Hongzhang, have worn this since I

Wearing a military uniform, when have you ever been afraid of death?"

Everyone in the headquarters changed their expressions and fell silent. They only heard Liu Hongzhang's roar. After roaring for a while, Liu Hongzhang still felt that he was panicking. He turned to Ouyang Yishan and said: "Brigadier Ouyang, you are

Deputy Commander, I'll leave this to you. I'll rush back to Cullen immediately and ask the division commander for a clear explanation. I, Liu Hongzhang, am not a weakling or a weakling. I am not a recruit from the first brigade who has never seen blood. Why should I bury people like this?

?”

After saying that, he called a few guards and rushed back to Kulun overnight. Ouyang Yishan said coldly: "Brigadier Liu, I advise you not to go. The division commander said this, not only your first brigade, but also our

Can the second brigade run? Think about the reason why the division commander was angry, and did we make any mistakes?"

Liu Hongzhang stopped and glared at Ouyang Yishan, his voice still loud, "What? What is a mistake? What is a mistake? If we don't withdraw to the second line of defense, the sky will be full of Lao Maozi's bombers. Our soldiers

An appearance

Son, we were hit by heavy bombs. We hid in bomb holes and shelters, and were unable to get into position in time. We could only wait for the Soviet troops to land before they could counterattack. As you can see, this battle was a useless one.

Not cowardly?"

"In more than four hours, our troops defeated one and a half regiments. This does not include the losses of the Outer Mongolia Border Guards. After two days of blocking in place, and another two days of fighting like this, the two of us are really nothing."

Commander, what are you going to do with Lao Maozi? Replenish troops? Can the new melon eggs be used by the old veterans? Brother Ouyang, tell me, my suggestion is wrong. The division commander is criticizing me like this.

With my soldiers?”

Ouyang Yishan was very calm and said: "Brother Hongzhang, think about it carefully. When you sent the telegram and made suggestions, I didn't agree with it. Why did the division commander know that our troops had suffered heavy casualties, and there were orders

We are defending the south bank and are not allowed to take a step back. Isn't there something useful here? Moreover, we are only allowed to fight for two more days. By then, we won't be able to withdraw even if we don't want to!"

Liu Hongzhang frowned and turned back. He was obviously still angry. He was breathing heavily, but he no longer had the energy to be furious. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep breath. The smoke was lingering in the air.

Wandering around in the body, Ouyang Yishan's words weigh heavily on Jiao Ye's heart?br />

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