Age of Conquest Reborn

The more than 200,000 troops of the Transcaucasus Military Region were encircled by the main force of Tang Qiuli's independent division from Hagengaol to Baiyinchagan in northern Outer Mongolia. Within a narrow area of ​​only a few dozen kilometers, Military Region Commander Kure

General Jin adopted the approach of holding tight and waiting for help. This move caused the Soviet army to lose a glimmer of hope for a final breakthrough.

At a meeting on how to relieve the troops of the Transcaucasus Military District, Stalin, the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, first punished General Bessovsky, the director of the Intelligence Bureau of the General Staff for dereliction of duty, and handed him over to the chairman of the All-Soviet Counterrevolutionary Committee, the top secret agent

The leader Beria handled it. This move was tantamount to putting the top person in charge of the Soviet military intelligence system to death. The top leaders of the Soviet Communist Party knew that Beria and the military would not deal with it even if they wanted to.

The leader was furious, and in an understatement, a general was dismissed. All senior officials were silent. The handling of General Bessovsky was just a sideshow in the entire meeting and did not affect the theme of the meeting.

Unfortunately, Marshal Petroshilov, Chief of the General Staff, was in a mess. His first speech was to set the tone, but Comrade Stalin did not give clear instructions on whether to rescue Kulykin's troops. This tone was not easy to set, but

One thing is that Comrade Stalin will not sit back and watch the more than 200,000 troops of the Transcaucasus Military Region being wiped out by Tang Qiuli. They still need to be rescued. The question is how to save them?

Thinking of this, Marshal Petroshilov had some ideas, but the embarrassing thing came again. He knew his own affairs. As the supreme commander in charge of the entire Soviet armed forces, he knew the deployment of the troops very well, and they were engaged in battle.

There are not enough troops available for rescue around the battlefield in Outer Mongolia. Near Lake Baikal, there is only a second-rate division of the Transcaucasus Military Region with more than 20,000 people. Pulling up a battlefield hundreds of kilometers away is almost like giving up.

Zhukov's Far Eastern Front has already mobilized four infantry corps, and it is obviously impossible to mobilize more troops. If not, the Japanese Kwantung Army will take advantage of the move, and if the Far Eastern Front makes a mistake, Comrade Stalin will kill him.

Seeing that the eyes of Stalin and his colleagues were all focused on him, Marshal Petroshilov said slowly: "The opinion of the General Staff is that before Tang Qiuli's encirclement has been completely closed, order Kulykin to take command immediately

The troops broke through, retreated toward the Selenge River, and ordered the air force of the Don River Military Region to reinforce the aircraft fleet on the Outer Mongolia battlefield. All were dispatched to cover the northward retreat of Kulykin's troops from the air."

"The specific method is that all combat aircraft at the field airports around Lake Baikal are divided into three echelons and carry out relay operations to ensure that our fighters always have control of the air and use the most violent bombing to block the pursuit of the independent division troops.

. Cover the retreat of Kulykin’s troops until the troops of the Transcaucasus Military District safely cross the Selenga River. Other than that, the General Staff has no more reliable way.”

After Marshal Petroshilov finished speaking, he looked at Stalin's face. Indeed, this was the most feasible way. It was too late to count on the four infantry corps of the Far Eastern Front that were still marching along the border.

No one spoke. They were all making their own calculations in their minds. They were observing Stalin's face from the corners of their eyes. The opinions of the General Staff might not be those of Comrade Stalin. Furthermore, if there is no better strategy, speak up.

In addition to being a source of laughter, he also offended the Chief of General Staff. You can’t do that!

However, Stalin kept smoking fiercely on his pipe without saying a word. The light blue smoke shrouded his face, making it blurry, making it impossible to figure out what he was thinking.

Stalin took the pipe away from his mouth and said slowly: "No one has any different opinions, which means that we basically agree with Comrade Petroshilov's method. Am I right?" His tone was calm and without any hint of anything.

Emotional color.

All the senior officials racked their brains to think about Stalin's words. Suddenly, Stalin raised his tone and said: "I wonder if the General Staff didn't use their brains when formulating this rescue plan? Or, in other words, they just took it for granted while looking at the map in the office.

?”

All the senior officials were shocked. Hearing what the leader meant, they were dissatisfied with the General Staff. It seemed that the military system was going to be in trouble today. First, it was a general who headed the General Intelligence Bureau, and then it was the turn of the Chief of General Staff.

Stalin's tone was filled with incomparable anger, and he continued: "More than five hours have passed since Kulykin's troops were surrounded by Tang Qiuli. Order him to command the troops to break out? Petroshilov

Comrade, do you think that after Tang Qiuli set up such a large encirclement, it would be easy for Kulykin's troops to break through and retreat north? If five hours ago, there was still hope of breaking through, now, it is impossible!"

"After two air battles, the Air Force of the Don River Military Region has suffered considerable losses. Can it shoulder the heavy responsibility of covering the breakout of the troops of the Transcaucasus Military Region? The General Staff can think of air cover, but can Tang Qiuli not think of it? Petroshilov

Comrade, do you think Tang Qiuli will let our air force complete this mission? Could it be that the independent division, which has nearly a thousand combat aircraft, is blind and cannot see the actions of our fleet? "

A series of cross-examinations, with harsh words and like knives, pierced Marshal Petroshilov's heart. Ever since he became the Chief of the General Staff and became Comrade Stalin's most trusted assistant, he has never been so embarrassed in front of his subordinates and colleagues.

, leaving no room for yourself at all!

Marshal Petroshilov's face turned red and white for a while, and then turned livid. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, sweated profusely with embarrassment, looked at Stalin with a confused look, and sat down dejectedly.

Stalin seemed not to notice his dead-like expression. He stood up and walked slowly in the office. He said without anyone looking at him: "Okay, since you don't have a better way, let me talk about myself."

opinions.”

All senior officials pricked up their ears, "Kurekin's troops must be rescued as soon as possible. We cannot lose our only mobile force in the Far East. The General Staff will record it. First, appoint the deputy commander of the Air Force of the Don River Military Region.

Comrade Jonasov is the commander of the Air Force in the Outer Mongolia Campaign and has unified command of all air forces. He is not under the command of the Transcaucasus Military District Headquarters and directly obeys the orders of the Air Force General Headquarters."

"Second, all air force forces in the east are concentrated on the battlefield in Outer Mongolia, including Zhukov's Far Eastern Front air force. One-third of its forces must also be mobilized to support Comrade Jonasov. All air force units must be deployed today

Before six o'clock in the evening, the formation was completed and reported directly to the Air Force Headquarters. We have to invest several times more troops than the independent division's aviation force in order to gain control of the air."

"Third, in addition to retaining the necessary garrison strength to guard the occupied areas and protect the logistics base, the main force of the garrison troops remaining in the Transcaucasus Military Region around Lake Baikal will immediately move south to the Selenga River!"

Hearing these words, Marshal Petroshilov, Chief of the General Staff, was shaken all over. He raised his head in surprise and looked at Stalin. Although his hastily made plan was criticized by Comrade Stalin to the point of being completely useless and worthless.

It does not mean that I agree to put a second-rate division composed of logistics and baggage troops into the plan to rescue Kulykin's troops. Again, there are less than 20,000 people, which will not help and will not solve any problems.

Stalin glanced at him and continued to speak slowly: "This force is not going to rescue Kulykin's surrounded troops. Instead, after arriving at the Selenge River, a large number of pontoon bridges will be built on the river to facilitate the retreat of the foreign troops.

The troops of the Caucasus Military District crossed the Selenge River as quickly as possible to escape the situation of being closely pursued by the independent division troops."

Marshal Petroshilov breathed a long sigh of relief and looked at Stalin with admiration. With such a deployment, he never thought that the leader was not only an outstanding politician, but also an outstanding strategist. Not only did he have insight into

For all Tang Qiuli's conspiracies, he also came up with the best solution. I admire him!

Of course, Stalin, who was immersed in his own plan, did not notice the almost superstitious look of Marshal Petroshilov, Chief of the General Staff, and then said: "Fourth, order the reinforcements of the Far Eastern Front to immediately abandon the border along the border."

The original plan of marching to the Selenge River was to transfer to the eastern region of Outer Mongolia. This point should be emphasized in the order. Do not rush to the area from Hagengaol to Baiyinchagan. Take a shortcut to attack the reinforcement target.

To Cullen!”

Marshal Petroshilov's eyes sparkled with surprise. After all, he was a veteran in military affairs. He had already understood Comrade Stalin's intentions. The main forces of Tang Qiuli were concentrated in the area from Hagengaol to Baiyinchagan.

battlefield, encirclement library

Lei Jin's troops, then Kulun will definitely be empty of troops. Kulun was attacked. In order to protect the rear base, Tang Qiuli had to mobilize troops to return for reinforcements. The siege of the Transcaucasus Military Region troops was easily solved. This was the leader's version of "Besiege Wei and save Zhao!"

"

"Brilliant! Extremely brilliant!" Marshal Petroshilov secretly praised in his heart. He almost jumped up excitedly and cheered loudly. While everyone was still digesting the leader's words, he stood up first and applauded warmly. Then, thunderous

Applause flooded the office.

Stalin stopped and waved his hands dissatisfied. The cheap applause did not arouse his interest at all. Originally, this kind of thing should be considered and planned by the General Staff, but...!

Stalin shook his head speechlessly and continued: "In order to unify the command of the Outer Mongolia campaign, it was decided to establish a headquarters. Members, the main responsible comrades of the General Staff, and Comrade Molotov. The task of the headquarters is to focus on as soon as possible

To solve the problem of Outer Mongolia, after the meeting ended, Petroshilov informed Kulykin of the rescue plan we had formulated to increase his determination to stand by for help. As long as he holds on until about 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, our fleet will be

Will appear!"

"Let's adjourn the meeting, comrades should each bear their own responsibilities!" After saying that, Stalin walked out of the office without looking back.

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