Age of Conquest Reborn

For the 43rd Army, it was a relatively easy task. Like the other four armies, they had to cross the Ural Mountains and could soon reach their destination to rest and recuperate. Together with the Front Army Headquarters

Order, immediately turn around and go south, covering a distance of 700 to 800 kilometers to reach Ulan Guben. That would be unlucky!

"Comrade Commander, I would like to ask the commanders of all armies for instructions. The troops have been marching continuously and are extremely exhausted. It has already reached dusk. Do you want to spend the night repairing in place and march into Minusinsk tomorrow?" Major General Khabarovsky, chief of staff of the group army, put down the phone.

, turned around and said to him.

Lieutenant General Bamiyanov ignored the question and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how far is the vanguard from Minusinsk?"

Major General Khabarovsky replied: "Comrade Commander, there are still about fifty kilometers!"

The sun has set in the west. In the western sky, there is a red fire cloud, like a burning flame. Behind the fire cloud, layers of black clouds can be seen, which are gradually pressing towards the southeast sky. The wind blowing from the Ural Mountains,

With a biting chill, in the distance, that flat stretch of wilderness, shrouded in the dim light of dusk, seemed to contain some unknown danger.

"Perhaps, there will be another heavy snowstorm tonight, damn the weather! Sleeping in the open air, but not as comfortable as in the city, resting in place for a night, maybe those scattered reading force troops have already heard the wind and fled, and the group army is far away

If we come here, won't we win a single battle?" He thought to himself.

Lieutenant General Bamiyanov frowned slightly and replied expressionlessly: "No, the order from the front army headquarters is to occupy Minusinsk as quickly as possible and order the vanguard First Army to

Speed ​​up the march and enter Minusinsk. Tonight, the army group will spend the night in the city!"

"Let's go too. I hope there will be a burning fireplace, scalding coffee, and a soft bed tonight." Perhaps Lieutenant General Bamiyanov felt that his tone was too stiff and he was half-joking to the Chief of Staff.

said.

Chief of Staff Major General Khabarovsky responded with a smile: "Comrade Commander, I have ordered the First Army to choose a good office location for the Army Headquarters after entering the city. Everything you hope for will be there.

After all, Minusinsk has never experienced a large-scale war!"

"However, there may be no more beautiful girls. According to the residents who fled to the mainland, after the Chinese occupied this place, almost all the residents in the city fled! Minusinsk is already an empty city!" said the competent chief of staff.

Comrade, obviously knowing that Comrade Commander prefers this statement, he said it jokingly to lighten the atmosphere.

Lieutenant General Baminov, who was obviously very useful, got into the car and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, there will be beautiful girls in the future. You see, this is the disaster caused by the Chinese. A perfectly good city has turned out to be a disaster."

It has become an empty city. By the way, after the army group moves in, you and the political commissar should study it and restore the party organization as soon as possible. Our Soviet city should not be so desolate!"

The car hadn't started yet, but there was a faint sound of gunfire from the front. Lieutenant General Baminov opened the car door and looked suspiciously at the direction where the gunfire came from. "Could it be the vanguard and the guard force of the readers?"

There was a firefight, but these damn Chinese didn't run away. It seems that they are still in a little trouble!" He thought to himself.

Chief of Staff Major General Khabarovsky ran over and said: "Comrade Commander, we received a report from the First Army of the vanguard that they were attacked by the Reading Division troops about 40 kilometers away from the city of Minusinsk.

Block the attack, a fierce battle is underway!"

Lieutenant General Bamiyanov got out of the car and asked: "How many defensive forces does the enemy have?"

"Judging from the intensity of the battle, the guard force of the Reading Division is about two divisions, and there is no heavy equipment such as artillery and tanks. However, the leading division of the First Army suffered a fierce shelling and suffered relatively heavy losses.

However, they are mortars rather than heavy artillery, and the artillery fire is extremely fierce and dense, with about a few hundred in number," Chief of Staff Khabarovsky replied.

"Two divisions?" Lieutenant General Bamiyanov couldn't help but frowned. The enemy situation report from the Front Army Intelligence Department made it very clear. Around Minusinsk, there were only small units and places of the Reading Division.

A garrison? Two divisions came out of nowhere. Can they be called a small force?

"Mortar?" What kind of artillery is this? In the group army, there has long been no trace of such indispensable weapons. The Chinese actually used such crude weapons to give themselves a blow. It seems that the defense of Minu

Sinsk's force-reading division unit was well prepared. Damn it, the somewhat annoyed comrade commander couldn't help but greet the female relatives of those guys in the Intelligence Department of the Front Army fiercely.

However, the reading division defense forces of the two divisions were not yet in his eyes. Lieutenant General Baminov thought for a while and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, give an order to follow up the Second Army and the Third Army.

, immediately enter the battle, attack across the board, and defeat the blocking enemy forces. Then, the First Army will occupy the urban area, and the Second Army and the Third Army will pursue and destroy the fleeing enemy forces. Minusinsk must be captured tonight!"

"The action of the tank troops must be rapid and multi-pronged to prevent these Chinese from abandoning their positions and escaping under our fierce attack. They cannot be completely wiped out. If we are stationed in Minusinsk, it will always be trouble in the future!"

Lieutenant General Baminov, it is a pity that if the artillery troops of the group army follow behind, there will be almost no need for infantry and tank charges. Three artillery divisions and more than a thousand heavy artillery can defeat the readers in less than an hour.

The division's blocking position was leveled!

However, I am just thinking about it now. Due to the poor road conditions, the artillery of the group army is still more than fifty kilometers behind! Thank you for having the tank troops, otherwise, the first battle will be more difficult.

All the troops of the 43rd Group Army of the Soviet Outer Mongolia Front were devoted to the attack on the blocking positions of the 1st and 2nd Brigades of the Corps directly under the Reading Division. The silence of the land at dusk was immediately broken by the flames of war. Tanks roared, armor

Roaring, the shells roared in, exploding into clouds of fire.

Liu Hongzhang, commander of the 1st Brigade, stood in front of the observation port of the shelter, holding a telescope and looking at the Soviet tanks. The armor reflected the cold light and formed a wedge-shaped attack formation. The muzzles spewed flames, accompanied by a large number of infantry.

, swarmed towards their own position, and couldn't help but sneered.

Just now, the First Brigade took a big advantage. A division of the First Army, the Soviet vanguard, came in dazed and unprepared. The Soviet soldiers sitting on the truck were not even prepared for battle.

, even the trucks ran in front of the tanks, and no reconnaissance troops were sent to clear the way. They just lined up in several columns and came swaggering over.

Seeing such a good opportunity, Liu Hongzhang certainly would not miss it, and he played extremely smartly. In order to facilitate the rapid withdrawal to the second line of defense, the brigade's heavy artillery regiment, as well as the artillery battalions of each brigade, all large and medium-caliber

All the artillery pieces were left on the second line of defense and did not follow up, but this did not prevent Liu Hongzhang from using artillery skillfully.

He concentrated all the more than 700 mortars in the brigade at the front. After the Soviet army entered the range of the mortars, a round of shells hit them. The explosion caused the Soviet army's marching column to turn upside down.

More than a hundred mortars, thirty minutes of rapid artillery fire, only about one-half of a division of Soviet troops could be pushed back. Burning vehicles, billowing smoke, and corpses of Soviet soldiers were scattered everywhere.

Lying on the cold snow.

According to the order of the division commander, this can be regarded as repelling the first Soviet attack. The first brigade and the neighboring second brigade should immediately withdraw to the second line of defense, and together with the seventh and eighth brigades, they should firmly

Keep an eye there and buy time for the four brigades that are outflanking the left and right flanks.

However, the Soviet commander reacted very quickly. After receiving a head-on blow, he immediately launched a counterattack under the cover of tanks and pressed all his troops up. If he retreated at this time, he would be defeated by the Soviet Union.

The army chased him to fight.

Liu Hongzhang picked up the phone and tried to call the Second Brigade Headquarters, but he shouted at the top of his voice: "Let me tell you, Brigadier Ouyang, how is your situation? Commander Lao Maozi is very smart and won't let us evacuate.

Is that so, with our two legs, we can outrun the Soviet tank wheels? What do you think?"

At the Second Brigade Headquarters, Brigadier Ouyang Yishan said: "Brother, my situation is similar to yours. After repelling the Soviet army's first attack, the Soviet tanks came up and it was difficult to evacuate. I

In my opinion, if we fight again, we must at least kill these tanks! Otherwise, it will be difficult to escape. We are still fifteen kilometers away from the second line of defense. We can be overtaken by Soviet tanks halfway.

!”

Ouyang Yishan paused for a moment and then said: "However, the division commander's order is for us to fight once and then retreat. If we continue to fight, is this a violation of the order? If the division commander pursues the case, we will be in trouble!"

Liu Hongzhang's eyes were aimed at the Soviet tanks that continued to advance, and he said: "Based on the battlefield situation, we will deal with it on the fly. The current situation is that we can't withdraw. It's okay. The division commander will pursue it. I, Old Liu, will take the responsibility alone."

Well, the big deal is, I’ll be his staff officer again!”

Ouyang Yishan was not happy to hear this and shouted: "What are you talking about! We are still old brothers. If something happens, we will handle it together. You are right, we will deal with it as the opportunity arises! Let's fight again!"

Liu Hongzhang shouted: "Okay, as expected of the good brothers who fought together at the Selenge River. It's time for our rocket launchers and recoilless rifles to start firing!"

Putting down the phone, Liu Hongzhang squinted his eyes happily and said to the brigade chief of staff Liu Chenglin: "Chenglin, order the anti-tank companies of each battalion to immediately enter the forward positions and fire in the first round. More than half of Lao Maozi's tanks will be reimbursed!

"

((To be continued.