Age of Conquest Reborn

The night in the Far East is getting deeper, and the sound of gunfire on the front line is as monotonous and continuous as solidification. For more than a month, this never-ending sound of gunfire has become a part of General Zhukov's daily life. The dark red night sky is reflected by the artillery fire.

Against the background, Zhukov walked out of the tent with a few guards. I don't know why, tonight, regret and uneasiness alternated in his heart, making him uneasy.

General Zhukov, who commanded more than one million troops, needed to clear his mind and sort out the complicated and confusing emotions in his heart after the evacuation plan had begun to be implemented and everything seemed to be going well.

Lieutenant General Godayav, the Chief of Staff of the Front Army, saw the somewhat lonely figure of the commander, and felt a flash of worry in his heart. Then, he ordered several staff officers who were not on duty, "You guys, bring your weapons and follow the comrade commander.

On the one hand, it plays the role of protecting the safety of Comrade Commander, on the other hand, Comrade Commander may issue new orders at any time, so you must obey orders at any time!"

Chief of Staff Godaev knew his boss's habits very well. Many of his unexpected commandings were inspired by him while he was walking. Out of the corner of his eye, Zhukov saw several staff officers following behind the guards.

He smiled and shook his head noncommittally.

Zhukov's regret was that he alone could feel the bitterness in his heart. He left at least three army units to deal with the Kwantung Army's unrelenting counterattack. The nearly 400,000 troops accounted for almost a quarter of the total strength of the Far East Front.

, Moreover, the prospect of whether all these troops can be returned to their organic form after the main force of the front army withdraws is worrying. Even I am not sure.

However, one thing is certain. The remaining troops are already at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength. The Japanese Kwantung Army, which has suffered heavy losses, will never let go of the remaining three army groups. What they will face is,

It was the crazy attack of the Japanese Kwantung Army.

Zhukov sighed and said, "At first, I had some complaints about General Vasilevsky. After the main force withdrew, he left two group armies separated by hundreds of kilometers in the north and south, unable to look after each other in the Outer Mongolia area. He thought that that

It is an irresponsible approach to the troops. It is clearly sending two army groups into Tang Qiuli's mouth!" He thought to himself.

It now seems that, facing the original situation, the main force of Tang Qiuli's independent division, which was gathered in the southern region of Outer Mongolia, would pounce at any time, and General Vasilevsky would have no choice but to do so. Otherwise, the main force of the Outer Mongolia Front Army would be defeated by Tang Qiuli.

Qiu Li's troops were entangled in Outer Mongolia. They could not escape within a short period of time. He understood the helplessness and pain of General Vasilevsky at that time.

Now, isn't he also faced with this unavoidable choice? It is Zhukov's greatest regret to put a road of no return in front of hundreds of thousands of soldiers from three armies and not be able to bring all the Far East Front troops back to the battlefield in the Far East where troops are urgently needed.

, especially when these troops are about to be besieged by the Japanese Kwantung Army and the entire army will be annihilated.

Zhukov's inner uneasiness is not supported by any intelligence or news. It is just an intuition. He is a professional soldier who has been fighting on the battlefield of life and death for a long time. His instinctive intuition about danger makes him an excellent commander, and he has a good understanding of the battle situation.

Outside, there is a layer of smoke and cloud, an invisible vigilance.

Zhukov always felt that a pair of invisible hands was slowly approaching his troops in the Far East. This invisible hand was not on the line from Chita to Irkutsk, making clear its attitude and intercepting and killing.

The independent divisions of the Outer Xing'anling Front and the Baikal Front came from confusion about the Japanese's abnormal performance.

Yes, Zhukov did not understand what the Japanese did. The Kwantung Army troops were scarred and had little power to fight anymore. They had the opportunity to withdraw to Manchuria. According to common sense, they should quickly leave the battlefield and recover their strength, instead of like now

In this way, like brown sugar, it won't let go.

With the current strength of the Far Eastern Front Army, it is not difficult to completely annihilate the Japanese Kwantung Army. However, time does not permit it, and Comrade Stalin will not tolerate him doing this. Therefore, the Kwantung Army's tireless entanglement makes Zhukov very distressed.

There is also deep confusion.

Another point is that the Far East Campaign has been going on for more than a month since it began. During this period, only one unit of the Japanese Kwantung Army was fighting with the Far East Front. Zhukov did not think that the Japanese did not have enough reserve forces to come.

To reinforce the Kwantung Army, the Emperor of Japan would not just sit back and watch the Kwantung Army being eaten by himself. So, the question arises, why have no Japanese reinforcements been found so far?

This was the most puzzling point for Zhukov. To put it bluntly, it was also the source of his uneasiness. The cold wind blowing from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk brought a salty and biting chill across his skin, making him shiver and wrap himself up tightly.

He was wearing a military coat, and the light in his eyes suddenly flashed, and he called a staff officer over and said: "You, Comrade Major, immediately inform Comrade Kilponos, the head of the Intelligence Department of the Front Army, to come here to see me!"

After a while, Major General Kilponos, the physically strong head of the Intelligence Department of the Front Army, hurried over. After saluting, he asked: "Comrade Commander, call me here urgently. Is there any important task?"

Major General Zhukov smiled silently and said: "There is no urgent task, but Comrade Kilponos, I give you an important task. The Intelligence Department of the Front Army must dispatch all reconnaissance troops, centered on the Far East battlefield.

, carry out indiscriminate reconnaissance on all main directions leading to the battlefield outside the radius of three hundred kilometers, focusing on both sides of the Blea Mountains and the Kukan Mountains, do you understand what I mean?"

Major General Kilponos was stunned for a moment, and then asked, "Comrade Commander, what are you worried about? How long do you need the Intelligence Department to provide you with this information?" The radiation radius is three hundred kilometers,

That is an area of ​​several thousand kilometers, and the reconnaissance troops under the Intelligence Department of the Front Army were deployed in full force. They could not cover it within more than ten days.

Zhukov knew that his subordinates had misinterpreted his meaning, and patiently explained: "Comrade Kilponos, you don't understand what I mean. The reconnaissance force of the Ministry of Intelligence must establish a cordon with a radius of three hundred kilometers, mainly for the purpose of starting a police attack."

As an advance warning, I can only give you five days in the mountains."

Major General Kilponos understood now, "Comrade Commander, I will deploy the reconnaissance troops immediately. If any abnormality is discovered, I will report it to the front army headquarters as soon as possible. I only need three days to report it to the front army headquarters according to the instructions."

Your order is to establish a cordon around the perimeter of the troops!" He said somewhat relaxedly.

After doing this, Zhukov seemed to feel somewhat comforted. "A warning line with a radius of three hundred kilometers is enough to give yourself enough time to prepare for emergencies!" He thought to himself and looked at his watch.

It was already nearly three o'clock in the morning on April 30th. "Go back to the headquarters!" He ordered the guards and strode into the tent.

In the temporary headquarters of the Independent Division in the small town of Delen in southern Outer Mongolia, Major General Zhao Yuhe, chief of staff, was reading a telegram from Lieutenant General Liu Tiehan, deputy division commander and commander of the East Point Force, "Division Commander, I am the Far East Commander."

Regional troops, from Chita to Irkutsk, comprehensively intercepted

Nineteen hours have passed since the Soviet troops intercepted the leading troops of the Soviet Outer Khingan Mountains Front and the Baikal Lake Front. Each unit reported that there were no signs of attack by the two main Soviet troops. The Far East Regional Command asked for instructions.

Is it still going according to the original plan?”

Tang Qiuli rubbed the short stubble on his chin and said thoughtfully: "For more than ten hours, the main force of the Soviet army has not launched an attack. This is really not in line with common sense. What is the reason for the rush to return to the European battlefield?

Why are the Soviet troops hesitating to move forward?" He seemed to be talking to himself, and seemed to be asking Zhao Yuhe.

Zhao Yuhe shook his head. He had also finished speculating on the abnormal behavior of the Soviet army. According to common sense, the Soviet army was eager to race against time and stayed on the line from Chita to Irkutsk for more than ten hours. It was abnormal, absolutely abnormal.

, but I have no way of judging the cause of the abnormality!

Tang Qiuli frowned and thought for a while, and suddenly smiled with relief. Zhao Yuhe said: "Yuhe, call Deputy Commander Liu back. Brother Tiehan, don't pay attention to the Soviet army's abnormal behavior. Our troops in the Far East can continue.

Proceed according to the original plan. In addition, this is also an opportunity for the army to send a large number of engineers to lay a large number of mines on all roads and destroy bridges and roads at the same time. In short, at the minimum cost to me, we can achieve the purpose of preventing the Soviet army from retreating!

"

Liu Tiehan, who received Tang Qiuli's call back, slapped his thigh and regretted his words in front of Major General Yang Ketian, Chief of Staff of the East Command, "Oh, Ketian, look at my head, why didn't I think of this move?"

Come on, landmines, landmines are a good thing, they just make the old man's departure unpleasant!"

Yang Ketian asked: "Deputy division commander, will you immediately order the troops to carry out landmine laying operations immediately?"

Liu Tiehan glared at Yang Ketian and said: "What are you waiting for? Immediately convey the order. Plus, all the troops in the Far East must bury all the mines carried by your unit on the only way the Soviet army must pass. Don't leave any behind.

If the number of mines in that unit is insufficient, I can order the logistics department to quickly allocate them. In short, according to the division commander's order, a mine belt with a thickness of no less than 20 kilometers must be formed from Chita to Irkutsk!"

With an order from Deputy Division Commander Lieutenant General Liu Tiehan, the independent division troops in the Far East buried hundreds of thousands of landmines underground almost overnight. Of course, there are various ways to bury landmines, but

One day later, these mines made it almost impossible for the Soviet army to move.

It was also on this night that Prince Zayen in Khabarovsk in the Far East received a telegram.

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