Chapter 192: Green grass and red blood (13)

"Up to 20 divisions. Probably equipped with a considerable number of tanks and aircraft. "

As he spoke, Liang Tianhe took off his gloves, held them in his hands, walked to the map covering half of the wall, patted the map with his gloves and pointed: "Three days ago, we went down the Irtysh River to conduct reconnaissance.

The Li Xiang detachment on the Pavlodar side was intercepted by the enemy on the way and fought back. Based on aerial reconnaissance and radio monitoring, there have been signs of group army-level troop activities around Pavlodar recently. I think the enemy is gathering here.

The force has only one purpose, which is to outflank the retreat of your two armies from this direction, and coordinate with the main force of Barnaul to eat you up. "

"Then we can only sit and wait for someone to make dumplings?"

Liang Tianhe clenched his gloves tightly, turned around and came to Qian Lan, his majestic eyes piercing his soul: "If you think you are a dumpling, then you will definitely become a dumpling."

"But once the supply line is cut off, our thousands of motor vehicles will become a pile of scrap metal, surrounded by the desolate Balabin Prairie, and it will be difficult to raise supplies for the men and horses. We cannot expect the soldiers to go hungry and rely only on their hands.

Legs win the battle." Lu Kaiping on the side couldn't help but express his worries.

"Then find a way to prevent the enemy from cutting off the supply line. Even if it is temporarily cut off, you can quickly open it up, break out of the encirclement, and counter the encirclement! I am not here to listen to your complaints, but to let you find ways to solve the problem. The base camp has made up its mind. You

There is no choice!" Liang Tianhe's words were filled with anger, which made the two old subordinates look at each other in shock and lowered their heads in silence.

Hitting the front with a big stick and feeding carrots at the back, Liang Tianhe took a breath and said in a calm tone: "I, Liang, built the current Northwest Army, and I am reluctant to let my brothers take such a big risk.

There are so many military orders but I have no choice but to bear my tears. Here is a response plan formulated for the Chief of Staff for your reference. "

The accompanying staff officer immediately took out two black folders and delivered them to Qian Lan and Lu Kaiping respectively.

"If you have any other requests, you can ask me now."

"We need more powerful air support." Qian Lan said.

"I need more half-tracks." Lu Kaiping said.

Liang Tianhe nodded: "I'll do my best."

"By the way, our local front headquarters will be moved from Aktoka to Semipalatinsk from today. I will wait for you to come back to Seychelles. "

…

A week later, Novosibirsk, the headquarters of the Rear Ural Front of Army E.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Nakashidze was excitedly reporting to Commander Brusilov: "...the enemy took the bait! After Rubtsovsk, we arrived at Areisk. At this rate, we can reach it within a week.

Barnaul ambush ring!”

After hearing this, Brusilov had no expression on his face and just paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back without saying a word.

Nakashidze looked puzzled and called him "Commander" three times before Brusilov stopped and looked at him. Then he looked at the map and then at the newly arrived telegram on the table, and just shook his head and sighed.

.

Only then did Nakasize come to his senses. He stepped forward to get the telegram and took a look at it. He frowned: "Launch a general attack in advance? How can this be done? The prey has not yet been completely trapped. If a general attack is launched at this time, all previous efforts will be wasted!"

Brusilov weakly shrank into the sofa and said helplessly: "The emperor can no longer bear the orders from the base camp. "

"Didn't the Emperor grant you full authority..."

"The emperor can grant it. Of course, he can also take it back. "

Nakashidze read the entire text carefully and slammed the telegraph newspaper on the table: "It's all nonsense. How can Irkutsk be saved in this situation! Can it be held before the end of the battle here?

Thank God for Krasnoyarsk! Orders are changed day by day, how can we fight with this! You have to explain the situation to the emperor and ask him to take back the order——"

"Haven't we already said what needs to be said?" Brusilov continued helplessly.

"No matter what, this kind of bastard order must not be carried out!" Nakasize was quite angry.

Brusilov twisted his neck at him: "You know the emperor's temper. You also know the consequences of doing this. "

Nakashi's neck was still stuck: "But..."

Brusilov interrupted him calmly: "The German army has pacified the Netherlands and will be able to launch the offensive again soon. We have just lost Tashet and Abakan. Krasnoyarsk seems to be in danger. Your Majesty will

There is no reason to be anxious..."

Nakasi raised his beautiful mustache: "Now is not the time to try to figure out the emperor's thoughts. Do we really want to carry out this ridiculous order?"

"It's just a week in advance. The effect may be a little worse, but as long as we act quickly, there is still hope for a Battle of Cannae... No matter what, we can't defy the base camp and our tsar. "

As he spoke, Brusilov glanced at the huge combat map on the opposite wall. The blue symbols representing his own combat troops formed a long arc, cutting a thin line deeply into the red ground to the north.

'Colored' arrows surround the middle.

Around Barnaul, where the red arrow points, Lieutenant General Hovlin's 51st Army has been waiting for a long time. This unit consists of the 24th Army, the 26th Army, the 27th Army and the 9th Cavalry Division, a total of 6 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry division.

The division, with nearly 150,000 men and 450 artillery pieces, will press the main force of the Chinese army from the front.

Southeast of Barnaul, on the line of the city of Bisk on the upper reaches of the Ob River, Lieutenant General Lovisos's 21st Army has long been ready. This unit has the 36th, 42nd Division and the 9th Cavalry Division, about 50,000 people, and 120 artillery pieces.

, the plan is to make a detour from the right flank (east) of the main Chinese army group.

To the west of Barnaul, near the important town of Korchno along the railway to Pavlodar, Lieutenant General Balakovov's 54th Group Army completed its deployment a week ago. This unit governs the 19th and 25th Army, the Siberian Army

The 11th Division and the 10th Cavalry Division, a total of 5 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry division, with 120,000 men and 350 artillery pieces, will outflank and attack the left flank (west) of the main Chinese army group.

In the Pavlodar (Kleku) area 500 kilometers west of Barnaul, Lieutenant General Panlyotsev's 53rd Army, which has high hopes, is ready to move. It includes 5 infantry divisions of the 30th Army and the 31st Army, and cavalry.

The 3rd Army has three cavalry divisions, as well as the empire's only two large-scale synthetic armored forces - the 1st Tank Brigade and the 11th Armored Motor Brigade. The army has 130,000 people, 480 artillery pieces, and is equipped with 70 tanks and 210 tanks.

The armored vehicles and more than 600 trucks and other motor vehicles are scheduled to go up the Irtysh River and cut off the retreat of the main Chinese army group from Semipalatinsk.

On the Aleysk side, the Siberian 12th Division and the 14th Division, which were used as decoys, carefully maintained contact with the main force group of the Chinese army in front of them. In a series of previous battles, the two divisions suffered serious losses, and the Siberian 14th Division only

Remaining one-third of the troops and one-quarter of the artillery specified in the establishment, the 12th Siberian Division lost half of its combatants and one-third of its artillery. It is scheduled to withdraw from the front line after the start of the general offensive and move to Novosibirsk for replenishment.

, also serves as the front army reserve force.

In addition, 150 aircraft from multiple flying groups of the Army Air Force, including dozens of Ilya Muromets four-engine heavy bombers carrying more than 800 kilograms of bombs, will provide air support for the entire front.

The arrow is on the string, ready to go off. Although it is not yet the best time, it is inevitable to disobey the king's order. Brusilov must give the order immediately.

"Give power to each unit and act according to the date given by the base camp. "

Two days later, on July 25, 1915, on an arc-shaped front that stretched for hundreds of kilometers, the E Army called it the "Battle of Balabin Grassland" and the Chinese Army called it the "Battle of Hejian" (full name "Battle of Hejian").

The epic decisive battle between Irtysh and Ob River" has begun...

Semipalatinsk, forward headquarters of the Northwestern Front.

Liang Tianhe faced the map and smoked cigarettes one after another.

From Semipalatinsk to Areisk, on both sides of the 400-kilometer railway line, the 250,000 troops of the Second Armored Army and the Fifth Army wriggled forward like a long snake - this is a bulging belly.

It looked like a python that had just swallowed a cow.

Dozens of kilometers north of Aleysk, where the snakehead is, the 2nd armored advance force commanded by Lieutenant General Xiao Bin, commander of the 5th Army of the People's Liberation Army, continues to advance forward. This capable mobile commando team is composed of two armored units.

The task of the brigade (13 and 16 mounted) and the two cavalry brigades (8 and 15 mounted) is to maintain contact with the enemy in front of them. If the enemy is weak, advance slowly, and if the enemy is strong, retreat quickly.

The throat of the snake, that is, near Areisk, is stationed with the advancing troops of the Fifth Army, including the 8th Army (15th and 17th Infantry Divisions) and the 6th Cavalry Army (28th, 29th and 31st Cavalry Brigades). Their task is to respond

The second unit assembled the vanguard and stayed at Aleysk to await reinforcements when the rear route was cut off.

In the belly of the snake, that is, around Rubtsovsk, there are assembled four armored brigades, two infantry divisions and two cavalry brigades of the Second Armored Group, as well as the 6th Army (11th and 13th Infantry Divisions) and 5th Infantry Group of the Fifth Group.

The mission of the 16th Cavalry Brigade is to meet the advancing troops. If the advancing troops are surrounded, they will rescue them with all their strength. If the team's rear route is also cut off, they will hold on to Rubtsovsk while trying to rescue the advancing troops. After the front and rear armies merge, they will rescue them.

and break through.

The Snake Tail, also known as Semipalatinsk, is garrisoned by the Irtysh Group, which is based on the 19th Infantry Division and the 103rd Infantry Division, led by the Chief of Staff of the Front Army, General Yan Canglong. The task is to defend the city until reinforcements arrive. There are also other troops stationed there.

The two reserve divisions of the Fifth Army (i.e., the 41st and 50th reserve infantry divisions temporarily transferred from the 10th Army) are ready to attack Rubtsovsk at any time to meet the main force.

Early in the morning, Liang Tianhe received a report from Lu Kaiping: "This morning, the first advance force was blocked 45 kilometers northeast of Aleysk. It was reported that the enemy's artillery fire was fierce. A large enemy aircraft group was air raiding Lu Town, damaging

Report it later. ”

Later, Qian Lan reported: "Azhen is under air attack. There are many enemy planes. Our fighter planes are unable to stop them. The losses are unknown."

"It's too early..."
Chapter completed!