"The Chinese attack came so suddenly. Polkov and I had just run to the duty point when we heard the unique whistling sound of falling bombs. I subconsciously turned around and saw groups of bombs falling from the sky, and we The position he was in instantly turned into a sea of fire...", excerpted from Xinsson's diary.
In the Far East battlefield, as the defensive side, Lake Baikal was a natural fortification. Therefore, both China and the Soviet Union used Lake Baikal as a major troop gathering point, and at the same time, they built a large number of defense fortifications around Lake Baikal.
When did Sino-Soviet relations begin to cool down, and when did the Chinese and Soviet armies begin to confront each other on both sides of Lake Baikal? As a young second lieutenant, Thinsson had neither the need nor the interest to pay attention. In his mind, he only remembered that in the second half of last year, when the officers above talked about China, their tone changed. After all, China had helped the Soviet Union fight the German invading army, and the Russians had never been ungrateful. (Shinersson’s self-perception), so for a long time after the end of the Soviet-German war, what Seensson heard and saw about China-related personnel and affairs, if not praise, was in the tone of a friend. of intimacy.
"We were friends one second ago, but now they are unrelenting enemies. The reason for this is probably because of the so-called interests of the country and the nation in Polkov's words."
The front army system was a large-scale organization specially established in Soviet Russia for certain aspects of warfare during the war. After Germany's defeat, in addition to the Far East, the Soviet high command also retained a Far East Front army, such as the Southwest Front Army, the Northern Front Army, and the Northwest Front Army. The front troops have all been withdrawn.
Irkutsk, Northern Front Army Headquarters, as the bombing radius of the Chinese Air Force further expanded, Vatutin’s emergency combat meeting has been moved underground. Xinsson’s feeling that things in Soviet Russia began to change in the second half of last year As for the attitude towards China, in fact, starting from March last year, under Stalin’s secret order, Irkutsk, the Soviet city closest to China’s Ulan-Ude, began war preparations. First, there was a lot of political Agents from the Security Bureau moved in, but there were a large number of militiamen and engineers. With the entry of militiamen and engineers, Irkutsk began complex national defense construction...
This basement was built at that time. According to the parameters provided by the Political Security Bureau, this basement, which is located more than 30 meters underground and is equipped with an upper and lower elevator, is tough enough to withstand the super bombs used by China when it bombed Tokyo, Japan. bomb blast.
In the simple underground conference room, Vatutin was speaking above, and a communications staff officer walked in with a briefcase: "Comrade General, this is a telegram from the Supreme Commander."
After signing the folder handed over by the communications staff, Vatutin opened the telegram sent to him by Stalin. Under everyone's gaze, he read it word for word, then raised his head, glanced at everyone, and said loudly: " The Supreme Commander asked us to give the invading Chinese army a head-on blow and ordered us to launch a counterattack as quickly as possible. Comrades, I am here to announce that the battle to regain the Far East has officially begun."
As if to accentuate his words, there was a loud noise on the ground, and everyone felt the cement dust rustling down around them. They all stood up, waved their fists and shouted: "Resolutely implement the order of the Supreme Commander, attack. ,attack."
"I order..."
"Resolutely implement." After Vatutin issued the specific combat order, the participating generals filed out. After they left, Major General Joseph, the top commander of the Air Force of the Northern Front, walked up to Vatutin and asked loudly "Comrade General, what about the Air Force? Our Air Force has no combat mission."
The explosions from the ground became more intensive. Suddenly, a violent explosion sounded, causing the entire basement building to shake. Vatutin waved his hand to Joseph and shouted to Lapniv: "Go up and see what's going on. Was it that our arsenal was exploded?"
Lapniff responded and strode out.
Vatutin looked directly at Joseph and said seriously: "Of course the Air Force will participate in the war, but our Air Force is not used to vainly enhance the reputation of the Chinese Air Force. Your main combat direction will be in the area east of Lake Baikal."
As an excellent commander, knowing oneself and the enemy is a compulsory course. The reason why Vatutin has not released the air force and allowed Joseph to lead the troops to frequently move around in a three-day cycle is because he realized the huge gap in performance between the two sides' fighter planes. We don't want to waste our air force innocently in the fight for air supremacy.
As a well-known tank combat command expert in the history of Soviet Russia at that time and space, Vatutin was best at armor command operations. After the Northern Front Army completed its assembly in Irkutsk, for a long period of time, he did They were all reconnaissance of the terrain in the areas controlled by China, and they personally supervised the re-production of a more detailed surrounding terrain map.
There is no doubt that from the beginning, Vatutin pinned his hope of victory on the tank troops. At the same time, he was also confident that he could win a breakthrough in the direction of Lake Baikal by relying on the relatively powerful armored force of the Northern Front.
Joseph left, and Vatutin stood in front of the map, his eyes bright, and the focus was always on Baikalsk.
Baikalsk, located at the southernmost edge of Lake Baikal, is a small town on the frontline of Soviet Russia. Because of the existence of Lake Baikal, a natural defense fortification, if the Chinese Far East Army were to launch a ground attack, there is no doubt that Baikalsk would be the The primary target of their attack.
"Comrade General, our No. 1 ammunition depot was hit by a Chinese aircraft and exploded." Lapniff walked in and reported with a panic look on his face.
"The bombing continues."
"The Chinese are going crazy, with fighter planes flying one after another. We have just received a report that the air defense battalions of two divisions of the frontline garrison have been wiped out. Comrade General, it seems that the Chinese are serious about this. "
"Is there no other bad news?"
Lapniv was a little surprised at Vatutin's calmness and shook his head.
Vatutin's eyes still fell on the map, and he seemed to say casually: "The Chinese Air Force has a huge advantage in the Far East. If it were me, I would try my best to take advantage of it. However, I firmly believe that on the ground, we must maintain The dominant position is our invincible Soviet Red Army. It doesn’t matter, as long as our tanks are still there, the Chinese can’t even think of defeating us.”