Although Vatutin was severely frightened by the rocket raid of the Chinese Far East Army, he still made the most correct response immediately, that is, he immediately withdrew all the front-line troops that could be withdrawn, and set up a military base in Irkutsk. Establish a new line of defense. In his telegram to Zhukov the next day, he explained the reason for doing so. He believed that before finding a way to restrain the Chinese rocket raid tactics, what the Soviet Red Army had to do was not how to repel the Chinese. Invasion, but should avoid being targeted by the Chinese again to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Vatutin made this decision after careful consideration. Because of the special political environment in Soviet Russia, he knew very well that once such a decision was made, it would mean that unless he could achieve no less than total annihilation of the enemy in the future, The two tank divisions of the army have such a record. Otherwise, once the war is over, a life behind bars will definitely be waiting for him. However, he really can't do this kind of thing if he leaves the front-line troops alone and watches them being eaten up by the Chinese army. So, after some ideological struggle, he finally chose to save the army regardless of his personal future.
The matter was so serious that Zhukov did not dare to be expert in it, so he could only report it to Stalin and ask him for tactical guidance.
Last night, Stalin had received Vatutin's report, and his first reaction at that time was to immediately call back and rudely reprimand Vatutin, and asked him to carefully inspect the staff around him, thinking that "Northern The quality of the staff at the Front Army Headquarters needs to be improved." Yes, Stalin did not believe at all that "the two most elite tank divisions were wiped out by the Chinese with a single burst of rockets." He thought it was the communications staff of the Northern Front Army who appeared when sending the telegram. Errors in language and writing.
It wasn't until he received Zhukov's telegram that he knew that what seemed like a fantasy was actually true.
"Isn't Vatutin an expert in armored warfare? How could he make such a mistake? There are two tank divisions, and there are only a few tank divisions in the entire Soviet Union. He thinks that tanks are rag dolls in the hands of children, and he can take as many as he wants. "As a dictator, Stalin's way of thinking was finalized after he became the first person in Soviet Russia. That is, mistakes and failures must be human factors and are the result of people below doing things without following his instructions. , naturally, they should bear all the consequences for the mistakes they made.
If Stalin could still accept the loss of two tank divisions in vain (Vatutin and Zhukov have not reported the matter of the Seventh Army yet, maybe they think it is possible for the Seventh Army to return with the whole army), Vatutin ordered the troops to abandon the front-line positions on the west bank of Lake Baikal without authorization. In his opinion, it was intolerable. "Every inch of Soviet land is sacred and inviolable. As a Red Army soldier, we should fight the enemy to the end." , Vatutin, this bastard, who gave him the power to retreat, Beria, immediately ask the Security Bureau to escort him to Moscow, I want to interrogate this bastard personally..." Even if "two of the most elite tank divisions were killed by China "Everyone was shot down by a rocket", but after all, he had not seen it with his own eyes, so Stalin could not understand Vatutin's strategic retreat at all.
At almost the same time, Ouyang Yun in Chongqing also received a report from Zhang Zizhong. Unlike Stalin, of course he couldn't help but smile on his face.
"The Far East Army had a good start. Not only did it completely annihilate the two main tank divisions of the Soviet Northern Front, but it also surrounded the Seventh Army in Kultuk. If nothing else happens, Jiang Tieyao's Far East 3rd Army will be defeated by tomorrow at the latest. One group of armies can completely annihilate this enemy force. There is Severobaikalsk on the front of Lake Baikal. The 2nd and 3rd Far East Army of Chen Deru and Vavsky also performed well. They all repelled their respective frontal enemies. The Soviets They took the initiative to retreat because they were afraid of our missile tactical troops. It's a pity, it's a pity." Ouyang Yun said with a smile that it was a pity. Others were inevitably curious.
He Yingqin asked jokingly: "General seat, what's the pity?"
"Missiles are too expensive to be deployed. Otherwise, why should we fear the alliance between the United States, Britain, Japan and the Soviet Union."
Ouyang Yun was aware of the power of missiles, so although he was surprised, he did not suspect that Zhang Zizhong would lie about the military situation. However, in the eyes of He Yingqin, Feng Yuxiang and others, Zhang Zizhong's victory telegram seemed to have too much credit for it. .
"With only the use of the second artillery, an elite Soviet tank division was wiped out, and it was done from a distance of 200 kilometers. This, this is impossible." He Yingqin.
"It's unbelievable, but General Zhang Zizhong is not someone who just talks nonsense. Sir, this missile is really so powerful." It was Deng Xihou who asked this question.
"To be honest, I am also surprised, but I believe it is true. However, missiles are a deterrent force after all and cannot be equipped on a large scale. Otherwise, by the way, Commander-in-Chief Zhang asked us for the next step of action. Everyone Let’s talk about it.”
"In total, the Soviet Russians will be annihilated in five divisions, which is more than 50,000 people. Can we say that we have achieved the pre-war goal? After all, we do not have the ability to fight a full-scale war with the Soviet Union. Isn't that good? Just take it." He Yingqin said, not forgetting to look at Ouyang Yun.
He Yingqin had reservations before letting the Far East Army take the initiative to attack the Soviet Red Army. In private, he even asserted that Ouyang Yun was seeking death in making this decision and would ruin the good situation in the Far East and even Outer Mongolia. Even now, he Nor does it believe that China has the ability to defeat Soviet Russia.
"The total strength of the Soviet Russians in the Far East is more than 500,000. If the Far Eastern Army eats 50,000 at once, it should make the Soviet Russians suffer for a while. I also think we should stop when we are ready." Li Zongren.
This was obviously not the answer Ouyang Yun wanted. He looked at Deng Xihou.
Deng Xihou was known as the Crystal Monkey, and observing faces was his strong point. He thought about it for a while and said: "The opinions of Vice President He and General Staff Li are sound, but I think we can look at them from the perspective of the Soviet Russians. Think about it, there is no doubt that the Soviet Russians must have felt a lot of pain because of the outstanding performance of Wang Yicheng's Second Artillery Unit. However, what was Stalin's temperament? Would he be afraid? I think not. In this case, we should take advantage of the situation. In order to completely beat up the Soviet Russians, I suggest that without considering the cost, let Wang Yicheng use missiles to teach the Soviet Russians a lesson. Well, I think they will specifically focus on the Soviet Russians' Trans-Siberian Railway and bomb them thoroughly. Paralyzing the Soviet Russians’ logistical supply lines.”
The importance of the Trans-Siberian Railway to the Far East of Soviet Russia is self-evident. In the absence of enough large transport aircraft, the Soviets must rely on this railway if they want to use troops in the Far East. And if missiles can be used The troops turned the Trans-Siberian Railway into scrap metal. Even if the Soviets could muster the courage to ignore the threat of missiles, logistical supplies would become an insurmountable obstacle and seriously delay their military operations.