After the domestic mobilization, the growth of military production was actually faster than expected. Due to the strong industrial capacity, when all the 1.2 million machine tools in the entire Republic were put into full operation, the machine products produced according to standardization
The number is absolutely astonishing.
By October 1938, the 4,000 tanks and 4,300 infantry fighting vehicles required by the 15 group armies and 18 armored divisions in the entire Northwest Theater had been fully equipped to the troops. According to the plan, the entire Northwest Theater will also form 12 new tanks in 1939.
The armored division will have 6,000 tanks in the entire theater by then.
Jiang Chengyue has moved his general headquarters to Samarkand. In the war room of the northwest theater, a pre-war meeting attended by commanders of the entire theater group army and above was held. Member of the Military Commission Xu Shuzheng and Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Republic of China Zhang Ceyuan represented the military
The Committee and the General Staff participated in this operational meeting.
Xu Shuzheng first read out the Military Commission's order of commendation to the troops and individuals who had made meritorious service in the previous phase of the Northwest Theater Command, and then Zhang Ceyuan announced the General Staff's combat order on launching the autumn campaign in Central Asia.
The purpose of the Republican Army's campaign was to encircle and annihilate the main force of the newly formed Turkestan Front Army of the Soviet Red Army to the maximum extent. The overall commander of the entire campaign was served by General Jiang Chengyue, Commander-in-Chief of the Northwest Theater.
In the entire battle, the Republican Army concentrated a total of 910,000 people in 11 armies. On the Soviet side, the Turkestan Front commanded by Timoshenko had eight armies with 420,000 people, and the South Ural Front had about 700,000 people.
People, some of these troops may launch attacks in Central Asia after the campaign is launched.
The purpose of the Republican Army's autumn campaign was to capture the entire Central Asia region along the Caspian Sea and deal a devastating blow to the Soviet Russian army, so that it would not dare to have any more ambitions and attempts to invade Central Asia for a period of time.
The troops in the entire northwest theater are divided into three campaign groups. The Northern Group is composed of the 3rd, 23rd, and 32nd Army. The starting point of the campaign is the Turgai River line in the north of the Aral Sea. After the campaign is launched, the Northern Group will direct from the north of the Aral Sea.
Insert the Caspian Sea coast to cut off the retreat route of the Soviet Central Asian Group.
The middle group is composed of the 18th, 26th, 27th, 36th, 52nd, and 60th armies. The 18th, 20th, 26th, 36th, and 52nd armies will launch an attack on the Navoi line to attract Soviet reinforcements. The 27th, 60th
The Army Group will attack south from the Aral Sea coast along the Syr Darya River, cut off the Central Asian Railway, and outflank the Soviet heavily-armed group.
On the southern front, the 1,44th Army will launch an attack from Mare towards Ashgabat.
In addition, the 39th Group Army serves as the strategic reserve force for the entire campaign. The 30th and 31st Group Armies, together with the Siberian Defense Forces, are responsible for the defense of the southern Urals. The 13th Group Army is on the northern line of Afghanistan to prevent possible attacks by the British and Indian troops to the north.
During the entire campaign, the 4,300 combat aircraft of the 12 Army Aviation Divisions under the jurisdiction of each army group and the 120 strategic bombers of the theater heavy bomber wing will be under the unified command of the campaign headquarters.
The order to attack came very suddenly.
The 180th Division had not completed half of the armored unit's training subjects, and this rookie armored unit was sent to the front line again.
As the vanguard of the entire group army, the Second Regiment was divided into three columns and marched on the edge of the yellowing desert Gobi in late autumn. Yang Haiming stretched his head from the cockpit cover to the outside of the tank, and the roar of the engine broke the silence of the wilderness. The entire Gobi desert
The sky above was filled with yellow dust raised by the chariots passing by.
The Soviet army did not deploy defenses in this direction. On the first day, the 180th Division advanced 120 kilometers without encountering any enemies at all.
At seven o'clock, the troops began to camp. There was no human habitation in the entire Gobi, and there was no water. The troops could only rely on fresh water brought by supply trucks.
Soldiers are not used to long-distance marches, especially the crews in tanks and armored vehicles. Although the vehicle speed rarely exceeds 25 kilometers when marching, the bumpy and noisy environment in the tank still makes the personnel inside extremely uncomfortable.
Exhausted, many people got into their tents and fell asleep after dinner.
After two days of marching, the troops had approached the Central Asian Railway. According to intelligence, the Soviet 45th Army was stationed in the area of Kunus and Urgen.
After sending out the reconnaissance troops, Zhang Xuan, commander of the 180th Division, summoned his three regiment commanders to hold a pre-war preparation meeting in a tent.
"We are now only more than 80 kilometers away from Kunus, and there will definitely be a battle here tomorrow!" Chief of Staff Yin Haoran drew a circle on the map, and will advance another 40 kilometers tomorrow. In front of it is a small town called Talmark.
The Soviet army will definitely be on guard there.
"Are you going to attack Kunus?" Qin Shanminbu, the leader of the first regiment, asked.
"It's not necessary. Our mission is to cut off the enemy's railway line and prevent the enemy's retreat. If we stay here, the enemy will naturally come out." Zhang Xuan threw the scale in his hand on the map, "Tomorrow, a group will go directly to occupy the railway line.
, the second regiment serves as the guard in the direction of Kunus, and the third regiment launches the attack."
Deserts and Gobis crisscross the entire Central Asia region, making it very troublesome to supply troops, and sometimes there is no fresh water for hundreds of kilometers. Whether it is the Soviet Army or the Republican Army, the combat scope can generally only be limited to areas near railways and water sources.
At around 10 o'clock at night, two reconnaissance detachments sent by the reconnaissance battalion returned to their base. As expected, the Soviet Red Army had about one battalion stationed in Talmark.
However, the Republican Army's reconnaissance team was also discovered by the Soviet army, and a brief exchange of fire broke out between the two sides.
We have been discovered, and the enemy will definitely be prepared, which makes the atmosphere in the entire army suddenly tense.
At 3:30 in the morning, everyone was woken up from their sleep. After breakfast, the armored troops were the first to set off as the vanguard. In the cold autumn night, the rolling torrent of steel shook the ground.
The anti-aircraft artillery battalion directly under the division headquarters, the artillery battalion, the transport regiment, and the reconnaissance battalion began to take action at around 4:30.
At about 5:30, when it was just dawn, Luo Qi saw the houses in Talmark Town through the telescope. The Soviet army seemed to have dug a defensive position outside the village.
"Get ready to fight!" As the order was given, the tank crews all retracted their bodies from outside the vehicle into the vehicle. These steel behemoths weighing dozens of tons formed an offensive formation amidst the huge roar.
Advance towards the enemy's position.
Boom! A landmine exploded on the left side of the No. 113 tank driven by Yang Haiming. The whole body shook violently, his heart trembled, and the tank stopped.
The track was damaged?
Looking down, he saw that he had shifted the gear to neutral. This was a bad habit he had developed when dealing with accidents during training. He cursed himself secretly, then shifted the gear again, stepped on the accelerator, and the tank started moving again.