The brutal battle has continued for ten days and ten nights.
Since the Japanese army approached Gurskoye along the railway, this gateway to the valley and plains of the lower reaches of the Amur River (Heilongjiang River) has withstood rounds of attacks by the Japanese army.
"Kill me!"
As a heart-rending roar sounded, hundreds of fire snakes emerged from the edge of the forest to the south, and groups of Japanese soldiers rushed toward the hills to the north along the fire channel.
The yellow figures were like waves, densely packed, like ants moving before the rainy day, which was shocking. From the dense forest area to the open area of more than 300 meters on the north mountain, half of the soldiers passed through in the blink of an eye.
The altitude of this mountain pass area is actually only between 400 and 600 meters. Although at first glance, the mountains look intimidating, but when you get closer, you can find that the slope is only more than 20 degrees, so
The defensive advantage is not as obvious as imagined.
The Third Division of the First Group Army of the Mongolian Military Region, which was urgently dispatched by train from Kulun to assist in the defense, deployed a regiment on the front-line position in the north. After the officers and soldiers arrived, they did not dare to sit idle and immediately started digging trenches and building bunkers. Half of them
The bunker is made of reinforced concrete.
Lieutenant Colonel Cai Ziqiang, commander of the 9th Regiment, stood in front of the lookout of the underground bunker, holding a telescope and closely watching every move of the Japanese troops.
The Japanese soldiers moved extremely fast and had already rushed to the bottom of the slope in a blink of an eye. If they continued at this sprinting speed, in another ten seconds or so, the Japanese troops would rush into the dense minefield on the hillside.
Not long after Cai Ziqiang finished his thoughts, the Japanese charge team had already entered the minefield.
As the first landmine exploded, the broken bodies of the two Japanese soldiers suddenly flew into the sky. The air wave was mixed with shrapnel and mixed with marbles, sweeping across a large area. Five or six Japanese soldiers nearby were affected or covered.
Holding their stomachs, stroking their limbs, or covering their heads, they screamed miserably.
Landmines that were stepped on frequently instantly blasted numerous gaps in the dense Japanese charge formation.
The first wave of Japanese attacking troops, which had lost their charging momentum and vigor, immediately dispersed left and right, leaving the path of advancement to the second wave of attacking troops that followed closely.
While observing the casualties of the Japanese soldiers, Cai Ziqiang kept calculating in his mind the total number of troops invested by the Japanese army. So far, there have only been two waves, and the opponent has invested thousands of people. It seems that the Japanese army in the woods opposite is indeed as expected by the reconnaissance team.
That should be a coalition.
During this period, the fighting in the areas around Vladivostok was tepid, but Gurskoye became a real meat grinder. Because the city was at the mouth of a gorge, the attacking Japanese troops could not spread their wings and could only attack one brigade at a time.
They adopted the tactics of adding fuel to the attack.
In response to the Japanese attack, the Far East Army had already made careful arrangements. It built hundreds of forts, fortifications and bunkers on the mountains on both sides, and used fan-shaped fortifications to entertain the Japanese troops who were attacking in a straight line in front of the canyon. Within ten days,
Down here, the Japanese army lost at least the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers.
While deploying the landing at Nikolayevsk (Temple Street) in the Amur River mouth area, the Japanese military command was looking for other passages from the Soviet Port Railway to Komsomolsk, so the north and south wings of Gurskoye were more than 50 kilometers away.
The mountainous areas have also become battlefields for fighting.
Fortunately, from the very beginning, the senior officials of the Far East Army realized that the Japanese army might choose flank attack tactics. While organizing the troops to withdraw westward, they asked Anjiajun for help. After Yin Jinan asked An Yi for instructions, he sent Dong Jinming's First Army there.
After arriving at Gurskoye, Dong Jinming deployed the Second Division on the southern line and the Third Division on the northern line according to the terrain. Almost all the passes that were conducive to passage were tightened.
In order to provide the strongest support to the front-line troops, the Mongolian Military Region assigned a tank brigade directly under it to Dong Jinming. Dong Jinming split one of the regiments into two parts and used them as the trump card of the defensive forces. The remaining two tanks
The regiment and the first division, as the strategic general reserve, are ready to plug possible gaps at any time.
...
While Cai Ziqiang was figuring out how to eliminate as many enemies as possible, Lieutenant Colonel Yamada Tsuneta, commander of the 65th Regiment of the 127th Infantry Brigade of the 114th Division of the Japanese Army, was also paying attention to the progress of the war.
According to the intelligence provided by the Air Force, there will be no more than one regiment of troops stationed on the hilltop opposite. Judging from the uniforms and flags, it seems that they are not regular Soviet troops. In Yamada's view, the two waves of impact were enough to wipe out all the rabble on the opposite side. In the evening
In advance, you can completely occupy the hilltop on the opposite side and push the front to the plain area.
However, the reality is so cruel. The dense minefields dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese army. The second wave of Japanese assault troops finally crossed the minefields, but were firmly suppressed in front of the position by the powerful machine gun firepower of Anjiajun.
One to two hundred meters away.
At this time, the Japanese army's powerful personal military and technical advantages were quickly reflected. According to statistics, during the Second World War, more than half of the soldiers fighting Japan died in close-range firefights.
This shows the abnormality of the Japanese army's marksmanship.
Within the Anjia Army system, the quality of officers and soldiers and the quality of training of the troops formed in the north are still not comparable to those of the old Anjia Army troops who underwent rigorous systematic training during the recruit period. They are also slightly inferior to the Japanese army. Therefore, at this moment, in the front-line trenches
, the number of dead and wounded officers and soldiers was increasing, and they were staggered together.
Amid the continuous ups and downs of explosions, follow-up troops were constantly replenished through the traffic trenches. The fierce exchange of fire continued and tended to become more intense. There were screams for medical soldiers everywhere!
The medical soldiers braved the hail of bullets, constantly rushed into the trenches, helped the wounded soldiers down, and then quickly sent the wounded soldiers to the field hospital through the parking lot behind the mountain.
The battle became more and more fierce. All artillery and mortars were used by both sides, and the casualties continued to increase. Cai Ziqiang endured the grief in his heart and kept sending out his reserve troops.
After another half-hour of fighting, the Japanese army's third wave of attacking troops arrived at the front of the Anjia Army position. Subsequently, the Japanese army's light and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers came close to fire and began to comprehensively suppress the firepower of the Anjia Army's front line position. The Japanese soldiers had already approached the two front lines of the position.
At more than ten points, the battle situation has entered the most critical stage!
Upon seeing this, Cai Ziqiang immediately ordered the tank troops to join the battle.
As twenty tanks appeared on the top of the mountain, the Japanese army, which lacked anti-tank firepower, was immediately suppressed by the machine gun fire on the tanks. Soon, a large number of steel plates covered the trenches, and the tanks drove through the trenches and carried out counterattacks.
General machine guns fired wildly at the Japanese troops.
The Japanese machine gunners and grenadier soldiers suffered heavy casualties in an instant.
Lieutenant Colonel Yamada Tsuneta's face was ashen. In his eyes, tanks were completely demons that devoured the lives of soldiers. However, the troops' anti-tank fire did not follow up in time due to the rugged mountain roads, and they did not prepare cluster grenades and explosive packs in advance. He did not expect to eat them.
Such a big loss.
Yamada Tsuneota watched as another machine gun fire point of his own was directly destroyed by a tank. A water-cooled heavy machine gun accompanied by an arm fell heavily more than ten meters away under the flash of explosion. Yamada Lieutenant Colonel cursed in his heart,
The damn aviation force didn't even notice the enemy's hidden tanks and didn't know what they were doing.
After breaking through minefields and engaging in brutal close-range firefights, the Japanese army's fighting will has been severely weakened. Now faced with the threat of tanks, morale has reached a low point.
Yamada forced himself to calm down. After half a day of fighting, he realized that although the opposing army resisted very tenaciously, it did not have enough troops. He could only rely on tank firepower to counterattack. If his troops received the assistance of anti-tank guns, they should be able to defeat the opponent.
Of course, before that, reinforcements must be requested. After all, after three waves of attacks, the casualties of the troops were still very high.
As the Japanese army retreated like a tide, the Anjia Army's tank troops did not show any interest in fighting. They turned their heads, slowly climbed up the gentle slope, and disappeared at the top of the mountain.
At this time, Cai Ziqiang did not feel the pleasure of winning the battle at all. The battlefield was littered with the corpses of officers and soldiers. In the bloody and cruel battle, life was so fragile. Compared with it, everything was so insignificant!
...
At noon, Lieutenant Colonel Yamada Tsuneta, the captain of the 65th Regiment who was placing the wounded in the formation, was not willing to fail. In order to capture the opposite hilltop at the least cost and open up the passage to the river valley and plain area, after a simple tactical arrangement, Yamada
Request instructions from the brigade headquarters and division headquarters via the radio, requesting the dispatch of a heavy artillery regiment to provide cooperation.
Before evening, the 114th Division, which was responsible for the offensive mission on the northern front, sent a brigade of the 120th Field Artillery Regiment under the division's command to the 65th Regiment. Also arriving at the same time was the 1st Infantry Regiment.
〇The Second Regiment and the 114th Regiment of Heavy Troops each have one brigade.
The powerful reinforcements arrived, and the ammunition consumed during the day was replenished. Lieutenant Commander Yamada Tsuneta was somewhat reassured, but thinking about how many casualties it would cost if it were a frontal attack and braved the enemy's tank fire, it seemed that we still had to move on the flanks.
Brain. However, only the brigade headquarters had a copy of the detailed topographic map of this mountainous area. Yamada decided to rush back to the brigade headquarters overnight to see if there was any place that could be used.
Yamada, with his staff and guards, had just walked down the mountain when suddenly the ground shook violently. Yamada lost his footing and fell to the ground like a dog eating shit. Two of his front teeth hit the hard stone and two of them were knocked off. His mouth was filled with blood.
Yamada didn't understand what was happening and opened his mouth to curse, when an earth-shattering explosion suddenly came, and apart from the huge roar, no other sound could be heard in the entire land.
Yamada turned around in horror and saw that the sky where his troops were stationed had been illuminated, and huge firelight and gunpowder smoke enveloped the entire forest.
On the high ground where the Japanese troops were facing off, Lieutenant Colonel Cai Ziqiang, commander of the 9th Regiment of the 3rd Division, had a cruel smile on his face.
That's right, because they arrived four days earlier than their opponents, the Ninth Regiment trampled almost all of the land covering ten square kilometers, and finally determined that the enemy was going to attack their position, and the most ideal place to hide their troops was the woods opposite.
For this reason, Cai Ziqiang formulated a careful plan and asked his superiors for instructions. The superiors quickly agreed with the Ninth Regiment's opinion and set up a trap in the woods, waiting for the Japanese army to escape.
Previously, even in the most difficult times, Cai Ziqiang did not use this killing move. In his opinion, it would be a bit fussy to deal with only one regiment of Japanese troops. Fortunately, according to the report of the reconnaissance force, the Japanese army sent a large number of troops in the evening
, especially the cannons and transport trucks, made Cai Ziqiang overjoyed.
As night fell, the Japanese troops shrank their defenses, and the camp built on powder barrels became the burial place of the Japanese troops.
There were one hundred and fifty explosion points all over the forest, and three hundred barrels of simple napalm were thrown into the air and detonated. This could be regarded as a real meteor shower. All the gasoline was mixed with syrup and soapy water for preparation. Each one
The angles of the oil drums were carefully designed, and the dense forests in the Far East helped An Jiajun a big favor!
The sky was full of fire rain, turning the woods into a sea of fire, and the highly adhesive napalm turned the Japanese soldiers into running fire sources. Some Japanese soldiers who threw themselves to the ground in an attempt to extinguish the flames were instantly destroyed.
They turned into burning men, and the sick and wounded who were unable to move could only be burned alive amidst the screams.
The blood-curdling screams, exploding ammunition, and the suffocating smell of burning and flames made even the officers and soldiers of Anjia, who were more than 500 meters away, feel as if they were standing naked in the snow, with chills in their hearts.
!
A few snipers who couldn't bear it aimed at the Japanese soldiers who were covered in fire and struggling desperately to help them escape from the endless pain. Others secretly murmured: Is this too inhumane?
All kinds of news were fed back to the regiment headquarters. The next morning, thick smoke was still billowing from the woods opposite. Cai Ziqiang summoned all the officers and soldiers of the regiment to speak:
"Brothers, you can't bear to burn thousands of Japanese to death. You think it's too inhumane. Have you ever thought that since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, the Japanese army has burned, killed, looted, raped women, and committed all kinds of evil on our land. They have no regard for our rights.
Do you feel it? Just after September 18th, there were hundreds of tragedies in Northeast and North China, and millions of people died from the wanton massacre by the Japanese army! Have you ever thought about those innocent souls who have no way to redress their grievances, and they will receive humane treatment?
Already?
"The war with the Japanese was a life-and-death battle related to the survival of the nation. Since the Opium War, our country has been weak for a long time. It has been viciously slandered as the sick man of East Asia by the foreign powers. It seems to have become the norm to pay indemnities, cede territory and lose the war! But this kind of situation
Those days have ceased to exist with the rise of the Anjia Army. We have never been defeated in all previous foreign wars. After the July 7th Incident, if we had not fought bravely in North China and Songhu, I don’t know how many innocent people would have suffered. Now
It’s time for the Japanese to pay for their blood debt with blood! Remember my words, there should be no sympathy or pity for the Japanese. Only by letting them die in the most miserable way can we comfort the departed souls!
"Kill the little devil! Long live An Jiajun and long live the Chinese nation!"
...
Moscow, Kremlin.
Stalin had a working lunch with Molotov, Voroshilov, Beria and others who were invited. Stalin picked up a small piece of beef with a fork, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly. Molotov scooped it out
After drinking a spoonful of white fungus soup, he reported his work to Stalin:
"We have had many discussions with the British Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Simon Sinson, and the French Charge d'affaires in the Soviet Union, Payal, but there has still been no progress on some important issues. Britain and France have stated that they will not get involved in the war between the Far East, the Soviet Union, and South China; the war between the three countries
Regarding military negotiations, since the British and French military delegations have only arrived in Moscow today, formal negotiations have not yet begun; in addition, Soviet-German economic and trade negotiations will begin in Berlin tomorrow."
At this point, Molotov looked grimly: "The world situation is now in a mess. The British are trapped in India. The French did not dare to send troops to conquer even after losing Annan, because they had to guard against Germany going south. In this case, the British Navy
Admiral Drax and General Dumanc of France led their country's military representatives to Moscow. They did not take a plane or a fast warship, but only took a low-speed mail ship. They first arrived in Leningrad, and then took a slow train to Moscow.
.Isn’t this deliberate delay?”
Stalin saw clearly and pointedly said: "Britain and France are eager for the Soviet Union to waste its strength in the battle with the Far East and South China and tempt Germany, who is looking for soft persimmons, to invade. We must take measures to delay the war. Since Britain and France have no intention of fighting with
We have signed a mutual assistance treaty between the three countries, and I suggest that we conduct military negotiations among the three countries first."
Molotov put the spoon back on the soup plate, nodded and said: "I will send suggestions to Britain and France later."
Stalin took the wine glass filled with orange juice, turned it a few times, thought for a while and said: "Hitler is the best at taking advantage of the international situation for profit. I don't think he will really take advantage of us. The food of Ukraine and the oil of the Caucasus have a great influence on Germany."
Extraordinary temptation. No, we should find ways to push Hitler, and the economic and trade negotiations with Germany must make a big progress. In this way, we will vigorously promote military cooperation with Britain and France, so Germany, which is worried about a two-front war, will definitely be anxious.
, they must sign a treaty with us first. And Germany’s attitude will in turn affect Britain and France, and we, the Soviets, can benefit from it.”
Stalin turned to Marshal Voroshilov, the People's Commissar of Defense: "In the final analysis, military strength is the most beneficial support for national diplomacy, but the situation in Central Asia is not good now. We have lost the capitals of three union republics. I simply can't believe it."
, our great Soviet Red Army will be so weak!"
Voroshilov put down his knife and fork, stood up and apologized proactively: "I'm sorry, Comrade Stalin, to disappoint you! However, the General Staff has studied Comrade Kulik's opinions and believes that his idea of temporarily conserving strength for a decisive battle is feasible.
!If the troops blocking the Far Eastern Army's retreat route do not evacuate, they will be defeated one by one. In the end, we will not have enough strength to fight back, and the defeat will be irreversible. On the contrary, if we preserve our strength, we can wait for the Far Eastern Army to fight the Japanese.
After working hard and looking for bad luck on the part of the Chinese, we are very confident that we can win the war in Central Asia."
Stalin motioned for Voroshilov to sit down: "This is also the reason why I did not deal with Kulik. I wonder if the Japanese will be beaten back when more than one million Far Eastern troops move north?"
"Not necessarily. Although the mechanization level of the Far East Army is much higher than that of the Japanese army, the Japanese army has the advantage of the navy. The two sides are expected to form a tug-of-war!"
Voroshilov said with some pride: "No matter who wins or loses between the Far Eastern Army and the Japanese, it is our Soviet Union that benefits from it. We just used this time to reorganize the army, strengthen equipment, and capture the Ural Defense Line at the critical moment.
, to recover Siberia. If everything goes well, Kulik will be able to recover Central Asia almost at the same time. As long as we retain Siberia and Central Asia, we will have sufficient strategic depth, and we can take back the Far East calmly after the threat from Europe is eliminated.
"
Stalin took out his pipe and packed the tobacco leaves. Beria quickly struck a match and lit it for Stalin. Stalin took a deep breath, puffed out the smoke for a while, and then continued: "We must pay close attention to diplomacy. I estimate that Germany will be better in the second half of the year."
Before taking action against Poland, we must secure a treaty with Germany or Britain and France. I don’t want the Soviet Union to be isolated!”
Molotov nodded in agreement, and Stalin asked again: "Comrade Voroshilov, how is the training of the troops in the Belarusian Military District?"
Voroshilov affirmed: "It's very good. Comrade Zhukov has shown extraordinary commanding talent. I believe his outstanding ability will be a great help to the Soviet."
Stalin thought of the Red Army commander who dared to give him advice, and nodded: "Okay, I will go take a look in the afternoon. Whether it is Central Asia or the Urals, we need an elite force as the main assault force."
Strength, I hope Zhukov will not let me down."
After lunch, Stalin went to the airport and took a plane to the Belarusian Military Region Military Airport.
Zhukov and his entourage came to greet him. After the ceremony, Stalin looked around and saw that the sky above the airport was blue, with a few white clouds occasionally passing by. The underground lawn was verdant and spacious, and the airplanes on the tarmac were filled with sunshine, and their fuselages were made of silver.
The light was shining. The pilots stepped forward, all of them heroic and majestic.
Zhukov guided the pilots, and Stalin shook hands cordially with the pilots and said loudly: "Thank you for your hard work, comrades."
The pilots responded in unison: "In the service of the Soviets!"
Stalin saw what he saw in his eyes, heard in his ears, and was filled with joy. He turned his head and glanced at Zhukov, and couldn't help but think in his heart: "This Zhukov is quite a talent. It is said that thousands of armies are easy to come by, but one general is hard to find. Cleaning out those people is really a good idea."
Did it bring heavy losses to the Soviet Union? - No, from Zhukov, I see hope for the future!"
Seeing Stalin's uncertain expression, Zhukov didn't know what he was thinking, so he whispered: "Comrade Stalin..."
Stalin waved his hand, indicating to Zhukov that he would talk later, and turned to the commander of the military air force: "Look at the live-fire exercise of our War Eagle."
The Air Force Commander took the order and said: "The exercise begins!"
The pilots quickly boarded the plane and started it, and the roar resounded throughout the world. The lead plane was driving faster and faster, getting closer and closer to the end of the runway. The nose of the plane was raised, and the plane rose into the sky. The planes behind it were one after another.
One took off, formed in the air, circled the airport, and flew forward. The bombs hit the target one after another. The "boom" sound continued, and the targets flashed with flames.
After a while, some planes appeared in the sky. The long cables behind these planes dragged the targets, and the targets swayed in the air, up and down, left and right. The captain sighted the tow target, pressed the cannon button, and a string of flames shot out.
spit it out, causing the target to flash, and other pilots also hit the target one after another.