Just after Christmas, when the ice layer in the Tartar Strait (the strait between Sakhalin Island and the mainland) reached its strongest point, three light armored divisions of the Ming Army launched from the narrowest point of the strait - that is, at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River.
"Soviet Port" crossed the strait and entered Sakhalin Island.
For the sake of safety, the engineers of the Ming Army used many logs to form wooden rafts on the ice of the Strait and made several "tank passages" for the passage of tanks, heavy artillery and vehicles. In this way, several tons or more than ten tons could be moved
The weight is spread evenly over a large area to prevent the ice from accidentally cracking. As for other people and light vehicles, they can pass directly over the ice next to it.
Contrary to the expectations of the Ming army, the Ming army encountered no resistance at all when crossing the strait. After entering Sakhalin Island, they did not see a shadow of the Soviet army. According to the Ming army's idea, they entered through the frozen strait.
Sakhalin Island was an easy-to-predict military operation. The Soviet troops on the island would definitely resist at the narrowest point of the strait and block the Ming army from landing. But none of this happened. It was as if they were landing on an uninhabited island.
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After landing, there were only two small villages within 20 kilometers from the north to the south. The translator asked the residents in the village and got the answer that some soldiers and cadres came here in October. They made some observations, and after taking measurements, they headed south
Went there and never came again.
The Ming army knew that the political, economic and military centers of Sakhalin were all at the southern end, centered on the capital "Zhno-Sakhalinsk" and the military port "Korsakov". The Ming army judged that the Soviet Union on the island might be
The army knew that its strength was weak, and felt that it was too far from the southern end, more than 700 kilometers away. It was difficult to guarantee such a long supply line with its own strength, let alone defend it. Moreover, it could easily be cut off by the Ming army and surrounded in sections. Therefore,
The Soviet army may retreat to the next best thing and set up defenses somewhere further south, where supplies can be more easily ensured. In this way, its military strength can be more concentrated.
Although they knew that the Soviet forces on the island were very weak, the Ming army still did not dare to neglect and immediately sent out reconnaissance troops in three directions: east, south and north.
After setting foot on Sakhalin Island, for more than ten kilometers along the coast, there are lakes, large and small, and blisters everywhere, like a sieve. The large ones are one or two square kilometers, and the small ones are only a few hundred square meters.
Moreover, it is now the severe winter season, and the lake surface is frozen and covered with thick snow. It blends in with the surrounding snow scenery, making it difficult to distinguish which is the ground and which is the lake.
This is very dangerous for tanks and heavy equipment. The Ming army did not know how thick the ice in these lakes was and whether it was frozen to the bottom. The Ming army therefore found local people as guides to lead the Ming army around these large and small lakes.
Small lakes, entering the inland area. Fortunately, the local people are very simple. In addition to Russians, there are also quite a few yellow people. Sakhalin Island was originally a Chinese territory and was ceded to Tsarist Russia in the mid-19th century.
The Ming army felt that the atmosphere here was very different from that on the mainland. Originally, the Far East continent was far less influenced by the Bolsheviks than the European part, but in the almost primitive environment at the northern end of Sakhalin Island, there were obviously fewer traces of the Bolsheviks. Here
, in the relationship between people, there are a lot less "social and political" factors and more "natural" factors. In the eyes of local residents, you are a human being and so am I. Since we are all human beings
, we should unite and survive in this harsh natural environment. As for any doctrine, it is just a cloud here. Not only do we not understand it, but we also have no use for it.
These local people, who relied entirely on hunting and fishing, seemed not to regard the Ming army as invaders, but as their own "kindred spirits."
Like the early colonists, the Ming army brought many "gifts" to build good relations with the locals: brand-new fishing nets, advanced shotguns and bullets with multiple threads, and knives and scissors made of high-carbon stainless steel, which were of excellent quality.
Hardware tools, flashlights and batteries, various Western medicines, coffee, tea, vodka, Chinese liquor, cans, and large blocks of chocolate, cheese and candies. These well-made light industrial products have not only never been seen by locals, but also
Even ordinary people in Moscow have never seen it.
The Bolshevik government of the Soviet Union gave these villagers the impression that they only stole things. But when these foreign troops arrived, they not only did not steal things, but also gave away so many things, and they were all good things that their ancestors had never seen for generations... The locals
Their simple and friendly nature, coupled with their practical gifts, really saved the Ming army a lot of trouble. Under the leadership of local guides, the Ming army's light armored troops successfully bypassed one glacial lake after another and entered the interior.
The land in the northern part of Sakhalin Island is relatively flat. Except for some hills, most of it is plain. The Ming army did not advance southward first, but first set foot on it and advanced northward. The Ming army landed on the island.
To the north, it is more than 700 kilometers away from the southernmost point, but only more than 200 kilometers away from the northernmost point. The Ming army planned to take a steady approach and completely control the northern end first, so that there would be no worries behind them, and then move towards the south.
Within two days, on December 29, the Ming army advanced to the northernmost tip of Sakhalin Island - Cape Elizabeth. Further north, there is the cold Sea of Okhotsk. On December 30, the Ming army moved south
Push forward and enter the mountainous and hilly area in the central part of Sakhalin Island.
This place is full of snow-capped forests. The road is difficult to walk, but fortunately I have never encountered the Soviet army. I passed several mountain villages in the middle. When I asked the locals, they either had never seen the Soviet army before, or they had only seen it a long time ago.
Many people in these isolated villages even saw the army for the first time. They had no hostility towards the Ming army in the first place, and after receiving so many exquisite gifts, they even welcomed the Ming army. Every village
They all enthusiastically sent out guides to lead the Ming army over the mountains and ridges, taking the best road to the south.
Amid the smoke of gunfire on the sea and land in Northeast Asia, 1938 arrived. After the Ming army marched for half a month in the forest and snow fields in the middle of Sakhalin Island, on January 12, the vanguard troops encountered Soviet troops for the first time.
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This is a small Soviet reconnaissance force, with only one platoon and dozens of people. Wearing white camouflage uniforms and carrying rifles, they are trudging through the deep snow in the dense forest and coming face to face with the Ming army. And the Ming army
A reconnaissance company of the Soviet Army collided with them and exchanged fire twice. The Soviet Army only had one light machine gun per platoon, and the rest were rifles, while the Ming Army's general-purpose machine guns were installed at the squad level. Each squad had one.
Woodpecker machine gun. In addition to these dozen general-purpose machine guns, nearly half of the soldiers of the Ming army were equipped with submachine guns. In this dense forest environment with a very close firefighting distance, the Ming army's firepower advantage completely overwhelmed the Soviet army.
After a short battle, more than half of the Soviet scouts were killed. The rest were captured.
During the interrogation of these prisoners, the Ming army learned that, as the Ming army suspected, the Soviet troops on Sakhalin had completely abandoned the defense in the north and central part, and instead concentrated their efforts on the southern end. Their main defense line was at
The "waist's waist" between the central and southern parts of Sakhalin Island.
Sakhalin is a long and narrow island running from north to south, with a length of more than 900 kilometers from north to south and a width of more than 150 kilometers from east to west. However, in the "waist waist" near the southern end, the island is only 25 kilometers wide.
Both sides are surrounded by the icy sea. If the Ming army wants to enter the southern part of Sakhalin Island, it must break through this 25-kilometer-wide front.
Such a narrow defense line is obviously very conducive to Soviet defense. It is only 120 kilometers away from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the Soviet base of Sakhalin Island. Whether it is concentrating troops or ensuring logistics, the Soviet army can do it.