After a month of construction, the Soviet Red Army has built a decent military base in Prague in Tamchag. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

There were not only decent camps, headquarters, but also decent field hospitals, vehicle maintenance offices and ammunition depots.

In addition, a decent field airfield has been built to facilitate the transportation of materials and personnel by transport planes, and a certain number of fighters and reconnaissance planes have been stationed to enhance the air supremacy of the Soviet-Mongolian forces in the region.

Simultaneously with the strengthening of air power, the strength of the ground forces of the USSR continued unabated. At the request of Zhukov of Manturov, an infantry division, a tank brigade and a mechanized infantry brigade have been transferred from Moscow to form a force of considerable strength.

However, at the same time as Soviet reinforcements arrived, the Japanese side was constantly increasing its forces and mobilizing the available military forces.

On June 20, the commander of the Kwantung Army, Kenkichi Ueda, issued a regrouping order to transfer a reinforced brigade of the 23rd Wing + 28th Wing of the 26th Division and the 7th Division to Nomenhan. In order to deal with the Soviet armored forces, Ueda Kenkichi also called the "national treasure of Japan", and the only armored unit of the Japanese army at that time, the 1st Tank Division, was also transferred to the Normenheim front to prepare for a showdown with the Soviet Red Army.

But even if the Japanese army sent additional ground forces, their combat effectiveness was still insufficient to deal with the Soviet Red Army, which also received reinforcements. At that time, the Soviet army already had an infantry division, two tank brigades, a motorized infantry division, and a mechanized infantry brigade, which was absolutely enough to deal with the Japanese army with a reinforced brigade and an armored division.

However, in terms of the Air Force, the Soviets were at a disadvantage.

On June 21, 1939, Lieutenant General Toru Saga of the Japanese Air Force led the headquarters of the Second Flight Group to Hailar Airport, followed by the 7th, 9th, 12th, and 15th Flight Brigades arrived successively, concentrated 17 squadrons of fighter-bombing and reconnaissance aircraft, and completed the assembly at Hailar Airport, preparing to bomb Prague indiscriminately in Tamchag.

The large-scale build-up of Japanese aircraft attracted the attention of the Soviet side, and both Григорий Михай лович Штерн, commander of the Far Eastern Front, who was in the Soviet Union, and Zhukov and Manturov, who were in Prague, the target of the Japanese bombing, received news about the build-up of the Japanese Air Force.

In Tamchag Prague, at the headquarters of the 57th Special Army, an emergency meeting of the Military Council of the Special Army was held to discuss the matter.

"Comrades, recently we have discovered a large-scale movement of the Japanese Air Force, with at least 200 aircraft massing at the Hailar airfield, which is closest to the front line on the Haraha River, posing a great threat to us." The newly appointed commander of the 57th Special Army, Georgy Zhukov, pointed out the changes in the situation of the war in a serious manner.

Hearing the news of the mass build-up of Japanese troops, Manturov began to feel uneasy in his heart.

In his impression, during the Battle of Normenhan, the Japanese army once attacked the airport in Prague in Tamchag, destroyed 124 Soviet planes, and brought a lot of losses to the Soviet Air Force, and the Japanese once gained absolute air supremacy on the battlefield.

This is not a good thing for either Manturov or Zhukov.

Instinctively, Manturov made his prophecy to those present: "I think that in the style of the Japanese, it is very likely that their air force will launch a large-scale air raid on our Prague airbase in Tamchag. Sneak attack operations are a common tactic used by the Japanese army, and in the war against China, many sneak attacks have been launched against the Chinese army.

In the previous encounter, the Japanese army was also good at using sneak attack tactics and launched a sneak attack on the division headquarters of the 6th Division of the Mongolian People's Army. Luckily, we were prepared. Otherwise......"

Manturov turned his gaze to a short man in the uniform of the Mongolian People's Army, and continued: "Otherwise, Comrade Sharibu (commander of the 6th Division of the Mongolian Army) would not have been able to sit here unharmed at all. ”

The people present, including Zhukov and Sharib, although they felt that Manturov's words made some sense, still did not believe that the Japanese army, who was good at surprise attacks, would dare to launch a large-scale air raid on Tamchag Prague, which was still 125 kilometers from the front line.

"Comrade Manturov, I don't think your speculation is very realistic. Tamchag Prague is 125 kilometers from the front line, and if the Japanese launch an air attack here, it will be a deep crossing, and they should not dare to take such a big risk. Zhukov expressed his opinion.

"Georgy Konstantinovich" Manturov called Zhukov's name and patronymic name, saying: "The Japanese army is a risk-taking army, always like to escalate the situation.

They are not self-sufficient and can take very high risks, not to mention the bombing of Tamchag Prague, even Ulaanbaatar and Vladivostok. You know, the Kwantung Army is notoriously adventurous, and never takes into account political and diplomatic factors, making it the most aggressive force in the world.

They concentrated so many planes in Hailar, and quite a few of them were bombers. It's not to bomb here, it's for what? Air defence? Ground support? I don't think any of this will require a bomber. ”

Zhukov thought carefully about Manturov's conjecture and felt that it made sense. "Vladimir Fedorovich, you have a point. Then, we should make double preparations, strengthen the air defense of Tamchag Prague, and increase the number of anti-aircraft machine guns, anti-aircraft guns, etc., to deal with possible air raids. ”

However, it was already June 21, and the air strikes were still a few days away, so there was not necessarily enough time to set up adequate air defense facilities.

The quickest way is to request reinforcements from the Far Eastern Military District to increase the number of Soviet fighters in response to Japanese air strikes. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the early warning system of the Soviet army.

In fact, before that, the prescient Manturov had realized the importance of strengthening the early warning capabilities of the Soviet Air Force, and in the vicinity of three field airfields, two radar systems were created.

Originally, the Рус-1 radar system used in the Soviet Union at that time could only detect a radius of 35 kilometers, but after Manturov, a modern electronic engineer, modified the radar detection range to 150 kilometers. The new radar, called the Рус-2, was supposed to be available in a year.

Now, what they can do is to ask for more air reinforcements and transfer more fighters, especially the latest and most advanced I-16 fighters of the Soviet army at that time, to the front line to deal with the sneak attack of Japanese aircraft.

"Comrades, I have an idea." Zhukov began to express his operational opinion: "Now 180 aircraft have been stationed at the air base in Prague in Tamchag. While the Japanese air force reinforcements have just arrived in Hailar and have not yet gained a firm foothold, we should strike first and dispatch the air force to bomb Japan's field airfields and assembly points to weaken their strength. ”

The Air Force commander present also agreed with Zhukov's opinion and immediately expressed his opinion: "Comrade Zhukov, in fact, I also have such thoughts. I plan to dispatch 150 planes to attack the Japanese army's assembly areas and field airfields in the vicinity of the Kangyur Temple and the General Amgulang Temple, and take them by surprise. ”

Manturov also agreed with the Air Force commander, and just a few days earlier, the Soviet Air Force had already carried out air strikes on the Japanese staging areas near Arshan, Kangyur Temple and Amgulang, with considerable results.

In his impression, the Japanese air raid on Tamchag Prague was not so early, and it would probably be dispatched in a few days. At this time, the dispatch of Soviet planes to bomb the night battle airfield of the devils is just enough to weaken the strength of the little devils, and it is worth a try.

But just in case, to prevent a sneak attack by the Japanese army at this time, Manturov still felt that it was better to be careful. After all, the history of the parallel world he is in may not completely follow the direction he is familiar with.

"Good, that's a good proposal. While bombing the Japanese-occupied areas, we also had to leave some fighters at the airfield, and we also had to ask Moscow to send more planes over just in case. "After getting Manturov's consent, the resolution on the air strikes has already been adopted and will soon be implemented.

The next day, June 22, 150 aircraft of the Soviet Air Force were ready for an air strike.

On the other side, the People's Commissariat of National Defense quickly approved the 57th Army's request for air reinforcements, bringing in 40 advanced I-16 fighters from the mainland and 60 I-15 fighters to reinforce it.

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