At the Ulaanbaatar military airfield, Lin Lin, commander of the Northwest Group Army of the Eighth Route Army, stood on the tarmac with a very ugly face. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info A transport ship, escorted by 4 fighters, stopped on the runway. After the plane came to a standstill, Peng Dehuai, deputy commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, stepped off the plane. The generals stepped forward to salute, and Peng Dehuai returned the military salute, but his expression was still solemn. At this moment, there seems to be no joy when they meet. Lin's expression was also very strange, and the generals got into the car and went straight to the headquarters in the city.

Entering the headquarters, Peng Dehuai glanced at the generals, and then took the lead to walk towards the discord, with Commander Lin, Political Commissar Teng Daiyuan, and Chief of Staff Tan Zhenlin following. "Commander Lin, at the moment of the great enemy, it is very unwise for you to question the operational deployment of the headquarters. I came this time because of the chairman's intention, and since you have ideas, you can say them all. The war is about to break out, and the lack of confidence as a commander is a taboo for soldiers, and this kind of sign must be contained! ”

"Mr. Peng! According to what we know, the Soviets have concentrated about 1.2 million troops in front of us, with an estimated number of at least 3,000 tanks, at least 2,000 combat aircraft, and an unprecedented number of artillery pieces. The Soviet army was a victorious division, and its morale and fighting spirit of the soldiers were unprecedented. On the other hand, we have no air force to support the operation, there is only one brigade of armored forces, the number of tanks is only more than 400, and the 2nd Corps, including our division, has only 3 artillery divisions. We are at an absolute disadvantage in numbers, weapons. ”

"I am well aware of the special situation in the Mongolian steppe, which does not allow the deployment of a larger number of troops, only the existing defensive forces, and the logistical supply is also at its limit. But I was confused by the strategic deployment of the headquarters, and frankly we simply could not withstand the three-dimensional attack of the Soviet army. The commander of the Soviet army was Marshal Zhukov, who was good at roundabout and interspersed operations, and the rapid assault and interspersed capabilities of the Soviet mechanized units were invincible. Fu Zuoyi's troops are thousands of kilometers away from us, and they can't form a joint force at all, and they are fighting separately, in this situation, we are either defeated or divided and surrounded and eaten! ”

It turned out that Lin was aware of the danger and questioned the strategic deployment of the headquarters, which was the reason why Peng Dehuai came to Ulaanbaatar. "Before the battle, how can the generals unite as one. I can tell you unambiguously that the President was so disappointed in you that he had sent me to take over your command! But Chief of General Staff Ouyang, I support you and think that you are fully capable of containing the powerful offensive of the Soviet army! Lin Wen was shocked when he heard this, and he was a little wooden. Mr. Peng, Commander Lin questioned, mainly because he was worried about the collapse, which is also our thoughts. Political Commissar Teng Daiyuan explained.

Peng Dehuai said politely: "As a commander, I lack confidence, and it is understandable that in the face of the disparity in power between the enemy and us. However, it is a dereliction of duty on the part of the military to question the strategic deployment of the headquarters. The headquarters understands all these things more clearly. The headquarters considers the problem at a strategic level, which has surpassed the Outer Mongolia issue. I can tell you unequivocally that we will win the showdown between China and the Soviet Union, because we have Chief of General Staff Ouyang and an unprecedented strategic master, and this is the confidence of our strategy for Mongolia! ”

Peng Dehuai stood up and said with some excitement: "The headquarters requires that before the severe cold comes, it is necessary to contain the offensive of the Soviet army in the Mongolian steppe, which is not an irresponsible strategic deployment, and we are fully capable of doing it." Commander Lin, in 4 months, how do you move in the Outer Mongolian grassland, the headquarters will not interfere with your command, but the premise must hurt the Russian army, this is what the headquarters requires of you. "Please rest assured that Chairman Peng has no problem now!" "That's right, confidence is very important for commanders."

Peng Dehuai continued: "I'm going to the northwest for a while, Mr. Zhu is sitting in the headquarters, and you can report directly to Mr. Zhu if you have something." In the afternoon of the same day, Peng Dehuai's special plane flew directly to Lanzhou. Although Peng Dehuai's tone was not very harsh, it made Lin realize that his handsome position was unstable. After sending Peng Dehuai away, Lin Yi changed his calm temperament, "I was criticized by the headquarters this time, and I am mainly responsible." In the face of a strong enemy, we have to go all out. ”

Lin continued: "Chief of Staff, the original plan to carry out the attack behind enemy lines, how is it going!" "10 assault detachments have been formed, just waiting for the order." "Order the assault detachment to set off this evening, we can't let the rear of the Soviet army be peaceful, disrupt the order of the rear of the Soviet army, and cooperate with the frontal defensive operation." Tan Zhenlin, chief of staff, walked to the telephone, picked it up and gave orders. "Mr. Lin, during this period of time, the generals of each division are not unified in their thinking, and they must be strictly disciplined now!" Political Commissar Teng Daiyuan suggested.

"The generals below are in an unstable mood, I am mainly responsible, and I order the generals above the division to gather at the headquarters tomorrow!" After Lin finished speaking, his eyes aimed at the defensive position of the 2nd Corps. He knew in his heart that the first target of the Soviet army was the Western Front, especially the city of Kobu and Uriya Sutai, which were two isolated strongholds. Zhukov will not blindly choose to attack, and will definitely use the powerful armored forces to choose to outflank. Although the 2nd Corps had 200,000 troops, it could not form a correspondence between the city of Kobu and Uriya Sutai, so it could only choose to defend two important strategic points.

With thousands of kilometers of front, it is beyond the reach of his own support, and Lin feels that the defense is too leaky. "Report, the headquarters called to inform that the vanguard unit of the 2nd Corps and the 6th Army has arrived in Baotou! Its main force arrived on the 16th. In addition, Song Renqiang's 7th Army has set off from Xi'an and arrived in Baotou on the 20th! "Great, I'm worried that there are no soldiers available, this is just in time for rain!" Lin rarely likes it. "Mr. Lin, the headquarters has already planned, we are indeed hypocritical!" "Immediately send a report to Fu Zuoyi to report the situation."

When Lin's confidence is strong, the confidence from his opponents is equally strong. In the headquarters of the Western Front of the Soviet Army in Irkutko, Marshal Zhukov looked at the military map and was silent. The chief of staff hurriedly walked in from the outside and said: "Comrade Marshal, the 28th Mixed Army, the 31st Mixed Army, the 12th and 14th Armored Divisions, and the 65th Aviation Division have entered the assault preparations. Zhukov never stuck to the rules in commanding operations, and the Soviet high command was scheduled to launch an offensive in late July.

But Zhukov believed that against the city of Kobu, Uriya Sutai could launch an attack in advance, so that the enemy could not be surprised. Frankly speaking, Zhukov had a little jealousy of Lin's Northwest Group Army of the Eighth Route Army, and he knew that in terms of fighting spirit, the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army was stronger than that of the 2nd Corps guarding the west, so Zhukov decided to use the lightning and mechanized armored assault mode to first defeat or eat the Western China Corps, so as to create conditions for outflanking the Northwest Group Army of the Eighth Route Army.

"Tomorrow morning the air force will be dispatched to launch air strikes in the area of Kobu and the area of Uriya Sutai. The 28th Mixed Army, the 12th Armored Division, and the 33rd Armored Brigade cooperated, and launched an attack on the city of Kobu from the direction of Ulegai and Ulan Gumu in two directions. The 31st Army, the 14th Panzer Division, the 12th Panzer Division and the 34th and 35th Panzer Brigades attacked from the direction of Chergrad to Uriyasutai. ”

Someone also needs to ask, why didn't Zhukov choose to make a fuss in the city of Kobu and the central part of Uriya Sutai? The reason is that the topography between the city of Kobu and Uriya Sutai is unique, and the Kobdo River and Zabkhan River running from east to west, including two rivers and four major lakes, including Kyrgyz Lake, Kharwusu Lake, Khar Lake, and Dele Lake, form a natural barrier, which is why Zhukov was unable to use troops in the central part of the country.

Zhukov's armored troops could not fight in a roundabout way in the west of Kodo, because the west was the Altai Mountains running southeast and northwest, and the mechanized troops could not use it at all, and the outflanking tactics could only choose the eastern part of Uriya Sutai, which played a certain role in deterring Zhukov's armored assault. In addition, the military airfields in Soviet Russia are more than 500 kilometers away from the nearest city, and the farthest is more than 1,000 kilometers, and the air strike force is small, so the armored assault is the most important.

There was a military airfield in Uriya Sutai, and this front-line airfield was quite important for the Soviet army, which was the reason why Zhukov took the lead in launching an attack on the west. The Kobdo River flows through the northern part of the city of Kobu and flows into Lake Harwusu. A river and a lake form a natural defense line in the north and northeast of the city, which acts as a barrier. The Soviets attacked from the north flank by the 28th Mixed Army.

The 28 Mixed Army included an integrated army, an artillery division, a mechanized armored regiment, a boat-bridge regiment, an air defense regiment with a strength of 65000 people. The Soviet troops attacking on this line were mainly responsible for feints due to the blockage of the Kebu River. And the main attack was carried out by the 33rd tank brigade of the Soviet army, which attacked from the direction of Ulegai. The 33rd Tank Brigade of the Soviet Army, with 350 tanks, 40 bicycles and 4,000 guns.

The northeastern foothills of the Altai Mountains form a valley flat between the Kodo River, which is conducive to the attack of tank troops. The 2nd Corps of Fu Zuoyi's 33rd Corps included an independent cavalry division, an anti-aircraft artillery brigade, and an anti-tank battalion to serve as a section defense, with a total strength of 45,000 men. On the morning of July 16, in the absence of symptoms, the Soviet Russian Air Force suddenly launched a fierce air attack on the defense line of the Kodo River and the northwest defense line of the city of Kodo.