Tanks and chariots marched into the north in a long snake, and a steppe road stretched into the distance, seemingly with no end. The sky is blue, the wilderness is vast, the wind blows the grass and the cattle and sheep are low, the beautiful Mongolian Plateau is sparsely populated, and the natural landscape is pleasing to the eye. This grassland highway is the ancient trade route from Zhangjiakou to Kulun in Outer Mongolia, and for thousands of years, this grassland trade route that goes deep into Mobei has staged countless thrilling stories. In 1899, the Qing government set up a telephone line from Zhangjiakou to Kulun, which rejuvenated this ancient trade route. However, since the Japanese army launched the war of aggression against China, this trade route to Mobei was interrupted.

The blue sky and white clouds supported the green grass, and the tanks and chariots advanced north along the ancient trade routes. At this time, Liu Xiaofeng, the commander of the forward battalion, stood on the tank and combat vehicle, holding a telescope and looking north. Liu Xiaofeng has developed the habit of standing on the turret to enjoy, and this habit may not be changed. After the independent armored brigade was expanded into a division, Liu Xiaofeng was transferred from the light tank brigade to the newly formed medium tank brigade as the commander of the 1st battalion, while the "rival" Gu Jun remained in the light tank brigade and was promoted to regiment commander. At present, Gu Jun's light tank brigade is assisting Wei Lihuang's troops in combat.

Liu Xiaofeng was not blushing at all about Gu Jun being the head of the regiment, and he was already happy in private to be able to drive the most advanced tank made in China. At this time, Liu Xiaofeng was in high spirits, holding a telescope in one hand to look ahead, and holding an anti-aircraft machine gun with the other, putting on an invincible posture. The medium tank brigade consisted of the 1 regiment, the 2 regiment, and an additional transport regiment. For mechanized troops, especially armored units, logistical supply is the top priority, so the proportion of transport troops is very large.

"Chariot No. 03, call No. 01! Complete! "The voice of the pioneer company commander came over the walkie-talkie." I'm number 01, over! "Chariot No. 03 report, Mongolian cavalry regiment reconnaissance cavalry, there is an emergency report!" After learning about the situation, Liu Xiaofeng immediately made a report to the division headquarters. The tank units suddenly stopped advancing, and the officers and men did not know what was happening. Under a command vehicle full of antennas, division commander Li Yunlong summoned the generals of the tank brigade, the motorized regiment, and the Mongolian cavalry regiment and said: "According to the Mongolian regiment's reconnaissance report, a group of horse bandits are entrenched in Erenhot!" ”

"The scouts were afraid of alarming the horse bandits, so they didn't get close to investigate, and it is estimated that there are more than 2,000 horse bandits." Political Commissar Hong Wu said: "After the outbreak of the Japanese war of aggression against China, this ancient trade route to Kulen (Ulaanbaatar) was interrupted. There is no doubt that it has become a haven of shelter. "Division commander, political commissar! We used a knife to kill chickens, and we dispatched motorized troops to eliminate this group of horse bandits, just to test the combat effectiveness of our motorized regiment. "Motorized Commander, please. Li Yunlong pondered for a moment and said, "Erenhot is located at the junction of Outer Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. On the territory of Outer Mongolia there was an armored regiment of the Soviet army, as well as a cavalry division of the fierce army. ”

Li Yunlong continued: "General Lin ordered us to go to Kulen and not to have a military conflict with the Soviet army unless absolutely necessary. What do you mean by last resort, what will we do if the Soviets stop us from advancing? You can only force your way in, so that friction between the two sides will inevitably occur. Ha ha! I didn't expect God to give us such a great opportunity. Political Commissar Hong Wu said with a smile: "The division commander means to capture the old man and drive this horse bandit into Outer Mongolia, and we will pursue it in the name of suppressing the bandits." This reason is very good, and even if the Soviet army knew about it, there was no reason to stop it. "Division commander, what if the Mongolian army stops you?" The tank brigade commander asked.

"Do you still need me to teach you?" "Understood!" "I ordered the tank brigade to strike frontally in a combat offensive formation, with motorized regiments distributed on the eastern flank, to prevent the horse bandits from escaping eastward. The cavalry regiment was located on the west flank to prevent sporadic horse bandits from escaping westward, forcing horse bandits to enter Outer Mongolia and flee north. "Division commander, what if the horse bandits choose to flee west?" "The commander of the Mongolian cavalry, Batel, asked!" "Commander Battle doesn't have to worry too much, the horse bandits fleeing westward are entering our defense area and killing themselves. Therefore, the horse bandits have no choice but to go east or north! ”

Erenhot, an inconspicuous market town, is now occupied by a group of horse bandits. The leader of this group of horse bandits is called Ding Zhankui, who has been a bandit on the grassland for decades. His subordinates were mixed, consisting of Han Chinese, Mongols, Manchus, and White Russians, and after the September 18 Incident, the Japanese won him over for the Manchurian and Mongolian strategy and made him secretly defect to the Japanese. After the outbreak of the war of aggression against China, the Japanese army appointed him as an independent guerrilla column in Mongolia. After eating and drinking spicy food for several years, he was beaten by Fu Zuoyi's cavalry troops in Baotou last year. Ding Zhankui suffered heavy losses and suffered a big loss, thinking that the Japanese could not be trusted, so he fled back to his lair to judge the situation.

At this time, Ding Zhankui was tired of holding a White Russian woman. A minion hurriedly ran in and reported: "The shopkeeper is not good, the enemy has been found in the south, and the situation is unknown." When Ding Zhankui heard this, he immediately climbed the lookout tower to check. The ground shook suddenly, and a black steel monster appeared in the south. "It's the tank of the Eighth Route Army!" Ding Zhankui saw the tanks of the Eighth Route Army in Baotou, and his scalp suddenly went numb. Ding Zhankui's horse bandits were cavalry, and mobility and mobility were their characteristics, so Erenhot had no city wall fortifications at all, and the surroundings were unobstructed.

"Brothers, the tanks of the Eighth Route Army are here to strangle us, and the order is to retreat to the east immediately!" The bandits moved very quickly, and at this time the machine guns of the tanks began to strafe. Liu Xiaofeng personally manipulated the anti-aircraft machine gun to fire horizontally, with the aim of intimidating it. He set his sights on a wooden watchtower, which smoked from a rain of bullets. The terrifying gunfire hastened the escape of the horse bandits, and Ding Zhankui led his subordinates to roar eastward. As soon as they left the lair, a large number of motorcycles and armored vehicles suddenly appeared, and the horse bandits, who were hit by a dense rain of bullets, turned around and fled north.

When the goal was achieved, tanks, armored vehicles, and motorcycles followed the pursuit in a hurry, and soon entered the Outer Mongolia region. During this period, all the boundaries were virtually nonexistent, and there were no barbed wire or checkpoints at all. The armored regiment of the Soviet army lived in Zonbayan, about 50 km from the border. The reason why the armored regiment of the Soviet army lived in Dzongbayan was that there was a water source here. In addition, the deployment of an armored regiment of the Soviet army here is actually a gesture aimed at the Japanese and preventing the Japanese from entering Outer Mongolia.

After dark, Li Yunlong ordered the troops to stop advancing. The tactics of wanting to capture the past were very successful, and Li Yunlong was in a good mood. "Lao Li, I'm in such a good mood, let's go quickly!" "What are you going to do!" "Go on your honeymoon!" Hong Wu deliberately bit the word honeymoon very hard. "You don't think I'm a person, and you don't even look at when it's a joke." "It seems that you have not been carried away by Gentle Township, Lao Li! Headquarters agrees with our plan, what's next? "When the horse bandits entered the Outer Mongolia region, they fled in a hurry and did not carry any provisions, what should they do if the war horses can eat grass?"

"You mean that the horse bandits will take the initiative to attack the Soviet troops? No wonder you ordered to stop, you're cunning. Political Commissar Hong Wu said with a smile. Brother Hong, if the horse bandits take the initiative to attack the Soviet army, it will anger the Soviet army. Next, the Soviets will go all out to pursue the horse bandits, and we will drive straight in. The Mongolian army is stationed in Saiyin Shanda, and we can directly cross the Soviet army and face the Mongolian army. The Mongolian army is a cavalry division, and it can't stop our steel footsteps at all. Hong Wu said: "The headquarters asked us to advance to Kulen in mid-September, and there was plenty of time. ”

Just as Li Yunlong judged, Ding Zhankui led the horse bandits to flee into the Outer Mongolia realm. Although they were out of danger, the next 2,000 people and horses had to survive. Outer Mongolia is vast and sparsely populated, and it is very difficult to find a place with people. Ding Zhankui arrived at Zongbayan in the dark night, and after listening to the report of his subordinates, Ding Zhankui gritted his teeth and said: "Brothers, we must get food, I decided to attack Lao Maozi's logistics warehouse!" "At midnight, horse bandits launched a surprise attack on the warehouses of the Soviet armored regiment. For a long time, the Soviet armored regiment was far away from the European theater and was very comfortable in Outer Mongolia.

After the signing of the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Japan, this Soviet armored regiment was even more at ease, so its vigilance was very low. When the gunfire suddenly remembered, the Soviet army was immediately stunned. The commander of the Soviet armored regiment, Bitrov, got up and heard that the logistics warehouse had been attacked, and immediately ordered the tank and combat vehicles to start immediately to encircle and suppress the attackers. The logistics warehouse is located about 2 km from the station of the armored regiment and near a small lake. The soldiers defending the logistics warehouse had only one infantry platoon, and one infantry platoon was there an opponent for the horse bandits.