As early as 10 minutes ago, the artillery cluster in the rear of the Chinese army had been prepared, and all personnel were ready, waiting for the official order to shell it.

When the time hand turned to five o'clock, with the order to start the shelling, more than 600 heavy artillery roared together under the wave of the command flag. Among them, there are many heavy guns of 203mm caliber, and more are 155mm plus howitzers, plus a small number of 105mm plus howitzers.

More than 600 flames rose into the sky and flew towards the forward positions of the Soviet Union in the distance.

Immediately after the first shelling, the barrel was withdrawn, allowing the shell casings to fall to the ground. The shellman was already holding the shell and waiting, skillfully stuffing the new shell into the barrel. The barrel was closed, and the cannon roared again.

The shells of 203mm caliber guns, because they are not lightweight, need to be carried by two people. Two artillerymen picked up the shells with a large special clamp and, with the help of another sheller, pushed into the barrel. The cannonball was ignited, and a loud roar was emitted.

More than 600 artillery pieces required 7,000 or 8,000 people to operate, and with the joint efforts of all the artillerymen, the shelling was carried out in an orderly manner, and for each shelling, nearly 20 tons of shells were sent to the forward positions of the Soviet Union. One minute is nearly 100 tons, and half an hour is two or three thousand tons of shells.

And on the forward positions of the Soviet Union, those Soviet Red Army soldiers who were still chatting were attracted by the fire in the sky, and the closer and closer firelight fell from the sky like meteors. Shells smashed on Soviet positions, making a dense explosion sound.

As early as when they saw the firelight, many Soviet veterans were already screaming: "This is heavy artillery, everyone hide!" ”

Recruits are afraid of artillery, veterans are afraid of guns. It also depends on the situation, seeing the dense fire roaring down quickly, people will be afraid.

The earth-shattering explosion shattered the calm snowfield, and countless snows were shaken down.

Those Soviet soldiers who stayed in defensive positions began to hide in the anti-artillery holes around them as soon as they were shelled, but it depended on whether they were moving quickly and how lucky they were. The Soviet soldiers who could not dodge were more likely to fall into the explosion of the shells, and shrapnel was whistling, mercilessly passing through the bodies of Soviet soldiers.

The earth trembled under the shelling, and the trenches were blown up in sections, and even the anti-artillery holes could not be spared as long as they were directly hit. The power of Chinese heavy artillery clearly told all the soldiers of the Soviet Union at this moment.

Not to mention the 203mm heavy artillery, the lethality of the 155mm and 105mm heavy guns is strong enough. The improved TNT explosives have greatly improved the lethality of the shells. Many Soviet veterans felt that they were attacked by a large number of guns with a caliber of more than 120mm, and not a single shell explosion was less than that of a 120mm caliber heavy artillery.

It was not only the forward positions that were shelled, but also the barracks of the three Soviet divisions behind the positions that were within the attack range, and those Soviet soldiers who were still sleeping were lucky enough to wake up, and those houses that were directly hit by the shells, along with the Soviet soldiers who were sleeping in them, were torn apart in the explosion along with the houses.

The entire Kyakhta front area, in just a few minutes, was completely engulfed in a sea of fire. Burning debris flew everywhere from the bombed-out houses, and the snow melted by the combustibles, converging with blood and flowing slowly on the ground.

Screams and cries floated over the area, and cannonballs fell mercilessly, playing a symphony of death.

In peacetime, it is happier to be in the house and barracks than to go out on patrol or to go out on guard duty in the trenches. But in the event of a massive shelling, they would rather stay in the trenches and freeze than in barracks with little cover. The radius of heavy artillery shells is very large, and although the defensive area of the three divisions is very broad, such a scale of artillery shelling can already shine into a great lethality.

Especially in the barracks, still while they were sleeping, the sudden shelling had already stunned them. Whether it is a tent or a house, there is not the slightest ability to resist at all.

Countless Soviet soldiers did not even know how to die, and died in the explosion in their sleep. The rest of the soldiers hurried out of their tents and houses, some without even wearing much clothing or weapons.

The whistling of the cannonballs did not stop for a moment, and the flames flashed like meteors, falling on the running crowd, exploding patches of blood and staining the surrounding snow red.

The military commanders and commissars who survived by luck tried their best to organize the troops. But their voices seemed so small in the earth-shattering explosion.

Messy footprints, panicked crowds, huge craters, mutilated corpses everywhere, blood and snow blended.

Zhukov, who was still asleep, was woken up by the sound of explosions for the first time, and before he could finish dressing, a staff officer hurriedly pushed the door in, saving even the step of knocking.

"Commander, the Chinese army launched an artillery bombardment on our forward guard troops, and they were all heavy artillery, the number is estimated at nearly a thousand, and at this time our forward troops have fallen into a sea of fire." The staff officer saw that Zhukov had already gotten up, so he said hurriedly. These messages are all observed, and the forward forces have not yet contacted the command. The exact circumstances are unknown.

"Go to the headquarters immediately and order the commanders at all levels to come to the headquarters for a meeting." Zhukov did not care about the impolite behavior of the staff officers, and when he heard about the Chinese shelling of the forward troops, he was already in no mood to care about anything else.

The Chinese attack came so suddenly that Zhukov was a little surprised. Previous speculations have also been confirmed, and China has long been prepared for war with the Soviet Union, otherwise it would not have been possible to prevent the attack now. He knew very well that the Chinese army was about to make a move, and he had to react as soon as possible.

Zhukov, who walked out of the bedroom, heard the explosion in the distance more clearly. It is more than a dozen kilometers away from the forward position, and the sound of explosions and vibrations can be heard here, which shows how fierce the shelling is.

The command was located underground, and by the time Zhukov came here, many military chiefs had already arrived. Some rushed in in disheveled, one step slower than Zhukov, apparently overslept.

Zhukov frowned when he saw the officers who came later than him, and snorted coldly in his heart. Seeing that there were still a few seats still empty, Zhukov slapped the table and said angrily: "Ten minutes have passed since the shelling of the Chinese army, haven't you heard such a big movement?" Those officers who have not yet entered the command have all had a major demerit. The war has come, and it is still so scattered, and the face of the Soviet Red Army has been lost. Next time, don't blame me for not being emotional. ”

Then Zhukov did not wait for those who had not yet arrived, and said directly: "Ten minutes ago, the Chinese army launched a fierce artillery bombardment of our three forward divisions, according to the latest intelligence and news from the forward positions. In this battle, China used at least 700 artillery pieces, all of which were heavy guns with a caliber of more than 120mm, and there was no shortage of large-caliber heavy artillery with a caliber of more than 200mm. At this time, the previous division in front had already suffered heavy casualties, and we had to respond in time. Before discussing how to fight back, I announced that the commanders of the three divisions in the front had been dismissed and that the political commissar had taken over the military command. War is already close at hand, and if they dare to be so careless and not shoot them, it is already for the sake of their comrades, and if anyone dares to neglect their duties or slack off the enemy, they will be killed. ”

The officers in the command headquarters were all shocked in their hearts, and they all sat up straight in an instant, all with serious expressions. In Zhukov's few words, many people have already been unlucky. They don't want to follow in their footsteps and be unlucky because of some minor problems.

"Commander, I suggest that the artillery unit be ordered to move forward immediately, destroy the Chinese artillery, and let the Chinese army see the power of our Soviet artillery." When an artillery corps commander heard that China only had a few hundred artillery pieces, he was very disdainful, even if China was all heavy artillery, he didn't see it. Because here there were almost two thousand heavy artillery pieces of the Soviet Red Army, and there were plenty of shells. In his opinion, this is enough to teach China a hard lesson.

"We have nearly 2,000 heavy artillery, so we can ignore the artillery of the Chinese army. But now it is time to consider whether to start an artillery battle with China, because by the time we send all the artillery to the front, the Chinese army has already crossed the border. I don't think it's time to discuss how to teach the Chinese army a lesson, but how to hold the forward position. ”

"The main thing is that we don't know how many troops China has at this time. According to custom, if a unit that can be equipped with more than 700 artillery pieces, and it is still heavy artillery, then the opponent will have at least 200,000 people. This is a figure that we cannot ignore, and according to previous intelligence, China has set up a military district in Mongolia, which has three group armies, and a large number of tank troops and air force units. If the troops of the entire military region are pressed in, then we will be completely passive. ”

Hearing this, Zhukov nodded, now he doesn't even know how many people there are on the other side, it is indeed very good. In the end, whether you should go to support, or to support, how many troops to go, if you go more, you will be cannon fodder, and if you go less, it will not be useful.

"Having said that, I would suggest that the forward troops must be supported. Because once the defending forces at the front are torn open, there is no guarantee of what will happen next. ”

"We have three divisions in the front line, more than 30,000 people, the artillery bombardment is fierce, at least half of the troops can be left to fight, even if the Chinese army is powerful, it is impossible to easily eliminate our defensive forces. I think that the matter of support still needs to be considered in detail, and we do not know the specific situation at the front, and once our troops go up, I am afraid that the losses will be even greater. ”

"We can do this, first withdraw the troops in front. And strengthen the second line of defense, so that the Chinese army itself can expose its strength. At the same time, a small detachment was dispatched to infiltrate the territory of China to find out as much as possible the specific situation of the Chinese army. ”

This idea coincides with Zhukov somewhat, and now Zhukov's mind is not how to support the forward troops, nor how to fight back, but to figure out the deployment of China's troops as soon as possible.

(To be continued)