"Eight squares! This official is now in Harigan Tusumu! What does it mean that before October 27, it is necessary to go out to the area of Harigan Tusumu to occupy positions and build fortifications? Didn't he go west of Manchuria? There are more than 200,000 soldiers of our imperial kingdom waiting to be rescued! ”

The one who spoke was Lieutenant General Tian Zhongzhong, who was now ordered to command the Sino-Japanese joint cavalry cluster. Because he captured Zhukov, this man has been praised as a military god by the press and public opinion in Japan. I probably recognized this title, and at this moment he was riding a sturdy Anglo-Arab horse, straightening his waist and shouting at a Chinese staff officer who had come over to deliver orders from Hailar. Beside him, a group of Japanese cavalry officers on horseback with eyes on their heads were also coaxing.

"The prologue of the four decisive battles of the 290th Trapped Beast Battle of the Eight Grids! Will you people fight and let the cavalry dig trenches? ”

"The main force of Soviet Russia has been pinned down in Manchuria, and now it is only a partial division that has come, we should attack and destroy them!"

"Attack! The mission of the cavalry is to attack, and the defense is left to the infantry! ”

However, Colonel Zou Zuohua, a senior staff officer of the Middle East Road Group Army, who was sent by Bai Chongxi to pass the order, looked indifferent. He was originally a subordinate of Meng Enyuan, the overseer of Jilin, and was sent by the Beiyang government to Japan to study at the non-commissioned officer school in 1917, but when he returned to China, he was already under the control of the national government, so he joined the national defense army. This Zou staff officer has been in Japan for more than two years, and he has long understood the temperament and temperament of the Japanese. Of course, he knew that these Japanese officers in front of him were shouting fiercely on the surface, as if they were impatient to fight the troops of Soviet Russia advancing eastward. It's actually ventriloquism. Meaning: Maybe you are worried that your troops will be consumed by the Chinese as cannon fodder, right?

After a few Japanese finished shouting, Zou Zuohua said unhurriedly in Japanese: "Our Commander Bai and your General Akiyama both agree that the purpose of the Red Army's eastward advance is not to fight and block, but to start a decisive battle with the prelude army of the 4th decisive battle of the 290th Trapped Beast Battle of our East Road Group. Moreover, the Russians have always despised our squadron, and it is very likely that the main group of the Red Army advancing eastward will take the initiative to attack and fight. Therefore, Commander Bai and Senior General Akiyama decided that the Eastern Route Army would first set up a defensive position, and then switch to a counteroffensive after fully depleting the Red Army's vital forces in defensive operations.

And Harigan Tusumu is located right between Hailar and Manchuria, which is the most suitable battlefield for a decisive battle...... We, Chief Bai, hope that Lieutenant General Tanaka will command the troops to carry out here first. Hold out for 3 days at most, and our main forces will arrive. In addition, the 5th Army and the 14th Division of the Northeast Army in Hailar City will also be under the unified command of His Excellency Lieutenant General. ”

saw Zou Zuohua move out of the great god Akiyama Yoshiko, the father of the Japanese cavalry. He also assigned more than 10,000 Chinese infantry in Hailar City to his command, and also guaranteed that the main force of the Middle East Road Group Army would be able to drive up after three days, and Tian Zhongzhong had nothing to say.

He looked at Zou Zuohua. As if to his subordinates, he pointed at a railway station standing in the distant wasteland with his horsewhip and said: "You go and tell Guo Songling of Sù Hailar to hand over the city defense to the imperial garrison, and then lead all the Chinese troops to arrive at the Harigan Tusumu railway station within 24 hours." Then he ignored Zou Zuohua, but turned his head to his subordinates and ordered: "Order the whole group to stop advancing!" The cavalry of the Chinese army opened the power search curtain, and the cavalry of the imperial army built a position, with the Harigan Tusumu railway station as the core of defense! Let's wait here for the Russian Red Army to come to the door! ”

At this moment, Voroshilov, the political commissar of the Eastern Road Campaign Cluster of the Soviet Russian Red Army, was also riding on horseback, advancing with the commander Budyonny and a Red Army staff officer. Beside them were large groups of Red Army marching troops with their heads covered, including cavalry, infantry, and horse-drawn artillery. There was also a transport force consisting of the Red Army's baggage units and tens of thousands of Mongol soldiers. But there was no Sukh. It was not that this group of Red Army cannon fodder did not follow the marching ranks of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army led by Bartol, but that Voroshilov ordered the Mongolian army of more than 30,000 men to be broken up and organized into two Red Army armies before departure. Except for a few highest-ranking Mongols such as Batol, everyone else, regardless of officers and soldiers, served as spearheads! There is a lot of meaning about the punishment camp in the history of Soviet Russia! In fact. Voroshilov punished the Mongols for the destruction of the Zhukov cavalry brigade.

Although the Red Cavalry suffered a defeat near Hailar, the morale of the Red officers and soldiers was not hit by this, and the political cadres mobilized and cheered while marching: "Comrades! The working people of Manchuria are looking forward to our liberation! Let's work hard to save them from the slavery of the revisionists as soon as possible! ”

"Comrade Lenin and the entire Russian proletariat are waiting for the news of our victory, and we must not let down the great teacher!"

"Don't let go of the main force of the revisionist army this time, their level of escape is very high. We must exterminate them on the land of the Republic of Mongolia! And then we're going to fight all the way to Vladivostok! ”

"We must fight all the way to Shenyang, Beijing, and Nanjing, and we must plant the red flag all over China!"

Russian echoes of various accents rang out in the queue. Although the Bolsheviks had already taken draconian rule in Russia. However, most of the officers and men of the Middle East Road Campaign Cluster, with the exception of a small number of former "military experts" of Tsarist Russia, were members of the Russian proletariat. Now that they had just conquered Soviet Russia, it was the time when morale was at its highest. Although there are no material comforts, they are full of energy and confidence. If you make a comparison, the current Soviet Russian Red Army is like the Chinese People's Liberation Army in 1949 in history, and it is the time when it is majestic and high! At that time, the People's Liberation Army did not even pay much attention to the US imperialism, so how could the current Soviet and Russian Red Army take the Chinese revisionist army seriously?

The red army rolling on the snowy field, inside and out, exudes a belief in the victory of liberating all mankind, and only thinks of planting the red flag all over the world.

Voroshilov rode on his horse and looked at his army with satisfaction. Here are two of the most elite army groups of the Red Army. Four cavalry divisions, five infantry divisions, and a Red Artillery cluster, by whom at least two or three hundred thousand White Guards have been wiped out in the past year or so! Now with 130,000 people attacking the 200,000 rabble of revisionism, he really can't find a reason why he will fail! The decision of Comrade Stalin and the command of the Eastern Front this time was really too wise.

There was a rush and the sound of horses' hooves on the snowfield, and three messengers on horseback galloped over, inquired with the vanguard of the command column, and rushed towards Voroshilov's rank. Three cavalrymen pulled their horses in front of Voroshilov. After saluting, he reported loudly: "The headquarters of the 6th Cavalry Division reports that the search force they sent encountered the cavalry of the Chinese devils west of Harigan Tusumu, and the Chinese devils retreated to Harigan Tusumu after a little resistance. It is checked. The Sino-Japanese coalition forces have already preemptively occupied Harigantu Sumu and have begun to build fortifications! ”

Voroshilov smiled with satisfaction, turned back to the commander Budyonny and said: "Semyon. Mikhailovich. Looks like we've got some work to do! Do you think who's going to clean them up? ”

Budyonny thought for a moment: "Harigan Tusumu is located between Manchuria and Hailar, and there are many lakes around it, and it is not completely frozen now...... This terrain is dangerous in the Hulunbuir grassland, and the Chinese and Japanese have picked a good terrain. Guarding there should be the Sino-Japanese mixed cavalry unit that defeated the Zhukov cavalry brigade a few days ago, and it also has a certain combat effectiveness. We can't take it lightly, let's wait for Comrade Yakir's infantry and Comrade Kulik's artillery to go up and then fight slowly! ”

Voroshilov's face was also a little solemn, and he nodded in agreement: "You should be cautious, when will Yakil's infantry be in place?" ”

Budyonny said: "Tomorrow, tomorrow there should be 2 divisions to reach the vicinity of Harigan Tusumu, and tomorrow night it should be able to attack." The night after tomorrow at the latest. We will be able to capture Daharigan Tusumu, and then build fortifications there to meet the main force of the ** squadron! ”

……

"Click......"

The gasping sound of the Japanese Haqikai (Meiji 38) machine gun resounded in the grasslands west of Harigan Tusumu, mingling with the clatter roar of the M1910 Maxim machine gun. Occasionally, there was the sound of mortar and cavalry artillery shells exploding with each other. It turned out that after the search curtain of the cavalry of the Northeast Chinese Army was repulsed by the Soviet Russian Red Army, Tian Zhonghua resent his Japanese cavalry. His cavalry group had joined forces with the 15 cavalry wings that had broken through from Manchuria the day before yesterday, and now he had more than 13,000 elite Japanese cavalry in his hands. Of course, I don't want to lose to Soviet Russia in a cavalry outpost battle. So more than 2,000 Japanese cavalrymen from four cavalry wings fought with a cavalry brigade of the 6th Cavalry Division of the Red Army. The cavalry of both sides rushed to kill each other, firing fiercely, and immediately became a pot of porridge in the grassland west of Harigan Tusumu. Behind the front line where the cavalry was fighting, more than 20,000 Chinese and Japanese cavalrymen dismounted were desperately digging fortifications and trenches on the snow soil that had not yet completely frozen, preparing to meet the surging main force of the Soviet Russian Red Army!

And in the town of Sagagang, which is about 20 kilometers away from Harigan Tusumu. The command of the Fifth Army of the Russian Red Army has also been established. After a day and a night of rapid marching, Yakir and his headquarters arrived at dawn on 27 October. Almost immediately, a large amount of battlefield intelligence was transmitted from the 6th Cavalry Division. All the intelligence shows that the main force of the Sino-Japanese coalition army has not reached Harigantu Sumu, and now it should be their vanguard troops guarding there, and the total strength is around 30,000, and the numbers that have been identified include the Japanese cavalry group, the 1st Cavalry Division of the Northeast Chinese Army, the 14th Infantry Division, and a large number of cavalry wings belonging to Japanese divisions. And the main force of the squadron is still at least 150 kilometers away, and it will not be able to catch up in two days!

The chief of staff of the army group, Pavlov, stepped into the headquarters at once. Yakir was looking at a map with Timoshenko, commander of the 6th Cavalry Division. The telephones around rang incessantly, and all the units under the group army reported the situation. Seeing Pavlov hurriedly walking in, Yakir looked at him with burning eyes and said, "Comrade Pavlov, has the heavy artillery arrived?" Comrade Voroshilov hopes that we can start the offensive tonight. ”

Pavlov took off his heavy military coat, handed it to a staff officer, and replied with a heavy face: "The road is a little muddy, and the heavy artillery unit is probably going to be a day or two late!" The Campaign Cluster Command has a new order down. Let our infantry start attacking first under the cover of field artillery, I don't think it's a big problem, the other side should not have any heavy artillery, at most dozens of 75mm field/mountain artillery, which is still stronger than our firepower! ”

Timoshenko's current image is the same as in history, a big bald head, and he looks very majestic. He's not very old, only 24 years old this year. However, he was already the third person in the 1st Cavalry Group after Voroshilov and Budyonny. Even Yakir of the Fifth Army had great respect for him. He wrinkled his eyebrows, pointed to the open grassland east of Harigan Tusumu and said, "Comrade Yakir. How about your infantry attacking from the front tonight, and my cavalry division going around to their rear and giving them something to flank? ”

Yakir nodded, "Okay." That's it. He patted the map and said, "The enemy's search curtain is very open, and if you want to ensure the suddenness of the attack, your cavalry division had better detour from a distance, so it is better to leave now." He paused, and then added, "But you have to leave me a cavalry brigade, and I need them to guard the flanks." ”

Timoshenko touched his bald head. His cavalry division has 3 cavalry brigades and 6 cavalry regiments, and there are more than 8,800 troops directly under the division. If he left one brigade behind, he would have only 6,7800 troops at hand, which seemed to be a little less. However, he still nodded and said, "Okay, I'll leave the 3rd Cavalry Brigade behind." So saying, he went out the door. When he walked to the door, he suddenly turned back to Yakir and said, "Comrade Yaqil, what if my people encounter a large force of Japanese cavalry on the way around?" ”

Yakir thought for a moment and said categorically: "Then destroy them!" ”

Timoshenge thought of using the open terrain of the Hulunbuir grassland to detour behind enemy lines, and as an equally excellent cavalry commander, Tian Zhongzhong was the same. He also knows. If you want to defend Harigantu Sumu, you can't give up the grassland to your opponent! Otherwise, there is only one result: being besieged and being attacked on all sides. After the more than 10,000 Chinese infantry under the command of Guo Songling arrived at Harigan Tusumu, the Japanese cavalry lieutenant general couldn't help but want to lead his troops to attack.

He pointed to the map and said to Guo Songling: "The intention of the Soviet Russian Red Army is very clear, and it is estimated that it will attack tonight and tomorrow morning." Fortunately, our defense line was finally established in time, although it was not strong, but it could always be relied on. However, in the grassland warfare, it is not enough to rely on simple defense, and we cannot let the grasslands out. The cavalry must be attacked! Tonight I will command the cavalry group to detour back to the enemy's flank, and you will be responsible for the defense of Harigan Tusumu. I will leave you half of the cavalry artillery wing and a cavalry infantry brigade, and the 1st Cavalry Division of the Northeast Army will also be under your command. It shouldn't be a problem to hold on until tomorrow night, right? ”

Of course, Guo Songling was reluctant to let Tanaka's cavalry attack, as soon as those Japanese cavalry left, he had less than 20,000 troops on hand, and the artillery was only 36 75mm mountain guns/cavalry guns. This amount of troops will hold until tomorrow night, which is really a bit reluctant. However, now that he was under Tanaka's command, he could only take over the task head-on, and then urge the troops to strengthen the fortifications like crazy, and prepare for the onslaught of the Soviet Red Army. As a result, by the night of the 27th, the offensive of the Russian Red Army really began.

The offensive of the Red Army began with shelling. At that time, the night sky was pitch black, there was no moon or stars, and heavy snow and north wind fell on the Hulunbuir grassland. Suddenly, a storm-like fire flashed in the night sky opposite the position of the Chinese army in Harikan Tusumu! Then there was a violent tremor of the earth, and a thunderous roar!

"Shelling! Shelling! Quick Hide"

The sound of the alarm was soon completely drowned out by the loud roar, and the Chinese army suddenly burst into flames above the position. The civil fortifications were blown into the sky, and the barbed wire and deer barricades that the Chinese and Japanese troops had painstakingly arranged were torn apart by the tremendous destructive force of the artillery fire. The people in the trenches were the most miserable, the hastily built fortifications did not have strong anti-artillery fortifications, and the Chinese officers and soldiers were either curled up, or prostrate at the bottom of the trenches, or sat numb as if they were frightened, and they could only resign themselves to fate.

But fortunately, the current Soviet Russian Red Army is not very rich, and it is even inferior to the Chinese Defense Force, which has made a windfall! The ammunition they had prepared for this Eastern Road campaign was no more than two bases per cannon. And now the heavy artillery has not been pulled up, only more than 100 76.2mm or 87mm field heavy artillery/cavalry guns are firing and bombarding, according to the order of Commander Yakil, each cannon has received half a base number of shells, a total of less than 3,000 rounds! Half of them were used for the preparation of artillery fire before the first charge.

The preparation time for the artillery fire was only 15 minutes, and as soon as the shelling stopped, "Ula! Ulla! Thousands of Red Army soldiers in white robes, armed with rifles with bayonets, jumped out of their advance positions and braved the artillery fire of the Chinese army to begin the first wave of attacks!!!