In the early morning of 19 June, when the first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds and shone on the Alkarek base, two short-range reconnaissance planes of the 12th Chinese Air Wing in the camouflage color of the grassland slowly entered the runway. Yesterday's Siberian referendum has reached here, and while the base is cheering, it continues to be shrouded in a tense atmosphere of war. Captain Feng Xue of the 2nd Squadron was ordered to go to the west of the Irgiz salient, because two hours earlier it had received information that the Soviets had again increased their forces to the salient.

This is a very bad situation, although the 600-kilometer front has been staggered, and the daily battlefield casualties record has reached a new high, but the pilots know that the most tragic is the 'salient defensive battle' of Ilgiz. This salient, which guards the eastern gate of West Kazakhstan and can deter Aktobinsk and Orsk, is under the onslaught of the four Soviet armies. Moreover, the terrain here is open, there is basically no danger of natural moats, and Alkarek is facing a direct attack by the Soviet army from Lake Sarekopa at the moment, so General Du Zishan's troops are almost alone.

At a speed of 450 kilometers per hour, two Thunderbolt-to-tactical reconnaissance planes crossed the grassland at an ultra-low altitude. Ultra-low-altitude flight can shorten the distance detected by Soviet air defense posts. Foggy bushes and hills, quickly passing under the wings, water droplets quickly condensed on the bulletproof windshield, Feng Xue needed to turn on the heated defogging device to ensure that he could see the surface clearly. Soon, the ground in front of the nose seemed to be split by a giant axe, cracking a huge river valley up to 100 meters deep and 100 kilometers long. This is the valley of the Tulgai River, which winds through the middle and cannot be crossed by any vehicle. After flying over this natural dividing line, which lies halfway between the Irgiz salient and the Sarekopa Lake theater of operations, Feng Xue and her wingman threw away the auxiliary fuel tank and rose to 1,500 meters.

The moment the plane leaped out of the ground, the Irgiz protrusion slowly appeared in the pupils. After many years, when recalling this investigation experience. He couldn't forget what he saw. "A large-scale night offensive has apparently just ended, and the 40-kilometre-long line of defense is littered with the wreckage of tanks destroyed by both sides. The anti-tank positions were overturned by large-caliber grenades, and the bodies and parts were scattered radially around the crater. All positions were on fire, trenches were filled, bunkers were broken and bare. The shrub was broken off and the entire protrusion was on the surface. It appears to be charred black after being burned by fire. That's not hell, it's Yama Temple! It's Shuraba! My comrades-in-arms are down there at the moment, optimistically persevering! ”

Feng Xue used two aerial cameras to clearly record these pictures, and a lot of plane wreckage could be seen on the screen, including those of the Soviet army. There are also their own. Finally, two reconnaissance planes swept over the 412 heights, the most prolapsed front, and accelerated westward. But the flight is less than 15 km. It was fiercely attacked by artillery fire from the ground. "Captain! The shells are too dense! "Flashing fireballs almost all over the sky. Let the wingman pilot, who had just been transferred from the Northeast, look pale. He had never seen so much anti-aircraft artillery, and I am afraid that the anti-aircraft artillery of the Japanese army on the entire Korean Peninsula combined was not so dense.

"Don't be nervous! Just follow me, steady the joystick, and make your way through the war zone. Feng Xue was not surprised at all, and calmly held the operating lever. It is said that the Japanese army is crazy and paranoid, that is, they have not seen the Soviet army. In the event that air supremacy cannot be obtained. The Soviets began to frantically create anti-aircraft weapons. From anti-aircraft machine guns, to the latest 1939 Type 85-mm anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft trains, and so on, the sheer number is also extremely rare in military history. The Soviet army not only strengthened anti-aircraft artillery, but also formed a special anti-aircraft artillery anti-aircraft division! It is said that Stalin had demanded that air defense divisions be made the standard equipment of army groups. Therefore, the Air Force's losses during this period increased by 11 percentage points compared with the peak last year, and in just two weeks, it paid the price of nearly 600 downed aircraft, most of which were attack aircraft and bombers involved in low-altitude support.

After rushing through the dense anti-aircraft fire zone, Feng Xue immediately climbed to 7,000 meters, and half an hour later reached the reconnaissance target, which was located 70 kilometers south of Aktobinsk (present-day Aktobe). As the name suggests, it was a city founded after the October Revolution and a staging place for Soviet troops in the defensive battle of the Bulge. Entering the sky over the city, he and his wingman were immediately attacked by 8 MiG-3s and ground artillery fire, but he still took photos of a large number of Soviet troops arriving at the assembly point by train to report the reconnaissance to the base, and he immediately fled at a speed of 700 kilometers per hour.

The Alcarek base immediately sounded the first-level alarm, and hundreds of medium and long-range bombers began to prepare for the attack. At this time, Zhao Siyuan and his comrades-in-arms on the 412 heights did not know that the Soviet army had increased its troops again. "Here, do me a favor." Zhao Siyuan got into a destroyed SU122 assault gun, and dragged three PPSH41 submachine guns and several drums in his hands. This is another new piece of equipment for the Soviet army, which is not yet available, and is only equipped with motorized infantry and armored troops. In fact, Zhao Siyuan doesn't like this gun, because its barrel is modified after cutting off the old barrel of 'Shui Lianzhu', and the rifling is very worn, so the progress is very poor, 50 meters away is basically a bird, and the large-capacity 71-round drum is often jammed, but on the other hand, it is indeed suitable for the needs of the Soviet infantry at close range, large density and high intensity firepower.

From his position, the 412 heights were almost invisible, with tens of thousands of shells cutting off the entire heights. The fierceness of the battle was still secondary, and what was worse was that in the previous few days' fighting, the second batch of reinforcements exposed the line when they went to the high ground, and as a result, the Soviet army used the gap to cut off the back road, although most of the reinforcements and ammunition were delivered in time, but the 412 heights were completely surrounded. The Soviets sensed this mistake and threw in several divisions for three days in a row to launch a night attack on the heights. Since it was not known when the headquarters would be able to open the supply line, as soon as the battle was over, the regiment commander ordered to clear the battlefield and collect all the weapons and ammunition that could be used just in case.

"Brother Zhao, is there a radio station in it?" As soon as he handed the submachine gun and ammunition pack to his comrades, the communications squad leader who had come to the high ground with him ten days earlier ran over. "Looks like there is, wait a minute." There were very few Soviet radios, and presumably this assault tank was among the most advanced, so a vehicle-mounted radio station was installed. Zhao Siyuan carefully unloaded the radio and handed it to the squad leader: "What?" Is your radio station broken? ”

"No, it's not that our radio is short of parts." The squad leader smiled, skillfully disassembled the Soviet military radio station and pulled out a few parts. To alleviate nostalgia and boost morale. A lot of radios were distributed to the troops, but the quality of the small factories was really not complimentary.

After Zhao Siyuan and his comrades-in-arms pulled a large pile of weapons and ammunition back to the position, they were about to go to see the communications squad leader repair the radio, but they were pulled back to the position by a shout. "Get into the trench! Hurry! The Soviets are coming up again! Ready for battle! "Everyone was shocked. Last night's battle had just ended. Why did the Soviets attack again?

"Grass Mat! Is Da Maozi crazy? Mess with Lao Tzu in broad daylight. ”

"Bullets! Bullets, give me bullets! ”

"Get up, don't sleep! Come, give me a piece. ”

The comrades-in-arms scolded and scolded. Rubbing his red and swollen eyes vigorously, chewing luncheon meat and compressed biscuits, the cooking squad also hurriedly extinguished the fire that had just risen, and redistributed the filled kettle to his comrades. Zhao Siyuan was also surprised. Because the Soviets were almost always beaten during the day, except for the first few days, most of the offensive was put at night. He couldn't figure it out. Why did the Soviets take risks. But the hands are not idle. First, a new 20-round magazine was quickly pressed, the caps of five grenades were unscrewed, and the 71-round drum was pressed into the PPSH submachine gun, and finally a Soviet DP light machine gun and sapper shovel were placed at his feet and armed to the teeth.

"Boom, boom." Just ready. Soviet shells fell. Compared to the previous days, the Soviet artillery fire was much weaker. "Look, good fellow, at least a division!" Before the shelling ended, the black and oppressive Soviet troops made everyone gasp. Although several reinforcements were received, the losses on the 412 heights were always significant. At the moment, there are only two regiments at full strength, and there is also a hunting and destroying tank company. So in the face of a whole Soviet division, everyone was a little nervous.

More than two dozen T34/76 and Su85, under the cover of artillery fire, took the lead in pouring into the high ground. Seeing the tank, the hunting tank company, which had just arrived a few days ago, quietly began to turn its muzzle. "Boom." Probably terrified of anti-tank fire, as soon as the artillery coverage ended, the T34 and Su85 began to shoot at the heights. "Turn 6 degrees to the left, 1000 meters, T34/76 fire!" A Type 36 Tiger hunter tank buried itself in a mound of earth was the first to fire. This time, he used not the ordinary cap-piercing shells used by infantry anti-tank guns. 85 mm high-speed tungsten bullets, which easily penetrated the improved T34 tank. Without waiting for the rest of the Soviet tanks to react, 4 more were destroyed by the 'Tiger Hunter'. After discovering the presence of powerful anti-tank weapons, the remaining Soviet tanks immediately dispersed and fired at the 'Tiger Hunter' position.

The "Hunter Tiger", whose frontal armor is thicker than that of the "Siberian Tiger" main battle tank, was not afraid of such suppression, but the explosion would make it difficult to aim directly, so the anti-tank company began to shift positions. Soviet tanks also took advantage of this opportunity to protect the infantry behind them for a quick sprint. When they approached 600 meters, a large number of Soviet troops poured out from behind the tanks, shouting for Ulla to launch an infantry charge. "Rush! Ulla! Long live the Soviets! Come on! Kill all your enemies! ”

"Fire! Boom. "The 80 and 60-mm mortars on the heights began to rain down on inclination, and shells constantly exploded in the Soviet troops. The Soviets also reacted quickly, and immediately seven or eight T34s fired suppressive fire at the mortar positions. As the shells on both sides came and went, the 'Hunter Tiger', which had re-entered the position, took aim again, and after a series of roars, several more T34s were smashed into fireballs.

"Be careful, IL2!" As the hunter-destroyer tank company continued to hit, four Soviet-made IL2 attack aircraft jumped out from behind the western peak. This Soviet aircraft had relatively poor air combat capabilities, but was strong in ground attack. As soon as the four 40-mm and six 25-mm rapid-fire guns on the high ground opened fire, two IL2s flew over the Tiger Hunter and dropped two armor-piercing shells.

Soviet-made sub-aircraft armor-piercing shells are also imitations of similar domestic products, and with new weapons recently put into service. The bullet weighs 5 kg and uses an armor-piercing warhead that penetrates a 30-mm vertically homogeneous steel plate. One mother bullet can carry 48 bullets and is a considerable threat to armored forces. After the two bombs exploded, bullets flew down from a height of 400 meters, and immediately two 'Hunting Tigers' were paralyzed through the tops. The two IL2s behind saw the effect of the attack, and were about to dive in one go, when several black shadows quickly descended, and before they could react, several lines of fire were sprayed. "It's Thunderbolt, the Air Force is coming! Fire! Fire! "The appearance of 4 Thunderbolts frightened the 2 IL2s that had finished dropping their bombs and fled westward, and when the Air Force was cleaning them up, dozens of general-purpose machine guns on the high ground were the first to fire.

The defensive chain of 250 scattered metal bullets quickly shortened, and the dense bullets stirred up a rain of blood. But the Soviets were also very tenacious, withstanding the blockade of machine guns. Keep rushing upwards. As Du Zishan's guard, Zhao Siyuan's shooting skills are very good, a semi-automatic rifle seems to come alive in his hand, and Soviet soldiers continue to fall under his guns. Probably thought there were snipers here. Several DP light machine guns were aimed at him. The chirping bullets rained down on the mound of dirt in front of the position, stirring up countless pillars of dust. "Left! Position Seven. Just as he was eyeing an air strike, he killed a Soviet second lieutenant who was leading the charge. I saw more than a dozen elite Soviet combat sappers rushing up from the side. The combat sappers were the elite of the Soviet army, all made up of veterans, miners, intellectuals and fanatical GC party members, and fought very tenaciously. Seeing the combat sappers groping to the left, he immediately replaced himself with a new 20-round magazine. He picked up the PPSH submachine gun and straddled it diagonally over his shoulder, and led a squad to the left. "Follow me to help! Smack. "More than a dozen semi-automatic rifles fired continuously, quickly pinning down the Soviet combat sappers at the mouth of the trench. Zhao Siyuan saw a Soviet soldier lying on the ground and pulled out a grenade. Tried to get into the bunker still. Hurriedly shook off the semi-automatic rifle that had run out of bullets, and picked up the ppsh for a wild sweep. "Boom!" The grenade exploded in the soldier's hand, not only blowing himself to pieces, but also splashing flesh and blood on Zhao Siyuan's face.

"Fuck you!" Zhao Siyuan flew out with a kick, kicked half of the stump, and rushed into the position that he almost lost.

Although Zhao Siyuan and his comrades-in-arms did their best, as more and more Soviet troops climbed the high ground. The whole highland is in constant danger. It's at this risk

In a hurry, the attack aircraft of the Air Force finally came. Six Snake B attack planes rushed from the north of the heights and quickly dropped 120 kg anti-personnel bombs on the most densely populated areas of the Soviet army. In the booming explosion, hundreds of Soviet soldiers were blown away, and stumps and broken arms were spread all over the slope. After dropping the bomb, the attack aircraft quickly turned back and continued to strafe continuously with its 25-mm cannon on board. Two of the shells fell less than ten meters beside Zhao Siyuan, so frightened that he hurriedly lay down.

The arrival of attack aircraft stalled the offensive of the Soviet army. A few days ago, the Soviet troops would definitely have retreated, but today they didn't know what medicine they had taken, and they took advantage of the turn of the attack aircraft to get up again and continue the attack. "Look! Made, what the hell is going on? Did the Soviets take madness? While the Soviets were still wondering why they were working so hard today, the distant horizon seemed to come alive, and hundreds of Soviet tanks and trucks quickly crossed from the 412 heights and launched an attack on the entire salient line. Standing on the high ground, no matter which direction, it is all Soviet soldiers who are desperately charging!

Zhao Siyuan even saw that several Soviet soldiers who had no weapons were also mixed in the ranks, and as soon as someone fell in front, they immediately picked up their rifles and continued to move forward in the sun. "Crazy! Lose your marbles! The crazy Soviet army not only did not frighten him, but aroused a strong desire to survive, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and after smashing the drums in his hands at seven or eight Soviet soldiers, he rolled on the spot, picked up the rifle of a dead comrade, and aimed at a Soviet soldier who jumped into the trench. The bullet broke the neck of the Soviet soldier, and while the blood was fired, a cry of excitement suddenly sounded behind him: "I know! I know! Haha brothers! I have just received the news that the east of the Yenisei River has declared autonomy to join our country! The collapse of the USSR is over! Haha From now on, we will be the world's largest country! Hit! Beat them back! ”

"What!" The shouting of the communication squad leader made Zhao Siyuan's head like an explosion, and he finally understood why the Soviet army was so crazy today. The amazing good news aroused everyone's courage to fight to the end, and I don't know where the strength came from, Zhao Siyuan quickly ran back to the battle position, first picked up the grenade and smashed it at the Soviet army, and then put on a new magazine and quickly jumped out of the position.

"For victory! Wehrmacht! Offensive! A loud shout resounded in the sky, and hundreds of soldiers, led by him, launched an even more frantic counter-charge against the Soviet army.

"Report!"

In the dense forests southwest of Chelinograd (present-day Kokshetau), a crisp report sounded. "Commander, Chief of Staff! The Soviets are attacking on all fronts! Among them, the Irgiz salient has been increased to 5 army groups. ”

"Stalin was angry." Liu Mingzhao pulled out his eyes from the unfolded map and twisted to the tanks and combat vehicles that were being overhauled next to him. This is the unit that is preparing to carry out a counterattack, which, according to the plan, requires the assembly of 3 armored divisions, 3 infantry divisions and 4 motorized infantry divisions.

Mei Sheng and Long Yun looked at each other and smiled: "Can you not get angry, the president's trick is too poisonous!" This is a land of several million square kilometers, and it is the second great division after Central Asia! If there is no strong reaction, I am afraid that he will not be able to suppress the people of Ukraine, the Baltics and the Tatars. "Yang Qiu deliberately chose to vote at this time, just to make Stalin go crazy, and with his character, he would definitely ask the whole army to press. The internal system of the Soviet army determined that no one dared to oppose Stalin's order at present, and with Timoshenko's impulsive personality, he would definitely get twice the result with half the effort. So Mei Sheng also said: "Timoshenko is a diehard loyalist of Stalin, and if something so big happens, he must be pressed with all his might." I'm sure that he is fighting like this now, it must have been Stalin's instructions. At this time, not to mention Rokossovsky's group of newcomers, even Zhukov and Lukin, two brute bulls, I am afraid they dare not stand up against it. ”

"The president has done everything that needs to be done, and now it's up to me." Liu Mingzhao straightened up and glanced around: "How many troops have been replaced?" How long will it take for the rest to arrive? ”

"Five divisions have been replaced, and there are still five divisions to wait for the remaining reserves of the Northeast Army. It is expected to be another week. Don't worry, as soon as they arrive, I will arrange for the main force to be replaced overnight. "Assault is the most difficult task, and of course Liu Mingzhao will not use the new army transferred from the northeast. So as early as when making the plan, the army came up with a plan, as soon as the reserves of the Northeast Army arrived, Mei Sheng immediately arranged for them to change to the number of the main force, and then secretly replaced them before the battle, so that the Soviet army mistakenly thought that the main force was still fighting with them on the front line.

"Here, this is the roster of troops and officers you want, Major General Sun Liren, commander of the 2nd Armored Division, Major General Gong Chu, commander of the 10th Armored Division, and Major General Yang Yuchun, commander of the 29th Motorized Infantry Division."