Chapter 182: A Grand New Strategy

Liu Mingzhao still doesn't know the inside story, in fact, this first brigade is just a field brigade, and the real fierce people are staying in Beijing. The task of the field brigade is to find and discover valuable clues and provide them to the Beijing headquarters for further screening and analysis. The first field brigade entered the working state after a short rest, and after a night of busy work of personnel and equipment, a short rest began the next step. The radio waves shuttled back and forth between Beijing and Andijan, and one after another some valuable messages were deciphered and placed in front of Liu Mingzhao's desk.

"It has now been ascertained that the number of units of the Central Asian Front of the Soviet Army that is still conducting radio contact is 58, and it is certain that at least one formed mechanized corps of the Soviet Army appeared three days ago, and the number is the Third Mechanized Army. According to the calculations of these troops, the total number of troops that can be mobilized by the Soviet Central Asian Front at present is about 80 infantry divisions. Intelligence realities, the signal from the headquarters of the Central Asian Front appeared in Samarkand, and not in Tashkent, before. From this, it follows that Zhukov's headquarters were in Samarkand. ……。 Yang Shiying submitted such a report on the evening of the second day after her arrival.

Combined with the information obtained from aerial reconnaissance, a rough map of the distribution of Soviet forces soon appeared on the map. At present, the Soviet army in Central Asia is mainly concentrated in two directions, one is Samarkand, with a strength of about 35 infantry divisions and a mechanized corps, judging from the map, it should be a mechanized corps transported from the Caspian direction. Another heavy group concentrated in Tashkent, the latest deciphered message reality. Soviet Lieutenant General Lukin, most likely the commander of the Tashkent army group, had at his disposal the forces at his disposal. No less than forty-five infantry divisions, no mechanized units were found.

This military deployment seems to have been divided into two sections by our army, but in fact it is not like that, because Tashkent is a military important place operated by the Soviet Union for a long time, and there are many strong batteries and fortresses around the city, plus heavy guards. It's hard to go all at once. Our army, on the other hand, had to be on constant alert for threats from heavily armed groups on the Samarkand side, and even from the north.

"The Soviet Union is a big country, if you do everything you can to fight against China and the Soviet Union. As far as the current strength of the Central Asian Military District is concerned, we still have an advantage. Judging from the current strategic situation, the purpose of the Soviet army is to delay time, and it can be seen that Tashkent is an important place for the Soviet army to defend. Call the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. Launch of the third phase of the Central Asian campaign. A minimum of twenty days of preparation is required. During this period, the Soviet troops may receive new reinforcements. The Air Force must exert its ability to paralyze railways, kilometers, and bridges in the area controlled by the Soviet Army. The key to the fact that our army has been able to achieve heavy results at this stage is that the superiority of mechanized troops is obvious, and if possible, it hopes to be reinforced by new mechanized troops. Forget it, I'll fly back in person and report to the president in detail. Liu Mingzhao was preparing the telegram. suddenly changed his mind, and Zhang Zhizhong was obviously stunned. Then he said, "That's fine." ”

At this time, a new strategic outline was initially formed in Liu Mingzhao's mind, and he immediately stood up and said: "Wenbai, you ask the people in the staff department to work hard, go to see the terrain between Tashkent and Khujand on the spot, and give me a report as much as possible." We can't look at the map and fight. ”

Liu Mingzhao's telegram requesting to return to Beijing to face Chen was quickly approved, and he took a plane to Dihua overnight, transferred to a DC-3 passenger plane, and landed at Nanyuan Airport after two transfers under the cover of two Mustang fighters.

To Liu Mingzhao's surprise, he met Defense Minister Jiang Fangzhen at the airport, and when he stepped forward to greet him, he learned that Jiang Fangzhen had just gotten off the plane, and the two simply took a car into the city. On the way back to the city, Liu Mingzhao made a brief report on his strategic concept, hoping to get Jiang Fangzhen's approval, but Jiang Fangzhen did not make a clear statement about it, saying that he would consider it, and it still depends on the president's intentions.

Regarding Liu Mingzhao's rapid rise, the top brass of the National Defense Forces do not quite understand the root cause. The argument is that the president should advocate the rejuvenation of senior officers in the military system, and only do what is possible. Jiang Fangzhen has a unique view on this, believing that a large number of first-year students of Wuhu Lu University, including Liu Mingzhao, have received special care from the president. Facts have proved that these people are indeed very capable, and although they rise quickly in the army, the military talents they show are indeed superior, and it can only be said that the president has a unique vision. Nothing else is clear. Some of Jiang Fangzhen's favored geniuses, such as Tang Shengzhi, who is now Li Zongren's chief of staff, have never been given the opportunity to take charge of the First Army independently in the Wehrmacht system.

At the door of the conference room of the General Staff, President Fang Da, who had been waiting here for a long time, smiled and led the crowd to greet these two dusty pillars of the National Defense Force. "Good work!" Not much, but very sincere.

"Fuguo, there is still a fierce battle ahead, so don't be polite. Hurry into the conference room, Liu Mingzhao has a new idea, I think it can be considered carefully. "Jiang Fangzhen is also a workaholic, and the importance of things is very clear.

Fang Jianxiong was not polite, and a group of adults entered the conference room, and after they sat down, they held a meeting. Fang Jianxiong's opening remarks were more concise: "Liu Mingzhao has some new strategic ideas, everyone listen to him first." ”

Liu Mingzhao was not polite, walked to the big map next to the wall, picked up the pole and pointed to Tashkent on the map: "This is Tashkent, and at present Zhukov has gathered about 500,000 troops in and around this city. This is Samarkand, where Zhukov's headquarters have been moved, and the Soviets have assembled at least thirty infantry divisions and a mechanized corps in this area, with reinforcements still arriving. Tashkent is the railway transportation hub of Central Asia, and if the Soviet army wants to stabilize the situation in Siberia and delay it until winter, it must hold Tashkent to the death and hold back the main force of our Central Asian Front. Otherwise, even if winter comes, it will be difficult for the Soviet army to carry out a powerful counterattack after our Central Asian Front army moves north. Combining the above two factors, it is not difficult for us to judge a general framework, that is, Zhukov hopes that the main force of our army will launch a general attack on Tashkent and consume it under the fortified city. As the focus of the campaign, Tashkent had long been operated as a military fortress, and from a military point of view, it was undoubtedly not a wise choice to attack such a city with a large number of strong and permanent fortifications. From a tactical point of view, we should avoid what the enemy wants. From this, we can draw a conclusion that after our Central Asian Front has completed the encirclement of Tashkent on three fronts, the correct strategy is to encircle but not fight, turn around and go straight to Samarkand, first attack the main force under the command of Zhukov himself, and completely cut off the largest group of troops defending the enemy in Tashkent. In order to achieve this strategic concept, the Central Asian Front needs a powerful mechanized army group as a mobile assault force, and at present our department has three mechanized corps with 3,600 tanks, and if one more mechanized corps is added to monitor the southward movement of the enemy army in Tashkent, the remaining three mechanized corps will move rapidly southward to seek a decisive battle before Zhukov completes the assembly of the main forces for the counterattack. If Zhukov chooses a decisive battle, he will not be able to ask for it. If Zhukov chooses to retreat and continue to build on his strength, then Samarkand may fall in droves, and Tashkent will be completely isolated. In isolated Tashkent, hundreds of thousands of troops are a huge burden on food alone. ”

Liu Mingzhao stopped here and calmly waited for everyone's opinions. Fang Jianxiong's gaze first went to Duan Feng, and Duan Feng stood up and said: "The current logistical pressure is not very great, if a mechanized army is transferred from Beijing to Central Asia, it will take about ten days." With the current gathering capacity of railways, roads, and air, the logistical limit of the Central Asian side is about 2 million troops, including four mechanized armies. Fang Jianxiong's gaze did not shift, Duan Feng thought for a moment and said: "If two mechanized armies are transferred from Beijing, the transportation task can be completed in fifteen days." ”

Fang Jianxiong's gaze shifted to Jiang Fangzhen. The Minister of Defense stood up with a smile and said: "Strategically, this idea is feasible. The most commendable thing is that the command level of the Central Asian Front has not been shackled by the plan drawn up by the General Staff Headquarters, but has adopted flexible responses according to the actual situation, and this has been reflected since the early days of the campaign. As far as specific tactics are concerned, winter is approaching, and it is undoubtedly dangerous to be unable to conquer the fortified city for a long time. If we fight in motion, in terms of logistical supply, our difficulties are also those of the Soviet army, and even the difficulties of the Soviet army are even more severe in the face of the strong air superiority of our army. This remark reminded Fang Jianxiong of Stalingrad and Leningrad, and the mustache was planted too hard in Stalingrad, and the trend of the entire Soviet-German war was reversed.

"What do you think?" Fang Jianxiong asked directly, which can be regarded as a kind of respect. Xu Shuzheng groaned a little and said, "Yes, this new strategic concept is ambitious, but it is very feasible. If the logistical aspect can withstand the pressure of the coming winter, I think Liu Mingzhao's campaign plan can be considered. Of course, during the preparation for the campaign, it was necessary to intensify air strikes and intensify reconnaissance of Soviet troops. Commander Feng, can the Air Force accomplish this task? ”

Feng Hua stood up and said: "Judging from the range of the B-17, a slight expansion of the Kokand airfield can ensure the take-off and landing of two wings of bombers. Build two more field airfields and ensure that at least two wings of Mustang fighters are stationed, and the problem will be almost solved. ”

Leng Yu raised his hand and said: "There is a question, Central Asia is vast and sparsely populated, why not consider airdropping small units of special operations troops behind enemy lines and trying their best to destroy the railways and highways of the Soviet army." Isn't there just such a force on the other side of Rehe? ”

The unit Leng Yu said was codenamed Unit 1005, and this unit was full of white people who had joined Chinese nationality. (To be continued......)