At this time, on the front line of Army Group North in Latvia, it was a time of tranquility.

From the end of May 1937, when Army Group North was formed and stationed in Latvia, which had just "joined" Germany, they engaged in a six-month standoff with Soviet troops along Latvia against Estonia, the Velika Luki region of Russia, and the Polotsk-Gruboye region of northern Belarus. On September 30, after the outbreak of the Great War, the Soviet and German armies fought a modest battle, but the imaginary Armageddon never took place. By the end of October, when the Soviet-Polish war was about to be won or lost, it entered a "sit-in period" that was also very rare in the world's military history, and for half a month, the entire front was almost forgotten.

However, the Germans amassed a considerable number of troops here, and by November 10, 1937, Army Group North had a total of 15 German infantry corps, 2 Chinese infantry corps, 1 Italian expeditionary corps with 50,000 men, and 5 Russian infantry corps, a total of 23 corps or corps, 69 infantry divisions, as many as 6,000 artillery pieces, and a total strength of more than 1.15 million! However, the army group was not attached to an armored division. In addition, near Riga, the capital of the state of Latvia, German engineers established a series of large air bases, with 2,000 aircraft of the Luftwaffe's Third Air Force (including the Chinese Air Force's Seventh Air Division and three other German Air Divisions) under the command of Lieutenant General Richschhofen.

The Germans were not concentrating such a large number of forces here for the sake of defense, and according to their Barbarossa Plan, the main task of Army Group North was to divide the forces into two directions after a full-scale German attack on the Soviet Union. An offensive was launched through Estonia and Velikiye Luki against Leningrad, the second largest city in the USSR.

Perhaps for the convenience of command, Army Group North organized the 2 Central Army, 5 White Russian troops and 1 Italian Army Corps that arrived one after another into a group army, and gave it the name of the Russian First Army to indicate that this multinational force was used to recover the Russian Empire. The defense zone of this army group was placed on the Warmilla-Aluksne line on the border between Latvia and Estonia. 3 of the Russian corps, commanded by Duke Rakovsky, were responsible for the defense of Aluksny. 2 Medium ** and 1 Russian Infantry Corps were in charge of Valmiera, and 1 Russian Corps and 1 Italian Corps served as the general reserve.

This section of the front on which the 1st Russian Army is located, over the past 10 months. It was also a peaceful scene of "no war on the Western Front", with only a few small-scale sorties, and most of the time even harassing artillery bombardments were rare. Although the war is not fierce. However, the high-level peace of the Triple Alliance did not dare to take it lightly. After all, Poland's lessons are just around the corner. They spent a great deal of energy and material resources building a complete defense line along their northern border with Latvia. All the vantage points were converted into heavily armed machine-gun fire points that could be cross-fired to block the entire front. At the front of the first trench, an anti-tank trench was also dug and obstacles such as barbed wire, minefields and deer fortifications were erected. There was also artillery support fire of up to 32 artillery regiments in the rear of the entire line of defense! In addition, the two Chinese infantry corps in the group army also have one light tank regiment under their jurisdiction, with nearly 300 No. 1 tanks. However, the defensive preparations ended there, and no major defensive projects such as permanent fortifications of reinforced concrete and fortified areas were built.

Because at the moment the Soviet troops on the northern front were on the defensive. And it seemed that it was the Germans and their allies who were really going to attack. In fact, the operational plan for the offensive had already been sent from the General Headquarters of Army Group North in Riga to the military commanders at the division level. According to the operational plan, the offensive was to be launched by early December 1937 at the latest. The exact time depends on the weather conditions. Only in November when the rain and snow in Eastern Europe have completely passed, and the muddy ground has frozen as hard as stones. The offensive will be launched. This date is only 20 days away at most.

……

In the forests of northern Latvia, it is still quiet. The snow is still falling, and this snow has been falling intermittently since November 8th, and today is the third day. The snow became heavier and more urgent, and the cold wind carried fine ice particles, so that the soldiers of the expeditionary force from China began to taste a little bit of the Russian winter.

An armed reconnaissance team of the expeditionary force wearing white camouflage overalls was struggling through the forest in the face of wind and snow. In this vast snowy landscape as far as the eye can see, you may bump into the armed reconnaissance unit of the Soviets! Mosin in the USSR. The Nagant rifle, maybe it will suddenly go off! At a time when the Soviet-Polish war in Western Belarus was not over, it was safer to conduct such armed reconnaissance in this middle ground between the two armies. The Soviets were outnumbered in the trenches. Not to mention controlling this middle ground. Every day, these reconnaissance squads would press directly in front of the trench defenses of the Soviet Red Army and observe and record their movements. Lurking and capturing lone Red officers and soldiers, some small detachments even infiltrated behind the Soviet defense line to observe their artillery positions and transport networks at close range! But as the Soviet-Polish battles in Western Belarus were divided, such reconnaissance became more and more difficult. The Red Army also apparently opened its own power search curtain. A ferocious assault on any of the discovered reconnaissance units, where squads of Red Army patrols haunt day and night, preventing anyone from approaching their battle lines! By this time, even the most distracted Italian officers had sniffed out something was wrong. Especially after the heavy snow fell on November 8, and the figures of Soviet engineers took the opportunity to appear in the minefield arranged in front of the expeditionary front, everyone felt that maybe the Soviets had really gone crazy and were going to attack under such ice and snow!

More reconnaissance detachments were dispatched, and more information was gathered on the desks of Wei Lihuang and Du Yuming. This information was quickly submitted to General Rundstedt. The general answer of Army Group North was. At present, there are similar reports from all the armies under Army Group North, and it is estimated that the Soviets are preparing a new military operation, and it is hoped that all units will prepare for a tight defense, and at the same time they will also strengthen their preparations for an offensive -- and it is clear that General Rundstedt is also feeling bad. It's just that he doesn't have many troops at hand. Although Army Group North had 1.15 million men, Latvia was attacked on three sides, and now the defenders on each side reported that the situation was abnormal, and Army Group naturally had to put them on guard.

Lieutenant Liu Yunfei's reconnaissance platoon set out from its own front at the height of the night, carefully avoiding several Red Army patrols along the way. All the way to their defenses. They aimed at the junction of two infantry divisions of the Red Army. It's also densely forested. As long as it can penetrate through, it will be possible to figure out a little bit about the situation behind the Red Army front. This kind of intelligence is needed both to defend against a possible offensive and to attack the Soviet army. Strict orders from superiors come down. He, a platoon commander who was a veteran of the Far Eastern War, had no choice but to take risks.

The forest is slowly thinning. And the forest area where he was targeting was behind a rushed road. It was also the most heavily guarded place for the Red Army. Lieutenant Liu raised to the left. Clenched his fists. The long and sparsely stretched guard formation was suddenly retracted. Listening to Liu Yunfei said in a low voice: "Lao Maozi is strict. We will not be able to get through it during the day, so now look for a campsite on the spot. Set up a cordon, and wait until it gets dark, and then let's think about slipping over......" Before he could finish his sentence, he heard the faint sound of horses' hooves coming from the top of the rushing road outside the forest. Everyone lay down at the same time. Liu Yunfei paused, waved his hand, and took a few brothers to bend over and touch him. When they reached the edge of the forest, they jumped up the tree and looked out.

Outside the forest, the snow was still blanket in white, and the road they were about to slip through lay quietly about 1 kilometer away. But their biggest discovery today is not this. Rather, it was to the south of the road, which was supposed to be two or three kilometers away from the forward positions of the Soviets. A long, winding trench was being excavated, and it had been dug to the point that it was almost a man deep. In the distance, you can see a steel helmet with a red star mark peeking out of the trench! The fresh soil was constantly shoveled out by the sappers. Logs used to reinforce fortifications are being transported here by horse-drawn wagons from an unknown place. What the Soviets are building is supposed to be the starting point for the offensive! And judging from the size of the trench that is not visible at a glance, this is at least enough to accommodate several juniors and disciples to attack the starting position! There is also the sound of construction to the north of the road. But because of the heavy snowfall, I can't see clearly. According to common sense, it should have been the second-line reserve positions of the Soviet Red Army, and possibly artillery positions. The Soviets moved forward! And there are a lot of them! What do they want to do?

Several Soviet cavalry reconnaissance teams were already on board. Holding a bright saber in the middle of the two armies, a cordon was opened. Several other infantry patrols are also making their way into the woods. This is what the Soviet Red Army wanted to control this middle ground...... And it seems that they have enough firepower to support their advance, could it be that the main forces of the Soviet army in Belarus have been transferred here? They're going to repeat their old tricks in Latvia!

Everything Liu Yunfei saw in the forest near Valmiera was also discovered by the reconnaissance units of the German and White Russian troops stationed in Aluksny, Rezekne, and Daugavpils. Several White Russian spies lurking in the territory of the Soviet Union also reported through secret channels that they saw that the Red Army's marching columns were filled with the avenues in the rear, and behind the Red Army front, a large number of artillery firing positions had also been set up, and the number was too large to calculate! The whole of Latvia seemed to be surrounded by millions of Soviet Red Army troops overnight!

It turned out that in the last days of the Belarusian campaign, a large number of Soviet Red Army began to secretly withdraw from the battlefield, boarding in large numbers on the military columns bound for Velikiye Luki, Estonia or Vitebsk...... At the same time, all the means of transport and roads in Belarus were also controlled by the Soviet military, and they managed to transport more than 1.5 million troops and more than 10,000 artillery pieces from Belarus to the designated locations around Latvia in just a few days. If you count the strength of the original Leningrad Front and the Belarusian Front, by November 12, the Soviets had concentrated 56 infantry corps, 10 cavalry corps, and 4 tank corps in northern Belarus, the Veliya Luki region, Estonia and other places! And more than 13,000 artillery pieces of various types have already secretly entered the front-line positions! This power is enough for them to attack at the scheduled time on November 14th! Moreover, due to the peculiar system of the Soviet Union and the rain and snow weather for several days, this large-scale military movement of the Soviet Red Army basically remained secretive. Although the military leaders of China and Germany had discovered some clues, they had not been confirmed by intelligence, and it was only two days before the launch of the Soviet offensive that the conclusive facts were put in front of the Chinese, German, Russian, and other armies.

Once again, the initiative on the battlefield seems to be in the hands of Tukhachevsky, who can now attack 2.5 million with 3.5 million. Moreover, in the direction of his main assault, Latvia, the Soviet army could use 2.5 million people to strike at 1.15 million people in China, Germany, Russia and Italy in a short period of time!

When the Soviets finally swaggered out their full intentions to attack, from their lineup. The military leaders of China and Germany were already able to predict that the battle in Latvia would be a decisive one! If the Soviets lose in this campaign. They will completely lose the power to attack. All that awaits them is destruction! If Army Group North, composed of the German, Chinese, and Russian forces, is defeated or even annihilated, then the situation of the Soviet Union on the Western Front will be completely reversed! And it's their last chance.

……

November 13, 1937, 8 p.m. It was only 4 hours before the launch of the Soviet Red Army's general offensive.

Above the positions of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, it is now a busy scene. Throughout the day today, it was reported from the alert positions that the Soviet Red Army was entering the offensive positions one by one, and there was a swaggering attack with artillery towed by horses. Now the Soviet Red Army is no longer hiding their true intentions, but racing against time to finally deploy the troops in place! The Valmiera area, which the Chinese Expeditionary Force was responsible for defending, was clearly the main direction of the breakthrough of the Soviet troops! There are terrifying numbers of them! The firepower will also be overwhelmingly strong! Considering the offensive mode of sea of fire + sea of people used by the Soviet army in the battle against the Polish army, Wei Lihuang and Du Yuming realized that they had to adjust the original deployment and adopt a flexible defensive mode. Quickly retreat the front-line forces to the reserve positions to avoid being massively wounded by the powerful artillery clusters of the Soviet army.

Soviet artillery had already begun harassing firing and test firing by this time. On the one hand, it interferes with the adjustment of the deployment of the enemy on the opposite side, and on the other hand, it corrects the data for future large-scale artillery strikes. At the same time, an attempt was made to lure the Chinese artillery to return fire. Measure their position and annihilate them with long-range artillery. Albeit only tentative shelling. But the huge lineup of Soviet artillery still made the warm-up before the big war so earth-shattering!

On the original front-line position, columns of smoke and flames suddenly rose, and the Soviet army's field artillery, howitzers, large-caliber mortars, and B-4 heavy howitzers, which are known as Stalin's hanging, began to spit out shells. In the front-line field trenches of the squadron, the front and rear exploded, leaving the sky full of dust and smoke. And at this moment inside those trenches, the officers are directing the troops to retreat down the communication trenches. Machine guns, mortars, infantry guns and anti-tank guns, which had already been erected, were dragged down and moved towards the rear. But it's not like no one can pull it down. Every 200 meters or so in the trenches, there was an observer holding a telephone. They will stay here to keep track of the movements of the Soviet infantry, and they will also be the first warriors to suffer casualties.

At this time, the snow was still falling, and it was heavier and more urgent than it had been in the past few days. The cold wind was like a knife, blowing on the face in bursts, like a knife cutting. Such weather was not good for the Soviet army attacking in the snow, but it also made it impossible for the powerful Luftwaffe to dispatch! According to the weather forecast, heavy snow will fall until at least November 18th, followed by perhaps 1 or 2 cloudy days, followed by a heavy snowfall for a few days, until the white covers the whole of Eastern Europe!

"Has the 18th Army been withdrawn? How did Huang Wei do it? Grinding, thinking you have a lot of time? Tell him that within half an hour, the front-line units of the 18th Army must be withdrawn to reserve positions! And the reserve positions must be immediately reinforced! ”

"What about those heavy anti-aircraft artillery regiments of the Germans? Didn't shift positions? Send them to Gui Shuzhen (Gui Yongqing) for unified command, the Soviets' planes can't come, put 8. ”

"Have you been in contact with Army Group North's Command? When will the reinforcements come up? What the? It was Rommel's 7th Panzer Division that had come to reinforce them, they were getting on the train in East Prussia, when would they arrive! ”

Wei Lihuang sat in the headquarters of Valmiera City, his face was as heavy as water, holding a calm posture, and he looked like a confident general. In his mind, he was trying to grasp the full distribution of the forces of the two Chinese infantry corps and the one Russian infantry corps under his command. Chief of Staff Du Yuming, on the other hand, kept in touch with the troops in front at any time, urging them to quickly complete the action of moving their positions so as not to be covered by the sudden Soviet artillery fire. Time passed like this, minute by minute, and the moment when ten thousand cannons roared was coming...... (To be continued)