775 Sunset II Summer Offensive of the Soviet Empire

In the last days of April 1938, on the plains of the Novgorod region, where the White Army and the Red Army were opposed, the muddy ground had gradually hardened and the temperature had risen to a comfortable level due to the dry weather for several days. The officers and men of the two armies also felt a little more breathless, and the inconveniences caused to the Red Army by the melting snow, such as the muddy roads, the difficulty of air and tanks, and the difficulty of moving cars and wagons loaded with logistics and troops, were also coming to an end......

One day in early May, when the first rays of the morning had not yet pierced the darkness and brought light to the land, a flash of light suddenly swept over the front of the Soviet Red Army that turned the night almost into day. Immediately afterwards, a huge roar that could hardly be described in words sounded in the ears of the red and white officers and soldiers who were facing each other! The shelling of the Soviet Red Army began! And as many as 10,000 heavy howitzers, cannons, field guns and mountain artillery roared at the same time on a front of less than 200 kilometers! Countless shells trailed through the dark night sky with a long red tail flame, and just a few seconds later, it turned into a column of fire and smoke above the positions of the White Russian troops, and the roaring shock wave swept across the entire Russian front line with deadly metal fragments, the earth trembled, and the sun and moon changed color!

Even the power of the Red Army's artillery bombardment could be felt in the Russian General Headquarters in the old city of Rusa, ten kilometers away from the Russian defense line! Tukhachevsky felt the ground tremble beneath his feet, everything in the room shook slightly, and puffs of dust fell from the ceiling. What surprised him in particular was the faint but vague roar that seemed to come from the bottom of his heart. Tukhachevsky, who once served as the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, was well aware that it was the prelude to a large-scale offensive of the Soviet Red Army.

At this time, all the phones in the headquarters began to ring non-stop, and the staff officers either yelled at the phones or shuttled back and forth in the headquarters, conveying the latest defeat on the front. On the giant map table in the middle of the war room of the headquarters, the staff officers are placing symbols symbolizing the intensity of the shelling to various parts of the entire Russian defense line. And Tukhachevsky stared intently at this map, trying to find the main direction of the breakthrough of the Soviet troops from above!

The tactics of the Soviet army were no secret to Tukhachevsky, in fact, the tactics of a large-depth assault were proposed by himself! And Zhukov, who commanded these Soviet troops on the opposite side, was an old subordinate he knew very well. Of course, Zhukov knew him very well.

There is nothing new in the tactics of a large-depth assault, it is nothing more than concentrating artillery, concentrating troops, concentrating tanks, concentrating everything that can be used to break through the enemy's defenses, and then tearing a gap in the weak link of the enemy's defense, and then throwing tanks, cavalry, motorized infantry, and other units that can advance quickly into it to sweep the opponent's rear!

In order to counter the Soviet army's large-depth assault, the White Russian troops on the front line began to build a strong defensive line from the beginning of 1938, and by May 1938, this line was still being built, but it was almost completed. The depth of the entire defense line is 4-8 kilometers. A large number of anti-tank and anti-infantry mines were planted on all roads leading to Petersburg, in addition to a large number of anti-tank trenches of innumerable length, which were generally several kilometers or even tens of kilometers long, with a depth of 3-4 meters and a width of 10 meters. Behind these anti-tank trenches were large trench defenses and fortified areas. The main support points in these fortified areas were also equipped with a large number of 37mm and 57mm anti-tank guns, 76.2mm or 75mm mountain guns, and numerous Maxim heavy machine guns. Behind the trench defenses, there were a large number of 105mm, 122mm, 150mm and 152mm howitzers to support the infantry defenses. In addition, at least 700,000 White Russian infantry were deployed on this impregnable defensive line.

However, Tukhachevsky knew that it was impossible to withstand the surprise attack of the Soviet army by relying on this line of defense and infantry alone! Defensive lines and infantry are just tools used to slow down the opponent's breakthrough. It was the counter-assault of the armored forces and reserves that really played a decisive role. Behind the entire line of Russian defense, there are also 3 armored divisions and 10 infantry corps in reserve. And now, Tukhachevsky is looking for the key point of breakthrough of the Soviet army on the map! In order to put the armored division in his hands into it at the first time, as long as the opponent's tank force is defeated, the victory of this battle will be basically laid.

At this time, the map was densely marked with markers representing the density of artillery fire, which clearly indicated that the focus of the Soviet breakthrough was on the Russian defense line northeast of Lake Ilmen. I have to admit that Zhukov chose a breakthrough point that was very beneficial to himself. If his tank cluster could advance to the shores of Lake Ilmen, the entire Russian defense line would be split in two, and it might soon collapse.

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At this moment, the commander of the Northwest Front of the Soviet Red Army, General Zhukov, was standing in a well-built shelter in the middle of the Soviet front, and watched the artillery battle outside with an artillery mirror from the observation port of the inner figure. The Whites were also quick to react and began firing back within minutes of the Red Army shelling, although their firepower was still slightly inferior to that of the Reds. Moreover, the opponent's artillery is scattered and deployed on the entire front, and he himself is to concentrate his firepower as much as possible to bombard the main breakthrough point! Therefore, on the front in front of him, the firepower of the Russian army was completely suppressed.

Zhukov chose the breakthrough point in the middle part of the two fronts, and on this breakthrough point of less than 20 kilometers, half of the artillery of the entire North-Western Front was concentrated! More than 5,000 guns of various calibers were secretly mobilized here, and until the moment before the roar was issued, I am afraid that my opponent would not know anything, right? The iron fist of the Bolsheviks was incomparable to that of the soft-hearted Empress Anastasia.

After watching for about 10 minutes, Zhukov felt a little bored, and the positions of the White Army on the opposite side had long been overwhelmed by columns of smoke and fireballs. Except for a flash of light, there was nothing to be seen. He straightened up and said to Rokossovsky beside him: "After the shelling is over, the troops charge and tear through the line of defense of the white bandits!" ”

After an hour-long shelling, the first wave of the Red Army's mass offensive began! Dozens of red flares rose into the sky from behind the Red Army lines, almost lighting up the night sky before dawn. Under this night sky, countless Red officers and soldiers in khaki uniforms jumped into the trenches, and under the encouragement of the political commissars and internal affairs personnel behind them, they raised their bayonet rifles and formed a dense skirmish line, and rushed towards the opposite line of white troops under the cover of the barrage fired by their own artillery groups.

It was an assault that involved twelve infantry regiments, and almost 30,000 Red officers and men rushed forward with shouts from the breakthrough area less than 10 kilometers. When they poured into the anti-tank trench, which was 3 meters deep and 10 meters wide, the remaining firing points of the White Army began to roar! Dozens of heavy machine guns spewed tongues of fire out of the forts behind the anti-tank trenches. The crisp chirp of the Nagant rifle and the Mauser 98 rifle hit the Red Army infantry crowded in the trench in rows and rows! Countless people used all their strength, hands and feet to climb up, trying to cross the "cliff" more than 3 meters high, and rushed to the middle of the White Army trench area, but the intensive crossfire turned this 10-meter trench into a moat! Soon, however, a gentle slope made of corpses appeared on one side of the anti-tank trench......

Seeing that the time was ripe, the commander of the 10th Army of the Red Army, who was in charge of the first line command, Rokossovsky, decisively ordered the second wave of charge, and 30,000 officers and men of the 12 infantry regiments, under the supervision of the political commissar and internal affairs personnel, rushed forward on the corpses of their comrades, and at the same time, an overwhelming rain of bullets fell on the rear and flanks of the positions of the White Army, blocking the path for reinforcements of the White Army reserves. With the Red Army's powerful artillery suppression and overwhelming superiority of the crowd offensive, the Red Army finally got its wish and captured the first line of defense of the White Army one hour after the offensive was launched!

When the news of the successful breakthrough of the Red Army reached the ears of Zhukov, who had just returned to the command post of the Front, a sneer leaked from the corner of the mouth of the Red God of War, and then he quickly ordered: "Give Konev an order to let his 1st Assault Group go up first, and then let Vasilevsky's 2nd Assault Group follow up, break through the opponent's defensive line and give me a straight cut into Lake Ilmen and cut off the White Army from the middle!" Saying this, he smiled confidently: "Tukhachevsky, I want to see if your armored division is powerful, or my tank division is powerful!" ”

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The battle, known as the Battle of Lake Ilmen, began at 4 p.m. in Wuhan, China. At this moment, Luo Yaoguo was attending an important armaments meeting in the General Staff building. Since the war against the Soviet Union had come to an end, and the fate of the Soviet Union had long been sealed. Therefore, there is no need for China's land military strength to be further expanded, and even a part of the troops must be gradually demobilized to reduce the pressure on military spending. At the same time, however, the large-scale construction of the Navy is on the agenda, after all, the next stage of the operation will be carried out on the sea between the islands of the South Seas.

The meeting took place in a large separate office, or rather a showroom of models and drawings of naval ships. Drawings and large-scale models of various types of warships owned by the Wehrmacht Navy are displayed here, but the focus of today's meeting is not on these ships that have already been equipped with troops, but on a new type of aircraft carrier -- the Taiwan-class aircraft carrier, which has just been jointly developed by the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and the Naval Ship Design Bureau.

"Auxiliary marshal, generals!" Yang Junsheng, general manager of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, excitedly pointed to the model of the aircraft carrier and said:

"This is the Taiwan-class aircraft carrier, which is a new generation of aircraft carrier jointly developed by our China Shipbuilding Corporation and the Naval Design Bureau for four years, and it is also an upgraded version of the Zhongshan-class aircraft carrier in service. Aircraft carriers of this class have a standard displacement of 27,500 tons, and a full load displacement of up to 35,000 tons. The length of the ship (overall length) is 266 meters, and the flight deck is 263 meters long; The width of the ship is 28.5 meters, the width of the aircraft deck is 29.5 meters, and the average draft is 7 meters. The hangar is 174.5 meters long, 21 meters wide and 5.4 meters high.

The ship's propulsion units are 8 Wagner-type high-pressure heavy oil boilers, 4 Blom. The FUCHS steam turbine engine has a main engine output of 150,000 hp, 4-shaft propulsion, and a maximum speed of 32.7 knots. The fuel load is 6,300 tons, and the cruising range is 15,000 nautical miles 15 knots.

The Taiwanese-class waterline armor belt is 63 mm - 101 mm thick, the turret armor is 127 mm thick, the turret base armor is 28 mm thick, the flight deck armor is 38 mm thick, the hangar deck armor is 76 mm thick, and the main deck armor is 38 mm thick. It was armed with 12 twin 88mm anti-aircraft guns, 10 quadruple 40mm 'Bofors' anti-aircraft guns, and 46 20mm 'Erlikon' anti-aircraft guns.

According to the design, this class of aircraft carriers will be able to carry a fighter group with 36 BF-109 carrier-based types, a dive bomber group with 34 A-4C Thunderhawk dive bombers, a torpedo squadron with 20 A-4D Thunderhawk torpedo planes, and a reconnaissance squadron with 10 A-4E reconnaissance bombers, a total of 100 aircraft, in addition to 12 reserve aircraft. ”

Speaking of this, Yang Junsheng triumphantly glanced at the senior leaders of the National Defense Force in the office, and said with a smile: "Now in the 30,000-ton dock of our CSSC's Guangdong Longxue Shipyard, there is already one Taiwan-class aircraft carrier that has completed the hull manufacturing and is being outfitted - Taiwan!" This was an order secretly placed by the Ministry of Armaments back in early 1936. The aircraft carrier was to be completed and enter the sea trial stage by the end of June 1938 at the earliest. And now almost all the 30,000-ton slipways of our China Shipbuilding Corporation and China Zoomlion Shipbuilding Company are idle, and if the order of the Wehrmacht is issued, our two companies can build 10 Taiwan-class ships at the same time, and they will be guaranteed to be completed by 1941! To be honest, for China's shipbuilding industry, which has built 40,000-ton battleships, 20,000-ton aircraft carriers and 15,000-ton armored ships, this 27,500-ton aircraft carrier is not very difficult. ”

After listening to Yang Junsheng's introduction and assurance, the generals in the conference room all smiled, their navy has really tightened their belts and lived a life over the years, and since the completion of the four Zhenyuan-class battleships, they have hardly added any big ships.

"If 6 Taiwan-class ships are started at the same time, what is the average cost of one?" Luo Yaoguo's expression was faint, and he looked like he had already known it in his heart.

"If 6 ships are started at the same time, the average cost will not exceed 40 million legal dollars, of course, this figure does not include aircraft." Yang Junsheng replied.

Forty million times six is 240 million fiat currency! This figure would have been unthinkable before the two five-year plans, but it is not impossible to come up with now. However, aircraft carriers cannot attack alone, they must be protected by a large number of warships. According to the proposal submitted by the Nanyang Fleet, an aircraft carrier formation should be equipped with at least one "Polish Legion-class" armored ship, two to three "Canton"-class light cruisers, six to eight destroyers of the 1936 class, one high-speed transport ship, and one high-speed tanker...... In this way, it is a considerable expense to equip a fleet of seven aircraft carriers. However, in order to dominate the war in the South Seas, the money that should be spent still has to be spent!

"Well, then start construction of six Taiwan-class ships at the same time, and the names of the ships will be Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Shandong, Henan, and Sichuan. With the addition of Taiwan and the Zhongshan-class Zhongshan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Zhejiang, we will have 12 aircraft carriers in 1941! Luo Yaoguo stared at the model of the Taiwan for a while, and said: "At the same time, the construction of six 15,000-ton 'Polish Legion'-class armored ships will be started to escort the aircraft carrier formation, and air defense cruisers and destroyers will also follow up at the same time, and the next war will be the artillery shells fired by the navy!" Speaking of this, he turned his head to look at Zhao Zheng, commander of the Nanyang Fleet, and Chen Si, the minister of the navy, "Do the admiralty and the Nanyang fleet have any ideas for the next stage of operations?" ”

"Assistant." Zhao Zheng, commander of the Nanyang Fleet, took a step forward and said: "Since the four Zhenyuan-class battleships have all been transferred to Europe, the current combat power available to the Nanyang Fleet is aircraft carriers and submarine forces, and now the Nanyang Fleet has 5 Zhongshan-class and 400 carrier-based aircraft, all of which are the latest BF-109 and A-4 series, which are significantly ahead of the carrier-based aircraft equipped by the Japanese Navy." The South Ocean Fleet now has 120 submarines, most of which are Type 2D submarines, and the main role of these submarines is to break diplomatic relations, but if we start a war with Japan, we can use them to block the external communications of the Japanese archipelago. So now if the Japanese Navy dares to provoke, it is completely certain that it will be defeated with the strength of the South Sea Fleet, and the Eastern Fleet of the British Navy is no longer a problem! Therefore, we, the South Sea Fleet, propose to ignore the threats of Britain and Japan and start a war on Siam as soon as possible! Lay our first nail in the South Seas. ”

"What about the escort?" Luo Yaoguo thought for a moment and asked again. He clearly remembered that in history, the combined fleet of small Japan was tossed by American submarines enough. At present, the Nanyang Fleet can dominate the South China Sea by relying on 400 carrier-based aircraft that are obviously ahead of technology, but their escort capabilities are not much stronger than those of Japan in history, right?

……