Chapter 178

Zhukov cleverly turned the conversation to equipment, which was tantamount to giving the beard a step down. It was not Comrade Joseph who made a mistake, but the dereliction of duty of the equipment research and development department, which led to the backwardness of the equipment of the Soviet army. Well, the term spiritual victory, let's put it again, you can say it in front of no one.

The hapless Pavlov was taken to Stalin's office, and Zhukov did not choose to sit down, but stood upright on the side. Joseph, who was sitting upright, had a black face as always, and the hand holding the pipe changed subtly with Pavlov's appearance.

"The main reason for the defeat in this battle was that the defeat of the East Kazakh Army Group under the command of Lukin was too fast, and the Kazakh Army Group, the process of flanking Bishkek on both sides was very smooth, we broke the city defense of Bishkek and engaged in fierce street battles with the enemy. ……。 Pavlov, who knew that the future was very bad, was thinking about how to shirk his responsibility at this time, because he was nervous, his face was pale, sweat broke out on his forehead, and he kept wiping his shiny forehead with a handkerchief.

"Comrade Pavlov, let me interrupt." Zhukov was impatient to listen, and looked at the bearded hand before raising his hand, and the pipe seemed to be shaking slightly, indicating that Comrade Joseph was also impatient.

"As far as I know, the General Staff once reminded the Central Asian Front when the situation in the war in East Kazakhstan changed, asking to take the initiative to retreat, avoid greater losses, and ensure the security of Tashkent. If I remember correctly, during my time in the Central Asian Front, I drew up a battle plan in accordance with the requirements of the General Staff Headquarters. Why was the plan revised beyond recognition in this Central Asian campaign? This plan. It was made on the basis of the results of several exercises, and the comrades of the General Staff of the Front Army made several deductions. It was unanimously decided that in order to win the Central Asian campaign, it was necessary to concentrate the use of forces to conquer Bishkek first and divide the forces of Chinese imperialism in Central Asia. Mechanized troops, in particular, which the plan emphasized, must be used intensively. I would like to know why Comrade Pavlov completely overthrew this battle plan? Dispersal of forces, especially of the few mechanized forces that were used? The plan also highlights the unsuitability of East Kazakhstan for the use of heavy troops. Because of its proximity to the Chinese border, the use of heavy forces in this direction allows Chinese imperialism to quickly assemble forces and carry out a large-scale counterattack. Zhukov looked at the problem from a military point of view, but from Joseph's point of view, it was a different angle. The defeat was not his fault. It was caused by the fact that the guy in front of him, who was still quibbling, made a mistake in command.

"The commander of Chinese imperialism is Liu Mingzhao, not Zhukov, who would have known that he would have thought of going with Zhukov?" This is a very classic line, the difference is that the subject is changed, and the original text is a German general.

Zhukov was speechless by this sentence, and took a step back. Thinking of Stalin, he saluted: "I ask to leave immediately for the Central Asian theater of operations, and at the same time ask the Military Council to pass a resolution on sending no less than twenty additional infantry divisions to Central Asia." Until winter comes, I will try to hold the front firmly in Kazakhstan, and in the process I will most likely be forced to abandon Tashkent. ”

Stalin still had a coffin face. In a calm and powerful tone, he said: "If possible, try to secure Tashkent." Not as a last resort. Don't give up. If Tashkent is abandoned, the western front must be secured on the Kyzylorda front, and the southern front must secure Samarkand. Only in this way can we ensure the stability of the front in the Siberian and Central Asian theaters. Regarding the Siberian theater of operations, what else did Comrade Zhukov build? ”

Speaking of the Siberian campaign, Zhukov said in a relatively relaxed tone: "Comrade Chuikov did a good job, he entered the responsibility of commander of a front. Now it seems that it will be impossible for Chinese imperialism to advance to Omsk before winter comes. If I were Comrade Chuikov, I would have hoped that Chinese imperialism would appear outside Omsk before winter came. However, according to my personal judgment, Chinese imperialism should not make such a mistake. Therefore, the future war situation should be mainly concentrated in the Central Asian theater. The range of the B-17 bombers equipped by the Chinese is 800 kilometers, and I think it is not difficult to imagine that once the Chinese imperialist troops advance to within 800 kilometers of Baku, it will be a great disaster for the Soviets. The Chinese will equip at least two thousand B-17 bombers in the next year. Therefore, it is necessary to keep Chinese imperialism in Kazakhstan in the end. ”

After going around in a circle, Zhukov returned to Central Asia, which shows that his understanding of this battle situation is quite profound. In fact, the reason is very simple, the scale of the squadron is so large, and what can be done at present is obvious.

The fate of the hard-mouthed Pavlov was already doomed, and Zhukov's low position was further consolidated. In the face of the national war, the beard is very clear. The situation in Central Asia has collapsed, and Chinese imperialism is not as vulnerable as it was before the war, and spiritual victory is not reliable. Reliable generals such as Zhukov, Chuikov, and Lukin, who strongly opposed the movement of troops in East Kazakhstan before the war in Central Asia, and reliable equipment.

Well, you can talk to the Germans about leasing the Black Sea Fleet, because of the Battle of Britain, Germany continued to warships, and exchanged dozens of ships of the Black Sea Fleet that could not be used for the time being for new fighters and tanks, and this deal was no longer a question of whether to do it or not, and it was time for the Soviet Union to beg Germany to do this deal.

Zhukov took his leave, Pavlov was suppressed, he had to bear all the charges of defeat alone, the trial and everything seemed redundant, and there was not so much spare time in extraordinary times.

As Zhukov had expected, the squadron advanced quickly. The Eighth Mechanized Army didn't care about the remnants of the Soviet army at all, and went to Taraz, as a former fortress, Taraz's current garrison was nothing more than a garrison brigade, and Pavlov transferred all the troops that could be drawn.

The tactics of the Chinese do not seem to have changed, with continuous bombardment by B-17 carpets and artillery fire by self-propelled guns of the mechanized corps. The infantry ensured that the engineers could quickly repair the railway (in fact, there was no need to repair it, Pavlov had built it before, and he didn't have time to destroy it.) Within a short week of the railway, the armored train opened, and four separate heavy artillery regiments of Caliber, escorted by five infantry divisions, were soon under the city of Taraz. The task of the 8th Mechanized Corps came to an end, and it turned its head to clean up the scattered remnants of the Soviet army.

Taraz's assault was not as difficult as expected, twelve 305 caliber howitzers and 4 410 caliber howitzers, after 24 hours of bombardment against the fortified fortress, the infantry began to charge, and the remaining Soviet troops did not withstand a day, and were drowned by the tide of squadrons.

At the same time, the squadron of the Andijan side under the command of Li Zongren, the 11th Mechanized Corps, under the cover of two Mustang fighter wings, rushed all the way along the road, followed by a cavalry corps and three infantry divisions formed by local nationalities, and then a little behind were ten B divisions urgently transported by train and DC-3, and in just one week, Kokand was taken. Li Zongren continued to run wildly to the southwest, and after talking for three days, he plunged headlong into Kuzhan.

Because the speed of the 11th Mechanized Army was too fast, the Soviet troops originally in the Fergana Valley had no time to retreat, and they were quickly dispersed and became the target of the next ten B divisions one by one. When Li Zongren appeared in Khujand, the Soviet army's defense line did not have a so-called formed defense line at all, and it was not ordinarily difficult for the two infantry divisions to block a mechanized army and a cavalry army that followed in Khujand.

Just when Li Zongren thought that Kuzhan could be easily taken, the attack of the 11th Mechanized Army encountered insurmountable difficulties. Before Zhukov officially took office, he ordered Lukin, who was still under investigation by the political department in Tashkent, to rush to Khujand. The first thing Lukin did when he arrived at Khujand was to get all the soldiers of the two infantry divisions to go out, and Raf captured the strong men, and the women did not let go, and used all the labor force he could find, and in three days he dug an anti-tank trench about five kilometers long, two meters deep, and five meters wide in front of the Khujand defense line.

Li Zongren could only stop, urging the infantry behind him to follow quickly, and at the same time ordering the sappers to hurry up and repair the Kokand airfield and repair the railway from Ferghana to Kokand.

Because of an anti-tank trench, Li Zongren took the initiative to flank 20 kilometers behind and waited for three days for reinforcements from the two infantry corps urgently drawn from the Fergana Valley. There is no way, the combat effectiveness of the three ethnic infantry divisions is really not reassuring, and we can only count on China's own infantry to take Khujand.

By the time Li Zongren had assembled his troops, Lukin's defensive line was basically formed, and he was reinforced by an infantry division from the direction of Tashkent. Before Zhukov officially took office, he gave the squadron a problem.

Liu Mingzhao, who has always paid close attention to Khuzhan, after learning about the progress of the war situation, took the telegram deciphered by the intelligence department, and couldn't help but say to himself: "No wonder the president has repeatedly reminded you to be careful of Zhukov. said that he was very powerful, and he really shot extraordinary! ”

The LZ Army Group under the command of Li Zongren, with more than 800 tanks, more than 1,000 artillery pieces, and 250 aircraft, took a whole week to break through the defense line of Khujand. Lukin did not choose to fight in the streets, but took the initiative to retreat to Almalek and build a defensive line again, ready to block the rapid advance of the ** team. During the retreat, Lukin ordered all bridges to be blown up, and the railroads to be destroyed as much as they could. In order to accomplish this task, Lukin did not hesitate to sacrifice an infantry division that was too late to withdraw. Although Lukin, who had withdrawn to Almalek, had less than an infantry division, Zhukov, who rushed to Tashkent, highly praised his achievements. In the small city of Khujand, it is a great credit to be able to hold off China's powerful mechanized army for a week.