Chapter 165: Counterattacking the Wind and Thunder (Part II)

"A reconnaissance detachment of the 11th Mechanized Corps, before dark, was ordered to infiltrate the northeast to reconnoitre, and half an hour ago, it was discovered that the Soviet mechanized troops were on the march. The Soviets were so careful that they didn't even turn on their headlights. The reconnaissance detachment reported that there were at least two hundred T26s, as well as quite a few wheeled armored vehicles. Well, thirty kilometers from Zhangurov. ”

The intelligence chief's hand pointed at the map, but Liu Mingzhao's brows furrowed even more. Zhang Zhizhong also said thoughtfully on the side: "Something is wrong, it's too little, this scale is at most a division." Lukin has at least four divisions of mechanized troops in his hands, and where did the three more go? ”

"The terrain of East Kazakhstan makes it easy to hide troops, and Lukin plays the last card in his hand, and there are not many routes to choose from. That is, now that his intentions have been exposed, and a mechanized army is rushing towards Changurov along the road, then there must be another army moving south from Aksu, and all they can do is take the road, otherwise the march of the mechanized troops will be a big problem. And the terrain near Aksu really made it easy to hide his mechanized troops, and even infantry. Inform Li Delin to immediately increase the search in the direction of Aksu, notify the Air Force, send bombers, and first peel off the skin of the Soviet mechanized troops that are advancing towards Changurov. Liu Mingzhao chose a safe method, and at this time, the entire periphery of Baldikul was a pot of porridge, and the Soviet army was interspersed and divided, and the trend of eliminating them one by one had come out.

"Do you want General Lin's mountain army to reinforce it, the 1st Mountain Division is relatively close to Changurov, only thirty kilometers."

"It's okay, let the 1st Mountain Division abandon the encircled Soviet army, quickly rush to the aid of Zhangurov, let Li Delin shrink his troops, and organize the defensive line. Let the other troops speed up the pace of the offensive, and the 8th and 9th Mechanized Corps immediately moved closer to Chhangurov. Inform the Air Force that as soon as it discovers the movement of the mechanized units of the Soviet Army, it will bomb me immediately. Without air supremacy, I'll see how his mechanized troops fight back. ”

"Two chiefs, I have a Jianyì." A staff officer raised his hand, and Liu Mingzhao glanced at him and smiled: "You say." ”

"Intelligence realistically, Lukin should have at least ten infantry divisions in reserve, and if these forces are put into a counterattack, the threat will be quite huge. The infantry is not a mechanized unit, and the requirements for the road are not so high. Although the Soviet anti-tank guns did not pose much threat to our tanks, the Soviet army was equipped with a large number of 122 howitzers, and once they fired intensively, it would be a disaster for the soldiers in the tank. ”

"What's your name? What school did you graduate from? Liu Mingzhao asked this staff officer, and the staff officer said: "Sir, my name is Su Yi, a lieutenant colonel staff officer of the Front Army Headquarters, and a graduate of the senior staff department of Wuhu Army University. Liu Mingzhao said: "It is a waste of talent for you to stay in the staff office, you can at least command one army or even more troops." If you go to Dihua, the newly formed 180th Division lacks a division commander. ”

Liu Mingzhao's judgment was completely correct, and when Lu Jin revealed his intention to fight back, everything became logical. Half an hour later, a reconnaissance team found the main force of the Soviet army near Aksu, led by a mechanized division. In fact, there was no time to think about it at this time, the B-17 and DC-3 of the Air Force were all pulled out, and the 1st and 2nd Airborne Divisions, which were ready to take off at 12 o'clock, were asked to get off the plane, and they heard that they were going to bomb the mechanized units of the Soviet Army, and they helped transport the bombs.

Lukin's counterattack was launched at three o'clock in the morning, which was enough time to prepare for air defense before daylight. But Lukin still missed the Wehrmacht's air force, and it didn't matter whether it was dangerous or not, all the bombers in the entire Central Asian theater were dispatched, a total of 760 B-17s and DC-3s.

The first to fly over Zhangurov was a formation of fifty B-17s, and immediately after the ground reconnaissance detachment received an order from the air, it fired incendiary bombs from 60 mortars. This move was very dangerous, but the reconnaissance team did not hesitate at all, and resolutely opened fire at a distance of only 2,000 meters from the road.

The Soviets soon discovered this squad, a squad of only six people who was not afraid of a strong enemy in front of them, and the only mortar methodically fired six incendiary bombs, fired three red flares with a flare gun, and then dropped everything that could be dropped, and ran away. Three two-wheeled motorcycles fled crookedly under the guns of the Soviet army, and in the end only one person escaped from the detachment. After the war, Li Zongren reported the list of soldiers killed in this detachment to the headquarters of the Front Army, asking for merit. After Liu Mingzhao reported to President Fangda of Dihua, the five Gold Star Medal winners, who symbolize the highest honor, were born.

The bombers in the air noticed the movement on the ground, and the bombs rained down. The marching brigade, which stretched along the entire road, was instantly turned into a sea of fire by dense bombs. The first thing to drop down was napalm, and the light of a hundred napalm made the march of the entire Soviet army invisible. After fifty bombers dropped three hundred tons of bombs, this Soviet mechanized division was already incapacitated. This was just the beginning, because the next 100 Eagle Threes began to dive down at the risk of falling to the ground, dropping 100 200-kilogram bombs.

Something even worse happened in the Aksu direction, where the Soviet army was the main force, with three mechanized divisions taking the lead and six infantry divisions following at the same time. The signal flares rising from the top of the hill pointed out the direction of the 700 bombers flying in the air, but the reconnaissance team still risked their lives to fire incendiary bombs on the road.

Then, hell on earth was born, and for the first time, the Chinese Air Force staged the so-called carpet bombing. The Soviet troops, who did not have the slightest air defense, could only scatter and dodge, and staying on the road was now a dead end, but there were too many people and cars on this road, and many tank men drove their tanks to the side of the road without thinking about it, hoping to avoid the bombing. Unfortunately, similar efforts failed, because this time the bombing made little sense, hundreds of napalm opened the way, and night turned into day. The tenacious Soviet troops did their best, but this time the bombing was too fierce, and the bombing target was still the Soviet troops that had already completed their assembly.

Before Lukin's counterattack began, he was in trouble. Just an hour before the counterattack began, bombers from the Chinese Air Force swarmed and dropped 1,500 tons of high-explosive bombs on the marching mechanized troops.

Lukin was not at the scene, so he naturally did not see the tragic situation at that time, and was bombed by the Wehrmacht as a carpet bombardment, destroying more than half of the strength of the two mechanized armies, the main force of Lukin's counterattack. That's all it takes, the point is that the road to the march was bombed with pits, and the entire marching speed was completely destroyed.

After discovering that the intention to fight back was discovered, Lu Jin held the phone and was silent for a long time, and a trace of blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth before he had time to wipe it. Eventually, Lukin ordered, "Retreat!" But this order was over, and at five o'clock in the morning, the DC-3, which had completed the bombing mission, carried the officers and men of the 1st and 2nd Airborne Divisions, dragged gliders, and flew in the distant northeast direction in the morning. Covering them were 100 Mustang fighters.

At 6:30 a.m., the 1st Airborne Division found a predetermined landing site in an open field behind Lepser, white umbrella flowers fluttered in the air, and after the glider fell off, it flew towards the predetermined target. At seven o'clock sharp, the 2nd Airborne Division was airborne in Ucharal.

It is undoubtedly a very dangerous thing to descend from the sky, but Liu Mingzhao still decided so, because all the troops in Lu Jin's hands were exposed, even if the airborne division would have losses, it would be worth it for the entire campaign.

The battle on the outskirts of Baldikurgan continued after dawn, most of the Soviet troops were stubbornly resisting, and the three mechanized corps under Liu Mingzhao's command had continued to hit the road, chasing down the retreating Soviet troops. Before the second night after the counterattack was launched, the first Soviet army to surrender in formation appeared, an infantry division, and after two days and one night of fierce fighting, this army, which had run out of ammunition and food, with less than 3,000 men left, laid down their arms and surrendered to Sun Liren's unit, who was encircling them.

During the day, the bombers and fighters of the Air Force were rampant over the entire East Kazakhstan, and as long as they found valuable military targets, they were beaten up. The excellent endurance of the Mustang fighter has completely turned the entire sky of East Kazakhstan into China's airspace. Railways, bridges, highways, towns, the three mechanized armies are like no one.

On the fourth day of the counterattack, the fighting on the outskirts of Bardikurgan was completely stopped, the last Soviet stronghold was pulled out, and 333 soldiers under the command of a Soviet captain were killed en masse. It is worth mentioning that the last Maxim machine gun was taken out by a bazooka.

Dihua, the battle reports in front kept coming, and Fang Jianxiong was in a good mood. However, this was not an easy time, because the day after the start of Central Asia, the Far East was also launched. The Far Eastern Front gathered a total of six mechanized corps and sixty infantry divisions, and under the cover of 1,500 aircraft, rushed to the territory of the Soviet Union in three directions.

After the full-scale outbreak of the Sino-Soviet war, the Chinese side began its most powerful counterattack. The Soviets did not have much of a garrison on the border, and this was related to logistical pressure. The two-way army, which had set out from Kobdo and Ulan Gumu, had easily crossed the border and advanced rapidly along the established route.

At the end of the first stage of the Battle of Baldikurgan, the left assault group easily captured Biske. Assault the cluster in the middle and advance to the outskirts of Sajanogelks. Assault the cluster on the right flank, captured Kansk.

At this time, Fang Jianxiong received a battle report from Liu Mingzhao, and the first batch of battle results were counted. In the counterattack on the periphery of Baldikurgan, more than 380,000 Soviet troops were annihilated, more than 600 artillery pieces and more than 300 tanks were captured, and more than 280,000 Soviet prisoners were captured. The second phase of the campaign continues, but a complete victory is a foregone conclusion.