Far East, Allied Command.

Bradley, the de facto supreme commander of the Far Allied Army, had a bad premonition since he got the appearance of the Chinese troops on the periphery of the defense line of the town of Berezovi.

"Could it be that the Chinese want to concentrate their forces to take the town of Beliaozovi and thus drive straight in?"

Although the impact of the Soviet defeat on him was great, it was far less than the bad impact of the total annihilation of the American army. He was very uneasy at the thought that the Chinese might desperately pursue and take the entire Far East with millions of troops in one fell swoop.

"Impossible, I still have two million troops in the Vanino area, and it seems that I need to ask myself to do something again."

Bradley's idea was to ask the Japanese army to put on an offensive momentum that echoed the Allied defensive line at the town of Berezovi.

But soon, news came that made Bradley breathe a sigh of relief.

"The squadron is concentrating its forces to attack the Japanese army, and part of the main force is pursuing the fleeing Soviet troops, and the squadron [***] on the periphery of the defense line of Berezovi town has been confirmed to be not the main force."

This was good news, and even for a moment, Bradley wanted to give up the army, and only needed to accept the Soviet army and escape. After all, it is not enough to rescue the Japanese army by relying only on hundreds of thousands of American troops.

"Let Yu himself organize a retreat, the millions of elites of the Chinese have no strength to stop in the Far East."

Bradley decided to immediately apply to the Allied top brass and the American political axe for evacuation from the Far East, where the situation had deteriorated to the point where it could no longer be sustained.

Of course, in order to evacuate in style, he still needs to do one thing, that is, to evacuate with as many Soviet troops as possible, just thinking that if he can withdraw to the United States with hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops, then even if the Far East is defeated, he will still be a war hero.

War, as long as it is not until the last moment, the success of defeat and victory can be defined by surname.

"The Eighth Air Force was ordered to speed up its support for the Berezovi battlefield, and the Ninth Air Force was ordered to reduce its support for the Vanino Army and increase reinforcements to the town of Berezovi. It is important to ensure that the defensive line is safe, and if it is breached, there will be irreparable losses. ”

Bradley couldn't even ignore himself, although judging from the entire map, he was in danger of being encircled, but with only more than 500,000 American troops and hundreds of thousands of Soviet remnants in his hands, he had no way to launch an attack on the millions of Chinese troops.

He understands very well that this is the main battlefield with China, a world power, not Africa, and a single regiment can sweep millions of square kilometers of Africa.

Once the U.S. political axe reached a final consensus with the Allied High Command, a decision was made, and he would execute it decisively. With Bradley's knowledge of Eisenhower and Washington's decision-makers, the evacuation is the most likely outcome.

Therefore, he has ordered the American troops along the route to be prepared, overhaul cars and fuel stockpiles, and strengthen some roads and bridges for a quick retreat when the time comes.

The newly formed Pacific Fleet also sent part of its main forces into the Sea of Okhotsk in order to respond to any situation.

However, only half an hour later, instead of waiting for orders from the Allied top brass and Washington, Bradley waited for very bad news.

"General, we have just received news that the Chinese have sent a large force to set up a blocking line less than five kilometers from the town of Farewell Liaozovi, and just 30 minutes ago, about 20,000 Soviet troops had been intercepted and captured by them."

"What!!"

Bradley was shocked, originally thought that the Chinese were just sending a small force to disturb the rout of the Soviet army, but did not expect that they were so bold as to eat all these hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops.

This was his greatest retreat, and only by retreating with hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops and making the most active remedies could Bradley win glory in the post-war summary, rather than being removed from office or even held accountable.

The Chinese were indeed too bold, and after replenishment, a total of four US divisions and two Soviet army groups with an army of nearly 200,000 men were deployed in the town of Belyozovy, and they actually dared to send the vanguard to block the retreating Soviet troops five kilometers away.

"Map!"

Bradley shouted loudly, and then the staff officers hurriedly simulated the latest situation on the sand table. Looking at it, the admiral's brows furrowed more and more.

Judging from the sand table, hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops are pouring towards the town of Berezovi, these Soviet troops are not only evacuating in a way of a great rout, but also losing their command and only knowing how to run with the large army, the command at all levels has completely collapsed, the sporadic communication industry cannot be smoothed, and most of the troops are continuing to advance towards the town of Belyozovi in accordance with the initial evacuation order.

Judging from the traces of the [***] team that have been discovered, they were marked red on the sand table, and the entire Soviet army was surrounded by two big red arrows and this blocking point five kilometers away from Liao Zuovi Town, and this encirclement is constantly shrinking.

The town of Berezovi is one of the last pockets.

"The situation has actually deteriorated to this point."

Bradley only felt that his hands and feet were a little cold, and he was a well-known veteran of the US military, and he also felt that it was too tricky. It is not uncommon for the Soviet army to be surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people, and the Germans often use a million or even two million troops to encircle hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops, and they often succeed.

But it was a campaign, a campaign that lasted a long time.

And this time?

In just one day, hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops fell into encirclement in one day, not to mention the small two million Yue troops surrounded by Chinese and the sea, these hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops were actually surrounded in the frenzied evacuation.

"Years of war have greatly weakened the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army in the Far East, the will to fight and the loss of equipment are extremely serious, the collapse of the command organ, the powerful offensive power of the [***] squadron, the super artillery group, the super air power, the superior number of elite [***] squadrons......"

Bradley thought in his heart one by one about the advantage of the Chinese, yes, the advantage of the Chinese is too strong.

"Maybe this time, it is the Chinese show of real military strength, in the past, Chinese was just fighting a battle with the strength of a war zone, but this time it is a concentrated ......"

Bradley knew that action had to be taken quickly.

"Send a telegram to the Allied High Command and Washington, and if we do not receive an answer in three hours, and the rescue of the Soviets in the town of Belyozovy fails, we will evacuate the Far East on our own...... In addition, the Soviet 33rd Army was ordered to go to the 5692 heights, drive away the squadron here, and ensure the withdrawal of large forces.

The telegram ordered the army that if they were unable to break through to us, it was recommended that they arrange their own evacuation by sea. ”

Bradley is very clear that although the Allied forces in the Far East add up to more than 2.5 million, they are too scattered, divided and surrounded, and most importantly, they are not facing 2.5 million [***] teams, according to the latest news, the total number of troops mobilized by the Chinese has reached 4 million, which is absolutely rare in the world. Even if most of the Chinese army has been proven to be used to encircle the Yue army, and is gradually narrowing the encirclement, that is, there will be a brutal battle between the encirclement and the counter-encirclement, the remaining Zhong [***] team is enough to pick up the remaining Allied forces.

So, soon, more than 50,000 troops of the 33rd Army of the Soviet Far Eastern Military District, commanded by Soviet General Shulupov, began to set off for the 5692 heights, which were only five kilometers away.

Their journey was not smooth, five kilometers was a straight line, and in order to escape the bombing of Chinese planes, they had to march through the mountains and jungles, which would have taken only 10 minutes to walk, but now they had to walk for at least 30 minutes.

The Chinese even have so many planes that you can see a few when you look up at the sky, and once you march on a large scale, it is likely to attract dozens at once.

So, when the Soviet army fell into a catastrophe, the army also began to realize the great crisis, the Soviet army was defeated, but seven or eight hundred thousand remnants, and once the army was defeated and surrounded and annihilated, it would be 2 million, there is no doubt that once the worst happens, it will be the most amazing war since World War II, and even in the history of human warfare, the data of encirclement and annihilation are the most amazing.

…… The 5692 heights, that is, the blocking line of the 166th Division and the 22nd Panzer Division of the [***] team.

"I didn't expect the battle to be like this."

Faced with the situation in front of them, Hou Xiaoshan and Zhang Jing both felt a little inexplicable.

Originally, the 50,000-strong Soviet army should have been a big threat, not to mention eating two Wehrmacht divisions, at least it could cause very big trouble.

For example, it only takes these tens of thousands of Soviet troops to support for a period of time, and perhaps a second 10,000-strong Soviet brigade or even more Soviet troops will arrive later, so as to develop into a wave-like Soviet rout to attack the defense line.

However, the situation was very unexpected.

The 50,000-strong Soviet troops were first bombed and attacked by a group of Wehrmacht attack planes and bombers, as well as passing fighters, and then the armored forces of the 22nd Division began to assault.

At this time, the officers and men of the two divisions, who were ready for a tough battle, were surprised to find that the Soviet troops did not resist much, especially when some Soviet troops surrendered, and this atmosphere of surrender began to spread explosively.

Soviets stayed there in large numbers, throwing their guns on the ground, and as soon as the Wehrmacht tanks arrived, they would raise their hands subconsciously as soon as the muzzle of the guns arrived, even if there was only one tank, pointing at a thousand Soviet troops.

From the crazy attack before dawn, and then dozens of kilometers of escape, I didn't expect to be driven in front by the [***] team, these Soviet troops no longer want to resist, if the officers in military coats are killed by the snipers of the [***] team, then the speed of surrender will be faster.

Hou Xiaoshan raised his binoculars, and the Soviet troops in the valley were quickly forming a long line, and under the direct point of the guns of the tanks, armored vehicles and Wehrmacht officers and soldiers, they walked very cooperatively towards the valley on the left side where the prisoners were being held.

Exhausted and dejected, Soviet officers and soldiers walked into this crude makeshift prisoner of war camp one by one.

"Send a telegram to the command and report that we have captured 70,000 Soviet troops here."

The two division commanders had no choice, and at this time, it was impossible to take the prisoners away, and it was not possible to kill them, so they could only be guarded on the spot.

Although there was no more large-scale rout of 50,000 troops, in less than an hour, the number of prisoners increased by more than 30,000, and nearly 100,000 prisoners of war had been held in the entire prisoner of war camp next to the 5692 heights.

"No, we must escort the prisoners of war in the direction of Boli, otherwise if something happens in the direction of Berezovi Town, these prisoners of war are likely to have problems."

The final result was that the 166th Division was divided into a battalion, and the 22nd Tank Division sent a tank battalion to escort 100,000 Soviet troops to the direction of Komsomolsk.

The prisoners of war were quickly escorted away, but still 30 minutes were wasted, and the 5692 Heights finally put aside a piece of their heart for the time being.

When more than 10,000 Soviet troops were captured in the makeshift prisoner of war camp, bad news finally came from the town of Berezovi.

At a distance of 1 km from the blocking line, a large force of Soviet troops was found, which was finally confirmed to be the size of a Soviet army group.

Just ten minutes later, a regiment of the 166th Division and a regiment of the 22nd Tank Division exchanged fire with the enemy.

There was no time to even build a position, relying on the hill, the 2nd Regiment of the 166th Division and the Soviet Army broke out into a fierce exchange of fire, while the 3rd Regiment of the 22nd Tank Division waited for an opportunity to launch an attack and dispersed several Soviet offensive formations.

Soon, the Soviet army found that the sneak attack was unsuccessful and changed to a strong attack, and the Soviet troops all over the mountains began to attack the middle [***] team on the mountain.

"Pay attention to strafing from the machine guns on the roof, and the tank guns are aimed at the places where the most Soviet soldiers are located."

The Soviet army, which lacked sufficient anti-tank weapons and did not have heavy artillery, could not help the Chinese tanks, but they could climb mountains, and the Chinese tanks could not climb too high after all.

At the height of the tension, the Soviets even climbed the hill less than 50 meters from the Wehrmacht soldiers.

"Flatten the anti-aircraft guns and shoot me!!"

At the critical moment, Zhang Jing, commander of the 22nd Tank Division, ordered the anti-aircraft guns on the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun combat vehicles of the tank division to be flattened, and concentrated firepower to cover the position of the 2nd Regiment of the 166th Division 50 meters in front of the front, so as to save this crisis.

Rumble! Rumble! …… Bang bang bang...... The exchange of fire was fierce, the disparity in strength was huge, and the Soviet rescue units suffered from the complete absence of artillery, let alone tanks and armored vehicles, and the lack of anti-tank weapons.

"You can't be pressed and beaten all the time. The 1st Regiment gave Lao Tzu a counter-charge from the flanks and cooperated with Division Commander Zhang's tank. ”

Ten minutes later, when the frontal Soviet rout did not arrive for the time being, the 166th Division concentrated two regiments, with the assistance of one and a half regiments of tank troops, successfully launched a counter-charge, drove the Soviet troops all the way back for more than a kilometer, and captured more than 1,500 prisoners.

"You hold on a little longer, there are still thirty minutes left, and the main force will complete the task of closing the large encirclement. There will soon be a bomber division and an attack pilot division to support you, and it is the air support personally transferred by Commander-in-Chief Huo. ”

The radio order from Fu Zuoyi, the commander of the 13th Group Army, finally relieved the two divisions, and hurried to hurry, the main force was about to complete the detour of the large encirclement, and Huo Weiguo tried his best to put together two air and aircraft divisions to support after receiving the rescue troops of a Soviet group army from Berezovi Town.

This is no longer the time when it is necessary to hold back the enemy at the cost of total annihilation or casualties, at least not for the Wehrmacht.

The offensive of the 33rd Army of the Soviet Army was slow to bear fruit, after all, it was facing an almost full elite Chinese field division and a tank division of the main tank army, and it was not easy to easily tear through the defensive line without heavy weapons and air support.

What made the Allies even more incomprehensible afterwards was that the rear of the 5692 Heights was in full swing, but on the frontal position less than 2 kilometers apart, the Soviet troops were still surrendering, as if the earth-shattering gunfire not only did not make the Soviet troops see hope, but made them think that this was the Chinese [***] team attacking the front fiercely, and the speed of surrender was actually faster.

Finally, after holding out for more than four hours, shortly after two air divisions frantically bombarded the routed troops and the Soviet 33rd Army, the main forces arrived.

Looking at Commander Fu Zuoyi, who climbed the ridge in an armored car, and the commanders of several other brother troops, Hou Xiaoshan and Zhang Jing knew that they had made the right bet and made a lot of money.

"Welcome Commander Fu and all the commanders, we have been waiting for you so hard, haha."

Hou Xiaoshan and Zhang Jing hurriedly greeted them.

It wasn't a tough one, at least it was much easier than expected.

First, the will of the Soviet army to fight collapsed, and the Soviet troops of the rescue force were unable to accomplish the expected goals of the Allied commanders.

Throwing in a 33 Army, 50,000 Soviet troops is already quite a lot.

It's not that Bradley doesn't want to invest more troops, but once he invests a little more, even if he takes the 5692 heights and solves this crisis, a bigger crisis will be staged, and even the entire defense line of Berezovi Town will collapse due to insufficient troops.

As for mobilizing U.S. troops to rescue them, risking the possibility of being surrounded, Bradley was unwilling. The risk is too great, and in the event of defeat, it will not only be a crisis for the operational forces, but also other American divisions of the defense line of the town of Berezovi may also be surrounded.

Holding on to the town of Belyozovi and rescuing more Soviet troops is the goal, but it is not the highest criterion. At the very least, if the entire Far East was brought to a desperate situation in order to rescue the Soviet army, Bradley's military career would probably end early.

"Well done, give the order to blow the trumpet of the general attack, you guys take a rest, and let the brother troops take down the 33rd Army of the Soviets." Fu Zuoyi said with a smile.

Hou Xiaoshan touched his head and said with a smile, "No, they press the formation, let's come." ”

After speaking, he ordered the trumpeter to blow the trumpet.

"Didi ......"

A loud bugle sounded.

"Brothers, all rush with Lao Tzu!!"

Hou Xiaoshan knew that this attack meant that hundreds of thousands of Soviet prisoners were all pocketed and could not escape, and the allies on the defense line of Beliao Zovi Town could only stare and be in a hurry.

If the 166th Division had moved quickly and had not been put to the rear to rest, it might have been able to catch up with the attack on the defense line of Berezovi Town or attack Yu himself.

As far as the top brass of the Wehrmacht is concerned, although the Soviet army has been completely surrounded, and the general offensive phase of the Iron Hoof Campaign is basically over, in addition to some military operations against the US army, the most important thing is the second phase of the campaign, which will solve the 2 million Japanese army, which will not be a one-day or two-day battle.

Soon, Admiral Bradley, who got the news, made a decisive decision after a brief discussion of the top orders from Washington and the senior officers.

"Command! The whole army retreated to the northeast of the Far East. ”

(To be continued)