Chapter 52: Blyukher's Blockade

Retreat is a big problem in warfare, because when retreating, don't expect much morale to turn back. Stalin did not want to withdraw, but he had no way. In the case of the loss of air supremacy of hundreds of thousands of troops, in the harsh environment of this ghost place in Siberia, the supplies of the Soviet army were exhausted, and if they did not withdraw, the whole army would be annihilated.

On the muddy roads, the army that barely managed to maintain its formation marched with difficulty, one foot deep and one foot shallow, which is a true portrayal of the Siberian snowfall period. Don't count on the railway, it has long been bombed by Chinese planes, and it is estimated that a bridge or a section of more than 100 meters will be blown up in 50 kilometers. The road was no better, and the road was still fairly solid, but there were potholes because of the bombing. Although the sappers worked hard to fill in many of these pits, as the snow season approached, the bombed roads were trampled by hundreds of thousands of troops, and people often fell into half-covered mud pits.

Bang bang bang! Three gunshots rang out, and Stalin, who was on horseback, glanced at the side of the road, and three seriously wounded men shot at the door of their heads with pistols, spraying red and white debris in their brains. Stalin continued on the road with a blank face, and there was a position ahead, a Soviet unit was frantically building fortifications, an infantry division that had been selected to stay behind. The Chinese have a lot of tanks and cavalry, and this is the news sent back by the troops who are still left behind.

"Comrade Stalin, I built yì to blow up the railroad to avoid being used by the enemy. Rails can also be used as a material for fortifications. "A general who stood in the way and offered to build yì, his name was Blyukhel, the commander of the 51st Infantry Division of the Far Eastern Army, and offered to stay behind and buy time for the retreat of the army.

This was a resolute Red Army general. Although now it looks like the Red Army was defeated and demoralized. But there was no fear in him, but he could feel the tenacious fighting spirit burning.

"Comrade Blyukhel, do what you want, and if you need anything else, just ask." Stalin was not stingy at this time, and there was not much left for him. The main firepower of hundreds of 122 howitzers remained in the blocking positions on the banks of the Ob River, all the shells had long been exhausted, and the artillerymen picked up their rifles and went to fight. And there are not many bullets.

"Comrade Stalin, I need enough ammunition, I still have 24 76-mm mountain guns, but only one base number of shells. The terrain here is good, if there is enough ammunition. I think I can keep it for three days. Blyukhel, with his straight figure like a mountain, stood at this junction. Stalin keenly noticed that the junction was flanked by high ground, and the position of the blocking position was very favorable, and there were woods at the far end to facilitate ambushes.

"You can set up a temporary supply point on the side of the road and let the retreating comrades leave behind the ammunition they are carrying. The 52nd Infantry Division was also placed under your command. I hope you can stay here for a week. Stalin gave the order very decisively, and Blyukhel saluted: "I understand, Comrade Stalin. ”

Stalin seemed to hear the sound of artillery coming from the distance, but in fact he did not hear it. Just subconsciously glanced back in the direction of Novosibirsk. About fifty kilometers from here, the comrades of the four infantry divisions had been holding out for almost three days. The damn road is so terrible that the speed of the march cannot be raised at all, less than thirty kilometers a day.

A silky drizzle gently swept over the face. Stalin's face shook and he raised his eyes to the sky. A foggy field. It's raining!

"Comrade Blyukhel, our luck has come." Stalin's face was beaming, yes, the rain was good news. Rain means that enemy planes cannot be sorted, and rain means that enemy artillery is equally blocked by damned roads.

The railway bridge on the Ob River was being repaired, and Li Daxiong, who was standing by the bridge, looked dissatisfied and complained to Fang Keng, the commander of the engineering regiment: "What are you doing? It's been three days, and the railway bridge hasn't been repaired yet. ”

The railway bridge was blown up when the White Russian troops withdrew, and the bombing was very thorough, and only three of the ten piers on the river were still there, and the project was very difficult. Infantry could cross the river along erected pontoon bridges, but marching on the roads in this season was a nightmare for heavy artillery. Fortunately, the 75 mountain guns can be disassembled and carried on horses, and the 105 howitzers equipped by the infantry should not be counted on, all of them will be left behind, waiting for the railway bridge to be repaired, and then chase forward by railway.

After complaining about the railway bridge, Li Daxiong hurried forward. In this hellish place, bicycles are not easy to use, and you can only count on livestock and two legs. The sappers erected twenty pontoon bridges over the Ob River, and they did a very good job. The Far Eastern Army had two separate engineer brigades and engineer battalions of various infantry divisions fighting together, and since the retreat of the Soviet army, the hardest work was the engineer unit.

Li Daxiong only complained twice, at this time he was not qualified to scold the sappers.

Boom, boom, the 75 mountain guns kicked up a cloud of dirt on the position, leaving a crater. Blyukhel in the bunker appeared unusually calm, and on the fifth day of the retreat, the Chinese and White Russian cavalry caught up, leaving some corpses in front of the blocking position and retreating.

In just two hours, the Chinese shelling began. The rate of fire of the 75 mountain guns was fast, and the number was at least one artillery regiment. Taking advantage of the favorable terrain, Blyukhel set up a blocking position with six high ground as support points and a frontage width of about five kilometers. Due to the effective use of the woods, China had to carry out a strong attack. The Chinese, who have an absolute superiority in strength and firepower, cannot give up their superiority and enter the boundless woods to fight a bad battle.

Blyuhel was lucky, it was rainy for three days in a row, and the Chinese planes could not be seen at all. There were no planes, heavy artillery could not come up, and the pressure on the blocking positions was greatly reduced. After a day's fighting, the Chinese could not advance a single step. There was no relief on Blyukhel's face, because he knew very well that the Chinese would definitely use the railway to bring up the heavy artillery, and that the time would be the most difficult.

A major general walked into the bunker, saluted behind Blyukhel and said loudly: "Comrade Blyukhel, the commander of the armored brigade of the Far Eastern Army, Zhu Helai, is ordered to obey your command. ”

Blyukhel was quite surprised, knowing that the entire Far Eastern Army was an armored brigade, and the source of equipment was provided to the White Army from the Entente captured from the Northern Army. Although these tanks and armored vehicles are relatively backward, they are some treasures for the current Soviet army. When attacking Novosibirsk, Frunze was not willing to use it.

"What's going on?" Blyukhel asked, and Zhu Helai said loudly: "Because of the enemy's bombardment, the armored brigade has never had a chance to reach the front line, and is delayed at a nearby station. When Comrade Stalin found out, let us come over and reinforce the blocking troops. ”

"How's your doing?" Blyukhel did not have much joy, after all, the armored forces are still very valuable to the current Soviet army. It's not about equipment, it's about the preciousness of these personnel. Having studied the war in Europe, Blyukhel was well aware of the enormous role of armored forces on the battlefield. The Germans took advantage of the huge power of tanks to defeat the Russian army in the tsarist period, and often surrounded and annihilated hundreds of thousands or even millions.

"It's not very good, there's not much fuel, but there is plenty of ammunition, at least enough to fight for three days. The problem was that I saw that the march of the main force was too slow, and even if the heavy equipment was discarded, the speed of the march was still less than 40 kilometers a day. To Omsk, it will take at least a week. Will we be able to make it to that point? ”

"That's not something you should worry about, Comrade Zhu Helai. Your armored brigade is hidden in the woods on the right, waiting for my orders, ready to strike at any moment. ”

Beijing, Marshal's Palace. The hall in the front yard was still occupied by a group of staff officers, and a group of staff officers were busy inside. In the study in the backyard, Fang Jianxiong, Cai Yi, and Jiang Fangzhen gathered in the study to discuss the battle situation.

"Brother Songpa's body seems to be all right." Cai Ye's body has always been a thorn in Fang Jianxiong's heart, and after returning from Europe, Cai Ye fell ill. Then I have been recuperating, and luckily after more than half a year of treatment, my body has recovered very well. No, I couldn't stay at home anymore, so I came to Fang Jianxiong to study the battle situation.

"Fuguo, my body has been fine for a long time, and I can go to the military region at any time." Cai Ye knew very well in his heart that Fang Jianxiong was not afraid of him, but really cared about his body. If he had been a little jealous, he would not have been allowed to take charge of the Jinan Military Region, let alone be the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force. After a serious illness, Cai Ye's face finally had a bloody color, and although his body was still a little weak, he felt very good. I want to go back to the past career of Jin Ge Iron Horse.

"Fuguo, Songpo, Liu Mingzhao led his troops to catch up with the Soviet army's blocking troops, and fought tentatively for a day, the Soviet army was very tenacious, the heavy artillery troops could not go up, and the attack had no effect." Jiang Fangzhen pushed the door in, with a smile on his face.

"Okay, Baili, don't sell it, let's talk about it, what's the good news." Cai Ye knows Jiang Fangzhen very well, and this guy doesn't know how to fool people.

"There is good news, the railway is open, and at least five heavy artillery regiments can be transported tonight. The better news was that the weather was clear, and the rain stopped before dark. ”

"Baili, Songpa, it seems that in the future, a subject related to meteorology will be set up in the military academy. The Ministry of Education has to set up a separate meteorological university, and I didn't think that this weather had much to do with the war, but this time I realized the problem. Fang Jianxiong's words seem to be a bit off-topic, but they are not. The two of you here were deeply touched.

The three of them were talking, and after knocking on the door, Xue Yue came in, saluted and said loudly: "An urgent telegram from the Military Intelligence Bureau." Jiang Fangzhen took it, looked up and said: "The news from Moscow that Frunze went to the European battlefield and asked him to fight the Poles." ”

Fang Jianxiong sighed, deeply regretting that this guy was not killed by his own people, it is unscientific. It seems that the beard is still powerful, and the purge kills himself to be ruthless.