"Retreat, retreat!"

"It's a BT tank!"

When Zong Lei beckoned everyone to retreat, a BT7 fast tank accelerated and rushed towards his comrades. Seeing this, he gritted his teeth and jumped up and ran a few steps, then rolled on the spot, and pulled the corner of his comrade's clothes with his left hand to drag him behind the low slope. No sooner had the two of them rolled down the hill than a barrage of machine-gun bullets swept down the hill and chirped, kicking up mud and sand.

"Let's go!" When the strafing was interrupted, Zong Lei threw an offensive grenade at the tank, and the two jumped up at the same time, and the H37 fully automatic rifle in their hands alternately covered and retreated.

There were not many people in the special squad, but the fire of a dozen H37 assault rifles was unusually fierce, constantly bringing down the Soviet cavalry and infantry who were trying to get closer. But tigers are also afraid of wolves, Zong Lei didn't really expect that he would be so unlucky, he would actually encounter the Soviet army that collided with a regiment, and the other side also had tanks and armored vehicles to help.

"Captain, Da Maozi's cavalry and armored vehicles are going to the landing field!" As soon as Zong Lei changed a magazine, he heard his comrades shouting. Along the fingers, hundreds of Cossack cavalry and Ba-27M wheeled armored vehicles protected most of the trucks heading southeast. This scene made his eyes split, knowing that Kima was the landing ground for paratroopers tonight, and if this force was allowed to get closer, I was afraid that the air force would suffer heavy casualties.

"Did you contact Command? When will the plane come? But Zong Lei may not be able to get out of it now, so he has to pin his hopes on the Air Force.

"Just got in touch with Boom! Damn, Maozi has mortars. Be careful, everyone! The command said that the Air Force would arrive in twenty minutes, but it was too dark and needed to provide ground guidance. ”

"Pitch him off! You tell them that there are now 7 BT7s opposite Lao Tzu, and they can't keep busy. Zong Lei was angry. After a burst of fire swept down the two Soviet infantrymen who were trying to get closer, they saw another BT7 rushing towards this side quickly, so they had to give up the idea of continuing to contact and lead the team to retreat backwards.

Just as the special forces of the Falcon squad were beaten and fled by the BT7 fast tank, the command center in Almaty also suddenly fell into tension. At this critical time, an unknown number of enemies appeared on the periphery of the scheduled landing site, can you not be in a hurry! You know, two airborne divisions are crucial. It was planned that they would not only lead the Soviet infantry division in Balkhash away. It was also necessary to occupy Akchatau to the north, cut off the Soviet 16th Army's southward movement and hold it for at least two days, to ensure the smooth completion of the crossing of the encirclement. But now that they haven't gone down, the enemy has appeared, what should I do?

The rapid knock on the door alarmed Yang Qiu and Yue Peng, who were waiting for news. When I opened the door, I saw that it was Zhuo Fan, who was in charge of the entire crossing plan. The latter saluted as soon as he entered the house, and then anxiously told the news that the special forces had encountered the Soviet troops.

"How many people are there?"

"More than forty BT7 and BA-27M wheeled armored vehicles, six to seven hundred cavalry, and about two regiments of infantry. Preliminary analysis, it should be the units of the 16th Soviet Army. At present, the bombers are rushing to intercept, but they have lost contact with the Falcon team, and there is no one to guide them on the grassland at night. ”

"I know." Yue Peng frowned. looked at Yang Qiu: "This Lu Jin is very good." ”

"It's the general's material." Yang Qiu nodded. In fact, he didn't know much about Lukin, after all, this man died too early. However, judging by the evaluation, it is no worse than Zhukov and others. If it weren't for the early death within the day, it would not be unusual to be promoted to a general or even a marshal. However, he was not nervous, because according to the number of trucks in the telegram, it was only more than 2,000 horses. Even with the help of armored troops. It is undoubtedly a pipe dream that relying on such a few people to eat their two integrated airborne divisions, which have a total of more than 30,000 soldiers. So he was more concerned about the movements of Lukin and the 16th Army.

"Now that the strikers are heading south, they should have moved too." Yue Peng was also worried about the movements of the 16th Army, and analyzed: "If that's right, it should have arrived at Akchatau by now, so we must find a way to support the Airborne Forces as soon as possible." Zhuo Fan, Commander Xu and Commander Chu, what do they recommend? ”

"There were still ten minutes before the plane crossed Balkhash, so both Commander Xu and Commander Chu suggested continuing to be airborne. Commander Xu also believed that the airborne division would cause some casualties if it was discovered early, but the Soviet infantry division stationed in Balkhash would definitely be warned in advance, and perhaps troops would be dispatched to participate in the encirclement and suppression. In this way, the 1st Armored Division would be much smoother after going ashore, so the commander thought that as long as the armored division went ashore, it could quickly penetrate and rescue the airborne division in depth. ”

As soon as Zhuo Fan finished speaking, Yang Qiu smiled: "I can see the good from the bad things, and I finally didn't use him." ”

"Yes, let's just fight. Without strain training, the troops will not be able to mature. After Yue Peng finished speaking, he picked up the phone and said with a smile: "I knew that I should have gone back to Beijing first, Xu Shuzheng sent this little guy to tell me, obviously thinking about how to deal with it, but he was afraid that the loss would be too big and wanted to let me, the chief of staff, help him carry the black pot." ”

"Flutter." Zhuo Fan really couldn't hold back. Now he knows what the Dinghai Divine Needle is, and only people like Yue Peng and Yang Qiu, who have gone through the world war, will not panic because of a little accident.

After talking to the headquarters, Zhuo Fan just wanted to leave, but Yue Peng suddenly stopped him: "This time the work is good, but there is something for you to do next." ”

"But the commander just told me to go to Karaganda." Zhuo Fan was a little puzzled, the crossing work is not over yet, why is there a new job? And how do you feel that in the eyes of the chief of staff, you are just a framer who goes wherever the wind leaks?

Of course, Yue Peng didn't know that Zhuo Fan was slandering himself, otherwise he would definitely be locked up for three days. He pulled out a piece of intelligence from the table and handed it over: "This is the Soviet telegram deciphered by the Military Intelligence Bureau this afternoon. Kulik was worried that the Kazakh top brass would be captured by us, so he was ready to send a plane to Kyzylorda to pick up the top brass of the Kazakh Soviet Republic and evacuate first. The president's idea is that you will lead an advance team and take Kyzylorda before the Soviets arrive. ”

After listening to the explanation, Zhuo Fan understood that although Stalin had never looked down on the small leaders of these union republics, the Soviet top brass attached great importance to Yang Qiu's declaration of war to restore the independence of Kazakhstan and Central Asia. So after entering the stalemate, they began to do everything possible to take over the leaders of the Central Asian republics, keeping these high-ranking people close to Moscow just in case. Originally, Kyzylorda was more than 600 kilometers away from Balkhash and was garrisoned by a Kazakh steppe cavalry division and two Soviet infantry regiments. But this telegram brought about a turning point. Yang Qiu meant that he would send a task force disguised as a Soviet transport plane to directly parachute into the airport to seize the city, and if he could catch it, he would execute all of them on the spot, so as not to leave a tail in the future.

Zhuo Fan was very interested in this mission, after all, he went to Karaganda only as a staff officer, and performing this mission was equivalent to leading the army alone. But he is still holding the title of operational staff officer in the First Army, and it is planned that he should attack Karaganda with Chu Nan. And this plan seems simple, but it is actually very difficult to operate. Since it is impossible to send a large group of airborne troops, it is necessary to have a small and capable assault force as an arrowhead, and in addition to how to camouflage it so that Moscow does not find out about password leaks.

Yue Peng also knew that it was difficult, so he didn't give a direct order. Instead, let him decide for himself: "You decide for yourself." If you agree, I'll go and tell Commander Chu that as for how many people you need, any army can go to Commander Xu and them, and I will let them fully cooperate with you. ”

Zhuo Fan decided to accept this challenge, because if the sneak attack was successful, then not only could the local Kazakh high-level be killed. Removing obstacles to the support of Central Asia in the Talas plan is tantamount to cutting off the connection between the Soviet army and the local puppet army in the entire South Kazakhstan region east of the Aral Sea, and greatly speeding up the process of Central Asian independence.

So after thinking about it, he gritted his teeth and said, "President, Chief of the General Staff." I need 16 Y-3s painted with Soviet logos. Also the entire Falcon Brigade and four armored battalions of wheeled hounds of the Airborne Division. ”

"The entire Falcon Brigade? You're got a lot of sharp eyes. Yue Peng laughed. The Falcon Brigade is the only air assault unit in the Air Force that is modeled after the Hunters, and it is indeed one of the best units in the whole army to carry out this kind of task. So he immediately signed the appointment order, and together with Yang Qiu, he gave the operation the name of "horse pole".

Wait until the appointment is signed. Yang Qiucai stood up: "Let's go, it's time." ”

．

Inside a 37-mm artillery position off the coast of Balkhash. After being woken up by the sound of a motor, the young Kulogin climbed to the cornice of the sandbag with his steel helmet in his arms, and found two faint black dots in the distance of the lake crossing at high speed. "Damn, it's a patrol boat again." Kulogin scolded secretly. Although Lake Balkhash has been suspended for many years, since the beginning of the war, the Wehrmacht on the other side has brought in more than a dozen patrol speedboats from the interior to patrol the lake day and night, and deliberately approached the shores of Lake Balkhash at the best time to sleep in the middle of the night.

This kind of behavior of using a motor to stir up people's dreams in the middle of the night once made Kulovin and other Soviet soldiers stationed here extremely resentful. Because every time the sound of the motor sounds, Kulokin and his comrades must all be dispatched to combat readiness. But if you come so many times every night, God can't stand it. Therefore, after the start of the war at the northern and southern ends, everyone gradually became tired, and even Commander Haverov believed that the Chinese no longer had the heart to consider crossing the Great Lake.

After seeing that it was a patrol boat, Kulokin didn't care, and was ready to find a bed blanket to keep warm. But when he stood up, he found that the buzzing in his ears had not only not diminished as the black shadow left quickly, but had become louder and louder. What's going on? Kulogin hurriedly ran back to his position, took out the squad leader's old-fashioned telescope and searched carefully, and when the line of sight extended from the lake to the sky, an astonishing picture appeared in front of him.

Under the moonlight called sister, a swarm of planes flew towards Balkhash like big bats that like moonlit nights.

"Airplanes! Enemy planes! ”

"Squad leader! Wake up, Paul, the enemy is attacking! ”

Kulogin's piercing screams quickly woke up all the surrounding anti-aircraft positions, and the sleepy-eyed soldiers and officers were all stunned when they saw the huge group of planes flying towards them. A moment later, shrill whistles and shouts resounded throughout the town.

"Commander, Commander!"

The orderly rushed into the dilapidated mineral building and kicked open the wine bottles all over the floor: "Commander, get up, the enemy is attacking!" ”

"Attack, okay, then return fire." The bearded Haverov muttered drunkenly, rolled over and fell asleep again.

With such a military commander on the stall, the orderly soldiers were about to cry, so they simply picked up the cold water on the table and splashed it. "Ahh Damn it, oh no, hooray! What did you do? I'm going to kill you! Havrov is an old officer in the Tsarist era, and after experiencing the Great Purge, of course he knows how many spies there are around him, and quickly changed the "God" to **Long live.

How can the orderly still care about this? Grabbed him and shouted: "Commander, plane!" A lot of planes, the Chinese attacked. ”

"What! Bang bang bang. Before Haverov could ask, countless explosions exploded in his ears. At this time, Hafrov woke up from everything, and hurriedly grabbed his clothes and rushed out.

"Fire."

Kulokin's anti-aircraft artillery squad reacted the fastest, and in less than two minutes the first 37-mm shell burst out of the chamber. Countless shells burst into the sky from the darkness, creating a small ignition cluster in the group.

The dense firepower frightened Ye Zishan and the others, and they were a little surprised that the Soviet army had deployed so many anti-aircraft guns here.

But he and most of the rank-and-file soldiers didn't know. In fact, the defense of the Soviet army on the western shore of Lake Balkhash was not weak. Despite the fact that there are only three infantry divisions, but because Lake Balkhash is a glacial dammed lake surrounded by hills and valleys, only the Saremsek Peninsula and Balkhash have the conditions for large-scale crossing. The former is only a few kilometers deep into the lake and is located on the north shore and theoretically has the ability to erect pontoon bridges. The latter is the only town in the lake with flat terrain and a port, so as long as these two places are held, the possibility of large-scale crossings is basically isolated, which is also the reason why Kulik transferred troops here in the unfavorable situation of the war. Moreover, after Ahvaz, the Soviet army suffered enough from the air raids, so a large number of small and medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns were shipped from Europe. The reason why East Kazakhstan and other places appear weak is that the Soviet army lacks mobile air defense platforms in the offensive. However, the situation is also improving, and the Soviets have begun to learn from the Wehrmacht to load anti-aircraft guns onto trucks.

The shells that constantly exploded around made the airborne troops hold their breath. Coupled with the fact that all the transport planes did not close the hatches, the turbulence of the air flow and the shells mixed together, adding to the tension.

"Ten minutes to go! Be prepared. ”

After the captain raised his palm to the flight engineer and flipped it twice, the engineer was about to pull the switch. I heard a loud bang next to me, and then sparks flickered. Look up. It turned out that a Y-6 was hit by a cannonball on the wing, and it quickly fell out of control.

"Second Company, it was the plane of the Second Company that was hit!"

Ye Zishan's plane was not far from the Yun-6 that was hit, and he also clearly saw the whole process. Due to the large inclination and dive after losing control, the 20 paratroopers in the cabin could not parachute at all, and everyone could only watch them smash into the ground and turn into a fireball.

"Bang bang." Kulogin gasped, smashed open a box of shells, and desperately delivered them into the position. In just two minutes, three Y-6s and one Y-10 were shot down, and the flames of the explosion made everyone's faces flicker and darker, and finally many airborne troops simply closed their eyes, clenched their fists and prayed that they could cross the antiaircraft artillery area as soon as possible.

"Enemy planes!"

Kuluo King Kong smashed open the seventh ammunition box, and the escorted night-type two-seater Jian-6 double-headed Jiao swooped down from a high altitude. With the nose occupied by radar, an additional seat was added, and cockpit heaters were installed, engineers had to remove the two 25mm cannons and move four 12.7mm machine guns to the wings.

However, even if there are only 4 machine guns left, the strafing of the double-headed Jiao is very powerful. Before Kulokin could hide it, four tongues of fire poured down from the sky, and dense bullets swept past the gun position, and the few gunners who didn't have time to hide were directly swept off by the bullets. When a bullet hit a cannonball, a piece of intestines that I don't know whose one was kicked off by the shock wave and hung on Kulokin's face, causing him to vomit.

The repeated strafing of 12 double-headed Jiao back and forth finally contained the Soviet anti-aircraft artillery and allowed the remaining transport planes to fly safely over Balkhash.

"Why didn't they drop bombs?" Lieutenant General Haverov, who had not yet dressed himself, was surprised to see a group of planes leaping into the air. It stands to reason that if it is a bomber, then it should be the same as some of the previous bombs, is it not their own target?

Faced with this old cavalry officer from the old Tsarist era, a staff officer really couldn't stand it: "Comrade commander, these are transport planes. ”

"Transporters? It's so late, send out the transport plane and wait! They want to be airborne! Haverov finally understood, and when he saw the group of planes sweeping towards his rear, the picture of being outflanked by tens of thousands of squadrons suddenly appeared in his mind, and he was so anxious that he hurriedly shouted: "Cavalry, let the cavalry pursue." If it's going to Akchatau, don't care. Come on, send a telegram to the command, we need reinforcements! Go get all the trucks over. Get ready to go! ”

While Balkhash was in a hurry, Chen Ke, who rushed out of the anti-aircraft artillery area, finally saw several flares rising from the ground in the distance. Seeing the guidance signal on the ground, he immediately turned his head and shouted: "Three minutes!" ”

"Three minutes!"

After the skydiving signal was issued, Ye Zishan also pulled the tightrope and began to order: "Three minutes, prepare!" Bait! Examine! With simple and clear instructions, the paratroopers quickly got up and lined up in a single column, hung the parachute hook on the tightrope, and began to make the final inspection for their comrades in front. Ye Zishan also hung the hooks of several umbrella bags on the special pull rings at the hatch, so that he could just throw them down before he skydive. Then keep an eye on the signal light next to the hatch.

"Let's get started." After the long plane took the lead in pulling down the power switch and turning on the red indicator light that represented landing, one paratrooper began to rush out of the cabin, and the sky was instantly covered with white umbrella flowers.

"Jump, jump! Jump! Get out of here, jump! ”

The shouts of the Leaf Mountain. One by one, the paratroopers jumped out of the cabin, and when the last paratrooper had left, he threw down two more parachute bags, and finally thanked the cabin with a cocked thumb before pulling down the windshield and jumping into the void. Due to the strong night wind, after the round nylon parachute was opened, he felt that he had been pulled by something, and he was instantly pulled up dozens of meters.

Oddly enough. Not only did he not feel nervous, but he felt a sense of relief. Perhaps for those comrades-in-arms who sat in the cabin and watched their deaths just now, it was already a kind of luck to be able to jump out of the cabin. But he quickly ran out of luck due to the strong wind. As a result, the parachute became extremely difficult to control, and he and many of his soldiers were blown north by the wind.

Just as he slowly landed, the noisy engine sound and the dense black spots in the sky also alarmed Nitskov, who was rushing here. The spectacular airborne scene in the telescope made the commander of the Soviet aviation division stomp his feet in a hurry: "Here it is." It's really coming! Damn, the Chinese really airborne! Cavalry regiments. Draw your sabers and break their necks! The rest of the troops pick up speed, fast! ”

The Cossack cavalry took the lead after receiving the order, and more than 600 war horses blew over the steppe like a whirlwind. Although the role of cavalry in the mechanized age has declined, it is still the only choice for Soviet officers in this time of need for speed and impact.

Ye Zishan didn't know that there were cavalry rushing towards him, and he landed on a hillside. But as soon as his feet hit the ground, the wind pulled him back with a parachute. Fortunately, he was prepared, pulled out the paratrooper knife tied to his forearm, and cut the parachute line fiercely. However, when the parachute detached, it was still swept into a bush, and sharp dead branches cut across the white cheeks, pulling out a long bloody gout.

"Company commander, company commander! Are you okay. ”

Coincidentally, the second squad leader also landed nearby, and when he saw him, he immediately rushed up to help. After landing safely, Ye Zishan finally relaxed, wiped his face and saw that it was only a very shallow bloody mouth, and asked while sorting out the submachine gun: "Is it just you?" Who else? ”

"I saw a few people in front just now, I don't know if it's us."

"Let's go, let's see." After Ye Zishan sorted out the gun, he suddenly found that the second squad leader was empty-handed: "Where is your gun?" ”

"The gun strap and paracord were entangled, cut and swept away."

"It's okay, there should be an umbrella bag on the road." Ye Zishan didn't blame the squad leader, because this kind of thing often happens. After the two of them walked out of the bush area with one foot deep and one foot shallow, they encountered several paratroopers, but none of them were from the sixth company. But it doesn't matter, everyone knows that they will be separated after landing, so Ye Zishan, who has the highest military rank, became a temporary commander.

"Umbrella bag." After turning a mountain bag, the leader of the second squad, who had been anxious and unarmed, saw an umbrella bag in the ditch not far away, and hurriedly ran there. But just as his fingers were about to pick up the umbrella bag, a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from the left. As soon as the second squad leader turned his head, his gaze suddenly froze!

Cloak, it's a cloak! Hundreds of cloaks fluttering in the wind! "It's cavalry, be careful, Cossack cavalry." Before the second squad leader finished shouting, the world-famous eagle's claws were like a cold star, and the trachea was cut along his neck, and blood gushed out like a spring, dyeing the grassland red in an instant.

"Li Ming!"

Ye Zishan and everyone were also stunned by this scene, they didn't expect that the enemy's cavalry would appear here. In particular, the picture of the second squad leader's head tilted and blood gushing out of his neck made the recruits who participated in the battle for the first time behind him tremble.

"Ulla!"

After cutting the neck of the second squad leader, the Cossack regimental commander in a traditional black cloak triumphantly raised his saber and took the lead in shouting and charging. More than 600 war horses, spraying rough white mist, lined up. Iron hooves lifted the turf and smashed the thin ice, and the cold saber caught the airborne troops who were constantly landing and gathering off guard, and many of them had just stepped on the ground when their necks were cut, and their bodies were dragged by parachutes leaving bloody marks.

Before an airborne soldier who had just drawn a grenade to throw it at the Cossack cavalry had not yet thrown a grenade, a war horse suddenly sprang out from the side and cut off his arm. Rumble! The grenade did not hit the enemy, but exploded next to him, and the flesh fell several meters in a blur.

A massacre, this is a massacre! The Cossack cavalry, skilled in horse control, was extremely fast, and 600 horses could ensure that they covered a large enough area, so they could always easily find scattered airborne troops, and even if they encountered a long distance, they could use their feet to control their horses and chase them with rifle shots.

"Don't run around! Assemble, assemble! Shoot, shoot! "Ye Zishan was the first to come to his senses, and when he saw paratroopers running around to avoid the cavalry, he shouted a reminder while aiming his submachine gun at the three Cossack cavalrymen who were trying to get closer." Da-da-da-da. The submachine guns fired violently, but because the horses were sprinting too fast, and after a full thirty-round magazine had been swept away, one of the horses rushed into the ranks and cut off the hand of one of the airborne soldiers before falling to the ground crookedly.

"Medic, go to the bushes! Leave a few people to protect you, and the rest come with me! ”

The death of just three Cossack cavalrymen could not change the situation in which the Airborne Forces were in their most vulnerable, and the entire steppe was filled with the shouts of Cossack cavalrymen Ula and the sound of horses' hooves. Ye Zishan knew that someone had to stand up at this time, so he immediately changed the magazine, asked people to escort the wounded soldiers to the bushes, and led everyone to encircle and suppress the cavalry.

As the ranks around Ye Zishan grew larger and larger, the airborne troops who had survived the initial chaos finally stabilized their positions, and all semi-automatic rifles and submachine guns began to play a role, constantly sweeping the Cossack cavalry off their horses. As some airborne troops found the parachute bag, the sound of the HJ32 general-purpose machine gun sounded, and in the face of this rapid-fire machine gun, the cavalry finally began to retreat.

Seeing the rest of the cavalry fleeing north, Ye Ziwen, who was tired and panting, sat on the ground and panted desperately, but before everyone could recover their strength, the wind brought a crisp motor sound.

"Armored vehicles, armored vehicles!"

In a hurried shout, dozens of Soviet BA-27M armored vehicles rushed in the direction where Yezishan was located. Before the car arrived, the 37-mm cannon on the car began to bombard it violently.

The sound of artillery bombardment made Ye Zishan stand up violently, and after seeing the shape clearly, he immediately pointed to the mountain bag in front of him and shouted: "Go to the mountain bag and establish a defensive line!" Huang Kai and Zhou Ming, take people to find umbrella bags and bring them over! Fast! The more the merrier! Radio, call Air Force support, tell them that there are armored vehicles here! The rest of the people follow me, and you must hold the line! ”

Hundreds of paratroopers rushed towards the mountain bag with shouts, quickly establishing a temporary defensive line. At this time, a large number of trucks appeared behind the Ba-27M, and groups of Soviet infantry charged the landing site under the cover of armored vehicles.

"Boom, boom!" The artillery fire of the Ba-27M armored car shattered the defense line that Yezishan had just organized, and at this time, the Cossack cavalry, who had just left, rushed in from both flanks.

The explosion of artillery shells, the strafing of machine guns, and countless red dots filled the grassland in an instant