Petropavlovsk, a city on the eastern bank of the Ishim River, is the capital of Northern Kazakhstan with a population of more than 200,000.

The Ishim River is also only a tributary of the Irtysh River. It is also more than 600 kilometers away from Novosibirsk, the nearest Allied supply point. The muddy roads of Central Asia largely limited the mechanized supply of the Allied forces, and the frequent presence of Red Army guerrillas made long supply lines increasingly difficult.

After Chen Shukang's Left Route Army experienced a smooth battle in the previous stage, the disadvantages of the lone army going deep and advancing quickly became apparent one by one. After all, this is the hinterland of the Soviet Union, and the local Kazakhs are also known for their bravery in history, and have always been an important source of Russian soldiers.

The regular armies of the Soviet Red Army were losing ground in Central Asia, but partisan detachments led by the Bolsheviks sprung up, active on Allied supply lines, and attacked convoys. This made the situation extremely awkward for the Left Army, and while they had to devote more troops to maintain the transport line, it also made them lose the possibility of continuing the rapid assault.

If the attack continues, it is not the most difficult to win the battle, but the guerrillas who cannot be suppressed, defeated, and prevented on the supply line will drag down the left army.

The increase in armored units and individual combat equipment in the Han army not only enhanced the combat effectiveness of the Han army, but also made the Han army's operations more dependent on logistics.

In the US military in later generations, a front-line soldier often needed multiple logistical personnel to support it, and in the armored units and the navy and air force, the proportion of logistical personnel was even higher and frightening.

This is the case with the Han army today, in the units of the Guards Corps, the engineer logistics units, which are recruited one by one with the combatants, can no longer meet the needs of support at all.

The General Participation in the General Assembly had to convert more colonial troops into second-line troops in order to share the enormous pressure on the engineering troops.

This led to the fact that the Han army's operations had to be group operations, and while the combat effectiveness was strong, the shortcomings of Ye Weixun's "young master's disease", such as relatively slow action and long campaign preparation time, were also revealed.

Compared with the Han army, on the contrary, the Dongying army, which was dominated by the Japanese army, was much stronger than the Han army in this regard.

The commander of the Dongying Army, General Ishihara Waner, once said that in a large group operation, the Dongying Army was certainly not the opponent of the 13th Army of the Han Dynasty, but in the Soviet Union and in the vast territory of Siberia, the more flexible and mobile Japanese army had a considerable advantage. In fact, Ishihara has another sentence that he is embarrassed to say, that is, the Japanese army is more able to endure hardship. The soldiers of the Dongying Regiment can quickly drive out with a few days of dry rations and enough bullets, but the Han army must be loaded on the car with large bags and small packages, and then the air force will lead and the combat vehicle radar will search, and various support troops will accompany them.

When did the most hard-working and stoic Han soldiers become young master soldiers and rich soldiers? This is not to say that the combat effectiveness of the Han army is not good, if the order to charge is given, the soldiers of the Han army will never fall behind.

Jiang Yunzhi and Ye Weixun, the two commanders-in-chief, invariably mentioned this issue to His Majesty, but he didn't expect His Majesty to be ashamed, but proud.

"What's so bad about that? Could it be that you still want to go back to the era when Chinese soldiers went to the battlefield after firing five bullets per person during the Anti-Japanese War? At that time, it was because we were poor, and now our empire is ...... Why don't you pick the door and pick the soldiers on the front line, right? As long as you dare to charge, you are not afraid of death, you are a good soldier. As for the usual ...... We Han people are precious, so we are used to it, aren't we nervous? Luck points for you again? ”

"Okay!" Generalissimo Jiang and Ye Shuai heard the sentence "We Han people are noble, let's get used to it!" "I can't help but grin!

But Chen Shukang, who was determined to seal the wolf, really felt a little depressed after the Left Route Army was forced to stop its operations. This time, with His Majesty's permission and after receiving centralized airdrop supplies from the Air Force Transport Brigade, he once again became angry, reorganized the army and went north.

There were more than 300,000 people in the entire Northern Route Army, of which 100,000 soldiers of the Dongying Army had been sent to protect the communication line with Novosilia and encircle and suppress the Siberian guerrillas.

The 200,000 Allied troops stationed in Chelinograd were mainly composed of elite units such as the Youzhou Army, the 77th Panzer Corps, and the 2nd Guards Panzer Division.

Given that the main forces of the Soviet Red Army in Northern Kazakhstan had been largely routed, even the capital Petropavlovsk had less than a few tens of thousands of defeated troops gathered to garrison. These Red Army soldiers had already experienced the powerful combat effectiveness of the Han army in several previous battles, and they had already regarded fighting the Han army as a fear from a psychological and spiritual point of view.

The operation of the Left Route Army to the north to capture Petropavlovsk was not so much a combat operation as a test of the extreme march of the armored forces of the Han army.

After all, the supply of airdrop airdrop is limited, even because of His Majesty's order, the commander of the Air Force Yun Jiu transferred the transport brigade stationed on Jeju Island to the northeast of Xinhua, but after many airdrop operations, the supply received by the Left Route Army is still not enough to meet the simultaneous operation of the army.

Even if you put aside the large amount of fuel needed by vehicles and armored troops, hundreds of thousands of troops are not a small amount.

After discussing with Wang Tiehan, He Zhuguo, and other major generals of the Left Route Army, Chen Shukang unanimously decided to take Petropavlovsk as the main force for the capture of Petropavlovsk.

There is no shortage of oil in this part of Central Asia. During the previous rapid advance, the Red Army fled too quickly in many places and did not have time to detonate the oil depots, and cheapened a lot of diesel fuel for nothing.

Take advantage of the high speed of the armored forces to raid Kok Chetav, which is the only way to go. Moreover, it was to attack but not to occupy, and before the Red Army commander in Petropavlovsk could react, preemptively cut off the city's only road and railway bridge over the Ishim River.

"We are not only going to conquer the whole of Northern Kazakhstan, but also to capture all the tens of thousands of Red Army troops in Petropavlovsk. Another smack in the face of the Soviet negotiating delegation. ”

Perhaps because of the attack on the supply line, Admiral Chen Shukang, who had been suppressed for many days, slammed his fist on the map. Coincidentally, a hole was hammered in the map, and the direction of the tear pointed to the upper left of Petropavlovsk, Tyumen, one of the most important industrial and commercial cities in the Urals industrial region.

Unlike Novosibirsk, once there is a problem in the Ural subdistrict, there is only one way to wait for the bearded to surrender unconditionally. If the Allies could capture the Urals, it would mean that it would be difficult for the Soviet Union to produce tanks and aircraft.

The untimely and unself-aware arrogance of the Soviet delegation in Harbin angered the Han Emperor and made the Han soldiers very angry, and of course the consequences were also serious.

As expected, when hundreds of "Tiger" tanks and "Cheetah" tracked infantry vehicles of the 2nd Guards Panzer Division, which had been running for more than 200 kilometers, suddenly appeared outside the city of Kokchetave, Stalin, who had received an urgent telegram, was frightened into a cold sweat.

Molotov, who was still in Harbin as the deputy commander of the Soviet Union, was undoubtedly scolded for being scolded. Stalin asked him: Do I let you go to sue for peace, or do I provoke the Allies?

The Moscow actor didn't have time to wipe the sweat off his forehead, so he made a phone call to Marshal Ye Weixun, commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Front of the Grand Alliance.

The road was narrow, and it was Colonel Lu Huajun, the confidential secretary of the General Headquarters, who answered the phone. Colonel Lu was quite personable, and seemed to speak fluent Russian with Molotov without any trouble.

"I beg Comrade Molotov's forgiveness, the house in Harbin is quite nervous because of the transfer of a large number of wounded people. Ye Shuai has already ordered that priority will be given to solving the housing problem for the comrades of the delegation of the Soviet Union, please wait a few more days! ”

…… Molotov almost scolded in anger, a little colonel dared to play tricks with himself? If this was in the Soviet Union, if the other party was an officer of the Red Army, he would have immediately called the Minister of Internal Affairs, Comrade Yezhov, and sent him to prison and brought to trial.

But the family is the Han Army, what is it called? In the words of the Han people, "people are under the eaves and have to bow their heads"!

Molotov calmed down, and the real kung fu of the "actor" was given a chance to play at this time, "Colonel Lu, since your house is relatively tight, as a proletarian background, of course we can overcome some difficulties!" Today I want to find your Marshal Ye Weixun......"

"Oh, that's really unfortunate, Ye Shuai has already taken a plane to inspect this morning! Recently, our army has had a big trip...... Uh, what a coincidence, Comrade Molotov, Ye Shuai is not here! ”

Acting in front of the "actor", isn't this a big knife in front of Guan Gong? It's just that although the play is fake, the effect is not bad, Molotov was so angry that he almost fainted. was teased by a little colonel, but Ye Weixun avoided it at this critical moment, but it really cost him his life.

Only then did the deputy commander realize that he was pretending to be a little too big. The situation on the battlefield has been extremely unfavorable to the Soviet Union, delaying, the Han army has dragged it up, but the Red Army can't afford to drag it out! Once Moscow is lost, the Soviet government will lose its negotiating qualifications and bargaining chips.

"Colonel Lu, I really have something urgent, please ......" Even though he gritted his teeth with hatred, Molotov had to smile all over his face, and some flattering voices spoke in Russian eagerly, like the eunuchs in the ancient Han palace rapping their broken thoughts.

Lu Huajun sounded a little funny, covered the microphone and asked Ye Weixun beside him for instructions: "Ye Shuai, it seems that the actions of the Left Route Army have worked, it should be Stalin who put pressure on Molotov, he is really in a hurry!" ”

"Ugh!" Ye Weixun, who was holding the teacup and savoring the taste of the best red robe, didn't even raise his head, "Hua Jun, Your Majesty told me that this middle-aged man must drink more than eight glasses of water a day, which is good for the kidneys, and it really has an effect!" ”

"I ......" I didn't expect Ye Shuai, who is known for his strict management of the army, to have such a childish side, Lu Huajun smiled bitterly and put the microphone to his ear, "We Ye Shuai said, he is really not here!" ”