At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon of 30 September, the remnants of the Transcaucasian Military District of the Soviet Union, which had been repeatedly battered and exhausted, finally saw that the sky and the earth, among the vast withered grass, the curved river, and the evening sun, flashing with cold waves, seemed to be an infinite temptation, beckoning in the distance.

The Soviet soldiers with numb expressions, cheered, although behind them and on the left and right sides, there were still deadly gunshots, but in the hearts of the Soviet soldiers, as long as they saw the Sejingge River, it was equivalent to seeing hope, as long as they crossed the river to the north bank, they could get rid of the haunting gunfire for two days, the sound of the tank tracks "Zaza", the soldiers of the independent division who were killed at any time, and the bombs poured down in the sky above their heads could pick up a life.

On the other side of the river, there is his motherland, and it is the place where his relatives are looking forward to his safe return, General Kurygin breathed a long sigh of relief, and with the support of the guards, he sat down on the dry grass, weak, looking at his boots that were full of dust and sludge, and had broken in several places, shook his head, and smiled bitterly at himself.

The poor comrade commander, on the way to retreat, threw away his car, not so much to show the spirit of marching with the soldiers on foot and sharing weal and woe, but for safety reasons, the bombers and fighters of the independent division, for every military vehicle in the open field, were unusually interested, and never skimped on bullets and bombs, and after two frightened dangers, General Kurygin wisely chose to march on foot.

Mixing yourself in the pile of soldiers is the best safety measure, those damn Chinese pilots will never identify themselves from tens of thousands of soldiers, it's just that they have always sat in the command car. The commander of the general who gave the orders.

More than 300,000 troops marched southward, and after more than ten days, there were only tens of thousands of people left, and the wolf bèi retreated northward, and suffered repeated blows, and the Transcaucasian Military District was already greatly damaged, or rather, completely defeated. Commander Kurygin had always felt like he was in a dream, and moreover, it was a nightmare that would accompany him for the rest of his life, even if he withdrew, maybe. Agents of the All-Soviet Committee for the Suppression of Counter-Terrorism are waiting for them in Irkutsk. Escort yourself to the plane to Moscow. I am afraid they are all filled with oil, and there is a shortage of prisoners to be convicted.

But even so, General Kurekin, still tried to bring the remaining troops. It is the duty and obligation of a commander to bring it back, and now, at last, I see it. This river, which makes me look forward to and feel sad, still has dozens of kilometers to reach the south bank of the Sesagoge River, cross the river, and all that is left is to wait for Moscow's ruling.

From two hours ago, the troops of the independent division that were chasing and flanking finally slowed down the fierce course of the attack, allowing the troops to take a breath, and the sound of guns was farther away, and it was impossible to guess why the Chinese Tang Qiuli did this?

But this is a good thing after all, General Kurygin can understand this situation, two days and two nights of fighting, non-stop pursuit, the hard work of retreating, the pursuit is more tired, the soldiers of the independent division, also flesh and blood, also need to rest, tanks and trucks also need to be refueled, and they also have to solve their own constantly deployed blocking troops, including his own troops, are exhausted, General Kurygin sighed and thought.

Lieutenant General Zirnenko, Chief of Staff of the Military District, walked up to General Kurygin with a tired face and said: "Comrade commander, I have sent a regiment of troops to the bank of the Sezhige River to determine the location and number of pontoon bridges in order to arrange the troops to cross the river as quickly as possible, but our radio station and the troops responsible for erecting the pontoon bridges lost contact five hours ago, and so far, they have not been able to get in touch!" ”

Speaking of this, Lieutenant General Zirnenko said with a worried face: "Comrade commander, is there any accident that happened to our troops who erected the pontoon bridge?" ”

General Kurygin raised his heavy eyelids, which were like a thousand pounds of boulders, and asked with some numbness: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what do you think can happen?" ”

The chief of staff of Zirnenko hesitated for a moment and replied: "I judge it this way, they were attacked by the troops of the separate division and were completely annihilated, or, the radio station was blown up and it was impossible to contact us!" ”

Not to mention, the judgment of the chief of staff of Zirenenko was quite accurate, and the artillery regiment of the 11th Brigade in the east, with a shell that split the head and covered the brain, blew up the headquarters of the Soviet infantry division that came to build the bridge, along with the radio car, into the sky, and the division commander and political commissar, including the entire command organ, were killed in the first time, and then the third cavalry brigade of the Outer Mongolian border guards repeatedly rushed and killed, and there was no condition or opportunity to report what happened to General Kuregin.

After listening to the words of Chief of Staff Zyrenko, the muscles on his cheeks twitched a few times, sighed, and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, no matter what the situation, we have no other way to go, even if there is no pontoon bridge over the river, the soldiers must cross the river if they wade through the water, otherwise, it will be the result of waiting for the independent division troops to be caught up, and all the troops will be wiped out, and our Transcaucasian Military District will really be the end of the annihilation of the whole army, you say, isn't this the case?" ”

Zirnenko, Chief of Staff, nodded silently, and then said: "Comrade commander, the commanders of the various units have reported that the troops are too tired, and in the case of temporarily getting rid of the pursuit of the troops of the independent division, can the troops rest for thirty minutes, recover their bodies, and then cross the river in one go, I am also worried, I am afraid that the soldiers will not be able to support it, especially when we are not sure that there is a pontoon bridge, we need to wade!" ”

Suddenly, General Kurygin jumped up and shouted: "No, absolutely not!" Order the troops, no rest, no pause, rest for thirty minutes, my God, how can these bastards have such childish and dangerous ideas? Those Chinese will appear behind us at any time! ”

After speaking, gritting his teeth, General Kulygin took the lead in striding forward, and after walking less than three steps, on the bank of the Sejingge River, there was a sudden burst of fierce gunfire, echoing the sound of gunfire faintly coming from behind, telling General Kurygin and more than 50,000 Soviet soldiers that the road ahead was impassable!

General Kurygin, stopped, listened carefully, the sound of gunfire by the river, after a while, then fell silent, he turned his head, and Zirnenko Chief of Staff looked at each other, both saw the horror on the other side's face, in fact, the two supreme commanders of the Transcaucasian Military District, their hearts were swept by, a bad premonition, "The troops of the independent division, rushing to the front, blocked the way back!" ”

However, as if deliberately avoiding this desperate judgment, neither of them said it, this is with a suspicious gaze, looking at the Se Gege River that is gradually shrouded in twilight, and there are countless thoughts entangled in their hearts.

The sudden sound of gunfire did not affect the Soviet troops to continue to retreat towards the Sejingge River, and thirty minutes later, a group of stumbling figures, against the backdrop of the last fiery clouds in the western sky, appeared illusory in front of them.

The chief of staff of Zirnianko, who recognized at a glance that it was the regimental commander he had sent out to the Sejingge River to determine the number and location of the pontoon bridges, and hurriedly stepped forward and asked anxiously: "What happened when he arrived?" Why is there the sound of gunfire on the shore? Say it! ”

The colonel, whose face was covered with gunpowder smoke and covered in mud, was like a soldier who had just climbed out of the trenches, and when he saw the chief of staff asking himself, he said in a trembling voice: "Report to the commander, chief of staff, we have no way to retreat, just on the south bank of the Sejingge River, there are countless independent division troops, waiting for us, by the way, there are hundreds of tanks and countless artillery!" ”

"One of our regiments, as soon as they approached the river, was covered by a burst of heavy artillery fire, and then, the infantry of the independent division began to attack, and my regiment ran back with more than a dozen people, and the rest stayed by the river!"

"Where's the pontoon! Sue me, did you see the pontoon? Zirnenko's chief of staff, grabbed the regimental commander by the collar and shouted hoarsely.

"Pontoon? I didn't see anything! What the hell is that pontoon! The regimental commander yelled with a sad face and an irrational response!

A sickly smile appeared at the corner of General Kurygin's mouth, and he said to Chief of Staff Zirenenko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, let go of this poor worm, he is telling the truth, we were blocked by the troops of the independent division, and that cunning Chinese had already laid this trap, and the continuous attacks for two days and two nights were just to force us to a dead end, notify all officers above the division commander to hold a meeting, and we will discuss the way out!" ”

However, Yang Ketian, who was in a hurry, would not give General Kurygin time to study, and after swallowing the time of a regiment in one bite and trying the knife, he decided to take the initiative to attack, Yang Ketian hid his heart, "Once the troops chasing and flanking catch up, more than 200,000 troops, just such a little Soviet army, who will eat?" When it's my turn to be in my mouth, I'm afraid there will be a skeleton of bones left, and I won't even see a little shredded meat! ”

In order to ensure the total annihilation of this Soviet army, I plan to use the existing troops, with the Fourth Tank Brigade of the Armored Corps as the lead, the Third Cavalry Brigade of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army to follow, and the three mechanized brigades in the east to launch attacks on the Soviet Army on all fronts, so as not to come at night and increase the difficulty of destroying the enemy.

This side asked the division commander Tang Qiuli to approve his battle plan, Yang Ketian's subordinates, not idle, all units have put on an offensive posture, the tank brigade has begun to launch, pressing towards the Soviet army, behind, there are more than 5,000 cavalry under black pressure, the three artillery regiments to which they belong, the muzzles of hundreds of large-caliber howitzers, slowly raised, the artillery pushed the shells into the gun chamber, looking at the small flag in the commander's hand.

The fatal blow to the last remnants of the Transcaucasian Military District of the USSR is about to begin!

(To be continued)(To be continued......