Up to 20 divisions. Probably, with a considerable number of combat vehicles and aircraft. ”

As he spoke, Liang Tianhe took off his gloves, clutched them in his hands, walked to the map that covered half of the wall, patted the map with his gloves and pointed: "Three days ago, Li Xiang's detachment, which was going down the Irtysh River to reconnoiter Pavlodar, was intercepted by the enemy on the way and hit someone back. Judging by aerial reconnaissance and radio interception, there have been signs of the activities of army group units around Pavlodar in the near future. In my opinion, the enemy has only one purpose in gathering forces here, which is to outflank the rear of your two armies from this direction, and to eat you with the main forces of the Barnaul side. ”

"Then we can only sit and wait for someone to make dumplings?"

Liang Tianhe clenched his gloves, turned around and came to Qian Lan, his majestic gaze penetrated his soul: "If you think you are a dumpling, then you will definitely become a dumpling." ”

"But once the supply lines are cut off, our thousands of motor vehicles will be reduced to scrap metal, surrounded by the desolate Barabin steppes, and it will be difficult to raise supplies for men and horses, and we cannot expect our soldiers to win the battle with their legs alone." Lu Kaiping, who was on the side, couldn't help but express his worries.

"Then find a way to prevent the enemy from cutting off the supply line, even if it is temporarily cut off, you can quickly break through, break through, and counter-encircle! I'm not here to listen to your complaints, but to ask you to find a way to solve the problem, the base camp has made up its mind, and you have no choice! Liang Tianhe's words were angry, so shocked that the two old subordinates looked at each other and bowed their heads and said nothing.

With the big stick in front and the carrots fed behind, Liang Tianhe eased his breath and said in a flat tone: "The current Northwest Army was built by me Liang, and I am reluctant to let my brothers take such a big risk." I had no choice but to hold back my tears, and here is a response plan for the chief of staff, which you can refer to. ”

The staff officer immediately took out two black folders and handed them to Qian Lan and Lu Kaiping respectively.

"If you have any other requests, you can ask me now."

"We need stronger air support." Qian Lan said.

"I need more halftracks." Lu Kaiping said.

Liang Tianhe nodded: "I'll do my best." ”

"By the way, the headquarters of my Front Army will be moved from Akdouka to Semipalatinsk from today. I'm waiting for you to come back to your life. ”

……

A week later, Novosibirsk, the command of the post-Ural Front of the Russian army.

The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Nakasidze, was excitedly reporting to Commander Brusilov: "...... The enemy has taken the bait! After Rubtsovsk. It's in Aleysk again, and at this rate, you can reach the Barnaul ambush circle in a week! ”

Brusilov was expressionless, but paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, without saying a word.

Nakasidze looked puzzled, and called out to the commander three times before Brusilov stopped, looked at him, looked at the map, and then at the newly arrived telegram on the table. Just shook his head and sighed.

Nacasidze came to his senses and took a look at the telegram. Again and again, he frowned: "Launch a general attack in advance?" How does this work? The prey has not yet been completely trapped, and launching a general attack at this time is likely to be wasted! ”

Brusilov shrank into the sofa weakly, and said helplessly: "The emperor can't bear the order of the base camp. ”

"Didn't the emperor grant you carte blanche ......"

"The emperor can grant it, and of course it can also be taken back."

Nakasidze carefully read the whole text, and slapped the telegram on the table: "It's all nonsense, in this situation, how can Irkutsk still be saved!" Thank God for being able to hold Krasnoyarsk before the end of the battle here! The order changes day by day, this is called how we fight! You have to explain the situation to the emperor. Ask him to take back his fate—"

"Haven't we all said it?" Brusilov continued to be helpless.

"No matter what, this bastard order must not be executed!" Nakasidze is not small.

Brusilov twisted his neck at him: "You know the temper of the Emperor of the Dao, and you also know the consequences of doing this. ”

Nakasidze's neck has been: "But ......"

Brusilov interrupted him lightly: "The Germans have pacified the Netherlands. Soon we will be able to resume the offensive, we have just lost Teschet and Abakan again, and Krasnoyarsk looks at stake. It's not for nothing that His Majesty will be in a hurry......"

Nakasize pouted his pretty mustache: "Now is not the time to figure out the emperor's thoughts, do we really want to carry out this ridiculous order?" ”

"It's only a week in advance, and the effect may be a little worse, but as long as we move quickly, there is still hope for a Cannae fight...... In any case, we cannot defy the base camp, we cannot defy our tsar. ”

As he spoke, Brusilov glanced at the large battle map on the opposite wall, where the blue symbols representing his own combat units formed a long arc, enclosing a thin, deep red arrow in the middle.

The red arrow points to Barnaul

Lieutenant General Hovlin's 51st Army has been waiting for a long time, and the 27th Army and the 9th Cavalry Division under its command, a total of 6 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry division, nearly 150,000 people and 450 artillery pieces, will press the main force of the Chinese army from the front.

To the southeast of Barnaul, on the line of Bisk, a city on the upper reaches of the Ob River, Lieutenant General Lovisos's 21st Army was already in full position, and the 36th, 42nd and 9th Cavalry Divisions under its command, about 5 men and artillery, were planned to be pinned down from the right flank (east) of the main group of the Chinese army.

To the west of Barnaul, near Korchino, an important town along the railway to Pavlodar, Lieutenant General Balakovov's 54th Army had completed its deployment a week earlier, with the 19th, 25th, 11th Siberian Divisions and the 10th Cavalry Division, a total of 5 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry division, 12 men and artillery, which would outflank the left flank (west) of the main Chinese army.

In the area of Pavlodar (Kreku), 500 miles west of Barnaul, the 53rd Army of Lieutenant General Panlyotsev, which had high hopes, was ready to move, including 5 infantry divisions of the 30th and 31st armies, 3 cavalry divisions of the 3rd cavalry, and the only two large units of the empire - the 1st Tank Brigade and the 11th Armored Automobile Brigade, with 130,000 men and 480 artillery pieces, equipped with 70 tanks, 210 armored cars and 600 trucks and other motor vehicles, which were scheduled to go up the Irtysh River. From the Semipalatinsk side, the rear road of the main group of the Chinese army was cut off.

On the Aleysk side, the 12th Siberian Division, which was used as a decoy, maintained contact with the main Chinese army group, and in the previous series of operations, the two divisions suffered heavy losses, the 14th Siberian Division only had a third of the artillery of the required strength, and the 12th Siberian Division lost half of its combatants and a third of it withdrew from the front line after the start of the general offensive and transferred to Novosibirsk for rearmament and served as a front reserve.

In addition, 150 aircraft from several flying groups of the Army Air Corps, including dozens of Ilya Muromets four-engine heavy bombers carrying bombs of more than 800 pounds, will provide air support for the entire front.

—

The arrow is ready to be triggered, although it is not the best time, the king's order is difficult to disobey, and Brusilov must give the order immediately.

"Send electricity to the troops, and act according to the date given by the base camp."

Two days later, on July 25, 1915, on an arc-shaped front stretching for hundreds of kilometers, the epic decisive battle of the Russian army called the "Battle of the Balabin Steppe" and the Chinese army called the "Battle of the River" (the full name of the "Battle between the Irtysh and the Ob River") began......

Semipalatinsk, forward command of the North-Western Front.

Liang Tianhe faced the map and smoked cigarettes one after another.

On both sides of the 400-mile railway line from Semipalatinsk to Aleysk, the 250,000-strong troops of the 2nd Panzer Army and the 5th Army wriggled forward like a long snake — a giant python with a bulging belly that looked like it had just swallowed a cow.

Dozens of kilometers north of Aleysk, which is the head of the snake, the 2nd Armored Advance Unit under the command of Lieutenant General Xiao Bin, commander of the 5th Armed Corps, is still continuing to advance forward, and this capable mobile commando is composed of two armored brigades (equipped with 13 and 16) and two cavalry brigades (contact, the enemy is weak, and the enemy is strong, it is quickly retreating.

In the throat of the snake, near Areysk, there were the advance units of the Fifth Army, including the 8th (1517th Infantry Division) and the 6th Cavalry Army (2829th and 31st Cavalry Brigades), which were tasked with receiving the vanguard of the second assembly and holding Alyeysk for reinforcements when the rear road was cut off.

The belly of the snake, that is, around Rubtsovsk, gathered the 4th armored brigade, two infantry divisions and two cavalry brigades of the second group, as well as the 6th Army (11th and 13th infantry divisions) and the 16th cavalry brigade of the fifth group.

Snake Tail, also known as Semipalatinsk, was garrisoned by the Irtysh Group, which was based on the 19th Infantry Division and the 103rd Infantry Division, under the leadership of the Chief of Staff of the Front, and was tasked with holding the city until reinforcements arrived. In addition, two reserve divisions of the Fifth Army (i.e., the 41st and 50th Reserve Infantry Divisions, temporarily transferred from the 10th Army), were stationed at any time to Lubu

Early in the morning, Liang Tianhe received a report from Lu Kaiping: "This morning, the 1st Advance Force was blocked 45 kilometers east of Areysk, and it was reported that the enemy artillery fire in front of it was fierce. A large group of enemy aircraft is attacking Luzhen, and the damage is reported later. ”

Later, he received a report from Qian Lan: "Azhen is under air attack, there are many enemy planes, our fighters are powerless to stop them, and the losses are unknown." ”

"It's too early......"

Muttering to himself, the burnt cigarette butt burned his fingers......