As the senior chief of staff of the Second Cavalry Brigade, from the time of the puppet Mongolian cavalry division, He Xigetu followed Tong Batu and served as the chief of staff.

In the face of the attack of the Soviet army, without firing a shot, he retreated like this, and he must have been very cowardly in his heart, and maybe he would ignore the order of the division commander and command the whole brigade to charge Lao Maozi's mechanized troops to the death.

If Tong Batu really wants to do this, in the second brigade, no one can stop him, and moreover, he will get a positive response from more than 5,000 Mongolian men in the whole brigade, but the result will definitely be bad, not only disobey the order of the division commander, but also have the danger of annihilation of the whole army, even if it can finally break out, the second cavalry brigade will also suffer heavy casualties and lose its vitality.

He Xigetu was anxiously about to urge, Tong Batu waved his hand and said, "Chief of Staff, I understand what you mean, immediately order the troops to gather, and immediately withdraw from Irkutsk while the Soviet army has not yet been encircled, by the way, contact Li Changjiang, the commander of the Fifth Brigade in Ulan-Ude, and ask if you have received the same order from the division commander, don't let us withdraw, expose them in front of Lao Maozi, then you and I have made a big mistake!" ”

The liaison with the Fifth Cavalry Brigade was quickly communicated, and Tong Batu picked up the walkie-talkie and shouted loudly: "I said old man, did you receive an order from the division commander to retreat?" What's the situation going on there? ”

Li Changjiang, the commander of the Fifth Cavalry Brigade, was very calm, and replied with a laugh: "Brother Tong, I'm sorry for you, I have received an order, and I am on my way to Kulun." The old Maozi troops who rushed to us, coming from the direction of Chita, have not yet eaten my teeth, and before the encirclement situation has been formed, I withdrew with the troops, speaking of which, it is really a nest, brother, how is the situation there for you, have you withdrawn? ”

Tong Batu sneered. said: "Lao Maozi's appetite is not small, he is moving around Irkutsk, wanting to make Lao Tzu's dumplings, surrounded by two sides, only in the south there is still a mouth. Don't worry, I'll get out right away. See you in Cullen! ”

After listening to Tong Batu's words. Li Changjiang was taken aback, don't look at what Tong Batu said, the terrain conditions in Irkutsk are similar to those of Ulan-Ude, leaning on Lake Baikal on one side, surrounded by two sides. It's almost like being surrounded, and it's dangerous.

Li Changjiang shouted: "Brigade Commander Tong, I command the troops to immediately move closer to your direction and respond to your retreat." Our two brigades together, more than 10,000 guns, can break a few front teeth of Lao Maozi! ”

Tong Batu is in a hurry, the situation around Irkutsk is already in danger, the encirclement of the Soviet army is about to be formed, and the Fifth Brigade comes to meet him.

Tong Batu hurriedly said: "Yangtze River, you retreat according to the order of the division commander, don't try to meet us, it's not a big deal, isn't there still our aviation to cover!" ”

Putting down the walkie-talkie, Tong Batu's eyes flashed with a fierce color, and he ordered loudly: "Everyone set off immediately and retreat as fast as possible!" Spread out the charge formation, encounter the enemy resistance, don't entangle, go all out to get rid of! ”

In the city of Irkutsk, boiling, in the autumn wind of September in Outer Mongolia, more than 5,000 horses of the Second Cavalry Brigade swept out of the city like a gust of wind, Tong Batu was the last to withdraw from the city, he glanced back at Irkutsk, and secretly gritted his teeth, "Today is Lao Tzu's retreat, it won't take a few days, and the Second Brigade will fight back!" ”

The retreat of more than 5,000 horses, the dust rolled up obscured the sky, on the outskirts of Irkutsk, in the open steppe, the target was definitely not small, the retreat of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade of the Outer Mongolian Border Guards was soon attacked in Irkutsk, and the commander of the 3rd Army of the Transcaucasian Military District of the USSR, Major General Sergeyev, learned that at this time, it was already more than four o'clock in the afternoon.

Major General Sergeyev and the members of the army command were on a high post more than 20 kilometers away from Irkutsk, holding a telescope to observe the movements in the city, and the smoke and dust rolling up due south attracted his attention, and he ordered the staff officers around him: "Immediately ask the front-line troops what is going on"

Soon, the staff officer put down the phone and reported: "Comrade commander, the 37th Division has been connected, and according to the report of their division's reconnaissance unit, it is the Chinese cavalry unit in the city of Irkutsk, retreating due south!" ”

Sergeyev's pale blue eyes kept turning, he hesitated, the Chinese army in the city of Irkutsk, without even resistance, hurriedly retreated, which was unexpected, the strength of the three divisions of the Third Army was deployed, that is, in Irkutsk, to surround and completely annihilate the cavalry units of the independent division in the city, but now the Chinese have run away, the purpose of the battle is frustrated, to chase or not to chase?

Comrade Commander of the Military District, the order given to the Third Army was to encircle and annihilate the Chinese army in Irkutsk, and there was no order to pursue, if you had asked the military district now, by the time the order came down, the Chinese cavalry would have run away long ago, and in the steppe, the speed of movement of the cavalry was not much slower than that of its own mechanized troops.

And the 37th and 38th Divisions, which were surrounded in a roundabout way, have not yet reached the designated position, and the encirclement has been completely closed, and the gap dozens of kilometers wide is enough for the Chinese cavalry to run away, and there is no encirclement and total annihilation of the Chinese army, so what is the point of carrying out the Irkutsk campaign?

Commander Sergeyev thought for a moment and ordered: "Order the 37th Division to close the encirclement as quickly as possible, the division's artillery shelling the unblocked area, and give the retreating Chinese cavalry units maximum damage, and the rest of the troops are ready to enter the city of Irkutsk, comrades, this is the first city recovered from the Chinese by the troops of our Transcaucasian Military District, tell the soldiers, to show the heroism of the Soviet Red Army!" ”

"The inhabitants of Irkutsk, who will warmly welcome their liberators, at the same time, report the situation to the commander of the military district and ask for instructions on the next course of action!"

Major General Sergeyev's meaning is obvious, he cannot take the risk of pursuing the retreating Chinese cavalry units, the task of the Third Army is to recover Irkutsk, in case in the course of the pursuit, the troops suffer unnecessary losses, who knows what the comrade commander of the military district, who parachuted from Moscow and is said to have a Cheka background, will do with himself? Now that the task has been accomplished, there is no need to make extraneous complications.

If you can't stop it, you can do your best, and you can explain the past to the military region, and Major General Sergeyev, who was massively purged and turned out like a frightened bird, did not dare to do anything out of the ordinary, and those colleagues with thoughts and personalities have gone to see God, so why should they ask for hardship, not to mention, going deep into the interior of Outer Mongolia to fight, who can predict what the final result will be?

Commander Sergeyev's order, no one objected, and the senior officers of the Soviet army who had gone through the storm of suppression and rebellion also had basically the same idea, and the task was completed by taking the credit for the occupation of Irkutsk, and besides, the troops had no casualties and losses, the best of both worlds!

However, there was always a discordant voice, and Colonel Nikolagsky, commander of the armored brigade of the Third Army and member of the political council, stepped forward, stood up and saluted, and said in a small but resolute voice: "Comrade commander, this is a great opportunity to destroy the Chinese cavalry, on behalf of all the commanders and soldiers of the Red Army of the armored brigade, I ask the army commander for approval, and our armored brigade is responsible for the task of pursuit!" ”

In the Third Army, the only thing that Commander Sergeyev can't afford to mess with is this Colonel Nikolagsky, although he is his subordinate, the rank is no more than colonel, and his position is only a brigade commander, but his background is very deep, he is one of the main members of the Military Region's Suppression Committee, and he went down to the armored brigade of the Third Army to serve as a brigade commander and political commissar, but for two or three months.

The aura above his head is terrifying, it is said that this Colonel Nikolagsky is an officer who is engaged in political work, and there are no less than 100 officers who have personally executed and sent them to concentration camps, as for commanding troops to fight, in the words of the officers of the armored brigade, who are secretly talking behind their backs, "The absolute layman among the laymen," this political work colonel, I am afraid that he does not even know the caliber and range of the armored vehicles equipped with the armored brigade.

But this did not prevent Nikolagsky from mastering an armored assault force, and Major General Sergeyev always suspected that the purpose of this guy coming to the Third Army was not pure, that is, to spy on himself, or rather, to replace himself, just waiting for an opportunity.

If Nikolagsky's request is approved, in case the order of the military region comes down to pursue the retreating Chinese cavalry troops, his negative attitude is in the eyes of the big guy, wouldn't he put a big handle in the hands of this guy, but if an accident occurs in the process of the pursuit of the armored brigade, it is difficult to shirk the responsibility, and the short-tempered comrade of the commander of the military district with a very good background can spare himself?

Commander Sergeyev, embarrassed for a while, promised that there was a risk, and the joint responsibility was that he made a mistake in command, and besides, in terms of Nikolagsky's command ability and level, he really didn't feel at ease to hand over an armored brigade into his hands, and if he didn't agree, his negative attitude towards the Chinese troops would immediately go to the Military District Suppression Committee, and next, what those Cheka agents would do to themselves, only God knows!

Commander Sergeyev was eager to kick to death this guy who didn't know what he was doing, and Colonel Nikolagsky, with his eyes shining brightly, as if he had been beaten with chicken blood, stared at himself persistently and slightly arrogantly.

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