The Kazakh steppe has entered late autumn. Looking out through the train's window, the brownish grass stretches out like a carpet into the distance. Rolling hills, low shrubs, herds of cattle and sheep, and clouds accumulating on the horizon. If there were no shuttle columns, if there were no cold guns, it would have been a season for the bards to praise.

But now the entire Kazakh steppe is in chaos, and convoys of refugees can be seen everywhere on the provincial highways parallel to the railway. After the wave of westward migration more than a decade ago, millions of ordinary Han and Kazakh people began to migrate to Tacheng and Ili in Xinjiang under the dispatch of the National Guard. In addition to his own people, this time the president deliberately opened the door to accept ethnic Kazakhs and other ethnic groups who had fled the war. Of course, their movement is restricted and they can only move within a certain area.

For such actions, the Democratic Party members in the National Assembly have been criticized, believing that it is a favor with taxpayers' money. Even those who support the president believe that this will increase the burden on the Northwest, which is already short of food and supplies, and will also bring instability such as espionage and sabotage. But Zhuo Fan scoffed at this statement, and those people did not understand at all how deep the hatred of the Central Asian peoples and the Slavic peoples was. When sickles, hammers and artillery tanks from Europe were set up in the steppe, it was the Kazakhs who hated them the most! From the time of Tsarist Russia, justice was far from this steppe, and the barbaric plunder and privileges of the Slavs were abhorrent. So when the Soviets were established, they rejoiced, but soon they began to regret it again. In particular, Moscow forcibly transported Kazakh grain reserves during the two great famines, and then Stalin forcibly stuffed the Great Purge of the exile camps into the steppe to fill the Slavic population, which made the Kazakhs see the true face of the Red Empire.

But at this time, the Kazakh forces were so weak that they had to abandon their homeland for generations, watch as the houses were seized by Red Army soldiers, watched them loot cattle and sheep, and then risked crossing the border. But in the eyes of the president. This weakness is the flame of Central Asian independence, and the military alone cannot do it if the Soviet rule in Central Asia is to be completely eliminated. The only way to do this is to give these Central Asian peoples, who have a deep enmity with the Slavic peoples, the right to autonomy and independence, in order to fundamentally eradicate the foundations of the Soviet Union in these regions! Make room for the Han people to return here.

So, Talas is no longer just a military project.

The train did not stop in Almaty, but turned into the Atyrau desert of Sarysik. The Ili River delta with an area of thousands of square kilometers and overgrown with reeds. After driving into a camouflage net, the train slowly stopped, and Zhuo Fan could clearly see the anti-aircraft guns and radar cars hidden in the reeds in the distance.

After asking for directions, Zhuo Fan walked towards the field command post. Along the way, you can meet soldiers and officers of the First Army. Outwardly, they are no different from other troops, but if you pay attention, you will find that the soldiers are full of energy, their eyes are firm, and they are very focused and serious in both training and work. These discoveries have made him look forward to his new troops.

"Report! Zhuo Fan, staff officer of the First Army Operations Department, came to report! ”

The headquarters was not far from the station, when Zhuo Fan arrived. Army Commander Chu Nan just finished a meeting within the army. "No need to introduce, the Chief of the General Staff has already called me." Chu Nanyang raised his hand, interrupted Zhuo Fan, who was about to report to his home, and asked bluntly: "Are the landing craft ready?" How long will it take for the master of the modification and the follow-up work? ”

"Report to the army commander, a total of 212 40-ton tank landing craft and 72 10-ton personnel landing craft, the first thirteen batches of parts have arrived, and the last seven batches will arrive within a week. I brought all the modification masters and spare parts this time, and if I start work immediately, I can assemble and renovate them all within 20 days. ”

"Do you know the information on the movement of the Soviet troops?"

"When in Urumqi. Already know a few. ”

"Good. Then I don't have to bother with words. Are there any tentative plans for the crossing? ”

"Here."

Zhuo Fan gently placed the preliminary crossing plan on the table, and the moment his fingers left. There was a feeling of relief. It really started from entering the door, and the opposite Lieutenant General Chu Nan, who had followed the president from Wusheng Pass to the present, was too direct. Didn't give him any respite from thinking. One question after another, it's as if you're launching a continuous assault on a fortress! It made him clearly feel the difference between the First Army and the previous troops.

Chu Nan didn't seem to see the expression of his new combat staff officer, picked up the plan and read it carefully before handing it back: "No!" It was not enough for the first wave to have only 1 armored regiment and 2 motorized infantry regiments. The coordination of paratroopers after landing is also amplified by you, in fact, they need to re-form after landing, and it will take at least two to three hours before they have the initial combat capability at the battalion and company level. So we can't put our hopes in someone else! The first crossings required at least two armored regiments, four infantry battalions and an artillery regiment! Also, your intelligence is not timely enough. An hour earlier, reconnaissance aircraft had spotted a large number of troop transport trains on the railway line west of Karaganda, indicating that the enemy had reinforcements in addition to Uzbekistan. If they overwhelm Balkhash, this little strength will not be enough! ”

Zhuo Fan clenched his fists, how could he know the information he had just gotten? However, he did not refute it, this is the rule in the army, and newcomers need to sweat more if they want to gain a foothold in the ace army full of talents.

"Re-revise according to the new intelligence, prepare some more hard-hulled speedboats, I need tools that can allow the infantry to reach the opposite shore quickly! Also, twenty days is too long! From now on, all the mechanics and technical non-commissioned officers of the army are under your control, and within fifteen days I will see that all the landing craft are ready! ”

"Yes!"

Zhuo Fan raised his hand in salute, and the corners of his mouth slowly hooked. This meeting was really short and profound!

．

When Chu Nan used his killing stick to beat Xinding, the Soviet command post in Karaganda was also very busy. The commander-in-chief of the Kazakh Front, Kulik, stood at his desk, holding up his phone and raging. At his side, the Russian translation of the "Han Feng Project", which had been sent from Moscow overnight for reference, was blown by the wind and hunted.

"I don't want to listen to any difficulties, there should be no difficulties in front of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army! The 187th and 232nd divisions had to rush to Birlik in two days! It will become the enemy's main attack, and I need more troops. ”

"Tell the commissar of Avasily that the 30th Army should be faster! Stop talking about the difficulties with transmissions and gears, pick up your hammer and make it obedient! The enemy is reinforcing Almaty, and I need you to arrive in three days. Take it seriously. Whichever unit did not catch up, shoot their commander! ”

"Commander." Colonel Yankovich had just entered the door with his front foot, and when he saw that Comrade Commander had a very bad face, he stuck out his tongue and retracted it. This small action happened to be seen by Kulik, who was full of hot stomachs, and slapped the table fiercely: "Comrade Yankovich, do you think that Comrade Kulik is a man-eating tiger?!" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander, no!"

"If it's not, then why are you afraid?"

"Report Comrade Commander. I'm afraid to disturb you. ”

The clever answer made Kulik unable to express his anger, and scolded loudly: "Now you don't have to worry! Tell me, what's the matter? ”

Yankovich secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart: "Report to Comrade Commander, the Chief of Staff has returned from the 4th Mechanized Army and the 16th Army, which have been transferred from Moscow to support us. ”

"Great, bring them in." Kulik was happy. You must know that the 4th Mechanized Army and the 16th Army are both old units of the Southwest Military Region, which fought with the General Secretary. At a critical juncture before the attack, the presence of two such forces from Europe would undoubtedly put a lot of leverage on the stakes for victory.

Kulik had just packed his things when the chief of staff of the Kazakh Front, Lieutenant General Smorodinov, walked in with two officers. It is clear that Kulik did not have a good relationship with his chief of staff, and simply shook hands. said: "Comrade Morodinov, tell us about it. ”

"Okay. Commander-in-chief, this is Lieutenant General Lukin, commander of the 16th Army. This is Lieutenant General Vlasov. The commanders of the 4th Mechanized Corps, all of whom were specially drawn from Europe by Comrade General Secretary to support us. ”

"Comrade Commander, please arrange a mission. Our 4th Mechanized Corps is ready to kick the Chinese in the ass! "To be able to come to the Far East to fight against the legendary Chinese Wehrmacht, which has a large number of advanced tanks, Vlasov is obviously very enthusiastic! However, he does have the capital, with a tank division and two motorized infantry divisions, a total of more than 300 T26 and T34 not to mention, as well as hundreds of artillery pieces and more than a dozen T35 heavy tanks, full of confidence.

But Lukin, who was on the side, was much more cautious, walked to the map and asked, "Comrade commander." Can you tell us about the current situation? ”

"Yes. Jankovic! Tell me about it. ”

"Yes!" Jankovic immediately walked to the map: "Since the beginning of this week, there have been several sporadic exchanges of fire at the border. The enemy's reconnaissance planes also strafed us from time to time, which shows that the Chinese are about to attack! According to the accurate information obtained so far, they have transferred the 7th Army, which was previously stationed in Ulianghai, to East Kazakhstan to strengthen the defense here. Four reserve armies from Xinjiang and Kashgar were also transferred to Almaty. And it has already been confirmed that the 1st Army, which participated in the last war and was the first to break through the German lines, also arrived in Almaty. At present, East Kazakhstan has three corps, the 5th, 7th and 20th, which are stationed in Semiy, Karakum fortress and Akdouka, and there are three or four infantry divisions in reserve in Tacheng in the rear. Note that Karakum had a large number of fortress guns, and there were also four thousand garrisons in it. In addition, the 1st, 15th, 16th, 21st, 22nd and 31st armies, as well as at least 5 or 6 infantry and paratrooper divisions of unknown numbers, have been spotted in the Almaty area, where the enemy is expected to attack.

In response to the enemy's movements, Comrade Commander has also concentrated his troops in the area outside East Kazakhstan and in the Zhambyl region, forming two heavy blows. Including the newly arrived 16th Army and the 4th Mechanized Army, a total of 6 armies in East Kazakhstan and 4 armies in South Kazakhstan attacked a total of 970,000 troops. General Zhukov's Siberian Front will also send five divisions from Barnaul to assist us in the attack on Semiy and the East Kazakh region. The specific offensive line was that East Kazakhstan would attack the three major cities in three directions, destroy as many enemy forces as possible, and force them to make it easier for the South Kazakh Army to attack Shaye and Almaty after withdrawing the reserve forces to Almaty. ”

Lukin listened quietly, constantly recording the deployment in his notebook, and when it came to the defense forces along the shores of Lake Balkhash, he suddenly noticed a very bad problem. Since the Karakum fortress is two hundred kilometers deep from the East Kazakhstan border, this also means that in order to pull out the biggest fangs of East Kazakhstan, it is necessary to advance the troops two hundred kilometers forward! Moreover, the defense of the western shore of Lake Balkhash is also smaller. There are only 5 infantry divisions and 11 artillery regiments, what if they encounter a forced crossing of the lake?

Kulik laughed: "Comrade Lukin, you are not familiar with this place. Since the confrontation between us and the Chinese, Lake Balkhash has been suspended, and ten years have passed, and there are no more ships to use. Even if they were to be transported from the country, it would only be some assault boats and rubber boats carrying infantry, and our cannons and machine guns would tear these little toys! ”

The artillery-oriented Kulik was so confident that Lukin frowned. But he must also admit that there are not enough ships, and it is too dangerous to cross Lake Balkhash with infantry alone. And on the opposite shore of the Saremsek Peninsula, where pontoon bridges were most likely, Kulik deployed four artillery regiments, seven anti-aircraft battalions and several dozen machine-gun battalions, plus a full two mountain infantry divisions, and it was not a big problem to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

After Jankovich finished his introduction, Kulik clapped his hands: "Comrade Vlasov, you need to work harder, you must all enter the ambush positions on the East Kazakhstan front within five days, and the soldiers in front need your tanks to help them break through." Comrade Lukin, your 16th Army will temporarily go to Aksuayurey as a reserve unit, which is the halfway point between the two battlefields, whether it is East Kazakhstan or Almaty, and can be quickly supported in case of problems. ”

In five days?!

Lukin did not expect to be in battle in five days, and hurriedly found Aksu Ayure, located directly north of Balkhash and able to support both battlefields at the same time. A closer look reveals that this place is also only 160 kilometers away from Balkhash, and as long as the strikers are deployed in Akchatau, they can quickly support the Balkhash line.

"This place is nice." Lukin nodded.