Dzerzhinsky received a report from the 32nd Cavalry Division that it was about 20 kilometers west of the Usu River valley and encountered a Chinese cavalry division, and the department judged that the 29th Cavalry Division and the Polish Cavalry Division were surrounded in the valley. Dzerzhinsky was taken aback when he heard this, and regretted sending cavalry units to the rescue. Later, he received a report that Jinghe was occupied by Chinese cavalry, and the 32nd Cavalry Division was withdrawn to Nilek, and Dzerzhinsky's head suddenly became big.

The chief of staff of the Russian army said: "The Chinese army has occupied Jinghe, it is estimated that Kuitun has been lost, and the 29th Cavalry Division may have been wiped out." The fact that the war situation has changed so quickly shows that the CCP army is carefully prepared and planned. "Not only that, but the Chinese army must have sent heavy troops with the intention of quickly occupying the Ili River Valley." "At present, our forces are limited, and we simply cannot stop the attack of the Chinese." "I have reported to the command and suggested that the Ili Valley be held and that the wishful thinking of the Chinese must not be allowed to succeed. Immediately report to the headquarters the latest battle situation, and report truthfully. "The two cavalry divisions have been destroyed, and the 55th Infantry Division of Kuitun may not survive, and the headquarters will not blame us!" The chief of staff said apprehensively.

Dzerzhinsky said: "If we lose the Ili Valley, we will not be able to hold it responsible. However, the command made a mistake in judgment because the command believed that the Chinese army would go north to fight, which would cause the Ili River Valley to be empty, and I judged that the command would not severely rebuke me. The Chinese army suddenly launched an attack on the Ili Valley, and the command definitely had targeted measures. "Dzerzhinsky is quite clear-headed. Since the Russian troops held out in Kuitun for seven days, the Chinese army could not quickly launch an attack on the Ili River Valley. During this period, the command of the Eastern Front of Russia issued an order. Let Dzerzhinsky be sure to hold on to the Ili Valley, and then send reinforcements from Almaty to the Ili Valley.

Dzerzhinsky received a notification from the command and said to the chief of staff: "Our division has lost three divisions. The command did not hold me accountable. In addition, the command decided to transfer two additional German divisions from Almatia, and the infantry divisions of the 51st and 53rd divisions also entered the Ili River Valley. 4 divisions strengthened the defense of the Ili River Valley, and I was at ease. In particular, the elite of the German army strengthened my confidence in defending the Ili River Valley. The chief of staff said: "General, I didn't expect you to be a blessing in disguise, and the headquarters appointed you as the supreme commander of the Ili River Valley, and commanded the defense of the Ili River Valley in a unified manner. General, maybe the Ili Valley defense operation brought you good luck. ”

Dzerzhinsky waved his hand and said: "It's useless to talk too much, it is the duty of a soldier to serve the Tsar Bixia." For the survival of the Russian nation. I had already made a vow to stain the battlefield with blood. In the face of the ferocious offensive momentum of the Chinese army, we must unite and defend tenaciously. "General, the 1st and 2nd Royal Divisions of the German Army are elite troops, and good steel must be used on the blade. I propose to let the German divisions defend Nilek and Yining. I don't know what the general wants? "Chief of Staff, when it comes to the point, I think so too!" The two men laughed slyly.

When He Meng was deploying to launch an attack on the Ili River Valley, two German divisions and two Russian divisions entered the Ili River Valley, and the battlefield situation changed. On this day, a joint military conference was held in the city of Yining, at which Dzerzhinsky said: "First of all, welcome our noble ally, the elite division of the German Empire, to the Ili Valley to jointly deal with the fierce enemy. General von Lautz. General Kraut, a sincere welcome to you. General von Lautz was a little arrogant and said, "I heard that your troops lost two cavalry divisions in a few days. An infantry division, two cities also lost? Von Lautz was unceremonious.

Dzerzhinsky was a little embarrassed and said: "General von Lautz, the Chinese army is not easy to deal with at present, they are elusive and strong in combat, I think the general should know." The Chinese army suddenly launched an attack on Kuitun, and I had to come to the rescue. But I didn't expect that they were actually besieging the city to send reinforcements. To tell you the truth, the Chinese army has dispatched heavy troops, and if there is no problem with the assembly of one of my cavalry divisions, I am afraid that the whole army will be wiped out. Fighting the Chinese, even if you are careful, you can't figure out what they are thinking. ”

Dzerzhinsky continued: "The Chinese soldiers are hard-working, they can endure difficulties that we cannot bear, their military generals are outstanding, both strategically and tactically, impeccable, the cowardly China of the past is no longer what it used to be, and it is inevitable to lose or even pay the price in the battle against such an opponent." Since the beginning of the war, the cost paid by the coalition has abounded, and frankly I admire such an opponent. At this time, the commander of the 2nd Royal Division, General Kraut, seemed to understand: "Dzerzhinsky is very honest and does not shirk his responsibility. ”

Kraut continued: "It is a pity that our Polish brothers have said goodbye to the battlefield like this. The Germans are not here to say goodbye to the battlefield, we are here to challenge the opponent, General von Lautz and I like tough opponents, general, please tell me about your deployment! ”

Dzerzhinsky walked to the military map, picked up his baton and said: "Everyone, Kuitun is lost, we have lost a strategic point, and now the Chinese army has occupied Jinghe again. The eastern side of the Ili Valley is wide open, so our defensive front is very serious. My defense jihua is, Nilek, Yining, Huocheng, Gongliu, and Zhaosu, forming a plum-shaped defensive front and forming a strong fortress fortification. The distance between these five cities is no more than 200 kilometers, and they can support each other. ”

Dzerzhinsky continued: "The Chinese army is good at using siege tactics to send reinforcements, and since our cities can support each other, we can curb the Chinese army's mobile combat advantage. General von Lautz and General Kraut, do you think this defense is feasible? Von Lautz said: "The most critical of this defensive line similar to the plum blossom earthquake type are the two strategic points of Nilek and Yining, as long as we ensure that these two points are not lost, we can ensure that the defensive line is stable." ”

"General von Lautz is worthy of being the elite of the German Empire, and the key points of Nilek and Yining counties are indeed important, as long as these two strategic points are not lost, the entire defense line will be impregnable." Dzerzhinsky agreed. "General Dzerzhinsky, we Germans came here to challenge our opponents, I wonder how powerful the Chinese really are! Then let the facts speak for themselves, and I decided that the Royal 2nd Division would defend Nilek in front of the breakthrough! "Crout is swaggering and ambitious.

"Since General Kraut is defending Nilek, I'm going to defend Yining. General Dzerzhinsky. We need the details of Yining, Nilek Castle. Von Lautz also took the lead. Dzerzhinsky was overjoyed when he heard this, and he was full of praise: "General von Lautz, General Kraut, Nilek, and Yining County rely on the two. On behalf of Marshal Guf, I would like to pay deep tribute to both of them for their courage. The Germans were strict and resolute, and on the same day Kraut led his troops to Nilek, and von Lautz to Yining.

The headquarters of the Russian Front decided to increase its forces and hold the Ili River valley as a last resort. If the Chinese army captures the Ili Valley, it will have the absolute strategic initiative. The reasons can be covered in three ways. First, to the south, southern Xinjiang can be quickly recovered and effectively controlled. Second. Threaten Kazakhstan to the west and create a mortal threat to the entire Central Asian region. Third, the attack to the north is more rapid, especially the Tacheng defense line and the Karamay defense line are wide open. Capture is like taking something in a bag.

on this. The commander of the Russian Southeastern Front, Marshal Guv, ordered Dzerzhinsky to ensure that the Ili River Valley was not lost. In order to let Dzerzhinsky have no worries, Marshal Gufu informed that the headquarters was mobilizing forces from Central Asia to support the Ili Valley operation. With soldiers in hand, Dzerzhinsky was able to redeploy the formation with ease. He ordered one division to defend Gongliu, one division to defend Zhaosu in the south, and one division to garrison Huocheng.

Explain. Yining is divided into two castles, one of which is located in the northwest direction. It is now the county seat of Yining. A castle is located in the southwest direction, which is now Yining City, in order to distinguish it from being mixed, it is collectively referred to as Yining County Castle and Yining Castle, and the distance between the two is about 50 kilometers. The German Imperial 1st Division, Von Lautz, served as the defense of Yining County Castle, which was similar to the outer defense line of Yining Castle.

Dzerzhinsky's defensive headquarters was located in Yining City, and since Yining City was in the middle of the Plum Blossom Formation defense line, he placed an infantry division and a cavalry division in Yining, which could be used to reinforce the battle everywhere at any time. Referring to the lessons of the defeat of the Russian army in the Baikal region, Dzerzhinsky decided after research that in order to deal with the Chinese army's retreat, a trench four meters wide and three meters deep would be dug around the castle to prevent the enemy from using tunnels to blast the city walls.

In the headquarters of the Kuitun Front, officers at and above the division level were seated. He Meng said to the generals: "Now we know that the Russian army in the Ili River valley did not choose to retreat after capturing Kuitun and taking Jinghe. Judging from this, the Russian army has increased its strength. He Meng didn't know that two German divisions had entered the Ili River Valley, but according to the deployment of the Russian army, he could roughly judge how many troops the Russian army had increased.

He Meng continued: "The Russian army did not choose to retreat, and it is obvious that the Russian army wants to hold on to the Ili River Valley. After analysis and the deployment of the Russian army, it is inferred that the Russian army has requisitioned at least 4 divisions of troops into the Ili River Valley, otherwise it will not be able to form a solid defensive line. The situation has changed, but our determination to capture the Ili Valley has not changed. Next, we will face a tough battle, and the situation is not optimistic. Next, I would like to ask the chief of staff to explain the operation. ”

Lei Zhensheng stood up and walked to the map and pointed: "The Russian army has formed a defensive front similar to a plum blossom in Nilek, Yining County, Gongliu, Zhaosu, Huocheng, and Yining, and formed a defensive posture with Yining as the center. The change in circumstances we did not expect. Since the distance between the plum blossom-shaped key points is no more than 200 kilometers, our tactics of encirclement and siege and reinforcement cannot be carried out, so we can only choose to attack the fortified positions. ”

Lei Zhensheng continued: "Our first step must be to take Nilek and tear a hole in the Russian army's plum blossom defense line." Everyone knows how difficult it is to storm the fortifications, although our tactics of retreat have played an unexpected role. But the Russians were not fools, they dug trenches around the city to prevent us from digging tunnels under the walls. Looks like our tactics of retreat are not working. In the face of a brutal offensive battle, the attacking troops must change their fighting style and come up with a way to defeat the enemy. In short, we must capture the Ili Valley. ”

He Meng stood up again and said: "Since the start of the war, the capture of Kuitun not long ago is the first time that our western expeditionary army has faced a tough battle, our experience is insufficient, and the degree of difficulty can be imagined, but it is inevitable to attack the city and pull out the fortress in the battle. Now I command??????。 (To be continued......)

PS: The emergence of a new opponent means that the tide of the battle has changed significantly.