"As part of the diversionary battle, the Northern Front, while attacking the enemy in front of Chelyabinsk, should quickly seize Yekaterinburg with a strong force and cut off the main supply routes of the Russian Belle Movement east of the Ural Mountains. Then, a group of capable mobile detachments were organized to sweep and pacify the main settlements between the Ob River and the Ural Mountains, eradicate the resistance forces, and establish effective control. ”

Xiang Lan paused, and suddenly said in an aggravated tone: "I heard that Chief of Staff Qin is very good at dealing with guerrillas in Eastern Siberia, and the commander specially sent a report to apply for you to be transferred to the Northern Front, it is precisely out of this consideration, I hope that you and Commander Zhao will not live up to the commander's painstaking efforts." ”

Xiang Lan had already said this, but he didn't expect Qin Feiye to be unwilling, but instead had an idea, and took advantage of the situation: "In this case, I propose to shift the operational focus of the front army to the direction of Yekaterinburg, where the Russian army is weak." In this way, it will be possible for the main forces of the Front to bypass the main forces of the Russian army in front of Chelyabinsk, break through the enemy's defense line in the Ural Mountains from the northern flank, seize the upper Volga region in the area from Perm to Kazan, and form a horn with the Central Asian Front attacking the area of the middle reaches of the Volga. ”

"After that, depending on the progress of the German army and the deployment of the Russian army, either the two major fronts will attack Moscow together, or they will attack Moscow and the lower Volga region separately. In any case, the simultaneous development of the two fronts will always speed up the realization of the strategic goal of the Sino-German division more than the Central Asian Front armies fighting alone. ”

Xiang Lan winked unhappily and retorted mercilessly: "Just now Chief of Staff Qin himself said that the Northern Front Army has insufficient troops and supply difficulties, and once the supply line is rapidly lengthened, it will inevitably lead to serious consequences. Now you have to keep the main forces of the front in a direction away from the existing supply lines and friendly attack routes. Carrying out a roundabout breakthrough operation with a depth of 8 to 900 kilometers, completely ignoring the heavy Russian army group in front of Chelyabinsk, may be able to reinforce southward or flee westward, thus affecting the realization of the overall operational objective of the theater. ”

"Such inconsistencies and disregard for the overall situation, as the chief of staff of the theater, I have such a whimsical proposal for Chief of Staff Qin. I don't agree with it, but I regret it. ”

As soon as Xiang Lan finished singing the black face, Wang Zhi sang along with the white face: "Chief of Staff Qin's proposal is still very creative. If the base camp gives us another two or three months to gradually improve the transportation conditions and replenish the troops and supplies, and the rivers are frozen and the ground is frozen and hard, the troops' advance will not be easily hindered by the rivers and muddy roads, but it is possible to let the two major fronts advance at the same time. ”

"But the reality is in front of us. The base camp only gave us seven days, and in such a short period of time, it is impossible to make major adjustments to the existing troop deployment and supply system, and I hope that Chief of Staff Qin will put forward more reasonable requirements and suggestions on the basis of facing up to reality. ”

After getting the steps given by Wang Zhi and receiving the eyes of Zhao Feixue, Qin Feiye didn't dare to make his own assertions anymore, and hurriedly bowed his head and admitted his mistake: "It's because I didn't think it through." Speaking hastily, the commander smiled at the chief of staff. ”

Wang Zhi smiled meaningfully: "It's a good thing to have something to say." The key is not to carry the selfishness of small circles and cliques. The last time I fought the 'Bear Slaughter', the Northern Army played a supporting role in the Central and Runner-up Army, and although I was unwilling to follow the Chief of Staff, we still proceeded from the overall situation and did our best to cooperate with the Central Runner-up Army. This time, the Northern Army is again playing a supporting role, and some people must be uncomfortable. I'm not feeling well, so what if I'm not feeling well? ”

"The reality is that the transportation conditions on the side of the Central Asian Army are much better, and the accumulation of troops and the hoarding of materials are more convenient and rapid, and they are more sure to break through the enemy's defense line. It is also more likely to quickly advance to the enemy's far-reaching rear, so as to carry out a roundabout encirclement, division and annihilation of the enemy's heavy army group. ”

"If it is the other way around, the railway and road conditions of the Northern Army are much better than those of the Central Asian Army, I will naturally let the Northern Army take the lead in attacking, and let the Central Asian Army implement containment. Of course, if both fronts have sufficiently clear lines of communication, I will, of course, strive to get the two fronts to advance in tandem and launch a pincer offensive with greater depth and greater objectives. ”

"It doesn't matter who is the protagonist and who is the supporting role, the important thing is that no matter when and where, you can do your best to play the role of the moment, and you must not affect the effect of the whole drama because of individual mistakes."

After listening to Wang Zhi's heartfelt words, Zhao Feixue and Qin Feiye glanced at each other, bowed their heads and remained silent.

Xiang Lan looked in his eyes, and then turned to Hu Jing, chief of staff of the Central Asian Front, with the attitude of a victor: "Since there is no problem on the side of the Northern Army for the time being, please ask Chief of Staff Hu to talk about the problem of the Central Asian Army." ”

Hu Jingyi, who was the same age as Xiao Lieri, was of medium height, thin and thin, wearing a pair of large square-framed eyes, his sockets were sunken and black, and the pen in his hand was calculating something on the paper from time to time.

However, as Hu Jing's instructor in the first accelerated artillery section of the Army University, Wang Zhi still remembers how this timid and thin young man used an axe to chop wood to chase several big men who had always been bullying from the playground to the canteen, and then from the canteen to the bathhouse, and finally into his office.

As early as the First Sino-Japanese War, Hu Jingwei served in the first division of the Praetorian Guard with Xiao Lieri, and Hu Jingwei served as the commander of the division's artillery regiment, because of his outstanding performance in several famous battles, Hu Jingwei was the former chief of the army chief of the army Liu Yunci of the current dynasty Taizuwu Emperor Liu Yunci called the "Cannon King", and the 10th Janissary Regiment commanded by Xiao Lieri was given the name of "lion roar" by the Guangxing Emperor at that time after the war.

During the Asian-Russian War, Hu Jingwei successively served as the chief of staff of the 2nd Army to the 2nd Group Army commanded by Xiao Lieri, and his specialty in commanding large-scale artillery operations was more prominent in the battles of Boli and Chita, so he was transferred to the director of the artillery section of the Army University and the director of the Artillery Research Institute after the war, carrying out military education and compiling teaching materials, and after the war, he also served as the director of the army artillery, responsible for supervising the organization and training of artillery units and the distribution and maintenance of artillery equipment.

Hu was obviously not willing to be in the rear and made no achievements in this unprecedented war, so he looked for connections everywhere and tried to find a "suitable position" in the formation of the front-line group army and above, but he was unable to do so.

Now, Hu is not only getting his wish. was also able to work hand in hand with his old comrade-in-arms and old partner Xiao Lieri again, although it did not make him happy, he also seemed a little ambitious.

Hearing Xiang Lan's name, Hu was horrified and put down the pen in his hand and responded unhurriedly: "Then I'll tell the truth." ”

"The Central Asian Front currently has two armored armies and two composite armies, and one infantry corps and one cavalry brigade under its direct jurisdiction. There were sixteen heavy infantry divisions, fourteen armored brigades, and thirteen cavalry brigades. In addition, the 2nd Air Group, which is attached to the Front Army, has a total of 41 flying squadrons.

"Together with the units directly under the command at all levels, the whole army should have 600,000 men, 2,100 artillery pieces, 1,500 combat vehicles and self-propelled guns, and 468 aircraft according to the normal establishment."

"In fact, due to the losses from the last operation, coupled with excessive use, poor environment, improper maintenance, and other reasons, the armored units, which are the main assault force, are generally lacking, and the available combat vehicles are less than half of the normal establishment, and the armored brigades have to reduce the number of tank battalions under their jurisdiction from two to one."

"The situation is similar for other motor vehicles. Half-track armored vehicles and wheeled armored vehicles can usually only meet one-third of the needs, and more than half of all kinds of tractors and trucks are always missing or under repair, and the insufficient part has to be supplemented by horse-drawn vehicles. ”

"However, there is also a big gap in horses. Since the beginning of the war, the front army has lost hundreds of thousands of military horses, and the horse farms of the Northwest Military Region have long been unable to replenish them, and the agricultural horses requisitioned and transferred from the interior are not suitable for military use, and the mortality rate is extremely high. ”

"It's also a way to collect from the ground. However, due to the lag in the building of political power and political propaganda, and the corruption of military discipline and the reckless behavior of a small number of garrison troops. Residents in various localities under the control of the front army have a stronger sense of resistance to all kinds of expropriation and requisition. As a result, the local collection of horses has become increasingly difficult, and it is far from sufficient to cover the huge shortage of military supplies. ”

"Moreover, the transportation conditions of the Central Asian Army are actually not much better than those of the Northern Army, and the local trains can only go directly to Aktobe, which is 250 kilometers away from the front line. Then through horse-drawn carriages, trucks, and urgent light railways, they were successively transferred to the front line, and with the increase in the strength and technical weapons of the front army, the logistical pressure has become increasingly prominent......

Hearing this, Xiang Lan shook his head and interrupted, "What Chief of Staff Hu wants to say." I probably understand, the same as the previous Chief of Staff Qin, in the final analysis, you just want a car and a horse, right? ”

Hu was frightened and helped the heavy glasses on the bridge of his nose, put his hands on his knees, and calmly spit out two words: "Exactly." ”

Xiang Lan stretched out his hand, his face non-negotiable: "In just seven days, there are not many trucks and horses in the war zone, which is just a drop in the bucket for you." You can only wait until the end of the battle to find a solution. ”

Xiang Lan paused, then lit the table and continued: "In the last 'bear slaughter' operation, the Northern Army actually only used seven divisions and four brigades, the Central Runner Army actually used only ten divisions and sixteen brigades, and the Li Navy only used two divisions and five brigades. In contrast, the scale of the 'Anxi' operation was much larger, but the transportation conditions were not fundamentally improved, and logistical difficulties inevitably increased, and this required the armies of all quarters to make meticulous plans and proper arrangements to use their limited resources in the most critical places. ”

Xiang Lan said, nodded slightly towards Wang Zhi, Wang Zhiwolf's eyes flashed, and his eyes burned and added: "Everyone has difficulties, and the difficulties are very great, but if there are difficulties, we must fight." To think that it is more difficult for the enemy than us, and if you don't fight it, you will have a chance to breathe, plus the Anglo-American constant blood transfusions to it, gradually it will not be difficult for him, and it will be even more difficult for us to fight him again. If this battle is successfully fought, Russia may collapse, and the Reich may join forces with Germany within the year, so that the Reich will be invincible and able to end the war in the most favorable position. ”

"The purpose of holding this meeting today is to determine the priorities of all quarters, so that everyone can clearly understand where the strength should be concentrated and where it should not be wasted, and when necessary, we can consciously and actively draw the strength of the secondary direction to support the operation in the main direction."

"Next, it is up to the chief of staff to deploy the primary and secondary tasks in all aspects. If you have any opinions, just ask, but don't just cry poor, and don't just fight your own little calculations, do you understand? ”

The generals looked at each other for a few seconds, straightened their chests one after another, and shouted in unison: "Understood! ”

Wang Zhi nodded with satisfaction, and he knew that from this moment on, his authority as the commander of the newly established Eastern European Theater could be regarded as truly established.

…… (To be continued......)