In the early morning of 28 September, when there was no longer any calm, the 3rd Route Army of the Independent Division launched an attack on the 200,000-odd troops of the Transcaucasian Military District of the Soviet Union from the south, east, and west.

The salvo of rocket artillery shells blew up the Soviet army's ranks into a sea of fire, the Zheng Yong artillery group that shelled it head-on, the artillery group of the troops on both wings, poured steel on the Soviet army, and under the whistling shells, there was an assault formation composed of more than a thousand tanks, the tracks rolled up the dirt and flying, and behind the tanks, there were rows of independent division infantry.

If it is said that Yang Ketian's frontal assault group suddenly counterattacked, it did not surprise General Kurygin too much, and it was normal for his two elite mechanized armies to attack for seven or eight hours, and the troops of the independent division to counterattack.

However, the left and right flanks, killing the troops of the independent division at the same time, made General Kurygin no longer able to calm down, looking at the cannonballs flying in the sky, like meteors, falling among his own troops, he had only one terrible thought in his mind, "Could it be that I was surrounded by Tang Qiuli's main force!" ”

As soon as this thought flashed in his mind, the cold sweat on General Kulygin's head fell, and a burst of fear swept through his body like electricity, his hands trembled, and every qiē on the battlefield proved his ominous judgment.

The fierce artillery fire almost hit half of the night sky, covering the entire battlefield, as a veteran on the battlefield, General Kulygin could hear that it was all heavy artillery, and the number was no less than two thousand. If it is really as the intelligence departments at the two levels of the military region and the general staff have said, there is no main force of Tang Qiuli in the Outer Mongolia region, and it is a hell of a life, where did such a second-rate unit as the Outer Mongolian Border Guards of the Independent Division come from so many large-caliber heavy artillery?

But he still has a bit of a fluke mentality, perhaps, the independent divisions on both flanks, just to reduce the pressure on their frontal positions, to contain and flank themselves, the strength will not be too much. In the final analysis, it is still to buy time for Tang Qiuli's main force, and the intelligence of the intelligence department of the military region is guaranteed by oath. So far, the Outer Mongolia region. No trace of Tang Qiuli's main army has been found.

Just the intelligence of the intelligence department subordinate to the military district. It was not enough to reassure General Kulygin, as evidenced by the bulletin on the enemy situation from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, which, moreover, did not believe in the large-scale operation of hundreds of thousands of troops of the Independent Division. How can the hundreds of kilometers of marching routes from China to Outer Mongolia be hidden from the pervasive eyes of the intelligence services?

He couldn't convince himself that this was not Tang Qiuli's main army. At this moment, the chief of staff of the military district, Lieutenant General Zirnenko, ran over with an ugly face, and from his face, General Kurygin saw an ominous omen.

Lieutenant General Zirenenko said in a dry voice: "Comrade commander, the situation is very bad, we have received reports from all the troops, our two flanks are under attack by the main forces of the independent division, the enemy's artillery fire, covering all our positions, in front of the Fifth and Ninth armies, the independent division dispatched more than a thousand tanks for a surprise attack, they can no longer withstand it and are retreating, Comrade Commander, we must take countermeasures, otherwise, the situation will be very dangerous!" ”

"There are all kinds of signs that we have fallen into the encirclement of the troops of the independent division, including the rear guard and the heavy troops, all under attack, this is a trap, the trap set by the Chinese Tang Qiuli! More than 60 kilometers deep, encircling our more than 200,000 troops, God! How many troops did the Chinese dispatch? Where did they come from, and why wasn't there a hint beforehand? Zirnenko's chief of staff's voice became hoarse, almost groaning.

General Kuregin's face became blue and sluggish, the muscles on his cheeks trembled, his eyes instantly lost their brilliance, his whole body was weak, and he slumped heavily on the marching chair, almost crushing the thin canvas chair.

At this moment, General Kurekin's brain is chaotic into a pot of porridge, just like thousands of bees, flying in the ears, "buzzing", deafening cannon sound, it seems to sound outside the sky, thinking is in a temporary blank state, only one voice echoes in the heart, "We are surrounded by Chinese!" ”

"Comrade Commander! Comrade Commander! Seeing that General Kurygin looked depressed and pale, the chief of staff of Zirnenko was taken aback, and he was really worried that he would have a heart attack, so he hung up on the spot and hurriedly shouted.

General Kuregin's dull gaze looked at him and asked sleepwalking, "What's the matter?" ”

The chief of staff of Zirnianko secretly complained in his heart, "It's over, the strong enemy is pressing the border, and he has been wrapped in dumplings, but Comrade Commander is in such a state, how can he support the overall situation!" ”

It should be time to make a decision immediately, and if you delay for one more minute, it will be more dangerous, "Comrade commander, I will take advantage of the fact that the encirclement of the independent division has not yet been completed, and immediately order the troops to break through and retreat, return the same way, and retreat to the north bank of the Sesagoge River to avoid being surrounded?" Zirnenko's chief of staff almost roared.

"Breakout? Fall back? Looking at the anxious Chief of Staff, General Kurygin repeated his words dreamily.

"Boom!" An artillery shell exploded nearby, waking up General Kulygin, and his thinking returned to reality, surrounded on three sides, artillery fire and tank assault, Tang Qiuli was ruthless, designed such a big trap, and loaded in more than 200,000 of my troops at once, and the six or seven days of blocking the Gehe River were just to realize this conspiracy.

Not for the fate of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but for the crushing defeat he was facing, the desperate situation he was facing, suddenly, General Kurygin stood up suddenly, his eyes flashed with a gambler's iron-gray dark light, and he shouted: "No, you must not retreat!" The desperation in the desperate situation cleared his mind.

Lieutenant General Zirnenko was in a hurry, when was it, and he was still so stubborn, did he have to bury the lives of more than 100,000 soldiers in the military district, and he still had to insist on his opinion, which was rudely interrupted by General Kurygin.

General Kurygin said in a hoarse voice: "Breakthrough? If we break through, we will be fiercely pursued by the troops of the independent division, and the retreat will turn into a rout, and even if we reach the south bank of the Sesagog River, how many troops will we have left? Losing troops and returning with a big defeat, going back like this, can Comrade Stalin spare us? ”

"Moreover, with Tang Qiuli's insidiousness and cunning, can he leave a gap in the north for us to retreat? He must have set up ambushes on both sides of the Sesagoge River, and when the troops crossed the river, they suddenly attacked, and our troops with low morale and retreating in panic could withstand such an attack? No! Besides, will we be able to break through? ”

Speaking of this, a desperate and fierce look appeared on the face of General Kulygin, and he said to Lieutenant General Zirnianko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, convey my order to all the troops, switch to the defense on the spot, stick to the defense, and try to mix with the infantry of the independent division, use their artillery fire to lose its effect, and it is not so easy to eat more than 200,000 of my troops in one bite!" ”

"Send a telegram to the deputy commander of the Air Force of the Don Military District, Jonasov, ordering his air force units to be dispatched after dawn, at any cost, to seize air supremacy, and also, to report the situation to the General Staff, explaining the dangerous situation we are facing! I ask the General Staff to find a way to mobilize troops and open a gap for us. ”

Lieutenant General Zirnenko was so angry that his head was dizzy for a while, "Stick? To put it mildly, hundreds of thousands of troops are distributed in an area of nearly 1,000 square kilometers, putting on an offensive posture, the terrain in this area is flat and open, there is not even a natural concealment, and the temporarily dug fortifications can resist a few shells, and if they are surrounded for four or five days, the logistical supply lines will be cut off, and the supplies and ammunition carried by the troops will only be enough for three days. ”

"What if the food is finished? What to do if you run out of bullets and shells? When the time comes, there is no need for the troops of the independent division to attack, and the soldiers will be starved for two days, and the soldiers will not even have the strength to hold guns, so they will not die faster? Waiting for help? That force can arrive in two or three days? The four infantry corps of the most promising Far Eastern Front, still running on the road, did not have a week to reach it at all. ”

"Will Tang Qiuli leave us time, when we arrive at the battlefield, I am afraid that what we see is the corpses of the Soviet Red Army soldiers everywhere, at a critical moment, the supreme commander made such a stupid move, and he saw that he was going to bury the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers! Can't let him destroy hundreds of thousands of soldiers here! "There was a fierce glint in the eyes of the chief of staff of Zirnenko, he was going to disobey, not only to disobey the order, but also to take the command of Commander Kulygin.

In the wartime command regulations of the Soviet army, there is such a clause: "When a member of the command finds that the supreme commander has given an order to lead the defeat of the battle, put the troops in a dangerous situation, or to surrender to the enemy, the political commissar and the chief of staff are obliged to refuse to carry out the order and deprive him of the right to command,"

According to this article, the chief of staff of Zirnenko is concurrently a member of the political committee of the military district, and Senior General Kulygin is the only person who can exercise power, but his expression changed and fell in the eyes of Senior General Kulygin.

Having been in the military circles for decades, General Kurygin also knew that there was such a military rule, so he naturally guessed Lieutenant General Zirnenko's thoughts, he smiled coldly and said: "My comrade chief of staff, don't waste your thoughts, I don't mind executing you in the name of disobeying military orders, don't forget, I am still the supreme chief, the guards of the guard headquarters, all of them are old subordinates who have followed me for many years, and they are absolutely loyal!" ”

General Kulygin's tone was full of mockery, and then he shouted: "Guard, Comrade Chief of Staff is not feeling well, take him to rest immediately, and he will not be allowed to take half a step away from my sight without my order!" ”

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