According to the judgment of the battle situation, Prince Zaihito believed that the time had come to close the net, and originally, it could be more secure, so that the troops of the Kwantung Army, as well as the strange soldiers on both wings, could organize several more powerful offensives to further consume and exhaust the strength of the Soviet Far Eastern Front.

However, the Soviet Army's Trans-Khingan Mountains and Baikal Front, which were blocked by Tang Qiuli's troops on the line from Chita to Irkutsk, made Prince Zaihito seamlessly plan an unexpected variable, and this variable made Prince Zairen feel uneasy, so he decided to close the net ahead of schedule, at least, more than a week earlier than expected.

After giving the battle order to the Far Eastern Front and the Korean garrison, Prince Jaein personally wrote a telegram, and if it was a radio station carried by Prince Guò's attaché, he sent a top-secret telegram to Lieutenant General Norigoro Ono, commander of the Far East Dispatch Army, and General Tanaka Shinichi, commander of the Korean garrison, respectively, about how to dispose of Soviet prisoners of war.

The Far East Dispatch Army and the Korean garrison troops combined, the total strength of the troops far exceeds that of the three Soviet army group troops, and the combat method of surprise attack is adopted, and the captured Soviet soldiers will certainly not be less, Prince Jaehito in the telegram, there are only a few words, "The final stage of the Far East campaign is about to be carried out, in order not to affect the general attack on the main forces of the Soviet Far Eastern Front, in this campaign, all captured Soviet prisoners of war will be disposed of on the spot!" ”

The content of the telegram, literally without blood, nevertheless decided the lives of the Soviet soldiers who were about to be captured. Prince Zairen naturally believed that if there were too many Soviet soldiers captured, in order to take care of these Soviet prisoners of war, it would inevitably involve a large part of the energy of the two armies, and there would not be enough manpower, and it would be a big trouble to keep these Soviet prisoners of war.

From the comparison of troops. Combined, the strength of the three units of the Imperial Japanese Army did not exceed that of the Soviet Far Eastern Front by much, that is, if the strength did not occupy a decisive advantage, then why bother for some prisoners of war. And what about dispersing forces?

There is another aspect, Prince Jaehito believes. If there were too many Soviet prisoners of war. The supply of materials is also a big problem, the Japanese Empire does not have surplus food to supply the Soviet prisoners of war, so there is a solution once and for all, saving both manpower and food, the best of both worlds. Of course Prince Jaehito will adopt it, as for what bullshit "Geneva Convention", to hell with it, in the heart of His Royal Highness. Only their own code of conduct.

After Prince Jaehion's order was issued, the Japanese Far East Dispatch Army and the Korean garrison army of more than 1 million troops were divided into three routes and pressed head-on against the troops of the 15th, 18th, and 21st armies of the Soviet Far Eastern Front, as well as the logistics units of the Front.

On the evening of 4 May, the wind blowing from the direction of the Sea of Okhotsk already had a slight smell of spring, and the weather was not as cold as it had been a few days ago; during the day, a faint smell of grass could already be smelled on the sunny slopes where the sun had shone, and the troops of the First Guards Division of the 15th Army of the Soviet Far Eastern Front were rushing to the east bank of the Artan River to build up positions in accordance with the orders of the army headquarters.

On the undulating mountain steppe sprinkled by the setting sun, the marching column of Soviet soldiers, like a thin black line, meandered in the direction of the Aldan River, behind the avant-garde division of the First Army, about 30 kilometers away, was the main force of the First Army, and further back, the main force of the 15th Army, about 120,000 troops.

There is no wind, there is a trace of warmth in the air, the fire clouds in the west sky, the burning flames, the blood is as red, leaving the Far East battlefield where the artillery is full of fire, undoubtedly makes the Soviet soldiers feel a lot more relaxed, those soldiers who ride in trucks, from time to time to their comrades on foot, blow sharp whistles, provoke the soldiers who are working hard with their two feet, a vicious curse, from time to time there are artillery trucks dragging artillery, rumbling past, bringing up smoke and dust all the way, and the tired Soviet soldiers are shrouded in a choking dust!

Neither Zhukov nor the commander of the 15th Army, General Asilov, knew that the Japanese troops that had come over were in which direction, so the campaign and defensive posture of the 15th Army could only be roughly spread along the east bank of the Aldan River as the boundary.

On the east bank of the Aldan River, more than 100,000 troops of the four divisions and regiments of the Third Army of the Japanese Far East Dispatch Army were already waiting here, and the Japanese army occupied the position on the east bank of the river more than a day ahead of the Soviet army.

For such a deployment of troops and the establishment of positions against the river, the commanders of the four divisions under the Third Army are full of opinions, is this a violation of the minimum common sense, a battle against the water, how to say, is not a suitable campaign deployment, the surface of the Aldan River, the widest point, is only more than 100 meters, however, the river is quite deep, only in this way, it is more necessary to deploy troops on the west bank, all the equipment of the imperial army troops, can cover the east bank of the river within the range of firepower.

It is possible to make dangerous moves, but it is not so necessary to give up the favorable terrain conditions that can be attacked and retreated, and if the Soviet army comes with more than two army group troops and it is difficult to resist, will the more than 100,000 soldiers of the Third Army have to jump into the Ardan River?

At the previous operational meeting, the commanders of the four divisions put forward their opinions to the commander of the army, Lieutenant General Chunhiko Taiyi, and expressed their clear opposition, "Your Excellency Commander, we oppose your arrangement of troops in this way, and we must take into account what if the strength of the Soviet army far exceeds ours? Have you ever considered that more than 80 percent of the soldiers of our Third Army are all new recruits who have entered the battlefield for the first time, and how can their combat effectiveness be comparable to that of the first-class divisions and regiments on the front line. ”

"Also, according to your order, only two divisions of troops are left to meet the Soviet army in the front, and the other two divisions are detouring on the left and right flanks, which is even more dangerous, can you ensure that with the strength of only two divisions, you can stop one Soviet army group with a strength of more than 100,000 people? An Aldan River can make the imperial army troops stand in an invincible position that can be attacked and retreated, and we do not understand the real intention of His Excellency the commander in such a deployment? ”

It is no wonder that these four veteran division commanders so aggressively questioned the commander of the Third Army, Lieutenant General Haruhiko Taiyi, that the Far Eastern Dispatch Army was originally formed by the local reserve forces, in other words, more than 80 percent of the soldiers were new recruits who had entered the battlefield for the first time, and the commander of the Third Army, Lieutenant General Haruhiko Taiichi, had no experience in directly commanding troops before, and was parachuted in from the General Staff Headquarters, and the commanders of these four divisions were all transferred from front-line field units and had very rich combat experience.

In their opinion, Commander Haruhiko, who is similar to a new recruit, deploys troops like child's play, and does not take the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Third Army seriously.

However, the soldiers in their hands are not up to the task, and several division commanders are helpless, it is better to be safe, and the commanders of the four divisions do not want to fight the third army for the first time, so they have a face-to-face war of words with their superiors, although they look down on the commander of the rookie army, but there is still a sense of dignity and humility, but when it comes to the lives and safety of hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the third army, it is indispensable to argue with His Excellency the commander.

The task of the Third Army is to enter the line of the Aldan River in accordance with the order of the Dispatch Army Command and block the troops of a group army of the Soviet Army coming in this direction, as long as the Soviet Army does not cross the Aldan River, even if the task is completed, as for the encirclement and annihilation of the Soviet Army, it will be assumed by another army of the Dispatch Army.

Therefore, the opinions of the commanders of the four divisions should be correct, and the construction of positions on the west bank of the river is enough for the Soviet troops not to dare to take a step, and moreover, it can also ensure that the positions are not broken through by the Soviet troops, and a river more than 100 meters wide is a natural barrier, but the commander wants to make a moth.

The four veteran division commanders spoke one after another, their attitudes becoming more and more excited, and they listed one by one, with a solid basis, and also demonstrated the danger of such a deployment in the light of the reality of their own commanding operations; in the final analysis, His Excellency the Commander's practice of deploying troops on the east bank of the Aldan River was an extreme risk, and of course, there were some subtexts, probably to save some face for His Excellency the Commander, so as not to embarrass His Excellency the Lieutenant General too much, and did not say it.

However, the contempt in words and expressions was visible to the officers attending the meeting, and their eyes couldn't help but secretly look at Lieutenant General Chunhiko Taiyi, His Excellency was wearing a pair of gold-wire glasses, his face was thin and fair, if it weren't for the straight general's uniform collar badge, the two gold stars were shining, almost making people mistakenly think that Lieutenant General Haruhiko, who commanded more than 100,000 troops, was a university professor.

When the commanders of the four divisions under his command expressed their opinions impassionedly, His Excellency the Commander always had a calm face and could not see the change in his feelings, but the officers closest to him seemed to see a few cold glints in the eyes of His Excellency the Commander.

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