Episode 10 A Thousand Miles Surprise

On the 11th and 12th, the whole base was busy, almost all the tanks and vehicles were being overhauled, the technicians of the repair battalion were running around, and the fuel trucks were shuttling between the entire camp.

Except for patrols that went out to investigate, no other soldiers were allowed to leave the base area. Tens of thousands of Qing soldiers, including those who surrendered, were also confined in several large camps, guarded by the Ming army, and were not allowed to go out. Fourteen Gege dispatched a company of Ming soldiers to search the luggage and packages of the Qing soldiers one by one to prevent anyone from carrying portable radios or radio pagers.

Everyone can see that there is a big move coming soon.

At the same time, Fourteen Grid has formulated a series of safety regulations, which will be strictly implemented from today:

Vendors and local people who were previously allowed to enter the camp at will are now not allowed to enter. The gendarmes frequently patrolled the perimeter of the camp and blocked local traders who wanted to infiltrate. All the grain, fruits, and meat needed by the troops were to be purchased by special personnel in Dihua City and Changji City, and they had to be tested. The drinking water for the troops remained the same, but it was still a few blisters in the camp, and the soldiers themselves took the water and boiled it for drinking. But next to each blister, there is a 24-hour guard by gendarmes to prevent anyone from poisoning. And water samples are taken every day for testing.

Throughout the day on the 11th, there was also a lot of construction around the base, and thousands of Qing soldiers under the command of the Ming army sappers dug the earth, felled the wood, and loaded sandbags with sandbags. Less than dusk on the 11th, dozens of machine-gun bunkers of logs and sandbags, and a dozen watchtowers, were built along the cordon on the perimeter of the base.

All the vehicles and tanks in the camp were covered with army green canvas, and the artillery was also covered with artillery jackets to hide their shape, so that people could not tell what kind of vehicles they were from a distance.

……

At eight o'clock in the evening of the 12th, an engine roared in the base. Among the beams of light swept by the searchlights, tanks, armored vehicles, assault guns, cars, motorcycles, ...... Almost all of them were activated, lined up in a long line, and drove out of the base range.

By this time, it was already more than an hour after sunset, and it was already completely dark. And in such a wolf colony, as long as it is dark, the locals will not go in the wild. In addition, yesterday, none of the vendors who wanted to do business came in, so no one came to try it tonight.

Outside the warning range of the base, there was not a single figure. The searchlight scanned the mountains and fields outside the base, searching for suspicious figures. However, none were found.

The Ming army is now taking advantage of the night and pouring out. More than 150 of the 200 tanks were dispatched, and more than 600 of the 800 cars and motorcycles were dispatched. Other armored vehicles, self-propelled guns, towed guns, etc., also made more than two-thirds of the sorties. The entire base was deafening inside and outside, and even in Dihua City, which was kilometers away, the ground could be felt to shake slightly.

A long line of headlights drove out of the base and headed northwest along the road, in the direction of Manas County.

A few kilometers away, on the slopes of the Tien Shan Mountains, a shepherd hides in a tree and looks down with a small telescope. He could see where the convoy was heading. But the headlights below drove around, some drove out, some drove in, and some stopped in formation, and hundreds or thousands of cars were in chaos. And you can only see the headlights, and as for what kind of car it is, it is useless to use binoculars. He couldn't count it anymore, but he could only roughly determine that it was six or seven hundred, seven or eight hundred.

Then, he shoved the small binoculars into his arms and ran towards Dihua City down the mountain.

……

Xiang Xiaoqiang left Fourteen Gege at the base to sit in the town, and he himself took them "pro-conquest" with high righteousness. He and Gao Dayi stood next to the armored command car, looking at the long queue of headlights that could not be seen in front of them, and drove in front of them with a "boom".

This is already about 30 kilometers from the base. The front is not close to the village, and the back is not the store. Except for the headlights, the four fields were dark, and there was only the moon overhead.

A few dozen kilometers ahead, there is Manas County. About 370 kilometers west of this road is Lake Abbey, which is close to the border. From there, turn north, walk about 200 kilometers, and you will enter the Tacheng area. Then turn about 300 kilometers northeast from Tacheng, and you can enter the old nest of Altay and Erdun Mutu.

The route is more than 800 kilometers, and according to the average speed of 20 kilometers per hour, it takes 40-50 hours. Of course, this does not take into account the time lost by the failure of the tank. If it is like the way into Xinjiang, it will have to be delayed for a few days. In addition, it is almost entirely an oasis area, with abundant water and grass, and towns and residential areas are constant. I am afraid that before the army has marched to Lake Abi, Erdun Mutu's scouts have already sent the news back to Altay.

However, this is exactly what Xiang Xiaoqiang wants.

In the rumbling sound of the engine, Gao Dayi looked at the luminous watch, and then shouted to Xiaoqiang:

"My lord, it's nine o'clock! Almost! ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded, waved with a smile, and climbed into another military truck with Gao Dayi. Wu Yanbin, who was behind him, climbed into the truck with a set of radios. And Hu Jiong stayed in the armored command vehicle.

Gao Dayi put on a headset and ordered:

"Attention all - camels! Camel! Camel! …… Repeat: camels! Camel! Camel! ”

Then the driver of the military truck swung the steering wheel and drove off the road. Suddenly, countless pairs of headlights in the front and rear also turned, drove off the road, and quickly formed another convoy on the grassland.

Soon, this armored division split into two and became two units. The large strands still drive west along the road, and the small strands drive northeast along the steppe, almost turning back again. However, they drove entirely on the grasslands, keeping a long distance from the road and avoiding the villages they passed by.

……

The spring night in northern Xinjiang is still cold to the bone. In the white moonlight, more than five hundred military vehicles and wheeled self-propelled guns lined up and tossed across the boundless steppe. Long lines of headlights swayed in the dark.

Xiang Xiaoqiang sat in the military truck carriage, wrapped in a coat, and shivered from time to time. But he was excited, looking at the map under the flickering lantern, and repeatedly studying the battle plan.

As a matter of fact, this combat plan has been studied many times a long time ago. He just can't sleep now.

"My lord," said Gao Dayi, "you should get some sleep." I was on duty in the first half of the night. ”

Wu Yanbin also persuaded:

"Yes, sir, you should hurry up and sleep for a while, you will be there tomorrow morning after four o'clock."

Xiang Xiaoqiang pondered this exciting "decapitation operation" in his mind, and his ears listened to the wolf howls on all sides, and he was so excited that he could sleep there. He shook his head and smiled:

"No, you can sleep first. I was on duty in the first half of the night, and at two or three o'clock I called you. It's going to start in the morning, and you're the main force at that time, hehe. ”

Needless to say, he ordered Gao Dayi to sleep first. And Xiang Xiaoqiang himself, leaning on the canvas of the carriage, his head shook with the bumps, and his thoughts had already flown to Altay, which was more than 600 kilometers away.

……

The 1st Panzer Division was divided into two routes, one from east to west, one to the north and the other to bypass the Kurbantunggut desert, aiming at the Altay region at the northern end.

The western road was dominated by tanks and armored vehicles, which were slowly marching along the populous steppe route, which was simply under the guise of a façade. In order to paralyze Erdun Mutu, to make him think that so many tanks would have to grind on the road for several days, and to make him think that he had at least four to five days to organize defense. Moreover, the direction of defense is also to the west.

But the troops on the East Road were all cars, all wheeled vehicles, not even a half-track. These more than 500 vehicles were the main force of the surprise attack, and they were repeatedly inspected and maintained in the past two days, and all vehicles with hidden dangers of failure were brushed down, and they either stayed at the base or went under the guise of following the tank troops on the West Road. Of the more than 800 wheeled vehicles, more than 500 were selected to be in the best condition. The whole journey from here to Altay is about 650 kilometers, and it is nearly 200 kilometers from the west road. But almost all along the way is the Great Gobi, a no-man's land, which is very suitable for a sneak attack.

Of the more than 500 cars, Xiaoqiang's request is that none of them should break down on the road. If it really broke down, it could not be delayed, so the car could only be thrown down and the soldier was evenly placed on other vehicles.

In this way, at the speed of 100% car fleet, it will be possible to rush to Altay in 14-15 hours. In other words, tomorrow morning, we will be able to take advantage of the dawn to kill under the city of Altay.

……