In the headquarters of the Changji Western Front, Chief of Staff Lei Zhensheng glanced at his watch and said: "Commander, we predict that the cavalry unit rescued by the Russian army at dusk will appear in front of the blocking position of the 4th Division, but it is already 9 o'clock in the evening, and the cavalry unit of the Russian army still has not appeared. ”

"Impossible, this refutes the basic military common sense." After He Meng finished speaking, he walked a few steps on the ground, frowned, and continued: "The fact that the Russian cavalry did not appear at the time we predicted does not mean that they will not come. Maybe we have overestimated the speed of the Russian army's response, maybe the Russian army's troop build-up has delayed time, maybe we need some preparations, in short, all kinds of situations will appear, and we will not waver in our determination to respond to all changes with the same. ”

He Meng's judgment was accurate, and sure enough, there was a problem with the assembly of the Russian cavalry, which caused the Russian cavalry to move slowly. At about 6 o'clock in the morning, the Ili Valley Defense Headquarters, the commander of the 2nd Army and the 25th Army of the Russian Southeastern Front, Dzerzhinsky, received a report from Kuitun's fast cavalry, and was horrified, and immediately issued an order for cavalry to assemble and rush to Kuitun for rescue. The Ili Valley Defense Headquarters, located in the city of Yining. Its 29th Guards Cavalry Division was located in Jinghe, which was the closest to Kuitun, but only the cavalry division was dispatched to rescue to no avail.

Therefore, Dzerzhinsky ordered the Polish cavalry division stationed in Nilek to quickly assemble at Jinghe, and at the same time he also issued an order to assemble at Jinghe against the 32nd Guards Cavalry Division of the Russian Guards. Since the 32nd Cavalry Division was stationed in Huocheng, Huocheng was far away from Jinghe. Therefore, Dzerzhinsky issued a supplementary order, that is, the Polish cavalry division, after reaching Jinghe to join the 29th cavalry division, took the lead in coming to the rescue of Kuitun. The 32nd Cavalry Division followed.

When the Polish cavalry division arrived at Jinghe, it was already noon, and according to the time, it should be midnight when they arrived at Kuitun, about 8 hours later than He Meng predicted. These eight hours are enough to produce a lot of changes, and it can be said that the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and anything can happen. These changes are a test of the ability of front-line commanders to adapt to contingencies.

At the beginning, the Russian army deployed nearly 200,000 troops in the Ili River Valley, and after the central cluster launched an offensive against Russia, it quickly captured the west of Lake Baikal and the Chita region. And face the Irkusko line with eye on it. As He Meng's army gained a firm foothold in Xinjiang, the Russian high command successively transferred troops from the Ili River Valley in order to prevent the Chinese army from advancing northward and to ensure the absolute security of the rear of the Irkusco defensive line. The Russian High Command believes. If the Chinese army of the Western Expedition launches an offensive. It was definitely a northward operation, intended to coordinate the offensive in the direction of Irkusko.

At present, the supreme commander of the Ili River Valley is Dzerzhinsky, commander of the Russian 25th Army, responsible for commanding three infantry divisions, two Russian cavalry divisions, and one Polish cavalry division, with a total strength of about 70,000 troops. The total strength of the Russian Southeastern Front is about 450,000, of which 250,000 are in Xinjiang and the rest are distributed in Central Asia. The road is long and the situation is critical. Therefore, it was impossible for Dzerzhinsky to report the situation quickly to the command of the Front, and he had the right to respond urgently.

Dzerzhinsky was a young man. Aged in his early 40s, this man was level-headed and determined, so the headquarters of the Russian Southeastern Front assigned him the task of defending the Ili River Valley. At this time, Dzerzhinsky's face was very ugly, but he appeared very calm. The chief of staff said: "It seems unusual that the Chinese army did not choose to march north to fight, but marched towards the Ili River valley. Whether it was deliberately and deliberately shot for it, their purpose was still to go north. Last month, the command reported that the frequent movements of Chinese troops on the Baikal front line are enough to explain the problem.

Dzerzhinsky shook his head and said: "The Chinese army has always played cards according to common sense, the year before last they captured the area west of Lake Baikal, and suddenly stopped the attack, we speculate that the Chinese army will continue to advance west along Irkusko, but for more than a year, the Chinese army has not moved, making it difficult for us to sleep." The sudden departure of China's western expeditionary army from Kuitun was intended to cut off the connection between southern and northern Xinjiang, and at present our troops in Kashgar and Tajikistan in southern Xinjiang were empty, so the aim of the Chinese army must be to capture the Ili River Valley. ”

The chief of staff said: "The Chinese army is simply incredible, at present our defensive strength is not enough, we should quickly ask the headquarters for help!" Dzerzhinsky said: "Although Kuitun has an important strategic position, it is too abrupt. I intend to let the cavalry troops rush to Kuitun to repel the Chinese army, then abandon Kuitun and let the cavalry troops cover the retreat of the defending troops to the Jinghe line and rebuild the fortification. Even if the Chinese army occupies Kuitun, his battle line will be elongated, and the attack power will be weakened. ”

"But we don't have enough troops to resist the attack of the Chinese army!" The chief of staff remained worried. Dzerzhinsky said: "I have reported to the command, and in view of the new situation, it is recommended to transfer troops from Almaty. At the moment we have three divisions in Almaty, and recently our ally, the German Empire, two strong infantry divisions arrived in Almaty, at least we have no worries. Now we should immediately start to strengthen the defenses of the cities and meet the attack of the Chinese army. ”

After dark, somewhere on the south side of the Wusu River Valley, the commander of the cavalry column led five cavalry divisions, and had been waiting here for more than five hours. The reconnaissance unit went out to reconnoitre, but never found the shadow of the Russian cavalry. "Commander, has the situation changed, and the Russian army has not sent reinforcements of cavalry?" The subordinate asked anxiously. Lu Changlin was silent, and said for a long time: "Send additional reconnaissance troops to the west to reconnoiter 20 kilometers deeper, I don't believe that the Russian army will not send reinforcements." Now we can't get in touch with headquarters, so we have to keep things moving. ”

Lu Changlin ordered everyone to rest and wait patiently. Although he is calm on the surface, he is very anxious in his heart, and tens of thousands of horses are ambushed here, which is not a joke. If the Russian army discovers its traces, all operations will be in vain, and the attack on the Ili Valley will inevitably increase the difficulty. Lu Changlin lay on the grass and closed his eyes to recuperate, the horses gnawed on the grass and made a unique sound, I don't know how long it took, the sound of horses' hooves was heard in the distance, and the sound was so clear.

Lu Changlin immediately stood up, and in the dark, a team of horses came to the front, and the first officer jumped off the war horse and reported: "Report to the commander, a large number of Russian cavalry have been found 15 kilometers to the west!" Reinforcements from the Russian army are dispatched! When Lu Changlin heard this, he immediately burst into high spirits and said: "Finally waited, all ready, and the Russian army will immediately tighten the pocket formation after entering the river valley." The soldiers quickly got busy, and the tense atmosphere before the battle made the war horses excited.

After the Polish cavalry division joined up with the Russian cavalry division, according to Dzerzhinsky's order, it took the lead in advancing towards Kuitun. The commander who led the Polish cavalry division was called Sław, who was well-known in Poland and was a fierce general. However, after entering Xinjiang, his cavalry unit lost more and won less in small sneak attacks, so Sław has been aggrieved for several years, and this time he finally has the opportunity to show his skills, and he wants to prove the value of the Polish cavalry with bravery and fearlessness.

Sław constantly urged his troops to speed up, to take revenge, to announce with his saber to the world that the Polish cavalry was no mercy. The flat terrain of the Usu River valley was ideal for cavalry marches. In the dark, although it is difficult to see the appearance of the Polish cavalry, although they have more horse rifles in their hands, the clothing basically maintains the characteristics of the Polish hussars, that is, they have two feather wings on their backs, so they are called hussars. They fought against the formidable Cossack cavalry and defeated the Cossack cavalry several times, so the Polish cavalry was also famous in Europe.

"Report to the commander, all the Russian cavalry has entered the river valley, and it is two cavalry divisions!" A subordinate reported. The chief of staff said: "Commander, it seems that the Russian army has dispatched two cavalry divisions, is there a discrepancy with our judgment?" Lu Changlin pondered for a moment and said, "There may be a problem with the assembly of the Russian army, maybe another Russian cavalry division is following behind." "Shall we wait?" "Can't wait, the cavalry vanguard of the Russian army will soon be intercepted by the 4th Division, and the enemy will be attacked head-on, and it is possible to escape."

Lu Changlin said decisively: "Order the 5th Cavalry Division to go forward to the west and act as a guard." The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cavalry divisions, quickly outflanking the Usu Valley, could not let a single enemy escape. "The troops immediately went into action, the sound of horses' hooves and the shaking of the earth. In the darkness, countless war horses galloped away. "Report to the commander, the headquarters is located at location 32 on the west side of the Wusu River Valley!" Lu Changlin nodded, shook the reins of the horse and galloped forward, and the various divisions of the headquarters followed suit.

At one o'clock in the morning, the atmosphere in the front headquarters was even more tense, and everyone was not sleepy. At this time, He Meng sat on the chair with a solemn expression, and a cup of strong tea was placed on the table to refresh himself. "Commander, it's almost 1 o'clock in the morning, and there is still no news of Russian reinforcements, it's really worrying!" Everyone looked at He Meng, and He Meng kept drinking tea without saying a word. In fact, He Meng has no bottom in his heart, but he must pretend to be calm.

Suddenly, the phone rang, everyone stood up, and He Meng still didn't move. "Commander, the 4th Division has begun, and they are being attacked by a large number of Russian troops." Everyone immediately became excited when they heard this, and He Meng let out a sigh of relief and said, "I'll go sleep for a while, and call me after dawn." In He Meng's consciousness, there was no suspense in the battle, and it was carefully arranged and cultivated to a positive result. (To be continued......)

PS: The enemy is hooked, although the net is open, but the brutal battle has just begun.