In Akdouka, the hub of the Chinese army's railway, located at the eastern end of Lake Balkhash, 3,300 kilometers northwest of Beijing, in a small three-story building with the sign "Theater Command of the Eastern European Front" hanging next to the gate, Marshal Wang Zhi, the first commander of the theater command, was rapidly sweeping over the faces of several generals in front of him.

In the first position on the right, the army general with a tall thin body, a high nose and bright eyes, and a leisurely demeanor is Zhao Feixue, who succeeded Wang Zhi as the commander of the Northern Front. Although he is over fifty years old, the remains of the beautiful man of his youth have not yet been weathered, and his optimistic nature makes him look like a man in his thirties at first glance, and those who do not know the way of the road may think that he is the youngest general at the long table.

Opposite Zhao Feixue, another general with a tiger's back, a rough face, and a proud expression is Xiao Lieri, who succeeded Liang Tianhe, the current chief of the General Staff, as the commander of the Central Asian Front. Although he is only one year younger than Zhao Feixue, the horizontal flesh on his face, the wrinkles on his forehead, and the white hair on his temples make him look like he is a generation older than Zhao Feixue.

On Zhao Feixue's right side, sitting his chief of staff, General Qin Feiye, and the commander of the 1st Air Group attached to the Northern Front - Lieutenant General Liang Wantian, and the commander of the 2nd Air Group attached to the Central Asian Front - Lieutenant General Fang Yongyang.

On Xiao Lieri's left, in addition to his chief of staff, General Hu Jingwei, there are also the newly appointed commander of the cluster on the east coast of the Caspian Sea, General Leng Quanye, and the commander of the cluster on the south coast of the Caspian Sea, General Yan Meng.

At the other end of the long table, sat General Xiang Lan, who accompanied Wang Zhi as the chief of staff of the theater.

Nodding slightly towards his old partner across the table, Wang Zhi said with a gloomy expression: "The order of the base camp, Xiang Chief of Staff has read it just now, it is impossible to postpone the operation, and before September 15th, this theater must launch a full-scale attack." The operation was codenamed 'Anthy'. Today is the 8th of September, and there is still a week before the deadline for the base camp, and if you still have any difficulties, put them forward now, and try to solve them if they can be solved in the war zone. If you can't solve it, figure it out yourself. We must not allow me to make excuses or make demands after the battle has begun. ”

After hearing this, Zhao Feixue and Xiao Lieri looked at each other and were silent, as if they were waiting for the other party to complain first, so as to show their calmness and calmness.

Wang looked straight in his eyes, but it was not easy to debunk, so he glanced at Lan. Xiang Lan smiled knowingly, and said by name: "Chief of Staff Qin, let's talk about the situation of your Northern Army first." ”

At the beginning of the war, he served as chief of staff of the Northeast Front Army, assisting General Zhang Yiye to command 470,000 people in three group armies, sweeping the front east of Lake Baikal from west to east - the 3rd Group Army commanded by Zhao Feixue was among them at that time.

After the withdrawal of the Northeast Front. Qin Feiye successively served as chief of staff and commander of the 2nd Group Army, and was later transferred to the East Siberian Military and Political Headquarters. With a mobile force of no more than 20,000 or 30,000 at most, he took advantage of two summers, which were much shorter than elsewhere, to sweep millions of square kilometers of tundra, stretching from Lake Baikal in the south, to the Arctic Ocean in the north, the Yenisei River in the west, and the Bering Sea in the east. After hundreds of battles, tens of thousands of remnants of the Russian army and stubborn militants were annihilated, and hundreds of thousands of indigenous people and Cossacks who lived on fishing, hunting and mining were emigrated. Incorporated into the order of imperial military control.

Now, the Eastern Siberian Military and Political Command Department no longer exists, and after a gap of ten years, he has once again become the chief of staff of his old partner Zhao Feixue, Qin Feiye's heart is filled with an indescribable feeling.

Hear the roll call to the blue. Qin Feiye didn't dare to be perfunctory, and stood up with a "swish" and said: "Yes, then I will briefly explain the current situation of the army on this front, as well as the main difficulties it is facing. ”

"Sit down and talk."

Wang Zhi said, picked up the teacup, lifted the lid and blew on it, and took two sips.

Qin Feiye bowed his head and sat down as ordered.

"Commander Xie...... The Northern Front now has three group armies, a total of 12 hoplite divisions and three cavalry corps, and one armored corps, two light infantry divisions and three cavalry brigades under its direct jurisdiction. In addition to the four light infantry divisions temporarily attached to the theater, there are 18 infantry divisions, four armored brigades, and 12 cavalry brigades, as well as a number of units directly under the army, group army, and front army. ”

"According to the normal establishment, the whole army should have 560,000 men, 1,800 artillery pieces and 400 chariots. In addition, the 1st Air Group, which is attached to the Front Army, has been transferred many times since the middle of the year, and now retains the size of 20 squadrons, which should have 189 aircraft of various types according to its establishment.

"But that's just the numbers on paper. Due to the slow progress of the repair and renovation of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and the fact that the base camp placed the hope of breaking through the Russian defense line entirely on the Central Asian side, not only did the units under the Northern Front not receive sufficient replenishment, but the original equipment in good condition, along with experienced officers and units, was transferred away one after another, with the result that the actual strength of the whole army was far below the establishment level. ”

"At present, the actual available strength of the front army is less than 450,000 troops, with only 1,200 artillery pieces, 150 combat vehicles, and 120 aircraft."

"Supplies are a big problem compared to a shortage of troops, because there is a serious shortage of mules, horses and trucks, and the transportation from the railway terminal to the front-line military station is intermittent, and it is difficult to stock up enough supplies for an offensive campaign after maintaining the survival needs of the front-line men and horses."

"Once the supply line is rapidly lengthened, if the number of mules, horses and trucks cannot be increased in time, the front-line troops will have to allocate a large number of troops to forcibly requisition supplies on the spot, which will inevitably increase the hostility of the local population and at the same time weaken the military discipline of our army......"

"In the end, because the front army was too focused on meeting with the Central Asian Front, the troops and materials were almost completely invested in the direction of Chelyabinsk, and the sweeping work in the area north of the line from Novosibirsk to Chelyabinsk and west and south of the Ob River was neglected."

"Since the 'Bear Slaughter' operation, the Russian cavalry brigade has frequently attacked from Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Tobolsk and other places, passing through the swampy forest areas where our army is difficult to defend tightly, and launching guerrilla raids on the main line of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Facts have proved that the strength of the Siberian garrison alone can no longer effectively protect the 1,300-kilometer-long railway line between Novosibirsk and Chelyabinsk, and in order to ensure the lifeline of the entire army, the front army has to constantly transfer front-line troops back to defend the railway line. ”

"Before the front army engages in a full-scale offensive, if this threat from the flanks is not completely removed, it will be tantamount to planting a time bomb on top of the existing difficulties, which is enough to make the whole army even worse."

"To sum up, the post believes that the Northern Front is not ready for a breakthrough offensive campaign."

After listening to Qin Feiye's statement, Xiang Lan and Wang Zhi glanced at each other, nodded slightly to each other, and Xiang Lan responded with a kind attitude and a resolute tone: "Just like the last battle, the Central Asian Front is the main attacking force, a hammer that picks up and smashes bones, and it is to be smashed from the Ural River to the Volga River, and then smashed back to the Ural Mountains. ”

"Your Northern Front is a chopping block for bones, and you don't have to and can't move it. Your task is to stick like glue to the heavy Russian army groups west of Chelyabinsk and east of Ufa, so that they can neither reinforce the Russian army in Orenburg to the south nor retreat west to Samara. Theater Command believes that your current forces and supply capabilities are appropriate for this level of operation. ”

…… (To be continued......)

PS: Well, the book is alive, who should I thank for?