When he received Sun Zhenbang's telegram, Tang Qiuli was in the temporary headquarters of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army Headquarters, and Wang Jun, chief of staff of the Frontier Army, was puzzled by the abnormal behavior of the Soviet army.

According to the report of Liu Cuigang's reconnaissance aircraft brigade, the Soviet troops have been assembled in the Baikal area, and under normal circumstances, fierce battles should have broken out on the line of the Sejingge River, but from morning to evening, the Soviet troops did not move at all, is it very abnormal?

Could it be that the Soviet army in the Baikal region, accumulating a large number of troops and equipment, was to hold the area and prevent the counteroffensive of the troops of the independent division, and Stalin did not attempt to continue the southward advance?

But the situation is not like this, the directly subordinate corps has entered the Outer Mongolia region, and its whereabouts have not yet been revealed, so there is no need for Stalin to urgently mobilize troops, land and air are ready, and put on a posture of fighting and deterring? Stalin was a man who admired strength and was always the master of talking after the fight, so there was no need to bluff and attract his own attention.

The intentions of the Soviet army are unclear, the battlefield is confusing, people are confused, and it is better to guess and make a judgment than if the battle has already begun, at the very least, the battle situation has been clarified, and each side can make accurate judgments and formulate countermeasures, which is really dull and painful.

"Report!" A staff officer shouted at the door, and Wang Jun said without raising his head: "Come in!" ”

The young lieutenant staff officer, holding a telegram, hurriedly came in and said, "Division commander, chief of staff, I have received an urgent telegram from Commander Sun!" ”

"Oh!" Tang Qiuli and Wang Jun's eyes froze at the same time, and the news came from the front line of the Gehe River, and the news came that the Soviet army had begun to attack, and the timing was good, under the cover of night. For the attacking side, it can minimize the chance of being exposed to the sight of the soldiers of the defending force and reduce casualties.

Tang Qiuli took the telegram, his momentum relaxed, and said to Wang Jun: "Sun Zhenbang is calling, they have a new plan, they want to enter the north bank area of the 3rd and 5th Cavalry Brigades, which crossed the Dangge River tonight. Using the cavalry's ability to quickly run, striking the Soviet army's logistical supply lines from the flanks and supporting the frontal battlefield, Chief of Staff Wang, I would like to hear your opinion. Is the plan feasible? ”

Wang Jun couldn't help but hesitate for a while, this was the plan of his direct boss. The division commander asked for his own opinion. It should be to examine his ability to analyze the overall situation, and to go deeper, whether he is guilty of self-centeredness, he pondered for a moment and replied: "Commander, I think the plan is very feasible. Moreover, there is a great deal of certainty of success. ”

Tang Qiuli smiled, and then asked, "What is the reason?" ”

Wang Jun replied: "Commander, as far as my personal opinion is concerned. The cavalry units played a small role in the positional blocking battle, and even said that they were useless, and it was a waste on the front line of the Sejingge River, but if they penetrated deep into the vast north bank area, they could give full play to the advantages of the cavalry, run quickly, and leave after fighting, and once the Soviet army attacked in the south, it would inevitably be mainly to break through our defensive line. ”

"The target is Kulen, for the cavalry operating in their rear, they will not use heavy encirclement and suppression, so as not to weaken the frontal attack force, so the situation of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade and the 5th Cavalry Brigade is relatively safe, and they will not fall into the heavy interception and encirclement of the Soviet army, and the attack on the logistics supply line of the Soviet army is a favorable support for our frontal defense line, I personally think that this plan is feasible!"

Tang Qiuli said with a smile: "Since Chief of Staff Wang strongly agrees, then I will approve it, staff officer, call Sun Zhenbang back and approve this plan, the two cavalry brigade units, must all cross the Sejingge River before 22 o'clock tonight, in addition, warn Li Changjiang and Zeng Shiqiang that they must not be eager to fight, they should mainly conceal during the day and act at night, pay attention to guarding against air attacks by Soviet aircraft, and the combat radius does not have to be limited to the Baikal area. ”

After receiving a reply from the division commander, Sun Zhenbang immediately ordered the two cavalry brigades that had been prepared, and ten minutes later, in the night, on the silent grassland, there were bursts of horses' hooves, and groups of cavalry soldiers quickly disappeared into the night.

According to the plan, Zeng Shiqiang's 3rd Cavalry Brigade went west and crossed the river more than 20 kilometers upstream of the Sejingge River, and Li Changjiang's 5th Cavalry Brigade went east and crossed the river more than 30 kilometers downstream of the Sejingge River.

The sound of horses' hooves has disappeared for a long time, Sun Zhenbang is still standing in the night, his ears are still recalling the sound of drum-like horses' hooves, his heart is full of expectations and worries, more than 10,000 cavalry in two brigades, just like this, to deal with hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops, what is the final outcome, only after the end of the battle, will we see, I hope that my decision is correct!

On the night of 19 September, Irkutsk, an important town on the western shore of Lake Baikal, was already pitch black, and there were few lights to be seen, let alone pedestrians on the streets.

Because the Soviet garrison issued a curfew, after 8:30 p.m., no one except the patrol was allowed to go out on the street, otherwise, they would be shot on the spot by the Soviet patrol, for a city ruled by the Chinese for several years, the Soviet soldiers were full of vigilance, although most of the residents in the city were their compatriots, but in the eyes of the Soviet patrol soldiers, everyone was similar to Chinese spies.

A large and beautifully built villa has become the location of the front command of the Transcaucasian Military District of the Soviet Union, although the whole city is dark, but it is still brightly lit, and the Soviet officers who come in and out, or the cars and motorcycles that rush away, show that this is a key military organ, and the commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, the commander of the front command of the campaign to recover the Outer Mongolian region, and the political commissar General Kurygin, is holding a military meeting.

It has been three days since General Kulygin led a huge command team into the city of Irkutsk, and during these three days, General Kulygin has done nothing else but to desperately urge all troops to arrive at the designated assembly place on time, and by noon yesterday, two mechanized infantry divisions, four tank brigades, and one armored brigade have been assembled by relying on strong mobility capabilities, and the other infantry divisions will be about a day behind.

In this way, the available forces in the hands of General Kurygin include the troops of Major General Sergeyev of the Third Army, which originally attacked in the direction of Irkutsk, the three divisions of the Fifth Army that attacked Ulan-Ude, and the two mechanized infantry divisions that returned, with a strength of more than 120,000 people in eight divisions, four tank brigades, and two armored brigades, of which five mechanized divisions have been formed, forming a powerful assault force in the Baikal region.

Originally, according to the habit of the Soviet generals, once the troops were assembled, at dusk yesterday, they should launch an attack on the entire line of the Sejingge River, which was guarded by the Outer Mongolian Frontier Guards of the Independent Division.

Among the Soviet generals who advocated an immediate attack, the commander of the Third Army, Major General Sergeyev, was the strongest, and he was so eager to hear the sound of artillery in order to get out of the situation in front of him.

Poor Army Commander Sergeyev was rushed to the Third Army's Military District Suppression Committee because of the unfortunate death of Comrade Nikolagsky, commander of the armored brigade and member of the political committee, and the commissioners of the Third Army's Military District Suppression Committee.

As soon as they withdrew to Irkutsk, they were immediately isolated and examined by the investigation team of the Military District's Anti-Counter-Terrorism Committee, and they were tossed and turned into a trance one by one, so they almost took out their pistols and shot them in the head to end this painful day.

Later, I don't know what the reason was, an order came from above to investigate the cause of Comrade Nikolagsky's death, but it was over, and dozens of officers, including Commander Sergeyev, were able to be freed, but the nightmare was not over, and the commissioner of the Military District's Suppression Committee did not leave, but remained in the Third Army, and left two of them by his side, and the ghosts were scattered everywhere, stirring up the people of the entire Third Army, annoying Commander Sergeyev, and having murderous intentions.

Therefore, Commander Sergeyev, looking forward to fighting as much as possible, as soon as the guns rang out, the troops immediately pulled to the front line, but they worked desperately, these guys who pulled the banner as tiger skins, and lived by playing tricks and making a living, should also get out, let them go to the front line, and don't be afraid to pee their pants?

Therefore, after the first batch of troops was assembled, Commander Sergeyev was the first to ask the commander General Kurygin for battle, asking the commander Comrade Commander for approval, and the Third Army, as the spearhead of the offensive of all troops, immediately attacked the defense line of the Sejingge River, and assured the commander that within two days, the Third Army would definitely break through the defense line of the Chinese army, open a passage for the follow-up troops, and go straight to Kulen, Tang Qiuli's old nest in the Outer Mongolian region.

However, Commander Kulygin's answer made him pour a basin of cold water on the feverish head of Commander Sergeyev, "Comrade Sergeyev, your battle situation is worthy of praise and praise, but it is not yet the best time to attack, what you need to do is to put your troops in order and wait for the order to attack, and besides, I have other arrangements for the attacking forward troops!" ”

General Kurygin said so mysteriously, and when he touched the gray Commander Sergeyev, he returned to the military headquarters in a huff, and he couldn't understand, Comrade Commander, why did he delay launching the offensive, did he have to wait until the Chinese army was prepared?

(To be continued) (To be continued.) For mobile phone users, please go to read. )