Chapter 843: The Pattern of the Far East (1)

The successive crushing defeats of the Japanese navy forced Emperor Hirohito to reorganize the navy, and it was true that compared with the smooth fighting of the army in the Far East, the navy's performance was unsatisfactory, or rather, disappointed the fanatical citizens of Japan.

When Tang Qiuli left the Soviet Pacific Fleet from Haishan Wei Nòng, more than 100 warships, the Far East was fighting bloodily and could not be opened, and the commander of the Kwantung Army, General Ueda Kenkichi, commanded the forces of the three armies to besiege the troops of General Timoshenko of the Second Army of the Soviet Far East, which were trapped on the front line of Arseniev.

Since late September, General Timoshenko has been on the defensive in an all-out manner, and his main assault force, four armored brigades equipped with T-28 tanks, has been caught in the swampy area around Ussuriysk (Twin Cities) during the previous counter-assault operation, allowing the Japanese to pick up a big advantage.

With the cooperation of the artillery units of the Kwantung Army, the Izu series light tanks, which were originally vulnerable to the T-28 tanks of the army, fiercely let out this evil breath in their hearts and happily abused a Soviet tank, and Timoshenko's fist was knocked out.

The troops of the Transcaucasian Front, which came to the rescue, were blocked by the First Army of the Kwantung Army on the narrow mountain road between Mount Kukan and Mount Burya on the front line of Khabarovsk (Boli).

It was only a matter of time before the Kwantung Army broke through the blockade of the Kwantung Army, but it was only a matter of time, and it was precisely time that became the most fatal factor for Timoshenko, whose defensive positions in the Arsenyev area were being compressed every day, and the troops of the Kwantung Army burst out with unprecedented combat effectiveness.

In the Arsenyev area, artillery fire was repeated every day, and more than 600,000 soldiers from both Japan and the Soviet Union fought desperately in this early winter, which was already cold, on an area of only a few hundred square kilometers.

In the city of Arseniev, the headquarters of the Second Army in the Far East, Timoshenko stood in front of a military map like a sculpture, outside the window, the dense sound of artillery from far and near, the strong sea breeze blowing from the Sea of Japan, led by the heavy smell of gunsmoke, he did not know how many times he received telegrams for help from the front commander.

The Second Army had suffered more than half of the casualties until now, and in Timoshenko's hands, there was not a single reserve that could be used, "all of them were used," he muttered to himself, and the telegram to all the front-line commanders was just two words: "Hold on", gritting his teeth and holding on until reinforcements arrived in the direction of the Transcaucasia.

The Second Army of the Soviet Far East is struggling to support itself in one breath, and Timoshenko is not like this, as the commander of the army, he knows more information than everyone else, the Transcaucasian Front is not progressing well, and it is impossible for the Kwantung Army to reach here in the shortest possible time.

Regarding this news that can be called a murderous letter, Timoshenko took absolutely ruthless, but absolutely necessary measures, blocking the news from all the troops, all the hopes of the Second Army were on the reinforced Transcaucasian Front, if the officers and soldiers at the grassroots level understood the actual situation, the Second Army, which had already lost too much blood, would fall to the ground with a bang, and he Timoshenko himself would also end up being captured or killed.

A staff officer hurriedly came in: "Report to Comrade Commander, the Third Army of the Red Banner of the Far East defending in the Anigay region is requesting support, in front of the defensive positions of their troops, there are at least three divisions of Japanese troops attacking, the casualties of the army have exceeded two-thirds, the commander of the army, Lieutenant General Nikolai Lyubshenk, is seriously wounded, and the troops are under the command of the political commissar." ”

Timoshenko did not look back, the area defended by the Third Red Banner Army was the westernmost protrusion of the Arsenyev defensive line, and the strategic location was very important, if the Kwantung Army occupied the Anigay area, the entire defensive line would be forced to retreat fifteen kilometers, if so, Timoshenko would not have a little room for maneuver.

"Order, the Third Army of the Red Banner of the Far East, at any cost, must hold the Anigai line, even if it is fought to the last man, and in addition, tell Comrade Sù Nicholas Bryuschenk that the army group has no troops left to reinforce him, and he can only rely on himself," Timoshenko ordered almost cruelly.

Seeing that the staff officer hesitated slightly, and then turned around and went out, Timoshenge's heart was like a knife in severe pain, this order was undoubtedly to kill the Third Red Banner Army, but what can be done? The army commander, Lieutenant General Nikolai Bryuschenko, was his old comrade-in-arms for many years, and giving such an order, for him, the pain in his heart was greater than anyone else's.

Timoshenko pondered for a while, asked the messenger to call the commander of the group army guard regiment, and said in a hoarse voice: "I order you to immediately lead all the guard regiments to the Anigai defense line, and obey the command of the army commander Lieutenant General Nikolai Bryuschenk, in addition, Jiāo gives you a special task, once the Japanese break through the Anigai line, you must bring back Lieutenant General Nikolai Bryuschenk alive." ”

The commander of the guard regiment stood up and saluted, he knew the danger of going here, he had followed the general for many years, maybe this was the last time he met, looking out the window at the teams of Red Army soldiers, running to the front line with neat steps, Timoshenko let out a sigh from his heart, this was his last bit of strength, all used.

From 10 September to the present, more than 20 days of fighting, more than half of the troops have suffered casualties, and in such a small area, it is impossible to even retreat, unless more than 100,000 Red Army soldiers are allowed to jump into the Sea of Japan, the chief of staff of the group army said worriedly: "Comrade commander, according to the current situation, the group army can hold out for a few days, and if the troops of the Transcaucasian Front cannot open the passage in time, we will have to sacrifice all of them." ”

Timoshenko didn't know, and he also believed that with his relationship with the commander of the Transcaucasian Front, General Paul Piliusky, the Transcaucasian Front would definitely spare no effort to rescue, but no one could accurately judge that a large part of the Kwantung Army was blocking the attack and there were still a few days to open the passage.

Continuing to send a telegram to Moscow asking for help, Timoshenko said in a heavy tone slowly: "Moscow, the General Staff and Comrade Stalin, the fighting in the Arsenyev area is becoming more and more fierce, the Japanese Kwantung Army has invested most of its forces in the Far East battlefield, more than half of the casualties of our group army, the ammunition is almost exhausted, and the shape is extremely critical, I request the General Staff to immediately send additional reinforcements, and time does not allow delay, otherwise, the final fate of the Second Army in the Far East is the annihilation of the entire army." ”

In the late autumn of 1938, when the vegetation was withered and yellow, and this season full of fallen leaves, there was a bleak scene everywhere, and Stalin, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, was in a more and more depressed and irritable mood, and he did not understand how the present shape in the Far East could be so unfavorable to the great Soviets.

First, the villain-like Chinese Tang Qiuli was left to cut off the Transméng and Baikal areas on the Soviet Union, such a large piece of féiròu, and then the Japanese launched an offensive on an unprecedented scale in the Far East, the Pacific Fleet fell into the hands of the Japanese, and Timoshenko was in danger.

The passing years are unfavorable, there can only be this one explanation, and he has also considered it more than once in his heart, a question that makes him máo bone-chilling, the Japanese and Tang Qiuli have reached some kind of secret agreement, so the Japanese dare to let go and attack the Far East, the fundamental essence of this agreement is that the Japanese and Tang Qiuli carved up the territory of the Asian part of the Soviet Union.

If there was no such a big yòuhuò, according to Tang Qiuli's usual style, he would have taken advantage of this rare opportunity to take a large-scale offensive against the Kwantung Army to recover the Manchurian region, and with Tang Qiuli's strength, it would not be difficult to do this, but in addition, it is impossible to explain Tang Qiuli's current practice of not moving.

If Stalin's speculation becomes a reality, the Soviet Union will lose more than half of its territory and become a purely European country, instead of the huge empire that now spans the Eurasian continent, every time he thinks of this, Stalin can't help but break out in a cold sweat, what he is most afraid of and the most taboo is to fight on both sides, where in Europe, Germany's Hitler is also a guy who is not willing to be lonely, and his greed for territory is even more than his own.

For this reason, he strictly ordered the Soviet Far East Intelligence Directorate to find out whether Tang Qiuli had reached such a secret agreement with the Japanese, and once his speculation was confirmed, Stalin had to consider whether the Soviet Union's strategic center of gravity was tilted towards Asia or Europe.

The mainstream view of the Soviet military circles is that on the European continent, the flames of war that break out from time to time will not reach the Soviet Union for the time being, and solving the problems in the Far East is the top priority, and the Asians dare to provoke the Soviet Union, which has set a very bad precedent, so the strategic concept of the Soviet General Staff is to first defeat the Japanese in the Far East, and then regain the Transméng and Baikal regions, and drive Tang Qiuli's forces back to the Chinese mainland.

But there is one of the biggest problems, it is necessary to transfer the main forces of the Soviet Union in the European part to the Far East, which involves a fundamental change in the basic national policy and strategic center of gravity of the Soviet Union, which will affect the whole body, and Stalin has to think carefully, Europe, the Führer who has put the whole of Germany in a state of madness, has always reassured him.

Stalin's anxiety and almost insomnia all night left him to say to his closest friend, Sī Shiori: "The Soviets are already at the most dangerous juncture, and any mistake in decision-making will lead to the consequences of the disaster, and the Soviets created by Comrade Lenin cannot be destroyed in their own hands." ”

This was Stalin's truest thoughts, hesitating, hesitating, and hesitating, and the news from the General Intelligence Directorate of the Soviet Far East made him breathe a sigh of relief, "Supreme Commander, according to the multiple investigations of our intelligence officers, we have not found any signs of Tang Qiuli reaching any secret agreement with the Japanese government. ”

As another urgent telegram from Timoshenko arrived in his hand, Stalin was in a sunny mood and was covered with yīn clouds.