Apanashchenko's order made Li Xiaofeng quite annoyed, and he still wanted to recapture Zhang Gufeng in the afternoon, but the goods were good, and he let the troops wait for him. When the main force of the Far Eastern Red Banner Front arrived on the battlefield, the bones of the remaining border guards on Zhang Gufeng could be used to beat the drum. Nima, this is not nonsense.

Therefore, Li Xiaofeng was not ready to carry out Apanashchenko's order at all, and he forcefully ordered Grebinnik and Vikingnev: "Carry out the operation according to the original plan!" ”

"But......" Grebinnik and Vikingev were just about to say something, Li Xiaofeng glared at them viciously: "This is an order!" Before Apanashchenko arrived at the front, I was solely responsible for directing the battle! ”

Although Glebinnik and Vikingnev have a belly full of slander, they don't dare to compete with a certain immortal, after all, they are commissioners of the Military Commission, and their status is higher than Apanashchenko, are you tired of blowing up stabs with such a big man?

Therefore, when Apanashchenko thought that everything was under control, Zhang Gufeng's situation was actually out of his control. At two o'clock in the afternoon, a squad of the 59th Frontier Corps cooperated with the 1st Battalion of the 31st Marine Regiment and the first company to begin to march towards Zhanggufeng.

With the help of the air force, the Japanese artillery positions were soon enveloped in gunsmoke, and although the horizontal bombardment of the air force failed to accurately pull out the enemy's artillery, it was still possible to temporarily disqualify the opponent's artillery from speaking.

And without the cover of artillery, the Japanese firepower was really like that, which allowed the Red Army to boldly climb to the summit, and at the same time, the remaining dozen border guards on the summit, led by Captain Tereshkin, fired at the Japanese positions at the summit with two DP light machine guns. It played an excellent role in containing zuò. So much so that the first company of the 31st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Marine Corps climbed to the top without much effort. and recaptured two positions.

As of 6 p.m. The situation at the summit of Zhanggufeng was that the Japanese occupied two-thirds of the position, while the Red Army held the remaining third. Although it failed to completely recapture Zhang Gufeng, it is much better than the historical situation.

However, Yakov was not satisfied with Li Xiaofeng's choice: "You should actually throw this mess to Apanashchenko." ”

Indeed, no matter what, the Military Commission also decided to let Apanashchenko continue to command the battle, and the goods also issued an order to do everything according to his request. At this time, Li Xiaofeng suddenly came to this hand, and if he won, at most, it can only be regarded as useless, and if he loses, it will be a big problem.

But Li Xiaofeng doesn't see it that way: "There are some things that can be ignored. But this matter cannot be ignored. I will never allow so many fighters to die in vain because of internal struggles or bureaucratic reasons! ”

Yakov pursed his lips and did not speak. This is also the place where he can't understand Li Xiaofeng the most, someone is sometimes very despicable and chicken thief, and he will repay his eyes, but sometimes he does stupid things with righteousness and awe, and it is really rare for such a contradictory person to do such a contradictory person.

However, Yakov likes Li Xiaofeng's contradiction, to be honest, he can't get used to Apanashchenko's approach, that product is too bottomless, and being an official can't be like that.

Of course. Apanashchenko soon also knew about Li Xiaofeng's small moves, needless to say that it was a big rage. Immediately, he sent a strongly worded telegram to the Military Commission, accusing Li Xiaofeng of interfering in the command of the battlefield and demanding that Li Xiaofeng be held responsible!

Apanashchenko's telegram also made the Military Commission very difficult, because to tell the truth, most of the leaders of the Military Commission, including Stalin, were not satisfied with Apanashchenko's appearance for a while, and the reason why he was not immediately removed from his post was to safeguard the overall situation. It is not even ruled out that as soon as the Zhang Gufeng incident is over, it will immediately be conceded to Apanashchenko to look good.

At this time, Apanashchenko accused Li Xiaofeng, which was somewhat self-conscious and inexplicable. Anyway, Trotsky scoffed at the time: "The person who stands in the pit and does not still has the face to accuse this and that?" I think Comrade Andrei did a good job, according to Apanashchenko's plan, by the time the main forces of the 40th Infantry Division arrived on the battlefield, Zhang Gufeng had completely lost his ...... This small mountain is difficult to defend and difficult to attack, and when the time comes, how much will Apanashchenko be prepared to return to recapture it? ”

Even Stalin knew that Apanashchenko was a bit of a second, do you have in your head? It's all this time, and the most important thing for you is to quickly drive the Japanese away and fight a beautiful big victory. It's a good thing that someone increased his troops to defend Zhang Gufeng, if Zhang Gufeng really loses it, then this account will have to be counted on your head, how many heads do you have?

So Stalin only said lightly: "Comrade Andrei's decision is reasonable, and Zhang Gufeng must not be thrown away." However, the approach is a little reckless, and he should have better communicated with Comrade Apanashchenko, and I am sure that Comrade Apanashchenko will understand......"

Not to mention the rest of the commissariat in the military commissary, even Stalin himself, did not believe this, because Voroshilov told him that Comrade Apanashchenko did not seem to be aware of the seriousness of the problem, and that his bad temper made it difficult for him to listen to Comrade Andrei...... And he didn't seem to take Zhang Gufeng and the Japanese army seriously, thinking that it was very simple to recapture Zhang Gufeng.

Voroshilov's analysis makes a lot of sense, and in the final analysis, Apanashchenko still underestimated the impact of the incident and underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army. In particular, the latter is particularly underestimated, probably because the conflict on the Haraha River made the commander full of confidence, and felt that it would not be a problem to take down the little devil at all.

If Apanashchenko had a correct estimate of the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army, then he should have known how difficult it was to climb to the top of the terrain at Zhanggu Peak, where there were only two mountain roads on the left and right. Historically, Blyukhel was not very good at Zhanggufeng (in addition to the topographical reasons, there were also reasons for the blind command of Mehris, the director of the General Political Department who was sent to supervise the war), and it would have been even worse if he had been replaced by Apanashchenko.

In fact, Apanashchenko's current appearance is very bad, like those grassroots generals who grew up in the civil war, Apanashchenko's understanding of war is still at the level of the First World War or the civil war. To put it simply, it is simple and rude, even if the Red Army today has the world's first-class equipment and relatively advanced military thinking. Nor has it been able to change the simple and crude methods of warfare that Apanashchenko has in his bones.

Eight o'clock that night. Apanashchenko arrived at the forward command of Zhanggufeng. With a wave of his hand, he began to lay out the battle plan to recapture Zhang Gufeng.

"The 40th Infantry Division will take on the main attack, the 2nd Mechanized Brigade will be responsible for support, and the 32nd Infantry Division will act as a reserve...... Before the battle began, we had to make full use of our artillery superiority, and for this reason the 18th Artillery Division, which was part of the Front, and the heavy artillery regiment of the 2nd Independent Red Banner Army, had to arrive at the predetermined positions by July 9......"

Apanashchenko's battle plan was actually very simple, that is, first bombarded with artillery, and then rushed with a sea of men, if the first wave did not rush down. Then rush again, and if it still doesn't work, then do it again a third or fourth time, until it succeeds.

Li Xiaofeng said to Rychagov at that time: "The commander of your front army is a pure reckless man, who only knows how to use force, but does not know how to use wisdom. Even if Zhang Gufeng can be recaptured by such a fight, the losses will be particularly heavy! ”

Rychagov agreed, he was also not optimistic about Apanashchenko's style of play, if the war was just a comparison of hard power, then it would really be too simple. Obviously. War is definitely not a game of mere fighting, even if strength is indeed a crucial factor. But in order to fully exert its strength and reduce losses, wisdom is essential.

It is a pity that the officers of the Red Army at this time, especially those like Apanashchenko, who had grown up from the civil war, were one-sided superstitious about the power.

At that time, in fact, there were still different operational ideas, which were put forward by Li Xiaofeng, but were rejected by the Central Military Commission on the grounds that they were likely to intensify the conflict.

So what is Li Xiaofeng's vision? It's very simple, that is, don't just stare at Zhang Gufeng, the topographical characteristics of Zhang Gufeng have been said before, and the complex terrain is not conducive to the operation of large troops, especially mechanized troops. Even if the Far Eastern Red Front had an absolute superiority in strength, it would not be able to give full play to it in this narrow battlefield.

In Li Xiaofeng's view, there is no need to be limited to Zhang Gufeng, and it is actually very simple to recapture Zhang Gufeng, just annihilate the 19th Division of the Japanese Army on the opposite side, and the Red Army can completely attack from the upper reaches of the Tumen River, flanking the 19th Division, and even if it cannot completely annihilate it, it can be driven away. Cut off the retreat and supply routes of the Japanese army at Zhanggu Peak and Shacao Peak, how many days can the devils hold out on these two peaks?

In Li Xiaofeng's view, this has the highest cost-effectiveness ratio. However, the Military Commission did not support it, because such a fight is indeed cost-effective, but it is easy to expand the conflict, what if the devil is not convinced and continues to increase troops to provoke? Doesn't that mean a bigger conflict?

The Politburo is not ready to fight the devils again in the Far East, especially at a time when the situation in Central and Eastern Europe is getting worse day by day, and the Soviet Union's focus can only be placed on the European direction, so Apanashchenko's "brainless" style of play is more acceptable to the Politburo.

As a result, from July 5 to July 9, a large number of Soviet troops began to advance towards the Lake Hassan area, and the top commanders of the Far Eastern Red Banner Front, including Apanashchenko, Shitern, and Popov, came to the front line one after another.

Of course, these four days were not peaceful, and both the Japanese army and the Red Army were actively fighting. Ogaka Kamizo constantly tried to strengthen the forces on Zhanggu Peak and Shacao Peak, but under the blows of the Red Army Air Force, this action was not particularly smooth, and in the end the devil could only take advantage of the night to sneak people and supplies to the top of the mountain.

The devils at the bottom of the mountain were busy, and the ones on the top of the mountain were not idle, and every time it was dark, the devils began to launch a night attack, trying to squeeze the Soviet troops on Zhanggu Peak down. However, under the strict defense of the Soviet army, most of the night attacks of the devils failed, and the few successful two were driven away after dawn with the absolute air and artillery support of the Red Army.

It has to be said that after the arrival of the main forces of the Red Front Army from the Far East on the battlefield, the Japanese army fell into an absolute inferiority. Every day, from dawn until dark, air raids and artillery bombardment continued.

According to the archives of the Red Banner Front in the Far East, the TB-3 and SB-2 of the 2nd Air Army continued to bombard the Japanese lines of communication, logistics bases and troop assembly areas on both sides of the Tumen River, while the 76.2, 122, 152 and 203 mm artillery of the artillery also carried out heavy bombardment. The Japanese army's major stations in Korea, such as Gyeongheung, Guyi, Cheonghak-dong, and Awudi, as well as the Gyeongheung-gun barracks, were attacked, and the Cheongjin-Roki railway was blown up in many places.

The 19th Division of the Japanese Army suffered from the limited range of its artillery, and the air supremacy was controlled by the Red Army. Bombing and shelling of Soviet troops was almost incapacitated. The worst were the Japanese troops on Zhanggu Peak and Shacao Peak. For several days, they had to eat a "shell feast" every day, and later, after the Soviets recaptured Zhang Gufeng and Shacao Peak, they picked up a diary of a Japanese officer, which described it as follows:

"On the 6th of July, enemy shells rained down on our positions, and at 14 o'clock a number of bombers of Lucia's ghost beasts appeared above us and dropped a large number of bombs."

"July 7th. All night we dug trenches on Zhanggu Peak. On this day, Lucia's ghost animals began to attack our position with tanks, and it was another long and terrifying day of fighting. Bombs and shells continued to fall on our positions, and the sound of violent explosions came and went. We ran in all directions, but there was nowhere to hide, and we had not eaten at all since yesterday noon, and we had no way to eat...... The battle continued, and I finally seized the opportunity to eat two rice balls and drink two sips of sewage...... It was supposed to be a sunny day, but the smoke and dust from the heavy shelling and bombardment obscured the daylight. I was depressed and not feeling well. I really can't stand it anymore! ”

"On July 10, we were digging trenches. As I write this journal. A shell exploded next to me. I felt very tired, had a headache and slept very little. The enemy's shells came endlessly, blowing up one crater after another in the position (the diary was interrupted at this point)......"

On 10 July, Apanashchenko, who considered himself fully prepared, proudly ordered a general offensive to begin, and the 40th Infantry Division, which was initially fully assembled, launched a "tentative" attack on Zhang Gufeng with the support of tanks and heavy artillery.

In order to show their attention, the division commander, Colonel Bazarov, and the political commissar of the Far Eastern Red Banner Front, Mehris, personally went to the front line to supervise the battle. Soon after dawn, the division's artillery began shelling Japanese positions. From 8 o'clock, 10 SB-2 bombers carried out air strikes on the Japanese positions and rear areas, and then the 119th and 120th Infantry Regiments of the 40th Infantry Division attacked from the north as the main attacking force, and the 118th Regiment began to attack the 52nd Heights southeast of Zhanggufeng. The Japanese army defended the 52nd Heights with only one infantry squadron, and seeing the 118th Regiment menacing, they could only resist it hard.

However, the battle did not last long, and the Japanese defenders on the 52nd Heights gradually could not support it, and the captain of the 3rd Brigade of the 75th Wing of the Japanese Army, who was on standby on Zhanggu Peak, Shizuo Hirahara, hurriedly led the brigade and the 1st Brigade as a reserve to support. After receiving reinforcements, the Japanese army stood on its feet with great difficulty, and fought with the 118th Regiment, which was constantly charging.

During this offensive, the Red Army infantry could only advance along a narrow path between Lake Hassan and the Sino-Soviet border, and a large number of men and equipment poured together. And because of Apanashchenko's strict orders, no matter what happens, the Red Army must not cross the Sino-Soviet border. Moreover, after the infantry launched a charge, they were worried that the shells would accidentally injure their own people, so the artillery could only stop firing, and as a result, the 118th Regiment in the charge was severely killed by the Japanese fire.

Senior Lieutenant Stephenko, commander of the Red Army infantry battalion who participated in the battle, recalled: "Our battalion launched an attack on the Japanese positions, but there was only a 150-meter-wide strip in front of us to march, which was covered by the Japanese crossfire net, and not even a single mosquito could fly through, and it was simply impossible to move an inch. If we could send a force across the border line (referring to the Tumen River) and go around behind the enemy, the offensive would be much smoother, but we had to fully comply with the orders of our superiors, and no one dared to cross the border even a single step! ”

In this regard, Li Xiaofeng, who was observing the battle on the front line, was furious, and said in the "Brief Report on the Observation of the Battle of Lake Hassan" submitted to the Central Military Commission that night: "The 40th Infantry Division only took one night to assemble, and then received the order to go into the attack, so it was obviously a mistake to rush into the battle. The complex shape of the battlefield did not allow large troops to be put in at all, and even the vast majority of troops did not conduct topographic surveys and did not have time to organize coordinated deployments. The artillerymen, who had just arrived on the battlefield at night, did not know the exact location of the enemy, especially where the enemy's forward positions were. In addition, there were also major problems in communications, and the field telephone lines were not completely rolled out, so that a considerable part of the troops were simultaneously squeezed into the already narrow battlefield, causing huge casualties! ”

The chaotic fighting continued until 15 o'clock in the afternoon, during which Li Xiaofeng repeatedly demanded that Apanashchenko immediately stop the attack, but the latter was completely indifferent. Even at the strong request and instigation of Mehris, the political commissar of the Red Banner Front in the Far East, the 40th Infantry Division was forced to organize two more battalion-sized offences at 17 and 21 o'clock.

Outcome? What can be the result, such a chaotic offensive organization can achieve results, then it is called hell, anyway, nothing was gained, and a lot of casualties were paid in vain. If it weren't for Li Xiaofeng's anger and flipped the table in front of Apanashchenko, he would have launched a regiment-scale sneak attack at 0:00 that night.

On the first day of the offensive, Li Xiaofeng and Apanashchenko clashed fiercely, and the two sides almost fought. And the next day, it was even more conflicting, with friction between the two sides almost every hour. Especially in the afternoon of the same day, after Mehris, the political commissar of the Far Eastern Red Banner Front, once again forced the 40th Infantry Division to launch a meaningless and failed operation, the conflict between the two intensified...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank the lost Remnant Feng, Liangzi 913, lksos, Remember to add the halo, zz120, Spike Potato, hzwangdd, agz00025 and Comrade Juventus!