For the 43rd Group Army, it was still a relatively easy task, like the other four group armies, exhausted and tired over the Ural Mountains, and immediately arrived at the destination for rest, the front army headquarters gave an order, immediately turn around and go south, run a road of seven or eight hundred kilometers, and go to Ulan Guben, then it is called bad luck!

"Comrade commander, the commanders of the armies have asked for instructions, the troops are marching continuously, they are extremely tired, it is already dusk, do you want to repair the place overnight and occupy Minusinsk tomorrow?" The Chief of Staff of the Army Group, Major General Khabarovsky, put down the phone, turned to him and said.

Lieutenant General Bamiyanov, ignoring this question, asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how far is the vanguard from Minusinsk?" ”

Major General Khabarovsky replied: "Comrade commander, there are still about fifty kilometers left!" ”

The sun has sunk in the west, the western sky, a red burning cloud, like a burning flame, behind the burning cloud, you can see layers of black clouds, is gradually pressing towards the southeast sky, the wind blowing from the Ural Mountains, with a biting cold, in the distance, that flat field, shrouded in the dark light of dusk, it seems, it contains some kind of danger that I don't know.

"Maybe, it's going to be another blizzard tonight, damn it! Sleeping in the wilderness, but not being comfortable in the city, resting in place for the night, maybe those scattered independent division troops have already fled when they heard the news, and the group army has come from afar, hasn't it been a battle? He thought to himself.

Lieutenant General Bamiyanov, frowning slightly, replied expressionlessly: "No, the order of the front command is to occupy Minusinsk as quickly as possible." Order the vanguard of the 1st Army, to speed up the march and enter Minusinsk, where this evening the army group is to spend the night in the city! ”

"Let's go too, hopefully tonight, there's a burning fireplace, piping hot coffee, and a fluffy bed," maybe. Lieutenant General Bamiyanov, feeling that his tone was too stiff, said to the chief of staff half-jokingly.

The Chief of Staff, Major General Khabarovsky, responded with a smile: "Comrade commander. I have ordered the First Army, after entering the city. To the army group command. Choose a good office location, you will have all the qiē you want, after all, Minusinsk has not experienced large-scale war! ”

"Still. The pretty girl may be gone, and according to residents who fled to the mainland, the city residents after the Chinese occupied the place. It's almost all gone! Minusinsk, already an empty city! "The competent Comrade Chief of Staff, apparently knowing Comrade Commander, prefers this mouthful, deliberately lightens the atmosphere, and said jokingly.

Lieutenant General Baminov, obviously very useful, got into the car and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the beautiful girl will have it later, you see, this is the disaster caused by the Chinese, a good city has become an empty city, by the way, after the group army is stationed, you and the political commissar will study it, and do your best to restore the party organization, our Soviet city should not be so desolate!" ”

The car has not yet started, ahead, there is a faint sound of gunfire, Lieutenant General Baminov, open the car door, look suspiciously in the direction where the gunfire came from, "Could it be that the vanguard unit exchanged fire with the guard troops of the independent division, these damn Chinese, did not escape, it seems, there is still a little trouble!" He thought to himself.

The Chief of Staff, Major General Khabarovsky, ran over and said: "Comrade commander, I have received a report from the 1st Army, the vanguard unit, that it was blocked by the troops of the independent division about forty kilometers from the city of Minusinsk and is now in a fierce battle!" ”

Lieutenant General Bamiyanov got out of the car and asked: "How many defensive forces does the enemy have?" ”

"Judging by the intensity of the fighting, the guards of the independent division, about two divisions, did not appear heavy equipment such as artillery and tanks, but the vanguard division of the First Army was subjected to heavy artillery shelling and suffered relatively large losses, however, it was mortars instead of heavy artillery, and the artillery fire was extremely fierce and intensive, numbering about a few hundred guns," replied Chief of Staff Khabarovsky.

"Two divisions?" Lieutenant General Bamiyanov, he couldn't help frowning, didn't the bulletin of the intelligence department of the front army make it very clear that around Minusinsk there were only small units of separate divisions and local garrisons? Where did the two divisions come out of nowhere, and this is still called a small force?

"Mortar?" What kind of artillery is this, in the group army, there has long been no trace of this kind of weapon that cannot be taken out, the Chinese actually used such a rudimentary weapon to give themselves a blow to the head, it seems that the troops of the independent division defending Minusinsk have long been prepared, really fucking, some annoyed comrades of the commander, could not help but greet the female relatives of those guys in the intelligence department of the front army viciously.

However, the independent division defense units of only two divisions had not yet been put in his eyes, and Lieutenant General Baminov thought for a moment and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, give an order, the follow-up troops of the Second Army and the Third Army will immediately enter the battle, attack on all fronts, and defeat the enemy forces that are blocked, and then, the First Army will occupy the city, and the Second and Third Armies will pursue and annihilate the fleeing enemy troops, and tonight, Minusinsk must be occupied!" ”

"The actions of the tank troops must be swift and multi-way assault to prevent these Chinese from abandoning their positions and fleeing under our fierce attack, and cannot be completely annihilated, we are stationed in Minusinsk, and it will always be trouble in the future!"

Lieutenant General Baminov, it is a pity that if the artillery units of the army group had followed behind, there would have been almost no need for infantry and tank charges, three artillery divisions, more than a thousand heavy artillery pieces, and in less than an hour, the blocking positions of the independent divisions would have been able to be flattened!

It's just that at the moment, I just think about it, because of the bad road conditions, the artillery of the group army is still more than 50 kilometers behind! Hard work has tank troops, otherwise, the first battle will be more difficult.

The entire strength of the 43rd Army of the Soviet Outer Mongolian Front was thrown into the attack on the blocking positions of the 1st and 2nd Brigades of the Corps directly under the Independent Division.

Liu Hongzhang, commander of the First Brigade, stood in front of the observation port of the shelter department, holding a telescope, looking at the Soviet tanks, the armor reflected the cold light, lined up in a wedge-shaped attack formation, the muzzle of the gun spewed flames, accompanied by a large number of infantry, towards his position, swarming, and couldn't help but sneer.

Just now, the First Brigade took a big advantage, and a division of the First Army, the vanguard of the Soviet army, came dizzy and defenseless, and the Soviet soldiers sitting in the trucks did not even have the slightest combat readiness, and even the trucks ran to the front of the tanks, and did not send reconnaissance troops to open the way.

Seeing that there was such a good opportunity, Liu Hongzhang of course would not let it go, and in order to facilitate the rapid withdrawal to the second line of defense, the brigade's heavy artillery regiment, as well as the artillery battalions of each brigade, all the large and medium-caliber artillery remained in the second line of defense and did not keep up, but this did not prevent Liu Hongzhang from skillfully using artillery.

He concentrated all the more than 700 mortars in the brigade on the front line, and after the Soviet troops entered the range of the mortars, a shell smashed over, and at that time it blew up the Soviet army's marching columns, people turned on their backs, more than 700 mortars, 30 minutes of artillery fire, a division of Soviet troops, can retreat, but only about one-half, burning vehicles, billowing smoke, Soviet soldiers' corpses, lying on the cold snow.

According to the order of the division commander, this can be regarded as repelling the first attack of the Soviet army, and the first brigade and the second brigade of friendly neighbors should immediately withdraw to the second line of defense, and together with the seventh and eighth brigades, they should keep a firm eye on there, and buy time for the four brigade troops who are outflanking on the left and right flanks.

However, the Soviet commander reacted extremely quickly, and after receiving a head-on blow, under the cover of tanks, he immediately counterattacked, and pressed all his forces, and if he retreated at this time, he would be beaten by the Soviet army.

Liu Hongzhang picked up the phone and wanted to call the headquarters of the Second Brigade, but shouted in a loud voice: "I said, Brigade Commander Ouyang, how is your situation?" Commander Lao Maozi, his brain is fast enough, and he won't let us withdraw, is it, our two legs can outrun the tank wheels of the Soviet army? What's your opinion? ”

The headquarters of the second brigade, brigade commander Ouyang Yishan said: "Brother, my situation is similar to your side, after repelling the first attack of the Soviet army, immediately after, the Soviet tanks came up, it is not easy to withdraw, my opinion, fight again, at least kill these tanks!" Otherwise, it will be difficult to get out, there is still a distance of fifteen kilometers from the second line of defense, and in the middle of the line, you can be caught up by Soviet tanks! ”

Ouyang Yishan paused, and then said: "However, the division commander's order, but let us fight and retreat, and then fight, is it a violation of the order, the division commander will investigate it, we will be unlucky!" ”

Liu Hongzhang's eyes were aimed at the Soviet tanks that continued to advance, and he said: "According to the situation on the battlefield, deal with it on the spot, the current situation is that we can't withdraw, it's okay, the division commander will investigate it, my old Liu will be alone, it's a big deal, and I will be a staff officer for him again!" ”

Ouyang Yishan was not happy to listen to it, and shouted: "What are you talking about! What about the old brother, let's carry it together if something happens, you're right, deal with it on the spot! Fight again! ”

Liu Hongzhang shouted: "Okay, it's worthy of the good brothers who fought together in the Sejingge River, our bazookas and recoilless guns should also be opened!" ”

Putting down the phone, Liu Hongzhang was so happy that his eyes narrowed together, and he said to Liu Chenglin, the chief of staff of the brigade: "Chenglin, order the anti-tank companies of each battalion to enter the forward position immediately, and in the first round of shooting, more than half of Lao Maozi's tanks will be reimbursed!" ”

(To be continued)(To be continued......