At a time when Stalin was distressed for the annihilation of the troops of the Transcaucasian Military Region, and was worried and hesitant to fight for the troops of the Far Eastern Front, a telegram sent from the Northern Mongolian Campaign Headquarters, signed by Tang Qiuli, flew to Liu Tiehan's headquarters.

"Brother Tie Han, the campaign to encircle and annihilate the troops of the Soviet Transcaucasian Military District has ended at about 8 o'clock this morning, and more than 40,000 Soviet soldiers below the Supreme Commander of the Soviet Army, General Kulygin, and the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Zirnianko, have surrendered.

"In this way, it can ensure that the East Finger can collect all the Chita and other places and the battle in the bag, without interference, after the end of this war, the Soviets will be hurt, and the Outer Mongolia region can ensure that there will be no war within ten years, and it is also the luck of the people in the Outer Mongolia region!"

Soon, Liu Tiehan's reply arrived, "I am glad that the victory in the northern battlefield, my brother is overwhelmed and ecstatic, and it also encourages the morale of all the soldiers in my east finger, I am ashamed, I thought that I could end the battle before the division commander, but I expected, the sky is not perfect, and it is backward, I have a sense of self-pride in the land, I chased and annihilated the Soviet troops, the combat effectiveness is quite strong, brother does not dare to be careless, step by step, gradually consumed, the time to end the battle, it is expected to be five days later, at that time, and then report the results!" ”

Looking at Liu Tiehan's callback, Tang Qiuli said to Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe happily: "Yuhe, look at Deputy Division Commander Liu's callback, how can I smell a sour smell, call him back, simmer slowly, not impatient, it will come naturally, gradually consumed, and I look forward to Kulun!" ”

The smoke of gunpowder on the battlefield in the north of Outer Mongolia has dissipated, and on the battlefield in the east. Originally, according to Liu Tiehan's intentions, after two days of continuous consumption of the Soviet army, the troops attacked on all fronts and fought a beautiful battle of annihilation, but now it seems that it may be difficult to achieve.

The troops of the Soviet Far Eastern Front are worthy of being the elite divisions of the Japanese Kwantung Army for two or three years under the training of the famous Soviet general Zhukov. The combat experience seems to be that the soldier's heart is extremely stable, except for the beginning of the sudden blow, which was chaotic for a while. The position was quickly adjusted, under the command of Lieutenant General Yemenchenko. Soviet units of three armies. Shrunk into a ball, like a hedgehog with thorns spread all over its body.

Ignoring the east-fingering troops that pounced on the two flanks from time to time, they retreated quickly without hesitation, so that Liu Tiehan's two flanks attacked the troops. In addition to using intensive artillery fire to kill and injure the living forces of the Soviet army as much as possible, after several in-depth assaults with considerable casualties. The infantry did not dare to attack too much on the depth of the retreating Soviet troops, fortunately, the Soviet army was still in the midst of a three-sided attack, and the eastern troops still occupied the battlefield as the initiative.

In this regard, Liu Tiehan did not have a very good solution, if he forcibly surrounded the troops of the Soviet army of more than 130,000 people of the three armies, it would not be impossible to do it, but the strength at hand, in addition to the 10th Brigade of Chen Guozhu and the mixed cavalry brigade of He Zhuguo, there were only seven brigades of about 110,000 people left.

What's more, Liu Tiehan believed that this Soviet army had not yet been consumed to the exhaustion of Cheng Dù, so his order to the flank attack troops and the tail pursuit troops was still four words: "Exhausted, exhausted!" ”

To the area where the 10th Brigade and the cavalry mixed brigade were ambushed, on the front line of the Onen River, there was still a distance of more than 100 kilometers, and under the constant entanglement of his own troops, the Soviet army could not run there in four or five days, Liu Tiehan was confident that he would eat another 350,000 Soviet troops and change the ratio of forces on the battlefield, and the next battle would be easy to fight.

From the military map, looking away, Liu Tiehan said to Colonel Li Guangjin, director of the Dongzhi Operations Division, with regret: "Alas, there are still not enough troops, otherwise, it will be surrounded on the spot, and Lao Maozi will not want to leave. It's just a fight around me, and I'm too confident! ”

Colonel Li Guangjin thought for a moment and said puzzledly: "Deputy division commander, I don't understand, since the strength in our hands just meets the requirements of the campaign, why do you still transfer Wan Fulin's Seventh Brigade and Chang Enduo's Eighth Brigade from the troops pursuing it head-on, and make a long-distance attack on Chita, and after the battle to encircle and annihilate this Soviet army, isn't it more abundant, not to mention transferring two brigades, even five or six brigades, it will not be a problem!" ”

Liu Tiehan shook his head and said: "The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, it is safe to eat the Soviet army in front of you first, and then seize Chita, but have you thought about it, the area south of Chita is the only place for the Soviet army to retreat, in order to rescue this Soviet army, in case the Soviets transfer troops from the Far Eastern Front and meet near Chita, Chita has become a place for heavy troop hoarding, it is not easy to fight, it is not impossible." ”

"The division commander commanded the corps directly under him, and ate more than 300,000 troops of the Transcaucasian Military District in one bite, that Stalin, can he watch and be eaten by us again? Moreover, I have a deeper consideration, in case Chen Guozhu's 10th Brigade and He Zhuguo's cavalry mixed brigade are still on the front line of the Onen River, unable to block more than 100,000 Soviet troops, and are seized by the Soviet army and fleeing, the 7th and 8th Brigades, in the area south of Chita, there is a second line of resistance, are you prepared! ”

Li Guangjin's face sank, and he said: "Deputy division commander, do you think that we can't block the retreat of the Soviet army?" ”

Liu Tiehan's eyes looked into the distance, and he said half-loudly: "I believe in Chen Guozhu and He Zhuguo, and I also believe in the combat effectiveness of the 10th Brigade and the Cavalry Mixed Brigade, but after all, it is a blocking battle with a huge disparity in strength, more than 36,000 people, and the difference in strength between the 100,000 or so Soviet troops who are eager to seize the road and flee is too great, and if we can withstand the arrival of our main force, we will also pay great casualties!" ”

In the next few days of fighting, Liu Tiehan commanded the troops of the seven brigades in the east, and used all his strength to restrain the Soviet army and not let go of the fierce fight, not giving the Soviet army a chance to breathe.

Walking all the way, fighting all the way, fighting bloody battles for three days and three nights, until October 3, the three armies commanded by Yemenchenko still had less than 100,000 people left, and, on the way to retreat quickly and suffered repeated blows, all tanks, artillery, and vehicles were lost.

During this period, Lieutenant General Yemenchenko, not without a request to the High Command, asked the High Command to order Zhukov's Far Eastern Front, with no less than three armies of 100,000 troops, to advance eastward to the Chita line to meet the retreat of his own troops.

Moreover, Marshal Petroshilov, Chief of the General Staff, also clearly told him, "In view of the signs of large-scale military operations of the Japanese Kwantung Army on the front line of the Outer Khingan Mountains, the Far Eastern Front has entered a state of full combat readiness and is unable to draw any troops to meet you, so we can only rely on our own strength and retreat as much as possible to avoid being surrounded by the troops of the Independent Division!" ”

In the telegram, the General Staff did not disclose any information about the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District, which, apparently, was instructed by Stalin to strictly block the news from the troops of Lieutenant General Yemenchenko, so as not to distract the troops.

After reading the last reply from the General Staff, Lieutenant General Yemenchenko finally gave up, don't expect anyone to save himself, in fact, Lieutenant General Yemenchenko still doesn't know the news that the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District have been wiped out on the battlefield in northern Outer Mongolia.

On the afternoon of 5 October, the troops of the Soviet Far Eastern Front, reduced to just over 80,000 men, finally rushed to the vicinity of the west bank of the Onon River.

Looking at the crooked white lines that appeared in the distance on the vast grassland with the north wind howling against the background of the withered grass in the sky, Lieutenant General Yemenchenko, almost wept, nightmarish seven days and seven nights, the haunting independent division troops, like maggots that eat bones, bite and hold on, almost draining the blood of the troops, the four armies have nearly 180,000 horses, lost more than 100,000 people, and many divisions have been left with an empty shelf.

After crossing the Onen River, you will be able to get rid of the sleepless pursuit of the troops of the Independent Division, and you can also use this river to establish a blocking line, take a breather for the main forces, and buy some time, "Order the troops not to stop, quickly cross the Onen River, and the Fifth Army is on the east bank, establish a blocking position, and cover the crossing of other troops!" There was no bridge crossing, and from below me, all officers and soldiers, waded across the river! Lieutenant General Yemenchenko ordered without hesitation.

A colonel's staff officer reminded: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, in the telegram of the High Command, we are reminded to pay attention to whether the troops of the independent division are to be careful and guard against the troops of the Onon River, whether there are ambushes on the east bank of the Onon River, and for the sake of the safety of the troops, do we send a small part of our troops to make tentative moves?" The rest of the troops, wait until they are sure that there is no situation, and then cross the river? ”

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble......! "Distant cannon sounds," came the damned Chinese, coming up so quickly," Lieutenant General Yemenchenko muttered.

Then, staring at his bloodshot eyes, dull and bloodshot for lack of rest, he roared, "Stupid! The Chinese who are in hot pursuit, give us time? Listen, the sound of artillery is only about 20 kilometers away from our current position, and even if there is an ambush of an independent division in front, we must rush over! ”

More than 80,000 Soviet soldiers, like a muddy tide, poured to the banks of the Onon River.

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