From the face of Lieutenant General Zirnenko, chief of staff of the Military District, General Kulygin saw a hint of strangeness, and his heart "chuckled".

Without waiting for General Kurygin to ask, Lieutenant General Zirnenko reported: "Comrade commander, I have just received a telegram from Major General Sergeyev, commander of the Third Army, that at about 1:30 a.m. today, in the area of Uzhgentala, the 45th Infantry Division of the army was attacked by three cavalry brigades of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army of the Independent Division, and the losses were not large. ”

General Kuregin's first reaction was to jump up and roar angrily: "Nonsense, almost all the troops of the independent division in Outer Mongolia are on the line of the Sejingge River to block the attack of our army, where are the three cavalry brigades?" To say that a cavalry regiment, or even a cavalry brigade, I believe that three cavalry brigades, at least fourteen or five thousand cavalry, can mysteriously appear in the rear of our army? That Sergeyev is lying, he must be covering up the truth of the facts? ”

Lieutenant General Zirnianko, his face was like a slate, without a trace of fluctuation, let the roar of the comrade commander echo in the tent, he also doubted the authenticity of the telegram of the commander Sergeyev, however, he believed that the Third Army must have been attacked, otherwise, there was no need to tell this lie that embarrassed himself, but I am afraid that there would not be so many independent divisions that attacked them?

But the chief of staff of Zirnenko did not speak, and when General Kurygin finished roaring, he silently handed over the telegram, and after reading the telegram, General Kurygin groaned like a headache and frowned.

It was enough for him to have a headache. It is not that he cares about the losses of the Third Army, but General Kulygin thinks more far-reachingly, if it is really as Sergeyev said, there are three cavalry brigades of independent divisions, operating in their rear, and sending the threatened are, first of all, the logistical supply lines of the troops, which is a fatal point, the transportation of oil needed by mechanized troops, ammunition and other materials needed for operations. will be affected.

Could it be that after the battle of the Sejingge River, the troops were forced to stop the offensive because the oil and supplies could not keep up? I can't afford to wait, in the telegram of the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Petroshilov. It has already been revealed, Comrade Stalin. The actions of the Transcaucasian Military District were sluggish. Not very satisfied, a stunned river blocked nearly 300,000 troops for more than two days, and he didn't dare to delay.

Could it be that the troops that have just been assembled to the front line still have to be divided into parts. Go to the rear to sweep the cavalry units of the independent division, from Barnaur to Chita, a vast area, how many troops are needed. If you go to a haystack to find a needle, you will definitely not be able to search for cavalry with erratic movements, and if you have too much, it will affect the offensive strength of the main battlefield, and the infantry will not be good, it must be a mechanized force that moves equally quickly, and in this way, it will affect the assault ability of the attacking troops, and it is another difficult problem, difficult, General Kurygin is very difficult!

Thinking about it, General Kurygin had no good way, his gaze turned to his chief of staff, and asked with a pleasant face: "Comrade Zirnianko, do you have any good ideas?" ”

Lieutenant General Zirnenko said humbly: "Commander, my opinion, for your reference only, this group of enemy cavalry that suddenly appeared in our rear is indeed very troublesome, but, judging from the current situation, we have not received any reports of attacks in other areas, which shows that the area where they are infested, around the Third Army, or rather, the westward movement of the Third Army has attracted the attention of the commander of the independent division, and this cavalry unit is aimed at the Third Army. ”

"Therefore, what we have to do now is to increase the strength of the Third Army, so that it can entangle with the cavalry of this independent division and cannot take into account the transportation lines in other parts of our country, and then order the reconnaissance aircraft unit of the air force of the military region to search for their traces day and night, and then strike with air power, so that the threat can be eliminated and will not affect our main battlefield! Of course, this is my personal opinion! ”

General Kurygin high-fived and said: "Very good countermeasures, return the armored brigade of the Third Army to their establishment, in addition, transfer another motorized infantry regiment as a mobile force to deal with the cavalry of the independent division, chief of staff, you immediately give an order, the military district air force reconnaissance aircraft unit, all dispatch, I will get the accurate location of the cavalry of this independent division before 12 o'clock at noon!" ”

Lieutenant General Zirnenko pondered for a moment, and then said: "Commander, the order of the air force reconnaissance unit has been done too hastily, the south of Lake Baikal and the north of the Segarge River is an extremely vast area, with many hills and bushes, which is conducive to concealment, and in the morning, I am afraid that it will be difficult for the air force reconnaissance unit to complete its task, and besides, the frequent appearance of our reconnaissance planes in the air is bound to arouse the enemy's vigilance. ”

"Once the enemy has judged our intentions and concealed them, it will be even more difficult to search, will it not distract us, or, continue to wander towards the area of Barnaor, the garrison troops along our line, which are not many troops, may not be the enemy's opponents, do we still have to mobilize the main force and turn back to pursue and suppress?"

General Kurygin smiled to himself and said: "I'm in a hurry, well, just follow your opinion, give the order to the Air Force of the Military District, and you will be responsible for drafting!" The existence of this enemy army makes me feel uneasy in my throat, and I will do my best to destroy them, so as not to become a trouble! ”

The chief of staff of Zirnenko agreed, went out to give orders, General Kurygin was still very satisfied with his chief of staff, not to mention, loyalty, at critical times, he could always come up with opinions that he could accept, which was very rare, as the time for the arrival of the bomber group approached, his mind quickly shifted from the affairs of the Third Army to the battlefield in front of him.

At 4:30 a.m., at the Kulun Field Airfield in Outer Mongolia, the ground air command of the Northern Flight Group of the Independent Division, the room seemed very quiet, the staff officers on duty were whispering, and from time to time there were air force officers entering and leaving, and their steps were also very light, and the commander, Major General Liu Cuigang, crossed his hands on his chest, closed his eyes, and sat motionless on his chair, as if he was asleep.

A red phone on the "Jingle Bell" table, the ringtone rang urgently, Liu Cuigang opened his eyes suddenly, grabbed the phone, "I'm Liu Cuigang, what's the situation, please tell!" ”

"Commander, I am the No. 3 ground radar station, five minutes ago, the radar found that a large number of planes took off from the Soviet army's Chita Airport, Irkutsk Airport, and Ulan-Ude Airport. Report on the other end of the phone.

Liu Cuigang was shocked and then overjoyed, and said to himself: "Ho! Lao Maozi is here to fight hard, to fight hard with his own fighter unit, more than 560 fighters, enough for three divisions, should be the entire family of the Air Force of the Transcaucasian Military District of the Soviet Union, come to the sea of people tactics, hum! ”

Liu Cuigang picked up the phone and was about to report the situation to the division commander Tang Qiuli, but before he could pick it up, another red phone on the table also rang urgently, and he hurriedly picked it up, "I'm Liu Cuigang, what's the situation, please tell me!" ”

"Commander, I am the No. 1 radar station, and the radar found that a large number of Soviet planes took off from the Soviet Army's Chita Airport and Ulan-Ude Airport, which were preliminarily judged to be a group of Soviet bombers, numbering more than one hundred and fifty planes, flying at an altitude of 2,500 meters. The tone on the other end of the phone was a little anxious.

Subsequently, several telephones on the table, which rang one after another, were reports from radar stations in various places, reporting the same situation, first the Soviet fighter group, then the Soviet bomber group.

Liu Cuigang muttered, "This time, I learned to be obedient, and I know that the fighter will be released first!" Picked up the phone just now, "Switchboard, I'm Liu Cuigang, pick up the division commander for me!" ”

The one who answered the phone was Colonel Wang Jun, chief of staff of the Outer Mongolia Frontier Army, who heard that Liu Cui had an emergency to find the division commander, so he didn't dare to slack off, so he hurried to the inner room and woke up Tang Qiuli.

Tang Qiuli said: "Cui Gang, I'm Tang Qiuli, what's the emergency?" ”

Liu Cuigang said in a loud voice: "Division commander, the Soviet Air Force has been dispatched, and the momentum is not small, first more than 560 fighters, and then more than 150 bombers, I judge that this is the entire strength of the Air Force of the Soviet Transcaucasian Military District. ”

Tang Qiuli said calmly: "Okay, according to the predetermined plan, attack immediately!" ”

Putting down the phone, Tang Qiuli said to Wang Jun: "Chief of Staff Wang, immediately send a telegram to Sun Zhenbang to remind him to pay attention to air defense!" ”

Kulun Field Airfield ground air command, Liu Cuigang ordered: "The 1st to 10th Fighter Regiments, Attack Immediately, Combat Target, Soviet Fighter Group, 11th to 14th Regiment, Twenty Minutes Later, Take Off and Lift, Combat Target, Soviet Bomber Group, Commanded by Meng Qingpeng, 15th Regiment as a reserve, wait for orders, take off at any time!" ”

From the Kulen field airfield to several field airfields along the central route of Outer Mongolia, the sound of combat sirens sounded at the same time, sharp and high-pitched, breaking the silence of dawn, and the airfield immediately began to make noise, and the fighter pilots of the Northern Flying Group ran out of the dormitory and rushed to their fighters, and immediately, the fighter planes formed two planes and rushed into the dawn sky.

At 4:45, ten fighter regiments and more than 620 fighters formed a huge formation and flew towards the Soviet fighter group.

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