The tent was filled with the roar of the commander of the Transcaucasian Military District of the USSR, General Kulygin, whose words made the chief of staff of the military district, Zirnianko, completely speechless, and he did not know how to explain it to the commander comrade, who was about to lose his mind.

At the heart of the offensive plan, the air force group being blocked by the independent division's group is the key to the success or failure of the offensive, and in this case, it is necessary to consider whether to postpone the attack, or to cancel the attack altogether.

The four infantry corps of the Far Eastern Front are rushing to the Outer Mongolian battlefield day and night, waiting for a week or two, and the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District should also adjust their deployment, replenish ammunition and provisions, and from the heart of Chief of Staff Zirnenko, I hope that General Kurygin will calm down, or rather, in the face of reality, it has been tried many times, and there is no precedent for success in an offensive that relies on purely ground firepower.

After General Kurygin lost his temper, Chief of Staff Zirnenko said in a calm tone: "Comrade commander, according to my judgment, I am afraid that the air force fleet will not be able to complete the plan, will we cancel this attack?" His attitude is not like asking for instructions, but building yì.

As soon as General Kurygin heard this, he exploded at that time, and asked in a stern tone: "What? Comrade Zirnianko, what are you talking about? Cancel the offense! You can tell you that we have prepared for this attack many times, you know, just because the air force group did not arrive on time, we had to cancel the attack, no! Never! Convey my order, and when it comes to attacking, change it to six o'clock in the morning! Without the support of the Air Force, I will fight too! ”

Judging from the actual situation on the battlefield, General Kurygin must fight, even if it is hard-headed, tens of thousands of troops are ready, and the arrow has to be fired if the offensive is canceled. The impact on the morale of the troops is more severe than returning without success, and the reason why it has to wait until six o'clock is because General Kurygin still has a glimmer of hope that the air force fleet will be able to get rid of the resistance of the independent division and arrive on time, even if only part of it.

Senior General Kurygin imagined things too beautiful and simple, and Lieutenant General Jonasov, commander of the Soviet air group, was now in a miserable situation, "I have been in the Air Force for most of my life." I have never seen such an air battle, despicable Chinese! He cursed through gritted teeth.

Le Yiqin's tactics are absolutely unconventional, and after his own fighters break up the Soviet escort fighter group, he does not pursue. Instead, they plunged headlong into the pile of Soviet bombers, flying up and down. When the Soviet fighters are back together. The Soviet fighter pilots were helpless for a while, more than 200 Chinese fighters were mixed in their own group of more than 540 bombers, how could this battle be fought?

I'm afraid that even shooting will be restrained, and if I am not careful, the bullets will be called at my own bomber. The fighters of the independent division, on the other hand, did not have such scruples, but instead used their own bombers as cover, that is, they did not fight head-on. The cold is a rain of bullets, which can't hit the fighters, but also the bombers, and the Soviet fighter pilots can fight this battle, holding their breath and catching fire.

Seeing that one bomber after another, either blown into pieces in the air, or covered in fire and smoke, wailing and planted to the ground, nothing can be done, and then fight, and when the bombers are gone, it will be the turn of the escort fighters, the number is not dominant, and the battle is timid, in desperation, Lieutenant General Jonasov issued the order to evacuate the battle, because there are few targets left that need to be escorted.

The air battle began at 3:30 a.m. and lasted until more than 5 o'clock in the morning, nearly two hours, and three Soviet bomber divisions, more than 540 bombers, of which were less than a few dozen left, and withdrew in panic to the direction of Irkutsk under the protection of two Soviet fighter regiments.

Of course, Le Yiqin will not let go of such a good opportunity, biting the Soviet army group and chasing and fighting, he knows in his heart that the other Soviet fighter groups may never be able to return to help, and this is also the case.

After receiving the order of the commander Lieutenant General Jonasov, the Soviet fighters who were chasing after him gave up the goal and prepared to return in formation to rescue the pilot, but it was not so easy to leave, and the fighter pilots of the independent division, who were chased with a belly of anger, learned from the air battle briefing that the commander had already succeeded, and it was no longer meaningful to continue to lure the enemy, and it would be easy to let go of the Soviet fighters.

As a result, the commanders of each group gave an order, and the fighters of the independent division, who had fled very much just now, suddenly changed their faces, turned around and pounced, and the Soviet fighter groups had no choice but to meet the battle, and they fought happily in their different airspace.

The scope of the air battle was so extensive, surrounding the airspace on the left and right of Lake Baikal, it was divided into more than a dozen battlefields, and the fighting was dark, and Le Yiqin's air guerrilla warfare method was to tear the large group of more than 1,500 combat planes of the Soviet army into more than a dozen pieces, and after dispersing the strength of the Soviet planes, they were then fought piecemeal.

Le Yiqin commanded three fighter regiments, chased all the way and fought all the way, killing the remaining dozens of Soviet bombers, and by nearly six o'clock in the morning, more than 540 fighters of the three Soviet bomber divisions were all wiped out, and there was not even one left, and even the plane of Lieutenant General Jonasov, deputy commander of the Air Force of the Don Military District of the Soviet Union, was also hit by two bullets.

Looking at the fuel gauge, Le Yiqin smiled proudly and gave an order: "Attention to all aircraft groups, immediately leave the battle and return home, if that aircraft group is bitten by Soviet fighters and cannot get out, you can ask for help, I still have three regiments in my hands!" ”

The commanders of more than a dozen fighter regiments were speechless for a while, "Commander, isn't this a stumbling man, we are now chasing the old Maozi fighter jets and fighting hard!" ”

No one took this stubble, Le Yiqin laughed and said, "I don't want to listen to it!" Then carry out the order to return home! ”

Piloting the wounded fighter, Lieutenant General Jonasov sent a message to General Kurykin, "Comrade Commander Kurykin, our mixed aircraft group was attacked by a large group of independent divisions in the airspace north of the Sezhige River, the bomber group was completely annihilated, the fighter group suffered heavy losses, and had to withdraw from the battle and return home, and the original bombing mission could not be completed!" ”

After receiving this telegram that made him feel cold, General Kurygin was stunned for a few minutes, and the last glimmer of hope was dashed. It's incomprehensible!

Looking at his watch, there were still ten minutes until six o'clock in the morning, General Kurygin gritted his teeth, crumpled the telegram of Lieutenant General Jonasov, clutched it in his hand, and said in a cold tone: "Order, the attacking troops will attack on time!" ”

The Soviet artillery began to shell, and countless shells, with a screaming sound that pierced the air, swept across the surface of the Sejingge River and landed on the position of the Independent Division. The tone was lighthearted.

Liu Hongzhang was indeed very relaxed, just a few minutes ago, he received a report from the division headquarters on the enemy situation, knowing that Le Yiqin's aviation had solved the Soviet bomber group that posed the greatest threat to his position, and also beat the Soviet fighter group to the point that the wolf bèi returned, and he was so relieved in his heart!

Now, Liu Hongzhang was in the mood to deal with the attack of the Soviet infantry, and when he looked at it, he suddenly "fluttered" and laughed.

Ouyang Yishan, who was beside him, asked strangely, "Brother, what's so happy?" ”

Liu Hongzhang happily handed the telescope to Ouyang Yishan and said, "Look at it, what kind of formation Lao Maozi's tank is experiencing, it's not enough to be beaten!" ”

After reading it, Ouyang Yishan was also happy and said, "Brother, is it still the old way?" Knock out the tanks of the Soviet army first, the mortars hit the second echelon, and the first echelon is closer! ”

Liu Hongzhang's exaggerated eyes widened, and replied: "You can only fight like this, Lao Maozi can't play any new tricks, let's catch the medicine according to the prescription, there is an example from yesterday, each regiment knows how to fight, yes, don't worry about the two of us!" ”

After 40 minutes of shelling, the Soviet artillery fire began to extend, "booming" into the position of the independent division, and the first wave of attacking troops began to cross the river.

On both sides of the Sejingge River, the smoke of war spread again, and the result of the battle, as expected, the first attack of the Soviet army was quickly repulsed, and an hour later, the Soviet army launched a second attack, this time, retreating faster.

At about four o'clock in the afternoon, Liu Hongzhang and Ouyang Yishan, commanding the first and second brigades of the directly subordinate corps, repelled five attacks by the Soviet army, and finally beat the Soviet army out of temper and had to stop.

As the Soviet troops withdrew from the beachhead on the north bank, the battlefield quieted down, and the strong north wind blew the billowing black smoke from the burning Soviet tanks to the south bank, making the position full of a scorched smell, choking Liu Hongzhang's mouth and scolding his mother.

According to the order of the division headquarters, starting at 8 o'clock in the evening, the troops of the independent division on the frontline positions on the south bank of the Sejingge River began to withdraw in a planned manner.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Liu Hongzhang and Ouyang Yishan, under the protection of the guard troops, walked out of the shelter that had been in place for two days and two nights, breathed a breath of cold evening breeze, Liu Hongzhang turned back again, looked at the Soviet camp on the opposite bank with flickering yellow lights, and a mocking sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

He said to Liu Chenglin, chief of staff of the brigade: "Chenglin, telegraph to the division commander that the troops on the first and second lines of the Gehe River have been safely evacuated, and the headquarters will be withdrawn at 10 o'clock, and the troops have been transferred to the direction of Bayan-Ula. ”

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