The troops of the Transcaucasian Military District of the Soviet Union attacked the defense line of the Outer Mongolian border guards on the Sejingge River, and lost successive battles, and more than 300,000 people, tanks, artillery, and airplanes went into battle in unison, but they were unable to break through the defense line of more than 50,000 second-rate troops of the independent division, which was a huge blow to the senior generals of the Soviet army.

General Kulykin, commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, was at a loss in the face of such an opponent, and there was nothing to be done, and a river more than 100 meters wide became an insurmountable chasm for the Soviet Red Army; after last night's battle situation was reported to the General Staff Headquarters, it inevitably attracted a burst of anger and stern reprimands from Marshal Petroshilov, Chief of the General Staff.

What is terrible is that Marshal Petroshilov described Comrade Stalin's reaction in a telegram: "I can tell you that when Comrade Stalin learned of this, he was silent for five minutes, and only said one sentence: Is it still necessary for that Kulygin to continue to be the commander of the campaign?" ”

The most important and terrible thing is this, if the description of Marshal Petroshilov, Chief of the General Staff, is true, it means that Comrade Stalin has lost confidence in himself, and the possibility of changing generals is very great, leaving the position of commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, and General Kurygin knows what kind of result awaits him!

Since then, he disappeared in the army, was sent to a concentration camp near the Arctic Circle, and died there, it should be the best ending, a military court verdict, taking his own life, is also very possible, the responsibility for failure, someone must bear it, and he is a front-line commander, he can't run!

So, in order to avoid a tragic fate. All day on 22 September, all the front-line troops of the Transcaucasian Military District were busy preparing for another offensive, and General Kurygin could no longer care about the morale of his troops, which was not enough to support a large-scale offensive in a short period of time. What is the morale and lives of soldiers?

In the afternoon, Tang Qiuli received a telegram from Liu Hongzhang, "Division commander, the front-line troops report." All day, Soviet troops on the North Shore. are undergoing frequent transfers. According to this analysis, the Soviet army has the possibility of launching another offensive in a short time! The battle will take place this evening. ”

After reading Liu Hongzhang's telegram, Tang Qiu couldn't help but shake his head, "Impossible, more than 40,000 newly defeated soldiers." Just fled back to the north bank, it was necessary to regroup, as well as artillery preparations before the attack, preparation of tools for crossing the river, etc. Unless the commander of the Soviet army forcibly launches an offensive regardless of the actual situation on the battlefield, it will be even more miserably, and the commander of the Soviet army, who has fought for many years, will not be so stupid! He thought to himself.

Therefore, the content of the telegram to Liu Hongzhang was much simpler: "The headquarters of the front line of the Sejingge River is well aware of the calls, not to be confused by the appearance of the Soviet army, and to interrupt the normal rest and recuperation of the troops, and the division headquarters has judged that the time for the Soviet army to launch another offensive should be on the afternoon of September 23, but in order to prevent unexpected situations, your department must closely monitor the movements of the Soviet army and be ready to meet the battle at any time!" ”

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, right? The old Mao soldiers on the other side of the bank are jumping around, which is a sign of attack, and the judgment of the division commander is probably too optimistic," After receiving a telegram from the division headquarters, Major General Liu Hongzhang, the front-line commander, put down the binoculars that had been staring at the Soviet troops on the other side for a long time, frowned, and muttered to the brigade chief of staff, Colonel Liu Chenglin.

Liu Chenglin thought for a moment and said: "Brigade commander, the judgment of the division commander is based on a basis, before any large-scale offensive begins, the preparations that need to be made are myriad, just the deployment of firepower and offensive troops, can annoy the dead, we have all fought a big battle, that situation is well known, not to mention, the more than 40,000 people who were defeated and retreated, must have disrupted the established deployment of the Soviet army, and it has to be readjusted." ”

"Brigade commander, we will follow the order of the division commander, the troops will rest normally, and send a small number of troops to monitor the Soviet army, we will rush to the front line non-stop, and without resting, we will fight a counterattack battle, people are sleepy and tired, the strings are too tight, I'm afraid the troops can't stand it, you should also go and rest, I'll just stare at it here!"

Liu Hongzhang shook his head and said: "The division commander can judge like this, but I can't do this, Cheng Lin, I have a hunch that the Soviet army will definitely fight before this afternoon or evening, and order the troops of the first and second brigades directly under the corps to enter the combat state, and the troops of the Outer Mongolian border guards will withdraw to the rear of the rocky mountains to rest, wait for orders, and reinforce the front-line positions, in addition, inform Brigade Commander Ouyang of my decision." ”

Liu Chenglin had not yet stepped out of the command headquarters, and Major General Ouyang Yishan, commander of the Second Mechanized Brigade of the Corps directly under the Corps and deputy commander-in-chief of the Sejingge River Campaign, and Major General Wang Qingshan, commander of the First Infantry Brigade of the Outer Mongolian Frontier Army, came together and were going head-to-head with Liu Chenglin.

Seeing Liu Chenglin go and return, Liu Hongzhang was also surprised, and then saw Ouyang Yishan and Wang Qingshan behind him, his eyebrows couldn't help jumping, he didn't speak, and looked at a few people with a calm face.

Ouyang Yishan spoke first, "Commander-in-chief, Brother Hongzhang, Brigade Commander Wang is here to resign, I happened to be in the command headquarters, so I came with me, and received the order of the division commander to transfer Brigade Commander Wang to the division command to serve as the division commander's operational staff officer, and immediately go to the post, the position of the commander of the First Infantry Brigade, which is represented by the chief of staff of the brigade!" ”

Liu Hongzhang's eyes widened in surprise, after he removed Wang Qingshan from the post of brigade commander, he had many guesses about the reaction of the division commander, but he didn't guess this, and he was transferred to the division commander as a staff officer, wasn't that the same as what happened to Lao Tzu before? That taste, it is better to be a small company commander in the army, these words, he circled around in his mind a few times, but he did not say it.

Wang Qingshan's face was as usual, he stepped forward to salute, and then said: "Commander Liu, I accept your punishment, and I will unconditionally implement the order of the division commander, but I have always thought that it is wrong for you to give the order to withdraw from the battlefield when the army's attack is smooth. ”

Liu Hongzhang's feelings are quite complicated, he shook hands tightly with Wang Qingshan, and said with emotion: "Brother Qingshan is a lover of personality, this temper meets my appetite, the battlefield disagrees, it is a common thing, no one will have a mustard in their hearts, right and wrong have their own division judgment, I hope that when we meet again, we can be honest with each other and have a deep talk from the heart!" ”

Wang Qingshan grinned and didn't say anything, after saluting, leaving under the gaze of everyone, Ouyang Yishan retracted his gaze and said: "Brother Hongzhang, I didn't expect that the division commander would come to such a hand, but it's okay, grinding Wang Qingshan's temperament is good for him, didn't your brother have a similar experience at the beginning?" After staying with the division commander for a few months, after coming back, my temper and temperament changed greatly, and I think this is a good thing! ”

Liu Hongzhang's old face turned red, glared at Ouyang Yishan angrily, and handed him the telegram from the division commander Tang Qiuli. ”

Liu Hongzhang said the arrangement just now, and finally said: "I am asking Cheng Lin to inform you, you are here, just right, let's study it!" ”

Ouyang Yishan nodded slowly, and said: "I think, this arrangement is the best, the Soviet army on the other side is not a sign of stability, from the overall battlefield situation, the strength of the Soviet army is still far beyond us, and there is the capital to give it a go, I think, in the order, there is also a clause, the front troops, all enter the anti-artillery holes and shelters, leaving a small number of monitoring troops, we have no heavy artillery, put the troops on the surface position, I am afraid that we will suffer a big loss from the Soviet artillery!" ”

Liu Hongzhang laughed and said: "Just you Ouyang Yishan is cunning, why didn't I think of this hand, hey, if our two heavy artillery regiments and two rocket artillery regiments are here, the artillery firepower is no worse than Lao Maozi, no way, they all stay behind, do not worry, wait for our artillery and rocket artillery to come up, Lao Tzu will definitely give color to Lao Maozi's soldiers, and we will not have the habit of being pressed and beaten!" ”

At about 2 o'clock in the afternoon of 22 September, on the north bank of the Sejingge River, Senior General Kurygin, commander of the Transcaucasian Military District of the Soviet Union, was listening to a report by Lieutenant General Zirnenko, chief of staff of the military district.

"Comrade commander, in another hour and a half, we can barely launch a large-scale attack, however, the specific situation worries us, the artillery preparations are hasty, there is less than one artillery division that can provide artillery reinforcements for the attacking troops, the formation of the attacking troops is underway, the units withdrawn from the south bank, the formation has been disrupted, the campaign plan needs to be readjusted, and none of the troops we use for the offensive are fully loaded." ”

As your chief of staff, I still insist on my opinion, the time of the attack should be postponed, and the earliest time should be at noon on September 23, such a hasty attack will not only have little chance of victory, but will also cause the troops to suffer heavy losses, please comrade commander seriously consider my opinion! The troops of the military district can no longer afford any losses and setbacks! ”

General Kulygin's cheeks couldn't help twitching, the words of the chief of staff of Zirnenko were all the truth, the troops who had been defeated and retreated from the south bank inevitably transmitted the feelings of defeat to the other soldiers, whether it was from the morale of the troops or the preparations before the attack, it was indeed inappropriate to launch an attack after an hour and a half, and even said that it was equivalent to child's play, and General Kurygin knew very well about these.

However, the decision to fight or not to fight is no longer in one's own hands, and if there is no further action, not only will the General Staff not be able to spare itself, but Comrade Stalin will also deal with him mercilessly, and only by continuing and uninterrupted offensive can he prove that he is carrying out Comrade Stalin's orders to the letter.

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