"Tank!"

In the headquarters of the Northwest Theater of Operations in Minusinsk, the cutter who was lying on the map froze suddenly, raised his head to look at the staff officer, and confirmed: "Are you sure it's a tank?" ”

"It has been confirmed, it is a super-large tank, according to preliminary visual inspections of the reconnaissance battalion of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division on the ground, the armor in the front is estimated to be about 150 mm, there are also 100 mm on the sides, the weak is the top, there is almost no armor. (Full text reading, all in. (.i. Want. Wen. The power compartment and the front fighting compartment were separated by steel plates, and in addition, it had poor maneuverability and could not move at all when firing guns.

The captured Russian soldiers said that they called this tank the Mendeleev chariot, and that it was mainly equipped with a 120-mm rifled gun and four machine guns, and that because of its size and weight, it had to be transported by special train, and that they had just arrived here two months after departing from St. Petersburg.

A total of 20 tanks have arrived, but so far only have been found, concealed, and the rest have not been reported. ”

When the staff officer told all the information he had just received in one breath, Sun Jiugong immediately sketched the shadow of a mobile artillery battery in his mind, although this kind of thing moved slowly, but if such a thick armor didn't happen to be supported by the 3rd Bō attack plane, maybe the 4th Infantry Division would suffer a big loss.

Now the question is that the remaining five are there, and if they are inside the Tomsk fortress, then their 4th Mechanized Infantry Division will pose a serious threat, so the 2nd Bō bombardment will have to speed up.

"Is the bomber back?"

"Not yet, but the second bō's flying frame storm speed came back first."

“23？”

"Yes, one of them crashed after being hit by anti-aircraft guns, and the pilot has been rescued and is under the protection of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division."

Long-distance long-range bombing, and there are anti-aircraft artillery in the place, it is impossible not to lose, so don't "Jiugong didn't ask much, urged: "Urge the division commander Guan, you must take off again within twenty minutes, and when the bombers come back, they must also depart within half an hour, Tomsk needs heavy fire support." ”

"Yes."

Before the staff officer could walk away, Shoushan had already walked in with a telegram: "The 5,000 infantry of the 3rd Regiment of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division has arrived in Tomsk. ”

Sun Jiugong snatched the telegram, the telegram was sent by Yongshan, the third regiment of the Fourth Mechanized Infantry Division that followed behind the First Cavalry Division had also arrived, counting the first cavalry Division took out half of the cavalry to temporarily serve as infantry, and 15,000 infantry had already entered the fortress, but this did not make him happy, according to the previous telegram, the 100,000 people of the Gaojia Army stationed near Tomsk had all gathered close to the fortress, and they had also received the news that a large number of troops on the periphery were returning to help, and they would definitely defend to the end.

With the armament of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division, it is obviously higher than that of the enemy, but the problem is that in order to hurry up at that time, all the heavy artillery was thrown in Krasnoyarsk, and after breaking up a cavalry division of the Russian-Ukrainian Cossack Army, it has caused a disconnect with the arrow of the main force for nearly three hours.

Without heavy artillery, relying only on 60-mm mortars and 80-mm recoilless guns in the hands of the infantry, it is very difficult to completely wipe out the stubborn Russian ** team that is entrenched in the streets and behind the houses, and even if it is defeated, the casualties will be great.

Now I only hope that the air force can set off early and use aerial bombs to help Nagayama open the way, as for the several Russian Caucasian Corps, two armored regiments and one cavalry regiment that have returned to help, it is enough to delay for three or four hours.

However, although the words are simple, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, especially if there is still that kind of mobile battery in the fortress, I am afraid that the casualties of the troops will be very large, which is extremely unfavorable in the later stage.

Sun Jiugong took a deep breath. , temporarily put aside his worries, pointed to the front of the Yenisei River, which is a full one hundred and fifty kilometers west, and threw down the pen fiercely: "Order the troops involved in the attack to get ready, and set off in thirty minutes to provide air support from the Falcon Brigade!" ”

"Whether Tomsk can be taken or not, we have to do it again!"

"Bang."

In the distance, a Russian soldier behind the porch was shot in the head by a company sniper, and before Nguyen could catch his breath. Gas, a barrage of bullets crushed him behind the rubble.

"Grenadier!"

As soon as Ruan Sheng squatted down with his steel helmet, machine gun bullets flew everywhere on the stone slab in front of him, and several small pieces of rubble that were splashed up went down his neck and into the collar of his coat.

The grenadier crawled to his side with a bazooka, and after waving his hand at the machine gun squad on the commanding heights in the distance, the light machine gun immediately opened fire and suppressed the Russian machine gun on the opposite side. (Full text reading, all in. (.i. Want. Wen. Learning Network)

The rockets slammed out of the canister and rushed towards the Russian machine-gun bunker with a long tail flame, which exploded into a fireball in a breath.

But before the grenadier could crouch down, a bullet that flew out of nowhere pierced his arm, and immediately rolled down the slope with a canister.

"Medic!"

After seeing the exploded machine gun bunker through the crack, Ruan Sheng pointed at the medic and pointed at the falling comrades, shouted violently, jumped out of the bunker with a submachine gun, and the sudden bullet instantly knocked several Russian soldiers who tried to rush to the ground.

These Huā cat submachine guns were all borrowed from tank crews, because the firepower was not dense enough, and the rifles were not ideal for this kind of street fighting at the beginning, so the division staff remembered the submachine guns that were allocated to tank crews for self-defense, and immediately transferred them to the more than 30 commandos that had been formed.

Ruan Sheng led the third commando team, responsible for sweeping the East Avenue of the Central District of the fortress, what he didn't expect was that these Caucasian soldiers were fundamentally different from the Russian soldiers he had seen before, almost all of them were not afraid of death, and from the beginning of entering Tomsk, almost every street and every bunker had to fight repeatedly to get it.

When he rushed into the small building with the remaining twenty or so fighters of the third commando, the screams of Ula and Ula sounded outside again, and when he heard this voice, Ruan Sheng scolded Ju Niang fiercely, this is already the fourth group charge, these Russian Caucasian people are sure that they lack heavy weapons and lack of numbers, so they desperately launch a short-distance charge.

Ruan Sheng leaned his back against the wall and opened the window slightly, only to see that in the midst of the frenzied shouting, countless Russian soldiers rushed out of every corner with guns in their hands, and began to press down the streets and alleys to the east, and the number of black and crushed people could not even be counted.

Sheng Yi stomped his foot and pointed to a few windows and shouted: "Sweep through the windows hard, and you don't believe in this evil!" ”

When the dense Russian soldiers rushed downstairs along the street, the windows along the street suddenly opened, and while dozens of grenades exploded in the crowd, more than 20 submachine guns simultaneously poked out of the windows and fired fiercely at the street.

The Russian soldiers were also stunned by such heavy fire, but before the front was finished, the rear rushed up again, as if trying to use this method to exhaust Nguyen Sheng's ammunition.

"Yes."

Explosions exploded from the middle of the street, and the shrapnel that swept through the Russian soldiers slid in front of them, and in an instant the body was full of holes" Ruan Sheng even saw an unlucky ghost whose body was torn in two and his intestines were all outside.

Turning his head, he saw that several 80-mm recoilless guns and 60-mm mortars had been erected on the roof of a building in the distance, and they were constantly pouring shells in this direction.

These small-caliber artillery has become a lifeline for the infantry, in the face of fierce artillery fire and shells, no matter how powerful the Caucasian soldiers are, they can only choose to retreat, and when the streets are only full of dead bodies and scraps of meat, Nguyen Sang changed the magazine and beckoned the commandos to step on the bloody mud and continue to advance in depth.

This is just one scene of the battle inside the Tomsk fortress, which abounds in this 40-square-kilometer fortress that was expanded from a larger market town in itself, and the brutal battle for the city has left both sides somewhat exhausted.

"The third company was ambushed by several thousand Russian soldiers on East Street."

"The second battalion of cavalry calls for support!"

"There are too many enemies, and a battalion will not be able to withstand it!"

Several shells fell near the temporary headquarters, and the explosion shook the sky and debris flew everywhere, but compared to these, the news brought by the signal corps made everyone worry, and in the face of the chaotic roadway warfare, the disadvantage of lack of heavy firepower was suddenly magnified several times.

"The 1st Regiment and the 2nd Regiment of the Cavalry Division are already stuck here, and a battalion of the 5th ** Armored Regiment has circled to the left." The roasted bran, who arrived with the 3rd Infantry Regiment, immediately entered the role of staff officer" pointed to the east of Tomsk on the map and said: "They have already exchanged fire with the Russian vanguard, and from the current point of view, the Russian army lacks artillery and heavy firepower, and it is unlikely that they will want to tear through their defensive line, so there is no problem in holding out for another two hours." ”

Yongshan and Shen Hao stood on the side, they were not worried about the Russian infantry who came back, and it was impossible for the Russian army to carry a large amount of heavy equipment in a hurry, "It is impossible to compete with steel by flesh and blood, and even the armored regiment can crush them without bullets, so the two are concerned about the clearing battle in the fortress."

"How many areas have you controlled so far?"

"About a third of the arrow." When the roasted bran replied, he also shook his head, and the Russian troops in the fortress obviously still had a command, "I know that the troops currently invested on my side lack heavy fire support, so I took out all the army artillery and machine guns hoarded in the fortress, relying on strong houses and strongholds, blocking layer by layer, plus the three regiments that entered the battle just after arrival, the casualty data of the troops has exceeded nearly 3,000 people."

"If we continue to fight like this, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold it down, otherwise we will take back all the troops first, hold the current area and wait for support." , Shen Hao suggested with a wry smile, because the fortress attack is different from the field battle, the complex environment makes the soldiers have to defend in all directions every time they attack, and the consumption of mental and physical strength is very huge, if you continue to fight such a bad battle, it is really a little dangerous.

"How long will it take to clear the gap and let the tanks in?" Nagayama raised his binoculars and twisted towards the sapper battalion where the gap was moving the rocks and clearing the road.

"Thirty bells."

Yongshan looked at Shen Hao and knew that he was the only way at present, so he was just about to prepare for the troops to slow down and wait for the air force and the artillery behind to arrive before fighting, when the neighing of the engine suddenly came from the sky, and a storm attack plane suddenly appeared above the fortress.

"The Air Force, the Air Force is coming!"

In the midst of the communications officer's excited shouting, 20 storm attack planes and 24 Mustang horses that had been temporarily pulled and hung with 125 kg bombs appeared overhead.

It should be said that these planes did save the life of the fourth infantry division, but this is also thanks to the designers of Adel and other aviation research institutes who designed the Mustang at the beginning, and when they designed the fighters, they considered being able to carry small bombs as temporary workers in an emergency.

Of course, temporary workers are not comparable to professional attack aircraft, but the 5-kilogram bomb still caused great damage to the tens of thousands of Russian troops who were compressed north of the fortress and were charging in the group.

Three hours of brutal street fighting had already turned all eyes red, and almost at the same time as the arrival of the aircraft group, the air-ground communication had been completed, and the violent explosions that had disappeared for three and a half hours began to sound again from the area controlled by the Russian army.

After the end of the first bombing, the second batch of 16 bombers also arrived at the fortress after a delay of a few minutes, and "a string of bombs dropped from the engine room" completely washed the Russian-controlled area, and the rows of houses that were extremely strong in the eyes of the infantry were quickly shattered like eggshells under the aerial bombs, and the Russian Caucasian soldiers, who had just been extremely fierce, suddenly ran away, and then were swallowed up by the exploding fireballs.

At 1:30 p.m., after nearly five hours of waiting, the 4th Infantry Regiment and the 6th ** Armored Regiment, as well as the vanguard regiment of the 23rd Infantry Division, which had urgently dropped all its heavy equipment from the Balkhash area the day after the departure of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division, finally arrived at the foot of the fortress with more than 500 trucks and all the radial weights.

If the full 10,000 fresh troops have not completely recovered the disadvantage in troops, then the 48 105mm howitzers that arrived at the same time finally relieved Yongshan and Shen Hao, "This means that in the gap between bombers, there will be no more trouble with the lack of artillery support just now."

The continuous bombs and shells made Chekov, who had just been promoted to general, desperate, especially the later shells, indicating that the enemy's main force had arrived, and the reinforcements had not arrived for a long time, so at two o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, he finally walked out of the basement and led the remaining 42,000 Russian Caucasian soldiers and more than 6,000 conscripted civilians to lay down their arms and surrender. 2:30 "After paying the price of 4,100 casualties, the loss of 6 tanks, 17 trucks and armored vehicles, and two warplanes (one of which crashed due to mechanical failure and forced landing on the return voyage), the army double-headed eagle battle flag was finally hā on the top of the high observation tower of the Tomsk fortress, and the flying battle flag heralded the change of hands of an important strategic fortress in the Russian region of Western Siberia.

The excessive casualties and attrition did not reassure the Tomsk Front, which consisted of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division, "because they may face a frantic breakthrough of more than a million troops in the next few days."

Fortunately, Chekov's surrender not only brought nearly 8,000 stewed weapons and ammunition hoarded in the underground warehouses of the fortress, but also all kinds of materials that were originally prepared to be sent to the front line, and to everyone's delight, there were nearly 50,000 free laborers, so in order to restore the fortress defense as soon as possible, "Nagayama immediately ordered all the prisoners of war to devote themselves to cleaning and repairing the fortress.

At the same time, the engineers and mechanics showed their expertise, finding six serviceable 120-mm rifled guns from the 20 broken Mendeleevs, and miraculously repairing three 203-mm fortress guns, and installing all nine heavy guns on the two remaining turrets that were not very badly damaged.

Plus 48 105-mm howitzers with their own fighting belts and captured more than 105 mm smaller ones. Cannon cannons, the fortress's defenses began to slowly recover.

But another problem began to give everyone a headache: "that is, the fuel began to run out of fuel seriously, the gasoline reserves in the Tomsk fortress were only three tons, and even the generators were made of coal", so by the evening it was only possible to maintain two armored regiments for a day's operations, and this news suddenly made the North-Western Theater Command nervous.

At this time, an air service ensign of the 2nd Division came up with the bold idea of "using Bao Peng's bomber to transport fuel."

He first used hemp rope to weave into a net bag, horizontal in the bomber bomb cabin, and then stuffed five 100-kilogram oil drums into the net pocket for demonstration, after getting the news that it could be transported, Bei Jiugong immediately ordered to rush to make the net bag overnight, and then sent a telegram to Yongshan to clear out a 2,000-meter field runway that was enough for the bomber. It took 20 hours for more than 400 arriving tractors and 20,000 prisoners of war to clear a runway in the center of the fortress that was large enough for bombers, and when the first batch of three gill planes with a ton and a half of gasoline landed at the field airfield in the pothole, all the Chinese soldiers jumped for joy.

To be honest, let the bomber fly over 500 kilometers and carry only 500 kilograms of fuel, which is an extremely cost-effective supply method, and the consumption is even several times the amount of supplies, but this is also the only way to speed up until it was produced ten days later, and even after a three-day test flight, the dish was improved by Lipeng, and after the arrival of the albatross transport plane that can transport 1200 kilograms of materials at a time, this means of supply gradually decreased.

There is also an anecdote that 62 trains loaded with ammunition, food, and wintering supplies arrived in Tomsk in the direction of the Ural Mountains without timely notification of the trains along the way, and were easily captured, bringing to the tired soldiers a large quantity of supposedly tasty American canned food.

Later scholars of war history said that the First Battle of West Siberia not only made armored troops and tanks the king of land, but also brought the air force, especially the large-scale bombardment and transport units in the air, to the stage.

According to later statistics, in the past month, the Air Force transported a total of 1,000 tons of fuel to the Tomsk fortress through the ant moving of the Bream bomber, and later the Albatross transport plane, plus the truck convoy that later departed from Balkhash, a total of 4,500 tons of various materials were delivered there in 20 days, more than half of which were fuel.

While completing the transportation mission, the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Air Division flew a total of 3,600 sorties in the battle of Litian, carried out various bombing missions, and dropped a total of more than 1,000 tons of bombs.

After these data were sent back to Beijing, the General Staff Department, while speeding up the ordering of bombers and transport planes, also put forward a plan for the development and procurement of various aircraft, with a total of 6 divisions, a number of flying regiments, and 12 bomber regiments, and the air force finally began to take off.

With the 23rd and 24th Infantry Divisions, which were urgently supported in the early morning of the 16th, and nearly 60,000 people of the 56th Infantry Division, which had just been converted from the reserves, arrived at the fortress with the help of two armored regiments of the Tomsk Front and more than 400 trucks and war horses, it was officially announced that from the west of the Yenisei River to the middle of the Tomsk Fortress, this piece of land spanned nearly 500 kilometers from east to west and had 3 million Russian troops on the Eastern Front.

Throat sealed by a sword!

Later, only the remaining two divisions of the Ural Cossack Army, 70,000 people, escaped around Tomsk on war horses, and all the rest were left here, and there were only two ways waiting for them, either using their feet to cross the 1,500-kilometer wasteland to the Ural Mountains, or staying here and waiting for reinforcements in the harsh winter.

In the season when the temperature has dropped to minus ten degrees Celsius at night, the former is certain to die, and the latter may still have a glimmer of hope.

After having obtained enough infantry to defend the fortress and after two days of intensive emergency replenishment of fuel", in the morning, the First General Battle of West Siberia, which began at the same time from the eastern and western ends, entered the high há.

A total of 7 armored regiments, "nearly 1,000 tanks and armored vehicles, with the support of 480 fighters and 28 bombers of the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Air Division, forced the Russian Eastern Front Group Army, which had lost its unified command, into a 20-day general battle, in which "the Chinese Army lost a total of 00 people, but killed and wounded more than 200,000 Russian troops" and captured more than 350,000, and the Air Force concentrated on bombing the Russian army's logistics and supply depots, forcing the remaining Russian troops to even fail to break through from Tomsk.

However, the large number of captives made it difficult for Nagayama, and he had to tie up the senior officers and send them back to the headquarters by transport plane, and then after the remaining captives had basically repaired the fortress for 20 days, he issued an order.

"Go east!"

The 110,000 captured soldiers of the Caucasia, who were beaten and discouraged, were threatened by the guns of the black holes behind them, and after only two days of rations, they had to go north along the bombed-up railway line, and surprisingly, 20,000 of them braved the wind and snow to reach Minusinks and surrender to the Chinese army there.

The First Battle of Western Siberia was a stage of steel and aircraft, and Tomsk and the Eastern Front were surrounded by nearly 3 million troops, which meant that in addition to Omsk, which was only 20,000 defenders and located 500 kilometers west of Tomsk, the Russian defense line retreated to the strategic town of Ufa, east of the Ural Mountains.

Russia's strategic initiative in Asia has all changed hands!

On September 19, after receiving the news that the fortress of Tomsk was basically secured, 50,000 Russian Grass Army, trained for Lenin with prisoners of war, quietly arrived in Balkhash, and from there made a detour to Tomsk, and then used the captured trains to continue westward.