The Iron and Steel Frenzy of the Republic of China

ps: These few chapters may seem dull, but they are the foreplay of the big climax later, and I have to explain it, so please be patient.

Seishiro Itagaki has never been haunted by a strong negative emotion all day long like in the last half month, he can't eat, he can't sleep.When you open your eyes, you will see an annoying and messy situation, and in your dreams, you will see horror scenes of defeated troops and the collapse of empires.

Lying on the combat situation map in the front headquarters of the front army all day long, thinking hard to find a way to break the situation, but after a few days and nights passed, his eyeballs were as bloodshot and red as a rabbit's father, and his eyebrows were half white, but he was still the same. Like Kenji Doihara, who is temporarily serving as the chief of staff, he is at a loss.

The unprecedented formation Zhukov put up made all the military theories of Itagaki Seishiro useless for most of his life. The fierce, decisive, wild and rude but extremely effective strategy almost destroyed the Kwantung Army's offensive that had been planned for many years from the root. Routine.Now, he must get out of the passive situation as soon as possible and find the most favorable way to turn the tide of the battle, otherwise, his lifelong dream will be shattered, and his military career will come to an end. <The rain kept splashing outside the window, and occasionally there was a muffled thunder rolling across the sky, which made the wrinkles on Itagaki Seishiro's forehead deepened. A long lament: "Isn't even the heavens willing to see the rise of the Great Japanese Empire, but they just want to create so many troubles to stop us from moving forward?"

Kenji Doihara looked uglier than him, his face and neck had loose skin like a Shar Pei.That layer of skin can hardly be pulled off, and the deep bags under the eyes can hold jujubes. He has been engaged in intelligence work for many years and is used to seeing people from a low position, which made the light in his squinted eyes even colder. biting.

In the last war, Itagaki Seishiro still retained most of his troops and withdrew outside the pass. The entire division he led almost lost his designation, which directly made it impossible for him to serve as division commander or commander of the front army. , There will never be a day in the army.

If he is retired to the reserve service, he will eat and wait to die.He is not as clean as seppuku.Anyway, I can't afford to lose this time.

It's a pity that the sky does not follow people's wishes. There have been several accidents in a row. The pressure from the base camp, the cabinet and the emperor is unprecedented. The support of the Kwantung Army is also unprecedented. Killed more than 200 precious tanks and more than 100 fighters.This kind of loss, I don't know how many people can't sleep because of the pain.

Especially now.An unforeseen heavy rain permeated the battlefield inside and outside, turning the barren plateau and hills into pieces.It suddenly became a dangerous place full of mud traps.On both sides of the Haraha River, there are big pits that can sink tanks and chariots everywhere, and the speed of reinforcements and troops has been greatly reduced. Compared with the Soviet Union, which can directly use the railway for thousands of miles, the speed is three times slower!

Kenji Doihara could even imagine how bad the next battle would be. Japanese soldiers, but they have never encountered such a thing, what should we do?

Sitting in a sad city.The Kwantung Army Staff Department did not have a good solution.It is said that the wise general Ishihara Waner is going crazy, for the current plan, he can only rely on his own efforts!

Seishiro Itagaki withdrew his gaze from the window, carefully read the telegram in his hand again from beginning to end, stared at Doihara for more than ten seconds, spread his five fingers and lightly pressed on the table: "Only in this way Now, act!"

On the night of April 4. The 22th Division of the Japanese Army suddenly forcibly broke through the border from Manzhouli. With a strong force of a tank regiment and a mechanized infantry regiment as the vanguard, it took less than 4 hours to completely occupy the area, and then sent a vacant The regiment infantry made the illusion of continuing to attack Soviet Russia along the railway line.The main force turned to the west overnight, and went straight to Wukailitu, a transit station on the Russian army's main traffic route. By early morning, the forward troops had appeared in front of the Soviet defense line stationed here, and launched a fierce attack only after the supplies were repaired!

At the same time, on the south side of the Halaha River, most of the 2nd Division of the Japanese Army decisively abandoned the heavy medium tanks, and only used a small number of half-track trucks and Toyota trucks that can run in muddy terrain to drive the entire regiment The elite sent out a hundred kilometers, and then these strong soldiers full of weapons and ammunition braved the wind and rain, stepped on the mud, and rushed all night. Finally, at dawn, they rushed to the south of the Soviet encirclement!

More than a month after the outbreak of the war, the Japanese army finally dispatched all the main forces of the four divisions carefully prepared to the battlefield, making a total of 10 troops piled up along the banks of the Haraha River!

In the early morning of April 4, when the infantry regiment in the direction of Manzhouli fired the first shot across the Sino-Soviet border, the two major offensive forces, the North and the South, resolutely launched an attack regardless of fatigue. The Soviet army was caught off guard!

Firstly, the transportation and supply line in the north was determined by the Japanese armored forces in the first battle. It is no longer possible for any Soviet reinforcements to advance smoothly on the [-]-kilometer-wide front, and one of the two crucial Far East southbound transportation lines was broken , and then the mechanized troops began to rush south along the road, approaching the base camp of the Soviet and Mongolian Army in the Nuomenkan war zone---Kerulun!

This is a desperate gamble! The Japanese army's mechanized equipment has fatal shortcomings in terms of engines and performance. Even the most powerful Type 240 medium tank has a pitiful 18 horsepower and a shell of more than 210 tons, and its theoretical range is only [-] meters. Kilometers, plus combat and detours, running from Manzhouli to Ukeltu for combat is already the limit!

In terms of logistics and supplies, it is far behind, let alone expect other armored units to follow.It can be said that if the Soviet army's judgment is accurate and has been prepared, it will be able to consume this force to death on the vast Mongolian plateau.An armored vehicle without fuel and ammunition is simply a tin coffin!

The attack troops of the 4th Division carried all the supplies they could get, and they could only support a smooth attack. If the stalemate lasted for more than a day, if they couldn't get the fuel, this group of precious tanks would have to lie down!

The 2nd Division on the southern front was also not much better.Because of the huge impact of the rain, without the support of heavy artillery and tanks, and even the air force can't attack to help, it goes without saying how dangerous it is for mere infantry to fight against Soviet tanks and artillery, and what's more, the muddy road It also made it difficult for them to get supplies and reinforcements, and if the sneak attack was unsuccessful, it would be impossible for them to run past the Soviet and Mongolian cavalry and armored soldiers on two legs. The consequences... would be disastrous.

It's no wonder Seishiro Itagaki and Doihara thought for so long and made up their minds after so much difficulty, because if they make a mistake, these two divisions will become meat buns that beat dogs, and neither of them can come back!At that time, apart from committing suicide and apologizing, they really have no face to face the questioning of the people of the country and the military!

The raid operations of the two divisions even determined the success or failure of this northward movement plan.Life and death, in one fell swoop!

Perhaps their prayers really moved Amaterasu, who was squatting in an unknown plane, or the eight hundred gods in Gaotianyuan. In short, at ten o'clock the next morning, a telegram from the two divisions Gao Jie reached the headquarters The two lieutenant generals who had stood for a whole night with their butt not touching their seats couldn't help but burst into tears, and then found that their two legs were so tired that they couldn't take a step, and they slumped on the chair staggeringly.

After Zhukov ordered the withdrawal of two brigade commanders who made serious mistakes, he stood in front of the sand table for a long time with a frown. The three commanders, Bouljikin, did not respond to their anxious calls, which made these generals who personally sent the armed forces to the front line and inspected the combat situation jump their feet anxiously!

Big trouble!A total of more than 5 troops were surrounded by a huge battlefield space with a width of [-] kilometers, facing the harsh situation of being attacked from three sides.To make matters worse, due to the severe lack of qualified mid-level and lower-level officers caused by the Great Cleansing, the grass-roots troops whose fighting will and beliefs are generally weakened are appallingly weak!

A brigade stationed in Riqueltu possessed more than 30 cannons, more than 50 tanks and armored vehicles, and had a large area of ​​fortifications to rely on. It was only responsible for security and road protection tasks, but it collapsed immediately after being raided by the Japanese army , More than [-]% of the casualties!

The brigade commander who escaped was not shot, which was an extrajudicial favor.What's terrible is that their mistakes directly exposed important supply lines and flanks, and Krulen may be crushed by the tanks rushing over at any time!

The ones on the southern line were even worse.They thought that when it was raining heavily, all the surrounding pits would turn into swamps of water and bubbles, and the Japanese troops would not be able to drive through at all, and the vigilance was very bad.In the end, I didn't expect that Ri himself would be so tenacious. He only used light weapons and a few heavy machine guns carried by shoulders, [-] infantry guns, mortars, and grenades. Thousands of people stormed a brigade guard. The heavy artillery positions and flanks were shot down in less than two hours!

The defeat on the two fronts alone resulted in the loss of more than 5000 soldiers, more than 60 cannons, more than 80 tanks and armored vehicles destroyed, tens of thousands of tons of trucks and ammunition supplies, more than the total consumed by the Japanese army in the previous month!

Now, the Japanese army can completely set up the captured cannons on the spot, and fire at the Soviet and Mongolian army's defense line from behind their buttocks.

Zhukov saw all the anxious expressions of the three generals in his eyes, but he did not make any explanation or rescue. He knew very well how bad the combat effectiveness of these troops under his hands was. The supply of heavy weapons, this battle has already turned into a pot of bad porridge, and there is no chance of a comeback!

Now, finally at the critical moment of life and death, he must make up his mind, otherwise, his defeat is like a mountain, which is his portrayal!