Samarkand, the headquarters of the Soviet Central Asian Front, Zhukov's headquarters was busy, and people kept coming and going in the war room. On the huge sand table in the middle, there are red and blue flags representing the enemy and ourselves. The red flag is constantly being pulled up and replaced with the blue flag.
On November 10, the Chinese ** team dispatched ground troops to storm Shymkent and Sirdaria, forming a north-south pincer attack on Tashkent. The battle started at five o'clock in the morning. Zhukov, who had been busy all night and didn't go to bed until three o'clock, was woken up. He rushed into the war room and stared at the sand table for a long time without saying a word. It should be said that what is happening now is what Zhukov is happy to see. According to the comparison of forces, the Chinese Army does not have a million troops. It is difficult to clean the periphery of Tashkent and prevent possible flank attacks in the direction of Samarkand.
"Report, Chinese mechanized troops have been discovered!" A staff officer came in quickly and reported loudly. Zhukov immediately grabbed the telegram. This was a telegram sent back by the reconnaissance team. The number was the 11th Mechanized Army. The location where it appeared In Jizzak, the numbers of squadrons of no fewer than ten infantry divisions also appeared at the same time.
Judging from this intelligence, the Chinese intention may be to build a defense line in the Jizzak area to block the Samarkand Army Group that may move north. A large number of Chinese ** troops appeared to the north and east of Jizzak. Behind them, no less than ten infantry divisions were attacking Sildaria. Gram's defense is definitely not that easy to overcome. After all, there is a mechanized army's maneuverability. If the Soviet army dares to go north, it must consider the violent counterattack that may be caused by the high-speed maneuverability of this mechanized army before eating this mechanized Chinese army. The Soviet army suffered similar losses in Central Asia. The Chinese mechanized troops were always roaming on the flanks. Once a counterattack opportunity arose, they would not bravely penetrate behind enemy lines and disrupt the entire Soviet defense system. Due to absolute air superiority, the Chinese mechanized forces advanced after breaking through the defense lines. It is difficult to form an effective new line of defense. Such was the case with previous campaigns in Central Asia. The assembly areas of the Soviet troops are often the main targets of the Chinese Air Force.
"Let's confirm again. The Chinese don't just have one mechanized army. They also have two armies. The two armies are three tank brigades. According to the Chinese establishment, even if the previous battles have not completed the replenishment, at least they have There are close to two thousand tanks. This is not a force that can be underestimated. Their positions must be understood." Zhukov finished his words. Another staff officer rushed in and said: "General Lu Jin sent an urgent message. The Chinese have dispatched at least 400 tanks. They are attacking Shymkent's outer defense line. General Krolev said that the Chinese are charging very hard and are deploying in Outside the city, three infantry divisions suffered heavy casualties. The Chinese artillery fire was very fierce. At least 1,500 artillery pieces were concentrated to bombard the positions outside the city early this morning. Before the artillery preparations, at least 100 bombers and 100 bombers were dispatched. Fighter planes bombarded them indiscriminately. As of now, the Shymkent city defense is relatively stable, and the Chinese army has advanced less than one kilometer. Observation on the battlefield. The Shymkent defenders damaged at least fifty Chinese tanks."
Zhukov¡¯s face was expressionless, and he was dragging his chin with one hand to observe the new changes on the sand table. He always felt that something was not quite right. At present, a total of three numbers of China's mechanized army have been found. In other words, there is still one mechanized army that has not shown up. Where has it gone? Even though there was only one mechanized army that was not discovered, there were more than a thousand tanks and more than 50,000 rapid troops.
Pavlov suffered such a big loss in Central Asia, which was mainly caused by the rampage of China's mechanized troops. The Chinese mechanized troops were under the cover of aircraft. It quickly penetrated and divided the Soviet defense line into countless pieces. Then its infantry used its absolutely superior strength to eat them one by one. In the previous Central Asian campaign, a total of one mechanized army and seventy infantry divisions were almost killed in this way. One million troops were wiped out in this way. If troops had not been urgently mobilized from within the country and Central Asia, the current Tashkent Army Group would have had 300,000 troops.
Zhukov soon received new information. The Ninth Mechanized Corps of the Chinese National Defense Force appeared outside Sildaria. Together with more than ten infantry divisions, they stormed the outer positions. In just one day, hundreds of tanks were dispatched. , the defensive positions outside Sildaria have been basically cleared.
On the outskirts of the two gateway cities, one in the south and one in the north, China's trump card troops deployed in Central Asia, the Eighth and Ninety-nine mechanized armies, appeared respectively. According to previous intelligence, China has also deployed two mechanized armies near Beijing. One is the First Mechanized Army, formerly the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Central Guard Divisions, and the other is the newly formed 10th Mechanized Army.
After the three mechanized armies deployed by China in Central Asia appeared, Zhukov still did not dare to rest assured easily and ordered to strengthen the investigation and at the same time increase the defense strength north of Samarkand. After all, China has two mechanized armies between Jizzak and Sildaria. Once these two mechanized armies go south, it will be fatal.Love cannot be relaxed at all.
Zhukov basically judged that the Chinese army was storming the Tashkent defense line, and he even did not hesitate to use his trump card. Little did they know that this was Liu Mingzhao's plan to hide the truth. The Eighth Mechanized Army was divided into two. Under the banner of two mechanized armies, one in the south and one in the north, they cooperated with the infantry to attack the two gates of Tashkent.
At the same time as the fierce attack was launched, near the Jizzak defense line, infantry divisions continued to gather slowly and covertly under the cover of night. At the same time, there were also two mechanized armies that were being transported from Beijing day and night. The assembly of the entire southward campaign requires about twenty days of preparation, which is mainly to wait for reinforcements from the two mechanized armies.
There is a blind spot in Zhukov's thinking, that is, he never imagined that Beijing could transfer the first and twelfth mechanized troops to defend Beijing to Central Asia. At the same time, I don¡¯t know that the Chinese Communist Party was preparing for a war with the Soviet Union ten years ago or even earlier. Military industrial enterprises in Anhui, Hubei, Shenyang, Nanjing and other places had an annual production capacity of 3,000 tanks a year ago. After the war started, this capacity was improved again, reaching an annual production capacity of two Great Wall models, four and five. The level of five thousand tanks. This production capacity is far behind the US imperialism at its peak, but it is enough for the war against the Soviet Union. In wars elsewhere, tanks did not have much room to play. Against Japan, it was mainly at sea. The Seventh Mechanized Army deployed in Heilongjiang and the newly formed Thirteenth Mechanized Army deployed on the banks of the Yalu River are for defense against Japan. There are also three mechanized armies, which are not yet fully established and are temporarily deployed in Taiwan, Shanghai, Qingdao and other places.
To say that it is not easy for China to obtain intelligence from the Soviet Union, it is also very difficult for the Soviet Union to obtain intelligence from China. One is because of the increased difficulty caused by the system, and the other is because it has been prepared for a long time. Intelligence work against the Soviet Union began many years ago. .
In the Central Asian offensive war commanded by Pavlov, the combat plan formulated by Zhukov was full of loopholes and was basically a joke. Unfortunately, the cost of this joke was too high. One million Soviet troops were wiped out by the Chinese Communist Party, and only 600,000 were captured as prisoners. These armies almost included the entire main force of the Soviet army in Central Asia. If the Central Asian political commissar hadn't put Pavlov in the head and forced him to order a full retreat, the loss would have been even greater.
The situation before Zhukov is quite difficult. The Military Commission has mobilized all the troops it can mobilize. Currently, there are still no less than thirty infantry divisions and a mechanized corps on the way. That is to say, the system of the Soviet Union can ensure that new troops can be quickly rebuilt after their troops are destroyed. The only regret is that they currently lack equipment, especially tanks and anti-tank weapons.
What Zhukov can do now is to order more anti-tank trenches to be dug, prepare more grenades, and organize death squads. Well, organizing death squads is a matter for the political commissars of each army. Fortunately, the main force of China's Central Asian Front is concentrated in Tashkent. As long as it lasts until the cold winter and the Soviet backup is assembled intermittently, it will be time for Zhukov's counterattack.
Andiyan, the forward point of the Chinese Central Asian Front. Zhang Zhizhong's voice was a little hoarse. When he spoke, he still shouted: "No, Shymkent must be captured at all costs within a week. I tell you Chen Changjie, how about you?" I will personally lead the offensive."
Liu Mingzhao was holding an enamel cup in his hand, leaning on the chair in a daze, staring out the window for a while, and then said: "Wen Bai, do you think you can deceive Zhukov?"
"It doesn't matter whether it works or not. Now the plan has begun to be implemented. At the latest two weeks, the two mechanized armies will be transported to Khujand. After a short rest, the Battle of Samarkand will begin. What I am most worried about now is logistics and air force deployment. All transport planes in Central Asia are flying now, with the purpose of ensuring the success of the Shymkent offensive. Shells for large-caliber howitzers can only be transported by train. A full train can only be used for one day of fighting. Now Several strong forts around Shymkent were knocked out by giant cannons. The next street fighting is the key, and certain casualties are inevitable. Dihua¡¯s recruits must be replenished at a faster pace." Zhang Zhizhong held his arms Teapot, took a deep sip. Liu Mingzhao smiled and poured water for him, and said with a wry smile: "I am really worried. If Zhukov sees through my strategic intention and the Soviet army takes the initiative to withdraw to the west, this battle will be difficult to fight."
"Zhukov is indeed very powerful. Samarkand is the lifeline of transportation. To the west is Uzbekistan to the Caspian Sea, and to the south is Dushanbe. He stays here and can move forward and retreat freely. In fact, we don't have a good choice. As soon as we go down to Samarkand, we cannot safely besiege Tashkent.¡±
"Before leaving, the president told me that if we can drive the Soviet army into Iran, our army will pursue them and kill them, which is the best choice. I don't understand this matter very well. What is there in Iran that is worth fighting for? ? In the whole of West Asia, besides deserts, what else is there? The thoughts of the president are always so elusive."??Mingzhao raised this question, but Zhang Zhizhong was stumped. He didn't understand either. In this day and age, who would have thought that under the yellow sands of Central Asia, "you can dig out oil just by digging with a hoe."