A DC-3 was flying in the sky, and all the people in the cabin were American military officers. The team was led by Marshall, and the members were mainly officers of the American Armored Forces, including Patton, the incoming commander of the Second Armored Division.
Americans don¡¯t have much experience in how to build an armored force capable of fighting. The Germans used armored forces to sweep through everything in Europe. The United States saw this and took it to heart, and began to form its own armored forces. At this time, a war broke out between China and the Soviet Union. Chinese armored forces swept across the Soviet army in Siberia and Central Asia. The US military observation group had a target for actual inspection.
The US military observation group set out a little late. By the time they flew to Almaty, the Bishkek counterattack was over, and the Chinese army formed a north-south pincer attack on Tashkent. In other words, the US military observation team missed an important opportunity to conduct on-site inspections of the battle process. This result was caused by the low efficiency of the U.S. Army. Marshall and Patton both complained about this. It was just an observation group. It took more than a month for them to arrive in China from the United States, and they had completed a single battle.
Before starting the inspection, Marshall mentally rejected some of the U.S. Army's work rhythms that affected efficiency. During the war, the efficiency of the army must be improved, and some unnecessary steps can be saved. Marshall, who was in a state of introspection, was not even in the mood to care about the fact that the person sent by China to see him off was just a colonel named Lin Hu.
Patton was more concerned about the Chinese armored tactics, and he was looking at the intelligence provided by the U.S. intelligence agency about the Chinese mechanized troops along the way. However, the efficiency of the U.S. intelligence department was not very high, and Patton could not know much from the intelligence. Just know that China has fifteen mechanized armies, according to this organization. The Chinese Army has at least 45 tank brigades. Calculated in this way, the number of tanks is staggering, completely subverting the past impression of the Chinese Army. China has quietly built an army with the most tanks in the world. You would never have imagined this before coming to China. China actually has more than 10,000 tanks. Moreover, judging from the newspaper, the Chinese tanks are still very advanced. Although their tank production is said to be not very high, it is not difficult to draw inferences from the fact that they have been forming mechanized troops very early.
"Damn intelligence department. We know nothing about the specific data of Chinese tanks." Patton withdrew his eyes from the intelligence and spoke to Marshall, who was sitting side by side.
"The Chinese attach great importance to the formation of a mechanized force. This aspect has always been a highly confidential matter for the Chinese government. As a traditional ally of China, we are not as good as the Germans in understanding the strength of the Chinese army. Intelligence shows , about fifteen years ago. The armies of China and Germany began to interact. The tactics adopted by the German army in Europe were formed during the Sino-German military cooperation. Subsequently, the German army supplemented and improved them, forming a whole new set of tactics. Tactical system. We don¡¯t have many channels to know about this tactical system. We can only learn some from the French and British. As losers, most British and French officers can¡¯t even figure out how they failed. Is it ridiculous? ?¡±
"No, I don't think it's funny at all. Many losers are devastated after coming off the battlefield. They don't want to remember."
Marshall took out a pamphlet from his bag and handed it to Patton: "You can take a look at this. This is the Soviet theory on how to use mechanized troops that was obtained from a Chinese military officer. China After people conducted research, combined with their own research, they came up with some brand-new tactical systems." After Patton took it, he glanced at the name, and underneath there was a line of English handwritten translation of "Exploration and Thoughts on Large-Depth Strategy".
After opening the title page, what Barton saw was a quotation by Fang Jianxiong, with corresponding handwritten translations between the lines. "Since the electrical revolution, scientific and technological development has been changing with each passing day, which has promoted the transformation of the war model from pure ground war to three-dimensional war. The integration of sea and air, and the integration of land and air have become a necessity. China once fell behind, and we have the responsibility to make China No more falling behind.¡±
Barton¡¯s face was full of solemnity and he looked at it seriously. Because it was a theoretical thing, there was not much content, but it was only about a hundred pages. Barton read it very carefully, and it seemed that every word had to be carefully considered. When the plane landed, Patton was still reading carefully. It wasn't until Marshall patted him on the shoulder that he raised his head and said, "This is great stuff. Please allow me to read it all."
Marshall pointed to the open cabin door and said: "Let's go down first, don't keep the master waiting. There is plenty of time to take a look."
The person who came to pick him up was just a major general. When he introduced himself, he said: "Fang Xianjue, the chief of staff of the Central Asian Front Command of the Chinese National Defense Force, was ordered to accompany the US military inspection delegation on its trip to Central Asia."
After the simple handover procedures, Major Lin completed the task. Next, Major General Fang Xianjue led a group of Americans and drove to Khujand, where the Central Asian Front Army's temporary headquarters is located.
"General Fang, I heard that you have completed a beautiful counterattack, can you tell me about the process?" Patton wanted to get into a car with Fang Xianjue, and took the initiative to chat after driving. Fang Xianjue had a good attitude and said with a smile: "The front army calls this battle the Central Asian Counterattack, or the Bishkek Counterattack. The specific process is still a military secret, and I have not been authorized to explain it to you. Therefore, I am very Sorry, please understand." Fang Xianjue was very proficient in English and didn't even bring a translator.
"Oh, it doesn't matter. I'm very interested in the tanks currently in service in your country. Can you tell me the specific performance and data?" Patton was really not that easily dismissed and continued to stalk. Fang Xianjue pondered for a moment before saying: "I didn't say anything about keeping this secret, but I can tell you something I know. There are two main types of tanks currently in service in China's mechanized forces, one is the Great Wall-4 type, and the other is the Great Wall-5 type. Type, the number of specific tank equipment is unknown. The Type 4 tank was developed earlier and was officially equipped on a large scale about ten years ago, while the Type 5 tank was equipped on a large scale later, about three years ago."
"Can you tell me the specific data? For example, tank gun caliber, speed, etc." Patton saw that he meant to stop and quickly asked. After Fang Xianjue hesitated again, he looked very embarrassed and said: "Well, I don't know much actually. I just know that the Type 4 tank gun is a 75mm rifled gun, and the Type 5 tank is a 105mm rifled gun. There seems to be another type 4b equipped with an 88mm gun. The machine guns are one 12, 7 and two 7-caliber. These types of tanks can guarantee a continuous driving of 3,000 hours at a speed of 45-50 kilometers per hour. Type 5 tanks The frontal armor of the Type 4 tank has been proven to be able to block the 76mm cannon equipped by the Soviet army in actual combat. The frontal armor of the Type 4 tank can withstand the Soviet 57mm cannon. Actual combat tests have found that the Soviet anti-tank gun is a great threat to our tanks. The losses were basically caused by anti-tank guns striking from the side. It is said that the Ministry of Defense has ordered the development of a special anti-tank gun with a caliber of 88 mm because the intelligence agency learned that the Soviet army was equipped with a heavy tank."
Fang Xianjue¡¯s voice became softer and softer as he spoke, and he kept looking up at the major in the co-pilot¡¯s seat in front of him. Barton nodded with some understanding. People from the intelligence department were not allowed to talk nonsense. The Chinese are wary of the United States. This topic is a bit jarring, but it is inevitable. As a soldier, Patton didn't care about political issues, but he had heard to some extent that the U.S. government had done some unpopular things to China. If it weren't for these reasons, the Chinese side should not choose Germany when choosing a partner, but the United States, which has many joint ventures in China.
"The Americans are coming to cause trouble at this time, how can we have time to receive them now?" Zhang Zizhong looked unhappy in the front army headquarters. Of course he was very unhappy when he was called back from the Sildaria front line.
"The General Staff has approved the implementation date of the Thunder Plan. You, the former enemy commander, should not interfere with the affairs of the Americans. This is Lieutenant General Yang Zui. The success or failure of the Thunder Plan is largely determined by him." Zhang Zhizhong introduced the two men with a smile. They knew each other, so Yang Zui stepped forward and extended his hand. They were not very familiar with each other. In terms of qualifications, Yang Zui was superior to Zhang Zizhong.
"General Yang will personally lead the 1st and 2nd Mountain Divisions and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Paratrooper Divisions to conduct large-scale parachute operations in the Urgench and Nukus areas. The purpose of this operation is to cut off the Soviet army's westward escape route. In order to achieve the purpose of this campaign, the Air Force mobilized all the two hundred C-49 transport aircraft recently delivered by the Americans, as well as all transport aircraft in the Siberian theater. This was not enough. The first batch of parachutes There are only three paratrooper divisions and some heavy equipment. The mountain troops are the second batch of parachutes. As the former enemy commander, I must let you know the two important links in this plan. The first link is to concentrate firepower to break through. The Soviet defense line ensures that the mechanized troops can quickly carry out assault advances after they are deployed. The second important link is that the mechanized troops must occupy Dushanbe within a week and block the only way for the Soviet army to go south. This battle is The president personally asked about it and paid close attention to it, and everyone weighed the importance in their hearts." When Liu Mingzhao mentioned Fang Jianxiong, he stood up first, and everyone in the meeting stood up. In the National Defense Forces, President Fang Da is so important.
The meeting continued. The U.S. military observer group came to Khujand. No one was seen. The official reply was that a very important meeting was being held and they would only have time to receive the U.S. military observer group in the evening.
The US military observation group was arranged in a manor in Khujand. There were many soldiers guarding the area. This made the US military very unhappy and felt like they were under house arrest. While others were complaining, Patton found Marshall and whispered: "I think the Chinese are planning a huge battle." Marshall frowned: "The reason."
"It's very simple. I have been observing along the way and found many traces of tank tracks on the road along the way. During this period, I asked for the convenience of getting off the car. I carefully observed these traces. At least they were formed by repeated crushing by thousands of tanks. of."