What Bao Zhiguo¡¯s brigade discovered was a Soviet infantry corps that had been ordered to come out of Bukhara. It was fully loaded with personnel, all kinds of equipment and baggage, and there were hundreds of cars. It was impossible to march without taking the road.
As soon as the Mustang fighter brigade came into sight, the Soviet army, which had been prepared for a long time, was like a wasp when it was startled. The people on the road scattered in all directions, and the vehicle-mounted anti-aircraft guns were immediately in place. Army Commander Mikhailovsky's forehead was covered with sweat in the winter. Without air supremacy, this battle was too difficult to fight. Chinese planes were everywhere, and they arrived within thirty kilometers of walking.
The anti-aircraft artillery was flying all over the sky. Mikhailovsky had repeatedly insisted that an anti-aircraft artillery battalion be brought out of Bukhara alive and well, even if it would be attacked by enemy planes halfway.
When he discovered that there was an anti-aircraft gun on the ground, Bao Zhiguo shouted loudly as if he had been shot: "It's exciting, it's so exciting. Brothers, I'll go up first." It takes courage to dive against an anti-aircraft gun, and Bao Zhiguo likes it. Such exciting life. Because I went on a cruise, I brought only 50 kilograms of small bombs. In one dive, two bombs landed near an anti-aircraft gun, blowing up several Soviet troops. The anti-aircraft gun was still chasing the plane fiercely.
After two rounds of dives, the artillery fire on the ground became much sparser, and at least one-thirtieth of the anti-aircraft guns were lost to bombs. The cost was that one aircraft was damaged and had to leave the battlefield early. Bao Zhiguo saw what this meant and realized that a brigade could not do any tricks and ordered other planes to return. Anyway, the news had been sent back.
The plane fled, and the Soviet troops on the ground came out of their respective hiding places. It took half an hour to complete the formation. Taking advantage of this time, Mikhailovsky quickly discussed with the political commissar that it was not a problem to go forward like this. The Chinese had many planes and had complete control of the air. They would bomb all the way and cause too many casualties. In particular, heavy equipment suffered the greatest losses. In just that moment, an anti-aircraft gun battery was taken away, not to mention the loss of more than a dozen trucks, and almost a hundred casualties. The machine guns of Mustang fighter jets 12 and 7 swooped down and fired, hitting people and causing them to die tragically with flying limbs. This has a huge impact on the morale of the troops, and adjustments must be made.
After discussion, the two decided to hide the vehicles and heavy equipment on the spot, leaving anti-aircraft guns for protection. Wait until dark before leaving, and the infantry will continue on the road, do reconnaissance work, and fire warning shots when they find the plane is coming, and take cover on the spot. In short, we must get to Urgench as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the strength of a local infantry division would not be able to hold on for long. Those small troops along the railway line would die if they went up. A few harassments would be enough, but nothing else could be expected.
The importance of Urgench lies in the railway bridge and road bridge over the Amu Darya River. Once these two bridges were lost. It would be difficult for the Soviet army to take it back. With the Amu Darya River, the Chinese paratroopers have a basis for defense, so they must arrive before the Chinese paratroopers occupy Urgench, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.
Mikhailovsky's judgment was very accurate. Less than an hour after Bao Zhiguo's brigade had left, and less than half an hour after the Soviet infantry continued on the road, a scalp-shattering roar sounded in the sky. . Fifty Mustang fighter jets and ten B-17s flew over. The Soviet troops on the road had long been hiding. The arriving plane saw that it had lost its target, and the angry radio continued to curse. In the end, the B-17 vented its anger on the bridges and railways it had discovered earlier. The fifty Mustangs continued westward, heading for Bezingen, where the paratroopers needed air support.
The crisis in the direction of Bezingen comes from the direction of Urgench. The Soviet army has an infantry division in Urgench, plus some local armed forces, totaling more than 18,000 people and a 122 howitzer regiment. An anti-aircraft artillery regiment was responsible for protecting the railway bridge. After discovering the Chinese paratroopers, Lieutenant General Petrovsky, the commander of the 63rd Army, the supreme commander of Bezingen, was a very bold commander. His troops were urgently transferred from the Western Front. Due to limited transportation capacity, they could only transport one paratrooper first. Infantry Division, Plan Thunder began as soon as they arrived in Urgench, and Chinese paratroopers came down. Petrovsky immediately ordered the troops to take over the defense on the spot and sent out scouts to investigate.
When he discovered that there were only two or three thousand Chinese paratroopers in Bezingen, Petrovsky was not polite. He immediately gathered all the cars he could find and a temporary infantry mixed brigade came over. He wanted to finish before the Chinese paratroopers could finish. Before gathering, eat this advance paratroopers first.
Han Zhixin, commander of the Second Paratrooper Division, only has 2,000 men at his disposal, and his heavy weapons are eight 120-mm mortars. To guard the small town of Bezingen, all fortifications must be done immediately. Fortunately, Han Zhixin was cautious and sent a small force to stare in the direction of Urgench. As soon as Petrovsky went out, the reconnaissance force reported using the walkie-talkie.
Han Zhixin was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly reported the incident on the radio, ordered combat preparations and called the air force for help. Each of the well-equipped paratroopers carries a portable engineer shovel, which is great for digging trenches. The houses in the small town were also destroyed.?Fortifications were built one by one, and enough anti-blast holes were prepared.
General Khuzhan pointed forward, and the good-tempered Liu Mingzhao sat still. It had been two hours since the general offensive started. The Soviet defense line on the western front was unexpectedly tenacious and could not be broken through yet. On the approximately fifteen kilometers of defense line, Liu Mingzhao invested three infantry corps in one go, hoping to break through the Soviet defense line as soon as possible.
Zhukov was not given in vain. The defense line in the west stretched for nearly 20 kilometers in depth. The defense lines one after another and the stepped defense made it difficult for the Chinese *** team to penetrate at once. In the first hour after the launch of the general offensive, the attacking troops advanced extremely fast. Under the fierce artillery fire, it was difficult for the Soviet troops in front to organize an effective defense and were overwhelmed by the tide of troops. Within an hour, the battle line advanced more than three kilometers, and the subsequent battle began to become difficult. The Soviet defense gradually strengthened. So far, the fastest advance was made by Sun Liren's troops, which had broken through the six lines of defense of the Soviet army. , advancing a little more than five kilometers. But now Sun Liren's army encountered another line of defense from the Soviet army and was stubbornly blocked.
Without a complete breakthrough in the defense line, it will be difficult for the Ninth Mechanized Army to advance rapidly. This is where Liu Mingzhao is in trouble. Should he deploy mechanized troops for an assault? The purpose of the battle was to eliminate as many Soviet troops as possible, force the Soviet troops to retreat toward Turkmenistan, and then pursue them all the way to Iran.
Now it seems that the entire campaign is not going as smoothly as expected. Zhukov's Central Asian Front Army is well prepared. While advancing westward from Jizzak, sufficient pressure must be put on the direction of Samarkand, otherwise Zhukov will even have the strength to launch a side attack on our troops on the western front.
The battle has begun, and the adjustments that can be made are partial adjustments.
"Bocheng, the Soviet defense line on the eastern front has been breached. It seems that this is not the focus of Soviet defense." Zhang Zhizhong walked in and handed over the telegram in his hand. Liu Mingzhao put down the teacup in his hand, glanced at the telegram and said: " Inform Bai Chongxi to attack, ignore the direction of Dushanbe, and after rushing over, turn around and head west, toward Samarkand. The reserve team prepares an army. Once the attack in the middle is blocked, they will immediately enter the battle. Samarkand must be inflicted. Sufficient pressure. Notify Li Zongren to move west and meet up with Ye Weixun's Ninth Mechanized Army. Once a weak spot is found in the Soviet defense line, the Ninth Mechanized Army immediately enters the battle, forcibly penetrates the Soviet defense line, and quickly moves toward Insert westward. With the strength of two mechanized corps, insert directly into Vounay."
"Why, are you worried that the Soviet army will run away?" Zhang Zhizhong immediately understood. Liu Mingzhao nodded and said: "Zhukov is not easy to deal with. Now that our army has an absolute advantage, he cannot fight a stupid battle like Pavlov. Especially if he loses Having gained air superiority, I judge that his current hold must be to wait for darkness, and then quickly retreat to the southeast. As long as the main force can safely withdraw across the Amu Darya River and build a new defense line to gain a foothold, he can hold off Central Asia. The main force of our army."
"But the Air Force reported that it has been discovered that an infantry corps of the Soviet Army has left Bukhara to reinforce the direction of Urgench." Zhang Zhizhong expressed his different opinions. Liu Mingzhao shook his head and said: "Zhukov is not Pavlov, as of now Judging from the progress of the battle, he knew very well that if he retreated to the west, he would not have air superiority, and it was within my expectations. Abandon Samarkand and retreat to Turkmenabat on the south bank of the Amu Darya River. There is still a railway connection. To Turkmenbasi, a city on the Caspian Sea. As long as there is a railway, his logistics and troop supplies are guaranteed. On the contrary, he is heading west now. After the railways and roads were severely damaged by our air force, the marching speed cannot be increased at all. Speaking of which Central Asia is still too big, and Zhukov has enough strategic depth to deal with our army."
Zhang Zhizhong also came back to his senses, nodded and said: "I understand, this is Zhukov's best response plan. In this way, Vonayi becomes very critical, and Samarkand is not that important. If Zhukov To evacuate to Kalsi in the southwest, the train still has to turn around to the west when it reaches Kalsi, otherwise it will be forced to leave the railway line, and then a lot of his heavy equipment will have to be left behind."
"The key now is whether Li Zongren, commanding the two mechanized armies, can get ahead of Zhukov on the 500-kilometer journey from Jizzak to Vornay. I even suspect that the mechanized army that Zhukov has been hiding is here. In the Bukhara area, because it is only here that reinforcements can be sent in all directions at any time. Therefore, the center road must bite the defenders of Samarkand, and the west road must capture Vounay as soon as possible, forcing Zhukov to go towards Karsi. Retreat, so that the Soviet army will be continuously hit by our army during its retreat, and if they don't leave behind 300,000 to 400,000 soldiers, the battle will be in vain."
Moscow, Kremolin Palace, the meeting is still going on, an urgent message from Zhukov has arrived.
After the bearded man read it first, he handed it to Vasilevsky, his successor as chief of general staff, and then pondered silently.
"ZhukovComrade Zhukov's view is correct. Liu Mingzhao's purpose is to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Central Asian Front. If Comrade Zhukov retreats westward, he will fall into the enemy's plan. First retreat to Vonayi, and then you can calmly block the enemy forces in Bukhara. The worst result is to retreat across the Amu Darya River. As long as the enemy's main force is stuck in this area and Tashkent is still in our hands, the Chinese will not dare to boldly advance westward. As long as Comrade Petrovsky can hold Kunuz, Dashoguz, Urgench and other places, the campaign launched by the Chinese will be of little significance. "Vasilevskiy gave his own opinion.