Anti-Japanese War: Li Yunlong dared to attack Taiyuan

"Russian Bear's plane, put out the torches and take cover!"

"Quick, put out the torches and take cover!"

Chapter 434: Confused Japs

"Report, Chita is under attack by the Japanese army!"

At the Far Eastern Army Headquarters in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Apanasenko received a telegram from Chita and was shocked.

"Chita was attacked?"

"Yes, the reconnaissance plane reported that after the supply train from Kurkutsk was attacked by the Japanese army, Chita was also attacked and has been captured by the Japanese army!"

Apanasenko walked up to the map and placed a flag representing the devils at the location of Chita.

"Where did this Japanese army come from?"

The Russians have been closely watching the recent large-scale troop movements of the Japanese. After all, the border is long, and if the Japanese bypass Khabarovsk and attack from other directions, it will be very difficult for the defending side.

Apanasenko originally wanted to launch an attack on the four northeastern provinces occupied by the Japanese from some border areas, but since 1931, the Japanese had built fortifications in the border areas, which made the Russian attack not smooth.

In addition, the defensive pressure in Khabarovsk was huge, so the Russians had to give up the plan of opening another front.

"Commander, Chita has been occupied by the Japanese, and the Trans-Siberian Railway has been cut off. The Japanese can use the Manchurian Railway to reinforce their troops around Chita. Once the Japanese occupy Neryungri, our Far Eastern Corps' retreat will be blocked, and even logistical supplies will be unable to be transported in. At that time..."

A staff officer quickly walked to the map and drew a circle: "Back in the Battle of Shanghai, the Japanese used this tactic to cut off the Chinese troops' retreat route..."

Apanasenko looked at the map and fell into deep thought. The current situation in Khabarovsk was not optimistic. Khabarovsk had been captured by the Japanese. Now the Russian army could only defend along the Amur River with Komsomolsk-on-Amur as its support.

The so-called Amur River is the name of the Heilongjiang River after it enters the area occupied by the Russian bear. The Heilongjiang River splits into two in the Khabarovsk region. One part flows north into the Russian bear-occupied area and eventually flows into the Tatar Strait. The Ussuri River, which flows from south to north, also meets the Heilongjiang River here.

This area is an important seaport for the four eastern provinces. After the Russian Bear occupied this place, it used the port to develop it into the most important region in the Far East.

The entire Far East is also the most critical area in Siberia. After Khabarovsk was captured, the Russians could not easily retreat, otherwise the Russian troops in Bikin, Vladivostok, Shuangchengzi and other places south of Khabarovsk would be completely wiped out.

"The Japanese have a big appetite! They want to devour the entire Far Eastern Front in one go, and they're not afraid of dying of starvation!"

Apanasenko finished speaking and slowly closed his eyes. After a minute of silence, he asked, "What's the situation in Shuangchengzi and other places?"

"The situation is not optimistic. The Japanese are attacking fiercely. It's a mountainous terrain over there, so it's difficult for our army to exert its advantages!"

Apanasenko sighed. He had been the one who ordered the evacuation of Khabarovsk because the terrain was unsuitable for the Soviet armored forces. The Japanese forces were weak in armor and primarily consisted of light infantry.

The Soviet troops, lacking armor, were dragged into street fighting by the Japanese and suffered more than 20,000 casualties in just one night.

The Soviet troops found it difficult to bear the pressure, especially with the Siberian Freedom Army harassing them from behind, and eventually they had to retreat.

Apanasenko was still apprehensive when he retreated to Komsomolsk-on-Amur. He had not expected the enemy's army to be so formidable. Fortunately, after retreating to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the surrounding plains allowed the Russian armored forces to exert their strength, thus stabilizing the front.

In fact, the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army at this time was indeed not strong. When many people mention the Soviet army of this era, their first reaction is the torrent of steel and strong fighting will. In fact, that was the Soviet army after 1944, when the Soviet army had not yet developed.

Just like when Russia and China clashed in later generations, many people believed that Russia could win with an overwhelming force. This is a stereotype, applying the image of the army of the Mao Zedong era to Russia. In fact, the two are not the same army.

The bearded purge almost wiped out the core strength of the Soviet-Finnish War. The Soviet-Finnish War exposed the low combat effectiveness of the Soviet-Finnish troops. When De San discovered this, he was overjoyed and revised the battle plan overnight.

As for the Battle of Nomonhan, the Russians actually won a bitter victory. There are four versions of the casualty ratio of the Battle of Nomonhan, including the recollections of Japanese soldiers who participated in the battle, the records of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and the declassified documents of the Russians after the disintegration of the Russians.

Among these four versions, three of them agree that more than 1.85 Russians were killed and more than 6.1 were injured, while more than Japanese were injured, captured, or died. Only one document shows that Russians were killed and wounded, while Japanese were killed and wounded.

Regardless of the true number of Japanese casualties, the nearly 20,000 casualties reported by the Russians are incontrovertible. Remember, this was at a time when the Russians had a significant advantage in tanks and artillery, which is enough to show how low the Russians' combat effectiveness was at the time.

The Japanese, accustomed to bullying the Nationalist army on the Chinese battlefield, were somewhat overwhelmed by the attacks of planes, artillery and tanks. The headquarters also held back the Kwantung Army, forbidding it from continuing the attack, and the Battle of Nomonhan was finally stopped.

Otherwise, if the war continues, the Russian Far East troops may not be able to defeat the Japanese.

The fundamental reason for the weak combat effectiveness of the Soviet army was that the veterans were purged and the new recruits lacked actual combat experience. After the German Third Invasion of the Soviet Union, the weakness of the Soviet army's combat effectiveness was once again demonstrated.

It was not until 1941, after Moscow was defended with the help of the cold winter, that a large number of new recruits were tempered into veterans on the battlefield, and a large number of veterans who were dismissed or expelled from the army due to the Great Purge returned to the army, and the combat effectiveness of the Soviet Union began to gradually improve.

By the time the great counter-offensive began in 1944, the combat effectiveness of the Soviet Union's troops had reached its peak. In 1945, the main force of the Soviet Union marched to the Far East and defeated the Kwantung Army with overwhelming force, creating a myth of the Soviet Union's powerful combat effectiveness.

On the other hand, the Kwantung Army that attacked the Soviet Union was at its peak combat effectiveness at this time.

A large number of troops in the Kwantung Army were rotated to the Chinese battlefield and experienced the baptism of actual combat. Although their heavy equipment was not as good as that of the Russians, the lower-level soldiers were all survivors of the battlefield and had rich combat experience.

By the time the Soviet Union declared war on the Kwantung Army in 1945, the elite of the Kwantung Army had been transferred to the Pacific battlefield. The remaining troops were either old, weak, sick or new recruits. When they encountered the battle-hardened army coming south, they naturally collapsed.

However, at this point in 1942, the situations of the Soviet troops and the Japanese troops were exactly the opposite. Most of the Soviet troops were new recruits, while the Japanese were elite. This was why the Kwantung Army had the confidence to go to war with the Soviets, and it was also the reason why the Soviets lost Birobidzhan and retreated to Komsomolsk-on-Amur within two days of the war.

……

Five more tonight! ~

Chapter 435: Someone pretending to be a devil?

"Chita was captured by our people?"

Inside the Jiamusi headquarters of the Kwantung Army, Mei Jing Meijiro looked at the telegram with a confused look on his face.

Then he quickly walked to the map, took a look at Chita's location, and checked the troops deployed around it.

There are no Japanese troops around Chita at all.

The Japanese defensive forces were concentrated on the Heilongjiang line to prevent the Russians from crossing the river and entering the four northeastern provinces.

"Maybe the intelligence is wrong?" The Kwantung Army's Chief of Staff, Sadaichi Yoshimoto, also thought this was absurd.

The Kwantung Army's battle plan did not include a two-pronged attack.

If the troops attack the mountain city, the Kwantung Army may attack in three directions, or even in four or five directions at the same time, with one division in each direction.

But the opponent was the Russian bear, so the Kwantung Army was extremely cautious and chose to concentrate its forces to attack Khabarovsk.

Originally, the Kwantung Army was prepared to fight a bloody battle with the Soviet Far East Front in Khabarovsk for a month or even two months. However, they did not expect that the Soviet troops were so vulnerable. They began to retreat after two days and defended Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

However, even so, the Japanese did not let their guard down and continued to advance steadily. In the eyes of the Japanese, the Russians might be trying to lure them deeper into the enemy and then cut off their supply lines.

"Has the reconnaissance plane returned?"

"Not yet, but it should be soon!"

"Send the photos as soon as you get back."

"Hai!"

At this time, in the command center, both Meijing Meijiro and Yoshimoto Sadakazu were staring at the map and frowning. The changes in the war situation were beyond their expectations.

To be precise, the situation went more smoothly than they had imagined, and the Russian bear did not seem that difficult to deal with.

During the two-day battle at Khabarovsk, approximately 13,000 Japanese soldiers were killed. After all, the battle was fought across a river, and the Russians had no shortage of heavy weapons, so many of the Japanese had their boats blown up while crossing.

But after successfully crossing the Ussuri River and setting foot on the land of Khabarovsk, the war progressed exceptionally smoothly.

Twenty-four hours after the start of the battle, the outer positions of Khabarovsk were captured, and Khabarovsk was captured forty-eight hours later. Now they have advanced to Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

"Commander, what are the Mao Xiongs doing?"

Yoshimoto Sadaichi asked slowly while looking at the map.

Mei Jing Meijiro shook his head: "It's not clear yet, but we can't take it lightly."

At this moment, a staff officer rushed into the headquarters excitedly: "Report, the Second Front Army sent a telegram, they successfully captured Shuangchengzi and captured more than 30,000 Mao Xiong people."

"They've taken Shuangchengzi? So quickly? Is the information accurate?"

At this time, Mei Jing Meijiro could hardly believe his ears. Shuangchengzi was garrisoned by a Russian army of more than 40,000 people, and the Tumen River served as a natural barrier.

Originally, the mission of the Second Front Army of the Kwantung Army was only to contain the Russian troops in Shuangchengzi, ensure the smooth attack in the direction of Khabarovsk, and prevent this army group from supporting Khabarovsk.

According to the Japanese's original battle plan, if the Second Front Army could not withstand the attack of the Soviet troops, it would directly retreat into the Dongning Fortress and not give the Soviets an opportunity to take advantage.

But now the Second Front Army has actually captured Shuangchengzi.

"It has been confirmed that Shuangchengzi has indeed been captured. This is the course of the battle."

Mei Jing Meijiro quickly read the combat content on the telegram and a look of confusion appeared on his face.

"Commander, what's wrong?"

Mei Jing Meijilang looked at the map and said slowly: "I think we may have underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Russian Far East Front."

"what do you mean?"

Yoshimoto Sadaichi was also a little confused. In order to judge the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army, everyone held a meeting for half a day and had many discussions. Finally, they concluded that the Soviet army's combat effectiveness should be stronger than the Kwantung Army.

"Take a look at the battle report."

Yoshimoto Sadaichi quickly read the telegram, his mouth slightly open in an expression of disbelief.

"How can this be!"

"If the Russian army's combat effectiveness is really so poor, then their retreat to Komsomolsk-on-Amur is not to lure the enemy deep into their territory, but simply because they are unable to withstand our attack!"

Yoshimoto Sadaichi thought for a moment and said, "Then why was the First Division destroyed?"

When the Kwantung Army judged the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army, it used the 1st Division as a reference. The Japanese still believe that the 1st Division was annihilated by the Soviet 17th Army stationed in Outer Mongolia.

The 17th Army was not a powerful force in the Soviet Far East Front, and could even be said to be a marginal force. The fact that such a force could destroy the 1st Division made the Japanese afraid and they did not dare to start a war easily.

"Perhaps it was due to special reasons. During the Battle of Nomonhan, our armor was inferior to that of the Russians. The First Division was probably annihilated in Arshan because of its inferior armor and the fact that it was an offensive!"

At this time, Meijing Meijiro suddenly figured out a lot of problems.

"Order Yamashita Fengwu to immediately lead the First Front Army to cut off Komsomolsk-on-Amur's retreat and occupy Hongyar, Ekimchan, and other areas!"

"Hayi!"

"Order the Second Front Army to march north immediately and encircle the Russian forces in the Far East!"

"Hayi!"

"Order the Third and Sixth Front Armies to launch a fierce attack in the direction of Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Don't give the Mao Zedong troops a chance to breathe!"

"Hayi!"

The staff officer beside him quickly wrote down Mei Jing Meijiro's order, but Yoshimoto Sadaichi asked with some concern: "Isn't it too risky?"

"This isn't a risk. Now that the war has begun, we must deliver a fatal blow. Chita is now occupied by unknown armed forces, and the Trans-Siberian Railway has been cut off. We need a quick victory.

Otherwise, once the Russian troops from Siberia come to support us, we will lose the opportunity to completely wipe out the Far Eastern Front!"

Mei Jing Meijiro is a gambler. Originally, he was worried that the Soviet troops would lure the enemy deep into his territory, so he did not dare to attack with all his strength. But now the battle report from the Second Front Army made him see the vulnerable side of the Soviet troops, so he decided to go all out.

An hour later, another staff officer walked into the headquarters with a developed photo in his hand.