Anti-Japanese War: Li Yunlong dared to attack Taiyuan

In three days, the Russians used the method of retreat and rotation to allow a large number of new recruits in the army to be tested by war and become veterans.

The Japanese troops were constantly consuming new recruits, and continued to attack after being blocked. Only when a unit was almost exhausted would it be rotated out, and a group of new recruits would come up. Their combat effectiveness did not improve much, and the number of veterans did not increase either.

However, the Japanese had the advantage in armor and numbers. If the Mao army could not withdraw from the battlefield in time, once they were bitten by the Japanese, they would be quickly eaten.

After abandoning Chita, the Russian troops quickly retreated towards Ulan-Ude. There were some defensive positions along the way, but unlike the large-scale blocking around Chita, they used the terrain to conduct small-scale blocking, blow up bridges and roads, and slow down the enemy troops' march.

The other two Japanese troops encountered no significant resistance and advanced with great speed along the way.

In three days, the First Army had advanced more than 100 kilometers, crossed the Karakan River, and was preparing to attack Kuanda. Then it was preparing to move west along the Baikal-Amur Railway to occupy Severobaikalsk and other areas.

The so-called Baikal-Amur Railway is another railway built by the Russians after the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Construction began in 1937 and has been stopped and started since then. Currently, only the section from Kuanda to Severobaikalsk has been completed.

However, even if it is only this section, for the First Army, as long as Kuanda is occupied, it can relieve some of the logistical pressure.

On the other side, the Second Army, which attacked together with the First Army, also made extremely smooth progress.

When the Siberian Front was blocked in Chita, the Second Army did not encounter any significant resistance and had successively broken through the areas of Yandongkin, Ust-Zaza, and Maksimikha.

Now the Second Army has begun to split its forces, with one part heading north to attack Bayan Gol and other areas, and the other part heading south to Ulan-Ude, preparing to cooperate with the Siberian Front to eliminate the main force of the Soviet Union in Ulan-Ude.

Second Army's offensive plan

"Li Yunlong, the Japanese and the Russians have already started fighting. When should we start?"

Ever since the war between the Russians and the Japanese broke out, everyone in Li Yunlong's command center has been paying close attention to the situation in Siberia.

After Li Yunlong took over another red area on the map representing the Russians, he also marked the sphere of influence representing the Japanese devils.

"We shouldn't act in a hurry. We should wait until the Japanese and the Russians are so enmeshed in a fight that they can't take care of us. At this point, the Japanese haven't suffered enough losses. Once we take action, they can always withdraw the First and Second Armies back to the four eastern provinces!"

Li Yunlong was extremely calm at this time, like a cheetah that had found its prey and was slowly approaching the prey.

"But our brother troops can take action now. Notify the brother troops in Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan that they can launch a counterattack against the Japanese. We need to lure out some of the Kwantung Army remaining in the four eastern provinces!"

Li Yunlong pointed to the location of the four eastern provinces on the map.

Although the Japanese dispatched an army of 800,000 this time, they still had 600,000 troops in the four northeastern provinces and 200,000 in the Far East.

Over the winter, the Kwantung Army expanded by another 200,000 men. Now, the total strength of the Japanese army and navy has exceeded 2.6 million.

As the occupied territories continued to expand, this number continued to increase. The Japanese lowered the minimum age for conscription and raised the maximum age, and soon they would usher in a state of universal conscription.

Chapter 551 The bottom overcomes the top

"Report, the Japanese Second Army has captured Goryachinsk and is less than 100 kilometers away from Ulan-Ude!"

In the Soviet headquarters in Ulan-Ude, Gastilovich quickly drew a circle around Goryachinsk after hearing the adjutant's report.

"How far is the Japanese Siberian Front from Ulan-Ude?"

"We are attacking Domna, about 200 kilometers away from Ulan-Ude."

Gastilovich threw down his pen and said, "The opportunity has arrived! Order the 17th, 23rd, and 68th Armies to march north immediately and destroy the Japanese Second Army!"

"Order the 73rd Army to continue blocking the Japanese. Before the main force consumes the Japanese Second Army, the Siberian Front must not withdraw troops to support the Japanese Second Army!"

"Yes!"

After receiving Gastilovich's order, the three Soviet armies that had been waiting for an opportunity in the rear quickly moved north along the Baikal Highway.

Among them, the 17th Army is the main force of this bear army. It is also the army where Gastilovich started his career and can be regarded as Gastilovich's direct line.

When aid supplies arrive from Moscow and the United States, they will be given priority to this unit, which is also the core force of this Russian army.

Two days later, the Japanese Second Army, which had reached less than 80 kilometers from Ulan-Ude, encountered the main force of the Soviet Union in Gremyachinsk.

Most of the Japanese Second Army's divisions were Type B divisions, with a 5th Tank Division attached, totaling 200,000 troops. The offensive over the previous few days had been unimpeded, with several cities captured smoothly and the fastest of the three offensive directions.

When they arrived in Goryachinsk, the Kwantung Army Command had already ordered them to rest in place and wait for the Siberian Front to capture Baryaga, and then act together with the Siberian Front to attack Ulan-Ude from the northeast direction.

However, after a day's rest, the Second Army decided to set out again. Their rapid progress along the way had inflated their morale.

Commander Muto Akira sent a telegram directly to the Kwantung Army Headquarters, stating that they did not need the support of the Siberian Front and could capture Ulan-Ude on their own.

After receiving the telegram, Mei Jing Meijiro sternly stopped them from moving forward, but the order was directly ignored.

Now the Japanese soldiers and officers are in a state of extreme expansion. They defeated the Americans in the Pacific and expanded rapidly on land, defeating their former sovereign, occupying large tracts of land in Southeast Asia, and defeating the northern giant.

In addition, the Japanese propaganda about Kotaro Kodera made countless Japanese soldiers and officers eager to become someone like Kotaro Kodera, become an imperial general, be rewarded by the emperor, and have their parents received by the emperor.

Because Muto Akira deliberately did not suppress the enemy and did not issue a death order, the Japanese Second Army simply ignored the orders of the Kwantung Army Headquarters and continued to advance.

You know, Kota Kotera also ignored the order of the Siberian Front and did not lead his troops into Baikalsk, which is why he captured Kurkusk. Although most Japanese civilians did not know about this, the Japanese officers were very clear about it.

Afterwards, not only was Kota Kotera not punished, he also became the "second generation of the famous generals" of the empire, making a group of Japanese officers very jealous.

In their view, disobeying military orders is not important. After all, "rebellion" is their old tradition. As long as they can capture Ulan-Ude, they will still become heroes.

With this idea in mind, the Japanese Second Army advanced another 20 kilometers, and ended up running head-on into the main force of the Soviet Union.

The Second Army did not panic when encountering the main force of the Russian Bear. Instead, it was very excited, extremely excited.

In the Japanese battle reports, even in the icy and snowy conditions, when the Imperial soldiers were at a disadvantage, they could still defeat the Russians with one against three. Now that winter is no longer an issue, the Imperial Army can easily defeat the Russians.

"Report, the vanguard has spotted a Mao Bear force, suspected to be a Mao Bear support force!"

In the Second Army's marching column, Muto Akira was reading a telegram. After hearing the report, he immediately smiled and said, "It's too late for the Russians to support us now. Order the vanguard to immediately attack the Russian troops and destroy them. I want to have dinner in Ulan-Ude tomorrow!"

"Hai!"

After receiving the order, the commander of the Japanese 209th Division, which was at the forefront, gave the order without hesitation and launched an attack on the Soviet troops.

"Kill me!"

"Onboard!"

"Onboard!"

"..."

At this time, the commander of the 17th Army Group in the Mao Bear Army also received a telegram about encountering the Japanese vanguard.

"We've run into them so soon? It seems the Japs are more eager than we thought. They dare to attack us with only one infantry division. Order the armored forces to charge at full speed and quickly defeat the Japs' Second Army!"

"Yes!"

Although the Soviet-German troops in Siberia had never been to the Soviet-German battlefield, they would learn about the situation on the Soviet-German battlefield through radio and newspapers every day.

At the same time, they would also analyze the combat methods of De San. After discovering that the main force of the Japanese Second Army was the infantry division, they quickly made adjustments and prepared to adopt De San's tactics, first defeating them and then encircling them.

"Onboard!"

"Onboard!"

"..."

A group of Japanese soldiers rushed towards the Soviet troops quickly, holding weapons and shouting slogans.

The Russian troops were not to be outdone and responded quickly.

"For the motherland!"

"Ula!"

"Ula!"

"..."

Under the leadership of the political commissar, the Mao Bear troops also quickly organized a charge. However, compared to the Japanese infantry charge, the Mao Bear troops would charge together with some armored vehicles. At the same time, the armored troops behind them also quickly caught up at full speed.

Soon, the Japanese and the Mao Bear troops collided with each other. But soon, the Japanese troops were horrified to find that behind the Mao Bear infantry were tanks.

After these tanks rushed into the battlefield, they ruthlessly crushed the bodies of the Japanese soldiers, reaping their lives.

"Tian Nao Black Card, hooray!"

A Japanese soldier carrying a barbed grenade rushed towards the Soviet tank, but was instantly blown to pieces by the tank's mounted machine gun.

The armored forces easily broke through the Japanese infantry division and continued to rush towards the Japanese Second Army in the rear.

The Japanese Second Army, under orders from Commander Muto Akira, did not build any defensive positions. So, when they saw the Mao Zedong tanks rushing towards them, the Japanese soldiers could only watch in despair as the tanks rolled over them.

Fortunately, the Japanese Second Army still had a tank division. After the tank division joined the battlefield, the situation was barely stabilized.

But what made the Japanese despair was that the subsequent reinforcements of the Soviet Union still included a large number of tanks.

……

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Chapter 552: The North China Expeditionary Force's Request for Assistance

"Damn it! That useless Wu Tengzhang, tell him not to take risks..."

At the Kwantung Army Headquarters, Mei Jing Meijiro received a telegram requesting assistance from the Second Army.

After the Second Army engaged in battle with the Soviet troops, the Soviet armored forces quickly tore a hole in the Second Army's defense line because it was not prepared for defense. Then, using the mobility of the armored forces, they began to divide and encircle the Second Army.

By the time the Japanese Second Army reacted, the main force had been divided and surrounded by the Soviet troops, and command began to become chaotic.

Moreover, because they encountered the enemy in the wild, the Japanese had not built any defensive positions and could only use the limited terrain to deal with the Soviet troops.

After fighting for more than a day, the Second Army had suffered more than 50,000 casualties, and the Soviet encirclement was still shrinking, so it had to ask for help from the headquarters.

"Order the Siberian Front to detach a portion of its forces to support the Second Army, while the remaining forces continue the offensive!"

"Hai!"

Because the Japanese troops are going to attack on three fronts, Mei Jing Meijiro is now afraid to sleep. He listens to the telegrams sent from the front line at any time and adjusts his tactics.

Just after dealing with the matter of the Second Army, another telegram was delivered to Mei Jing Meijiro.

"Report, the North China Expeditionary Force sent a telegram requesting assistance."

"North China Expeditionary Force? They asked for help? What happened?"

Although the Kwantung Army was already the main army, the Japanese headquarters did not classify the North China Expeditionary Army into the Kwantung Army. The North China Expeditionary Army was directly under the Japanese headquarters. Although there was some intelligence exchange on weekdays, this was the first time they asked for help.