Chapter 2353:

The 6th Guards Tank Army advanced nearly 300 kilometers in two days, but faced the Daxinganling Mountains in front of them, this unit had to slow down. For them, this was an extremely arduous trek. Not to mention the poor condition of the mountain road, there were many sharp turns and 30-50 degree ups and downs. The 9th Guards Mechanized Army, which served as the vanguard, entered here first.

 Because the tanks equipped by this army are all Sherman tanks aided by the United States. This kind of tank has many shortcomings. In addition to being easy to catch fire after being shot, the tank also has an unreasonable body design and is not suitable for climbing over obstacles. As a result, four or five tanks rolled over the cliff shortly after entering the mountain road.

After learning that four or five tanks of the tank brigade affiliated to the army rolled off the cliff, resulting in vehicle crashes and fatalities, the army commander Lieutenant General Volkov immediately called the group army commander Kravchenko: "Comrade Commander , some accidents occurred while the troops were marching, and I feel it is necessary to report to you."

After hearing this, Kravchenko thought that the army was counterattacked by the Kwantung Army as it advanced, so he said disapprovingly: "General Volkov, the enemy is not willing to be eliminated by us, they will definitely Take various measures to save their imminent demise. So even if you are attacked by them during the march, it is completely acceptable to pay some price."

"No, Comrade Commander, you are mistaken." Seeing that Kravchenko misunderstood what he meant, Volkov quickly explained: "The tank brigade under our army is climbing the slopes of the Greater Khingan Mountains. The tanks they are equipped with They are all Sherman tanks aided by the United States. The appearance design of this tank is unreasonable and not suitable for use on complex terrain such as the Greater Khingan Mountains. So far, four or five tanks of the tank troops entering the mountain road have rolled over into the ravine. , causing a tragedy of car crash and death."

After listening to this, Kravchenko couldn't help but gasped: "What, four or five tanks rolled over into the ravine, causing a car crash and fatalities?"

 “Yes, Comrade Commander.”

"Temporarily order the troops to stop advancing." Kravchenko said: "I will immediately send engineering troops to widen the road so that your tank troops can continue to pass."

"Comrade Commander, just widening the road is of no use at all." Volkov said: "The Sherman tank is not suitable for driving in such terrain at all. Even if the road is widened, it will still not be able to To prevent tanks from falling into the ravine."

 “Then tell me, what should we do?”

“I intend to leave the tank brigade behind,” Volkov said, “and move forward with only the infantry and artillery.”

"No." Unexpectedly, as soon as he expressed his idea, he was rejected by Kravchenko: "After crossing the Greater Khingan Mountains, there is an endless plain. If you don't have the cooperation of the tank troops, how can you quickly attack the enemy? Advance the defense in depth? No, I don’t agree with your suggestion of leaving the tank brigade behind.”

 “Then what should we do?”

After discussing in a low voice with the chief of staff next to him, Kravchenko said into the microphone: "General Volkov, immediately withdraw your tank troops from the mountain road and make way for friendly forces. I plan to let Savelier Lieutenant General Husband's 5th Guards Tank Corps will take over from you and serve as the vanguard of the entire army."

After hearing the order issued by Kravchenko, even if Volkov was unwilling to give in, he could only bite the bullet and agree: "Yes, Comrade Commander, I immediately ordered the tank brigade to withdraw from the mountain road and make way for the friendly tank troops. .”

 Due to the narrow mountain road, it is not easy to remove the tank smoothly. It was not until 5 p.m. that the Sherman tanks that drove into the mountain road were gradually withdrawn. During the retreat, two more tanks unfortunately rolled down into the ravine, and all the crew members in the tanks died.

 Half an hour later, the 5th Guards Tank Corps, which had been waiting here for a long time, began to go up the mountain. It took them seven hours to pass through the 40-kilometer-long canyon. Early the next morning, the 7th Mechanized Army, which had a large number of wheeled vehicles, climbed the mountain. However, due to the rugged and difficult roads, they did not reach the top of the mountain until evening.

As for Volkov's 9th Guards Mechanized Army, he could only watch helplessly as friendly troops passed in front of him and replaced him as the vanguard of the group army. Several brigade commanders came to Volkov's temporary headquarters and said angrily: "Comrade Commander, in the military meeting before the war, our army was clearly asked to be the vanguard. How come the battle has only been going on for two days? Will it become the 5th Guards Tank Corps and the 7th Mechanized Corps?"

"There is no way." Seeing other troops walking in front of him, Volkov felt very uncomfortable, but he had no choice but to let the Sherman tanks equipped by the tank brigade fail to live up to their expectations. It was only a few kilometers of mountain road. , six tanks were lost. Fortunately, his superiors did not blame him for this, otherwise he might not be able to keep his position as military commander. Seeing that his subordinates were all emotional at this moment, he could only comfort them and said: "But don't worry, we are still hundreds of kilometers away from the big city where the Kwantung Army is guarding. Maybe after our army crosses the Greater Khingan Mountains, we can catch up with the troops in front. Maybe the troops too.”

Although everyone felt that what Volkov said was not necessarily reliable, since what had happened, it was useless for them to get angry in a hurry. They could only complain a few times and return to their respective units, preparing to wait for all friendly forces to pass. Re-enter the mountain road by yourself.

Sokov's troops advanced smoothly, advancing 70 kilometers in one day. Faced with such results, Sokov was very satisfied. He smiled and said to Lukin, Yakov and others: "Our troops advanced very fast today, walking seventy kilometers in one day. I once heard Marshal Rokossovsky say that on the day the war broke out, His troops rushed to the rescue of Rivne and only traveled fifty kilometers in one day. Our speed was much faster than him..."

"Misha, Rokossovsky did not set out at dawn on the first day of the war." Lukin waited for Sokov to finish and then corrected him: "After confirming that the war had broken out, he urgently assembled After collecting the weapons and ammunition needed by the troops from a nearby defense warehouse, he led the troops towards Rivne. I estimate that his troops did not set off until almost noon, so they only walked 50 kilometers in one day. This statement is unreliable."

"Well, I think what Comrade Deputy Commander said makes sense." Yakov also agreed: "At that time, the troops were not ready for war. Even if Marshal Rokossovsky confirmed that the war had broken out, the troops would have to It takes a lot of time to gather them together. The fifty kilometers he said he walked in one day may only take seven or eight hours."

“We still have several hundred kilometers to the big city guarded by the Kwantung Army.” Sokov said: “At our current speed, how many days will it take to reach our destination?”

"It's hard to say." Yakov frowned and said, "If we rely on the two legs of our soldiers to walk, I think it will take a week at the fastest. And by the time they arrive in the big city, they will be exhausted. Exhausted."

"Yasha, you are right. If you just rely on walking, you will definitely not be able to speed up." Sokov nodded thoughtfully and said: "It seems that we need to change a way to speed up the advancement of the troops. .”

 “What method can be used to increase the advancement speed of the troops?”

“Airborne!” Sokov said: “If we airdrop a unit to the enemy’s rear, the distance of several hundred kilometers can be covered in a few hours.”

"Airborne landing in the enemy's hinterland is probably not the best choice." Lu Jin shook his head after hearing this and said: "Usually airborne troops cannot carry heavy weapons. Once they are besieged by enemy armored forces, they have no power to fight back." "Comrade Deputy Commander, judging from the battles of the past two days, the combat effectiveness of the Kwantung Army is not at the same level as the Germans." Sokov looked at Lu Jin and said: "As long as we deliver airborne troops behind enemy lines once, If the number is large enough, we can establish an offensive starting point in the area and support our attack from the enemy's hinterland."

Lukin no longer refuted Sokov, but asked cautiously: "Which army do you think is qualified for such a task?"

After hearing this, Sokov smiled lightly and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, have you forgotten that there are two divisions in the 18th Guards Army that are Guards Airborne Troopers? I think it is undoubtedly their duty to carry out such airborne combat missions. It’s the most suitable.”

“If you are really going to drop these two Guards Airborne Divisions behind enemy lines, you have to make a lot of preparations now.”

 “What preparations?” Sokov asked.

"First, do we have enough transport aircraft and gliders to carry airborne troops?" Lukin pointed his finger at Sokov and said: "Second, the 3rd and 4th Guards Airborne Divisions are currently fighting the enemy. , if they are to participate in airborne operations, they must withdraw now to rest."

"Now that the 18th Guards Army is making good progress, and there are no stubborn enemies in the front, we can consider withdrawing one of the Guards Airborne Divisions." Yakov said: "I will call General Afnin now and ask him to He took one of his divisions out of the battle.”

"Wait a minute, Yasha." Sokov raised his hand to stop Yakov who was about to make a call, and said to him: "I will first contact Marshal Hudyakov, commander of the 12th Air Force Group Army, to see if he can Provide us with a sufficient number of transport aircraft and gliders."

"Okay, Misha." Yakov nodded and said, "Then after you confirm how many transport planes and gliders the Air Force can provide us, it won't be too late for me to call General Afnin."

Sokov picked up the phone and connected to the headquarters of the 12th Air Force Army. Hearing someone answer the phone, he asked politely: "Hello, I am General Sokov, commander of the 53rd Army. I have something to think about. Discuss with Marshal Hudyakov, can you let him answer the phone?"

Two minutes later, Hudyakov's voice came from the receiver: "Hello, General Sokov, I am Hudyakov! Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Hello, Comrade Air Marshal." Sokov greeted the other party politely, and then said: "I want to organize troops to airborne behind enemy lines. I wonder how many transport planes and gliders you can provide us?"

"What, are you planning to carry out an airborne landing behind enemy lines?" Hudyakov was stunned for a moment after hearing Sokov's words, and then asked: "Is it an order from the front army headquarters?"

"No, Comrade Marshal." Sokov quickly explained: "I just thought of it on the spur of the moment, and I haven't had time to report it to my superiors."

"General Sokov," Hudyakov said to Sokov after figuring out what was going on: "If you want to carry out airdrops in the near future, I can only provide you with a transport plane and a glider to carry one regiment. If you are willing to wait a little longer, In a few days, I will be able to mobilize more transport planes and gliders for you. But before that, I strongly recommend that you report to the Front Army Headquarters, because you may need the cooperation of other units. After the Front Army Headquarters knows your plan , will help you negotiate with friendly forces."

"You are right, Comrade Marshal." Sokov nodded and said, "I will contact the front army headquarters and report our new battle plan to them."

 After Sokov ended the call with Hudyakov, he quickly called the front army headquarters, intending to report his plan to the other party.

The person who answered the phone was Zakharov. After he recognized Sokov's voice, he asked first: "Misha, you are calling at this time. Do you have any good news to tell me?"

"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov said seriously: "I have a new combat plan and am ready to report to you and the commander."

"New combat plan." After hearing what Sokov said, Zakharov suddenly became interested: "Tell me, what is the new combat plan?"

“Chief of Staff of the Front Army, according to the current advancement speed, it will take us at least almost a week to reach the big cities controlled by the Kwantung Army, so I want to change the attack method to reach those big cities faster.”

“Misha, how do you plan to speed up the attack?”

"I plan to send an airborne force to parachute near a large city controlled by the enemy and launch an attack on the city." Sokov said: "It doesn't matter even if they lack heavy weapons and cannot capture the city for the time being. They can build a military base near the city." The starting point of the attack will be coordinated with our army’s offensive from a distance.”

Regarding Sokov's plan, Zakharov was silent for a moment, and then said: "Misha, your combat plan is very bold, and I am very optimistic about it. But I can't agree to you yet. I want to report it to Comrade Commander. , it depends on what he wants."

"Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Seeing that Zakharov did not object, Sokov understood that his plan was half successful. Although Zakharov was only the Chief of Staff, judging from various signs, the Front Army Headquarters Basically, he has the final say in all matters here, and Marshal Malinovsky, who wears the name of commander, is just a decoration. He said into the microphone: "If you make any decision, please inform me as soon as possible. Because I still need to coordinate with the Air Force to see how many aircraft they can provide us with to transport troops."

"Don't worry, Misha." Zakharov replied simply: "I will be able to give you an accurate answer in an hour at most. Just wait patiently."