Episode 143 The Siege of Vladivostok

"I won't do it when the flowers are blooming! If I do, I'll be scared to death! I'm going to fight the west wind! I'll be covered in golden armor!"

The loudspeaker on the roof of the armored vehicle was playing impassioned military songs. The surrounding Ming army engineers rolled up their sleeves, some were shirtless, and sang loudly while moving sandbags, equipment, erecting pontoons, and building anti-aircraft gun emplacements.

The Ussuri River rushed northward amid the singing.

Hundreds of Soviet prisoners of war were disgraced and dejected. They were all doing hard work under the surveillance of machine guns: digging earth, transporting soil, carrying wood... It was originally said that the Soviet prisoners of war would be taken back to the country for detention immediately, but as soon as they arrived,

I didn't expect to catch so many. Secondly,

These prisoners of war were more obedient than expected. So several engineer battalion commanders made the decision to detain some prisoners of war and use them as strong laborers first. There is no need to waste so many people. At least the progress of the pontoon bridge and fortifications is now better than expected.

much faster.

On the other side of the river, another type of prisoners of war gathered in an open space. These prisoners of war were also squatting on the ground in large groups, with a temporary barbed wire fence around them and guarded by machine guns. These people were all Soviet officers and political commissars.

.The Ming army implemented the concept of "separation of officers and soldiers"

The method of detention, especially political commissars, must be specially selected and held specially to prevent them from inciting prisoners of war to riot. At this time, Soviet political commissars generally had relatively firm beliefs, whether they were loyal to Stalin or to the Bolsheviks.

More loyal people.

Before the pontoon bridge was erected, Ming army soldiers and heavy equipment were still crossing the river on various ships. Now they can only transport as many light tanks, cars, and light artillery as possible, and more fire support must rely on aircraft. However,

Fortunately, during the attack, most of the Soviet Far East Army's aircraft were blown up on the runway. A few of the aircraft that took off were also shot down by the superior Ming army aircraft. Now in the Far East, the Ming army

As expected, he gained control of the air.

This is very important. It can be said that only by mastering the air superiority can the next attack continue. Only by breaking through can encirclement be possible.

Vladivostok. The sky here has become a curtain of blood and fire.

Hundreds of Vulture dive bombers, screaming fiercely, swooped down one after another, dropping bombs like raindrops. The Vladivostok Fortress below was like a boiling pot, with smoke billowing and fire blazing. But even so, the dense tongues of fire were still there.

Spraying from the ground to the sky, large black clouds continued to explode in the sky. From time to time, a bomber would drag black smoke and fall down.

As the largest port in the Far East of the Soviet Union, Vladivostok has now become the top priority on the Far East battlefield and is the goal that the Ming army is determined to win. At the same time, in the "Eastern Army Group South Offensive" in the north, the armored army is advancing towards Vladivostok from the ground.

However, the defense here can be said to be the strongest in the entire Far East Army. Every step forward by the Ming army, they faced the strongest resistance.

South of Xingkai Lake, there are mountains on both sides, and only the middle dozens of kilometers are intermittent and sometimes narrow plains. The fortifications in Vladivostok were built on the mountains, overlooking the plains in the middle, and the artillery fire was intensive, causing losses to the Ming army.

huge.

In the sky, Ming army dive bombers also swooped down like a swarm of wasps, trying to drop incendiary bombs on the fortifications. However, because it was a mountainous area, it was difficult for the bombs in the air to be effective. It was not a plain area, and the bombs exploded.

Regardless of whether it is a direct hit, at least

It is on the same plane as the target. At least the shock wave can knock over many small fortifications. But now it is a slope, and the bomb will either explode above the target or below the target. Some bombs will not explode at all and will directly explode when they hit the ground.

Sliding down the steep slope.

At this time, the effect of incendiary bombs is still greater. Now in the mountains and forests north of Vladivostok, there are large tracts of mountain fires, filled with black smoke. This is the time when the climate is the most humid, and the mountain fires are also directly ignited by incendiary bombs.

It will not spread over a large area. Otherwise, this mountain fire can burn all the way to Changbai Mountain.

At this time, the headquarters in Nanjing was also as busy as a hive. Phones were ringing one after another, officers were running back and forth, and the public address system was constantly broadcasting the latest progress of each unit. On the large map board in the central command hall, the

A "close-up" of a large part of Northeast Asia. Several female officers climbed on the scaffolding, used long poles to continuously put them up, and took down various small marks. The war situation in Northeast Asia was clear at a glance.

"As expected," Tang Yunsheng looked at the map, nodded, and said with satisfaction, "After the attack started, the fastest advance was the southern route of the Eastern Army Group. In just one morning, they had advanced as far as Dubki

.Already close to fifty kilometers."

Xiang Xiaoqiang next to him smiled and said:

"Of course, south of Xingkai Lake, there are all land borders. There are also many plains, which are definitely the most suitable for armored forces to advance."

Tang Yunsheng also nodded, smiled, and looked at the map. After a while, he said:

"It's pretty good... Vladivostok is harder to chew than expected..."

Xiang Xiaoqiang was startled and said with a smile:

"No way, it's only been a morning. We have to do it in units of 'months' when we fight Vladivostok."

Tang Yunsheng shook his head and smiled bitterly:

"No...I mean, the defense strength of the Vladivostok Fortress and the tenacity of the resistance are beyond our expectations. I'm afraid...it's not just a matter of time. I'm afraid we have to be mentally prepared in terms of the number of casualties.

"

Xiang Xiaoqiang thought for a moment and said:

"Mr. Tang, why don't you just follow the method I told you?"

Tang Yunsheng turned his head and looked at him:

"Are you saying that the main focus is siege?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded:

"Yes. Mr. Tang, in the military meeting before the attack, I have always advocated that we should not be too lucky with Vladivostok and should be prepared for a long-term siege... Firstly, there will be too many casualties in a hard attack. Secondly, we don't need to do that.

Get it as soon as possible. The greatest value of Vladivostok is that it is a large port. Once we capture Vladivostok, we can transport a large amount of supplies from the sea directly into Russia."

"Yes..." Tang Yunsheng sighed, "Vladivostok is still the last stop of the Trans-Siberian Railway. When goods are transported to Vladivostok, they can be directly loaded onto the train and transported all the way to the north along our offensive route... We are attacking the Soviet Union.

The offensive route must be along the Trans-Siberian Railway, and after occupying Vladivostok, wherever we attack, the logistics can be guaranteed, and there is no need to switch from the Manchurian railway network to the Soviet Far East railway network..."

After saying this, Tang Yunsheng sighed even more, wishing he could take down Vladivostok tomorrow.

Xiang Xiaoqiang also sighed:

"But Mr. Tang, didn't we also say at the meeting that the use of Vladivostok Port should at least wait until Japan can be overpowered at sea... Vladivostok is a port in the Sea of ​​Japan. Now let alone the Sea of ​​Japan, even the control of the East China Sea still exists.

It's not in our hands. So, in my opinion, since we won't be able to use Shanghai Shenwei Port for a while, why rush to capture it? Wouldn't it be better to besiege it?

.We can besiege Vladivostok while vigorously promoting submarine warfare at sea to besiege Japan... As long as we have more and more submarines at sea, little Japan will not be able to survive one day... There is no oil and no steel in the country.

Without food, let alone control of the sea, even if he still has an invincible fleet at sea with 10,000 battleships, it will be useless! Sooner or later he will have to kneel down and sue for peace."

Tang Yunsheng pondered for a while and asked:

"Yes, what you said makes sense. However, Vladivostok is a port fortress. Whether it is a siege or a storm involves not only army issues, but also naval issues. I support you, go talk to Chief of Staff Xiong and have a lunch meeting at noon.

, let’s discuss this issue. If

To besiege Vladivostok, a large number of submarines must be mobilized into the Sea of ​​Japan. The sea transportation lines between Vladivostok and Japan and North Korea must be cut off. Otherwise, with Japan as an ally supporting it from the sea, we will not be able to siege it for a year or two.

It may not be possible to get it.”

Xiang Xiaoqiang felt a shiver in his heart and nodded:

"yes."

He had never thought about this problem before. Vladivostok is a seaport and is close to Japan, so it is really necessary to mobilize submarines and cut off the sea transportation lines. Otherwise, it will be annoying if it really lasts for a year and a half.
Chapter completed!