After the bombers dropped their bombs and left calmly, sporadic anti-aircraft gunfire sounded in Selenginsk. But at this time, they could only hit the air left behind.
In Irkutsk, which is more than 700 kilometers away from the small town of Selenginsk, Zhukov was already asleep at this time, but the stubborn phone call still woke him up.
"Hello, I'm Zhukov, what can I do?"
"What, Selenginsk was bombed and soldiers and civilians suffered heavy casualties. Immediately notify everyone to come to the headquarters for a meeting."
It was already four o'clock in the morning, and the lights were still brightly lit in the Eastward Group headquarters in Irkutsk. The military meeting in the headquarters had been going on for nearly an hour and there was no sign of it ending.
"Comrades, Selenginsk was bombed and nearly half of our three divisions stationed in the small town were lost. The residents there also suffered heavy casualties. Only the 13th Tank Brigade survived because it was stationed outside the city. According to
According to the latest news just passed there, the Chinese air raid caused a total of more than 50,000 casualties to our military and civilians. Among them, more than 20,000 military casualties, one division has lost its combat effectiveness and needs to rest in the rear. "
After listening to the briefing by Admiral Plaryuvich, the political commissar of the Eastward Group, everyone in the headquarters looked gloomy. This was the first time since the establishment of the Soviet Union that an enemy country had bombed its own cities on a large scale.
The two sides had suffered heavy casualties. And now a division had been destroyed by bombing before the two sides officially started fighting. Everyone's faces felt burning. The Chahar army on the opposite side was slapping them in the face.
.
The atmosphere in the headquarters was very dull, with nearly a hundred army and division commanders sitting in silence at their desks.
"This is a shame for our great Soviet army. We must take revenge." A voice full of anger rang out. Everyone took a closer look and found out that it was Lieutenant General Vusievich, the commander of the 45th Army.
: "We can't take this loss in vain, we have to teach them a lesson."
"Comrade Wusjevich, please tell me how to teach them a lesson," Zhukov asked next to him.
"We can also send out bombers to bomb their camps and cities to let them know our determination."
"Comrade Vusejevich, according to intelligence, the brutal Chahar army used a large long-range bomber last night, but our air force currently does not have a similar long-range bomber that can fly to China, so we
There is no way to retaliate against them."
The speaker was Major General Glic, commander of the 23rd Air Force Division, and he was also the oldest among the air force generals.
Major General Glic's mood was bitter as he spoke. At present, domestic aircraft, whether fighter jets or bombers, have lagged far behind the country that once represented backwardness and ignorance in their eyes.
"We will report the situation to Moscow first and ask them to hurry up and urge the research department to develop a new type of fighter jet." At this time, Zhukov, who was sitting at the front and presiding over the meeting, spoke: "Also, Comrade Zosliv, you will take your
The air defense brigade rushed to Selenginsk, and the tragedy of Selenginsk must not be allowed to happen again."
"Yes, Comrade Zhukov"
"Comrade Liaojinsky, the two air defense brigades under your command must also do a good job in Irkutsk's air defense, do you understand?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander."
"Comrade Vusyevich, you immediately lead your 45th Army to Selenginsk and take over the city defense there. If the railway fails, you can take a car or even walk. Nothing will happen there again.
do you understand"
"Yes, Comrade Zhukov."
After giving instructions one by one, Zhukov felt tired as never before. The air force of the squadron [] on the opposite side put too much pressure on him. Now hundreds of thousands of troops who arrived early are crowded near Irkutsk.
, but the railway leading to Selenginsk is often bombed, and our troops can only squeeze through it bit by bit like squeezing toothpaste. As a result, the advantageous forces cannot be used, which is really depressing. Look.
Now that the new aircraft haven't arrived, what we need is more anti-aircraft guns.
At the same time, there was a lot of joy at the Ulan-Ude airport. The bombing last night went extremely smoothly, and all the planes returned smoothly. This also made Commander Su, who had been hanging his heart in his throat, finally let go.
After all, it is not easy to train a pilot nowadays. It can be said that they are all built with time and gold.
Also giving a secret sigh of relief was our newly appointed Deputy Chief of Staff Bai Chongxi. This is the first plan he has planned since taking office. If it fails, it will be a big blow to his prestige. After all, he is not full of disciples.
Jiang Baili.
"Okay, I can finally have a peaceful sleep." Looking at the cheering pilots and ground crew below, Su Tong, who was standing on the control tower, took a long breath, stretched out, and said to Bai Chongxi standing next to him with a smile.
.
"It seems that none of us have reached the point where the mountain is about to collapse." Bai Chongxi said with a self-deprecating smile, then shook his head and said: "I still can't sleep, and now I have to rush back to the Chita Staff Office to make plans and
Arrange air defense work, otherwise if the old man follows the same pattern and does this to us, it will be a big joke." After saying that, he turned around and got into the jeep behind him, which made our Chief Su sigh with emotion, his own
This chief of staff is both capable and hard-working. Where can I find such a good labor force? Well, yes, I have to rush back to Chita. There is still a lot of work waiting for me.
The closest to Chita in the east is a small town called Atamanovka. For various reasons, the Thirty-seventh Army did not occupy it, so it has become a frontier of the Far East Military Region's troops stationed in this area.
Base. Since most of the main forces of the Far East Military Region have been wiped out, there are only less than one battalion of more than 300 troops here.
Originally, the residents and soldiers here were worried that the Chinese army would attack, but after the Chinese army captured Chita, they have been fighting Marshal Timoshenko's army in the west. The last time they heard about Marshal Timoshenko's surrender was on the radio
The residents of the town were panicked for a while. Only after they heard that General Zhukov and his troops were again confronting these hateful invaders in the west did the residents and the army feel at ease.
This morning, the small town of Atamanovka was still quiet. This small town of only 2,000 people had a very lazy schedule, and often did not get up until three o'clock in the morning. The lazy atmosphere also infected the defenders here.
It's the same today. It's already 8 a.m. at the outpost set up three miles away from the town, and a dozen soldiers are still sleeping soundly under the covers.
After a while, a soldier who drank too much water last night and whose bladder was so full that he couldn't bear it, yawned and squinted his eyes and walked to a big tree to relieve himself. Suddenly he seemed to hear the sound of a truck approaching. The soldier
He shook his head and muttered: "What happened? Today is only Thursday. It seems that the day for changing defense has not arrived yet."
After a while, the soldier who had put on his trousers had just taken two steps when he suddenly turned around. All the sleepiness in his eyes disappeared, and there was a look of panic in his eyes. Now he heard clearly that the sound of the truck was coming from the west.
"No, the Chinese are coming." The soldier trembled and ran back, shouting loudly as he ran: "Comrade Corporal, everyone, get up quickly, the Chinese are coming."
At this time, a bearded corporal lazily walked out of the guard post and said impatiently: "Arkady, you damn Ukrainian idiot, what are you shouting and why are you not letting people sleep?"
"No, it's not Comrade Corporal." Arkady felt that his tongue had been tied up and he couldn't speak clearly. "It's the sound of a truck. I heard the sound of a truck, coming from the west."
"What's so strange about a truck? Have you never seen a truck?" the corporal said dissatisfiedly, but suddenly his expression froze. "What, the voice came from the west." "Yes, comrade corporal." Arkady was anxious.
nodded.
"Quick, wake up everyone, damn you stupid pigs, get up quickly, the Chinese are coming." The corporal rushed into the post and kicked and punched all the people.
Five minutes later, everyone in the post came to a trench in front of the post with their weapons on their backs.
At this time, you can already see a convoy coming from the west. Oh, this is a convoy of at least hundreds of trucks. Inside the trucks are densely packed soldiers. At the head are three tanks with semicircular turrets.
On the upper side is the Chinese flag of the Blue Sky and White Sun, and on the other side is a ferocious tiger's head on a white background. The muzzle of the tank is faintly pointed at the trench.
"Comrade Corporal, they have discovered us. What should we do? Do we want to stop their advance?" Arkady stammered as he asked the supreme commander here.
The corporal looked at the long motorcade in front of him, and couldn't help but shudder when he thought about the consequences of shooting. He turned around and looked at the soldiers around him, and found that they were all staring at him with expectant eyes.
The corporal let out a long sigh, looked around at his dozen young soldiers and asked: "Now that the Chinese have discovered us, everyone is telling me, if we resist, can we stop them?"
All the soldiers were silent. No one was a fool. There were at least one regiment of Chinese soldiers in front of them. With so many Chinese soldiers, every spitting would drown them. Block them. What a joke.
The corporal was silent for a while and said: "In my hometown, my young wife is still waiting for me to go back. I don't want to die here. I would rather go to their country to build railways, so I don't want to shoot and resist. Who else is there?
Any different opinions?”
After waiting for a long time and seeing that no one objected, the corporal forced a smile on his face and nodded, "Since no one objects, then everyone should listen to me. Comrades, who of you is wearing a white shirt?"
So in the observation mirror of the leading tank commander, a wooden pole rose up not far ahead, and a white shirt on it was so dazzling in the sun.