Steel Soviet Union

The scout on a two-wheeled motorcycle rushed back quickly. The way he stepped on the accelerator and raised dust, you don't need to think too much to know that something bad must have happened.

The scout was a combat engineer under Alsim. As soon as he crossed the river and rushed ashore, he rode a motorcycle to conduct reconnaissance and early warning.

Now seeing his soldiers returning, Alsim got up quickly and didn't even bother to put on his shirt. He was still shirtless, holding a cigarette in his mouth and called the soldiers to come and report quickly.

"Tell me, what happened?"

The soldier who got off the motorcycle and ran over didn't care to catch his breath. He raised his hand and pointed to the direction he had just come back and said.

"Japanese devils, a large group of Japanese devils are coming. They are riding tall horses, armored vehicles and small tanks, and their speed is quite fast! If the marching speed remains unchanged, it is estimated that they will be here in less than 20 minutes."

""

Not only Alsim, Sulovichenko, who was resting on the side, also came over after hearing the words.

After hearing the scout's report, Sulovchenko, who thought for a moment, spoke first.

"Are you sure they are attacking instead of retreating or transferring? The Japanese troops are now suffering from saturation attacks at all their garrisons and troop assembly sites. I suspect that some of the Japanese troops that were blown apart are withdrawing to regroup."

Sulovchenko's analysis is not unreasonable. From a probabilistic point of view, the probability of the Japanese troops launching an organized and large-scale counterattack is indeed low. This does not mean that Sulovchenko underestimated the enemy, but it is indeed very important to understand the enemy situation instead of making a fuss.

"They are here to attack, for sure! There is no mistake!"

"These Japanese devils don't look like they have been beaten. They are in high spirits and are singing as they march. They are heading straight towards us. I don't quite understand the meaning of the song. It seems to be about cherry blossoms and hometown. In short, it's just the same old Japanese sutra. It sounds like they just died."

"Puff--"

I couldn't help laughing at the description of the scout soldier. Alsim, who also had a smile on his face, asked again.

"Did you see the enemy's composition clearly? What is the proportion of each type of arms and the total number? An approximate number is fine."

When the company commander asked this question, the thoughtful soldier quickly recalled the details he had seen not long ago, and then answered.

"The enemy's marching column is very long, and only the vanguard can be seen."

"The vanguard consists of a large group of cavalry leading the way, followed by armored vehicles and small tanks, but not many. I estimate that there are only a dozen or twenty vehicles, and there are also accompanying infantry, which is about the same number as the cavalry. They came in trucks, and their marching speed is about the same as horses and tracks."

""

After hearing this, Alsim and Sulovchenko looked at each other, and they both understood the meaning in each other's eyes.

Ordering the scout to return to the original route and report again, looking at the back of the motorcycle speeding away, Alsim knew that this was a sure thing and spoke quietly.

"It seems that the Japanese devils are not stupid. They know to drive us into the river while we are still unstable. I thought that they were just a few people who were bombed so badly, and they had to guard their one acre and three points of land and wait for us to crush them." Sulovichenko, who knew that Alsim was saying this deliberately and half-jokingly, and knew that time was running out, also replied quietly. "Okay, you command here first, I will report to the comrade commander now. There is a floating bridge built, so I will go and come back quickly." "Well, be careful. The floating bridge is narrow, don't get hit by a car into the river, I don't want to go down to rescue you." With Alsim's "enthusiastic advice", Sulovichenko ran to the floating bridge at a brisk pace. He took a ride on a truck of the pontoon bridge unit that had just unloaded construction materials and was about to turn back to the other side to pick up goods again. He got on the ride and drove quickly to the other side of the river. The benefits of building two light floating bridges are obvious. Two-way traffic ensures smooth access of construction materials and the return of unloading vehicles.

It is just unknown how long this smooth construction can continue. Sulovchenko, sitting in the co-pilot seat of the truck, looked at the floating bridge construction site on the river that has been extended to the central area.

It is inevitable to worry whether the floating bridge construction related to the heavy equipment of the leader army crossing the river can proceed smoothly once the anti-beach assault troops of the Japanese devils arrive.

"We must stop the Japanese devils and never let these bastards ruin the good things!"

When Malashenko received Sulovchenko's personal report, Malashenko, who was reading the latest bombing and artillery damage effect report, frowned immediately.

"The planes in the sky and the cannons on the ground have been sounding non-stop since dawn. Where did these devils come from? How dare they gather troops so brazenly and rush to the leader army to seek death?"

The first reaction question was quickly answered on the war zone map.

The political commissar who was analyzing the map with Malashenko saw the problem in just a moment based on the intelligence Sulovchenko brought.

"It should be here, and it can only be here with a high probability. Only the devils coming out of this county town can be reasonable and safely gather troops without being bombarded or bombarded by our artillery and air strikes."

The leader's army was responsible for artillery preparations and air strikes in the direction of attack. Except for a small number of attacks on key command hubs, the attack coordinates were basically not placed in densely populated civilian areas. Even if they knew that the Japanese were using human shields to cover themselves, they Didn't do that.

Malashenko did not want to cause a large number of innocent civilian casualties. The people in this land were miserable enough at being bullied by the Japanese invaders, and they should not be killed by the Red Army's shelling and bombing.

But this gave some large-scale Japanese troops an opportunity to safely assemble troops in county-level garrison areas and set off as a whole.

This also explains why the leader army has more than 500 heavy artillery and rocket launchers, coupled with the indiscriminate bombing by the aviation force that covers the sky, but still a large-scale Japanese army can gather to launch a counterattack.

Comrade Comrade Political Commissar pointed at the map for analysis before he finished speaking, and Malashenko was about to say something.

However, he saw the communications staff officer who was busy not far away suddenly running over with a freshly prepared telegram in his hand.

"Comrade Commander, there is an urgent call from the Front Army Headquarters!"

"read!"

Malashenko, who was busy studying the map, did not choose to see it in person. The communications staff member obeyed the order and immediately picked up the telegram and spoke.

The general idea is that the aerial reconnaissance of the front army headquarters also confirmed that at least one regiment-sized Japs were approaching and were about to come into contact with the beachhead of the leadership army. Marshal Vatutin, who was commanding the overall situation from the rear, asked Malashenko to prepare for the attack. Prepare.

"Oh, a regiment? This Japanese devil looks down on me, Malashenko, so much. How dare a mere regiment ride on my face and die?"

"Maybe it's just the first wave of troops. Considering that the Japanese troops in various surrounding positions and garrison areas are currently unable to protect themselves or get out, this may be the largest rapid reaction force that the enemy can currently assemble."

"And if we don't annihilate them quickly, there is a high probability that more enemies will continue to come in the future. We can't let this happen."

Listening to the analysis of the political commissar, he stared at the map hanging on the wall in front of him.

The fate of this Japanese army unit was decided with a scowl at the corner of his mouth. Without thinking, Malashenko immediately spoke in a deep voice.

"Order the artillery units directly under the corps and division to turn their muzzles and fire towards the designated bombing areas No. 3 and No. 4."

"Contact the front army headquarters and request to send artillery reconnaissance aircraft to the above-mentioned areas to observe and confirm the damage effects. The forward troops that have crossed the river carry communication equipment and move towards the enemy, responsible for ground observation of the damage effects and correcting the artillery coordinates."

"Yes, Comrade Commander."

The communications staff officer responsible for conveying the order took the order and left. Malashenko, who was still standing in front of the map, just sneered.

"I want to see whether the Japanese devils' Tianling Gai is stronger or the mace of my leader's army is stronger. They want the Tianling Gai to fight with the mace. Well, let them do it! Don't blow up these Japanese beasts until they are reduced to ashes. It’s not over yet!”

The treatment Malashenko gave to the invading Japanese army was unqualified.

Excluding the artillery equipment provided to each combat unit at the division level and below, the size of the artillery at the corps and division level alone of the leader's army already accounts for more than half of the total, more than 300 vehicles.

This is also natural. The leader army with 122 heirlooms of various heavy tanks and 130 Red Navy naval guns crawling all over the ground is actually not very lacking in direct heavy firepower accompanied by support.

More than half of the heavy artillery is placed directly under the corps\\division, which can better gather sufficient firepower for artillery bombardment and open attack channels, thereby sending the leader's massive accompanying support direct heavy firepower into the battlefield.

On the other hand, this means that Malashenko mobilized more than 300 132mm Katyusha starting and 203mm ISU-203 uncapped for this short-sighted Japanese army, as well as 310 Millimeter huge Andryusha's full "top supreme package".

Anyway, I have too much ammunition to use up. The artillery preparations that started before dawn have almost blown up all the Japanese garrison areas and troop assembly points. I am worried that the artillery bombardment will have a marginal effect and it will not be better. The target can be exploded.

If you feel sleepy, you will be given pillows. If you have no target to explode, you will be given huge amounts of heads.

You Japanese devils are quite cooperative. To be honest, Malashenko is wondering if he should say "thank you" at some point? Just take a look at this 300 heavy artillery package. Is it enough to make your Japanese devils so happy that you can physically ascend to heaven?

With the order from Comrade Commander, the directly affiliated field artillery units at all levels that set up artillery positions in the JB area immediately took action upon hearing the order.

Because it has long been expected that the unwilling Japanese army will most likely do all the bad work during the stage when the leader army seizes the beach and builds the pontoon bridge.

Therefore, Malashenko personally ordered to set up several scheduled artillery bombardment areas in the riverside area south of the Yangtze River within the range of the artillery.

Once the Japanese anti-beachhead impact force attempts to approach, the leader's long-range field artillery does not need to obtain precise strike coordinates. It only needs to focus fire on the predetermined killing area to cover the artillery fire based on the enemy's incoming direction and general orientation reported by the scouts. .

The advantage is that the reaction speed of artillery fire is definitely fast enough, but the disadvantage is that many shells will be blown up and wasted in this way. And the premise is that to use artillery, there must be enough quantity to produce a qualitative change, and the firepower of the artillery equipment must also be sufficient.

Otherwise, the sparse artillery fire density will not only fail to achieve the desired effect, but will make the enemy laugh at the "pyrotechnics show".

Unfortunately for the Japanese, whether it is the number of artillery or firepower, this is what Malashenko lacks most.

What's even more unfortunate is that Malashenko doesn't even lack ammunition. He is worried that he has too many excess artillery shells saved during the preparations for the battle and has nowhere to shoot.

At this time, the Japanese dared to show off and sing songs happily. Malashenko felt that it would be unreasonable not to give you a harsh attack from the Japanese.

Boom boom boom boom——

Rumble——

On the leader's long-range artillery position, the ISU-203 self-propelled artillery with its giant cannon raised high was roaring.

This steel giant that scared everyone and shocked the West when it first appeared is definitely the most powerful mass-produced self-propelled artillery in the world today.

The roaring 203 artillery shells crossed the Ussuri River in parabolic trajectories, leaped over the beachhead on the other side, and headed straight towards the Japanese army, which was still unaware of the destruction coming.

At the same time, on the other side, in the Japanese marching column, people were sent away all the way.

Major General Morishima Kuronei, who was riding a tall horse, was quite worried. He always felt that there was an ominous premonition lingering in his heart, lingering like a haze, but he couldn't explain the reason.

Morishima Kuronai, who came from a military family since the Taisho era, has absolutely unquestionable background power.

Even within the Kwantung Army where big bosses gather, one can still hold a high position.

The independent mixed 105th Brigade under his command is the only mechanized cavalry unit within the Kwantung Army.

Not only the Tiger tanks were brought back from Germany, but also the Kwantung Army with supporting armor tactics was brought back from Germany. Compared with the status in the existing history, many changes have taken place.

One of them is that the Kwantung Army also began to imitate the Germans and tried to form the kind of armored grenadier division that the German army had in the second half of the war.

Unexpectedly, the level of mechanization of De Lao was already unbearable, and as a result, the level of mechanization of the Japanese was even worse.

If there are no half-track armored personnel carriers, trucks will be used instead. If there are not enough tanks, armored vehicles will be used to make up the number. If there are not enough mechanized combat vehicles, the cavalry will be adapted directly.

The result was the independent mixed 105th Brigade led by Morishima Kuronei. This kind of "four different" troops were said to be mechanized but not mechanized enough, and said to be mules and horses, but a little more advanced.

But there is an advantage. At least the marching speed is increased.

The marching speed of cavalry plus trucks, small tanks, and armored vehicles is finally faster than that of a pure two-legged No. 11 bus.

It was precisely because of his fast marching speed and strong quick reaction ability, plus the fact that he was killed and maimed by the Red Army's artillery fire preparations and air raids before the war started. He only narrowly escaped by stationing himself in the county town and using civilians as shields. One calamity.

Therefore, the Morishima Kuronai Brigade was selected to carry out the anti-beachhead assault mission. The Kwantung Army Headquarters, which expected that the Red Army would seize the time to cross the river, was determined to give it a go.

It would be best if we could drive the Russians down the river. Even if we couldn't drive them down, we would still have to kill them all. At least it can slow down the Russians' build-up and advance, buying time for other Kwantung Army troops to build up and re-establish their defense lines.

I feel that I am undoubtedly lucky that I was not bombed to death in my sleep at the first moment of the war.

But the depressed Morishima Kuronei also felt that it was extremely unfortunate that he was sent to perform such a mission, which was almost tantamount to suicide and was euphemistically called the "vanguard of the entire army."

Not to mention that his own brigade is only half-strength, and the other brigade that went to pick up new equipment and conduct integration training is still in the rear and has no time to rush back to the front line.

Although the Kwantung Army headquarters repeatedly assured that follow-up reinforcements would arrive soon, Morishima Kuronei did not need to achieve much results. He only needed to rush forward to entangle the Russians and wait for the reinforcements to arrive.

With such an elite mechanized unit in hand, Morishima Kuronai should be able to do it in half a day, right? I'll definitely find a way to mobilize reinforcements for you in less than half a day, so don't worry.

Thinking of these guarantees from the Kwantung Army Headquarters, Morishima Kuronei, who always felt that something was wrong, frowned, looked downcast, and felt very unhappy while riding on his beloved BMW.

The riding adjutant accompanying him saw it and took it to heart. He was about to say something comforting, but before he could say anything, he heard the roaring sound from the distant horizon, like the sky collapsing and the earth collapsing, and it was already destroyed.

"Artillery attack! Get down quickly!!!"