Chapter Fifty-Four: Fierce Battle in the Far East

  At 11pm, the main force of the Third Army has entered the designated position, and the artillery position of the Third Army has been established. The work of correcting the direction has begun, and shells are being sent to each large cannon. This time, the artillery troops relied on animal power for transportation, with cloth wrapped around the horses' hooves to prevent dust from rising, and their mouths were covered! Camouflage was carried out on the big guns.

  On the 14th at 1 o'clock in the morning, all branch troops had completed their preparations, ammunition and rations had been distributed. The artillery had made its final position adjustments.

  Chen Fei sat upright in the military department. The radios of various branches were all silent, and it had been agreed that as soon as the cannon fire sounded here, it would be the start of action.

  Time ticked away, getting closer and closer to 2 o'clock. Chen Feichen stared at his watch without blinking, Liu Guangda, Chen Mingliang, and Duan Sicheng were all by his side, waiting for the arrival of time.

  Lin Gang, Luo Heng and Liu Ya were also waiting at the headquarters, all waiting for the western front to attack. Lin Gang's courage was rare, appointing a young man as commander-in-chief, which had to be said was a big gamble, and it had to be said how much Lin Gang valued Chen Feichuan! Luo Heng and Liu Ya both sighed in admiration, thinking that this move would either bring numerous victories or end in defeat, what a heaven and earth difference!

  Luo Heng suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence of the command center, saying: "The time has come!"

  Lin Gang's sharp eyes looked at the big clock on the wall.

  The 3rd Army's temporary military department. Chen Fei said calmly: "Order to attack!"

  "Yes!" Chen Mingliang, who was standing by, quickly picked up the phone and said in a deep voice: "Order to open fire!"

  Then he called the First Division, Second Division and Third Division of the attacking troops, saying only: "Attack!"

  Three red signal flares lit up the night sky! It was still quiet here, but in the next second, a burst of tearing whistling sounds piercing through the night sky could be heard.

  The artillery battalion, all 125mm heavy guns, fired one by one, and the shells whizzed towards the enemy's position. The first shell exploded, followed by the second...

  Listening to the explosions coming from the front, feeling the tremors beneath his feet, Hao Er's excitement surged! He felt his blood boiling over! He rode on horseback, behind him a sea of cavalrymen, their faces stern and cold, with only killing intent in their eyes, sharp and piercing! This cavalry unit was Inner Mongolia's only division-level unit, also the most combat-effective cavalry unit. They had all experienced the War of Resistance against Japan, they had all been baptized by the battlefield, they were elite troops! They were the cream of the crop among cavalrymen!

  As soon as he heard that the cannon fire had begun to move, Hawke drew his saber and shouted loudly: "Charge! Advance!"

  "Forward!"

  "Hurrah! Hurrah!" The cavalrymen all shouted with a whistle-like sound, charging towards the Soviet army's position on horseback with swords raised.

  One teacher attacks the position. The old soldiers who experienced the Battle of Manchuria rushed to the front line, their eyes gleaming with bloodthirsty light as they advanced fiercely. They had not forgotten their fallen comrades, nor had they forgotten their duty: their homeland was still lost, and the shame of being a soldier!

  The Third Division, the South Manchurian Independent Division. This unit may be the real outsider, but their blood is boiling, and the killing intent in their eyes is no less than that of the First and Second Divisions! They shout to kill, rushing forward on the charging path with reckless abandon.

  The rumble of the cannons excited Chen Fei very much, and he also wanted to fight alongside his subordinates. After experiencing the Battle of Manzhouli, he had already developed a habit of fighting on the front lines. If he hadn't remained sober, he might have really gone there.

  Chen Mingliang, Liu Guangda and others have started to get busy, they need to keep up with the latest developments on the front line at all times, the phone has started to ring non-stop.

  Chen Feichen stood at the door, gazing up at the stars in the sky. In his heart, he couldn't help but wonder what the outcome of this battle would be. This was a high-stakes gamble, a fight to the death! At this moment, Chen Feichen suddenly felt a pang of regret. If only there didn't have to be this battle, how great that would be! But immediately, he himself overturned this thought, scolding himself for having such childish notions. Hadn't he said "the shame of a soldier" and "the loss of one's homeland"?

  Chen Feichen felt a sense of relief for the first time, commanding thousands of troops to gallop across the battlefield. What a wonderful thing it is! A great man should be like this.

  At 3:00 AM, an hour after the attack began, the Third Army broke through the Outer Mongolian Soviet defense line like a hot knife through butter, defeating the defending army! By the time the battle report was submitted, the Second Division had already advanced twenty miles.

  Hao Er's second division took advantage of the speed of cavalry to repeatedly attack the enemy from behind, making it impossible for the enemy to effectively organize a second line of defense. The enemy was finally powerless to resist, and there were no more enemy troops on the Manzhouli line.

  Manzhouli's Third Army quickly broke through the defense line, shocking the Soviet high-level, and the entire Chita front was shaken. The Third Army will cooperate with the Eastern Field First Army to pincer Chita. The Soviet military urgently ordered troops from Europe to rush to the Chita front as soon as possible to stabilize the situation on the Chita side. As for Outer Mongolia, it is no longer a priority. At this point, the Third Army successfully attracted the attention of the Soviet high-level, prompting them to make strategic adjustments.

  At the same time, the 38th Army, 50th Army and two independent divisions launched a surprise attack on the border opposite at the same time as the Third Army's offensive. At around three o'clock, Shang Zhen led the 38th Army to capture the outer Mongolian stronghold of Qoboson. The rapid advance of the 38th Army was beyond everyone's expectations. The 50th Army advanced along the border line, sweeping away the Soviet-Mongolian army. The troops stationed on the Inner Mongolia border also launched an attack, and the Inner Mongolia border had already become a battlefield with flames of war flying everywhere.

  In the direction of Alxa, Inner Mongolia, two independent divisions formed an assault force to launch a strong attack on the border positions, effectively pinning down the Soviet-Mongolian army and preventing them from sending troops to other battlefields. At the same time, a 300-strong propaganda team composed of Mongolians living in Inner Mongolia infiltrated Outer Mongolia to conduct diplomatic persuasion work.

  The sudden change in the Outer Mongolian battlefield caught the Soviet Union off guard, and the Soviet Union had to mobilize heavy troops from Xinjiang and Ningxia to rush to Outer Mongolia. They could only redeploy nearby troops, as European troops were too far away to provide timely support. As long as they held out until the main force arrived, everything was still uncertain.

  The First Army broke into the city of Chita at 4 o'clock and engaged in fierce battle with the enemy. The Soviet army formed a suicide squad to fight back, but soon the 39th Army also organized a counterattack and recaptured the eastern mouth of Chita by 5 o'clock. At this time, the Battle of Chita had reached its climax.

  The Soviet air force launched a crazy bombing attack on the Communist Party's attacking troops day and night, and a large number of soldiers were sacrificed. The bodies of the PLA soldiers were filled with the Chita charging road. The blood has already become a river!

  The 40th Army launched a main attack on the eastern front, successfully breaking through to the suburbs of Vladivostok at 4:35. Lü concentrated all artillery firepower and ventured to launch an artillery strike to open up a path for the 40th Army. The Soviet Air Force immediately detected the artillery positions and subjected them to intense bombardment, with wave after wave of rockets still pounding the artillery positions.

  The Eastern Front paid a heavy price for the breakthrough in Sevastopol, and the Soviet Pacific Fleet also began shelling, with up to four firepower coverings on the temporary positions of the 40th Army. At 5:54, the 40th Army was forced to abandon its position and retreat, and the Soviet army filled the gap again.

  The fierce battle between the Communist Party of China and the Soviet Union has moved the hearts of people all over the country. In the rich coastal areas, many people have spontaneously donated money, and the National Government has also tacitly approved. Old Chiang secretly said: "This is not a struggle between two parties, this is a national war, it involves China's prestige, Outer Mongolia must be recovered, whether it is the GMD or the CCP, they are all Chinese parties, representing the Chinese people."

  At this time, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was stationed in Japan and the Seventh Fleet had already appeared near Vladivostok, which made the Soviet Pacific Fleet feel threatened. The Soviet government immediately summoned the American ambassador for a stern conversation, demanding an explanation from the United States.

  And America didn't explain anything, but continued to wander on the ocean.

  Daybreak, November 14th, seven o'clock. The fierce battle continued, the Second Division of the Third Army was less than twenty miles away from Chita, and the Soviet army sent reinforcements to block this Communist force. However, the Third Army did not attack Chita in a pincer movement with the First Army Group as imagined by the Soviet General Staff.

  The Third Army's First Division, Third Division, Special Task Force and the main force of the Artillery Regiment feigned a retreat and turned westward, with their military strength directly targeting Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Outer Mongolia. For a time, the Soviet army was caught off guard, despite having concentrated over 50,000 troops in Ulaanbaatar, but those were mainly Outer Mongolian forces, whose combat effectiveness could not be compared to that of the Communist Party of China's main force. If previously they looked down on the Communist Party of China's troops, now the Soviet Union had put the Communist Party of China's army on an equal level with them.

  8 o'clock. Chen Feichen looked at the map, looking at the latest enemy and our situation marked on the map. Chen Feichen was in a good mood, pointing to the map and saying: "Look, what's the situation now? Outer Mongolia has been fully broken through, it's like a naked woman, we can do whatever we want! The 38th Army and the 50th Army fought well, the remaining troops in Inner Mongolia also did very well, the Alxa League troops fought bravely, I will give them credit!"

  Outer Mongolia no longer has a decent defense line now, from the map, the so-called defense line has long been broken through and fragmented! Liu Guangda and Chen Mingliang were both very happy, they also didn't sleep for a night, fighting all night.

  Chen Fei ordered: "Order the Second Division not to fight, immediately return to the team and attack Ulan Bator. Order the First Division, Third Division, Special Operations Battalion, Artillery Brigade and other units to arrive in Ulan Bator tonight."

  Chen Mingliang interjected at this moment: "Too fast, the warriors' physical and mental strength have reached their limits. Our logistics can't keep up, and we'll need to wait until tomorrow morning at the earliest."

  A thousand miles in a sudden advance, it's really an advance! The Third Army is now a sharp knife inserted into the enemy's heart, but if things go wrong, there is also the danger of being surrounded by the enemy. These are all very likely to happen, so time must be seized tightly.

  Chen Feichen felt a sense of regret and sighed: "If we had logistical supplies like the Soviets, that would be great!"

  Isn't this what Chen Mingliang and others have been thinking about? Chen Feichen said with a bit of desolation: "This order is still to be modified by you before it's issued!"

  "Ah, okay!" Chen Mingliang nodded in agreement.