9.38

However, it is a pity that Lieutenant General Odaka, commander of the 19th Division sent by the DPRK to the Janggufeng front, has always been known for being "active and courageous," and he simply ignored the DPRK Command's insistence on not expanding the situation. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

After nightfall, the 19th Division under the command of Lieutenant General Otaka Kamizo, under the cover of heavy artillery fire, launched a wave of attacks on the Zhanggufeng Heights guarded by the Soviet army! The originally vast and silent night in Saibei was turned into a noisy battlefield by the rumbling of guns and shouts of killing. The Soviet Far Eastern Army, which was at an extreme disadvantage, was completely powerless in the face of the Japanese "Bantam Tigers" that were pouring up like a tidal wave. In the end, the whole battle lasted less than an hour before the Soviet army was defeated, and Zhang Gufeng's line fell into the hands of the Japanese and Korean fronts.

When the news spread, Moscow, Wuhan, and Tokyo were shocked! The United States, on the other side of the ocean, and Britain, France, Germany, and Italy in Europe, also expressed strong surprise! On this summer night at the end of July 1938, it seemed that all the great powers of the world were looking at the Far East with a cheerful mood, at the two small peaks at the junction of China and the Soviet Union, which were only two or three hundred meters high.

Zhanggu Peak and Shacao Peak, these two place names suddenly became hot!

The onlookers who watched this war all had completely different positions and mentalities. Among them, Britain and France hope that this war in the Far East can burn more fiercely! They needed Japan to help them direct Germany's gaze to the USSR to the east!

In Europe today, the Nazi Iron Cross flag has fluttered over Austria, and the Czech Republic is also a little overwhelmed by the heavy German army, and can only pant heavily. Although many weak families in Europe already felt that they had the same fate as the Czechs, they were forced by the force of the German army, and they dared not speak out. Even the traditional military powers of Europe, such as Britain and France, were also frightened by the evil spirit exuded by Nazi Germany, and could only intensify their appeasement policy and use the method of "drinking water to quench their thirst" by selling the interests of small countries in exchange for a short period of peace, but the war now taking place in the Far East has given them a better choice!

That is to lead the water to the east and let the Soviet Union bear the shells of the Germans! So that they themselves can escape from the crisis of the European war!

Once upon a time, wasn't Napoleon also so majestic that the whole of Europe shuddered? But the French emperor was finally defeated in the ice and snow of Russia!

If the Germans and the Soviet Union fought together until they were both defeated, it would have been a better result! Or if one of the two countries falls, Britain and France are perfectly acceptable! Therefore, they were afraid that the battle of Zhang Gufeng would not be fierce enough, the Japanese would not be painful enough to fight the Soviets, and the blood on both sides would not be enough!

And Germany and Italy, as allies of Japan, were naturally on the side of applauding Japan's actions to go to war with the USSR! When Hitler saw the courage of Emperor Hirohito, Germany's attitude towards the Wuhan government made another 180-degree turn!

Just like Huang Haoran said to Jiang Baili in the telegram: "No matter how good the rhetoric is, it is not as convincing as blood and bullets!" "The Japanese finally proved their sincerity to the German government with guns in the Far East!

The guns of Zhang Gufeng just rang out here, and Huang Haoran's worries about Jiang Baili soon became a reality, and Jiang Baili in Berlin received an expulsion order from the German government! Fortunately, due to the "Shanghai-Japan-France crisis" that occurred not long ago, the French government decided to open the door to the Wuhan government's delegation to Europe, and Paris accepted Jiang Baili and his party, who had been driven out of Berlin by the Germans. Otherwise, this delegation of the Wuhan government visiting Europe may really be trapped in Europe and become refugees!

Compared with the clear-cut positions of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, the attitude of the United States on the other side of the ocean is much more ambiguous! In Washington's view, the appetite of the Japanese was really amazing, and this island country, which was no larger than any of China's medium-sized provinces, not only opened its mouth to the China around it, but also threw another blow at the Soviet Union to the north. It's really a taboo for soldiers!

Japan waved its war sword at two great powers at the same time. In the country, only one Guards Division, mainly composed of new recruits, was left to defend the mainland. It's adventurous! It also makes Washington feel incomprehensible! But the Japanese, who boast the blessing of Amaterasu, really did just that! This small country seems to have no idea what danger is, and he has joined forces with Nazi Germany in Europe and Italy in the Balkans to stir up the whole world in turmoil!

Looking back now, Washington began to think that there was some truth to Stilwell's telegram from Wuhan! The Japanese are crazy! Sooner or later, the Pacific will do it!

Therefore, after seeing that Japan provoked a war in the Far East, the Americans' mood was very conflicted, they pinned their hopes on Japan to abandon the Pacific Ocean because of the attack on the Soviet Union, and hoped that the Soviet Union would teach these "Japanese monkeys" a lesson in the Far East! This ambivalence also illustrates Washington's attitude, although the United States is aware of the threat from Japan, it still has a trace of luck!

It seems that only the tragedy of Pearl Harbor can make Washington completely see the face of the Japanese!

China, as a direct victim of Japan, naturally could not stand idly by and watch the war that took place in the Far East. When the highest authorities in Wuhan learned of the news of Japan's attack on Soviet troops in the Far East, they immediately telephoned Soviet Ambassador Bogomolov to verify the authenticity of the news.

When Soviet Ambassador Bogomolov confirmed in an angry tone on the phone that the Soviet Far Eastern troops had been attacked by Japan, the joy in the hearts of the highest authorities finally hung on his face without concealment!

That's great! The situation is finally about to change!

Of course, the highest authorities will not miss this opportunity that could change the fate of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. In mid-July, when the Soviet Union and Japan were still fighting a war of words in the Far East, the highest authorities instructed Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui to call Moscow and say that China would firmly stand on the side of the Soviet Union! In addition to putting a high hat on Stalin, this telegram also claimed that the 40,000,000 Chinese under the leadership of the supreme authorities would work together with their Soviet comrades-in-arms to fight back against the Japanese.

During the warlord melee in China, the supreme authorities' tactic of "long-distance friendship and close attack" had been tried and tested many times, and now the supreme authorities have used this hand against Stalin. The highest authorities just wanted to muddy the water first, and then tie the Soviet troops under Stalin to the chariot of the war against Japan!

It was as if the supreme authorities had seen the Japanese troops in yellow uniforms and the Soviet troops in fur hats and boots fighting in the vast expanse of Siberia, and groups of Japanese troops were constantly withdrawing from the Chinese battlefield, from the land and sea to the north and east, into the Korean Peninsula, into Mongolia, and into the Soviet Union. And he drove the Wuhan government's million-strong army, along the path of defeat, to East China, to North China, to recover Nanjing, Shanghai, Beiping, Tianjin and the three eastern provinces! The whole of China is back under the Nanking government, or rather into the hands of his supreme authorities!

If all this can come true, then the image of the highest authorities will definitely be even more glorious than the high-profile announcement of the War of Resistance a year ago! A unified China! A unified army! What a sight it would be! The highest authorities are simply a little drunk!

Now the highest authorities are waiting to see how Moscow will react to the provocations of the Japanese!

Moscow, the Kremlin, when Stalin heard the news of the move of the Japanese and Korean Front against the Soviet troops in the Far East, he couldn't help but lose his mind for a moment!

Crazy Japanese! Damn yellow-skinned monkeys! I really did it! What is this going to do in Tokyo? And the USSR in full war!?

Thanks to the excellent work of the Soviet secrecy services, this sudden war in the Far East did not break the tranquility of the summer night in Moscow, except for Stalin and the high-ranking generals of the Soviet army, no one else knew that the Japanese team of the Soviet Union showed the murder weapon! Coupled with the purge that lasted for a long time, the voices of disobedience to Stalin have basically been completely eliminated, which gives Stalin a lot more room to operate!

In fact, ever since the German army gathered on the Czech border, Stalin had already smelled the smell of war. Under the command of Moscow, the USSR began a series of preparatory actions!

At present, many factories in the Soviet Union have stopped producing civilian products and are instead engaged in the manufacture of aircraft, chariots, and guns. Internationally, in order to avoid the Soviet Union being attacked from both sides by Japan and Germany, Stalin provided a large amount of military aid to the Chinese government in Wuhan! But even so, the Japanese gave the USSR a knife in the Far East!

Stalin was now disappointed in the work of the Soviet ambassador to China, Bogomolov! Bogomolov sold a large number of ordnance produced by the Soviet arsenal to the Chinese at a very low price, but it failed to influence the decision-making level of the Wuhan government! If the Chinese army continues to fight the Japanese army to the death in Central China, how can Japan dare to attack the Soviet Union?

It seems that it is time to recall Bogomolov to the country and hand it over to the political work department for a good investigation!

In the large office, only a lamp was lit, the light shone on Stalin, and then a huge shadow was drawn on the wall. Stalin held his large pipe, which barely left his hand, and paced up and down the room with concern, thinking. Although he was not surprised that Japan provoked a military conflict, he was still a little surprised by the scale of this conflict and the timing when the Japanese chose to launch it! Japan is taking such an irrational and incomprehensible action at this time. What is the purpose of this?

Stalin felt as if his mind was stuffed with a mess that could not be torn out and cut. In recent months, the deteriorating situation in Europe and the anti-rebellion campaign in the Soviet Union have made Stalin like a machine that runs around the clock, very tired!

Stalin, in order to make his will unconditionally fulfilled, personally directed this campaign of rebellion. The wheels of history are rolling over piles of white bones, moving forward quickly! In less than a year, 35,000 officers were executed within the Soviet Army alone, including Marshal Lyukhachevsky, Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, a prominent Soviet military strategist who feared Hitler, and two other marshals of the five Soviet marshals. For a time, everyone inside and outside the army was in danger, and they were worried that one day a catastrophe would suddenly befall them.

It is even more regrettable that Stalin has always been strong-willed, and it can even be said that he is stubborn and terrible! The path he recognizes must be followed. Stalin never cared what others said, and he never regretted what he did!

What Stalin needed first of all was the "purity" of the ranks, the stability of the country, and secondly, the strength of the army. The Japanese now broke in no sooner or later, somewhat disrupting Stalin's plans, which made Stalin both a little uneasy and full of resentment towards the Japanese!

Ten days earlier, the Soviet intelligence officer "Ramza" who was lurking in Tokyo had sent a message saying that Japan had no intention of fighting the Soviet Union. Now it seems that this information is clearly wrong! What kind of card is Tokyo playing? This puzzled Stalin! In terms of strength, the USSR was not afraid of Japan! But now the threat from the European continent forced Stalin to think carefully about his strategy towards Japan. As a brilliant strategist, Stalin could not accept a situation in which the Soviet Union and Japan were exhausted, and the mighty Germany suddenly came from behind, leading to the total collapse of the Soviet Union.

At this time, the door to Stalin's office was gently opened, and Marshal Voroshilov, the commissar of the USSR State Defense, walked in softly and stood respectfully aside. But Stalin, as if he had not seen Marshal Voroshilov, was still there thinking about his thoughts.

Stalin's vigilance against the Japanese was not a matter of a day or two. Japan conquered the Korean Peninsula and established the puppet state of Manchukuo in northeastern China, and the Soviet-Japanese border was not so peaceful ever since. Since 1936, the Japanese army has repeatedly provoked conflicts on the border, forcing Stalin to strengthen national defense and overhaul fortifications at the border. Gritting his teeth, he took out a limited number of rubles, formed and enriched the Far Eastern Front and the Pacific Fleet, and signed a military alliance with Mongolia. But all this was only a stopgap measure, and Stalin did not want to really start a fight with the Japanese.

While the situation in Europe was deteriorating and spreading as if out of control, Stalin's mind was becoming clearer. In Stalin's eyes, no matter how arrogant the Japanese were, after all, they were far less threatening than Germany, and only Germany led by Hitler was the worst enemy of the Soviet Union!

Stalin wanted to avoid the war, but the Japanese did not let him go! The forces of the Japanese Army's Young Zhuang faction in Tokyo were expanding day by day, and the "theory of northward advance" was becoming more and more rampant in Tokyo, and the idea of launching a trial and control attack on the Soviet Red Army in the Far East became more and more urgent day by day. The defection of political general Ryushikov was like a fuse, igniting the crazy desire of the Japanese army's "northward marching faction".

Stalin was finally pushed into a difficult choice. He was not sure what the Japanese were really intending to do. If the Soviet Union and Japan were to cause a large-scale war, the Soviet Union would certainly defend the country with its blood and lives, but the bloody Soviet Union would inevitably attract the attention of Nazi Germany, and this effect would be exactly what Britain and France, which played the trick of appeasement, wanted to see! Stalin felt as if he had been pushed up a steep rock, and the slightest mishandling could have disastrous consequences.

Stalin slowly paced back to the table, picked up a pinch of tobacco and shoved it into his pipe unhurriedly. The ghostly light from the lamp on the table shone on his angular face, light and dark, and his face was cold. He glanced at Marshal Voroshilov, and then opened his mouth: "Comrade Voroshilov, what is the situation at the front?" ”

"Comrade Stalin, the enemy army has again occupied Shacao Peak today. The front-line commander reported that the enemy, having taken control of the two peaks, fully switched to the defensive and did not seem to show signs of continuing the offensive. ”

"Where are our follow-up troops? How long does it take to get to the front? ”

"Reserves are being transferred to the front. It takes about 2 days for an armored division and at least 3 to 4 days for an infantry division. If nothing happens along the way. ”

Stalin nodded slightly, and suddenly, he stopped, turned to the marshal and asked: "What do you think the purpose of the Japanese in provoking this conflict?" Will there be a disagreement between Tokyo and the soldiers at the front on this matter? ”

Stalin's two sharp eyes were like two swords, and Voroshilov was a little at a loss for a moment. In peacetime, Stalin seldom asked the marshals and generals of the State Defense Committee to give their opinions alone. This made him extremely unaccustomed to today's scenes. Marshal Voroshilov knew that he could not open his mouth, so he swallowed his saliva, looked at Stalin, and replied in a coarse manner: "I think that it may have something to do with the time of defection." The Japanese army stationed in the Far East had more than 10 divisions and regiments, and its strength was concentrated. However, the defense area of our Far Eastern Military District is too large, and the troops are scattered. Perhaps the Japanese, at the behest of Tokyo, are trying to exploit us. ”

"So do you think the Japanese want a large-scale war with us?" Stalin continued to ask.

"Judging by the current strength of the enemy, it seems unlikely that there will be a major upgrade. However, the Japanese often had some unconventional tactics on the battlefield. For example, the Manchurian incident in China. The Japanese army did not have many troops, but the battle was getting bigger and bigger. ”

"Hmm". Stalin nodded lightly and said: "Comrade Voroshilov, we must also recognize the complexity of this conflict. We do not know exactly what Tokyo's intentions are in this military action, but I always have the feeling that the future development of the situation may depend on our attitude today. At the moment, we cannot send too many troops to the Far East, and we must try to bring this incident under control. ”

Finally, Stalin took his pipe from his mouth and commanded with a solemn expression: "Now go back and hurry up the counterattack." Tell the front-line commander that he must exert all his strength to deal a head-on blow to the invading enemy. Tranquility in the Far East can be guaranteed only if the enemy is taught a military lesson. In addition, the General Staff had to prepare for the outbreak of a large-scale war in the Far East. With the current situation so volatile, what can't happen? (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )