Contrary to everyone's expectations, after the exhaustion of the second half of 1932 and the whole of 1933, the Soviet Empire, which had clamoured for the liberation of all mankind, seemed to have reached the point of exhaustion. In the face of two large-scale offensives launched by the Chinese Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front in the northwestern Central Asian theater and the Far Eastern Baikal theater, the resistance of the Soviet Red Army was unbelievably weak.

The fortress of Oloviyannaya, which had blocked millions of Chinese troops in 1933, fell on the day the Chinese army's general offensive was launched; Immediately after that, Chita, the capital of the Far Eastern Republic and the seat of the General Headquarters of the Far Eastern Front, was abandoned; To the east of Chita, the defense line on the Amur River, which the Soviet Union had painstakingly managed for ten years, was also like a thin layer of paper, which was pierced by millions of Chinese attacking troops. In Central Asia, the Chinese army also seems to have broken into a no-man's land, the main force of the Soviet army deployed in East Kazakhstan is nowhere to be seen, and it does not dare to confront the attacking Chinese armored group, in the Kyrgyz Mountains of the southern front, the resistance of the Soviet Tianshan Front is also a little perfunctory, the Chu River defense line and the Talas River defense line are quickly lost under the onslaught of the Chinese army, and Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, is also encircled by the squadron at the end of March. For a time, the newspapers of the entire capitalist world made optimistic predictions: the Soviet Union was at the end of its power, and peace would come in 1935.

However, the people who are at the forefront of the battlefield are not as optimistic as the reporters in the rear, because with the rapid advance of the battlefield into the hinterland of the Soviet Union, all kinds of unexpected or unexpected difficulties are coming to them.

April 1. On the muddy road from Chita to Lake Baikal, a convoy of transports with no end in sight braved the bitter cold of early spring, mixed with snow and rain. Waddling on a dirt road that has just begun to thaw. The convoy consisted not of powerful trucks, but of up to a thousand carts pulled by dwarf Mongolian horses.

For China, this world war came a little earlier. Although China's development has been rapid in the past ten years, it has almost created a miracle of industrialization. But no matter how miraculous it is, the foundation of poverty and backwardness is still there, although in some areas it is relatively rapid because of the government's seedling promotion, which looks quite like that. But the foundation is still thin after all. The same is true of the seemingly powerful Chinese National Defense Force, which is now very strong, and behind the surface of its strength, there are many weakness that may well be fatal.

The results of more than a decade of industrialization have only been able to put tracks or wheels on a small number of armored divisions, armored cavalry divisions, and armored grenadier divisions. Infantry, cavalry and reserve divisions, which make up the vast majority of the Wehrmacht's land force, are now only able to follow in the footsteps of the armoured forces on two or four legs. When it comes to the logistics of the Wehrmacht, without the railroad steamers, there are probably only horse-drawn carriages and ox carts left. As for the trucks, there are a few of them in the direct logistics units of the armored forces and the motorized troops. Elsewhere it's really as rare as giant pandas. Lieutenant Zhang Ziqiang, who served as a company commander in the Manzhouli Military Station Garrison Guard Corps under the Joint Logistics Command of the Northern Theater Theater. I don't remember when the Manchurian military station was equipped with such a rare thing as a truck, and even if there were a few of them, they would not be willing to send them to the dangerous territory of the Far Eastern Republic, right?

Captain Zhang Dada, riding a maroon red Mongolian horse, walked at the end of the baggage convoy, looking around with vigilant eyes, pulling the reins in his left hand and holding a loaded Type 38 cavalry rifle in his right hand, most of his 130 or so brothers were scattered around the baggage convoy on horseback, only the machine gunners sat on the carriage full of sacks, holding Czech light machine guns, with a little nervousness in their eyes. For them, the soldiers of the Fourth Line of the Wehrmacht. This transportation and supply line that maintained the logistics of millions of soldiers on the front line was a real battlefield, because at any moment the partisans of the Soviet Red Army would emerge from the forests on both sides of this dirt road!

Zhang Ziqiang: They are responsible for escorting this convoy. After leaving the Oloviana Fortress, they were constantly harassed by the guerrillas, sometimes with cold guns and guns, sometimes with roadside bombs, and although they did not encounter a large group of guerrillas, they also caused some losses to them and the transport convoy. Two people were killed, three were wounded, and a truckload of ammunition was lost. And such a situation is already commonplace for the logistics troops of the squadron.

Although the main forces of the Soviet Red Army had fled as far west of Lake Baikal, their partisans seemed to be everywhere, constantly attacking the supply lines of the Chinese army. The Northern Front and the newly formed Siberian Front had to send a large number of elite troops to disperse along the Trans-Siberian Railway to take on the task of clearing out the guerrillas.

The baggage convoy slowly stopped in front of a pontoon bridge, and came in front of a group of cavalrymen who seemed to have just completed the task of clearing up, and hundreds of Slavic men dressed in civilian clothes were also held. Behind them were hundreds of ragged old and weak women and children, all of whom looked like Slavs, among which there were many cute Lori Maozi and beautiful girl Maozi, which caused the escorts and logistics soldiers escorting the baggage convoy to sigh for a while.

"What's going on with these girls? These people don't look like guerrillas! "Lieutenant Zhang Ziqiang is also a little uncomfortable, although he basically has no good impression of Maozi, except for Lori Maozi and the beautiful girl Maozi.

"Zhang Ziqiang, why did you kid go to the battlefield or this virtue, you can't move when you see a girl?" When Zhang Ziqiang and several subordinates were muttering, a familiar voice came from not far away. Zhang Ziqiang hurriedly looked up, only to see a cavalry major in his twenties who looked like a black charcoal head riding a horse on the opposite side, and it was Ji Xingwen, his classmate at the Central Military Academy.

"Ji Heixin, it's only been a long time, your kid has been mixed with a major, and it seems that he is still climbing fast in the armored cavalry army!" Zhang Ziqiang hurriedly stepped forward to say hello to his old classmates, sighed with emotion, pointed to those Slavic civilians, and asked, "What's the matter with these people?" Black-hearted, don't make a mistake, our troops are still disciplined, if you know about it, you can see it. ”

Ji Xingwen sneered. He waved his hand indifferently and said, "Self-improvement, what do you think I am?" Do bandits always carry it? Sue sù you, it is an order from above to arrest these people. He lowered his voice, "You don't know yet. In order to combat the partisans and secure the logistical line, the Slavs in the Far East have already been decided...... These people are going to be sent to the Heihe concentration camp! ”

"Black River concentration camp?" Zhang Ziqiang heard this name for the first time. "What's that? How long will these Slavs be locked up there? ”

Ji Xingwen smiled and shook his head and didn't answer the old classmate's question, the Heihe concentration camp is no longer a secret, it's just that Zhang Ziqiang's military station guard is too lonely and unheard, so he doesn't know. As for what this concentration camp is, and what will happen to these Slavs. Ji Xingwen himself didn't know. However, he knew that the concentration camp would certainly not be a good place, and the fate of these Slavs would be quite miserable! Because at the time of capturing these Slavs. His troops were ordered to kill all the young men! And he did not tell his old classmates that he was no longer in the 2nd Panzer Cavalry Corps, but had joined a special task force directly under the Ministry of Defense. The Einsatzgruppen numbered about 30,000 people, all of whom were selected from the elite of infantry or cavalry units. Their task was to deal with the Slavs, not counting the regular units of the Red Army. Only guerrillas and civilians in the areas occupied by the Chinese army. Gather all the people in a few designated concentration camps, and punish all Slavic villages that dare to resist or harbor partisans!

……

Chang Ruiqing still ordered the formation of a special operation team in December last year, and by April 2 this year, he had already paid great attention to this matter. He was in a war room of the Ministry of Defense, watching the process of invading the Soviet Union, the sky outside was already dark, but the entire Ministry of Defense building was still brightly lit. Chang Ruiqing began to work day and night again. When he came back from Berlin, he was very busy, and his countenance was always very dignified. Even the frequent reports of good news from the front did not make him feel better.

Beside him stood Lieutenant General Manstein, a military adviser sent by the Germans, recognized as a talented staff officer in the Wehrmacht, as well as Ludendorff and Max. Hoffman's most desirable successor, the future Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht. This is a rather tall German, almost as tall as Chang Ruiqing, with a handsome curved face, a thick eyebrow, relatively thick lips, and a hooked nose that is very common among Europeans. And what impressed Chang Ruiqing the most was of course his name Fritz. Erich. Feng. Manstein, the best general in the Wehrmacht in previous history, was considered by his colleagues to be a strategic genius in the German army. In this life though because of Ludendorff and Max. Hoffman, the two World War I superstars, is not so dazzling, but still becomes "Max. The actual formulator of the Hoffman Plan.

After being sent to China, he also became the most trusted adviser to Chang Ruiqing, the commander of the Chinese National Defense Forces (who made him call Manstein), and participated in the formulation of the "Destroyer Plan" for attacking the Soviet Union. He had almost no eye for matters related to the war; He remembers every detail of the "plan for the ruin"; Know the specific location of each regiment; He remembered the whole picture of the battlefield that stretched for thousands of kilometers. So he, like Chang Ruiqing, felt confused about the overall situation on the Eastern Front.

The news of the capture of Irkutsk reached Tangshan in Nanking two hours earlier, and the entire Ministry of Defense was jubilant, and everyone believed that the overall situation of the Baikal campaign in the Far East had been decided. Only the atmosphere in the not spacious preparatory war room where Chang Ruiqing was located was extremely depressing. Because now, the first cards of this gamble on the fate of Eurasia have been unfolded. Chang Ruiqing and his staff officers had originally guessed that the Soviets would gather heavy forces west of Lake Baikal and near Irkutsk, north of the Sayan Ridge, to fight the attacking squadron. However, before the imaginary battle of Irkutsk was deployed, a tentative attack by the 1st Panzergrenadier Division actually won an important city that it thought would cost 200,000 to 300,000 casualties to capture. It is certainly good to be able to win such an important city as Irkutsk at a small cost, but the question is where are the main forces of the Soviet army in the Far East? According to the battle reports submitted by the Northern Front and the Siberian Front (newly formed, the commander-in-chief was Senior General Guo Songling), in less than a month of operations, the two fronts combined annihilated the regular Soviet troops (including the border troops. Not including guerrillas) about 100,000 people, of which 3 infantry divisions were completely annihilated and two army groups were severely damaged. Less than 30,000 prisoners were captured. It is clear that the Far Eastern Baikal region was not captured by the Wehrmacht, but the Soviet army gave it up on its own initiative!

The same situation arose in the northwestern theater of Central Asia. Although the 18th Army of the Northwestern Front had captured Syrdaria and Bekabad west of Khujand, and also surrounded Tashkent, the main forces of the Soviet army in Central Asia still did not show up! In this way, the two heavy blows of the Chinese Defense Forces against the Soviet Red Army seemed to have hit the cotton pile, and they could not exert their strength. Although he grabbed a lot of territory, he did not destroy the living force of the other party. Moreover, as the army penetrated deep into the territory of the former Soviet Union, the two major issues of logistics and transportation and security in the occupied areas were suddenly put on the table.

Originally, at the time of the war with the Soviet army in the border area. The rear of the National Defense Forces is China's territory, and there is a relatively complete railway and highway system to support logistics, and there is no need to worry about the safety of logistics supply lines. But after penetrating deep into the territory of the Soviet Union, the situation suddenly became serious. Before the retreat, the Soviets caused extensive damage to the railways and roads. The railway lines in the occupied zone of Central Asia were almost demolished. So the roads and bridges were blown up. The situation in the Far East Baikal is slightly better, the railway line is still there, but the bridges along the route have been damaged, but the roads there have become muddy due to the thawing of the snow and ice. What is even more troublesome is that although the main forces of the Soviet Red Army left without a fight, the guerrillas they left behind fought very tenaciously. Especially in the densely forested Baikal region of the Far East, where the squadron seemed to occupy only towns along railways and highways, and the vast forests were still in the hands of the Soviets. Partisan sabotage and raids were everywhere. It seems that the logistics and communication lines of the squadron have become the former enemy, in comparison. The front-line attacking troops, which could not find their opponents, felt a bit resting in the rear.

"Report, telegram received from the General Staff of the German Army, addressed to General Manstein."

One of Manstein's lieutenants walked in with a telegram, interrupting Chang Ruiqing's thoughts. The telegram was a secret telegram that needed to be translated by Manstein himself with a codebook that he carried with him. Such a situation was extremely unusual, Chang Ruiqing frowned slightly, as if he had guessed what was going to happen. As Manstein translated the telegram, he waved his hand and sent all the staff officers in the war room away.

After a while, Manstein handed Chang Ruiqing a translation of the telegram written in English and said in a calm tone: "Your Excellency, the date of action of the White Plan has been set, and it will begin in three days, at 3 a.m. Berlin time on April 5, 1934. ”

The white scheme is "Max. Part of the Hoffmann Plan, which was used to capture Poland and East Prussia. According to the original plan, it was supposed to start on April 1, but due to the excessive smoothness of the battlefield on the Eastern Front, the German high command hesitated for a while, so the operation was postponed for five days.

Chang Ruiqing also knew that the offensive on the Eastern Front did not lead to the general reserve of the Soviet Army, and even the main force of the Soviet Army on the Eastern Front was nowhere to be found, which was not good news for the upcoming battle on the Western Front. He was silent and asked in a low voice, "Do you still act according to the original plan?" The Eastern Front operation did not seem to have achieved its goal. ”

"There's no need to make adjustments yet." Manstein said: "And now it cannot be said that the Eastern Front did not achieve its goal, after all, we do not know anything about the movement of Soviet troops. He paused, thought for a moment, and said, "Maybe we've achieved our goal, but we just don't know it yet." ”

"Really?" Chang Ruiqing pulled Manstein to the map table: "General, tell me your views on the Eastern Front." ”

"Yes." Manstein nodded, took his baton, pointed to the Ferghana Basin and Krasnoyarsk on the map, and said: "Your Excellency, I personally believe that so far, the Eastern Front campaign has not achieved a decisive victory, although your country has occupied many lands abandoned by the Soviet army, but because the main forces of the Soviet army on the Eastern Front still exist, your country's superiority in Central Asia and Eastern Siberia has not been established. In Eastern Siberia, the main trouble is the Soviet partisans, because Eastern Siberia is very vast and the transportation is extremely inconvenient, so you cannot occupy all of them in a short period of time, most of the territory is still under the control of the Soviet army, and these basins are connected to Western Siberia on land and can be continuously supplemented by the western regions of the Soviet Union. If you want to have effective control over Eastern Siberia in the short term, you must send troops to attack the Soviet strongholds deep in the jungles of Eastern Siberia, occupy Krasnoyarsk, and then set up a blockade along the Yenisei River to cut off communication between Eastern Siberia. ”

"Offense...... Krasnoyarsk? Chang Ruiqing looked at Manstein and asked, "General, do you think that the Soviet Red Army will definitely gather heavy troops there to fight a decisive battle with us, right?" ”

"In addition to Krasnoyarsk, the Fergana Basin is the second key point of the Eastern Front, where it is the richest region in Central Asia, and also has oil fields and oil processing plants with an annual production capacity of more than 500,000 tons of refined oil. If the Ferghana Basin is occupied by you, the biggest difficulty you face in the northwestern theater of operations in Central Asia, the problem of excessively long logistical transportation lines, will be solved. With the oil there, you can throw enough armored forces in Central Asia, and there will be no suspense of victory. ”

"So the Soviet army in Central Asia is bound to fight a battle of Ferghana with us, right?" Chang Ruiqing asked again.

Manstein shook his head and said: "I don't think the Soviet Red Army is capable of fighting the Battle of Krasnoyarsk and the Battle of Fergana at the same time, if they really do that, I'm afraid they will play into our hands, but unfortunately Trotsky and Tukhachevsky are not stupid." I think they will make a multiple-choice question, choosing between the battles of Krasnoyarsk and the battles of Fergana. ”

"Could it be Poland?"

Manstein shook his head with a smile: "Impossible, there is no suspense in the Polish battle, as far as my personal opinion is concerned, the Soviet army will abandon Poland, because it is impossible to defend there." It was as flat as a table, and it was surrounded on three sides, and it was close to the German mainland, far from the industrial center of the Soviet Union. If the Soviets had the upper hand, Poland would have been the best base for attacking Germany, but now ...... They would have abandoned Poland and placed the Soviet-German decisive battle along the Dnieper River. Speaking of this, Manstein paused and added: "If I were the commander of the Soviet army, I would definitely deploy it like this!" ”