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Text Chapter 750 Su De approaches

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    ps: The serial number of the previous chapter should be chapter 749.

    Beijing is celebrating the Gregorian New Year with great joy. News of the great victory in Kunduz swept across the country like a whirlwind. With the liberation of the largest Soviet stronghold in northern Afghanistan, the situation in Afghanistan gradually became clearer.  After tens of thousands of photos of Soviet prisoners and captured weapons were published in newspapers, the national complex and victory spirit that had gradually dissipated after the second war against Japan slowly returned to this land.  The victory made the pre-war suspicions and suspicions gradually disappear. Young people who followed Yang Qiu and believed that he was the greatest president returned one after another and shouted slogans to support his decision.  When military strategists talked about this victory many years later, they said that this small battle allowed the people to feel the victory of the war early and regained the people's morale and national spirit.  The foundation was laid for the subsequent series of arduous battles.

    Soon after the victory in Kunduz, the Chinese Afghan Volunteer Army launched with full force.  First, the belatedly arrived 42nd Infantry Division entered Kunduz, and together with the main force of the 10th Armored Division, they stormed Mazar-i-Sharif and Balkh, forcing the Soviet army to lose another strategic town after Kunduz and had to return.  Termez is waiting for help.  Immediately afterwards, the 24th Infantry Regiment and the 53rd Infantry Regiment got out of the mountainous area with the help of the Afghan Army and local people. After liberating Zabul Province without any blood, they immediately launched an attack on Kandahar. However, due to the lack of heavy weapons, they were defeated after three consecutive days of offensive.  The Soviet troops suffered heavy casualties and retreated to Kalat.

    At the same time, the 54th Infantry Regiment entered Helmand Province and was ambushed by the Soviet 9th Cavalry Division when crossing the Helmand River. It was caught off guard and injured more than 300 people.  However, after a brief adjustment, they still gritted their teeth and defeated the two thousand Soviet troops entrenched in Lashkar Gah, driving a nail into the southern front of Afghanistan.  In the next two days, soldiers including the 16th Plateau Brigade arrived here one after another, and a complete bridgehead was established in less than ten days.  Although there were winners and losers in the subsequent battles, Afghanistan, which has a serious lack of logistics and transportation capabilities, was able to pass through a month of rapid penetration.  Completely liberated all northern regions except Kandahar, Nimruz, Farah, Herat, Ghor, Badghis, Helmand, Jowzjan and Faryab provinces, and controlled a total of 32 areas in Afghanistan.  The 23 in the province are already very rare.

    But just as the Volunteer Army Headquarters was planning its next move, the blizzard forced the two armies to stop all operations and give priority to consolidating the front lines and defenses, waiting for follow-up supplies, while gradually forming a confrontation.

    Taking advantage of the end of the first phase of the Afghan campaign, various diplomatic activities are also in full swing.  On January 15, 1938, Yang Qiu officially announced when attending the China-Arab Friendship Conference that the Chinese government would provide the Afghan government with a loan totaling 500 million yuan and 200 million yuan in food and other emergency humanitarian relief supplies.  The railway from Kashgar to Kabul will be started at an appropriate time to help the Afghan government in post-war reconstruction and economic recovery and promote exchanges between the two countries.

    Yang Qiu¡¯s statement, although once again a metaphor for China¡¯s commitment not to develop colonies, also made Britain begin to worry about China¡¯s infiltration into Islamic and Arab countries.  As Saudi Arabia's oil economy gradually flourishes and the country's strength rapidly leads the Arab world, Iran, Afghanistan, and even the Muslim League maintain official or semi-official ties with Beijing despite British obstruction.  The whole world knows that China has quickly replaced France.  It has become a stakeholder country second only to the United Kingdom in the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, and its economic output is dozens of times that of the economically distressed British Empire.

    When Yang Qiu used economic, cultural and loan methods to accelerate the expansion of his influence westward, Moscow also ushered in the coldest season of the year.  The hammer-and-sickle flag over the Kremlin is still flying high, but in the eyes of ambassadors from various countries.  The panic and worry that this flag once brought them is slowly fading.  Although "Pravda" and "Red Star" continued to advocate, news of the failure in Afghanistan spread like wildfire.  Even though the secret police were everywhere, they couldn't stop ordinary Soviet people from talking about the war situation while drinking secretly hidden liquor.

    At a military meeting in the Kremlin.  Stalin, Zhdanov and Kalinin, known as the Moscow Troika after the Great Purge, all looked ugly. Next to them sat the two marshals Voroshilov and Budyonny, as well as the recalled Shaposhniko.  General Fu, Motolov, Beria and others are sitting on the left.

    Beria quietly glanced at Stalin, whose face turned dark.  Secretly made up his mind to talk less today.  But having said that, Stalin did have reason to be angry.  A defeat is actually not terrible. Losing 50,000 soldiers will not cripple the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, which already has more than 3 million people. But the impact of this defeat is really too great!  It not only shocked the country and made those counter-revolutionary dealers ready to take action, but also seriously dampened the revolutionary enthusiasm of the proletariat around the world.

    If the southern front was not still under control, it would even be possible to declare the loss of the Indian gc party, which is considered the last hope of Asia!

    You must know that the scale of the war is still controlled by the tacit understanding of both sides.In the small circle of Khan, if the performance of this battle is followed, once an all-out war breaks out, can the long eastern front still stop the enemy?  The Chinese army can overcome Afghanistan's mountainous logistics, but can't it overcome weather obstacles?  What made Stalin even more angry was that in the Battle of Kunduz, except for the 71st Division, which was stationed outside all year round, and Zhukov's 57th Division, which performed well in the battle for the city, the other troops had no fighting spirit at all.  In particular, the 36th Motorized Infantry Division, which was established at a huge cost, surrendered after only a few days of fighting!  You know, there are only three motorized infantry divisions on the entire Eastern Front. The 36th Division was once considered the absolute main force after the tank division!  But it was this absolute main force that gave the opponent more than a hundred tanks, more than 300 machine guns, hundreds of cannons and more than 600 trucks in Baghlan for free!  !

    In addition to anger at the decline in the Red Army¡¯s combat capabilities, the superior technical equipment of the Chinese National Defense Forces has even given Moscow a chill.  As soon as China's new tanks equipped with 70mm guns appeared, more than 20,000 BT5, BT7 and T26 tanks manufactured in the past ten years were swept into the trash can!  The "Snake" fighter jet made the Soviet I-15 and I-16 a target.  In terms of the organization and tactics of tank divisions, the National Defense Forces also showed very high attainments, which shows that the other party studied tank and armored combat earlier than Tukhachevsky and others!  This huge technical disadvantage cannot be made up for quickly, so it puts a heavy weight on everyone's heart.  Soldiers can be recruited and the spirit of the Soviet Union can be lifted, but we can't let the soldiers use wooden sticks to deal with bullets, right?

    Everyone here thought that the industrial scale had already ranked first in Europe.  Although the second five-year plan is progressing slowly, the Soviet Union, which is still in progress, will definitely develop faster than China, which started from scratch, or at least the same.  Unexpectedly, they have already established huge technological advantages without realizing it. These technologies are not far behind even in the United Kingdom and the United States.  To know!  Even after several years of civil war and purges, the Soviet Union still retained hundreds of thousands of intellectuals who received Western industrial education, more than 100,000 talents in various academic disciplines, more than 1 million skilled workers, and 500 left behind by Tsarist Russia.  The foundation of steel output of 10,000 tons.  At the same time, China had only a few thousand so-called foreign students and a few factories built with assistance from European war countries. The literacy rate was even lower than that of the most remote areas of the Soviet Union!

    So this slap is too loud!  Propose an industrial power and propose a five-year plan.  The Soviets, which created a national industrial system, were not as good as China, which was ignorant and started from scratch. How could it directly confront the more powerful Britain and the United States in the future?  This kind of frustration is like climbing a high mountain. You think you are standing on the highest peak in the world. When you are shouting and shouting with excitement, you suddenly find that there is a higher mountain in the distance. The people on the mountain raise their heads and face you.  Say four words.

    "You're still early."

    There¡¯s no place to put your face!

    ¡°At least in this conference room, some people have already doubted whether Stalin¡¯s national industrial system is suitable.  In order to build industry, it goes against the laws of nature.  Spending tens of billions of rubles to revolutionize and purge millions of kulaks. Is this really worth the cost?  Beria secretly looked at Stalin and quietly shrank his back.  Continue to be buried behind the figure that is still unshakable.

    "The battle line has been stabilized. I have ordered the deployment of 5 divisions from the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus to strengthen the southern front of Afghanistan, and the deployment of 3 divisions and 1 tank corps from the Southwest Military District to strengthen the defense of Termez."  When Voroshilov explained the war situation, he kept looking at Stalin with his eyes.  I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s fear or hope for instructions.  But Stalin was very unusual this time. Apart from his expression, his tone was very calm: "Comrade Shaposhnikov. You just came back from there. Let's talk about the situation."

    Shaposhnikov stood up with a slumped look on his face.  He was one of Stalin's most trusted officers and was known as the brains of the Red Army, but this time he suffered a big stumble, and this stumble left him speechless.  In the eyes of others, his entry into battle was a bit hasty, with no time to make adjustments and defenses.  But he knew very well that when he arrived, the Chinese National Defense Forces were also unprepared and had serious logistical deficiencies. However, they made adjustments while fighting and used rapid pressure tactics to eat up nearly five of his divisions.

    But how can these words be uttered?  He is not as distinctive as Tukhachevsky, Blyucher and others, but he is the general in the Soviet army who knows how to advance and retreat best. Since Stalin deliberately did not hold him accountable, why should he uncover the scars.  Therefore, the introduction always focused on the deployment of troops and the shortage of weapons and equipment, and kept saying: "the snowstorm helped us and made the Chinese army's logistics difficult, so we have stabilized the front. Comrade Zhukov believes that,  The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and they will not fight a war during this important holiday, so there should not be any major wars in Afghanistan before spring comes. He and I both believe that we should take this opportunity to continue to strengthen the first  The power of the group army.

    Zhukov and the comrades on the front line also reported to me that in addition to insufficient troops, theyThe biggest difficulty we face now is that our technological weapons are inferior to those of our opponents.  Tanks, aircraft, and artillery were all at a disadvantage, and reinforcements in these areas must be made immediately.  Especially aircraft, tanks, anti-aircraft guns and anti-tank guns, because a good cannon is far more effective than an additional infantry company.  "

    Everyone nodded when they heard this. If the 71st Division had several powerful anti-tank guns, then the Chinese army in the Khanbalad Isthmus alone would not be able to break through quickly.  Excellent anti-tank guns are not a big problem, and the Soviet artillery industry is still there.  But advanced weapons such as tanks and aircraft are not that simple. These technologies are complex and require high materials and metal processing. It is almost impossible to produce aircraft and tanks comparable to China's in a short period of time.  The worst thing was that the Soviet Union suffered from a severe power shortage and had little domestic electrolytic aluminum capacity. The country's annual aluminum output was less than 20,000 tons, which was incomparable to China's annual output of millions.

    "Now they are continuously increasing their troops to the northwest. At this rate, their strength will reach thirty-five divisions by June at the latest. News from Japan shows that Yang Qiu is gradually expanding the number of armaments, including aircraft and tanks across the country.  The manufacturing plants are operating at full capacity, and there is reason to believe that he has begun full preparations for war." Beria suddenly interrupted and told the latest information, wanting to show his work ability and effectiveness.  Although not as complete as Ivan Mir's period, Stalin was still satisfied with the news.

    Asked: "Do you have any good ways to solve these difficulties?"

    good idea?  Is there any good way?  After losing Kunduz, all countries in the world no longer viewed the confrontation between the Soviet Union and China. Even the most proactive United States began to change its attitude and openly sold large quantities of food and materials to China, clearly intending to reap the benefits.  Britain is the country that most actively opposes the Soviet Union. Although France can get some benefits, their energy has been hindered by Germany. Now, the only ones who can help the Soviet Union quickly obtain advanced weapons and manufacturing technology are probably them.  But the problem is that the secret execution of Tukhachevsky, who had always insisted on the Soviet-German alliance, is still happening. God knows what Stalin was thinking about. You must know that the Great Purge has not officially ended yet. Wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate to propose Soviet-German cooperation at this time?  You're asking for shortcomings.

    Stalin said nothing when he saw everyone, knowing what they were thinking.  But he will never admit this mistake in his life. On the contrary, he will use facts to prove that he is wiser than Tonotsky, Tukhachevsky and others.  So after a few glances, his eyes stopped on Motolov's face: "Comrade Motolov, you are the People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs. At this time, the Soviet needs you to come forward and seek more diplomatic help."

    Motolov smiled bitterly in his heart, how could he choose himself?  Fortunately, he had vaguely guessed Stalin's thoughts and said bravely: "Comrade General Secretary, we should seek to deepen cooperation with Germany."

    As soon as the words came out, everyone in the conference room breathed a sigh of relief. The round-faced Zhdanov took the opportunity to say: "Comrade Motolov is right. General Secretary, didn't you say before that we have many complementarities with Germany?  Now Germany is working hard to return to a normal country. We can completely sell resources in exchange for advanced equipment in their hands. If necessary, we can buy a batch of spot goods first. This can also win Germany over to our side and prevent them from forming a problem with China.  Attack from both sides."

    "Yes, the current situation is very difficult, and it is time to change the working methods of our party. Comrade Voroshilov, Comrade Budyonny, during this period you must speed up the construction of the army and send more troops to Afghanistan and the East.  Send troops to get the people across the country to take action and be prepared to deal with the enemy's sudden attack! Comrade Kalinin and Comrade Beria, the manufacturing and design of weapons will be left to you. The Soviets cannot let the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army lag behind the enemy  " Stalin was waiting for this sentence. He nodded and quickly made work arrangements, and finally looked at Motolov: "Comrade Motolov, please go to Berlin immediately to express our support.  bona fide."

    (To be continued.)
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