January 1931 AD.

This was the time when the land in the northeast was frozen the hardest. On the vast snowy snowy plains in the North, it looked like a piece of silver. Although the cold wind was like a knife, it did not have much impact on the army's march. On this piece of ice-covered black soil on the eastern foot of the Greater Khingan Mountains, a long yellow dragon rolled forward along the road. The army's target was Sunwu County, which was about 450 kilometers away from Harbin.

Unlike the most common marching columns in the Greater China Federation, there were no officers and soldiers marching in the army advancing towards Sunwu County. Only a large convoy of vehicles consisting of various vehicles rumbled north.

The most eye-catching convoy is probably more than 140 tracked armored vehicles that were advanced in a double column. These tracked armored vehicles are the hunter series that is under the box of the Chinese National Defense Forces. The most of them are C-type C-type, up to 65. The official name of this armored combat vehicle is the C-type tank destroyer. Each Defense Force Armored Grenadier Division has an armored battalion, equipped with 65 C-type tank destroyers, 4 C-type armored emergency repair vehicles, and 1 C-type armored command vehicle. In addition to the armored battalion, each armored grenade division also has a self-propelled artillery battalion and an armored grenade battalion. The former is equipped with 12 C-type 105m

m howitzers, 6 c-type 150mm infantry guns and two c-type armored emergency repair vehicles. The latter has 40 c-type armored personnel carriers, 3 c-type armored emergency repair vehicles, and 1 c-type armored command vehicle. In addition, each armored grenade division is also equipped with a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun company equipped with 12 c-type 37mm self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and 1 c-type armored emergency repair vehicle. These three battalions plus a company's troops. Under the organization of the armored grenade division, a "semi-formal" armored combat group is formed. Even if the sharp knife of the armored grenade division is a rapid response force in an emergency situation, it is regarded as the mobile combat power directly controlled by the division headquarters.

In front and behind the armored battle group, there are convoys composed of heavy trucks. Because they are marching locally and not during wartime, the body of the car is not covered with white protective canvas, but presents a striking yellow luse paint. The car is full of armed soldiers, but the military uniforms these soldiers wear are very different from ordinary infantry, not standard yellow luse uniforms. Instead, colorful camouflage uniforms, this is the unique military uniforms of the elite armored grenadiers of the National Defense Forces. In addition to military uniforms, the weapons they hold are not yiyang from ordinary infantry. It is not the traditional Civil 7 rifle imitated from the Japanese 38 rifle, but a new concept automatic rifle 30 automatic rifle.

The mechanical structure of this gun is imitated from the m1918 Browning automatic rifle in the United States. It can perform semi-automatic or fully automatic shooting, but a 7.62mm intermediate power bullet is used on the gun bullet, which greatly reduces the recoil during shooting. Because the requirements for the solidity of the gun body are also greatly reduced, the weight and cost of this type 30 automatic rifle are controlled within a relatively ideal range.

At the forefront of this convoy is a team of 30 wheeled armored vehicles, which is a four-wheel drive light armored vehicle with thin armored steel plates covered with several models, including command, reconnaissance, communication, engineering rescue, etc. The car that Lieutenant General Xu Haoyu is sitting now is a command-type 30 armored vehicle.

This Yantai Naval School was born in a Yantai Naval School and followed Chang Ruiqing to work as a defense general in the Fujian Army. After changing careers and working in armored soldiers, he finally had the opportunity to make a name for himself. He first "sees" a real tank war in the Persian War in 1924. Then he went to Germany to study and systematically learn the theory of armored soldiers. After returning to China after studying in 1928, he was appointed as the lieutenant general commander of the First Armored Grenadier Division.

This armored grenade division with an armored combat group, three motorized infantry regiments, one motorized artillery regiment, and a total force of more than 14,000 people was formed under his leadership from scratch.

The same car as him were also a few colleagues from armored soldiers.

The first one was Zhao Zongyang, who had served as the commander of the cavalry division in the Persian War. He studied in Germany with Xu Haoyu after the Persian War. He is now the deputy commander of the First Armored Army and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general of the armored army in October 1930.

The person who sat next to him and observed the terrain with a telescope was Zhang Zhonglin, who only participated in the National Defense Forces during the Sino-Japanese War in 1923. He was now a college student reserve officer. After the Sino-Japanese War, he was admitted to the Armored Soldier Branch of the Central Military Academy. After graduation, he studied in Germany. After returning to China, he has been working as an armored war team. His current position is the commander of the armored combat group. The person sitting in the front passenger seat, holding a stack of black and white photos of a stack of tanks, was Colonel Du Yuming, the chief of staff of the First Armored Grenadier Division. He was a graduate of the Fourth Class of the Central Military Academy. He participated in the Sino-Japanese War and was admitted to the Armored Soldier School after the war. After graduating from the Armored Soldier School, he has been serving in the Armored Soldiers. He was promoted to the Armored Soldier Colonel at the beginning of last year.

The destination of the First Armored Grenadier Division was the Sun Wu Military Base, which cost hundreds of millions of yuan and took six years to build after the Sino-Japanese War, which covers an area of ​​dozens of square kilometers. It extends from the Sun Wu base to Heilongjiang, the large and small Xing'an Mountains, and a dense combat readiness road as dense as a spider web, and a railway connecting Sun Wu and Harbin is under construction.

Since December last year, the Sun Wu base, which was originally empty and not many garrisons, suddenly became lively. Every now and then, a brigade of national defense army troops arrived. The airport of the Sun Wu base was filled with various biplane fighter and attack aircraft. On the road connecting Sun Wu and Bei'an (the railway from Bei'an to Harbin has been opened to traffic), the convoys of transporting supplies and troops can often ship more than ten kilometers! Even the villagers along the highway have realized that a war with the old Russians is imminent!

In fact, the First Armored Grenadier Division was mobilized to Sun Wu in the name of preventing the attack of the Soviet Red Army. As soon as the convoy entered the Sun Wu base, sporadic sounds of gunfire came from his ears, which inspired the officers and soldiers of the First Armored Division who had just passed the long-distance marching. Many new recruits who had just joined the army subconsciously wanted to touch their guns, but they were soon stopped by their respective squad leaders or veterans around them. The war has not yet begun, and the troops that had arrived in Sun Wu were conducting live ammunition training.

Soon the convoy arrived at the designated location in the south of Sun Wu base. The armored command vehicle that Xu Haoyu and others took did not stop, but drove directly to the First Army Command in the center of the base. This was a fortress-style building with a wide area. There was also a fully equipped military airport on the west side of the fortress. There were two Y-2 passenger planes imitated from the German Ju.52 and a dozen single-wing fighter jets that may have appeared in public for the first time.

The four people, including Xu Haoyu, were all attracted by these new aircraft, and even General Gu Zhutong, the commander of the First Armored Army who came to greet them, did not see them.

Only Gu Zhutong's Subei accent sounded in their ears. "Hey. That's the J-2 Bear Hunter fighter. Is it the first time I saw it?"

The four officers in the car quickly got out of the car to salute Gu Zhutong. Zhao Zongyang said embarrassedly: "Second, why do you have to come and welcome us? I'm so embarrassed."

"What's the matter?" Gu Zhutong has always been kind and polite to everyone, let alone Chang Ruiqing's brother-in-law. He saluted the four officers and shook hands with them one by one. Then he pointed to more than a dozen J-2 aircraft on the airport and introduced: "This is the latest fighter. We imitate the German Folk D21, with all metal skin, and installed a BMW air-cooled engine with 600 horsepower and a single-wing. It is said that the maximum flat flight speed can reach 440 kilometers per hour, which is the fastest among all fighters in the world at present! When Sun Wu Airport is also equipped with this type of aircraft, our First Armored Army will never have to worry about weixie in the air."

"Why? The J-2 of a squadron here is not from Sun Wu Airport?" Zhao Zongyang asked in confusion.

"Of course not. This kind of plane has just come out. There are not many of them in the country. How can it be placed in the small place of Sun Wu? That is the one who escorted someone to come to Sun Wu." Gu Zhutong smiled and leaned into Zhao Zongyang's ear, lowered his voice and said, "Your brother-in-law came to our place to inspect. He is studying the situation with Commander-in-Chief Wu and Commander-in-Chief Guo and others in the war room. By the way, it seems that your sisters are coming together. Who are you going to see first?"

"Is that?" Zhao Zongyang is no longer the young boy of that year. When he heard that Chang Ruiqing came to Sun Wu, the first thing he thought of was the increasingly tense Sino-Soviet relations at the moment. He hurriedly asked in a low voice: "Mr. Mo, is it going to fight?"

Gu Zhutong's expression also became solemn. "I don't know if the fight will start, but the situation is getting worse and worse. A border fire broke out in Heihe a few days ago! It was caused by a team of Soviet soldiers' attempt to cross-border reconnaissance. The Prime Minister may have come to Sun Wu for this matter... Zong Yang, Yunlong, you should go with me to see the Prime Minister first."

When the three men walked into the war room, Wu Shi, who is currently the commander-in-chief of the Northeast Frontier Defense, was standing on the edge of the map platform and explained the military situation to Chang Ruiqing: "...The situation on the border is very tense now. The Soviet army has organized many cross-border reconnaissance operations, and we used the air superiority to send aircraft to cross-border reconnaissance and took many photos. From these photos, the Soviet Union built large soldiers in the rear Baikalsk, Mogocha, Skovodino, Sbodvone, and Vishensk.

The battalion and troop station were also stationed. Among them, at least one tank army was deployed in the rear Baikalsk, equipped with a large number of T28 tanks and a 10-ton light tank, which may be the rumored T26 tank. In addition, the intelligence department also reported that they also found a large number of Soviet tank troops near Chita, and there were probably one or two tank troops... It seems that once the war broke out, the Soviet tank troops were likely to launch a raid on the front line of Caspian Hailar in Manchuria."

After seeing Gu Zhutong leading Zhao Zongyang and Xu Haoyu in, Wu Shi attacked Gu Zhutong: "Mo San, let's introduce the situation of the First Armored Army. The First Armored Army is the Dinghai Dinghai Needle here in Sun Wu!"

Gu Zhutong saluted Chang Ruiqing and began to introduce the armored army he commanded. This armored army was the first armed force of the National Defense Forces. Although it was named an armored army, it was actually a mechanized infantry army. The three divisions under its jurisdiction were armored grenadier divisions. There was an armored regiment in the army's direct troops equipped with more than 130 10-ton A-type tanks. It did not have much combat power and planned to be equipped with a 14-ton 31 tank by the end of March 1931. It was the tank developed with the C-type territory of the Trailer. All indicators were mediocre. Even the armored soldiers themselves were not very popular. The front armor of this tank was only 30mm, and the main gun was a 46-distance 45mm anti-tank gun with a maximum speed of only 45 kilometers per hour.

Although Gu Zhutong's words do not look at this 31 tank that has not been equipped with troops, Chang Ruiqing knew that if he really went to the battlefield, his 31 would definitely be much stronger than Trotsky's T28. Moreover, his armored army had 195 C-type tank destroyers, 130 31 tanks, and 54 C-type self-propelled artillery. Such armored combat power was definitely stronger than one Soviet tank army. It could at least stand two Soviet tank armies. According to the military expansion plan, by the end of 1932, the Chinese Defense Army would have ten such armored armies. In addition, there would be at least five armored cavalry troops with less combat power. In theory, it would be fine to withstand 30 Soviet tank armies! However, it was just a comparison of equipment, and it did not consider the rich experience of the Soviet Red Army in tank warfare...

Chang Ruiqing thought about it in his mind, and said to Wu Shi, Guo Songling: "Xunyu, Maochen, two armored troops have been arranged in the northeast. When the Type 31 tank is in place, there should be no difficulty in dealing with the three Soviet tank troops, and we have an overwhelming air advantage." As he said that, he pointed to the J-2 fighter jets at the airport outside the window. "There will be a regiment of J-2 equipped to Sun Wu, and a few months later, there will be a two-wing light dive bomber leaving the factory and will be equipped to Manchuria. So I am not worried about Manchuria at all. Trotsky dares to come over, and there will be no good ending when he fights over."

"Brother Yaoru, aren't you worried about Manchuria. Do you think the Soviet army will attack the three borders from Central Asia?" Although Wu Shi stayed in Manchuria and the Far East for several years, his vision has always been to the overall situation. "The Lanjiang Railway will be built in Yining in a few months, and by the end of 1933, it can be built in Almaty. With this logistics artery, the situation in the three borders can always be maintained and will not be damaged."

"I think Trotsky should take action in Mongolia." Guo Songling stretched out his finger and pointed to Mongolia on the map. "Although the Sino-Soviet border left the Siberian Railway after the Sino-Soviet land change in 1920, with the emergence of the large-depth assault tactics, the strategic depth of just 300 kilometers is no longer worth mentioning. If Trotsky wants to ensure the safety of East and West Siberia, he is very likely to take action in Mongolia. His subordinates suggest that armor clusters be concentrated on the Kulun line, on the one hand, they are ready to deal with the possible surprise attacks by the Soviet Red Army, and on the other hand, they are ready to launch an attack on the Siberian railway line at an appropriate time."

Chang Ruiqing nodded without comment. Guo Songling continued: "The Kuzhang Railway was fully completed three years ago. With this railway as support, we can gather ten armored armies and armored cavalry troops around Kulun to form an overwhelming assault force, and with the cover of strong air superiority, the attack on the Siberian Railway Line has a great calculation. As long as the Siberian Railway Line is cut off by our army, the security of Manchuria and the Far East Republic will be absolutely guaranteed, and we can even further seize the entire East-West Siberian region!"

"General Maochen, do you suggest that we launch a preemptive attack?" Chang Ruiqing suddenly asked.

Guo Songling nodded and said, "Prime Minister, armored troops are originally an offensive army. On the one hand, our country is currently vigorously developing armored troops, but on the other hand, adopting a passive defense strategy. This is completely wrong! We should take the initiative first and seize the strategic initiative!"

Chang Ruiqing glanced at several senior generals in the war room. "What do you think?"

Wu Shi said: "There is nothing wrong with taking a preemptive attack, but the climate conditions in Mongolia and Siberia are very harsh. The winter is long and the minimum temperature can reach tens of degrees below zero, which will cause great difficulties for our army that are not used to the cold climate. Moreover, there will be a period of muddy roads in spring and autumn, which is very unfavorable to the march of mechanized troops. Therefore, the only time for launching a surprise attack is Jichun to Mengqiu. According to the current preparations for our army, the best time to launch an attack should be from the end of May to early June 1933."

"It's too late. According to the intelligence, the Soviet Union is likely to launch a world war from October 1932 to the end of 1932." Chang Ruiqing emphasized in his tone: "It was World War II. The enemy of the Soviet Union was the entire capitalist world, not our country. So we cannot just consider the Sino-Soviet battlefield."
Chapter completed!