After the reorganization of the Nationalist Government, the total strength of the North China Front Army reached nearly one million people.

Among these millions of troops, they are mainly composed of the left-behind troops of the 1st and 3rd Group Armies of the Northeastern Border Defense Army, which were originally stationed in Pingjin and the five northwestern provinces.

It is composed of the Jinsui Army and Shandong Army from Shanxi and part of the Sichuan Army and Guangdong Army transferred from South China.

Due to time constraints, Zhang Xinghan has not yet been able to take action on the reform of the production levels of various domestic arsenals.

Therefore, in addition to the one million troops of the original Northeastern Army, the equipment level of the remaining three to four million soldiers has not changed much from before.

In other words, among the nearly one million North China Front troops that Zhang Lingfu could mobilize this time, the only ones equipped with tanks and armored vehicles were the left-behind troops of the 1st and 3rd Army Groups of the former Northeast Frontier Army.

The total strength is about hundreds of thousands, including four or five tank regiments plus one tank division. The total number of tanks is about 700.

In the eyes of Zhang Lingfu and even the entire North China Front Army's senior leadership, a tank and armored force of this size is definitely a strategic assault force capable of crushing everything.

Zhang Lingfu, who was commanding a large corps in combat for the first time, was secretly excited to be able to command an armored group consisting of nearly one tank and nearly one million troops.

However, with his introverted personality, he hid the excitement that these young people should have.

…………

While Zhang Lingfu was mobilizing all the tank and armor forces, in the vast desert sea, the Soviet troops who quietly gathered from Ulaanbaatar in Outer Mongolia to Saiyinshanda finally began their highly adventurous strategic raid.

As expected by Zhang Xinghan, the Soviets indeed chose the main offensive route at the junction of Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia.

Others, such as the direction of Manzhouli and Vladivostok, were all feint attacks to attract the attention of the Chinese ** troops and cooperate with the main force's major raid.

It is worth mentioning that this time the Soviet army was very different from the previous two times in terms of scale and determination.

After the disastrous defeats in the previous two Far East Wars, SDL was not only extremely angry. Immediately after the last border conflict, the Far East Military Region was ordered to accumulate strength and prepare for the next retaliatory war.

The Soviet generals and generals in the Far East Military Region are also actively preparing for war with a desire to avenge their shame.

After more than two years of careful preparation and SDL's absolute support, the Far East Military Region finally took the step of this historic battle to avenge humiliation.

This time, in order not to repeat the same mistakes of defeat in the previous two wars, the Soviet army has assembled more than 800,000 troops.

Among them, the number of Air Force fighters exceeded 1,200. The most terrifying ones were the Soviet ground artillery and armored forces.

According to incomplete statistics, the Soviet army mobilized a total of 10,000 artillery pieces with a caliber of more than 100 mm this time. Even with an army of 500,000 people, the scale and quantity of such an artillery configuration is extremely terrifying.

What's more, these are only large-caliber heavy artillery with a caliber of more than 100 millimeters. There are also a large number of various light and heavy mortars, mountain artillery, field artillery, and howitzers below.

In terms of armored forces, the Soviets mobilized seven armored divisions and five armored brigades.

There are more than 2,500 tanks and armored vehicles in total, and the total number is more than three times that of the Chinese troops.

A considerable number of these tanks are the new T-34 tanks first developed by the Soviets.

This famous World War II tank, which was originally officially put into service in 1940, appeared four years earlier due to the appearance of Zhang Xinghan and the defeat of the Soviet army in the two Northeast Asian battles.

The same is because the main reason for the first two defeats was that the tanks of the Northeast Frontier Guards of the State of Zhong were more advanced and more numerous than our own tanks.

The Soviet Union has greatly increased the production of tanks and combat vehicles.

Because of the combat plan, this time the Soviet army used most of its tanks and all newly produced T-34/76 tanks on the march route to attack Inner Mongolia.

The total number of Soviet tanks and armored vehicles participating in this assault exceeded 2,000.

In the vast sea of ​​death, as far as the eye can see is a vast desert. A huge convoy of two thousand tanks and more than two thousand military trucks has brought up a sky full of dust in this barren desert.

Whenever a strong wind blew and the desert was filled with flying sand and rocks, some Soviet soldiers simply wrapped their faces in military coats to avoid the wild sand.

The heavy tanks and chariots crushed deep marks into the sand, but when they rumbled forward not far, these marks would be covered up again by the sand and dust carried by the howling wind.

Everything was restored as before, and if it hadn't been for the huge motorcade that hadn't gone far, it would have been as if nothing had happened here at all.

In this raid, the Soviets used 2,000 tanks and combat vehicles plus two mechanized infantry divisions, with a total strength of nearly 40,000.

………………

After about two days, more than 700 Panzer IV tanks and armored vehicles finally arrived in Zhangjiakou.

At the same time, Zhang Xinghan also deployed 500 fighter planes from the Northeast and Central Plains theaters to strengthen Zhang Lingfu's combat power.

In view of the experience of the previous two battles with the Soviet Army, among the 500 fighters Zhang Xinghan allocated, 300 were Stuka dive bombers, the most powerful weapons against tanks and chariots.

The other two hundred are Zero fighters that performed extremely well on the Sino-Japanese battlefield.

With such powerful air force as the backing, Zhang Lingfu felt more confident.

In Zhangjiakou, inside the temporary former enemy headquarters, an emergency military meeting was being held with the participation of senior officers from all tank and armor units and air forces involved in the battle.

Zhang Lingfu, dressed in military uniform, stood at the head of the conference table in high spirits, scanning the officers present with his eyes like knives.

He opened his mouth and said: "My colleagues, according to reliable information, the Soviets have once again mobilized heavy troops to the border with our country. Their wolfish ambitions are clearly revealed. Now we are gathered here under the military order of Commander-in-Chief Zhang to discuss the plan to defend against the enemy, aiming to expel the powerful enemy.

, defend the territory of the motherland and the dignity of our Chinese nation and the glory and dignity of our Chinese military.

Here, Lingfu hopes that you can put aside all personal grudges, work together with me, cooperate sincerely, and defeat the enemy with all your strength!"

All the senior military officers present at the meeting also admired Zhang Lingfu, so they stood up and said: "We will obey the military orders of Commander Zhang, but if we are assigned, we will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

"Very good." Zhang Lingfu praised enthusiastically, then changed the topic and said: "To tell you the truth, the reason why we are called to this meeting so urgently is because Lingfu has a good battle plan and wants to announce it to everyone.

."

Everyone looked around in astonishment after hearing this. Zhang Lingfu said without changing his expression: "The plan is that I will lead all the tanks and armored units of our army to take the initiative and enter the Sea of ​​Death to find and defeat the Soviet Union in the vast desert.

military."

As soon as he said these words, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically. One of the major generals of the tank division said with concern: "Sir, we haven't even figured out the enemy's true advance route and intentions yet.

Isn’t it too dangerous to attack rashly?”

"What Commander Liu said makes sense. Since Lao Maozi dares to provoke a war again, the number of troops assembled this time will never be in the minority. Until the enemy's situation is unknown, shouldn't we still rely on strong troops as the best option?" Another one

The colonel leader also echoed.

Zhang Lingfu turned around and came to the map, pointed at the map and said to everyone: "First of all, I have sent a large number of reconnaissance planes to fly over the Sea of ​​Death to search for traces of the enemy. I believe there will be news soon.

In addition, I have mobilized 300,000 troops into Xinjiang.

Commander-in-Chief Zhang gave instructions in his previous phone call. The enemy's march route this time is likely to be these two. If it is in Xinjiang, then our first batch of 300,000 troops can fully support our subsequent reinforcements entering Xinjiang.

Moreover, according to my analysis, the possibility of the Soviets choosing to invade from Xinjiang is very small. The reason is very simple, that is, the advantages of the Soviet tanks and armored forces, heavy artillery and other heavy equipment are restricted by the terrain and cannot be used.

On the contrary, they are much more likely to make a long-distance raid across the Sea of ​​Death.

As the saying goes, the best defense is offense.

To defend the country and wait for the enemy to attack is to give the enemy the initiative in the war.

The enemy can concentrate his forces to attack any point of our defense line, thereby achieving a full-line breakthrough.

If we can take the initiative, we can not only avoid this unfavorable situation, but also catch the Soviets by surprise.

Defeat them in the field and keep the enemy at bay!"

Looking at the map and listening to Zhang Lingfu's analysis, everyone nodded in unison, obviously agreeing with his point of view.

Seeing this, Zhang Lingfu walked back to the conference table and continued: "You are all the pillars of our country. As the ancients said, you can raise an army for a thousand days and use it for a while. Now that a powerful enemy has invaded, it is our soldiers who have stepped forward to protect our country."

It's time.

This time I take the initiative to attack, and I hope that all my colleagues will be loyal to the country, fight hard for the country and the nation, defeat powerful enemies, and enhance the prestige of our country!"

Everyone stood up and said in unison: "Commander-in-Chief Zhang, please rest assured. I am determined to fight to the death with the Soviet army. I will not return the enemy until the enemy is defeated!"

"Very good." Zhang Lingfu said solemnly: "In that case, everyone should go back and gather the troops. We will set off immediately to march into the sea of ​​death!"

"Yes!" Everyone agreed in unison, then turned around and took the order to leave.

"Xiaofu, send our battle plan to Chairman Zhang by telegram immediately." After everyone left, Zhang Lingfu ordered the adjutant.

Zhang Xiaofu immediately lowered his head and said yes, then took the order.

Zhang Lingfu looked back at the blue sky and white sun hanging above the map, with determination in his eyes.
Chapter completed!