noffsinger Chapter 202 Division of Troops
Chapter 202 Division of Troops
In March 1944, the early spring sun shone on the banks of the Volga River. Although the river was still covered with thick ice, which restricted vehicle movement, the Chinese army had already learned to use Soviet sleds. Search and mobile teams dispatched by various units used sleds as vehicles and operated extensively along the front line in the Volga River basin.
The white earth, shone brightly by the sunlight, was already glaring. These small units, dressed entirely in white and draped in white cloaks, would duck down into the snow and conceal themselves, blending seamlessly into the earth, completely invisible to the enemy. After more than two years of combat, the German army had also mastered this tactic, and their own troops also adopted the white uniforms. Both sides, under the camouflage of white, frequently engaged in small-scale skirmishes and surprise attacks.
Just now, a small team of the 4th Army had just attacked a German patrol. When they were about to cross the Volga River with a captured "tongue", they were attacked by a German team. Fortunately, the Soviet guide who led the team keenly discovered the movements of the German ambush team, notified the support troops in advance through walkie-talkies, launched a counter-ambush, and defeated the German team.
Ye T was with Liu BC, who was discussing a large-scale offensive against the other bank. After the Soviet 4th Army took over its position, the 58th Army had retreated to the east of the Volga River to regroup and consolidate, transitioning from an infantry army to a motorized army. By then, the Germans had already begun withdrawing westward from the Stalingrad line. The two sides did not engage in a large-scale battle of attrition in Stalingrad, and instead faced off along the Volga River.
The 129th Group Army also underwent over two months of integration and is now a formidable force. General Liu BC, even more ruthless than Lin, directly absorbed Huang Wei's 598th Armored Division. With the addition of reinforcements from the rear, the 129th Group Army now boasts two tank/armored divisions, one equipped entirely with Soviet tanks and the other with American equipment. The remaining four divisions are also fully motorized. This is all thanks to the achievements of Huang Wei's 2th Armored Division. Liu split half of the division's strength and distributed it among the other five divisions. Building upon this foundation, through over two months of integration, he modernized each unit.
Liu BC is now in high spirits. He and Ye T are planning the operation together, which is mainly to conduct a live-fire combat exercise and prepare for a division-level assault to test the combat effectiveness of the troops after integration, and at the same time explore the combat mode of the troops in the next stage.
That night, an armored regiment from the 129th Army and a motorized regiment from the 4th Army, under cover of artillery fire from the two armies' direct artillery, suddenly forced a crossing of the Volga River and advanced north of Stalingrad. Due to the suddenness of the attack, the defenses of an infantry division of the German 11th Army, responsible for defending this line, were quickly breached. Liu and Ye seized the opportunity to advance westward, preparing to deploy two more divisions to penetrate the depth of the German western defenses and launch an attack on the northern railway line of Tulovo.
At this time, General Wei personally conveyed the order, ordering the 4th and 129th Armies to immediately cease military operations and, while securing their positions along the Volga River, to hand over their defense zones to the 17th Army and the Soviet 351st Army. Liu and Ye immediately went to Akhtubinsk to attend a military meeting.
When Liu BC and Ye T arrived, they found that all the army-level commanders were present, even the commanders of the two cavalry armies that had entered Ukraine. In a rare move, General Wei personally presided over the meeting. Present were First Deputy General Zhu D, who had arrived from China; Deputy General Peng; newly appointed Deputy General Du Yuming; Chief of Staff Huang Wei; and the commanders of the various army groups.
The first order announced by General Wei was to appoint Liu BC as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Third Front Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force and Commander of the 129th Army Group. He then announced the plan to split the Third Expeditionary Force, specifically:
The 17th, 35th, 115th, 200th, 1st, and 2nd Cavalry Armies formed the southern front, with General Peng as commander-in-chief and Chief of Staff Huang Wei as assistant. The 4th, 5th, 11th, and 129th Armies formed the northern front, with General Du as commander-in-chief and Deputy Chief of Staff Liu BC as assistant. According to the new operational strategy agreed upon between the Central Powers and the Soviet Union, the southern front would be joined by the newly formed st Ukrainian Front, and the northern front would be joined by the Moscow Front.
Amidst the uproar, Huang Wei, acting as Chief of Staff, explained the reason for this arrangement.
"The Third Expeditionary Army currently has a total strength of 107 million. Deployed in any direction, it would be a powerful combat cluster capable of swaying the course of the war in that direction. However, this isn't our homeland, nor is it a battlefield we dominate. If we concentrate our forces in one direction, Soviet logistics will be under immense strain. Furthermore, the Soviet leadership needs to consider future domestic sentiment. Therefore, we have no choice but to make concessions."
"We have won the right to fight independently. The Soviet Union has decided to establish the 55st Ukrainian Front. The commander-in-chief of the front will be General Wei. In addition to our army's southern front group, the army will also include the Soviet 58th, 16th, and th Cavalry Armies."
"Our troops joining the Moscow Front on the northern front will still exist in the form of a group. General Du will also serve as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Moscow Front. The Soviet army will transfer one or two army groups to General Du's northern group command. They will form an attack group to counterattack the German northern group army group in the direction of Moscow. The goal is to destroy the German heavy troops and completely drive the Germans out of the Moscow area!"
原来，随着第三批部队的到来，中国远征军第三方面军已经达到了惊人的10个集团军，他们分别是第4、5、11、17、35、115、129、200集团军、独立第1、2骑兵集团军，另外有美军第34航空队、中国第6航空队，加上直属部队，兵力已经达到100万以上。
Zhukov, representing the Soviet side, discussed with General Wei the next phase of the expeditionary force's deployment. Following the advice of the top brass, General Wei advocated for a unified deployment of the expeditionary force in a single direction, while the Soviets hoped to divert a portion of the Chinese Expeditionary Force to join the counterattack in the direction of Moscow. Ultimately, the two sides reached a new agreement: the Third Expeditionary Army was renamed the 55st Ukrainian Front, with General Wei as commander-in-chief. The front comprised the Soviet 58th and 16th Armies, as well as the 4th Cavalry Army. The Third Expeditionary Army would divert the 5th, 11th, 129th, and th Armies to form the Northern Front Group, which would join the Moscow Front. At Huang Wei's strong recommendation, Liu BC was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Third Expeditionary Army, serving as deputy to Du Yuming, the other deputy commander of the expeditionary force, and leading the Northern Front Group towards Moscow.