Time flies. March 6th is the Jingzhe in 1922. Judging from the twenty-four solar terms in China, the weather has gradually become warmer, spring thunder gradually, and all things are revived.

The spring breeze in China gradually arrived from south to north, and most areas entered the spring plowing season. Even the snow and ice in the north began to melt, and the earth gradually showed stars of green.

From March 3 to March 9, the wartime base camp composed of the Ministry of National Defense and General Staff of China's highest military institution held a military meeting for several days. According to previous reservations, the day of attack on the Soviets was scheduled on Sunday, March 12. This time was decided by Fang Zida himself after the establishment of the General Staff's combat plan. In the past few days, the three major military regions have also made all preparations. The troops have been in place under extremely confidential circumstances, especially the equipment of the First Armored Division and the Third Armored Division was fully equipped on March 2, raising their energy like a tiger rushing to eat, waiting to give a fatal blow to the prey.

In this battle, the Chinese side used 350,000 troops to attack in China, of which the Mongolian Military Region had 150,000 troops and the Northwest Military Region had 200,000 troops. This did not include a group of troops already in Siberia, namely the 39th Division and the 45th Division.

These troops have a total of more than 400,000 people. If the logistics is included, the Air Force and the armies that are waiting for battle in the Northeast are as high as 730,000. It can be said that the Chinese government has almost entrusted nearly half of the National Defense Forces for this war. This is the first time in modern China that has used more troops than the Expeditionary Forces in the European War to fight such a foreign war. Whether it is the State Council or the military, the pressure can be imagined.

"The three armies of the Northwest Military Region are ready to launch an attack from the Kazakh region of the Soviet Union at 4 a.m. on the 12th. According to the combat plan, the Fourth and Fifth Air Divisions will first attack the enemy ground forces. The combat units composed of the three armies will attack at the same time with the Third Armored Division as the vanguard. At the latest, several important cities of Astana, Cherkar, and Kokshetao should be captured on the 19th. Then they will go straight to the northwest to capture Samara, and the front of the troops point to the enemy's capital, Moscow!"

At the military meeting, Colonel Gentl Hans von Kluge, senior staff officer of the Staff Strategy Office, pulled the curtains on the wall in front of the senior generals. He held a baton in his hand and talked in skillful Chinese on the map of Russia, which was marked with dense and huge. As the baton in his hand pointed, everyone clearly saw the march route and final goal of the combat units in the Northwest Military Region.

"Isn't it too short to win Astana, Cherkar, Kokshetao and other areas on the 19th?"

Several generals frowned when looking at the map. You must know that when you launch an attack from northern Xinjiang to Kazakhstan, you must go to the Alasan Pass, or go around Mongolia from east to west. Colonel Kluge's plan chose the former, so that 200,000 troops would never be able to conceal their whereabouts through the Alasan Pass. If they were discovered by the enemy, they would block them layer by layer with the terrain. Not to mention taking down Astana, Cherkar, Kokshetao and other areas in one week, if they might not be able to do so, they would cause great casualties to the army. You should know that Alasan Pass is surrounded by mountains, one is not suitable for armored troops to fight, and the other is also causing great problems to the infantry attack.

However, neither Fang Zida nor Wu Peifu, nor Minister of Defense Duan Zhigui, who were present, did not ask questions, and these generals could only temporarily hide this question in their stomachs and listen patiently to Colonel Kluge continue to say it.

"The two army groups and cavalry divisions of the Mongolian Military Region will be attacked by Darkhan. Like the Northwest Military Region, the entire military operation will start at 4 a.m. on the 12th. The main target of the combat units of the Mongolian Military Region is the Irkutsk-Tomsk-Omsk-Tyumen-Serov line. The main task is to cut off the Soviet Siberian railway line and completely cut off the retreat route of Fulongzhi's troops. According to the combat plan, the occupation of Serov must be completed by the end of March. As long as Fulongzhi's troops are annihilated, the war will be equal to half of the victory."

"When will the Far East Government troops launch a cooperation attack?" Duan Zhigui, who had not spoken, asked, and turned his attention to Wu Peifu sitting opposite him.

Wu Peifu smiled and nodded to Colonel Kluge. Colonel Kluge explained: "To keep the secret, we will not inform the Far East government before the war begins, but after the 12th, we believe that the Far East government will make a correct judgment and cooperate with our appropriate attack."

"What if they cringe?"

"This is not the case. The relevant departments have made arrangements, not to mention that we have an army in Siberia. The front-line commander of the Russian Imperial Government Army is not a fool. He should know how to give up such a good opportunity." Wu Peifu replied on behalf of the colonel. Duan Zhigui subconsciously glanced at Fang Zida who was sitting in the right position. Seeing that Fang Zida's face was as calm as water, he no longer understood the truth.

"Everyone! The most important feature of this war is speed! According to the plan, we will occupy Moscow in the summer of 1922 and completely resolve the Soviet government by the end of that year. If we cannot do this, the war will become extremely difficult. Therefore, this is a quick battle. In order to reflect the characteristics of this war, the General Staff gave the code name for this military plan - 'Lightning'!"

After Colonel Kluge finished speaking, he put down his baton in his hand, stood attentively and saluted everyone, and then walked to Wu Peifu's position at the bottom of his head.

"lightning?!"

Everyone looked at each other, and some generals felt that this military plan was a bit exaggerated. You should know that Russia is a big country, and its territory is no less than China. Moreover, since the Chinese gate was opened in 1840, the Russians have repeatedly invaded Chinese territory, and the war between the two sides has almost never won.

Although China's national strength has developed rapidly in recent years and has experienced the European war, the Chinese side has regained some confidence, but to say that it has completely defeated a Western power in just half a year, it is simply a matter of day and night for some generals. Moreover, some people were not optimistic about the combat units of the Northwest Military Region before, thinking that this was a complete adventure. Once the Alashan Pass was blocked, let alone occupying the expected targets for a period of time, even the entire battle would have problems. Are these people from the General Staff so excited? The Red Army of the Soviet government is so easy to fight?

"What do you think or opinions? Please speak freely." Seeing some people whispering below, Fang Zida cleared his throat and asked. The conference room suddenly became quiet. Everyone looked at me and I looked at you. After hesitating for a long time, he finally stood up alone.

This person is Lu Xiangting, a major general of the National Defense Forces and the Director of the Military Command Department of the Army. This person is young and energetic, and is also a talented student who graduated from the Japanese Army. He used to serve as the regiment commander and brigade commander in the National Defense Forces. He was called a brave and good general. Last year, he was transferred to the Ministry of National Defense and was valued by Duan Zhigui. He was arranged to be the Director of the Military Command Department of the Army Command Department, mainly responsible for the military command work. This war was of great importance, so Lu Xiangting, as the Director of the Military Command Department of the Military Command Department, also attended the meeting.

In front of Fang Zida, Lu Xiangting pointed out several problems without hesitation, that is, the problems revealed in the previous route of the combat units of the Northwest Military Region and the entire military plan. In his opinion, this plan was completely just a paper talk and was not practical at all. Once the northwest direction was blocked, even if the troops of the Mongolian Military Region could complete the task on time, they would not be able to cut off the connection between Fu Longzhi and Moscow. Instead, they would be attacked by east and west, resulting in annihilation of the entire army. Not to mention that Moscow was occupied in the summer of 1922 and the Soviets were resolved by the end of the year. If they were not done well, they would be defeated.

"Who has any questions?" After hearing Lu Xiangting's words, Fang Zida did not answer him first, but instead looked at the others. When everyone shook their heads repeatedly, it seemed that Lu Xiangting had finished speaking for them, Fang Zida smiled slightly.

"Your name is Lu Xiangting?"

"Back to the Prime Minister, yes!" Lu Xiangting responded loudly without fear at all.

"Haha, it's good for young people to be aggressive, and from your analysis just now, there is indeed a way of infantry combat. Are you from the Central Military Academy?"

"I went back to the Prime Minister. Before studying at the Wubei Hall, I went to study in the Wubei Hall, and then went to study in Japan." Lu Xiangting replied a little embarrassedly. He was not actually a graduate of the Central Military Academy, because he was just a student of the Wubei Hall at that time, and later he had the opportunity to study in Japan.

"Oh..." Fang Zida nodded, not caring about Lu Xiangting's experience as a martial arts hall. Instead, he said with a smile: "In fact, the best army in the world is in Germany. The Japanese army is not first-class at all, and at most it is just a pick-up. What's more, you are studying at Lu Shi. Japanese mainland soldiers mainly train grassroots officers rather than senior officers, so they are still a little lacking in strategy and tactics."

"Prime Minister..." Lu Xiangting's face turned red all of a sudden. He has always been proud of his Japanese Lu Shi graduation, but today he was demoted by Fang Zida to be worthless, with a embarrassed expression and a hint of anger.

As if he knew the other party’s mood, Fang Zida said with a smile: “I say these things are not about Japanese Lushi graduates. You should know that Mr. Jiang, the principal of the Central Military Academy, also graduated from Japanese Lushi. Even Minister Duan just graduated from Tianjin Wubei Academy back then.”

As soon as Fang Zida said this, Duan Zhigui immediately smiled. Lu Xiangting was slightly stunned and scratched his head embarrassedly. The atmosphere became much more harmonious for a moment.

"But then again, Japan's military concept is still a lot behind. Now the world's military is changing with each passing day, and its tactics are very different from before. On the surface, the military plan of the General Staff seems to be a little problem, but we should know that we still have a new branch of the enemy that we do not have, namely the Air Force and the Armored Force. These two new branches will change the previous way of war, from ground war to three-dimensional war, so that the war will change fundamentally. This is also the main reason why the General Staff made such a plan based on this. If General Zixin wants to understand the use of the Air Force and the Armored Force and its role in war, I suggest that you can discuss it with Chief of Staff Ziyu, or go to the front line in person."
Chapter completed!