Red Moscow

Chapter 2347

 When Yakov called Melekhov, he informed him of Sokov’s decision. Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the other party replied: "Comrade Chief of Staff, seeing that Asano's troops have not moved yet, I have just transferred a regiment from Colonel Oleg's 214th Infantry Division and rushed to the area where Asano's troops are stationed. I did this for two purposes, one is to find out what happened to Asano's troops who broke their contract; the other is to prevent them from being attacked by the Kwantung Army during the process of surrendering."

"Well, General Melekhov, you are very thoughtful." After listening to the other party's arrangements, Yakov nodded and said: "If I just send out scouts to conduct reconnaissance and find out that Asano's troops need our help, I'm afraid it will be a little too late to send troops to support again. Just follow your deployment. If you have the latest news, remember to report to us in time."

After waiting for Yakov to put down the phone, Sokov said with emotion: "I didn't expect that General Melekhov's commanding ability has been greatly improved after not seeing each other for a few months. According to my impression of him, if he hadn't received He would not dare to send troops casually to carry out reconnaissance missions under my orders."

"Misha." Yakov was full of doubts about the loss of contact with Asano's troops: "Tell me, why did Asano's troops suddenly lose contact?"

"Obviously, they are definitely not on the march." Sokov said simply: "Normally, the radio is not turned on during the march. Even if they cannot contact our army, they should send personnel to the designated place according to the prior agreement. location to meet with our personnel. But now they not only have not sent personnel, but also cannot be contacted. I think something may have happened to prevent them from fulfilling their agreement with us."

“Misha, what accident do you think will happen to them?” Lu Jin asked curiously.

"Captain Feng said that the military discipline and combat effectiveness of this unit are extremely poor. Presumably the confidentiality work in the unit is also full of holes." Sokov said: "Maybe their surrender has been known to the little Japs. So. With the kid's character, if he knew that Asano's troops were going to betray them, he probably wouldn't show mercy."

"Listening to what you said, I suddenly remembered something." Yakov interrupted: "During the Great Patriotic War, we fought against some Eastern Battalions. The members of these troops were all rebellious officers and soldiers of the Soviet army. They It is an independent force in name, but there are Germans in each battalion to monitor them. I think even if the Asano force is an independent force in the Kwantung Army, the Japs will probably arrange for manpower to be stationed in this force. Take responsibility for keeping an eye on them.”

"So, if someone informs the little Japs stationed in the army, Asano's troops' attempt to surrender will be leaked out." After Yakov's reminder, Sokov immediately realized the reason why Asano's troops wanted to surrender. If he didn't show up as promised, he might have already encountered an accident: "So, the reason why Asano's troops lost contact with us is because they were besieged by the Kwantung Army?"

"This possibility is very high." Yakov continued: "If I were the commander of the Kwantung Army and learned that a vassal army under my command was trying to rebel, I would definitely dispatch troops to wipe them out to eliminate potential insecurity. . And now is the critical moment when our army's offensive is fierce and the Kwantung Army cannot resist. If the troops who are trying to rebel are not dealt with in time, more and more troops will follow their example..."

"It's over, it's over." Lu Jin shook his head and said, "I heard what you two said, and I think Asano's army must be over. General Melekhov will definitely tell us when he calls us in a few hours. , saying that they only found a pile of corpses at the Asano troop station, and not a single person was left alive."

 Lukin’s statement was confirmed two hours later.

Melekhov personally called Sokov to report the situation: "Comrade Commander, everything is clear. The reason why Asano's troops did not send liaison officers to meet at the designated place as agreed with us is because they were attacked by Kanto The army was suddenly attacked and the whole army was wiped out."

Sokov couldn't help being surprised after hearing this, and then asked: "General Melekhov, are you sure they were eliminated by the Kwantung Army?"

“It’s absolutely certain, Comrade Commander.” Melekhov said in a positive tone: “Colonel Oleg sent someone to bring me a wounded person, and he told me these circumstances.”

"Is this person reliable?" Sokov asked cautiously: "You must know that these White Russians entrenched in the northeast are not good people. You must not believe what they say, and you cannot believe everything they say, otherwise you will be misled by them. of."

“Comrade Commander, the wounded man we rescued is not a White Russian, but an officer of the former Red Banner Far Eastern Front.”

"An officer of the Red Flag Far Eastern Front?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Then how did he join the Kwantung Army? Is he Zhang Gufeng or a traitor who was captured in the Battle of Nomenkan?"

Melekhov was silent for a moment, and then said tactfully: "Comrade Commander, I have already asked him, and he said his name is Kupitman, who turned out to be a major battalion of the 57th Infantry Division of the 1st Army of the Red Banner Far Eastern Front. Chief, because after Marshal Blyucher was purged in 1938, the army was arresting Marshal Blyucher's associates, and he was also on the arrest list. In order to prevent his death from being unclear, he took a dozen of them with him warrior, fled across the border into China, and soon joined Beshgov's troops."

“What role did he play in the surrender of Asano’s troops?” Sokov asked.

"Comrade Commander, this is exactly what I am going to say next." Melekhov continued to report: "After staying in the Asano army for several years, because of the trust of Semyonov and Beshgov, , was quickly appointed as the commander of a unit and received the rank of lieutenant. After Semyonov's death two years ago, his status rose even more and he became the unit's chief of staff, second only to Besh. Fruit.

Because he saw our army launching a full-scale attack on the Kwantung Army, he realized that the disparity in strength between the two sides was too great. The Kwantung Army was no match for our army at all, so he began to lobby Beshgov to let him lead his troops out of the control of the Kwantung Army and attack the Kwantung Army. Our army surrendered. Beshgov was quite reluctant at first, but could not bear his repeated persuasion and finally agreed to his suggestion. "

When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help but interjected and asked: "So, the person who contacted us is this Kupitman?"

"It should be." Melekhov said: "This is just his one-sided statement, because everyone else is dead and we cannot verify it."     "Since Beshgov agreed to surrender to our army, what happened later? What happened that caused them to be annihilated by the Kwantung Army?"

“He said that in accordance with the agreement with our army, he sent a liaison officer to the designated location to contact us..."

Sokov said seriously, isn't this a lie? You reported to me a few hours ago that you did not see the liaison personnel sent by Asano's troops at the designated place. How come in the blink of an eye, it was Kupitman who followed the agreement? Have liaison personnel been dispatched? However, he did not interrupt the other party rashly, so as not to disrupt the other party's thinking.

Just listen to Melekhov continue: "It's about ten kilometers from their station to the agreed place. If you take a motorcycle, you can get there in half an hour at most. But he waited for more than an hour, but he still didn't wait for the liaison officer After receiving the report, he realized that something was wrong, and when he was about to go out to check, the station suddenly came under heavy shelling."

“Were you under artillery fire?” When Yakov heard this, he couldn’t help but interjected and asked, “Is it artillery fire from our army?”

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff." Melekhov heard Yakov's voice and quickly explained: "It is not the artillery fire of our army, but the artillery fire of the Kwantung Army."

"What is going on? Why did the Kwantung Army's artillery fire bombard their camp?"

“Because of their surrender plan, several little Japs placed in the army by the Kwantung Army knew about it and reported it to the 107th Division. After the division commander Koichi Abe learned the news, he immediately sent troops to encircle and suppress them.”

Sokov was very angry after hearing this. He had just been worried that the confidentiality level in this army was not high, and the contact with him might be leaked. But he didn't expect it to come so quickly. In just a few short days, the news would leak out. Within hours, the force that was preparing to surrender to itself was annihilated by the Kwantung Army. He asked with some annoyance: "How did their plan get leaked?"

"After the bombardment started, a large number of disheveled soldiers ran out of the barracks. They were noisy but at a loss. They were knocked off their feet by the incoming shells. Then, a large number of Kwantung Army soldiers rushed up from all directions. These The soldiers had no idea of ​​any surrender plan, and when faced with the Kwantung Army suddenly attacking them, they did not know how to respond. In an instant, they fell in pieces under the gunfire of the opponent."

Sokov didn't want to hear how the other party was annihilated, he just wanted to know how the intelligence was leaked. After Melekhov's words came to an end, he repeated his question again: "General Melekhov, you haven't told me yet How did their surrender plan become known to the Kwantung Army?"

"After a battle, Kupitman's men captured a captain of the Kwantung Army. After a brief interrogation, they found out that Beshgov was worried that after he surrendered to the Soviet army, he might be guilty of crimes he had committed. It would not end well. So he secretly reported the matter to the little Japanese officer of the Kwantung Army who was stationed in his own unit. After the other party got the reliable information, he immediately reported it to the commander of the 107th Division, Abe Koichi.

 After Koichi Abe got the news, he quickly reported it to the commander of the 44th Army, Hongo Yoshio. When Yoshio Hongo learned about this, he was immediately surprised to know that the troops were retreating towards the designated location in accordance with the orders of the front army headquarters. If Asano's troops really do something wrong, they will cause themselves a lot of unnecessary trouble. More importantly, if Asano's troops really defected to the Soviet army, then the Puppet Manchukuo and Puppet Mongolian armies under his command would both have the possibility of mutiny. In order to nip this insecurity in the bud, he decisively ordered Abe Koichi to mobilize troops to encircle and annihilate Asano's troops and completely annihilate them. "

After learning that it was Beshgov's betrayal that led to the failure of the surrender of Asano's troops, Sokov couldn't help but itch with hatred. He bit his back teeth and asked: "General Melehov, Nakupit Did Man tell you where Beshgov is now?"

"Dead, already killed by the Kwantung Army." Melekhov added: "The Kwantung Army captain confessed to Kupitman that the order they received was to kill everyone in Asano's unit, including Commander Beshgov was included. When our troops arrived, the Kwantung Army, which was responsible for the encirclement and suppression mission, had already withdrawn. Colonel Oleg's men found Kupitman still alive among the dead, and under his guidance Next, they found Beshgov's headquarters, which was destroyed by the Kwantung Army's artillery fire, and found a mutilated corpse inside. After Kupitman's identification, it was confirmed that it was Beshgov, the supreme commander of Asano's troops. "

"I understand." After listening to Melekhov's story, Sokov quickly sorted out the truth: "It should be that Kupitman wanted to surrender to our army and tried every means to persuade the supreme commander of Asano's troops, Besh Beshgov. Although Beshgov made a good verbal promise after persuasion, he turned around and betrayed Kupitman. What he never dreamed of was that he reported that Kupitman planned to lead his troops to rebel, but he did not receive any response. He received a commendation from the Kwantung Army, but instead brought a fatal disaster to himself. The Kwantung Army may have discovered that Asano's troops were of little use long ago, but they could not find a suitable reason to abolish them to avoid adverse consequences. This time Since the other party is going to rebel, they have every reason to dispatch troops to destroy such troops with extremely poor combat effectiveness and military discipline, thus reducing their own supply pressure."

　　Merekhov agreed with Sokov’s analysis: “What you said makes perfect sense. I think the truth should be like this.”

After a pause, Melekhov asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, if we encounter such troops who actively want to surrender to our army again in the future, how should we deal with it? Also, what should Kupitman do? How to place it?"

"General Melekhov, in addition to the Kwantung Army, the enemies our army will face next are the Puppet Manchukuo Army and the Puppet Mongolian Army controlled by them. If these troops take the initiative to contact us and are willing to surrender to our army, we will You can choose to accept it." Sokov warned Melekhov: "But if you encounter the kind of troops that resist to the end, you must resolutely eliminate them. As for Kupitman, first arrange it in the field hospital of your division He needs to stay here to recuperate, and after the war is over, it won’t be too late to discuss how to deal with him.”

After Sokov put down the phone, he told Lukin, Yakov, Gorokhov and others about the matter, and finally said: "With the defeat of the Kwantung Army, these armies under their control will face our army's If there is a strong offensive, they will definitely choose to surrender. For these troops, we cannot simply go to the prisoner of war camp and ignore them. I think they should be screened and reorganized so that they can also participate in the attack on the Kwantung Army. "

"Misha's proposal is good." Lukin nodded and said, "I agree. What do you two think?" He asked Yakov and Gorokhov next.

"It goes without saying." Yakov said loudly: "As the chief of staff of the army group, I naturally have to be consistent with Misha on this matter."

 (End of this chapter)