The War of Resistance: My Expedition, My Country

Chapter 180: The Transformation from Small Detour to Large Detour

The Germans reacted quickly, swiftly withdrawing from Akhtubinsk. Huang Wei and his men destroyed over 17 Panther tanks and a small number of tank destroyers from the 50th Tank Corps in close combat alone, killing or wounding fewer than 17 Germans. The Soviet 17th Army, surrounded around the city of Akhtubinsk, was even slower to react. It wasn't until the Germans had fully withdrawn and the Third Expeditionary Force had arrived outside Akhtubinsk to make contact did they react. The 23rd Army, originally planned to join the 17th Army in encircling the Germans, had already been at Akhtubinsk for three days without making any moves. Their plan was to wait until the th Army had depleted the Germans' strength before launching a siege.

Fedorovich Lukin (Commander of the 17th Army) and Mikhail Petrovich (Commander of the 23rd Army) complained about the sudden arrival of the Chinese army, which disrupted their deployment, and even questioned the Soviet Southern Front Command.

Huang Wei and Peng, Lin, Ye, Fu and others could not help but shake their heads. It was no wonder that the Soviet Union had such a rigid combat system that it was still so embarrassing to fight even though the gap in weapons was not that big and the personnel had an absolute advantage.

According to the latest orders, Peng assumed command as deputy commander-in-chief, and Lin similarly assumed command of the 115th Army Group. Old Peng knew all this was the result of Chief of Staff Huang Wei's manipulations. He didn't act like a deputy commander-in-chief to Huang Wei, but whispered to him, "Chief of Staff Huang, according to our previous plan, we were to move southwards, but the Soviets' reaction is worrying me. If they can't provide timely assistance and arrive in time to join us, will our operations be vulnerable, or even face the risk of being surrounded?"

Huang Wei also realized that there were indeed flaws in his plan, and he hadn't recognized the rigidity of the Soviet system. The Soviet army had become accustomed to positional offensive and defensive warfare, treating mobile warfare and assaults as supplementary operations to the main battlefield, just like the Nationalist army once did. Old Peng, Lin, and Fu were all elite Chinese generals. In another time and space, each of them would have been a single-handed battle commander commanding thousands of troops. Ye died unexpectedly; otherwise, with his abilities, how could he not have been a front-line commander?

When Huang Wei thought of this, he immediately felt relieved. He thought that with Peng's courage and determination in a big battle, Lin's careful calculation, and Fu's defensive ability, how could they be inferior to a few cobblers?

Huang Wei immediately proposed to Lao Peng, Lin, Ye and Fu: They should jointly formulate a new combat strategy based on the changes in the German army and the current situation of the Soviet army.

Since Peng had assumed the position of deputy commander-in-chief, he naturally presided over this impromptu combat meeting. Huang Wei, as Chief of Staff, immediately explained the original plan and the changes to the current situation. Lin began analyzing the calculations, while Fu and Ye discussed the risks and mitigation methods. Old Peng pondered alone. Huang Wei analyzed the enemy and our own situation in the area surrounding Stalingrad based on the original plan. He still believed that no matter what the Soviet army thought or acted, the Chinese Expeditionary Force must not be trapped in an endless Soviet-German positional offensive. With less than 40 men, the Chinese Third Expeditionary Force could not withstand the attrition of positional warfare!

After a moment of silence, Peng, Lin, and Huang Wei all simultaneously walked toward the map, almost unanimously pointing to Salisk. Then, they exchanged a smile. Old Peng asked directly, "Chief of Staff Huang, is Elista still in Soviet hands?"

Huang Wei nodded. As Chief of Staff, he was well aware of the current Soviet-German standoff. Elista was the gateway to the Caspian Sea and the best route south to capture Rostov and advance into the Ukrainian plains. The Soviets had maintained heavy forces there, with the 55th and 58th Armies stationed along this front. The 58th Army, in particular, was the primary assault force on the Soviet Southern Front, comprising two tank corps and a mechanized infantry corps. They had been waiting for an opportunity to strike back. However, they were facing the German 1st Tank Army, and in Rostov there was also a panzer corps of the German 4th Panzer Army, the largest armored assault force on the southern front.

Huang Wei then expressed his thoughts: "The Soviet army is preparing a rapid counterattack on the Elista front. General Ikashenko is no fool; he is also an offensiveist. We have the ability to convince him to act together and defeat the German 1st Tank Army on the Salsk front. Then, we can march south to capture Rostov and open the way to Ukraine!"

Lin nodded and added, "We still have to be on guard against the German 6th and 8th Armies, which are heavily concentrated on the Stalingrad front, moving south to join the battlefield. We must consider both the offensive and defensive actions against the strategic point of Kotelnikovo."

Fu laughed heartily and took over, saying, "General Ye and I are discussing the capture and defense of this place. General Lin, let's put this place in the hands of the 35th Army. The capture will require the assistance of the 4th Army, while the defense will be undertaken independently by the 35th Army."

Ye nodded to the others and added, "Although the 4th Army is an infantry army, after assisting the 35th Army in capturing Kotelnikovo, it can attack eastwards on its own, tying down part of the German 4th Army's forces in the Volgodonsk direction and ensuring the safety of the northern line of the attack on Salsk."

Old Peng was more direct. "Have Liu's 129th Army and the northern mobile forces act in advance. When we reach Elista, they'll begin their offensive towards Volzhsky. Liu is an expert in this area, needless to say; he's more astute than you or I. Also, have the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Armies make an immediate detour. Once Rostov is captured, they must immediately deploy a major detour strategy into the Ukrainian plains, their cavalry's natural battlefield!"

The group immediately formulated a new battle plan. Huang Wei, acting as Chief of Staff, immediately called the US Air Force, requesting that a large amount of supplies be transferred to Elista. Upon receiving the new order, Liu, commander of the 129th Army, immediately realized the group's intentions. Without hesitation, he ordered the 200th Armored Division of the 598th Army, temporarily under his command, to mobilize across the board. He also deployed the 129th Division, the main force of the 386th Army, in coordination with the 200th Armored Division. With great fanfare, they appeared kilometers north of Volzhsky, preparing to march south to capture Stalingrad.

At the Soviet Southern Front headquarters in the Ural Mountains, Marshal Malinovsky and General Vatutin stood bewildered. Marshal Timoshenko, the front's commander-in-chief, and Marshal Zhukov, the representative of the Soviet General Staff, were in Moscow, discussing the details of the Chinese Expeditionary Force's operations with the Soviet Union. The two were now in charge of the front. Chinese troops suddenly appeared at Akhtubinsk, relieving the 17th Army, then vanished again. Then, intelligence arrived that they had moved south, heading towards Elista.