Chapter 3171 Deterrent Lies

As for how to fight this battle, which is likely to be the final one, Malashenko had already thought of a way.

The 270 kilometers from Changchun to Shenyang is not easy to walk on the map.

Although it was indeed as Malashenko expected, there was basically no organized resistance from the Japanese army along the way.

The Kwantung Army, which had no heavy defense between Changchun and Shenyang, could not make a difference even if it mobilized some remnants to fill the gap. In the face of the violent offensive of the Varosha Division, it was completely swept away like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves.

The captured Japanese prisoners of war confessed that they were all defeated by the Red Army once before, and some were even defeated twice. After retreating, they were simply gathered and reorganized by the Kwantung Army Headquarters, and basically no supplements were made before they were thrown to the front line in a hurry, and finally ended up being wiped out by the leader’s army.

These rabble, which lacked heavy weapons and technical equipment, mostly attacked in squadrons and battalions, and even the whole regiment was rare. They could not stop the leader's army from advancing, and even had little effect on the speed of advancement.

On the other side, Kurbalov, who was speeding up his journey south, also sent a similar message, saying that the Japanese troops he met along the way basically collapsed at the first touch, or were too small to be a match. They could not even stop the Kurbalov division from advancing temporarily, and were crushed in the rolling torrent of steel.

Such a situation basically conforms to Malashenko's previous judgment.

The Kwantung Army, which was defeated too quickly and had no time to retreat and reorganize, and whose running speed was not faster than the Red Army tanks, now had no soldiers to mobilize. They could only do a lousy job of gathering a small number of defeated soldiers, picking them up and throwing them away casually, which had no practical effect.

This further led to the phenomenon that the deeper into the enemy-occupied area, the worse the Japanese troops encountered and the harder it was to make a difference.

The reason is simple. The Japanese troops that can fight have either been eliminated or are being eliminated. Even if the old devil Yamada Ozo is not a commander without troops, he is almost the same.

No matter how many troops there are on paper, there are no troops to deploy at the battlefield level. In addition to drawing the shrinking contact line on the map, what else can he do but a commander without troops?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the turning point was probably the battle to annihilate the Second Division. Looking through the telescope at the Shenyang City Wall that was already in front of him, he sighed more and more. The difficulty of dealing with the Japanese devils was really much easier than the previous battle with the Nazis.

"It took only a day and a half to reach the city of Shenyang, half a day earlier than we expected. The actual mileage is about 350 kilometers. The troops are in good condition. The heavy equipment availability rate can be maintained at about 70%. The follow-up troops are coming. It is expected that within one day, we will be able to restore a relatively complete division-level combat effectiveness."

During the period, various detours and off-road terrain were ups and downs, and there was a torrential rain that came and went quickly halfway. The actual mileage of 350 kilometers was considered good by Malashenko.

It is also thanks to the good terrain in the Northeast. The vast plains are convenient for the tank troops to run as much as they can.

Malashenko was quite satisfied with the result of a full mechanized march of one and a half days to send the vanguard to the city of Shenyang. Then he put down the telescope and replied to the political commissar beside him.

"Look at this place. If the Japanese devils really want to resist to the end, we have to capture the city gates and walls first, and then enter the city to fight the Japanese army house by house."

"But if this happens, the civilian casualties will be too high. The report sent by the superiors shows that the city is now almost full of refugees, and I don't think these militarist fanatics will be kind enough to give food to civilians."

"The situation of civilians in the city is worrying now. Looking at the closed city gates, it is estimated that the Japanese devils have already imposed martial law and blockade. It is impossible for civilians to escape by themselves. This is exactly what I care about most."

"Are you worried that the Japanese army will go crazy and attack civilians?"

The political commissar's words hit the nail on the head. Malashenko nodded without disguising his thoughts, and then turned around and walked and talked with the political commissar.

"These humanoid beasts are really capable of anything when they are pushed into a corner. They don't even consider their own people as human beings."

"There are not many Japanese troops defending the city now. Including the puppet army, there are only a little over 10,000 people in total. Most of them are second- and third-line garrison troops and security forces, not first-line field troops."

"So this battle is different from the battle we fought in Berlin. For such a small number of devil troops, at this last moment of victory, it is not worth sacrificing too many civilian lives in the invaded country."

"My idea is to let the Japanese army surrender on their own initiative as much as possible, at least let them surrender on their own initiative after a part of them is eliminated, and reduce the fighting as much as possible, especially the street fighting in the city with heavy firepower."

It is easier said than done. Comrade Political Commissar knew that it would be difficult to implement Malashenko's plan. After a little thought, he spoke quickly.

"But have you ever thought about what would happen if the Japanese army realized that we were trying to avoid civilian casualties once the battle began, and then used this to threaten us? It would even backfire, and they would even take the initiative to attack civilians to restrain us."

"Hmph, these bastards dare! I have plenty of ways to deal with them."

Malachenko, who had already thought of a countermeasure, was not very willing to do this, but sometimes it was necessary to take unconventional measures to deal with beasts who had nothing to do with people.

"Hasn't the number of the Japanese troops in the city been determined? According to the previous prisoners, most of them were recruited from the local Japanese who came to colonize. To put it bluntly, they are newly formed troops. This is exactly what we can use."

"Most of the families of these Japanese soldiers are in the local area, and many are already within our control area. Use artillery shells to send leaflets into the city, telling these Japanese devils in the city that their entire families are in our hands, waiting for them to return home for reunion, and persuade them to lay down their weapons and surrender, so that they can understand the situation."

"I don't know or care what orders their commanders give them. I just need to let them know what consequences their actions may have. That's enough. These newly formed troops who were captured to serve as soldiers have low fighting will and morale. As long as their grassroots are shaken on a large scale, we will be much easier to deal with next."

The leader army has never done this kind of reverse threat to the enemy, not even a hint of threat.

The political commissar, knowing that this was indeed not a method worth promoting, remained silent. He thought for a moment and looked back at the city wall behind him. He could not think of a better way to deal with this brutal enemy and could only nod in response.

"Okay, even if it's a deterrent lie, let's do it this way."