Soviet troops, equipped with the latest technology, successfully fought gangs in China
In the 30s of the last century, China was going through an extremely difficult period. After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, the country split into virtually independent but officially unrecognized province-states. One of these was Xinjiang in the northwest.
The local population was extremely variegated, with a traditionally large proportion of Muslims: both Turkic-speaking Uighurs (more than half of the population) and ethnic Chinese Dungans. In addition to the "simple" Chinese, Manchus, Kyrgyz, Sarts (Uzbeks), Russians from the remnants of the White Guard detachments, Tajiks lived there … On the ground, there was complete arbitrariness of both civilian authorities and army units. The province was a powder keg, with revolts regularly flaring up since the 19th century.
In 1931, another wave of uprisings swept over Xinjiang. Soviet experts gloomily stated: "The normal life of the country (if we assume that such a life existed in the conditions of Western China) is fundamentally disrupted."
General Ma Zhongying, a connoisseur and lover of guerrilla tactics, became one of the leaders of the rebels. In battle, he tried to leave small units from the front and cover the enemy's flanks. If the maneuver did not succeed, a shock "fist" was going to hit the weak spot. When this did not work out, Ma Zhongying retreated and waited for a better opportunity. The modern tactics at that time, when the reserves were kept in the rear, and not next to the front line, in the fight against such an enemy led to large losses - the army was broken up in parts.
The Chinese themselves referred to their troops as suppliers of weapons to the rebels. Soviet sources noted that the Chinese officer was, first of all, a great lover of trade and dishonest. The only serious support of the government was the Russian White Guard units, which, however, were distinguished not only by their combat capability, but also by their propensity to plunder.
The Soviet Union, of course, was worried about the aggravation of the situation in the immediate vicinity of its borders. Moreover, it was reported about the penetration of Japan and Great Britain into the region. In the early 1920s, Soviet troops, in pursuit of the defeated detachments of the White Guards, already entered the territory of Xinjiang. But now it was necessary to work thinner.
Therefore, Altaians appeared in Xinjiang, armed with P-5 aircraft, BA-27 armored vehicles, mountain three-inch and 37-mm Hotchkiss cannons, Maxim and Degtyarev machine guns, and Dyakonov mortars. There were even packaged shortwave radio stations. Already from the set of weapons, it is easy to guess that the Altaians were Soviet units. Of course, it was impossible to hide the characteristic appearance of the fighters and commanders, but since Russian emigrants lived in Xinjiang, the Altaians' belonging to the USSR was not advertised - all interested parties pretended that only local cadres were fighting. For example, Pavel Semenovich Rybalko, the future Marshal of the Armored Forces and twice Hero of the Soviet Union, was called a Russian general of the Chinese service, assistant commander of the Southern Front. It is interesting that the former White Guards who served under Rybalko knew him by his real name.
Heavenly punishment
In December 1933, the R-5 link was transported disassembled to the small Kazakh station Ayaguz, assembled, and the cars flew to Xinjiang. Mountain ranges up to four kilometers high were overcome without radio stations and oxygen equipment, in continuous clouds. Upon arrival at their destination, Soviet pilots were greeted by emigrants in the shoulder straps of the tsarist army. R-5s came in handy right away - when repelling the assault on the capital of the region - Urumqi. Descending to 250 meters, the two planes took turns dropping 25-kilogram bombs into the crowd of rebels, and then firing from machine guns. The attackers, who had never seen aircraft before, were literally distraught.
It was not easy for Soviet instructors and units. On the Southern Front alone, five groups fought: Altaians, Russians, Mongols, Chinese and Sarts. In the Chinese army, massacre and sticks were officially used, and the rank did not save from punishment. Not receiving even a meager ration, the soldiers and officers were starving. It got to fainting in the classroom. Desertion flourished. At night, the gates of the unit were closed so that the sentries would not run away.
However, by the spring of 1934, the situation was stabilized. "Clean work" of the Altaians has become the standard of quality. A gradual withdrawal of Soviet troops began, and weapons were transferred to the local army. But the problems remained.
In April 1937, in the south of Xinjiang, the Dungans and Uighurs, dissatisfied with the government's attitude towards them, raised another uprising. The only way to quickly transfer equipment to China to fight the Japanese was under threat. And again the USSR came to the rescue. This time, tanks also drove to a distant land.
Statutory robes
In keeping with the strictest secrecy, a special unit was allocated from the separate tank battalion of the Dzerzhinsky special purpose motorized rifle division of the NKVD troops to participate in lengthy exercises in a mountain camp. A separate tank company included three platoons of five BT-7A tanks with a short 76-mm cannon, the same command tank and a reconnaissance platoon - five light amphibious T-38s. A total of 21 vehicles, 78 people under the command of the commander of the 1st battalion, Captain Ilya Khorkov. The personnel were carefully selected.
BT-7A at that time were distinguished by relatively powerful weapons and the ability to fast long marches. The company was reinforced with a sapper platoon, a type A mobile repair shop, and an AK-5 car radio with a crew. The attached trucks were supposed to be used to transport personnel, property, food, fuels and lubricants and ammunition.
On August 1, 1937, the company left Reutov near Moscow by rail to the Kyrgyz city of Kant. The tankers were dressed up in "special order uniforms": robes and hats typical for a particular area - there both civilians and armed formations wore the same. It was strictly forbidden to take any equipment with Soviet symbols on a hike. The tankers were warned not to tell about their actions in letters to their homeland and not to mention the names of the settlements.
From Kant the tanks made a march to Rybachy, then to Naryn. The Pamir lay ahead. Experienced driver-mechanics were able to overcome the mountains along the Turugart pass and reach the plain without incident.
With the light hand of one British analyst, the BT series tanks were called road and aggressor tanks. Allegedly, they are unable to move anywhere except on Western European highways. However, the central part of Xinjiang, where BT had to fight, is occupied by Taklamakan, a desert with an abundance of salt marshes. Tanks and trucks moved relatively easily on a flat surface, but it was enough to stop on a salt marsh to immediately get bogged down. So three tanks got stuck - the rest noticed the danger in time and went ahead. Only two days later, the crews were able to get to the hard ground and make gentle exits in the sand. Khorkov's experience came in handy, thanks to which the tankers took with them four five-meter logs per car. Leaning on them, the tanks at full throttle got out of the natural trap. One of the rivers had to be forded, the bridge was destroyed. The tanks flying out of the fountains of water onto the shore impressed the locals so much that they first fell to the ground and then hid.
Dusty work
The rebels, not accepting an open battle with Soviet units, settled in the fortified cities of Maralbashi, Kashgar, Yarkand and Khotan. The height of the adobe walls surrounding these settlements reached eight to ten meters with a thickness of five to six meters. However, the tanks easily penetrated the wooden gates and the walls did not represent a serious obstacle. All that remained was to take the stunned defenders prisoner.
At the end of the trip, the tanks reached almost the border with India, where they captured a huge caravan - about 25 thousand camels and donkeys with a load of precious stones, gold and silver items, and other valuables. The trophies were transferred to the USSR on airplanes - for their landing, tanks specially rolled up unpaved areas.
It was difficult for the tankers to fight. Loess dust was hammered into the machines and led to rapid wear of rubbing parts and mechanisms. The power of engines with exhausted cylinders, pistons and rings dropped sharply. Therefore, we had to move in rolls: while one part of the tanks was fighting, the tracks of those that were out of order changed, the motors were cleaned of dust and dirt. But BTs were able to pass over three thousand kilometers through the mountains and the desert, having only one low-power volley from the repair funds.
The desert continued to present surprises. The track pins have worn out to the shape of a crankshaft. And there weren't enough spare ones. We had to make tracks from not completely worn-out tracks, put them on some of the tanks that were marching for several tens of kilometers. Then the tracks were removed and transported back on trucks for the next batch of tanks. Therefore, on the way back through the mountains, the tanks moved on wheels, despite the risk of falling into the abyss, as sometimes happened with the trucks of cavalrymen. Sappers helped by widening and improving the road.
The business trip ended on February 19, 1938. Captain Khorkov and junior military technician Shtakalov received the Order of the Red Star, and several more tankmen received medals "For Courage" and "For Military Merit". Later, many participants in secret campaigns in Xinjiang successfully fought on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War.
