Chapter 344 Turkestan Military Region

Iran, once the prosperous Persian Empire, has a very important geographical location, huge population potential, and oil resources like black gold. If such a country could be controlled by the Soviet Union, it would be very beneficial to the Soviet strategy.

Unfortunately, in later history, the Soviet Union did not launch any action during the Iran-Iraq War. The main reason was probably that the Afghan War tied up the Soviet Union's attention.

Afghanistan was originally pro-Soviet. In order to maintain the original situation in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union did not hesitate to use military intervention to interfere in Afghanistan's political situation. Unfortunately, the ending was tragic and Afghanistan became the Vietnam of the Soviet Union.

Afghanistan has no resources and no wealth. Apart from its geographical location, it has nothing else to offer. For such a barren place, the Soviet rulers tied up the energy of the entire Soviet Union, and even eventually led to the overthrow of the Soviet Union. It can be said that the Soviet rulers made a bad move.

At that time, Brezhnev was aggressive, and his generals, including the tough Ustinov and the shrewd Andropov, all advocated armed invasion. Only Kosygin did not sign. The final outcome confirmed Kosygin's judgment, but it was useless.

Now, history has changed a lot. With Andrei's intervention, the Soviet rulers did not focus all their attention on Afghanistan. They have realized that Iran is a more attractive place than Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan is a barren land with tough people. Historically, there has always been a tradition of opposing foreign invasion. If we send troops to help Afghanistan maintain order, it will only arouse the resentment of the Afghans and further worsen the situation in Afghanistan." Andre said: "I have a new idea for the Afghan problem. If the plan succeeds, we can solve the Afghan problem without wasting a single bullet."

Don't waste a single bullet? Hearing Andrei's words, everyone present opened their eyes wide. Listening to Andrei's plan, even Andropov, who came from the KGB, nodded constantly: "Yes, we can adopt this plan!"

Unconsciously, the situation regarding Iran, Afghanistan and other countries was determined at a meeting in the Kremlin, and General Andrei, a dazzling new star in the Soviet army who laid the foundation for the entire East Asian situation, also accepted a new appointment in Moscow and went to the Turkestan Military District.

Due to Iran's good relations with the United States, and because Iran's oil wealth was transformed into tanks, planes and artillery, the Soviets established the Turkestan Military District here to guard against the invasion of the Western world from the direction of the Iranian Plateau.

The Turkestan Military District has a long history. As early as after the October Revolution, there were various command organizations here. Initially, the powers were exercised by the Military Commissioner of the Turkestan Krai. In 1919, the Turkestan Front was officially established here, and a heroic battle began.

During the civil war, all officers and soldiers of Turkestan fought bravely against the foreign intervention forces and the White Guards. They provided great support to the people of Khiva and Bukhara in establishing the Soviet regime and the leadership of the Bukhara and Khorezm Soviet People's Republic. Many soldiers, commanders and political workers at all levels showed bravery and tenacity in the battles and carried forward the spirit of heroism, and were awarded various medals.

In 1936, the Turkestan Front was reorganized into the Central Asian Military District. Later, it participated in the task of clearing out the Basma gang, and during the Soviet-German War, the military district made great contributions to the victory over fascist Germany.

After the end of the Soviet-German War, the Central Asian Military District was divided into two, forming the Turkestan Military District and the Steppe Military District. A few years later, the two military districts merged into the Turkestan Military District.

It was not until 1969 that part of the Turkestan Military District's troops and weapons stationed in the Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Tajik Soviet Socialist Republics and local military administrative agencies were transferred to the newly formed Central Asian Military District in order to contain China in the east.

Now, the relationship with China is friendly again. At the same time, in order to cope with the changes in the situation in Iran and Afghanistan, it is a general trend to merge the Central Asian Military District into the Turkestan Military District.

With the addition of a large number of troops from Mongolia, the Turkestan Military District will become a major military district among the Soviet military districts. Its jurisdiction includes the Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen and Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republics. The army has the 40th Army, the 36th Army, the 105th Guards Airborne Division and 8 motorized infantry divisions. It also has the 49th Air Force Army and the 12th Air Defense Army. The total force exceeds 600,000.

The current commander of the Turkestan Military District is Lieutenant General CE Belonozhko. He was transferred to the Turkestan Military District in 1970 and has stayed here for eight years. He is already old. This time, it is considered a normal transfer and it is time for him to return to Moscow to enjoy his old age.

The new General Andrei will bring fresh blood to the Turkmenistan Military District!

From the prosperous Moscow, Andre came to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The rebuilt city was full of vitality. Andre was filled with emotion. From the perspective of climate, Eastern Europe was the most suitable place for human habitation, while this Central Asian region was a bit desolate. However, he was about to show his talents here!

"General Andrei, welcome to Uzbekistan." Andrei came on a transport plane and landed at the air force base. However, he found some unsociable faces among the welcoming crowd.

A group of fat guys, high-ranking officials of the Uzbek Republic, are they here to welcome me too?

"Hello, General Andrei. I am Rashidov, Secretary of the Uzbek Republic, and this is Khudaiberdiyev, Chairman of the Council of Ministers. We are all extremely honored to learn that you are coming to Tashkent. You are our Soviet hero and the general we admire." Rashidov had a bulging belly and a smile on his face.

Rashidov? Khudaiberdyev? I seem to have heard of this name in my previous life. Andre looked at these people suspiciously and stretched out his hand.

"General Andrei, welcome to Tashkent." Khudaiberdyev's face was also full of smiles. There seemed to be a smell of alcohol in his mouth. He took out a box from behind and said, "This is a little respect from us. Please accept it."

What is this? Andre opened the box and saw a huge diamond necklace inside! Although Andre didn't know the exact price of this thing, it was definitely very expensive!

"This is for Madam. It's a pity that Madam didn't come to Tashkent with you. We have prepared a villa for you and Madam to use."