Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 294 Airdrop Supplies
Just as Wang Gensheng was anxiously wondering if his efforts would be in vain and that things would still go according to the original plan.

Wu Qianli did come over, and of course, it wasn't just Wu Qianli who came over; most of the eighty-nine lions' squads also came over.

However, even if the Eighty-Nine Lions still had fighting power at this time, taking over the Kasuga Airport would not be as easy as it was last night.

Last night, Wang Gensheng led 800 men to capture Hagaru-ri Airport. This was because Smith's entire Marine Corps 1 Lion and Infantry 7 Lions had not yet retreated, so Hagaru-ri Airport did not have much defensive strength.

But things are different now. After a night of retreat, the number of people at Hagaru-ri Airport has now exceeded 10,000. Of course, this number includes the wounded. In any case, this large number of people has quickly replenished the defensive capabilities of Hagaru-ri Airport.

Therefore, launching an attack would not be so easy. However, if they did launch an attack, they could only watch helplessly as Smith sent transport planes back in batches of wounded soldiers, reducing the number of soldiers but allowing the Marines to retreat safely without any wounded.

Unlike Wang Gensheng's anxiety, Smith felt relieved looking at the completed airport runway. He knew that the reinforcements lacked anti-aircraft firepower, which meant that as long as transport planes could take off and land, his Marine Corps 1st Lion and even the entire 10th Army would be saved. Smith was also very glad that he had insisted on building such an airport.

This is also related to Smith's experience. It should be noted that the First Marines participated in almost all the important battles in the Pacific Theater, including the arduous Guadalcanal Campaign, the bloody battles of Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. These battles earned them extremely high honors and highlighted the legendary status of this unit in the war.

This extensive combat experience transformed Captain Smith of the Marine Corps into a complex figure with exceptional strategic vision. Although Michael Asher's optimism somewhat affected troop morale, Smith remained calm and prudent throughout.

It should be noted that when he received orders to lead 25,000 troops toward the Yalu River, Smith chose to proceed cautiously in the face of the rapid advance demanded by US Army Commander Almond.

Compared to the low-key performance of the reinforcements during the first battle, Smith was highly vigilant about their combat capabilities early on. He ordered each regiment to slow down its advance, waiting to rejoin other US forces before resuming its normal pace. At the same time, he meticulously checked the marching routes and target distances each day before setting out, striving for absolute certainty and preventing any surprise attacks by the reinforcements.

For this reason, the advance of the Marine Corps 1 was very slow, averaging only five kilometers per day.

Upon arriving at the Chosin Reservoir area, Smith was filled with anxiety and worry as he faced the steep and treacherous mountains on both sides. In order to deal with the possible surprise attack by the Chaozhou reinforcements, he focused on strengthening logistical support.

After arriving at Hagaru-ri, Smith directed the construction of a makeshift airfield and supply depot, based on the terrain, to both store supplies and ensure future air transport. This airfield could not only resupply but also transport the wounded and reinforcements. At the same time, he ordered his soldiers to build robust fortifications, forming a dense network of fire to defend against enemy attacks.

Soon after, the 20th and 27th Armies of the Ninth Army Corps launched a fierce offensive against the American forces at Chosin Reservoir. The reinforcements from Chaozhou continued to employ their familiar tactics of "cutting off the head and tail, and dividing the middle," and despite the bitterly cold weather, their offensive remained swift and sharp. The well-trained Marine Corps 1st Lion was not defeated, but instead quickly and orderly retreated to the south.

The fortifications and firepower network pre-arranged by the US military played a crucial role, inflicting heavy casualties on the reinforcements from Chaozhou under intense fire. Regardless of the losses, the soldiers of the reinforcements fought bravely and tenaciously, continuing their offensive and demonstrating a tenacious fighting spirit.

Faced with the continued pressure from the reinforcements, Smith gradually realized that the enemy's goal was not just to block them, but to completely annihilate the Marine Lion.

Therefore, having never previously issued a retreat order, he was ultimately forced to do so. Corps Commander Almond ordered a swift retreat to the Xingnan Port area, where US warships could quickly evacuate the troops and preserve their strength. Although Smith was eager to escape the perilous situation, the retreat of the Lion Marines was extremely difficult under the relentless pursuit of the reinforcements. The severe cold caused frequent frostbite, and the number of wounded gradually increased. He knew that if the wounded could not be transported in time, the entire Lion Marines could be wiped out.

At this point, Smith finally remembered the makeshift airfield he had built in Hagaru-ri, which became crucial for the evacuation of the wounded and the survival of the troops.

It's worth noting that when the airport was initially being built, Smith disobeyed orders from his superior, Almond, and nearly got dismissed. However, eleven days later, Almond had to admit that the decision was wise and necessary.

Using this simple runway, about 1,000 meters long, U.S. military C-47 transport planes successfully evacuated more than 4,000 wounded soldiers, completing a difficult evacuation mission.

Meanwhile, the US military, relying on its superior air power, airdropped 300 tons of supplies, including large quantities of food, medicine, and ammunition. In stark contrast, the soldiers aiding Chaozhou were generally only wearing heavy cotton-padded clothing weighing about 1.5 kilograms, and their food supplies were extremely scarce; their living conditions were vastly different.

What the movie about the Battle of Chosin Reservoir didn't show was that after Smith used air transport to evacuate the wounded soldiers, Smith, no longer worried about his rear, burned down the airport's supply warehouse to prevent the reinforcements from receiving supplies.

Therefore, when the vanguard of the aid army stormed into Hagaru-ri to find supplies, all they saw was a ruin engulfed in flames.

The aid workers could only sigh helplessly at this, so Wang Gensheng naturally did not want such a thing to happen again.

Most importantly, last night we only managed to rout the enemy, not defeat them, so we didn't capture many useful supplies, especially not many warm cotton-padded clothes.

Fortunately, things improved after Wang Gensheng seized the thirty transport planes last night.

At Wang Gensheng's suggestion, they also decided to start using transport planes to airdrop supplies.

Although a C47 transport plane can only carry three to five tons of supplies at a time, don't forget how much a set of cotton-padded clothes weighs. Five or six kilograms of cotton-padded clothes is already thick enough to withstand the current severe cold.

Therefore, with just one airdrop, at least two thousand sets of cotton-padded clothing can be transported.

In other words, just one deployment can airdrop 40,000 to 50,000 sets of cotton-padded clothing, which is enough to supply an entire army with cotton-padded clothing.

The higher-ups naturally did not object to Wang Gensheng's suggestion. Instead, they quickly gathered cotton-padded clothes and transported them to the flight school airport for loading onto the planes!
Most importantly, airdropping warm clothing and trousers doesn't require a parachute; you can just drop them directly without worrying about damaging or deforming them.

(End of this chapter)