Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 298 Landmine Road

It should be noted that before the frontline commander released the prisoners of war, the aid troops to Chaozhou were engaged in fierce fighting with the United Army on Feihu Mountain. Although they had annihilated many enemies, in the overall picture, this was only a small victory and not enough to shake the overall situation. Therefore, the frontline commander believed that there was no point in continuing the battle here and that a way had to be found to break the deadlock. When he saw the American prisoners of war, the frontline commander came up with the brilliant idea of ​​showing weakness to the enemy.

Therefore, the frontline commander ordered the 335th Regiment of Feihu Mountain to abandon the pursuit of the enemy and carry out an orderly withdrawal. The American army was very surprised. They couldn't understand why the Chaozhou reinforcements, who were in a superior position, would retreat. Just when they were puzzled, one hundred prisoners of war returned to the camp, bringing back the news that the Chaozhou reinforcements were about to return to China.

To convince the US military of their intentions, the reinforcements abandoned weapons and strategic supplies on the battlefield and along the roads, deliberately creating the illusion of a rapid withdrawal. Michael Aser was extremely confident; even though the news might be false, he believed that even if the reinforcements hadn't withdrawn, they posed no threat to the US military. Until the US military was lured into the predetermined battlefield, Michael Aser had no idea what awaited them.

And so, on November 25th, the long-lurking reinforcements launched a counterattack from the Qian line. Signal flares lit up the entire night sky. Before the Allied forces could even raise their guns, they heard a deafening roar of shouts rushing towards them. The shouts drowned out the gunfire, and the Allied forces were caught completely off guard.

The 220,000-strong US army was routed and suffered a crushing defeat. The 7th and 8th Divisions of the Southern Chaozhou Army were mostly annihilated by the Chaozhou reinforcements. In this battle, the Chaozhou reinforcements wiped out 36,000 US troops, of which 24,000 were US troops.

The Second Battle was a turning point in the Chaozhou battlefield. This battle shattered the US dream of conquering the entire Chaozhou Peninsula. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (CPLA) and the Chaozhou people worked together to push the front line to the 38th parallel, forcing the UN forces to shift from offense to defense and fundamentally changing the situation on the Chaozhou Peninsula. In this battle, the prisoner-of-war tactics used by the frontline commanders played a crucial role; the US forces were trapped and soundly defeated by the CPLA forces, suffering heavy losses.

However, compared to the smooth progress on the western front, the situation at Changjin Lake on the eastern front was much more difficult. After all, the Ninth Army Corps on the eastern front was already short of food and clothing when it entered Chaozhou.

Moreover, unlike the western front, which was originally staffed by soldiers from the Fourth Field Army, who had been fighting in the northeastern part of the country for a long time, they were well-prepared for the severe cold and had a strong constitution that could withstand it.

However, the Ninth Army Corps consisted of soldiers from the Third Field Army, most of whom were from the Nanfang side. Therefore, they were not well-prepared for the cold and were not resistant to freezing temperatures.

Naturally, they were not used to the environment. More importantly, the Ninth Army Corps was not well prepared in its deployment, especially in terms of marching in the snow. Although the Ninth Army Corps was deployed relatively far away, it should have been able to march at a normal speed without any problems.

However, without a thick layer of snow, the Ninth Army Corps marched much slower than expected, which is why the main force could not catch up with the U.S. Marine Corps' 1st Lion.

Therefore, Wang Gensheng would definitely choose to carry out the order from the frontline command to blow up the Shuimen Bridge. Although he couldn't completely stop it, he could at least delay it for a while.

However, the plan to blow up the water gate bridge alone could not be used, so Wang Gensheng immediately said to Duan Peng and Wei Dayong:
"Go and check if there are any explosive charges or heavy landmines in the US military's warehouses. If there are, bring them all, as many as you can!"

Duan Peng was taken aback by Wang Gensheng's words and said:

"Si Ling, didn't the frontline commander order us to blow up the bridge? What's the point of bringing so many landmines!"

In response to Duan Peng's question, Wang Gensheng said rather irritably:
"The mission given to us by the frontline command is to blow up the Watergate Bridge to prevent the US troops from retreating south. So blowing up the Watergate Bridge is just a means, while preventing the US troops from retreating and annihilating them is the goal. However, given the US military's industrial capacity, even if we blow up the Watergate Bridge, the US military will immediately airdrop a bunch of steel frames in less than a day to build a steel bridge. So blowing up the Watergate Bridge will not have much effect."

Upon hearing this, Duan Peng immediately said:

"Since it's useless, what should we do? What's the point of blowing up the bridge over the water?" Wang Gensheng replied:
"Fighting a war isn't just about marksmanship; it's also about brains. Since the goal is to stop the American troops from retreating, we should use whatever methods work! That's why I asked you to collect landmines! When the time comes, we'll plant landmines along the road they're retreating on, which will naturally slow down their retreat!"

Following Wang Gensheng's words, Duan Peng obediently went to collect landmines.

To Wang Gensheng's surprise, there were quite a few anti-tank mines in the US military warehouse. These were probably intended to deal with the T-34 tanks in the Chaozhou army!

Of course, Wang Gensheng also brought the Seventh Infiltration Company with him this time. After all, the Seventh Infiltration Company can now ski, so bringing about a hundred of them would naturally allow them to carry more landmines.

Moreover, these people are all quite skilled at laying mines, so having them around can reduce the amount of mines the Marines need to lay.

After all, if more landmines are laid, they won't be able to hinder the US military much.

However, landmines cannot be buried too many or too densely, as there is a risk of secondary explosion if they are buried too many or too densely.

The landmines were planted on the road between Shuimen Bridge and Gutuli. Since this road is built along the mountainside, with steep slopes above and cliffs below, there was no way to bypass the minefield.

Although it is more than 60 kilometers from Xingnan Port after Shuimen Bridge, the area is actually flat and easy to bypass, even if there are landmines on the road.

With their objective determined, Wang Gensheng led the Marines and over a hundred men from the Seventh Company on a ski trip to the Water Gate Bridge before nightfall.

With the help of skis, Wang Gensheng and his team arrived at the Water Gate Bridge in less than an hour.

That's right, the distance from Hagaru-ri to Sumun Bridge isn't very far, because it's only 18 kilometers from Hagaru-ri to Koto-ri, and only 6 kilometers from Koto-ri to Sumun Bridge.

Therefore, the distance from Hagaru-ri to Sumun Bridge is actually only 24 kilometers.

Even if you run on your own two legs, it won't take more than three hours to cover that distance, and it will only take half an hour by car at most.

Unfortunately, the half-meter-thick snow, coupled with the resistance from the soldiers along the way, made this journey exceptionally slow and difficult.

After Wang Gensheng arrived at Shuimen Bridge, another problem arose: should he seize Shuimen Bridge first, or should he lay landmines first?

(End of this chapter)