Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 323 Rescuing Heaven
The only thing Wang Gensheng could think of was the "Returning to Heaven" torpedo.

There's no way around it; naval warfare is different from land warfare. Even if your weapons and equipment are inferior, you can make up for it with morale and tactics.

For example, in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, the US Marine Corps suffered heavy losses despite being out-equipped, thanks to the advantages of favorable weather, terrain, and popular support.

The weather conditions during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir were naturally a blizzard with half a meter of snow, which not only slowed down the march of the reinforcements from Chaozhou, but also slowed down the march of the mechanized units of the United States.

As for the geographical advantage, it is naturally the terrain of Changjin Lake, which is an excellent ambush site. It is surrounded by high mountains on both sides, and the marching route is a long highway.

This naturally makes it easy to stretch the US Army's land forces into a long line, making it particularly easy to cut them up and defend them in sections during an attack, preventing them from supporting each other and causing them to lose their firepower advantage.

As for the final factor of "human and natural forces," it refers to the fact that the fighting will and morale of the Chaozhou army were far superior to those of the American army. Only by combining these three factors could the American army be defeated.

But it's different at sea. On the vast ocean, there's no such thing as favorable timing or terrain. Everything is the same everywhere, and there's no way to coordinate any tactics.

As for the morale of the soldiers, it doesn't really matter much. After all, the contest between warships at sea is about whose cannons are more powerful and whose cannons have a longer range. Morale can't improve the range or power of the cannons at all.

The same applies to aircraft on aircraft carriers. If the aircraft's performance is poor, even with high morale, the aircraft's speed cannot be increased by much. This is different from that on land.

When soldiers on land are in high spirits, they can run dozens of kilometers more. High morale increases adrenaline, making their reactions and other actions more agile.

That is why Wang Gensheng only needed to use the powerful weapon his navy had developed, the modified version of the Japanese Kaiten torpedo.

Of course, when Wang Gensheng participated in the relief of Chaozhou, he was told to exercise restraint and not to expand the scope of the war, so the navy was not to be used.

Therefore, Wang Gensheng was unsure whether the Huitian torpedo could be used. So, he immediately sent his thoughts to the front-line command via radio, letting them make the decision.

Wang Gensheng didn't have to wait long before the frontline command informed him that they could use the Huitian torpedo to scare away or wound the American troops stationed at Xingnan Port.

After receiving approval, Wang Gensheng immediately trained the transport team at Dongbei Flight School Airport, and then had the transport team fly C119 transport planes to Qinhuangdao to transport ten Huitian torpedoes.

Indeed, not far from the hidden cave base on Qinhuang Island, Wang Gensheng built a relatively concealed field airfield, which could easily accommodate a transport plane.

As for why a field airfield was built, it was naturally because they were worried that when the trainees practiced aircraft carrier take-off and landing in the Bolivian Sea and failed after many attempts, they would have to find a land-based airfield.

Thus, a field airfield was naturally established, and Wang Gensheng also sent a telegram to the naval base. Wang Gensheng's order was carried out without hesitation, and before noon, two C119 transport planes, each carrying MK14 torpedoes developed and manufactured by the United States, arrived at Dongbei's flight school airfield.

There was no other way; a single torpedo weighed 1.5 tons, and ten torpedoes would weigh 15 tons.

Given its weight, a single MK-14 torpedo would naturally require two aircraft to carry it. There was no other way; even the most advanced C119 transport aircraft at the time could only carry a weight of ten tons.

Therefore, it was only natural that the torpedoes had to be loaded into two transport planes in two batches. However, at this time, the courier, namely the C119 transport plane, did not immediately deliver the torpedoes to the battlefield, namely the port of Nanxing.

There's no other way. Flying a transport plane to Chaozhou during the day would be tantamount to suicide, so we can only wait until night to decide!

Just as Wang Gensheng was waiting for nightfall and for the 26th Army to arrive, Li Xiu and his men also arrived at Xingnan Port and began to scout the port.

Upon seeing such a massive fleet on the sea for the first time, Li Xiuqi couldn't help but exclaim:
"Commander, aren't ten 'Returning Sky' torpedoes a bit too few? And with such a powerful fleet, won't they take other measures to prevent us from capturing Xingnan Port? And what if the US forces hold out to the death?"

Wang Gensheng shook his head firmly and said:

"No way, the US military will definitely withdraw from Hsingnan Port!"

It's important to understand that during the later stages of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, the US 10th Corps, which managed to escape from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's ambush, eventually boarded ships at Hungnam Port and evacuated to Busan. This led to a complete withdrawal of US troops from northern Korea. Some have questioned whether, given the US military's personnel and equipment capabilities, they could have replicated the "Busan model" from the early stages of the war, leveraging their superior resources and naval and air superiority to hold Hungnam Port, await reinforcements, and thus maintain a bridgehead in northern Korea, threatening the flanks and rear of the Chinese forces, tying down Chinese troops, and awaiting changes in the battle situation.

It's important to remember that in the early stages of the Korean War, the US Eighth Army and remnants of the South Korean army held the Busan defensive perimeter for six weeks, drawing away the main force of the South Korean army and making the Incheon landing remarkably effective. So, if the US army had held Heungnam Port, could it have achieved the same result?
This problem can actually be analyzed from three aspects.

First, does the US military have the capability to defend Hungnam? Second, does the US military have the confidence to defend Hungnam? Finally, is it meaningful for the US military to hold Hungnam?

The answer to whether the US military has the capability to defend Hungnam is undoubtedly yes.

Applying the model of the Busan defense, the US forces withdrew from the mountainous area around Changjin Lake and entered the coastal plains around Hungnam Port. This allowed them to leverage their mobility and firepower advantages. With Hungnam Port as their backing, they could be resupplyed by sea. The US naval fleet and the air forces stationed in southern Japan and South Korea could provide strong fire support. At the same time, the US's powerful engineering capabilities made it easy for them to construct a complete ring-shaped defensive position in a short period of time. For the reinforcements to Chaozhou who lacked heavy weapons, naval and air support, and the ability to attack fortified positions, it would be extremely difficult to defeat the US 10th Army, which was fighting with its back to the river.

Most importantly, when the defeated US troops withdrew from Hungnam Port after the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, they still numbered between 100,000 and 50,000. In contrast, the 9th Army Corps of the aiding Chaozhou had 150,000 men before the battle, with approximately 18,000 casualties and over 30,000 dying from frostbite or freezing to death, resulting in an actual loss of nearly 50,000 men.

Furthermore, the main force was concentrated in front-line combat units. This means that by the end of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, the 9th Army Corps not only had fewer front-line combat troops than the enemy, but also faced a severe shortage of equipment and supplies. Therefore, during this period, the US forces on the eastern front completely outmatched the 9th Army Corps in terms of manpower, firepower, equipment, and supplies. If they truly wanted to hold Hungnam Port, they certainly wouldn't have had much trouble.

(End of this chapter)