Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 325 Frogmen Deployed
Just then, the 26th Army, their trump card, arrived.

Of course, the arrival of the 26th Army was actually too late in terms of the overall battle plan, which was to annihilate the US Marine Corps' "Lion" (a large number of US Marines).

The original operational plan for the eastern front was the responsibility of the Ninth Army Corps Command.

The 20th and 27th Armies were the main forces. The 20th Army launched an attack on the US Army's 1st Marine Corps and 3rd Infantry Corps units in the area of ​​Hagaru-ri, Hwangcho-ryong, and Gutul-ryong on the west side of Changjin Lake.

The 27th Army launched an attack from both sides of Changjin Lake against the main force of the US Marine Corps 1st Lion, the 31st Regiment and the 32nd Regiment of the US 7th Lion in the areas of Liutanli, Xinxingli and Needongzhi.

Meanwhile, the 26th Army, one of the three armies of the Ninth Army Corps, was stationed as a reserve force, guarding Fushan Cave and Daxiao Luozhu Cave east of the mouth of the Houchang River, to guard against the sudden advance of the US 7th Lion Army, to ensure the safety of the rear of the reinforcements to Chaozhou, and to be ready to support the attacking forces at any time.

At first, the Ninth Army Corps commander thought that with two main armies, they could defeat the two understrength American troops. However, the American firepower far exceeded expectations, and the 20th and 27th Armies suffered heavy casualties and could not stop the American troops from breaking out.

Therefore, the Ninth Army Corps Command quickly mobilized its reserves and ordered the 26th Army on December 2nd to rush to Hagaru-ri, and then officially launch an attack on the US army at 7 pm on December 3rd.

However, due to previous arrangements, the 26th Army was far from its operational target, with the shortest distance being 45 kilometers. Along the way, they had to brave heavy snow and traverse rugged mountain roads. Therefore, Zhang Renchu, the commander of the 26th Army, truthfully reported the situation and requested a one-day postponement.

The Ninth Army Corps Command considered and agreed to this. Zhang Renchu ​​then immediately issued combat orders to his Seventy-Sixth, Seventy-Seventh, and Eighty-Eighth Lions.

However, the wind and snow were extremely strong that day, and only the seventy-six lions, personally overseen by Zhang Renchu, set off as ordered, while the other two lions were somewhat confused.

For example, the 77th Lion, unfamiliar with the roads, wandered around for more than 60 miles before realizing they were lost and had to return to the starting point to start marching again. The 88th Lion, considering the fatigue of the troops, stayed in place for 15 hours and failed to reach the 1400 Hill, 1140 Hill, and Songjeong-ri southeast of Hagaru-ri as agreed.

As a result, Zhang Renchu ​​was severely short of troops at 7 p.m. on December 4th, the agreed-upon date for the attack, and had no choice but to request a one-day postponement.

However, often, once an accident occurs, more accidents will follow.

For example, on the morning of December 5th, only one regiment of the 77th Lions arrived, and the two regiments of the 88th Lions were still more than 20 kilometers away. The 26th Army was already suffering from severe frostbite and death from freezing, and with so many troops not arriving, the battle could not be fought, so the attack time had to be postponed for another day.

Zhang Renchu ​​then devised a new battle plan, ordering the Seventy-Six Lions to attack Hagaru-ri from the southeast, while a portion of them would move around in the northeast and due east directions, waiting for the main force to break through and quickly insert themselves into the enemy's formation.
One regiment of the 77 Lions attacked Jingxia Village, while another regiment attacked Shuiqu Village. After achieving their objectives, they joined forces with the 76 Lions to attack Hagaru Village. The 88 Lions, together with the 77 Lions, attacked Jingxia Village. Another regiment was dispatched to build a defensive position in Songting Village, responsible for blocking reinforcements and preventing the enemy from escaping south.

As a result, the eighty-eight lions did not march hastily as ordered, but instead camped in Baiyanli and Qingwu.

The entire unit was in such disarray that it gave the enemy an opportunity. Before our army could launch a general offensive, the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment chose to break out and launch a fierce attack on the 228th Regiment's position at dawn on the 6th. Because the 88th Regiment had not arrived to relieve them, the 228th Regiment's position was breached by around 3 p.m.

Then, it wasn't until the morning of the 7th that the 88 lions finally arrived, reaching the position south of Songtingli and Fushengli. In addition, the 77 lions got lost again during the pursuit, making the same mistake twice in a row.

By this time, the main force of the US Marine Corps 1 had already fled to the Koto-ri area, and the Ninth Army Corps' plan to annihilate the Marine Corps 1 had basically failed.

In the movie "The Battle of Chosin Reservoir," the Ninth Army Corps Commander, unwilling to accept defeat, immediately dispatched the Seventh Company to bomb the Watergate Bridge, hoping to use it to block the withdrawal of the US Marine Corps' 1st Lion.

However, as seen in the movie, how could a water gate bridge that was only eight meters long possibly stop the retreat of the US troops? They easily crossed after a steel structure bridge was built.

With Wang Gensheng's addition, using the minefield to hold off the US troops was still useless. Understanding the consequences, Smith abandoned the heavy equipment and ordered a withdrawal from the Watergate Bridge area. So, just one day was needed to completely keep the Marines here.

Therefore, Wang Gensheng could only devise this operational plan with the mindset that if he couldn't completely annihilate the land force, he still needed to obtain some supplies.

This time, the 26th Army performed admirably, managing to reach Xingnan Port that very night.

In this way, Wang Gensheng could also get the 26th Army to cooperate with him in taking Xingnan Port.

However, the main force in this operation was not the army, nor was it the 26th Army.

The main force in this operation was the Navy's frogman special operations team.

Wang Gensheng's plan was to use the tactic of using the Huitian torpedo to bring frogmen along, so that the ships docked at Xingnan Port would have to leave their posts quickly, thus preventing the US military from having time to destroy the supplies in the port warehouses.

Just as darkness fell, two C119 transport planes that had been seized from Hagaru-ri Airport took off from Dongbei Flight School Airport. After more than an hour and over 500 kilometers, they arrived at the coast more than 50 kilometers from Hungnam Port.

Then, guided by the campfire of Wang Gensheng and others, they dropped ten "Returning Sky" torpedoes, along with some equipment used by the frogman special forces.

In addition, there are many underwater bombs, which are naturally the means to deal with the US fleet.

In the deep sea, frogman special forces have little chance against the US military fleet.

But aren't the warships docked at the port just easy prey for the frogman special forces?
Under Wang Gensheng's lead, Duan Peng, Wei Dayong, and others also put on the unique shark suits worn by the frogman special forces.

Wearing this shark suit, there's no need to worry about the frogman special forces freezing to death from hypothermia in the icy seawater.

As the Huitian torpedo was activated, each member of the frogman special forces team was tied to it with a rope.

Then, the Huitian torpedo led the frogman special forces team to Xingnan Port, fifty kilometers away.

That's right, this is exactly what Wang Gensheng thought of: using the Huitian torpedo as a means of transportation for the frogman special forces.

This naturally greatly improves the cost-effectiveness. Indeed, Wang Gensheng would consider it a waste if a single Kaiten torpedo destroyed a US warship.

Therefore, in order to compensate for the fact that the frogman special forces are not as fast as warships in the water and that they easily consume physical strength, Wang Gensheng came up with the idea of ​​using ropes to tie the torpedoes and using them as underwater transportation.

Of course, the frogman special forces also carried diving equipment and waterproof bombs for blowing up ships.

(End of this chapter)