Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 339 Weaknesses of Light Infantry

Compared to the defensive US forces, the Chaozhou forces preparing to launch an offensive had already reached the vicinity of the Imjin River at the end of the Second Phase Offensive. This meant that if they continued their offensive in the Third Phase Offensive, their supply lines would be stretched even further.

Therefore, the first problem that the aid troops had to solve was the logistical supply issue. Before the start of this battle, the front-line commander ordered that enough food be prepared and that railway troops be mobilized from within the country to enter Korea to speed up the repair of the railway and ensure the logistical transport artery.

Of course, because of Wang Gensheng's spoils, the country was able to collect less grain and other food.

The primary objective of this third campaign was to use it as leverage in negotiations. Previously, the US had manipulated the ceasefire at the UN General Assembly, acting capriciously and ultimately causing the peace talks to fall through.

So if you won't talk after I hit you once, then I'll hit you again until it hurts and you obediently negotiate.

Therefore, the strategic objective of this aid-to-Chaozhou army was to unite the South Chaozhou troops on the first line of defense of the National Revolutionary Army, as well as a small number of American troops. The various units were deployed along the 38th parallel, with two main offensive directions: Khan City on the western front and Chuncheon on the eastern front.

On the eastern front, the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 50th Armies, along with the First Army Corps of Beichao, were concentrated to encircle and annihilate the First and Sixth Lions of Nanchao, and continued to advance southward to attack the main force of the First Army of Mi.

Meanwhile, on the western front, the 42nd and 66th Armies, the 2nd Army Corps of Beichao, and the 5th Army Corps encircled and annihilated the 2nd and 7th Nanchao in the Chuncheon area, and continued to attack the defense line of the 9th Army of Mi to the south.

Of course, they needed to cross the Imjin River before they could continue their operations.

The Imjin River is a major river in Chaozhou, flowing southwest across the 38th parallel into the Han River. The first line of defense of the United Army was initially established along the Imjin River, and the South Chao First Lion and the South Chao Six Lions were stationed on the riverbank.

It's important to know that the Nanchao First Lion is the elite unit of the Nanchao Kingdom, and its commander is Bai Shanye, a renowned soldier from Nanchao. Relying on the natural barrier of the Imjin River, it was known as an "impregnable fortress." The unit responsible for the assault was the 116th Lion of the 39th Army of the Nanchao Army, which was an elite unit of the Fourth Field Army, originally the 2nd Column of the Fourth Field Army.

The Second Column was one of the best-performing columns in the Fourth Field Army, known for its expertise in fighting tough battles and siege warfare.

Of course, a good horse needs a good saddle. Having the best lions alone is not enough; you also need the most powerful weapons. That's why six artillery regiments were transferred from within the country to reinforce the Chaozhou army.

Before the start of this battle, the 116th Lion was attached to the 45th Artillery Regiment, plus the main force of the 26th Artillery Regiment, making a total of six artillery regiments. The 116th Lion alone was attached to two of them, which shows how strong its firepower was.

Of course, getting these six artillery regiments from the mainland to the Chaozhou battlefield was not an easy task. They could only be transported at night, since the US reconnaissance planes and fighter jets were flying around very frequently during the day.

This time, the truck driver trained by Wang Gensheng also made a contribution. After transporting supplies at Xingnan Port, the truck driver took the seriously wounded back and was then assigned to haul several heavy howitzers back here.

Of course, that's not all. In order to ensure that the artillery positions were not discovered, the reinforcements to Chaozhou built a large number of underground artillery positions. This involved digging artillery pits, placing the entire cannon inside for camouflage, and then, with the addition of thick snow, they were naturally not detected by the US reconnaissance aircraft. And so they waited for the moment when the cannons roared.

The result was obvious: the so-called impregnable defenses of the Southern Chao Lions were utterly vulnerable in the face of the 116 Lions of the Southern Chao Army.

On the night of December 31st, the 116th Lion Army launched a fierce offensive, breaking through the Imjin River defense line of the Namchao 1st Lion Army in just eleven minutes. At the same time, various units of the reinforcement army also launched their own attacks, successively breaking through the Imjin River. Faced with the powerful offensive of the reinforcement army, the Namchao troops were completely powerless to resist and quickly retreated.

After breaking through the first line of defense, the frontline command ordered the 38th, 39th, and 40th Armies to attack the eastern front, while the 1st and 50th Army Corps of Beichao were responsible for flanking maneuvers to the south. The 66th Army Corps was to attack the western front, while the 42nd Army Corps, the 2nd Army Corps of Beichao, and the 5th Army Corps of Beichao were responsible for flanking maneuvers to the flanks.

The result of this roundabout maneuvering is only one: to divide the battlefield, enabling superior forces to encircle and annihilate the enemy's inferior forces, thereby achieving a complete encirclement and destruction of the enemy army.

Seeing that his troops were in danger of being surrounded, Ridgway quickly ordered the front-line troops to retreat to the second line of defense south of Khan City.

Because the Allied Forces were all mechanized and marched quickly, and with the cover of aircraft, the reinforcements from Chaozhou were unable to annihilate the Allied Forces' front-line troops and broke out of the encirclement before the reinforcements could outflank them.

That's the advantage of mechanization. As long as it's not a mountain road or there's a highway, mechanized troops can march at least five times, or even ten times, faster than light infantry.

For light infantry who rely on their own two feet to travel, being able to march a hundred miles in one night is quite impressive. But for mechanized infantry, let alone fifty kilometers, as long as the roads are suitable, marching a thousand miles in one night is not impossible.

On January 4th, Ridgway ordered his troops to abandon Khan City and retreat to the south bank of the Han River. The 116th Army of the 39th Corps and the 1st Army Corps of the North Han River captured Khan City that same day. Subsequently, the various units crossed the Han River on January 5th and advanced all the way to the Suwon, Icheon, and Wonju areas. This was Ridgway's fourth line of defense.

However, in order to prevent the enemy from counterattacking, the front-line commander decisively stopped the pursuit and ordered all units to retreat dozens of kilometers to rest and recuperate.

After all, the terrain of the peninsula is what it is. If the fighting goes too far, the US military might launch another Incheon landing and cut off the logistics and supplies of the reinforcements to Chaozhou, which would be the end of them.

On January 8th, the Third Campaign ended. In this campaign, the aid troops and the Chaozhou People's Army advanced the front line southward by 80 to 110 kilometers, driving the Allied forces from the vicinity of the 38th parallel to the vicinity of the 37th parallel.

In this battle, the Huachao allied forces suffered more than 8,500 casualties and killed or wounded more than 19,000 enemy soldiers. Therefore, in the first confrontation between the front-line commander and Ridgway, the Huachao allied forces were clearly victorious, and the front-line commander was more skilled.

However, despite the appearance of this, most of these 19,000-plus people were casualties of the Southern Chao Army, after all, they were in the first echelon and on the front line.

The US forces in the second echelon, however, retreated quickly without sustaining any serious damage, which led to the subsequent four and even the fifth campaigns.

So when Wang Gensheng was thinking about these things, he wondered if he could kill more American soldiers in the three battles that were about to take place.

However, it would be very difficult for the US troops, who were hiding in the second echelon, to bypass the soldiers of the Southern Tide Kingdom and attack them.

Even if Wang Gensheng led the team, it wouldn't have mattered. A special forces team of less than a thousand men couldn't stop tens of thousands of retreating American soldiers.

(End of this chapter)