Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

However, this did not prevent the attack from being launched at the designated time. At this time, Li Qiwei had just taken over the US Eighth Army, which consisted of all the ground troops in Chaozhou.

Just as Li Qiwei arrived at the headquarters of the U.S. Eighth Army, he encountered a group of reporters blocking his way at the airport. One of the male reporters asked Li Qiwei:

"From a military perspective, when do you anticipate the enemy will launch an attack on the 38th parallel?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qiwei answered without hesitation:

"The enemy has just experienced a major battle and will not launch a new one immediately. I estimate that they will need at least two to three months to regroup. If they launch a rash attack now, our army will definitely be able to hold the 38th parallel, relying on the natural barrier of the Imjin River!"

Immediately after Li Qiwei answered, another very beautiful female reporter asked:
"Jingjun, do you think our army suffered a defeat? Was it a problem with our army's strength?"

To the beautiful female reporter's question, Li Qiwei shook his head confidently and said:
"Anyone with basic common sense can see that our army is far stronger than the enemy. The only problem our army faces is low morale. We must boost the morale of our troops and rediscover the taste of victory!"

In response to Li Qiwei's answer, the beautiful female reporter pointed to a hand grenade hanging on Li Qiwei's chest and said:

"So you wear a grenade on your chest to motivate your soldiers?"

Upon hearing this question, Li Qiwei looked down at the grenade hanging on his chest and shook his head, saying:

"No, this grenade isn't for anyone else, it's for myself. I'm a veteran, and if necessary, I'm ready to die with the enemy!"

After saying this, Li Qiwei ignored the other reporters' questions and got into his car to head to the Eighth Army Group's headquarters.

Clearly, Li Qiwei possessed the backbone of a soldier. At least on the surface, he had no intention of surrendering after defeat; he was prepared to die a glorious death if captured.

Soon Li Qiwei arrived at the Eighth Army's command post, where he found the morale of the Eighth Army to be low.

At this moment, the commander of the First Army of the Eighth Army Group immediately stepped forward to welcome him:
"Li Qiweijun, I didn't expect you to be at the front lines as soon as you got off the plane!"

In response, Li Qiwei looked at the map in the command room and asked:

"Tell me about the deployment of the reinforcements to Chaozhou?"

In response, the commander of the First Army spoke up:

"We have nearly 200,000 troops coming to aid Chaozhou on the other side!"

After the commander of the First Army finished speaking, he fell silent. Li Qiwei then pressed him for an answer:
"and then?"

"That's all the Mikami Army!" Li Qiwei was speechless upon hearing this report. What kind of intelligence was this? It only provided numbers, not even the location of these troops. So Li Qiwei continued to press for details:
"What about their main defensive positions, and their direction of operation?"

"We don't know. The reinforcements to Chaozhou are extremely secretive, their movements are unpredictable, and they are difficult to detect. We really don't know anything about them!"

Are there enemy activities around our 38th parallel defensive fortifications, rivers, high ground, and villages?

However, when Li Qiwei inquired about these matters, the commander of the First Army could only say:
"It seems not!"

These words immediately enraged Li Qiwei, who slammed his fist on the table and said:

"It seems not. I don't know. Can a commander like that win a battle? Do you know what you've said?!"

After saying this, Li Wei addressed the command staff of the Eighth Army:
"I watched the battle reports of each of your lions on the plane. You complained that the reinforcements were too fond of flanking attacks. That's because you relied too much on the roads and didn't pay attention to capturing the mountains along the way. You were unwilling to put effort into capturing and scouting the high ground. You always complained that your forces were too weak to establish a solid front, right?"

That's because your various units operate independently, offering no support to each other, not even artillery support. You complain that the enemy always operates at night, because you're too lazy to familiarize yourselves with the local terrain and too lazy to devise countermeasures. I want to remind you all that the reinforcements to Chaozhou may launch another attack at any time. If anyone tries to shirk responsibility again, I will hand him over to a military court!

Li Qiwei's reprimand clearly revealed that he had discovered the weaknesses of his own army. Indeed, despite having powerful firepower, they failed to build defensive fortifications along the way, preventing their firepower from being deployed. Furthermore, they neglected to scout the surrounding terrain and failed to pay attention to coordination between different units.

Just as Li Qiwei pointed out the problem with his own troops, the reinforcements to Chaozhou also received intelligence about Li Qiwei, the American commander. The intelligence officer, holding the newly obtained intelligence, addressed the frontline commander:
"Li Qiwei was a three-star military officer in the U.S. Army. He entered West Point at the age of eighteen, when Michael Asser was his superintendent. During World War II, he was appointed commander of the Mi-82 Lions, which was later reorganized into the Airborne Lions, an elite unit of the U.S. Army. He led his troops from Sicily to various battlefields in Europe, participated in the Romani landings, and commanded his troops to airdrop behind enemy lines. This directly accelerated the collapse of the German coastal defenses and set a precedent for large-scale airborne tactics!"

After recounting the combat experience he had obtained regarding Li Qiwei, the intelligence officer analyzed:

"I think that in terms of this person's combat experience and characteristics, he is tactically bold and decisive, tactically astute, and emphasizes offensiveness. Therefore, we must guard against a sudden counterattack during the US military's defensive phase. Although he will not act rashly with the airborne landing tactic in the face of our strong rear support, cutting off our logistics supply lines with air power should be his first choice!"

After hearing the intelligence officer's analysis of Li Qiwei's tactical characteristics, the frontline commander nodded in agreement.

"That's what I'm most worried about. We must do everything we can to get ahead of this guy named Li Qiwei and prevent him from having any opportunity to organize a defense or even launch a counterattack. We need to launch the third campaign in time and gain the initiative on the battlefield!"

Everyone naturally agreed with this statement, but they also understood that they couldn't rush it. After all, Li Qiwei was right; the reinforcements to Chaozhou were in dire need of rest after a major battle.

It's important to understand that on the battlefield, there are always more wounded soldiers than those who die. With the help of modern medicine, especially antibiotics, most wounded soldiers can be saved unless they die on the spot.

For example, during the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Dabiao, the battalion commander of Li Yunlong's first battalion, was shot in the leg, but he was able to return to battle full of energy in less than a month.

A penetrating bullet wound, especially when it hits the arm or leg, will instantly incapacitate a soldier. However, with timely treatment, they can recover quickly and return to combat. (End of Chapter)