Changjin Lake: From Xinxingli to Seoul

Chapter 105 The Chinese People's Volunteer Army's Christmas Offensive! The US Army's Last Stand!

December 25, 1950, Headquarters of the 12st Marine Division
"Sir, the situation is very bad for us!"

"The Christmas ceasefire turned into a Christmas social event. Almost 60% of the positions had such Christmas exchanges with the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Our soldiers' war-weariness had almost reached its peak!"

"Given the strategic and tactical capabilities of the Chinese army, they will definitely seize the opportunity to launch a general offensive and completely crush us!"

The U.S. military chief of staff said.

"I know there are too many soldiers who could participate, but our forces are limited and there are simply no replacements."

Smith sighed.

"Sir, the General Staff has an idea that might offer a glimmer of hope for the 1st Marine Division!"

The U.S. Chief of Staff thought for a moment and then said.

"any solution?"

Major General Smith's sullen face instantly changed, and he looked at the US Chief of Staff with shining eyes.

"Although the Christmas party dampened the rebellious spirit of many soldiers, there were still some soldiers who were determined to fight for America."

“We can send one or two soldiers, pretending to be people moved by Christmas Eve, to contact the Chinese army.”

"Let's say there's a position where we can create a breach by feigning resistance during the decisive battle, allowing Chinese troops to enter, as long as we can ensure they can return home safely."

"Then we concentrated an armored reserve force and prepared artillery fire in advance."

"Once the Chinese army enters, we will directly use our armored reserves to block the breach, and then annihilate this elite force of the Chinese army in one fell swoop!"

The U.S. Chief of Staff clenched his fist and said.

"But can the Chinese army be fooled?"

Smith frowned slightly and asked.

"Sir, even if you don't fall for it, it still provides protection and prevention."

"After all, how can we guarantee that no one under us will actually do that?"

“Once other positions do this, along with the people we send out, the Chinese army will face the choice of whether it is real or fake.”

"If they don't dare to gamble, then we've averted a terrible crisis."

"If they dare to gamble, then we'll see who God sides with..."

The U.S. Chief of Staff sighed and said.

"God, the East isn't under your jurisdiction..."

"By the way, how come the staff department's level has improved so much this time? Which staff officer came up with the plan that's worthy of being given an important position?"

Smith looked at the U.S. Chief of Staff and asked.

"He was a Chinese-American staff officer named Fan Wencheng, who claimed to be a descendant of the famous Chinese figure Fan Zhongyan, and also said that he was well-versed in the tactical thought of a military strategist named Sun Tzu."

The U.S. military chief of staff said.

"Of Chinese descent? He was Chinese before?"

Smith frowned slightly and asked.

"Yes!"

"That's why we didn't listen to his previous suggestions, but now we have no choice..."

The U.S. Chief of Staff shrugged helplessly and said.

"Okay, if we manage to get out, we should definitely make good use of this Chinese-American staff officer."

"Go ahead and deploy it. Consider it a gamble. It's daytime now, so there should still be a chance."

Smith nodded and said.

"Yes, sir!"

The U.S. Chief of Staff saluted and said.

....................................

Seventh Company Headquarters
"Company commander, the order from the military headquarters has arrived."

"The general offensive will begin tonight. Our main attack will be directed at the southeastern position of Zangmi-ri, which is the location we previously bombarded."

Mei Sheng said.

"Isn't that one of the positions of the 1st Marine Regiment that we visited before?"

Pinghe was slightly taken aback and asked.

"What's wrong? Are you worried that the comrades won't be willing to fire?"

Wu Qianli asked jokingly.

"How could that be? We gave them a chance to live."

"They didn't come over because they were being ungrateful!"

Yu Congrong waved his hand and said loudly.

“Yu Congrong is right. Nearly a third of those who came to participate in the social gathering were taken away by the prisoners.”

"Moreover, we didn't treat these people as prisoners of war. Those who were willing were put into the Han auxiliary army, and those who were unwilling were given better treatment and promised to be the first batch to be sent back to their country."

"So we've done the best we could. If we meet on the battlefield next, then we can't be blamed."

Wu Wanli nodded and said.

"It would be best if the American devils surrendered without resistance, so we wouldn't have to fight them so hard."

Gao Daxing smiled and said.

"You little idiot, aren't you going to resist?"

"Do they think they're Chiang Kai-shek? They've already attacked and they still order no resistance?"

Lei Gong took a puff of his pipe and laughed and cursed.

"report!"

At this moment, Lü Chaoran walked to the outside of the headquarters of the Seventh Steel Company and shouted loudly.

"Why are you here? Are there prisoners rioting?"

Wu Wanli frowned slightly and asked with a hint of doubt.

"There was no riot. It was a U.S. military officer who came over from the last social gathering who said he had important information to report."

Lu Chaoran scratched his head and said.

"Important military intelligence?"

“Bring him in and talk.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Qianli gave the order.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Chaoran immediately went down and brought Captain Kuli up.

"Sir...hello sir."

After Captain Curry entered, he saluted and greeted Wu Qianli, who was in the middle, with a slightly reserved demeanor.

"In our Volunteer Army, there are no officers, only leaders."

"Enough with the formalities. Tell me why you're here, and what important military intelligence you have?"

Mei Sheng, who was standing nearby, asked in English.

"To be honest, you all know that we don't want to fight anymore."

"And now our men are surrounded in the town of Zangmiri, isolated and helpless, and we don't know when they will be wiped out."

"So yesterday at the Christmas party, I made an agreement with Captain James that I would relay the message and he would ensure the response on the ground."

"When the general offensive begins and you charge at our positions, we will not truly resist, but will fire into the sky."

"Don't hurt my men either. Just make sure they can return home safely and reunite with their families."

Captain Curry looked at Wu Wanli with earnest eyes and said.

Soon, Mei Sheng translated Curry's meaning to everyone.

"Okay!"

"Company commander, now that the American devils have turned against us, doesn't that make things much easier?"

"Our Steel Seventh Company will charge straight through the breach to support the main force and tear apart the American defenses in one fell swoop!"

A hint of excitement flashed in Yu Congrong's eyes as he spoke.

"If it's true, then it really means a lot to us."

Pinghe nodded in agreement.

Lei Gong remained silent, staring intently at Captain Curry, deep in thought.

"Wanli, what do you think?"

Wu Qianli hesitated for a moment and asked.

"This is not something that our Steel Seventh Company can decide, but it will affect the entire general offensive deployment, and even the main attack direction may have to be changed."

"I want to see the army commander, report to him, and then decide based on the information the army has."

Wu Wanli paused for a few seconds, then spoke hesitantly.

"Only you have the privilege of seeing the army commander at this time!"

"Alright, let's see what the military thinks."

"Go ahead, and come back soon," Wu Qianli smiled and agreed.

"Yes!"

Wu Wanli saluted and ran outside.

....................................

Chinese People's Volunteer Army, Army-level Command

"Commander, if there are no problems, let's stick with our general offensive plan!"

The chief of staff handed a plan to Kong Jie and said...

"No problem, let's do it this way then."

Kong Jie glanced at the report, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"Reporting to the commander, the frontline reconnaissance team has new information."

"They said that several American soldiers from different positions had defected to us, saying that their positions would cooperate with us during the general offensive."

A volunteer army officer walked in and said.

"Seek refuge?"

"What's going on? This didn't happen during the Battle of Hagaru-ri."

Kong Jie frowned slightly and asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Commander, the situation is very different now than in Hagaru-ri."

"Although the U.S. military suffered a crushing defeat at Xinxingli, the Polar Bear Regiment is, after all, a unit of the 7th Marine Division, so it did not have much impact on the morale of the 1st Marine Division."

"After the Battle of Hagaru-ri, the U.S. 1st Marine Division suffered heavy losses, and even the commander of their 1st Marine Regiment was captured by Wu Wanli."

"In addition, they were blocked by our comrades all the way here, and with the help of Wu Wanli's psychological warfare, it is normal for the morale of the US troops to collapse."

"but……"

The chief of staff suddenly changed the subject halfway through his speech.

"But what?"

Kong Jie asked.

"One or two is fine, but several positions contacting us... I feel like there are a bit too many of them."

The chief of staff said, frowning.

"We're launching the final offensive tonight. If we're really unsure, how about we proceed with the original plan?"

Kong Jie thought for a moment and then said.

"Commander, this is the safest way, but our several armies have been fighting at Chosin Reservoir for so long, and the casualties are already very serious. There have even been cases where entire units have been wiped out."

"If these are true, and if used properly, they should reduce a lot of casualties and maybe even save some unit designations."

The chief of staff sighed and said.

"Eh……"

"You're right, we've already lost enough comrades."

Kong Jie sighed and said.

"Why don't we ask Wanli to come and ask him? He's got a staff officer title now, so we need to get him to do some work."

The chief of staff smiled and made the suggestion.

"Alright, we can't let this kid sit idle. Xiao Huang, you go..."

Kong Jie nodded and was about to send someone to find Wu Wanli.

"Commander, Comrade Wu Wanli says he has something to report to you!"

At this moment, a volunteer soldier walked in and said.

"That kid, he came right after I mentioned him, hahaha..."

Upon hearing this, the chief of staff couldn't help but laugh.

"Let him in quickly."

Kong Jiedao.

"Yes!"

The volunteer soldier readily agreed.

……

"Commander, Chief of Staff, Wu Wanli is here to report!"

Wu Wanli saluted and said.

"Tell us what's going on, and then help us think of something."

Kong Jie looked at Wu Wanli and felt a little more at ease, then said.

"Commander, there is an American officer who mingled with us during the social gathering."

"He informed the position in advance that he would respond to us during the general offensive and fire blanks to welcome us."

"As long as we promise not to harm them and that they can be sent back home after the war, that's fine."

Wu Wanli reported.

"Do you experience this situation where you are too?"

Upon hearing this, Kong Jie was slightly taken aback and asked.

"Also?"

"Commander, has someone else contacted you?"

A look of surprise flashed across Wu Wanli's eyes as he asked.

"Yes, and not just one or two, but several US military communications officers from different positions contacted us during the day."

"What I just told you to think about is exactly this matter."

Kong Jie nodded and said.

"Commander, Chief of Staff, could you give me a general idea of ​​what's going on?"

"How much military strength do we have left? Can we support a multi-pronged attack?"

Wu Wanli stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"That's a good question. We suffered heavy losses in the previous battles, so we can no longer afford to launch a full-scale attack from all sides like before."

“These communication points are scattered in various places and directions, and are not connected.”

"So even if we have to fight, we can only choose one."

The chief of staff thought for a moment and then said.

"Commander, if we really have to make a choice, I suggest we take the US response point here as the main direction of attack."

"For other US military liaison points, a small number of troops can be sent to conduct probing attacks, and they should immediately disengage if any situation arises."

"If there's no situation, don't go too deep; just stay in the trenches and defend."

Wu Wanli looked at the map of Zang Meili and said.

"Why is the primary target of the attack being the US forces in your area?"

the chief of staff asked.

"Because he was the only one who came through the Christmas party, and the Christmas party was a completely unexpected and accidental event that caught both sides off guard, I don't really believe that the US commander could have thought that far ahead."

"As for the other American troops, I always feel there's something fishy going on. They may not all be fake, but it's very likely that some are fake. We can't gamble on these."

Wu Wanli thought for a moment and then said.

"Commander, what Comrade Wu Wanli said actually makes sense."

"If the US military commanders were this far-sighted, they wouldn't have been able to fight us so badly despite having advanced weapons."

"If I had to choose a direction, I would agree with the direction that Comrade Wu Wanli mentioned."

The chief of staff thought for a moment and then said.

"Okay, this kid is really smart, I believe him."

"Then we'll focus our main attack on the direction Wanli and his men are heading, while feigning attacks from other areas..."

Kong Jie nodded, about to make a decision.

"Commander, wait a minute."

"Now that we've guessed the tactic the US military might use, why not see if we can be lucky enough to turn the tables on them?"

Wu Wanli pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and asked.

"Just follow the plan?"

"What kind of trick are you up to now? Tell me quickly."

Kong Jie smiled and asked.

"Even if the US military responds to us and quickly takes the position, the US military also has armored units that can quickly support and plug the gap, so we are still somewhat passive."

"How about we pretend we're not attacking from here, and instead launch a coordinated assault with our elite troops, while making a big fuss at other potentially threatening response points? Maybe that could draw away the US armored support forces?"

Wu Wanli thought for a moment and then smiled.

(End of this chapter)