Changjin Lake: From Xinxingli to Seoul

Chapter 182 Operation Han City Garden? All I saw were medals of merit scattered everywhere!

Seoul, Airport

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, all comrades in the Third Battalion have been fully equipped with American weapons. Please give further instructions!"

Wu Qianli glanced at Wu Wanli with a slight smile, then saluted loudly and reported.

Beside him, Mei Sheng also straightened his back and saluted along with him, without the slightest intention of putting on airs.

"Okay!"

"Brother, Instructor Mei, I didn't expect it to be you."

"So, how are these American weapons?"

Wu Wanli handed a sniper rifle to Wu Qianli and said with a smile.

"Commander-in-Chief Wanli, after taking Seoul with the Seventh Company, is living a life of extreme wealth..."

Wu Qianli took the sniper rifle, pulled the bolt, and heard a smooth, crisp "click" sound. He couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.

“We’ve heard about you a long time ago. Your brother is beaming with joy and he even dreams about how successful you are.”

Mei Sheng smiled and sighed.

"Company commander, political instructor!"

"Company commander, political instructor!"

"Company commander, political instructor..."

When Yu Congrong, Pinghe Leigong, and Gao Daxing saw Wu Qianli, they all saluted and shouted.

"They're all still alive, with all their limbs intact. Good! Wanli's troops have a low casualty rate and great achievements. Excellent skills..."

Wu Qianli looked at Yu Congrong and the others with concern and said with heartfelt emotion.

For volunteer soldiers like them, each farewell on the battlefield might mean never seeing each other again.

Just like Wu Baili, he could only turn into an urn of ashes, which he carried home.

Seeing that the key comrades of the Seventh Company were all safe and sound, Wu Qianli was truly happy.

"Yu Congrong, you're calling them by their lower ranks. They should be called battalion commander and political instructor now!"

A volunteer soldier standing next to Wu Qianli joked.

"It's nothing, they're all comrades from the old Seventh Company, it's comforting to hear."

"By the way, Wanli, I saw that the fighter jets quickly refueled and replenished their ammunition as soon as they dropped us off, and then took off immediately. Is there an urgent battle about to begin?"

"But I heard that the US military is blocked by North Koreans, so there shouldn't be any fighting right now, right?"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Wu Qianli immediately spoke with sensitivity.

"The main force of the US troops is indeed blocked outside, but they are estimated to send an airborne force to launch a surprise attack."

"I came to this conclusion after gathering information from multiple sources, and it's too complicated to explain in a short time."

“Take the comrades from the Third Battalion and follow me. I expect they will parachute in at the South Gate, which is the easiest to break through.”

"I've set up sentries with signal flares at the other gates, so there won't be any problems."

Wu Wanli said succinctly.

"Okay, I'll get everything ready right away, and we'll set off together in two minutes."

Upon hearing this, Wu Qianli did not hesitate at all and immediately saluted and obeyed the order.

Although Wanli was his younger brother, they had fought side by side in the Korean War so many times, and Wanli's battlefield judgments were always perfectly correct. He had almost reflexively come to believe that whatever Wanli judged was the truth.

"Instructor Liu, have the Seventh Steel Battalion assemble immediately and prepare to depart. I have a bad feeling about this, so it seems we need to speed things up."

Wu Wanli looked at the Sky Eye map in his mind, which showed fighter jet icons rapidly approaching Seoul.

"Yes!"

Liu Hanqing quickly agreed.

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

Soon, the Seventh and Third Steel Battalions completed their formation and headed straight for the South Gate.

However, just as Wu Wanli led his troops halfway through their march, the roar of warplanes suddenly echoed in the twilight sky.

"Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz————"

In the sky, rows of American warplanes flew toward them with overwhelming force.

"Scatter, take cover, and lie down!"

"M2 anti-aircraft machine gun crew, prepare!"

Upon seeing this, Wu Wanli immediately shouted.

The volunteer soldiers below reacted immediately, quickly spreading out and setting up anti-aircraft machine gun teams, their muzzles pointing straight to the sky.

The machine gunner stared intently at the American warplanes, but did not fire immediately.

"Company commander, should we just go for it now? We didn't bring a single artillery piece, but we brought over a hundred M2 machine guns. We'll make sure to riddle these American devils with bullets!"

Yu Congrong looked at the small black dot in the sky and asked loudly.

"This altitude is too high. Firing the M2 machine gun won't be very effective. Let's wait for the American troops to lower themselves a bit before firing all at once!"

Wu Wanli looked at the American warplanes in the sky and shouted.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, everyone raised their guns, ready to fire.

However, these US warplanes did not seem to intend to stop, but instead flew directly over them and headed towards Seoul.

"Battalion Commander, why are American warplanes flying inwards? Are they going to airdrop directly into the city streets?"

Seeing this, Pinghe quickly reminded him.

"With Seoul's narrow streets and dense buildings, it would be difficult to control where they would land after an airdrop, which would naturally separate the troops."

"Besides, paratroopers don't have much heavy firepower to begin with. If their forces are dispersed further, wouldn't that be suicide?"

"Moreover, they are white, tall and strong, with different skin colors that are very conspicuous. They can't even disguise themselves as Koreans. Besides, normally the city is the core of our defense."

Wu Wanli shook his head and said.

He glanced at the map of Hearts of Steel in his mind. The US Air Force formations were divided into two parts: one was flying towards the city, while the other was about to reach the south gate of Seoul.

"Wait...that direction looks like Seoul Airport!"

"Oh no! They're going to bomb our fighter jets!"

"Wanli, should we go back to support the airport? If all those fighter jets and pilots are wiped out, the seeds of the new Chinese Air Force will be gone!"

Liu Hanqing suddenly realized what was happening and reminded him.

"Battalion Commander, if it really comes to this, I'll take the artillery company back to provide support. You guys continue the operation?"

Upon hearing this, Lei Gong asked.

"Need not."

"I had already ordered the fighter jets to refuel and take off immediately. Unless they disobey orders, all the fighter jets have already taken off."

"These American devils really thought I was unprepared. They only had about twenty escort fighters, but they sent over a hundred bombers!"

"What a pity, how can these bombers possibly defeat the fighters that have already taken off?"

Wu Wanli put down the high-powered binoculars and snorted coldly.

"Over a hundred bombers attacked the airport?! If it weren't for Wanli's command, the American devils might have actually succeeded..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Hanqing felt a wave of fear wash over him.

"I'm afraid that's not their only objective. They want to draw our air defense fire and a large number of troops to support the airport, so they can easily airdrop in!"

"I stick to my judgment, accelerate towards the south gate, they must be there!"

Looking at the map of Hearts of Steel, Wu Wanli said with absolute certainty.

There's nothing to criticize; the confidence that comes with cheating is unmatched by any amount of judgment.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, everyone readily agreed and continued to follow Wu Wanli southwards.

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

Inside a command transport plane in the sky outside the south gate of Seoul.

"Sir, that was a brilliant move!"

"I can already imagine the heartbroken expressions on those poor Chinese rats' faces as they watch their few precious air force members perish in the flames, hahahahahaha..."

"This was stated by Major Davis, a U.S. Airborne Corps commander."

"The Chinese simply do not have the capability to produce advanced fighter jets. Those fighter jets were captured from us. They do not deserve to have an air force!"

"However, in order to protect those air force fighters, they will definitely go crazy and pull all the anti-aircraft firepower there, leaving the south gate undefended!"

"Now is the time for us to parachute in!"

Colonel James, commander of the U.S. Airborne Regiment, glanced at his watch and said.

"Now?"

"Sir, isn't the altitude a bit too high right now? Dropping from this distance would mean a long hang time, which is somewhat dangerous..."

Upon hearing this, U.S. Army Major Davis frowned and offered a reminder.

"The Chinese military's air defense firepower should be deployed to guard the airfield, so there's no need to worry. However, the large-caliber heavy artillery they captured has long-range strike capabilities."

"If the altitude is too low, the landing sites will be too concentrated, and they can easily be wiped out by a few rounds of artillery fire."

“I was worried that their sentries would find it and report it to the artillery coordinates, so this was the only way to mitigate the risk.”

Colonel James thought for a moment and then said.

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing this, Major Davis sensed something was amiss, but could only agree.

High in the air, the doors of the US military transport plane opened, and US paratroopers jumped down like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Due to the altitude, the US warplanes did not notice that the 7th and 3rd Steel Battalions below had set up anti-aircraft machine guns and were waiting for them to land.

……

Downward
"Battalion Commander, we've been waiting for ages, and the American devils still haven't arrived. Could it be that the intelligence... the intelligence is wrong, or the assessment is incorrect?"

Xu Mumu scratched his head, looked at the only remaining fiery clouds in the sky, and said in a simple and honest manner.

As soon as he said this, everyone around him turned to look at this fool who dared to question Wu Wanli's 100% judgment.

However, some of the new recruits in the Third Battalion, though they didn't say it, were also a little worried.

Could it be that Wu Wanli really made a mistake this time?
They were able to deduce the approximate location of the US airdrop from various intelligence reports. If it weren't for Wu Wanli, they certainly wouldn't have believed anyone else.

But even Wu Wanli, is it impossible for him to make a mistake even once?

"The twilight outside the city easily brings back memories of the past. I remember a soldier who stopped his commander's car with tears in his eyes, saying that for the sake of the new China, he had to fight against American imperialism and let them know that we are not easy to bully."

"Then, he became a new recruit in the Seventh Steel Company."

“At that time, he had no combat experience, and many people didn’t quite believe what he said. From the train to the gravel beach, to the signal tower, to Xinxingli, to Hagaru-ri…”

"That new recruit never uttered a sound of grievance. He proved with one miracle after another that his judgment of the battlefield was correct, and he saved the lives of countless comrades."

Do you think he's too arrogant?

Wu Wanli smiled and looked at Xu Mumu, then asked.

"He saved so many comrades; no matter how proud he is, he's still a capable and good soldier!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Mumu replied without hesitation.

"Thank you for praising me. It's the same this time. He didn't do anything wrong..."

Looking through his binoculars at the American paratroopers descending, Wu Wanli shouted the order.

"Paratroopers! A huge group of paratroopers!"

"The commander-in-chief is truly amazing! He was absolutely right!!"

A platoon leader from the Third Battalion put down his binoculars and loudly reminded him.

The others around him also looked at Wu Wanli with surprise and a sense of reason, which increased their absolute trust in him.

"Ready to fight!"

Wu Wanli didn't say much, he just shouted loudly.

"Shh-"

The eyes of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers present lit up instantly, staring intently at the American paratroopers above, like tigers seeing sheep.

Everyone was waiting for Wu Wanli's order to fire, but Wu Wanli's raised right hand remained raised for a long time.

"Wanli, we're close enough now to inflict effective damage on the American paratroopers!"

Seeing this, Liu Hanqing whispered a reminder.

"We haven't made enough dumplings yet. If we open fire now, the US military might realize what's happening..."

Looking at the sky full of American troops who were almost entirely defenseless, Wu Wanli's heart pounded with excitement, but he still managed to suppress it and said...

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but admire Wu Wanli's composure in the face of so many military achievements.

"beat!"

After a while, seeing that the time was ripe, Wu Wanli suddenly waved his hand and roared loudly.

"Da da da da da da da da da..."

"Da da da da da da da da da da da..."

In an instant, Yu Congrong's shoulder blade slammed heavily against the butt of the gun, and he personally operated an M2 heavy machine gun to fire.

The remaining hundreds of M2 machine guns also opened fire, along with hundreds of volunteer soldiers carrying ammunition belts and assisting with reloading around the makeshift machine gun positions.

The metallic storm unleashed by the 12.7mm bullet tore the air to shreds, and the scorching copper cartridge cases bounced wildly on the frozen ground.

In an instant, clouds of blood mist rose into the air. The American paratroopers were like stalks of wheat being harvested by an invisible scythe. The crisp sound of the parachute fabric tearing, mixed with their dying screams, filled their ears.

The enormous noise immediately alerted the US military commander at the transport plane location that something was wrong.

"Shit! What's going on!?"

Colonel James, hearing the faint gunfire below, widened his eyes and shouted in a mixture of fear and trepidation.

The American paratroopers landing were like slowly falling live targets, incapable of fighting.

"Sir, we've already deployed the main force. Should we continue?"

"Could it be that the Chinese army planned this all along, so..."

Major Davis was slightly taken aback and quickly reminded him.

"Impossible! This operation was extremely secretive, and with the advance bomber cover, it's impossible for them to have such a small force lying in ambush beforehand!"

"Immediately send a message to the second air force squadron, instructing them to return immediately after the bombing to provide support and fire cover for our airborne troops!"

"The remaining troops will continue to resist and await air support!"

Colonel James, like a gambler who had lost everything, hurriedly gave the order.

He was just fantasizing about riding Wu Wanli, becoming a new hero of the raid, being praised by the world's media, and becoming a hero of American freedom.

But now, this sudden turn of events has plunged him into a hell akin to being court-martialed, which he absolutely cannot accept.

Moreover, his judgment was actually correct. Under normal circumstances, the Volunteer Army would at most be a small force that happened to discover the airborne troops; it was impossible for them to have laid an ambush in advance.

But despite all his calculations, he never anticipated that Wu Wanli would actually have the full map cheat!
……

底下
Amidst the roar of countless barrages of fire, Wu Wanli watched the American paratroopers above relentlessly advancing, and finally felt completely at ease.

“Wanli, when I was studying at the Soviet Military Academy, my teacher told us a case.”

"In order to demonstrate his superior command skills, Montgomery commanded the British forces to carry out an airborne raid called Operation Market Garden, which I think is very similar to the US operation this time."

"What if their airborne operation gets called Operation Han City Garden?"

Seeing that the victory was assured, Liu Hanqing smiled and joked in high spirits.

“I’ve heard people say that Montgomery devalued the Iron Cross in Germany to an extreme degree, and almost every German soldier who participated in the war had one.”

"At the time, I was wondering if it was an exaggeration?"

"Now I understand this feeling. This isn't the US military; it's like giving our soldiers a sky full of Third Class Merit Medals!"

Looking at the plumes of blood mist blooming in the sky and the corpses of American soldiers on the ground, Wu Wanli smiled and said.

(End of this chapter)