Changjin Lake: From Xinxingli to Seoul

Chapter 199 The Fall of Incheon! A Great Victory in the Third Campaign! (6K)

鞍山
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, Army Commander Li Yunlong has led his troops to provide support!"

"Several leaders are gathered here and heading this way. They all want to see how the people's heroes who liberated Seoul are doing now!"

Liu Hanqing said with a smile.

"Hahahaha, Hanqing, you're joking. Why would you need to report to me?"

Wu Wanli looked at Liu Hanqing and said with emotion.

"Wanli, what...does this mean?"

Liu Hanqing was slightly taken aback and asked with a hint of surprise.

Logically speaking, not many people should know that secret. Did Wu Wanli figure it out?
"You personally led the troops to annihilate more than a thousand American soldiers, which is also a great achievement."

"Furthermore, the political officer and the military officer are of the same rank, so there is no need to report."

"Hanqing, you don't look well. Are you feeling unwell?"

Wu Wanli looked at Liu Hanqing and asked with concern.

"no!"

"It's probably because of the long journey and the exhaustion."

Liu Hanqing felt somewhat reassured and spoke as usual.

"Report to the commander-in-chief!"

"The initial cleanup of the battlefield is complete. We have captured 3676 rifles, 421 submachine guns, 106 light machine guns, 36 heavy machine guns, and countless bullets and grenades!"

"In addition, we also captured the equipment of an anti-aircraft company and an artillery regiment, plus more than a hundred vehicles!"

"Commander-in-Chief, with all the spoils we've already acquired, our Steel Seventh Battalion is rolling in money! Expanding the army tenfold wouldn't be a problem!"

Yu Congrong said with a wide smile.

"Hahahaha... Great!"

"Wu Wanli, congratulations on your fortune!"

At this moment, Li Yunlong walked towards Wu Wanli with a loud laugh.

At this moment, he finally understood the old brigade commander's joy; robbing was much more satisfying than seizing the spoils himself.

"broken……"

Yu Congrong's big teeth, which had just been showing, suddenly retracted, and he suddenly felt like he was about to bleed heavily.

"Old Li, you're a military officer now, how come you still act like a bandit!"

"Comrade Wu Wanli, don't worry."

"As a hero of the people who liberated Seoul, the army will give you corresponding preferential treatment."

"You can take as many weapons and ammunition as you need first, just hand over any excess."

Seeing this, Zhao Gang couldn't help but speak up for Wu Wanli.

"You're joking, sirs. I'm not a warlord, so why would I be reluctant to part with weapons and ammunition?"

"As for the people's heroes... I was just a fisherman from Zhejiang. I was fortunate enough to lead the army and establish a great cause. The real contributors were the millions of volunteer comrades who sacrificed their lives. They are the people's heroes!"

"Take as much as you need. We are all comrades fighting for the new China. Why distinguish between you and me?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Wanli replied without any hesitation.

In an instant, everyone fell silent, staring blankly at Wu Wanli.

Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang exchanged a glance, and a sense of shame welled up in their hearts.

They originally thought that Wu Wanli was, after all, a 19-year-old boy, and might be reluctant to part with so many weapons and equipment.

There's nothing shameful about it. Back then, Li Yunlong faced the same situation with the cavalry battalion's equipment. It's normal to feel the pain of losing what you've captured after risking your life.

But fearing that Wu Wanli might be arrogant and make mistakes that would give others something to talk about, they decided that one of them would play the bad cop and the other the good cop.

Looking into Wu Wanli's clear, unadulterated eyes, Liu Hanqing was also deeply moved.

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the list is ready!"

At this moment, Pinghe handed a list to Wu Wanli.

"Let's build a monument to the heroes. I can't bring them home yet, but I don't want them to be forgotten."

Wu Wanli nodded and said.

"Yes!"

Pinghe quickly agreed.

"Comrade Wu Wanli, you are a steadfast proletarian fighter. Our political department will promote and study your deeds and spirit throughout the entire army!"

Zhao Gang looked at Wu Wanli, whose first thought was of the martyrs, and couldn't help but salute him.

"Wanli, to be honest, I admire you!"

"Your fighting skills are superb, and more importantly, you are not arrogant despite your great achievements. You are much better than those reckless generals under Blind Cheng, hahaha..."

"This Mauser C96 has been with me all the way from Shanxi to the Liberation War, and then to the Korean War. I'm giving it to you!"

Feeling guilty, Li Yunlong pulled out the Mauser pistol from his waist, looked at it for a few seconds, and finally reluctantly gave it up.

"Old Li, you're really stingy. You were planning to take away so much American equipment from Wanli, and all you're giving him is an old Mauser pistol?"

Upon seeing this, Kong Jie quickly joked.

"Hahahahahahahahaha..."

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

"Hey! You idiot Kong Er Lengzi, you can't say anything nice, can you?"

"This gun is my treasure, no weapon can compare to it, even Zhang Dabiao's father didn't give it to me!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong couldn't help but retort.

"Commander Li is right, I will gladly accept this gun!"

"Let's quickly replenish our weapons and ammunition, and head together to support the Incheon battlefield!"

Wu Wanli looked at the Sky Eye map of Heart of Steel and said with a smile.

"Wanli is right. Our army has arrived in Seoul, so our offensive force against Incheon may be somewhat insufficient."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gang nodded and said...

"Pass on my order: after replenishing weapons and ammunition, the entire army shall march towards Incheon to support the 38th Army!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong immediately spoke up.

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

50th Army Command Post outside Incheon City
"Commander, the American devils' firepower is too strong, we can't get through at all!"

"The aircraft carrier in the port has a large number of carrier-based aircraft that are bombing our comrades non-stop."

"Not only that, in some areas they will also be bombarded by the giant guns of the US Navy's warships, one shot can take down at least a platoon!"

"Not only did our main attack suffer setbacks, but the 38th Army was also being suppressed by the American devils and couldn't break through at all."

The chief of staff sighed and said.

"The heavy firepower of each army is still insufficient, especially heavy artillery. Otherwise, we could just bombard Incheon's city walls and rush towards the port!"

"Unfortunately, our mortars are simply not enough."

"It's almost dawn. Let the comrades retreat first. It breaks my heart to see our Yunnan soldiers sacrificing themselves like this..."

Commander Zeng sighed and said.

"report!"

"The 27th Army has come to provide support, and it has brought a large amount of heavy firepower, including 155mm heavy artillery!"

At that moment, a communications officer rushed into the command post and said...

"What? A 155mm heavy gun!"

"Great!"

"Give up the main attacking position, and we'll coordinate with the 27th Army's offensive!"

Commander Zeng was slightly taken aback at first, then said with a face full of joy.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the chief of staff quickly agreed.

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

27th Army, Artillery Position
"This cannon muzzle is damn big, but the shells are a bit expensive..."

"Wanli, are we really going to just bomb the Incheon city gates down?"

"Why not use it as cover for the artillery attack? That way we can save shells for the battle to come."

Li Yunlong touched the muzzle of the 155mm howitzer and said with a hint of heartache.

"Yes, Wanli, covering artillery fire should be enough to take it down. It's such a waste to destroy so many at once..."

Kong Jie thought for a moment and echoed his agreement.

"Comrade Wu Wanli, these cannons were all captured by you. It's up to you how to choose them. After all, the few of us might not be as accurate as you in judging the battlefield."

"However, given our superior troop strength, we do have a chance of taking it down if we provide cover artillery fire."

Zhao Gang said.

"Bombarding the city walls with artillery fire is the easiest way to break them down, and it does offer a chance of taking them by covering a large troop charge..."

Wu Wanli frowned slightly, feeling somewhat hesitant.

Artillery shells of this caliber are indeed difficult to replenish; every shell fired reduces the supply, making them strategically valuable.

Take the difficulty of blowing up the Watergate Bridge, for example. If we had heavy artillery, we wouldn't have needed a commando team to blow up the bridge. A few shots would have been enough.

"Ding--"

"The system has detected that the host is facing a battlefield decision. Activation selected!"

"Option 1: Bombard the city walls with artillery and attack!"

"Select reward [Advantageous Firepower Doctrine Level 1 Bonus]: After obtaining this, artillery damage against infantry increases by 30% (achieved through accuracy enhancement)."

"Option Two: Artillery fire to cover the main assault team's charge!"

"Selecting the reward [Human Wave Assault Doctrine Level 1 Bonus]: After obtaining it, infantry casualty rate is reduced by 5%, and organization level is increased by 8%."

Soon, the system's cold notification sound rang out.

Upon hearing this, Wu Wanli was overjoyed.

These two theories were his favorites when playing Steel IV. If he didn't choose the Fireball, he would definitely choose the Human Wave!

"If it weren't for the stingy stats from the swarm bonus, I would have been really tempted. The casualty rate and organization are indeed very suitable for light infantry bonuses."

"But that pitiful 5%... never mind, I'll still go for the 30% artillery damage bonus!"

"Bombing the American troops sooner and quickly capturing the territory would result in a much lower casualty rate than fighting to the death."

"I choose the Advantage Firepower Theory bonus!"

Wu Wanli thought for a moment and immediately made a decision in his heart.

"Ding—" "Congratulations, host. Your selection is complete. The system reward has been issued."

Soon, the system's cold notification tone rang out.

A faint intuition began to emerge among the artillerymen of the 27th Army, suggesting that adjusting the gun barrels according to this intuition was the best course of action.

Driven by this, many artillerymen observed the target and made minor adjustments to the muzzle.

"Wanli, the war is raging, have you thought it through yet?"

"If all else fails, I'll have Zhang Dabiao form a suicide squad!"

Li Yunlong looked at Wu Wanli and said.

"No!"

"Concentrate artillery fire to breach the city walls!"

"The US air force is too powerful here; our air defense forces may not be able to withstand it."

"Rather than risk being blown up, let's blast the shells out!"

Wu Wanli shook his head and said resolutely.

"That's true. The cannons we captured before were often blown up before we even had a chance to use them properly."

"With so many carrier-based aircraft in the US military, our air defense forces are under immense pressure and cannot guarantee the protection of these artillery pieces..."

Zhao Gang sighed and said.

"All right……"

"Pass on my order: concentrate artillery fire and bombard the Incheon city walls!"

"Once the city walls collapse, launch a full-scale attack and storm in!"

Li Yunlong nodded and gave the order.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the communications officer standing nearby immediately agreed.

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

Incheon City Gate

"Sir, do you think the Chinese are really going to be able to take Incheon with their persistent attacks?"

A young U.S. soldier looked at the corpses scattered below and asked wearily.

"Yes, but only if we leave!"

“This place is different from inland cities like Seoul and Goyang. We have an entire fleet providing us with fire support.”

"Although our city gate is the only place not covered by naval guns, a large number of carrier-based aircraft are giving us priority support."

"With the Chinese's limited light machine guns and mortars, any attack they launch will be futile."

The U.S. Army major looked down at the scene of blood flowing like a river, snorted coldly, and said disdainfully.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."

In an instant, countless cannonballs ripped through the night sky, hurtling towards the city walls with a fierce whistling sound.

"What?!"

"Heavy artillery has been transferred to warships? Oh no!"

"This is Chinese bombing! Quick, lie down..."

The U.S. Army major was stunned for two seconds before finally reacting, but it was obviously too late.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom..."

A thunderous explosion rang out, and the continuous barrage of artillery fire instantly tore apart the US Army major and his men.

In an instant, the entire Incheon city wall trembled violently under the roar of the 155mm heavy artillery!
Shells rained down like a storm, the explosions tore the night sky to shreds, and brick fragments mixed with the remains of American soldiers were thrown dozens of meters into the air by the blast waves.

Before the smoke from the first salvo had even cleared, the second wave of shells had already precisely struck the cracks in the city wall.

With the "superior fire" buff, the artillerymen were getting increasingly hot, and subsequent shells even penetrated into the city wall through the gaps created by the first blast, causing a structural collapse.

"boom----"

In an instant, the entire section of the city wall collapsed as if being devoured by a giant beast, revealing a fatal gap more than 20 meters wide.

"Drip drip drip drip drip drip—"

The next second, the unique bugle call of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army sounded.

"Our Steel Seventh Battalion will always be the sharpest blade!"

"Comrades, come after me!"

Wu Wanli, who was already prepared, charged towards the collapsed Incheon city wall with his gun in hand.

"Come on!"

Yu Congrong and others followed closely behind, leading their victorious and high-spirited soldiers to charge forward.

Soon, the main forces of the 27th and 50th Armies also charged forward through the gaping hole.

Incheon, the situation is settled!

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

Hours later, at sea, inside the aircraft carrier

"At this moment, it seems I have no choice but to leave Incheon, no choice but to leave, the beginning of the American landing and counter-offensive..."

Why did the Chinese army suddenly capture Incheon?

Looking at the red flag waving at Incheon Port in the distance, Ridgway said with a slight tear in his eye.

"The heavy artillery of the 25th Division was the main firepower of the Chinese army's offensive..."

VanVleet coughed twice and said awkwardly.

"You mean, the US 25th Division gave heavy artillery to the Chinese, and then the Chinese used the American heavy artillery to blast open the gates of Incheon?"

Ridgway clenched his fists and looked at Chief of Staff Van Fleet with a hint of anger, asking the question.

"Sir, the 25th Division was indeed a bunch of idiots, but the other units performed quite well in their retreat."

"Although we didn't have time to destroy all the supplies, at least our main force successfully withdrew."

"We replicated the Dunkirk evacuation and preserved a large number of our personnel."

"The weapons and ammunition factories can continue to produce them, and personnel can be replenished..."

Van Fleet sighed and offered words of comfort.

"What about the 25th Division, which was completely annihilated? Should it be rebuilt with 100% new recruits?"

Ridgway slammed his coffee cup to the ground and demanded an explanation.

"We still have the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 2nd, 3rd, and 24th Cavalry Divisions..."

"If that's not enough, we can also request the President to transfer the 1st Infantry Division stationed in Europe to the Korean War."

"Sir, a temporary setback is nothing. Didn't we Americans also experience the devastating defeat at Pearl Harbor?"

"The Chinese army's surprise attack on Seoul this time was just a matter of luck."

"If we can fight our way back to the Yalu River in the next battle, not only will our military prestige be restored, but we might even be able to force China to pay reparations!"

"At the very least, we need to get them to recognize the Sino-US Treaty of Friendship and Commerce, so that we can gradually take control of their economic lifeline!"

Van Fleet's eyes flashed with ambition as he spoke.

"We Americans have three elite units: the 1st Marine Division, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 1st Army Division..."

"The 1st Marine Division is gone. In the next battle, the 1st Cavalry Division and the 1st Army Division will be deployed together on the Korean battlefield!"

"I refuse to believe that we can't defeat a poor and backward China!"

Ridgway's hatred reached its peak as he gazed at Incheon Port in the distance.

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

Incheon City Hall rooftop

Yu Congrong ripped the tattered Stars and Stripes off and threw it on the ground.

Immediately, Wu Wanli planted the blood-stained military flag on the flagpole.

As the morning breeze blew, the gunfire throughout Incheon Port gradually subsided, leaving only cheers of "Victory!" echoing through the smoke.

"Report to the commander-in-chief!"

"The remaining forces inside the city have been largely wiped out, and the rest of the American troops have boarded the fleet and escaped!"

Pinghe reported excitedly.

"Let's run away then."

"From this day forward, Incheon... has also been liberated by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army!"

Wu Wanli gazed at the billowing black smoke where the sea met the sky and spoke softly.

From breaking through the Imjin River to driving the American troops into the sea, countless sacrifices and bloodshed occurred, and countless close calls were made, but finally, the third campaign was won.

"Wanli, good news!"

"Zhi Si called, requesting that the two of us go to Zhi Si immediately. The boss wants to personally commend you, and..."

Liu Hanqing smiled and kept everyone in suspense.

"And what?"

Looking at Liu Hanqing's expression, Wu Wanli suddenly realized that it was more than just a commendation.

"Furthermore, the General Manager and Chief Chen have already expressed their intention to promote you, and the Seventh Steel Battalion will also be expanded simultaneously!"

"The leaders consider you to be a great contributor to the liberation of Seoul and Incheon, so they want to hear your opinion."

"By the way, it seems the Capital Cultural Troupe is also going to North Korea soon. They specifically requested that the 7th Steel Battalion be the first to perform!"

"Wanli, I wonder how many girls will admire you, the first hero of the War to Resist America at the age of nineteen!"

Liu Hanqing patted Wu Wanli on the shoulder and said with emotion.

In fact, it wasn't just any girl; he and all the other leaders saw Wu Wanli as a potential general and treasured him dearly.

"Hanqing, if you keep teasing me, I'll tell your father!"

Wu Wanli said, feigning seriousness.

"Hey...no, no, no!"

"I was just kidding!"

"Let's go, I'll ride with you!"

Liu Hanqing quickly replied with a smile.

"it is good!"

"The Capital Cultural Troupe..."

Wu Wanli touched the red scarf around his neck, momentarily lost in thought, then smiled and followed Liu Hanqing.

(End of this chapter)