Changjin Lake: From Xinxingli to Seoul

Chapter 238 The Young Success Story's Desire for Merit! (The author burned himself out trying to write more chapters...)
US 1st Brigade Command
"Sir, something terrible has happened!"

"It seems the Chinese army knew about our pincer attack plan in advance and laid an ambush in front of the positions south of Chipyong-ni!"

"The French commando unit has suffered heavy losses and is retreating to Chipyong-ni. The fate of French Lieutenant General Ralph is unknown."

At that moment, the chief of staff of the US First Brigade ran over and said.

"What?!"

"Our plan, from its proposal to its execution, only took half a day. How could they possibly have known about it in advance?"

"Don't you... think there are Chinese spies here?"

Freeman grabbed the chief of staff of the US First Brigade by the collar and asked.

"Sir, maybe the French army has them?"

“They are foreign legion members, and the recruitment process is not that strict. It is not surprising that spies from China or the Soviet Union have infiltrated them.”

Upon seeing this, the chief of staff of the US First Brigade quickly spoke up.

"Soviet spy..."

"Forget it, now is not the time to dwell on this."

"Where are our attacking forces in the south?"

Why were the French troops fighting the Chinese army alone?

Freeman took a deep breath and calmed himself down before asking.

"Our troops are being blocked by the Chinese army and are now stuck to the south."

"That's what the chief of staff of the U.S. First Brigade said."

"You mean the Seventh Steel Regiment's forces were divided into four parts!"

"While defending against our attacks from all directions, you also routed a French commando unit of over a thousand men, and now you're about to storm into Chipyong-ni?!"

"What about the Air Force?"

"Shouldn't the Air Force have arrived five minutes ago?!"

Freeman clenched his fists and said with a hint of helplessness in his heart.

"Sir, our air force encountered a group of defeated Chinese troops along the way, and they dared to open fire."

"Our air force came over immediately after strafing, which caused a slight delay."

The chief of staff of the U.S. First Brigade handed Freeman a telegram and said.

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

Just then, the roar of American fighter jet engines came from the sky.

Freeman strode out of the command post, and after confirming through his binoculars that it was the US military, he finally felt a little relieved.

"Sir, I will urge the Air Force to bomb the Chinese troops in Chipyong-ri on a large scale right now!"

The chief of staff of the US First Brigade quickly said.

"No!"

"That would be too easy to cause friendly fire, and it might actually damage the morale of the French army."

"The French Lieutenant General Ralph has already been killed. If we bomb the French forces again, their morale may completely collapse and they may surrender."

"Concentrate artillery fire and fighter jets to bombard the Chinese army's blocking positions on all four sides!"

Freeman said.

"All four sides?"

"Sir, isn't our objective to encircle the Chinese army from both sides and open a passage into Chipyong-ni?"

"Perhaps... focusing fire on the Chinese army positions south of Chipyong-ri would be more effective."

The chief of staff of the U.S. 1st Brigade pointed to the operational map and said.

"That was true before, but I've changed my mind now!"

"What I want is not to open a passage into Chipyong-ni, but to annihilate the entire Chinese 7th Steel Regiment!!!"

"Looking at the latest battlefield situation, doesn't it seem like the French troops at Chipyong-ni were used as bait to lure the Chinese 7th Steel Regiment into a fierce attack?"

"Chipyong-ni can not only be a crucial stronghold for us to defend both the eastern and western fronts, but it can also be a slaughterhouse for us to massacre Chinese troops!!!"

Freeman slammed his hand on the table and said.

"Sir, there's something I need to remind you of at this time."

"China's 40th Army has broken through the last line of defense of the US 2nd Infantry Division and will soon reach Chipyong-ni!"

"Are you sure you want to..."

The chief of staff of the U.S. First Brigade received a newly handed telegram from a staff officer and gave a reminder.

"I'm going to annihilate the entire Chinese 7th Steel Regiment, you understand?!"

"If they can risk everything and forge a path to victory every time, so can I, Freeman!"

Freeman tore the telegram to shreds and said.

"Sir, General Ridgway specifically ordered the Air Force to send an extra helicopter, which is currently landing not far from our command post..."

"That's what the chief of staff of the U.S. First Brigade said."

"Ah."

A flicker of gratitude crossed Freeman's eyes, but he remained steadfast as he looked at the battle map.

Helicopter pick-up is usually a privilege reserved for major generals and above, but Ridgway gave it to him, a colonel.

It seemed that Ridgway truly valued him, and Freeman was somewhat moved, which strengthened his resolve to win.

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

South blocking position of Chipyeong-ri

The sky was suddenly torn apart by a sharp whistling sound.

A large number of P-51 Mustang fighters swooped down, their bomb bays flashing with a cold metallic gleam in the sunlight.

On the front

"hidden!!!"

A volunteer army company commander shouted loudly and lay down on the ground.

The other reconnaissance soldiers also lay down and covered their ears.

"boom!"

With a loud explosion, the first napalm bomb slammed into the top of the bunker, and the orange-red fireball, accompanied by thick black smoke, expanded dramatically.

The wooden and stone bunker was torn open like a cardboard box, and the two machine gun firing positions, along with the sandbag fortifications, were instantly vaporized. The charred limbs and rubble were thrown twenty meters into the air by the shockwave.

Three soldiers in the adjacent trench were thrown over by the blast wave. One of them had a burning wooden wedge stuck in his back, and his whole body rolled into a twisted ball of fire at the corner of the trench.

The two-meter-deep trench was cut in half, half a bloodstained rifle barrel was stuck diagonally in the collapsed mound, and fragments of bandages hung on the broken barbed wire, fluttering in the wind.

Shrapnel carved dense grooves into the trench walls, and the cooling tank of a heavy machine gun position was pierced, with boiling steam mixed with blood mist gushing out from the firing port.

The explosions continued for a long time before stopping. Before the remaining volunteer soldiers could catch their breath, they saw the American troops pressing up from below.

"Quickly go and inform Battalion Commander Pinghe that the US Air Force poses a huge threat; we can't hold out like this for long!"

The volunteer army company commander picked up a machine gun and roared as he fired.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, a communications officer immediately ran towards the reconnaissance battalion command post at the rear.

……

Inside the reconnaissance battalion command post

"Battalion Commander, the American air force has arrived! Their aerial bombs have destroyed almost a third of the fortifications, and some comrades have been buried alive!"

"As soon as the US warplanes finished bombing, their infantry immediately launched an attack."

"If we can't get through, the fighter jets will continue bombing, and then we'll keep attacking!"

"Although this tactic is simple, our casualty figures keep rising."

"If this keeps going, our reconnaissance battalion will be wiped out!"

"That's what the instructor said."

“You’re right, we can’t hold out like this until the commander takes Chipyong-ri…”

"Pass on my order: each company should leave only heavy firepower at its positions and hold them in squads, while the rest of the troops should take cover in air-raid shelters."

"Wait until the American troops are about to rush up before the main force comes out to defend."

"If the American troops don't rush up, then keep fighting like this. If one squad is lost, just bring in another!"

Pinghe clenched his fists, his heart bleeding as he spoke.

"What!?"

"Commander, this tactic means..." "The squads that push forward will be wiped out one hundred percent!"

"If we wipe out entire squads one by one, it will be difficult for the reconnaissance battalion to regain its combat effectiveness if we fight like this!"

The instructor was startled and quickly said...

Firepower should be lighter in the front and heavier in the back, and personnel should be heavier in the front and lighter in the back.

In later generations, this statement was merely a superficial reference to a superior tactic.

But if we apply that to the battlefield of the Korean War today, it would be waves of volunteer soldiers risking their lives to buy time.

Not only his own life, but also the lives of all his close comrades who sacrificed themselves for their country.

Imagine you were in your junior or senior high school class. If you knew that you and all your classmates were going to die, would you be willing to take the place of your classmates?

"The soldiers of the old Seventh Company have died wave after wave. Only Lei Gong is left from the first wave."

"But I will always remember a sentence, a sentence passed down from the first generation of the Seventh Company to the current generation of the Seventh Steel Regiment."

"The enemy's rear is our front line!"

"We must sacrifice our own heavy casualties to ensure that our comrades suffer only minor casualties!"

"Casualties are nothing to boast about. We must hold on, hold on until the very end!"

A tear welled up in Pinghe's eyes as he thought of his comrades who had fallen on the front lines, especially Wu Baili, whom he had caused to die.

"Yes!!!"

Upon hearing this, the instructor immediately agreed and went down to relay the order.

After the order was given, the soldiers of the reconnaissance battalion did not hesitate at all and rushed to be the first to go.

In the end, it was the instructor who personally called out the rolls to determine the order.

However, Pinghe added another rule: each class must leave one person behind as a future seed.

After the tactical deployment was completed, the US military continued the cycle of bombing infantry with fighter jets, followed by bombing again after the infantry charge.

The US military didn't actually have many tactics; they mostly won World War II by relying on firepower, winning with weapons, ammunition, and logistics.

The Battle of Chipyong-ni has dragged on until now, and Wu Wanli has single-handedly turned a 30/70 situation into a 50/50 one through his own efforts.

Both sides have played almost all their cards; the rest depends on which side can gain an advantage first, becoming the final straw that breaks the camel's back.

But the ever-proud Freeman never realized that the final straw that broke the camel's back might not be on the front lines of the battlefield.

Instead, it was the "desperate troops" he heard but completely ignored that delayed the air force's bombing.

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

Temporary command post of the 7th Steel Regiment's dispatched battalion on the outskirts of the battlefield at Chipyong-ni.
"Brother Chenggong, you...you're insane!"

"At Chipyong-ri, there are tens of thousands of troops fighting fiercely. If we, a few hundred men, were to join the battle, we wouldn't even make a splash!"

Upon hearing about the successful battle plan, Xu Mumu instantly snapped out of her daze and quickly spoke.

"You idiot, you didn't say a word the whole way here. Now that you've calmed down, you don't resent me anymore?"

Instead of getting angry when his argument was refuted, he smiled and asked a question.

"I understand now. You were trying to reduce the number of sacrifices our comrades made..."

"Besides, we are...we are from the same hometown!"

Xu Mumu was silent for a few seconds before awkwardly expressing herself.

"Yep!"

“I’m not that noble. I just want to win the battle, to make a contribution, and at the same time, to reduce the number of our people who have to sacrifice.”

"Just like our regimental commander, who was only in his teens or twenties but could command thousands of the most elite troops in the new China."

"I heard that even the boss values ​​him highly, he's definitely going to get promoted after this battle!"

"A true man should be like this..."

A gleam of triumph flashed in Chenggong's eyes as he spoke.

"Brother Chenggong, you...you're doing this for a promotion?"

Xu Mumu asked.

"Yes!"

"But is there a conflict between getting promoted and serving the country?"

"Is there a conflict between getting promoted and winning battles to save our comrades?"

Have you heard of Zhang Juzheng?

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. I heard it from the political commissar.”

"Anyway, if the regimental commander can lead a company to destroy the command post of the US 1st Marine Division, I can also make a great contribution!"

He successfully put a cigarette in his mouth and studied the battle map.

"Brother Chenggong, but before Commander Lei Zhen fainted, he said that we should just bring the troops back safely."

"Should we obey orders?"

Xu Mumu disagreed somewhat and said...

"An order? That depends on the situation!"

"Commander Li Yunlong has defied orders to the point of being a division commander!"

"Enough with the nonsense, don't confuse me with your vulgarity."

"I'm risking my life this time to bring glory to my ancestors and show my descendants what true fighting spirit is!"

"I wouldn't dare say much, but if my son works hard, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to become a village chief someday, right?"

"What about you, you idiot? Don't you want to?"

Successfully studied the battle map while asking questions.

"I... I just hope my descendants can be farmers, have their own land, and honestly cultivate the land."

"As long as you are honest, law-abiding, and obedient, you will not get into trouble and can live a good life."

Xu Mumu scratched his head and said.

"Okay, okay..."

"From now on, you can name your son Xu Baishun, and he'll be completely obedient to everything..."

"Commander Lei Zhen handed over command to me before he fainted. Do you obey my orders or not?"

Having figured it out, he looked directly at Xu Mumu and gave the order.

"A soldier's duty is to obey orders!"

Xu Mumu quickly agreed.

"You lead over a hundred men and break through to this point, which is the artillery position of the US 1st Brigade."

"I'll lead the rest of the men to attack the US 1st Brigade headquarters and try to take down Freeman!"

"Remember, if you gain an advantage, fight hard; if you can't, retreat immediately!"

"Our mere presence can disrupt their judgment and affect their artillery support and command."

"It's already very meaningful to have done all this. Survival is the most important thing. Once you're dead, you have nothing left, understand?"

Successfully, seeing Xu Mumu looking dazed, couldn't help but offer a reminder.

Actually, these words were meant for Xu Mumu. If he could achieve great merit, he certainly wouldn't give up.

But for this fellow villager who only wanted to farm for generations and live a peaceful life, he didn't want him to lose his life.

"Yes!"

Xu Mumu nodded as if she understood, and loudly agreed.

"Comrades, our regimental commander is surrounded, and our flanks are also at risk of being cut off."

"Now there is an opportunity, a chance to make a name for yourself and turn the tide of the battle. Are you willing to follow me?"

"Those who are willing don't need to move; those who are unwilling can step forward now!"

"Don't be afraid, at worst you can stay and watch over the wounded..."

The final mobilization was successfully carried out.

After he finished speaking, no one wanted to stay.

"it is good!"

"Leave the lightly wounded to take care of the seriously wounded, the rest of you come with me and Comrade Xu Mumu to carry out the mission!"

"Let them see just how fierce the soldiers our Commander Wu has trained are!"

Upon seeing this, Chenggong roared excitedly.

(End of this chapter)