Changjin Lake: From Xinxingli to Seoul

Chapter 75: A direct breakout is still a breakout! Permanent God-like reward awarded!
1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Regiment Command
"Sir!"

"General Krullak has personally led reinforcements!"

At this moment, the regimental chief of staff strode over and said.

"General Krullak has arrived?"

"where is it?"

"The regimental commander, Pule, quickly said."

“I have arrived, Puller.”

Brigadier General Krullak walked into the command post and said.

"Sir!"

Upon seeing this, Puller immediately stood up straight and saluted.

Despite his outstanding achievements, he dared not offend this brigadier general in the slightest.

Because this deputy division commander's father was General Charles Krullack, the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Marine Corps!
“No need for that, Puller.”

"During the Guadalcanal campaign, you led the 1st Battalion to be responsible for the defense of Henderson Airfield on the island."

"Nearly 1400 Japanese soldiers were killed, and 17 enemy vehicles and a large number of military facilities were destroyed."

"Your heroic performance after the Inchon Landing led General MacArthur to personally award you the Navy Cross."

"But... why do you seem so powerless when facing these Chinese troops?"

After offering a few words of praise, Krullack changed the subject and asked a question.

"General, these Chinese troops are different from the Japanese troops in the Pacific theater."

"Some of their troops have mastered Chinese military strategy to an unparalleled degree!"

Puller thought of the battalion that had been completely wiped out at Xiaogaoling and said with considerable shame.

"You mean that small Chinese unit known as the Iron Army?"

"I heard that their entire company wiped out your main force battalion?"

"You should know that during the day, a battalion can withstand an attack from an entire division of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army."

After praising him, Krullack said without any mercy.

"Sorry, sir..."

"It wasn't just my battalion; the Polar Bear Regiment, and even the defeat at Hagaru-ri, all bore the mark of this unit."

"I will mobilize all my strength to be the first to encircle and annihilate them, and wash away this shame!"

Puller clenched his fists and roared.

"No, Puller."

"I'm here to take over command of the 1st Marine Regiment. I hope you won't be angry."

"My battle plan is completely opposite to yours."

Krullak shook his head, revealing the true intentions behind the scenes.

“Sir…”

Puller was somewhat dumbfounded.

"I have reviewed the combat situation at the front."

"Actually, apart from the collapse of the Xiaogaoling position, the other attacks were very effective."

“We can certainly launch a preemptive attack on the other positions on Hill 1071.”

"Once the main peak and other positions of the Chinese army fall..."

"This Chinese army has no chance of escaping, not even if it had wings!"

Krullak said.

"Alright, please issue the combat orders, sir."

Puller seemed to have grasped something and said.

"I'm handing over the Fourth Battalion to you. You will be stationed on the west side and launch continuous feint attacks on the Xiaogaoling position."

"I will mobilize artillery fire to blockade their south."

"As for the north, that's where our main force is located. If they come here, they'll only be throwing their lives away."

"Our main force will launch a full-scale attack on other positions and then encircle and annihilate them."

"No matter how skilled the Chinese are in military strategy, there is no room for them to apply it."

Deputy Division Commander Krullak tugged at his white gloves and said with a smile.

"The Fourth Battalion?"

"Isn't that a hastily assembled battalion filled with a large number of wounded soldiers, with fewer than three hundred men?"

"General, that Chinese army once annihilated an entire main battalion. Wouldn't this..."

Puller's eyes widened, and he quickly tried to dissuade him.

"I'm not talking about the main attack, but rather continuous feints, Commander Puller."

Are you afraid of such a Chinese army?

"Where is your courage from the Pacific theater?"

Deputy Division Commander Krullak frowned slightly and looked directly at Puller as he spoke.

“Sir, it’s fine to keep making feigned attacks.”

"But if that Chinese steel company launches a counterattack, our remaining troops to the west will probably be wiped out..."

"Moreover, if other main forces are focused on attacking other positions, they are simply unable to come to the rescue."

Commander Pule glanced at the map, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke.

"A counterattack?"

"Hahahaha... Stop joking."

"The Chinese army will only attack with superior forces."

"Even in the Battle of Xiaogaoling, they only launched a counterattack after creating a numerical advantage through artillery fire."

"Follow the order."

Deputy Division Commander Krullak had clearly lost patience and stared straight at the battle map as he spoke.

"Yes, sir..."

Upon hearing this, Pule said helplessly.

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

Hill 1071, Xiaogaoling Position
"Company commander, a call from headquarters!"

"They brought us some intelligence, as well as new operational orders."

"Commander Kong Jie ordered us to find the right opportunity and break out!"

"After breaking through, head straight to the Water Gate Bridge for reinforcement!"

Mei Sheng handed a telegram to Wu Qianli and said.

"After seizing the opportunity to break through, quickly reinforce the Water Gate Bridge?"

"Isn't that Lao Tan's unit?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Qianli said...

"Yes."

"Firstly, it's probably because Commander Kong Jie is worried about the Steel Seventh Company and fears that the losses will be too heavy."

"Secondly, the military headquarters revealed that Battalion Commander Tan's bridge-bombing operation had suffered some setbacks and that he needed our support."

Mei Sheng nodded and said.

"Wasn't Wanli Hepinghe sent to conduct reconnaissance?"

"How's it going?"

Wu Qianli frowned slightly, paced back and forth a couple of steps, and asked.

"Judging by the time, they should be back soon."

Mei Sheng wiped the snow off the watch face and looked at it before speaking.

"Reporting, Company Commander!"

"We've figured it out. The American devils have new armored units that are reinforcing the north."

"The western side will be mainly defended by infantry."

"The exact number is difficult to observe up close."

Pinghe took out a sketch he had drawn and said.

"Where is Wanli?"

Wu Qianli asked.

"I don't know, Wanli went to investigate alone."

Pinghe Road.

"elder brother!"

"I brought back a tongue!"

Just then, Wu Wanli returned with an American officer in tow and said this.

"Well done."

"Instructor, take him in for interrogation and see if you can get any key information out of him."

Wu Qianli's eyes lit up, and he said.

"Yes!"

Mei Sheng immediately agreed and took the American officer in for questioning.

"Reporting, Company Commander!"

"The spoils have been counted!"

Yu Congrong then came over and reported.

"To put it simply, here is the current firepower configuration of each platoon."

Wu Qianli said.

"Yes!"

"The firepower platoon is equipped with 4 M2 heavy machine guns, 5 Browning light machine guns, 5 Thompson submachine guns, and the rest are all equipped with Garand rifles!"

"The reconnaissance platoon is equipped with four Browning light machine guns, ten Thompson submachine guns, and the rest are all equipped with Springfield rifles!"

"The artillery platoon is equipped with six 81mm mortars and six 60mm mortars!"

"Three Browning light machine guns, the rest are Garand rifles!"

Yu Congrong said with a big smile.

"You mean to say that our company has dozens of light and heavy machine guns, plus submachine guns?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Qianli frowned slightly and asked.

"Company commander, there could have been more."

"If it weren't for the fact that ammunition is being used up so quickly..."

Yu Congrong scratched his head, looking slightly unwilling.

"So you do know about ammunition!"

Wu Qianli laughed in anger, and glared at Yu Congrong, cursing, "Reporting to the company commander, there are definitely more tough battles to come, and this amount of firepower isn't much!"

Yu Congrong blushed, but still insisted.

"Alright, let's leave it at that for now."

"Instruct the machine gunners to combine burst fire and strafing as much as possible during combat."

"Otherwise, a single battle could use up all the bullets."

"Also, summon the company's key personnel for a pre-battle meeting."

Wu Qianli sighed and waved his hand.

After all, the fear of insufficient firepower was too deep-rooted before, so having some is better than having none.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Congrong immediately agreed happily.

……

Soon, all the key members of the Seventh Steel Company arrived.

"Company commander, the interrogation is over."

"Based on the intelligence provided by the military and the reconnaissance conducted by Hira and his team, the US military will soon launch another large-scale offensive."

"The main attack will be from the north, but Xiaogaoling is not the main target of the attack."

"As for the west, it is guarded by a US military battalion, but the specific combat strength and number of personnel are unclear."

Mei Sheng began by stating the situation.

"So, the area towards Xiaoyu Ridge to the south is safer?"

Yu Congrong thought for a moment and then asked.

"If we want to avoid a direct confrontation with the US military, the Xiaoyuling direction to the south is indeed the best option."

"The chief of staff of the military headquarters also suggested that we break out from the Xiaoyuling direction to the south."

"but……"

"The US military has intensified its artillery fire and bombing blockade. Retreating from Xiaoyuling will involve avoiding heavy bombing and is also risky."

Mei Sheng pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"The bombing density has indeed increased, but there are still intervals between artillery fire."

"If the pattern of US artillery fire remains unchanged, the breakout will at most be a bit more complicated."

Pinghe calmly considered for a few seconds before speaking.

"To entrust the lives of the entire company to the patterns of American artillery fire is ultimately a bit..."

Lei Gong frowned slightly, clearly disagreeing.

"But the main force of the US military is to the north, so it's impossible to come from there."

"We are also unclear about the specific situation of the US military camp to the west."

"If we break out from the west, we can only survive by defeating the US forces head-on."

"How we choose will determine the fate of the Seventh Steel Company, and we cannot afford to make a mistake."

Wu Qianli rubbed his temples and said.

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Without a God's-eye view, every wrong step can be extremely dangerous.

"Xiaoyuling is retreating?"

"To defeat the US military head-on?"

"Why does this sound so familiar?"

Wu Wanli thought about it for a moment, and then his eyes suddenly lit up.

This battle is somewhat similar to the Battle of Cangyunling!

However, the situation is not entirely the same.

The US military is much harder to fight than the Japanese military; it's still a difficult problem...

"Ding--"

"Host detected facing a battlefield choice!"

"System activation selected!"

"The best course of action is to proceed with caution: break through the artillery barrage at Xiaoyu Ridge to the south."

"Choose reward: God-level stealth bonus (permanent), which greatly increases personal stealth ability and reduces personal presence after use."

"Choose two paths to victory: defeat the American camp from the west and break out!"

"Choose reward: Superb night vision enhancement (permanent). After use, the host's vision at night will be as clear as during the day!"

The system's cold, impersonal notification tone has finished playing.

"The choice is here!"

"I can't accurately predict the US military's artillery fire and bombing, nor do I know the exact strength of the US forces in the west, so let's compare which reward we can offer!"

"Super God's stealth and infiltration is good, but if it's just targeting me personally, it won't be able to play a big role so quickly."

"The super-powerful night vision is great, especially when combined with the 16x scope and the permanent super-powerful marksmanship bonus I've already obtained."

"Even in the darkness, my combat power can be unleashed at 100%!"

"Give it a try!"

"I choose the brave one to win when paths cross!"

Wu Wanli clenched his fists and shouted in his heart.

"Ding--"

"Host has made their selection."

"Rewards have been awarded!"

Soon, the system's cold notification sounded again.

A cool and comfortable sensation reached Wu Wanli's eyes.

Before long, Wu Wanli felt that his vision had become very clear and bright, and his eyesight had been greatly improved.

"Wanli, why are you touching your eyelids while smiling?"

"What are your thoughts? Speak up."

Wu Qianli noticed Wu Wanli's unusual behavior and asked.

"It's nothing, my eyes are just a little itchy."

"Brother, I think we should break out from the west and crush the American camp head-on!"

Wu Wanli smiled slightly and said.

"To crush the US military camp head-on?"

"Wanli, we previously relied on cunning to lure the enemy and the military's large-caliber artillery fire to annihilate the American battalion."

"If we engage in direct combat, we might end up with our heads bleeding!"

Mei Sheng frowned slightly and said.

"Company commander, political instructor, if you're worried, I'm willing to lead a small group of comrades in a probing attack to find out the American devils' personnel and firepower!"

At this moment, Deputy Platoon Leader Lei Zhen stepped forward and spoke.

"Hey hey hey, this is outrageous!"

"If anyone's going, it'll be me leading the group. Why are you, Lao Lei, arguing with me?"

Upon seeing this, Yu Congrong immediately volunteered to fight.

"No, that would only alert the enemy and cause us to lose the initiative."

The experienced Thunder God shook his head and said.

"elder brother."

"A wolf travels a thousand miles to eat meat, a dog travels a thousand miles to eat shit!"

"Our Steel Seventh Company has such powerful firepower, isn't it all thanks to fighting one tough battle after another?"

"If we want to get through Xiaoyu Ridge, which is under constant artillery fire to the south."

"M2 heavy machine gun, heavy mortar, ammunition box, shell box."

Which of these heavy items is the easiest to carry?

"Should we abandon the weapons and equipment we captured at such a desperate pace?"

Seeing that Wu Wanli was still hesitating, he simply added fuel to the fire and said.

"Company Commander, Wanli's words may be rough, but the reasoning is sound."

"Our Steel Seventh Company is a pack of tigers and wolves!"

"How can we abandon our weapons, tuck our tails between our legs, and run away through the artillery fire?"

Upon thinking of those heavy machine guns, Yu Congrong immediately voiced his support for Wu Wanli.

"Company commander, the army's main message is that we should break out from the direction of Xiaoyu Ridge."

"If we really launch an attack to the west, we might be charged with disobeying orders on the battlefield."

Mei Sheng paused for two seconds before speaking.

"Instructor, I remember Commander Kong Jie said to wait for an opportunity, didn't he?"

"As for the Chief of Staff's suggestion, it is just a suggestion."

"We, the Seventh Steel Company, will not listen to his advice!"

Wu Wanli waved his hand and argued forcefully.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

"Company commander, look at this kid, he's as stubborn as a mule."

"You seem very determined."

Lei Gong said with a smile, his eyes showing a hint of approval as he looked at Wu Qianli.

"elder brother!"

"When two brave men meet on a narrow road, the bravest will prevail!"

"As Chinese soldiers, we must be brave enough to draw our swords, no matter how powerful the enemy we face!"

"As long as we live, we will fight!"

"This is the true spirit of the Chinese military!"

"I'd rather die charging towards the American troops than be blown up by artillery fire!"

Wu Wanli looked at Wu Qianli firmly and said with a serious expression.

These words sent a jolt through the hearts of everyone in the Seventh Steel Company, and a surge of passion coursed through them.

"When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave one will prevail..."

"well said!"

"Pass on my order: the entire company shall inspect its weapons and equipment and take a short rest."

"After we have rested and regrouped, we will immediately launch a frontal attack on the American forces to the west and fight our way out!"

Wu Qianli clenched his fists and said with a firm gaze.

(End of this chapter)