The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 480 The “cooking team” is not to be trifled with! ! !
Let me explain this in two different ways!
Just when Ge Xiaohu's squad encountered difficulties, the Second Guard Division launched a fierce counterattack against the enemy in front of them!

The enemy force in front of them was the "ungrateful" 338th Division.

Based on the enemy situation, Meng Luyu, commander of the Second Guard Division, knew that the enemy was unwilling to accept defeat and wanted to compete with Xia's army.

He then ordered the 390th and th Regiments of the nd Guard Division to deploy at Hill and Bankeng positions on both sides of the Zhima Highway respectively, ready to strike head-on at the pursuing enemy forces.

Because the Xia army had already made thorough preparations.

On April 4, when part of the enemy's 9th Division rashly launched an attack on Hill 338 where the 390nd Guard Division was stationed, it was immediately caught in the firepower network carefully arranged by the nd Guard Division.

These firepower points were concealed and fierce, and the enemy's two consecutive frontal charges and one flanking attack were quickly defeated.

After a fierce battle, the enemy suffered heavy casualties, with more than 300 people killed, but failed to occupy even an inch of land.

At the same time, two other enemy companies tried to be clever.

They planned to disguise themselves as Xia army soldiers, blend into the Xia army's ranks, and then look for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

However, their plan was poorly thought out.

At around nine o'clock that evening, this group of enemy troops were marching brazenly on the Zhima Highway.

They also sang the two revolutionary songs "The East is Red" and "The Sea Voyage Depends on the Helmsman" in an attempt to conceal their true identities.

A few years ago, before the "ungrateful bastard" came to power, the relationship between the two families was very good, so it was not surprising that their people would sing the Xia national anthem.

But this time the retreat of the Xia army was a secret operation, how could they expose their target by singing in the middle of the night? This was clearly a pig's nose planting garlic - pretending to be an elephant!
Apparently this enemy force was too clever. After an emergency meeting and discussion, the commanders of the 7th Battalion, 5th Regiment, 2nd Guard Division decided to take advantage of the enemy's tactics and let them enter our ambush circle before attacking them.

Sure enough, the enemy in front entered the ambush circle without any preparation and was immediately attacked by various firearms of the Xia army and was defeated.

At dawn on the 10th, all the enemies hiding in the rice fields were wiped out, but none of Xia’s troops were killed.

Another enemy force, after advancing to the Ban and Kun areas, also failed to escape the fate of being annihilated.

They encountered a strong encirclement by the main force of the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Guard Division.

After a fierce battle, the enemy suffered heavy losses, with more than 500 people killed, almost on the verge of annihilation.

At this point, the enemy's 338th Division had carefully planned a "three-way pursuit" plot, which was intended to disrupt the retreat of Xia's army;
The plan to take advantage of the chaos was completely met with a resolute and fierce counterattack from the 2nd Guard Division.

In this contest of unequal power, the enemy's wishful thinking was completely shattered and their conspiracy went bankrupt.

On April 4, the 10nd Guard Division received an order to retreat, and they withdrew in an orderly manner to the area north of Hill 390.

According to the alternating cover combat mission issued by the front-line command, the 612th Regiment of the 421nd Guard Division responded quickly. They were given an important mission and carefully deployed defenses on Hill and Hill to ensure that the main force could evacuate safely to the north.

At the same time, the Fifth Guard Regiment to the north of the Fourth Guard Regiment had already begun the evacuation operation.

This made the 4th Regiment the southernmost unit in the entire army, and they naturally shouldered the most critical task of guarding the rear.

At this critical moment, the soldiers of the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Guard Division were fully aware of the heavy responsibility they had. They were fearless and firmly guarded the rear of the entire army.

The enemy's 338th Division suffered heavy losses in the fierce battle from April 4 to 9, although it suffered severe blows from Xia's army.

However, due to their forward geographical location and under the strict orders of the enemy superiors, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue tracking the Xia army to the north.

Although the enemy's hearts were filled with fear and anxiety, the 338th Division's enemy troops still had to bite the bullet and embark on this road full of unknowns and dangers.

In fact, starting from February 2, the division was first blocked by the Guard Division in the area west of Luping.

Afterwards, they fought with a unit of the Xia Border Defense Force, and then were massacred by the Second Guard Division.

The enemy's 338th Division was already in disarray, with less than half of its combat-capable troops remaining.

敌338师460团的剩余兵力于4月11日抵达了612高地附近地区。

Since this regiment was the only enemy force that invaded the territory of Xia State, it was touted as a "heroic regiment" despite the huge price of one of its battalions being crippled.

Wearing such a high hat, although the enemy commander knew very well the remaining combat power of the troops, he could only order an attack on Hill 612.

Hill 612 is high up and overlooks the surrounding area, with the two foothills extending right to the side of the Zhima Highway.

Setting up mortars on high ground can directly attack enemy troops passing on the road, so if the 338th Division wants to continue pursuing Xia’s army, it must pass Hill 612.

On the afternoon of the 11th, the sun shone obliquely on the Luping-Zhima Highway, and the enemy was slowly advancing along this highway.

At the same time, on top of Hill 612.

The officers and soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, th Regiment, nd Guard Division had already used the precious time during the day to reinforce and improve the defensive fortifications left behind by the enemy.

They are on high alert, ready for the coming battle at any time.

When night fell and everything around fell into silence, the enemy's artillery unit suddenly launched a fierce fire preparation on our Hill 612. The artillery fire was deafening.

At the same time, in a village not far from the foot of the mountain, enemy troops began to gather in large numbers, and troop transport vehicles shuttled back and forth frequently, appearing extremely busy.

However, all this did not escape the eyes of Xia Jun's observers.

They issued a timely warning, and the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion acted quickly and had already taken shelter in the sturdy fortifications in advance.

Therefore, when the enemy's artillery fire poured down, it did not achieve much results.

On the contrary, the mortar company of the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Guard Division seized this favorable opportunity and carried out precise bombardment on enemy vehicles in the village.

For a moment, flames shot up into the sky, and many enemy vehicles were destroyed, causing heavy losses.

After this round of exploratory artillery exchange, the enemy's 460th Regiment had apparently figured out that the 612th Regiment of the nd Guard Division's defense on Hill was relatively weak.

So, they chose to send a reinforced platoon of troops at around 8:50 in the evening to launch another tentative attack.

However, their actions did not escape the eyes of the Fourth Regiment.

The soldiers of the Fourth Regiment had already discovered the enemy when they were making a detour to the northeast rear of the 612 position.

Under the cover of night, a series of dark figures approached silently.

The soldiers' fingers involuntarily pulled the trigger, and a tense atmosphere instantly spread.

But at this moment, the commander of the 3rd Battalion signaled everyone to hold on: "Don't fight until the bastards get close!"

So, the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion held their breath and lay in the trenches like sculptures.

Their heartbeats and breathing seemed to stop, as they waited for the sneaky enemy figure to approach step by step.

Finally, when the enemy approached to within about 30 meters of our defense line, "Attack!" the commander of the 3rd Battalion roared, and the soldiers could no longer suppress their anger.

Two squads quickly dealt a heavy blow to the enemy with light machine guns and grenades, while the other squad suddenly blocked the enemy's retreat using flamethrowers.

For a moment, flames were flying and smoke was everywhere, and a fierce battle began.

The blazing flames from the flamethrower instantly illuminated the dark valley as bright as day.

The enemy was caught off guard by this sudden attack and their formation was thrown into chaos.

In just less than ten minutes, the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion completely defeated the enemy with their swift offensive.

On the battlefield, only more than twenty cold corpses of the enemy were left...

Looking at his subordinates in such a miserable state, the enemy's 460th Regiment commander was furious.

"Waste! Coward! How dare you come back to see me?"

The enemy, unwilling to accept defeat, launched attacks on the positions of the Fourth Regiment from the flank and rear of the high ground.

75mm recoilless rifles, mortars and rocket launchers were used, and the fierce fighting started in the evening and lasted until midnight.

The battle lasted for more than 7 hours. There were more than 160 Vietnamese soldiers dead and twice as many wounded. However, only 3 people in the 6rd Battalion were slightly injured and no one died.

In the battle to attack the 3rd Battalion, one of the enemy battalions was almost destroyed, and their morale was greatly reduced. For a time, they dared not fight again.

Seeing that the enemy's attack had been defeated, a part of the 612rd Battalion of the 3th Regiment, located behind the main peak of Hill , did not dare to attack again for a while and took the initiative to withdraw from the position and move into the territory of Xia State.

At this moment, on the 612 high ground, a cooking squad from the 3rd Battalion, th Regiment, nd Guard Division was still holding their ground.

They were facing hundreds of enemies, who looked like a battalion of soldiers, surging in black mass.

Behind them is the land of their motherland that they swore to defend to the death, and their comrades who are evacuating in an orderly manner.

In order to defend the dignity of the motherland and ensure the safe evacuation of their comrades, the soldiers of the kitchen squad made up their minds to persist until the last moment of the battle. This fierce battle suddenly broke out at around 11 o'clock in the evening of the 7th.

The southeastern leg of Hill 612 is lined up to the main peak, and the area that the kitchen squad is responsible for defending is the northern slope of the southeastern leg.

The kitchen squad, these soldiers who usually deal with pots and pans, are now tasked with defending the northern slope of the southeast mountain leg.

There were a total of 11 soldiers in this cooking squad: squad leader Liu Shusheng, deputy squad leader Liu Shuhua, quartermaster Li Guoqing, soldiers Hou Baoyuan, Li Zhengang, Yang Xiaobao, Li Yuanfu, Chen Chenggong, Yang Jianlin, Wang Quanfu, and Huang Jinxin.

Squad leader Liu Shusheng and deputy squad leader Liu Shuhua are both veterans. They joined the army when the Second Guard Division was first established. They are both from Liujiazhuang.

This time, squad leader Liu Shusheng took the initiative to ask to stay behind to provide cover. He said, "I have been a soldier for more than ten years. It is not easy to go to the battlefield. I can't just be a cook. I have to fight the enemy with real swords and guns..."

After careful consideration, the battalion commander agreed to their request. There was a reason why he was confident in entrusting the rear guard mission to the kitchen squad.

One reason is that the other soldiers of the Third Battalion had been fighting continuously for more than seven hours and were already exhausted physically and mentally.

Second, the cooking squad of the 2nd Guard Division is not to be trifled with, and their daily training is no worse than that of an ordinary infantry squad.

…………

The enemy knew very well that the troops arranged by Xia Jun in the front were all "tough foes" who were not easy to deal with, so after suffering several consecutive defeats, they simply adopted a roundabout tactic and went directly to the back of the mountainside to find a "soft persimmon" to squeeze.

In order to break through the Xia army's defense line and give an explanation to their superiors, the enemy made a huge investment this time and sent out a reinforced company of more than 150 people in the first attack.

The position the enemy attacked this time happened to be the area where the 3rd Battalion’s kitchen squad was located.

The enemy planned that if they could break through Xia Jun's position, they could cut the 7th Company's formation in half and then defeat them one by one.

The attack point they chose happened to be located behind the hidden rear of the 3rd Battalion's command post.

When the commander of the 3rd Battalion suddenly heard bursts of dense and fierce gunfire coming from the back mountain, his heart suddenly tightened and he instantly realized that the enemy's conspiracy was extremely vicious.

If the enemy's plan is successfully implemented, the 3rd Battalion will face a huge crisis of annihilation.

At the same time, the kitchen team is facing severe tests. They lack heavy weapons such as machine guns and grenades. Relying solely on the existing equipment, they will undoubtedly be in an extremely unfavorable situation if they hold their positions for a long time.

However, the 3rd Battalion was already stretched to the limit and had no more soldiers to deploy.

At this critical moment! ! !
The commander of the 3rd Battalion had no choice but to give a decisive order, asking the 1st Platoon Leader to quickly lead the 7th Squad Deputy Squad Leader Huang Guangrong and two experienced machine gunners to quickly go to the kitchen squad's position to provide emergency support.

As the four of them were moving towards the back mountain.

Suddenly, an enemy mortar shell whizzed in and hit the area where they were.

Two machine gunners were unfortunately killed in the explosion, their bodies torn by shrapnel and falling in a pool of blood.

A platoon leader's legs were also hit by shrapnel, and blood stained his trouser legs. He groaned in pain and was unable to move forward.

At this critical moment, only Huang Guangrong survived.

Huang Guangrong looked at the injured platoon leader and felt a strong sense of grief and responsibility in his heart.

He instinctively wanted to rush forward and bandage the platoon leader's wound, but the platoon leader stopped him with a firm look.

"Huang Guangrong, don't worry about me!" The platoon leader gritted his teeth and said while enduring the pain, "Hurry up, it's important to hold the position! We can't let the enemy occupy there, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous!"

Huang Guangrong was shocked when he heard this.

He knew very well what the platoon leader's order meant, and he also understood how heavy his responsibility was at the moment.

He looked at the platoon leader deeply, then turned around resolutely and ran towards the position.

Later, the military doctor removed six shrapnel of different sizes from the leg of a platoon leader...

Let’s not discuss this for now.

Huang Wu Guangrong saw from a distance that the kitchen team’s position was covered in smoke and chaos.

Huang Guangrong's heart instantly rose to his throat, not knowing whether his comrades there were alive or dead, and how they were safe.

The trench was right in front of him. He leaned forward without hesitation and nimbly dived into the trench.

As soon as he entered the trench, he met Xu Guoning, the instructor of the 9th Company who was directing the operations there.

When instructor Xu Guoning told him that the soldiers in the kitchen squad had successfully repelled the enemy's fierce attack with only seven rifles in their hands without any external assistance;
And when he found out that no one among them was injured or killed, Huang Wu Guangrong couldn't help but feel surprised.

Huang Guangrong reported to the instructor the casualties of the platoon leader and his comrades, and received a new task:
He was in charge of controlling a communication trench about a hundred meters long away from the kitchen area, and the person responsible for cooperating with him was Li Zhenggang, a soldier from the kitchen.

The news that Instructor Xu conveyed to Huang Guangrong was like a heavy hammer, making his heart sink suddenly.

Judging from the intensity of the enemy’s artillery fire, the size of the enemy forces entrenched at the foot of the mountain is definitely not smaller than an entire regiment!
To be honest, this section of the communication trench is extremely difficult to defend.

Thirty meters outside the outer edge of the communication trench were dense bushes and grass, which severely obstructed the view.

Not to mention in the pitch-black night, even in broad daylight, the sight may not be able to penetrate those layers of green.

Once Huang Guangrong and his men were able to identify the enemy's figures, it meant that the enemy had quietly approached within thirty meters.

At this close distance, not to mention that shooting requires extremely high accuracy and reaction speed;
Even if the enemy casually throws a grenade, it is enough to pose a huge threat and make people terrified.

But Huang Guangrong and Li Zhenggang were not afraid at all. They were confident that they would almost certainly hit the target if they shot from a distance of 30 meters.

If the enemy dares to show up, they will shoot and kill one if they can, and one if they kill two. Even if two people die, they will have done their duty to the people and to the motherland!

It happened in a flash. Just when Huang Guangrong and his men had just entered the communication trench, the enemy had already approached!

In the dim moonlight, Huang Guangrong glimpsed two figures behind him.

"No, that's the enemy!"

Coincidentally, the enemy also saw darkness in front of them and did not notice that there were two living people in the trench at all.

Huang Guangrong instinctively raised his "56" and fired a burst of bullets, directly knocking down the two enemy soldiers.

The enemy troops behind heard the gunshots and raised their guns as if awakened from a dream, firing aimlessly. The flashes of fire from the muzzles actually exposed their positions.

Huang Li and the other man quickly threw several grenades towards the place where the enemy soldiers were gathered. The loud "boom" sounds were mixed with the enemy's screams and howls.

The enemy arrived suddenly, but Huang Li and the other two appeared even more suddenly.

Moreover, the enemy couldn't figure out how many Xia troops were in the trenches at once, and thought they were ambushed!

The enemy troops retreated in panic after leaving behind more than a dozen corpses.

Even so, several enemy troops had already rushed through the communication trench.

But the kitchen team under the command of Instructor Xu and Squad Leader Liu did not let go of these fish that slipped through the net.

Behind Huang Li and the other man, after a burst of gunfire as dense as popping beans, the night finally returned to silence.

Huang Guangrong and Li Zhenggang knew that the enemies who rushed over had been dealt with by the squad leader and his men.

At around 9 o'clock in the evening, the enemy troops, who had been quiet for a while, rushed towards the communication trench again.

As they rushed upwards, they fired their guns indiscriminately, raising dust all around the communication trench.

But Huang Guangrong and his companion kept their composure and lay quietly at the edge of the trench. Even the red five-pointed star on the brim of their hats that might reflect light was pressed down by them, so as not to expose their target.

As the enemy entered the 30-meter range, the two men opened fire with their 56 rifles, knocking down several more enemies on the spot.

But the flashes from their guns also attracted enemy fire.

It turned out that the enemy had quietly set up a light machine gun behind the team, and immediately a string of bullets swept towards the two men, making it almost impossible for them to raise their heads.

But the machine gun is dead, and the people are alive. Huang Guangrong and his companions quietly moved more than ten meters in the communication trench and poked their heads out from another unexpected position of the enemy.

The machine gun was still firing fiercely at their original position.

Huang Guangrong aimed at the target and threw a grenade without hesitation, sending two enemy machine gunners back home.

The explosion of the machine gun greatly dampened the enemy's morale.

The enemy no longer dared to approach in dense formations, but instead dispersed, cunningly using trees and grass to conceal their bodies.

As they squirmed and crawled, they shouted in their half-baked Xia language to give themselves courage: "You are surrounded, surrender quickly, and you will not be killed if you hand over your weapons!"

(End of this chapter)