Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Chapter 191 Van Vleet was slapped in the face!

Inside the U.S. military headquarters, Lieutenant General Van Fleet couldn't help but get furious.

"An entire main force regiment, several thousand men, was completely wiped out by the enemy overnight!"

"Is this a huge joke?"

"They are not worthy of being called soldiers, they are just a bunch of guinea pigs."

This time, Lieutenant General Van Fleet was really furious. Yesterday he cursed the Dutch army for being incompetent. In just a few hours, a main battalion was wiped out.

What now?
One of their main regiments, consisting of several thousand people, was completely wiped out by the Volunteer Army in the same area.

Lieutenant General Van Fleet felt his old face burning with pain, and the anger accumulated in his heart erupted like a volcano.

The enemy officers present were so frightened by their commander's rage that they kept silent.

Lieutenant General Van Fleet tried to suppress his anger and asked, "Have you confirmed the news? Thomas' entire regiment is gone?"

"Is there no one who can break out?"

An enemy officer replied cautiously: "It has been confirmed. No troops have been found to have broken out yet. Maybe someone will break out! We just lost contact temporarily."

"Maybe shit!"

Lieutenant General Van Fleet said angrily: "These idiots have completely disgraced us."

The officer carefully observed Van Fleet's face and said, "Commander, although we haven't found any troops that have broken through yet, not all of our troops have been wiped out."

"We just received news that several hundred soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Perez were trapped by the enemy on an unnamed hill."

"Due to the difficult terrain, the enemy can't attack at all. For the time being, they are safe."

Lieutenant General Van Fleet's anger subsided a little after hearing this, and he said, "I told you that there are still heroes in our army. If everyone could be like Lieutenant Colonel Perez, we would have driven the enemy back home long ago."

The American officer said: "Commander, although they are temporarily safe, they are surrounded by the enemy."

"There are a large number of enemy main forces around. Now they only have a few hundred people left, and they have no heavy weapons, so they are completely unable to break out."

"Also, they retreated to the mountain in a hurry and were seriously low on ammunition and supplies. I'm afraid they won't be able to hold out for long."

Lieutenant General Van Fleet said quickly: "That's easy. Send planes to drop supplies to them immediately, and send bombers to support them."

"Notify Lieutenant Colonel Perez and tell them to hold on no matter what."

"We will definitely do our best to rescue them. As long as they can hold on, they will become national heroes."

"The enemy's offensive won't last long. We will soon be able to defeat the enemy and rescue them all."

"Yes sir!"

Lieutenant General Van Fleet walked quickly to the front of the sand table and asked, "Is it possible to rescue Lieutenant Colonel Perez's troops now?"

An officer pointed to the sand table and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Perez's troops are now surrounded in this area."

"The only troops nearby are the main force of the 24th Division, but they are also trying their best to break out to the south from dozens of kilometers to the west. Under the enemy's siege, the main force of the 24th Division has suffered heavy losses and can hardly protect itself. I'm afraid they can't be rescued." "If they turn east to rescue Lieutenant Colonel Perez's troops, they will lose the best time to break out and be completely surrounded by the enemy. The consequences are disastrous."

Lieutenant General Van Fleet couldn't help but frown when he heard this. Although he really wanted to rescue Lieutenant Colonel Perez's troops, it would definitely be a losing deal to sacrifice the future and fate of so many people for just a few hundred people.

Lieutenant General Van Fleet sighed helplessly and said, "Order the main force of the 24th Division to break out to the south with all their strength. Be sure to get rid of the enemy's encirclement as soon as possible and retreat to a safe place."

"Mobilize all aircraft that can provide support and fully cover the 24th Division's breakout. We must find a breakthrough and break out no matter what."

Overnight, a main force regiment was wiped out, which once again made Van Fleet feel terrified.

He no longer dared to take risks with the main force of the 24th Division. Moreover, Lieutenant General Van Fleet had carefully observed that the distance from the location of the main force of the 24th Division to Lieutenant Colonel Perez's troops was about dozens of kilometers, all in mountainous areas with dangerous terrain. If the main force was sent to rescue, they would definitely encounter an ambush.

The Volunteer Army was best at this type of ambush warfare. Lieutenant General Van Fleet even suspected that this was a trap deliberately set by the Volunteer Army.

Never be fooled!

As for Lieutenant Colonel Perez, he could only do his best to appease them, let them continue to hold on, and wait for the counterattack of their main force.

Because according to Van Fleet's plan, they would continue to consume the morale of the Volunteer Army, and when the Volunteer Army's ammunition supplies were almost consumed, the US military would launch a large-scale counterattack.

This time should not be too long, no more than ten days at most.

Because according to previous experience, the Volunteer Army's offensive could not be sustained for more than ten days.

This point has been well summarized by Lieutenant General Ridgway before, and Lieutenant General Van Fleet also firmly believes this.

As for whether Lieutenant Colonel Perez and his men can hold on for that long, it all depends on God’s blessing!
Lieutenant General Van Fleet ordered: "Send a telegram to Lieutenant Colonel Perez every once in a while, telling them that our reinforcements are doing their best to rescue them, and that our main force is preparing for a counterattack, and that the enemy will soon be defeated by us."

"Always give them hope to persevere, understand?"

"Yes sir!"

Lieutenant General Van Fleet went on to say: "In addition, order the second echelon of troops behind to fully support the retreat of the main force of the 24th Division and block the enemy's attack along the way, delay them, consume them, and wear them down."

"Yes sir!"

……

That afternoon, Tan Ziwei gathered all the cadres at the company level and above in the third battalion.

Tan Ziwei said: "I just received a notice from my superiors that the main force of the M24th Division broke out from our west and is gradually retreating to the south."

Li Guotao asked: "So the enemy has no intention of rescuing the hundreds of American remnants who are surrounded."

Tan Ziwei nodded and said, "Yes, neither the main force of the M24th Division nor the enemy forces in the south have any intention of sending troops to rescue."

"But they did airdrop a large amount of supplies today. About one-third of them fell into our defense zone, and about one-third fell on the hillside. At the border between the two armies, only about one-third fell into the hands of the enemy."

"Although the quantity is not too large, it is equivalent to picking up something for free, and there should be more airdrops in the future, unless they surrender."

"But what I want to say now is that our superiors have given us a new combat mission."

(End of this chapter)