Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 578 Whether or not to substitute, let's discuss it together.

At the end of December, just as Ridgway was engrossed in his work, he suddenly received a cutting-edge report.

"Sir, two main regiments of the central army have been spotted in Gaolangli."

"The enemy has launched an attack across the Imjin River, and the Southern Army has already engaged in combat with the Central Army."

Upon hearing Dane's report, Ridgway immediately went to the sand table.

"High Waves"

"This is indeed the most suitable spot to launch an attack."

Although all indications at this time suggested that the main force of the central army was still resting in the area south of Pyongyang.

But Ridgway was still very certain: "It seems that the Central Army will soon launch the Third Campaign."

As Ridgway looked at the sand table, he casually explained:

“The river channel eastward from Gaolangli meanders southward. If the central army crosses the river here, it will inevitably be attacked from both sides by the southern army.”

"This is common military knowledge, and the Chinese army would not be unaware of it, so they could not possibly cross the river from here."

"If the central army chooses not to cross the river, but instead detours from the Gangwon area, their route to attack Seoul will be longer, and we will have ample time to respond."

"If I were the commander of the central army, I wouldn't choose to take a detour from here."

"The river in the Gaolangli area meanders northward, which is not conducive to the Allied forces' defense, but is suitable for the advance of the main force of the Central Army."

"Therefore, the place where the enemy crossed the river must be Gaolangli and the area to its west!"

"The current exchange of fire is merely a probing attack by the enemy."

Upon hearing that it was a test of firepower, Dane immediately asked, "Sir, should we immediately notify the Southern Army and tell them to be careful and avoid revealing their firepower?"

“No.” Ridgway waved his hand: “It would be better to take this opportunity to kill more enemy personnel and heavy firepower.”

For the U.S. military, the extent of the Confederate army's heavy equipment losses was of little importance.

Even all the heavy equipment of the Confederate army combined wouldn't be enough to meet the daily output of the American military industry.

If Ridgway could exchange these equipment and Southern soldiers for the Central Army's heavy equipment and soldiers, he would be laughing in his sleep.

"Pass on my order: immediately dispatch reconnaissance and bomber aircraft. As soon as an enemy force is spotted, even if it's just a single company, conduct a carpet bombing raid!"

"We must leverage our firepower advantage and try to avoid close combat with the central forces."

"If a problem can be solved with a bomb, then it should be solved with a bomb."

"If one ton of bombs isn't enough, bring another ton. If that still doesn't work, bring ten tons!"

"Until all enemies perish in the flames!"

"Yes, sir!"
A large number of US reconnaissance aircraft began to conduct intensive reconnaissance in the Gaolangli area.

To Ridgway's surprise, after several days of aerial reconnaissance, apart from a few scattered enemy activities, no other central forces were found.

Even the two regiments before them had very scattered positions, which did not look like they were trying to concentrate their forces to break through the Imjin River.

Li Qiwei breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems we were overthinking it; the enemy has no intention of continuing their attack for the time being."

Dane nodded: "Sir, the central army has been fighting for many days and is exhausted. They should be resting as well."

"Moreover, there are intermediaries facilitating the ceasefire and peace talks."

"Based on normal circumstances, we should have more than a month of rest and recuperation time."

Ridgway curled his lip in disdain: "A vague request for a ceasefire has stopped them in their tracks. How foolish!"

"But no matter what the central army is thinking, the longer it drags on, the more advantageous it will be for us."

"Tell the Southern army to remain on high alert, and for reconnaissance aircraft to continue surveillance in case the Chinese army takes any sudden action."

"Yes, sir!"

While the two regiments of Army C were making feints in Gaolang, Chen Chengxing was also holding a combat meeting in the temporary command post.

This meeting was not limited to the Second Division.

According to the plan of the General Headquarters, this operation was divided into two major battlefields: the western front and the eastern front.

The 4th Army Corps was the main force of the offensive on the western front.

Therefore, in addition to Chen Chengxing and Luo Ping, who represented the Second General, Li Yunlong, Kong Jie, and Ding Wei were also present at this meeting.

At the table, Chen Chengxing picked up a document.

"This is the 'Instructions on Completing the Third Campaign' issued by the General Headquarters."

"With continuous combat, the troops' fatigue was accumulating, so the Third Campaign was destined to be a difficult task."

Despite the complete victory achieved by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in the previous continuous battles, it also suffered considerable casualties.

The combined combat and non-combat casualties of each army were generally around 10,000.

Even though Chen Chengxing made extensive preparations before the battle, nearly seven thousand men were still lost.

At night, the temperature drops to minus thirty or forty degrees Celsius. Even wearing a thick cotton coat, you will quickly get chilled to the bone.

After reading the instructions from his superiors, Chen Chengxing said, "You already know the necessity of crossing the 38th parallel, so I won't repeat it further."

"This time we must respond to the call of the Central Committee and carry forward the spirit of hard work and perseverance and the fine tradition of continuous combat."

"We must redouble our efforts to overcome difficulties and achieve final victory!"

Seeing Chen Chengxing lecturing him so confidently, Li Yunlong felt like he had a nail under his butt.

"Old Chen, everyone here is an old comrade-in-arms. There's no need for these formalities, is there? It's just a waste of time."

"Li Yunlong!" Chen Chengxing said sternly, "You must address him by his title when you're working!"

Li Yunlong was so speechless by those words that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

However, everyone else around them burst into laughter.

Even if everyone present had read the instructions, they would be able to follow them without needing to elaborate on their spirit.

However, Chen Chengxing still had to go through the process of reading out the instructions from his superiors.

However, once the procedures were completed, the atmosphere of the meeting didn't need to be so tense.

"Alright, alright, enough joking around." Chen Chengxing sat down with a smile.

"Let's discuss it together, let's discuss it together."

"If all else fails, you can take my place, Lao Li."

Li Yunlong ignored the laughter and jokes of the crowd and decisively changed the subject.

"The American devils have been hit twice by us, and now they will probably be afraid when they see the Chinese People's Volunteer Army."

"I don't think this third campaign will be difficult," Li Yunlong said confidently.

“That’s for sure.” Kong Jie nodded: “The US military retreated 300 kilometers before. If we hadn’t run fast, we would have been wiped out long ago.”

Ding Wei added from the side, "The leader said that imperialism is a paper tiger, and the US and Western bloc are now in a difficult situation."

Ding Wei's vision was clearly broader than that of Li Yunlong and Kong Jie.

"On the one hand, the imperialist bloc fears that the United States will be bogged down in Korea and weaken the defenses of Europe, while on the other hand, it fears that withdrawing troops will be a loss of face."

"Therefore, there must be internal divisions among them now." "The only option for the imperialist bloc is to rely on the 38th parallel as a delaying tactic."

"Politically, they will superficially seek peace and delay, but militarily they are definitely intensifying their efforts to reorganize their remaining forces in an attempt to launch a counterattack."

“You’re right,” Chen Chengxing nodded in agreement.

"Therefore, our current task is to take advantage of the enemy's retreat and the fact that the situation is not yet stable, and quickly cross the 38th parallel."

"If we can take advantage of the situation and capture a few more of their divisions, the enemy will be in even greater disarray."

"It's a pity that the enemy has six Southern Army divisions on the front line right now," Li Yunlong said with a hint of regret.

Li Yunlong always looked down on the Southern Army, considering it to be no different from Er Gouzi's puppet army.

Li Yunlong even considered it a waste of ammunition to go and fight them.

However, to Li Yunlong's surprise, Chen Chengxing said with certainty, "We are attacking the Southern Army."

"Currently, there are only about 100,000 US troops in North Korea. Even if we include troops from other countries, there are only about 150,000 troops."

"If we can inflict heavy casualties on the Confederate army, the Americans will be essentially without their claws, which will be very beneficial to our army's future operations."

Hearing Chen Chengxing's analysis, everyone nodded in agreement, but Ding Wei then raised another question.

"Whether we fight the Americans or the Confederates, it will be good for the situation, but I'm a little worried about logistics."

"The third campaign will be fought near the 38th parallel, which means that the logistical supply distance will be more than twice that of the second campaign."

"The logistical support is extremely difficult."

The Korean War was different from the War of Resistance against Japan or the Chinese Civil War; the Volunteer Army could only rely on rear transport for supplies.

The longer the supply route, the more severe the attacks by the US military, and the more difficult it is to transport supplies.

In war, if logistics cannot keep up, it will be a disaster.

Chen Chengxing was well aware of the logistical issues raised by Ding Wei, as he had discussed this matter when he attended a meeting at the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party.

"There's not much to worry about in terms of logistics and supplies."

"Domestic logistics agencies have coordinated a large amount of compressed dry rations, fried noodles, and even boiled meat, which is enough to solve the urgent needs of the front line."

These foods are all cooked and can be eaten without lighting a fire.

Because compressed rations require pressing, their production volume is not very large when there are not many machines available, and they can only be used for emergency purposes.

However, fried noodles can be made by one person with one pot.

For China, which was following the people's war approach, production was not difficult; the difficulty lay only in transportation.

However, the central government is currently negotiating with the Soviet Union and Russia, and should be able to obtain greater air force support in the next step.

Ding Wei nodded: "If there are portable supplies, then we can fight."

After resolving everyone's questions, Chen Chengxing then approached the map.

"Based on the Central Committee's strategic objectives and the headquarters' operational plans."

"The Second Army, Army A, Army B, Army C, and the attached 1st and 8th Artillery Divisions form the western attack force, targeting the 1st and 6th Divisions of the South Korean Army."

After explaining the attack mission on the western route, Chen Chengxing then took the opportunity to introduce the missions of the remaining troops of the Volunteer Army on the map.

"The Z and Y armies on the eastern front have the objective of annihilating the 2nd and 5th Divisions of the Southern Army."

"The First Army Corps of the Union Army, located on the west coast, is responsible for launching feint attacks to support our operations."

"The Northern Army's 2nd and 5th Corps on the eastern front were responsible for attacking the junction with the Southern Army, coordinating with the Eastern Route Army's offensive."

"From the perspective of the General Headquarters' overall operational plan, this is a strategy of all-out offensive with key breakthroughs."

"In addition to crossing the 38th parallel, another important strategic objective of this campaign was to eliminate as many South Korean troops as possible."

Currently, US and British troops are concentrated in the Seoul area, which is not conducive to the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's attack.

However, as long as the main force of the Confederate army can be annihilated, the US military will not have enough troops to control large areas heading south.

If the lines cannot be held, the US military will retreat on its own.

Looking at the enemy's defensive lines on the map, and the several Southern Army divisions at the forefront, Ding Wei and the others all nodded.

The highly capable U.S. military was withdrawn to the second line, while the poorly performing Confederate army was pushed to the front line.

Not attacking them would be a disservice to the US military's strategic plan.

Soon, Chen Chengxing and his team formulated a battle plan based on the headquarters' strategy.

Li Yunlong's two regiments continued their feints to draw the attention of the US military.

The 21st Detachment of the Second Army, as the first echelon of the entire army, was responsible for crossing the Imjin River and breaking through the enemy's defenses.

After the breakthrough was successful, the 22nd and 24th detachments served as the second echelon, responsible for in-depth cutting.

Ding Wei, Kong Jie, and Li Yunlong, as a coordinated force, advanced towards Gaoyang, Uijeongbu, and Pocheon respectively.

"Old Ding, Old Kong, Old Li, whether we can contain the enemy depends entirely on your speed of infiltration."

"If the enemy escapes, the commander of the Volunteer Army will probably curse us out."

"Old Chen, you don't need to worry about that. As long as Second Commander can open a breakthrough on time and the main force crosses the river, we will definitely be able to take a big bite out of him."

"Okay! It's settled then!" Chen Chengxing nodded: "This time we must make full use of our infiltration advantage."

According to the plan of the headquarters, the Z Army and Y Army of the Eastern Route Army, as well as the 2nd and 5th Corps of the Northern Army, aimed to capture Chuncheon, Gapyeong, Tongcheon, and Pengcheng.

After that, they will move westward to encircle the vicinity of Seoul.

After confirming their respective tasks, Chen Chengxing called Wang Chengzhu over.

"Pillar, I have a task for you."

Wang Chengzhu immediately stood at attention and said, "I guarantee I will complete the mission!"

"Don't be nervous," Chen Chengxing waved his hand.

"Your task is to go to the front line every day to watch the sunset and observe enemy aircraft."

"Huh?" Wang Chengzhu was stunned.

"Captain, I'm not exactly an intellectual, and I don't really gain any insights from watching the sunset."

"Who the hell told you to go relax?" Chen Chengxing said irritably.

"I sent you there to observe when the enemy planes would withdraw, so that we could determine the best window of opportunity for attack."

"Also, I have ordered Wei Dayong to infiltrate behind enemy lines. The special operations brigade will send back various enemy coordinates, and the artillery should set the parameters in advance according to each coordinate."

Wang Chengzhu then understood what was going on: "Yes! Captain, don't worry, I guarantee it will be accurate!"

"Go ahead," Chen Chengxing waved his hand.

The 1st and 8th Artillery Divisions, which were reinforced by the headquarters, have been split up and distributed to various armies.

Both artillery divisions have been fully equipped with Soviet-style artillery, but only four regiments have arrived so far, while the other two regiments are still training in China.

Because the Second Army Corps had no shortage of firepower, apart from two battalions of 152mm howitzers responsible for deep strikes against the corps, all the other artillery battalions were assigned to Li Yunlong's three armies.

(End of this chapter)