Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 579 wasn't there before? Now it is.

The defensive lines Ridgway set up were obvious to anyone with a discerning eye.

Ridgway's plan was simple: since the Confederate army was no good at fighting, they would be used as human shields and alarm bells.

No matter how the central army intends to attack, it will be exposed when attacking the southern army.

At that point, the second-line US forces will have ample time to respond.

In order to prevent the Central Army from relying on the spoils captured by the Southern Army to strengthen its power.

Ridgway also specifically recalled all the M4 tanks and 155mm howitzers that had previously been assigned to the Confederate Army.

From some perspectives, Ridgway's plan was extremely advantageous to the U.S. military.

In this situation, even if the US military cannot win, it is unlikely to suffer any major losses.

As for how badly the Confederate army would be defeated at the front, that was not even on Ridgway's radar.

However, Ridgway had only just taken over the Eighth Army and didn't know what kind of people the Confederate army was.

The Confederate army wasn't stupid either. Since the American army didn't treat them like human beings, they naturally wouldn't treat them like human beings either.

As the elite 1st Division of the Southern Army, they stood out from the crowd within the entire Southern Army.

Since the start of the Korean War, the South Korean 1st Division has suffered several defeats.

Apart from the initial incident in Seoul where their own people bombed their retreat route, they had not suffered any other major setbacks.

In the previous Second Battle, the entire UN forces were routed by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

The only division that managed to hold off the attack was the 1st Division of the South, which not only managed to retreat safely but also escaped almost unscathed.

This drew the attention of the entire UN forces.

The US military advisors to the 1st Division of the South even stated that the 1st Division of the South was comparable to the US military in combat capability.

Given his past glorious achievements, Bai Shangye, the commander of the 1st Division of the South, has full confidence in his command and his troops.

On a hilltop, Bai Shangye held up binoculars to observe the situation on both sides of the Imjin River.

The chief of staff pointed to a hill nearby and said, "That's the artillery position. The firing range of the 18 105mm howitzers has been adjusted."

"If the Chinese People's Volunteer Army attempts to cross the shallows, the artillery battalion can launch a full-scale attack at any time, and the artillery fire alone can severely damage them."

"Ah."

After glancing at the artillery position, Bai Shangye put away his binoculars.

"We must make the troops more vigilant."

"Also, prepare the flares. The central army will most likely choose to cross the river at night."

"Don't worry, sir, our defenses are impregnable!" The chief of staff said with a confident expression.

According to Bai Shangye's plan, the South 1st Division's positions were arranged in an inverted triangle formation.

Bai Shangye has already abandoned the shallow waters where it was difficult to build a defensive position.

However, behind the shallows, the South 1st Division had established a complete defensive counter-attack posture.

On the position, all the firepower of the South 1st Division was aimed at the shallows.

"The central army wants to cross the river? Then let them cross." Bai Shangye had a sense of commanding authority.

"Once they land, we will take advantage of their unstable foothold and inflict heavy casualties on them with concentrated firepower."

"Brilliant, sir." The chief of staff immediately gave a thumbs up.

"Only you could come up with such a brilliant plan."

"Hey," Bai Shangye waved his hand, "this is called attacking while the enemy is crossing the river, and it's recorded in Chinese military strategy."

"Although we were equipped with American weapons, the Confederate army and the American army were ultimately different."

"We can't completely apply the tactics and methods of the US military. Chinese military strategy is still very useful, and we have to learn it!"

The current officers of the South Korean army either studied at military academies in Japan or the United States.

During World War II, the Japanese army had strong individual combat capabilities, but in terms of tactics, apart from the flanking maneuver, which was regarded as the supreme bible, they had almost nothing else.

As for the US military, at this point, all they could do was bomb.

It is important to know that at the end of World War II, the U.S. military landed on a beachhead defended by only a thousand or so elderly, weak, sick and disabled German soldiers.

After distributing more than half a ton of bombs to each German soldier, the American forces still suffered more than 3,000 casualties before successfully landing.

If the Confederate army were to completely emulate the American army, it would be courting disaster without equivalent industrial capacity.

The chief of staff looked pleased with himself and said, "Yes! I will definitely find some Chinese military strategy books to study when I have time."

"Hmm." Bai Shangye nodded without saying much, after all, not everyone can be as talented as him.

While Bai Shangye was observing both banks of the Imjin River with his binoculars, he did not see that someone else was also observing with binoculars in a secluded spot on the north side of the Imjin River.

"Brigade Commander, all the regimental commanders have arrived."

Li Chishui handed the binoculars to the operations staff officer next to him: "Keep an eye on things and report any developments immediately."

"Yes!"

Inside the underground meeting room of the 21st Detachment, all the main commanders were already seated.

Standing in front of the wall with the map hanging on it, Li Chishui said directly, "Time is of the essence, let's get straight to the point."

"Across from us is the 1st Division of the Southern Army, which is known as the elite of the Southern Army."

"When we first entered Korea, we originally wanted to wipe them out in Tuancheng, but the 3rd Regiment of the 1st American Cavalry Division became the scapegoat."

"This time, we absolutely cannot let them get away again!"

"The 21st Detachment is the spearhead of the entire army, and the spearhead company of each of your regiments is the spearhead of the 21st Detachment."

"How are the preparations for crossing the river going in your respective units?"

Facing a well-prepared enemy, crossing the river and launching a strong attack is one of the most difficult tasks at present.

In order to win this battle, Li Chishui went to great lengths to prepare.

"Commander, most of the boats on the Imjin River have been requisitioned or destroyed by the UN forces. We only managed to find a few fishing boats here and there."

"Heavy machine guns or infantry guns can cross the river little by little, but infantry will probably have to wade across."

Upon hearing this, the North Korean guide who was also attending the meeting immediately said, "I have lived here for forty years and have never heard of anyone daring to wade across the river at this time."

The Imjin River was already frozen over, but due to the large drop and rapid current, the ice layer on the river surface was less than ten centimeters thick.

Such a thickness is simply not enough to support troops crossing the river.

Not to mention that the Southern army was also shelling the river every day, artificially creating ice floes.

If you want to wade across the river, you have to charge through icy water under a hail of bullets.

The North Korean guides couldn't even imagine the level of difficulty involved.

"No?" Li Chishui said calmly, "Then you have it now!"

After saying that, Li Chishui looked at the regimental commanders and said, "Wading across the river is unavoidable. When you go back, you must make full preparations."

"Everyone in the Sharp Knife Company needs to be given some strong liquor. In addition, you can also prepare some lard."

Lard can be used not only to prevent guns from freezing, but also to prevent frostbite and chapped skin, and can even be used to replenish energy when necessary.

"Commander, the elite company is no problem. Our entire regiment can supply an entire company without any issues."

"However, if subsequent troops also wade across the river, the non-combat casualties may be too much to bear."

In such cold weather, even with thorough preparations, crossing the river would inevitably result in a large number of frostbite casualties. One company might be manageable, but if an entire regiment had to wade across the river, the regiment would essentially lose its combat effectiveness.

"Once the Sharp Knife Company crosses the river and secures the position, you can use the boats you find to transport heavy weapons and follow-up troops across the river."

"At the same time, the engineering regiment of the brigade will immediately repair the pontoon bridge so that the main force can cross the river via the pontoon bridge."

A pontoon bridge is essential for the large troop to cross the river quickly.

However, the engineering corps could not go directly to build the bridge; the 21st Detachment had to first establish a position.

Therefore, the most difficult task for the 21 teams is to cross the river and seize the position.

Once we capture the position, the rest will be easy.

In order to capture the position as quickly as possible and minimize casualties, in addition to the meticulous preparations, Li Chishui also came up with an attack plan.

"This operational plan was formulated by me based on the instructions of the commander-in-chief."

Li Chishui pointed to the map and said, "This shallow area looks like it would be easier to cross the river, but we know that, and the enemy certainly knows it too."

"As long as the 1st Division of the South is not stupid, it will definitely aim all its firepower at this shallow beach."

“If we cross the river here, the troops will inevitably suffer heavy casualties.”

"We can't do something so stupid."

As he spoke, Li Chishui pointed to a cliff on the map: "On the contrary, look here."

"This cliff is ten meters high; it's clearly not a good place to attack."

"The 1st Division of the South would never place its main defensive positions here."

"Although this place is easy to defend and difficult to attack, once we break through, the subsequent losses will be minimal."

No one had any objections to the battle plan that Li Chishui presented.

Just kidding, the commander-in-chief has already approved it, so there won't be any problems with this battle plan.

As for the ten-meter-high cliff, everyone said they didn't care at all; they had fought many battles at this height.

After confirming that there were no problems, Li Chishui explained the battle plans of each unit on the map and then began to arrange the preparations for the attack.

"Two regiments of Army C are currently drawing the enemy's attention in the high waves. We chose this place to force our way across, which the enemy will not easily expect."

"We can take this opportunity to shorten the distance between ourselves and the enemy."

Li Chishui's words surprised everyone.

"Commander, the attack order has not yet been issued. If we approach rashly, it may arouse the suspicion of the Southern Army."

“I know.” Li Chishui nodded: “Therefore, we need to operate covertly and absolutely cannot expose our whereabouts.”

Li Chishui gestured to the operations staff officer beside him and handed out a booklet to everyone.

After everyone had watched for a few minutes, Li Chishui explained:

"This is the construction method for underground shelters compiled by the chief commander. Go back and hold your own meetings to study it."

"At night, we would secretly move forward in squads, using the heavy snow and terrain as cover to hide our concealed tunnels right under the enemy's noses."

"Let me make this clear upfront: once we enter the attack position, no one is allowed to reveal their position. Anyone who violates this rule will be subject to military law!"

"Yes!"

After the meeting, the regimental commanders immediately convened a regimental-level operational meeting upon returning to their posts.

Following Chen Chengxing's instructions, the 21st Detachment completed its basic preparations in just two days.

Between 100 and 300 meters from the Imjin River, the 21st Detachment built more than 300 shelters and more than 100 underground artillery positions.

To maintain secrecy, the exits were also concealed or placed in positions that the Southern Army could not see directly.

Under the cover of heavy snow, the major construction project lasted for two consecutive days without the First Division of the South Division noticing anything.

After the 21st Detachment had all taken their attack positions, the defenders of the 1st Division of the South thought everything was fine.

On the last day of 1950, the headquarters decided to give the UN forces a big gift.

At 4:40 p.m., Chen Chengxing put down his watch.

"Time's up! Order the artillery detachment and the 152mm howitzer battalion to launch an artillery barrage on the designated targets!"

Based on observations over the past few days, US military aircraft withdraw about twenty minutes before sunset.

The sun sets at 5:03 PM today, and the enemy will be far away by 4:40 PM.

At Chen Chengxing's command, the once silent Imjin River suddenly erupted in a thunderous roar of cannons.

This time, in order to achieve a larger-scale artillery bombardment effect, in addition to 105mm and 152mm howitzers, the rocket artillery regiment, which had not been used for a long time, also went into full firepower.

The main positions of the South 1st Division, including the artillery battalion's positions, were all subjected to intensive fire.

The rocket artillery regiment's 54 rocket launchers demonstrated overwhelming battlefield dominance.

Three salvos covered the positions of all three regiments of the 1st Division of the South.

再加上36门105毫米榴弹炮与20门152毫米榴弹炮不间断射击，南1师直接就被猛烈的火力给打蒙了。

After the artillery opened fire, countless signal flares soared into the sky, and suddenly tens of thousands of Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers appeared on the previously deserted north bank of the Imjin River.

The soldiers of the South 1st Division, who had just been shelled and hadn't even had time to react, stared wide-eyed.

"Xiba!"

"How can this be?!"

"Is the central army like a radish? Can it grow out of the ground?!"

The 1st Division of the South could see the places where the Volunteer Army appeared eight hundred times a day, but they had never noticed anything unusual before.

Just as the 21st Detachment suddenly appeared on the north bank of the Imjin River, the artillery regiment of the 21st Detachment and the infantry guns and mortars of each regiment opened fire.

During this period, in addition to Wei Dayong leading the special forces to conduct continuous reconnaissance behind enemy lines, the 21st Detachment also spared no effort in reconnoitering all the defensive fortifications on the South 1st Division's positions.

Special operations teams are engaged in strategic reconnaissance, so they cannot focus their attention on a particular heavy machine gun or mortar firing point.

However, the 21st Detachment conducted very detailed reconnaissance of the firing positions of the 1st Division's forward positions.

The direct fire from the mountain guns and infantry guns of the 21st Detachment precisely destroyed almost every defensive fortification that Bai Shangye had meticulously arranged.

Under the continuous bombardment of more than 200 artillery pieces of various sizes, the defensive positions of the South 1st Division were blown to smithereens in 20 minutes.

Even the minefields laid along the riverbank were almost completely destroyed.

"Very good! The Southern army's defenses have been almost completely destroyed."

Watching the sun gradually sink below the horizon, Li Chishui gave the order:
"Initiate the river-crossing operation as planned!"

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers of the 21st Regiment did not hesitate. Under the cover of artillery and heavy machine gun fire, they jumped into the Linjiang River, which was filled with icy water.

The extremely cold river water rapidly drained the soldiers' strength, and those who were unfortunately shot were almost instantly swept away by the river.

The Southern Army soldiers were stunned by what they saw.

They could understand why the Chinese People's Volunteer Army crossed the Imjin River from this cliff; it was a matter of deception in war.

But they just couldn't understand why they would cross the river by themselves without building a pontoon bridge or using boats.

"Damn it. Is this even human?"

Seeing the Chinese People's Volunteer Army rushing towards the south bank of the Imjin River at an extremely fast speed despite the hail of bullets, the morale of the defending 1st Division of the South plummeted.

(End of this chapter)