Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 593 Regardless of Everything

"Commander, a large number of enemy reinforcements have been dispatched from Tuguli."

Upon hearing that a large number of reinforcements had arrived, Sun Xun immediately looked up and asked, "How many are there?"

"The force numbered over a thousand, and there were nearly thirty tanks, half of which were British tanks and the other half were American Pershing heavy tanks."

Hearing that they were all heavy tanks, Sun Xun felt a headache coming on.

The British Centurion tank was one of the few things that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's rocket launchers could not destroy head-on.

While the American M26 Pershing tank could destroy targets head-on, the conditions were extremely demanding and not so easy to achieve.

"We can't let them get into the water so easily," Sun Xun said firmly.

Once US reinforcements enter the waters, it will have a significant impact on subsequent operational plans.

"Have the 233rd Regiment establish defensive positions on the southeastern highlands of Shangshuili to block enemy reinforcements." Sun Xun decisively dispatched the reserve force.

However, the 233rd Regiment did find it difficult to engage the enemy's heavy tanks.

In particular, when the British troops lined up several Centurion tanks in a row, they provided cover for each other's flanks.

The rocket launcher gunners who ventured forward couldn't find a suitable firing line at all.

The rockets fired in succession all hit the frontal armor of the Centurion tank.

However, this did not stop the enemy from continuing their advance.

Seeing several soldiers fall to the ground under enemy fire, Lu Peng, the commander of the 233rd Regiment, slammed his fist into the trench.

"Damn it! This is outrageous!"

Lu Peng gritted his teeth and said, "Prepare for suppressive fire, and send the demolition team in!"

Even though Lu Peng was very unwilling, he had no choice but to use the demolition team.

Aside from explosive charges, the 233rd Regiment had no other way to stop the enemy tanks from advancing.

"Commander, there's another way we can try," the chief of staff said hurriedly.

"any solution?"

The chief of staff pointed to the trucks behind the tank: "Fire at the infantry behind them."

"The commander-in-chief said that once the infantry is not protecting them, tanks are easy to deal with when they are operating alone."

"The anti-tank mines on the road ahead will be enough to give them a hard time."

Tanks don't have long arms, so they can't clear mines themselves; infantry have to go forward to clear them.

Upon hearing this, Lu Peng nodded: "You know what, it's a good idea!"

"Tell the mortar positions to fire in a barrage to cut off communication between enemy tanks and infantry."

"I'd like to see what the enemy will do!"

The firepower originally intended to target the tanks began to extend backward, and several trucks belonging to the Canadian battalion exploded and caught fire one after another.

The British and American reinforcements' convoy was blocked and unable to move. The Canadian infantrymen had no choice but to jump out of their vehicles and find cover to wait.

Upon receiving the report, Drais, positioned inside the tank command vehicle, immediately ordered over the radio: "Tanks halt! All personnel on alert!"

"The tanks behind should help the infantry push away the burning trucks and try to clear a passage."

Watching the enemy tanks move, Lu Peng laughed and said, "Clear them out, take your time. We have plenty of time to play with you today."

Over the next few days, the situation gradually evolved into one where the 233rd Regiment kept fighting, Drais kept rescuing, and the Canadian infantry kept getting off and on the vehicles.

After finally getting close to the 233rd Regiment's position, Drais discovered that the tanks couldn't get up there at all.

He could only send Canadian infantry forward to attack, while tanks provided fire support from the rear.

However, even with air support, they simply couldn't take down a position defended by a regiment with just an infantry battalion.

When Albert, the commander of the 1st Marine Regiment, learned of this situation, he almost coughed up blood.

He's in a dire situation, and you, Drais, are just wasting time?

All Canadians should die!
What? Aren't people from former colonies human?

Unable to bear it any longer, Albert sent a telegram to Oliver.

Drais was furious when he saw the urgent telegram forwarded by Oliver.

"Fuck! Am I wasting time? The infantry is being suppressed by the enemy, what can I do?!"

"How can we support Shangshuili without capturing enemy positions?!"

The road leading into Shangshuili is located below the 233rd Regiment's position.

For the infantry to pass, they must first eliminate the enemy's positions.

Tanks are indeed not afraid of the central army's firepower, but infantry cannot withstand bullets and shells.

A British captain standing nearby suggested, "Sir, since the higher-ups have given orders, I think we should just charge in."

"The infantry behind should follow if they can, otherwise they should go back."

"This way, the support will be in place, and the higher authorities won't have to hold us accountable."

After thinking for a long time, Drais realized that he seemed to have no other choice.

Next, he could either kill time here, retreat with his entire army, or charge straight in.

"It seems this is the only way," Drais said with some helplessness.

However, Drais was very shrewd. He did not give the order directly, but reported the situation to Oliver, who then decided whether to charge directly into the enemy lines.

Oliver quickly replied to Drais's telegram.

"Full speed support to Shangshuili."

For Oliver, the lives of the Canadians were irrelevant; all he needed was for the Marine Regiment in the water to receive reinforcements.

Holding the telegram, Drais felt more confident.

"Pass down the order: in 5 minutes, the convoy will accelerate to maximum speed, and we'll charge in!"

"Yes, sir!"

Seeing the enemy suddenly retreat, Lu Peng was somewhat confused.

But what happened next completely shocked him.

"What does this mean?!"

Lu Peng was taken aback when he saw the British and American reinforcements suddenly accelerate forward.

"Commander, is the enemy planning to force their way through?"

Seeing the actions of the Anglo-American coalition forces, the chief of staff standing to the side was also puzzled.

After thinking for a long time without figuring it out, Lu Peng simply waved his hand and said, "Never mind what he's doing, just fight him first!"

"Tell the front-line troops to let the enemy tanks pass and concentrate their attacks on the enemy infantry!"

"Second-line troops, use anti-tank mines to surround the enemy tanks!"

"Yes!"

Faced with the firepower of the 233rd Regiment, the tank units charging ahead were not significantly affected, but the convoy following behind was in a sorry state.

Tanks can ignore bullets from both light and heavy machine guns, but the outer shell of a truck offers absolutely no protection.

Within just a few minutes, the tank and infantry units were disengaged under the firepower.

However, Drais did not stop this time.

He was simply ordering the tank units to floor their accelerators while simultaneously calling over the radio for the Canadian battalion to follow.

Meanwhile, the Canadian 2nd Infantry Battalion was once again blocking the road with trucks that had been blown up.

Without tanks to help push them away, the infantry had no way to handle the burning trucks.

The Canadian infantry initially thought of jumping off the vehicle and following, but they found that they were getting further and further away.
Watching the tanks swaggering through the enemy lines, Lu Peng scratched his head.

"They sold out their infantry in broad daylight?"

"Commander, is this the imperialist army? It reminds me a bit of the Kuomintang?"

The chief of staff standing nearby also couldn't understand the enemy's thinking.

"I don't understand, I don't understand." Lu Peng shook his head.

Despite their doubts, the 233rd Regiment's attack proceeded without delay. The 2nd Battalion, originally intended as a reserve force, quickly arrived at the front lines and, together with the 1st Battalion, encircled the Canadian 2nd Infantry Battalion.

The Third Battalion also charged out from their positions and rushed towards the enemy tanks.

Faced with the encircling troops, the Canadian 2nd Infantry Battalion suffered heavy casualties.

The tank units at the forefront, after being restricted by anti-tank mines, showed no signs of stopping.

The tanks behind accelerated, pushing aside the tanks whose tracks had been blown off by landmines.

Then it dashed into the water.

The rocket launcher team at the forefront of the 233rd Regiment, even though they were practically running their lungs out, still couldn't catch up.

They could only watch helplessly as the tank drove away, billowing smoke.

Lu Peng looked annoyed.

"Damn it! If we had enough time and enough landmines, none of them would be getting away today!"

However, the US military at this time also found it somewhat unacceptable.

Albert was extremely depressed to learn that only 25 tanks had arrived at Sheung Shui Lee and that the Canadian 2nd Infantry Battalion had surrendered.

These twenty-odd tanks could indeed provide considerable support to the Marine Regiment, but in Albert's eyes, the number of reinforcements was far too small.

With such limited tank support, it was not enough for the 1st Marine Regiment to hold Shangshuili while simultaneously supporting the US 7th Division.

At this time, Ridgway also learned of the annihilation of the Canadian battalion.

This put him in a state of extreme confusion.

If the 1st Marine Regiment continues to stay in the water waiting to support the 7th Division, they will also be in danger.

If the 1st Marine Regiment chooses to break out, they can escape, but the 7th Division will be in trouble.

Reason told Ridgway that it was time to cut his losses.

Ridgway was very unwilling to accept the loss of the 7th Division.

Seeing Ridgway's constipated expression, Dane thought for a moment and suggested, "Sir, no matter what, we did manage to get 25 tanks this time."

"I think it would be better to concentrate all armored forces and launch a strong attack on Hill 1419."

Ridgway hesitated for a moment before saying, "The Chinese army has anti-tank rocket launchers. If it's an armored group assault, the losses will likely be significant."

"Sir, at this point, I don't think it's necessary to consider these things."

Upon hearing Dane's reminder, Ridgway nodded: "You're right, now is indeed not the time to worry about casualties and losses."

"Immediately send orders to the 7th Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Regiment to assemble all tanks and launch a forced assault on Hill 1419."

"In addition, order all aircraft to rush to the battlefields of Pingshali and Shangshuili."

"Use overwhelming firepower to block all enemy reinforcement routes."

"I want to turn Hill 1419 into a sea of ​​fire!"

Dane asked, "Including the planes from the South Hills battlefield?"

Ridgway thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Nan'an Mountain intensifies its attack to put pressure on the central army and support the breakout of the 7th Infantry Division."

Ridgway still hoped to take a two-pronged approach; if he could capture Nan'an Mountain, the battlefield situation would be revitalized.

When the US military hardened its resolve, it unleashed its true fighting power.

The entire Hill 1419 was besieged by nearly 500 aircraft and hundreds of tanks.

The soldiers on the position felt the entire hilltop tremble.

Under the cover of tanks and aircraft, the US infantry launched repeated fierce attacks on the positions of the 2nd Battalion of the 175th Regiment.

This time, the US tanks did not just provide fire support from the rear, but were positioned at the very front.

Even though these tanks could only advance in a line along the few roads available to go up the mountain, not one of them retreated.

Seeing the American tanks standing there so easily, firing at will, the soldiers felt helpless.

Even if all the rocket launchers in the entire 2nd Battalion were combined, they still couldn't take down these nearly one hundred tanks.

After the rockets were used up, the 2nd Battalion could no longer stop the tanks' advance.

Hill 1419 has fallen once again.

With the battle at this point, less than a platoon of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion responsible for the defense were still able to stand up.

"Damn it!" Fang Ze, the political instructor of the 2nd Battalion, looked at the hilltop and spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground.

"Our comrades are all on the hilltop, are we just going to go back like this?!"

As he spoke, Fang Ze strapped a string of grenades to his body.

"You can leave if you want, but I have to stay with everyone today!"

"Instructor, we don't like hearing that!"

"What do you mean we have to retreat?! You need to stay with everyone; we're afraid we'll be lonely on the road!"

"I think this hill is quite nice; burying him here would be perfect!"

"Exactly! If you're afraid of dying, you're not a member of the G Party!"

"Well done, all of you are great!" Fang Ze nodded.

"Then let's not keep everyone waiting impatiently."

"Follow me!"

"You American devils! I'll fuck your grandpa!"

Looking at the battle report in his hand, the commander of the 7th Infantry Division, Marquez, showed no joy at having captured the position.

The 7th Division paid a heavy price to capture this small position.

More than 20 tanks were destroyed, nearly ten of which were destroyed by explosive charges or cluster grenades.

In addition to tanks, the 7th Division also suffered more than 1,500 casualties.

If all 1,500 people had died, that would have been the end of it all, but the reality is that this battle resulted in a large number of seriously wounded.

This greatly affected the speed of the troops' retreat.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Márquez stopped thinking about it and casually handed the battle report to the chief of staff standing beside him.

"Order the troops to speed up and join up with the 1st Marine Division. There is still one more position to break through ahead."

At this time, the outer positions were already engaged in fierce fighting with the encircling central army, and the 7th Infantry Division did not have much time left.

Upon receiving the battle report, the chief of staff said, "Sir, I think that position is not difficult to break through, as long as we are willing to pay the price."

"It's just that the price is a bit high."

“The cost is indeed considerable.” Márquez nodded. “But that’s war.”

"Go get ready."

"Yes, sir!"

At the same time, Chen Chengxing also received news that the 1419 position had been breached.

"The US military is going all out, charging forward recklessly regardless of casualties."

Xu Wu said, "Judging from this situation, the 23rd Detachment probably won't be able to withstand the combined attack of the US 7th Division and the 1st Marine Regiment."

Looking at the map, Chen Chengxing asked without looking up, "Where is the 24th Detachment now?"

As early as when he received the news that the US 7th Division had begun to break out, Chen Chengxing not only sent a telegram to Li Yunlong to speed up, but also ordered the 24th Detachment of the General Reserve to provide full support.

"Their progress is not going very smoothly." Xu Wu shook his head helplessly.

"Although the U.S. military deployed the vast majority of its air power to Hill 1419, a large number of reconnaissance and bomber aircraft still carried out an air blockade."

"Get the 24th Detachment of infantry to advance faster," Chen Chengxing said. "Otherwise, I'm afraid we won't make it in time."

Although it is already dusk, the main force of the US military will most likely be temporarily stationed after arriving at Shangshuili.

However, the 24th team is still quite far away, and they cannot launch an attack as soon as they arrive.

Chen Chengxing's concerns were not unfounded. By the time the 24th Detachment arrived in the Shangshui area amidst wind and snow and under the air blockade of the US military, it was already late at night.

(End of this chapter)