Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 608 The Front Lines Don't Lie
They learned that the attacking positions had been completely overrun by the central army.

Moreover, the defending troops didn't even find a single enemy corpse, and the commander of the US 7th Division, Marquez, was so angry he almost vomited blood.

"Fuck! They're all useless!" Marquez roared.

"The artillery positions have all been bombed, but we don't even know how many enemies there are!"

"Go, remove that position commander from my post!"

After the staff officer who delivered the order left, the chief of staff of the US 7th Division said, "Sir, should we transfer a few howitzers from other positions?"

"Without artillery fire, they will probably have a hard time taking Hill 280."

"That's their business!"

"The firepower of the remaining positions is even somewhat insufficient. If artillery is diverted, it will lead to a setback in the overall attack!"

Marquez had no intention of adding more firepower to the 280 attack position.

He was certain that if artillery were drawn from other positions, the soldiers on those positions would lose heart, and there would be no chance of taking the positions back.

“Go and tell them,” Marquez said.
"There's only one platoon of central command on the opposite position. If they can't even take down a battalion, then all officers above the rank of company commander will be forced to retire!"

"Yes, sir!"

Under Marquez's firm orders, the US military also took drastic measures.

Even without fire support, U.S. military officers ordered their troops to launch multiple attacks, and even resorted to human wave tactics.

Even without artillery support, Du Guangde and his men fought extremely hard against the strong offensive of the US military.

In just two days, the U.S. military lost more than 300 lives.

However, the 1st platoon on the 280th position also suffered a terrible defeat. Including Du Guangde, only 5 people remained, and all of them were injured.

Du Guangde alone lost more than a liter of blood.

He was only managing to stay conscious through sheer willpower.

Inside the underground command post, looking at the battle reports from various units, Li Chishui felt that things couldn't continue like this.

"We have already lost several positions, and on some positions all the soldiers have been killed. This cannot be allowed!"

"If this continues, our casualty figures will increase exponentially every day. We must turn this situation around!"

Simply defending is not a solution; if we continue playing like this, all 21 teams will be wiped out.

Upon hearing Li Chishui's words, the people present immediately understood his meaning.

The 21st Detachment is currently without supplies, and after three days of fighting, it has consumed a great deal of shells and bullets.

The longer the time is pushed back, the more disadvantageous it will be for Team 21.

To stop the UN forces of more than 20,000 men, we must change our current passive situation.

Fortunately, Team 21 had its own way of dealing with it.

The political commissar spoke up: "Brigade Commander, where is your target?"

Li Chishui pressed Yuan Chuan down directly: "If you're going to fight, fight them all!"

As a key force, the 21st Detachment is not just a small unit that knows how to use offense as a form of defense.

Moreover, in Li Chishui's overall strategic plan, the 21st Detachment never intended to simply be passively attacked.

The political commissar was somewhat surprised by Li Chishui's big move, but he did not object.

The entire Second General Staff has always been primarily offensive.

After reaching a consensus, Li Chishui gave the order, and that night, the 21st Detachment launched a full-scale counterattack.

The sudden large-scale counterattack by the 21st Detachment took the UN forces by surprise.

"Fuck! What's going on?!"

Seeing the front-line troops retreating one after another and a large number of positions being captured, Márquez was devastated.

The chief of staff standing nearby said urgently, "Sir, the most important thing now is to reorganize the lines immediately, otherwise the troops may suffer a repeat of the previous rout!"

Marquez's expression turned serious. If the US 7th Division were to suffer a complete rout at this moment, his command of the division would essentially be over.

"Pass on my order: all units shall engage in a layered defensive maneuver and gradually retreat!"

"Order the artillery units to immediately move back and rebuild their positions, providing fire support to the front-line troops to disengage from the central army!"

"Tell the soldiers that each unit only needs to hold out for one hour before they can retreat."

"In addition, soldiers from the 1st Division of the South will be conscripted locally and integrated into the troops!"

Márquez did not intend to defend to the death; if he had chosen to do so, the army might have collapsed even faster.

But as long as they have something to look forward to, the frontline troops can hold out relatively easily.

After all, an hour is not a long time.

If the US 7th Division can hold its ground, it will at most lose some positions, but it won't be completely routed.

Of course, the task of blocking the gun emplacements and covering the rear must be left to the troops of the 1st Division of the South, since they are not considered human.

Under Marquez's command, the initially chaotic UN forces gradually stabilized.

However, despite facing UN forces that outnumbered and outgunned them, the 21st Detachment pressed on relentlessly.

Faced with the overwhelming force of the 21st Detachment, the various U.S. military units retreated in an orderly fashion, but usually could not hold out for more than an hour.

After the Confederate troops conscripted locally were almost wiped out, the U.S. military would voluntarily withdraw from the positions, trading space for time.

In just one night, the 21st Detachment not only recovered all the previously lost territory, but also continued to advance a large area.

The positions that originally belonged to the UN forces were also occupied.

"Commander, frontline report: U.S. forces have withdrawn from the Harakawa area across the board, but the enemy has regained its footing."

"It doesn't matter," Li Chishui said. "According to the telegram from the headquarters, the C Army has withdrawn to Jinping, and the 3rd Army Corps will be able to pass through Yuanchuan in two more days."

"Our current positions are enough to hold out for several days."

When Li Chishui first made the plan, he didn't have such high expectations.

He only wanted to capture a few positions to relieve some of the pressure on the 21st Detachment.

Unexpectedly, the 21st Detachment, with a combination of rushing and fighting, directly captured the entire Yuanchuan position.

"Oh, right, Captain, there's something else."

"what's up?"

"Many units encountered scattered wounded soldiers and transport teams from the C and L armies during their charge."

When the various armies broke out of the encirclement, the situation was chaotic, and some wounded soldiers and transport teams were unfortunately separated.

They could only move northwards covertly through the ravines, but the U.S. military blocked their retreat in the Harakawa area, forcing the wounded and transport teams to hide and wait.

The counterattack by the 21st detachment essentially opened a passage for these wounded soldiers.

"Send out small units to help the scattered soldiers evacuate quickly."

There are undoubtedly many stragglers south of Yuanchuan, and many of them are certainly unaware that the passage has been opened. At this point, only by sending reinforcements can more wounded be evacuated.

The next day, Van Fleet, upon receiving the report, stared at the sand table for a long time without saying a word.

The unexpected counterattack by Squad 21 completely exceeded VanVleet's understanding of combat.

"A mere division, despite being outmatched in firepower and manpower, actually dared to launch a counterattack. What kind of unit is this?"

They dared to fight like this with just one division; what if it were an army corps? Or a whole platoon?

At this point, VanVleet began to understand why Ridgway had chosen a flat-push, pull-back playstyle.

The results of a straightforward push may not be significant, but the risks are also minimal.

"Sir, the 7th Infantry Division and the 1st Southern Division have withdrawn from Yuanchuan, and the enemy has further expanded its defense zone. Their eastern army will be able to retreat without any obstacles."

Previously, the 7th Division still had several positions in Wonchon. Although the infantry could not reach the retreat route of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, the artillery could still carry out attacks under the guidance of artillery reconnaissance aircraft.

Now, all the howitzers can't reach the enemy.

“We still have a chance,” Van Fleet said firmly. “Let the 7th Infantry Division and the 1st Southern Division do everything they can to retake the positions!”

"As long as we can retake the position today, we can still block the central army's retreat route."

The US 7th Division and the South 1st Division launched a fierce counterattack against Harakawa, and Van Fleet also mobilized all the aircraft he could muster.

Faced with the UN forces' fierce attack, the 21st Detachment fought and retreated, and unimportant positions were ceded to the US forces after a period of resistance.

Even though the 21st Division did not fight at full strength, the UN forces' progress was still very slow.

All of Yuanchuan's important positions were firmly in the hands of the 21st Detachment.

Two days later, all the wounded soldiers of the 3rd Army Corps successfully crossed the Yuanchuan area.

The fact that the 21st detachment stepped forward delighted Zhi Si.

"Chen Chengxing, that guy, leads troops that can fight tough and fierce battles. They can launch attacks and also consider the overall situation. Good! Excellent! The Second Commander has a tough style!"

Chen Chengxing ordered the 21st Detachment to intercept Van Fleet's assault force at Yuanchuan, which directly prevented the main force of the 3rd Army Corps from being surrounded.

"Chief of Staff, the 21st Detachment did a great job this time. We must carefully tally their results and make sure there is nothing left unaccounted for!"

"In addition, I order Army P to proceed to Harakawa as quickly as possible to relieve the 21st Detachment in defending the Harakawa area."

P Army was one of the strategic reserves of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. With ample ammunition supplies, if they were to be deployed, the US military would be unable to break through Harakawa.

The US 7th Division launched a fierce attack for two days, but only captured a few unimportant positions, which disappointed Van Fleet.

However, he did not show it when he was in front of Ridgway.

"Sir, our pursuit tactics have proven effective. The troops have now broken through a large number of Chinese People's Volunteer Army positions. I request permission to continue the advance."

Van Fleet did not mention the personnel and equipment kills that Ridgway valued most; he emphasized the number of positions breached.

This is the most unquestionable fact, since from the very beginning of the battle, the UN forces had occupied all of the Chinese positions.

Regardless of whether there are people on this position, we've already captured it.

If the enemy retreats, they will certainly be defeated.

Ridgway didn't delve into the meaning behind Van Fleet's words; after all, the United States needed this victory.

However, Ridgway has always maintained a conservative attitude regarding whether or not to continue the attack.

Ridgway asked, "Where do you plan to focus your next main attack?"

Van Fleet affirmed, "The Jinping and Tiehua area!"

Van Fleet had been conceiving this plan since he first took office, but it was interrupted by the blitzkrieg of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

"Sir, this triangular area is the most important forward base for the Central Army. If we can capture this area, we can destroy the Central Army's logistics supply in one fell swoop."

"In that case, the combat effectiveness of the central army will decline significantly in a short period of time, and the resistance to our continued northward advance will be much smaller."

Looking at the Jinping area on the sand table, Ridgway said, "Your plan is good, but an aggressive offensive will inevitably stretch the UN forces' supply lines."

"If the Chinese army launches a counterattack, it will put our army in danger."

For Ridgway, the Korean War was a war with limited objectives; recovering the territory of the South Koreans was enough.

Even if the US military now has the capability to advance to the Yalu River, he doesn't want to do so.

The reason is simple: the input-output ratio is too low.

Even if we forcibly conquer the entire Korean Peninsula, besides inflicting heavy casualties on the US military, it would only stretch the front lines too far.

This would expose UN forces to greater risks.

"Sir, this counter-offensive has gone exceptionally smoothly."

"The fact that we reached the Kansas line without suffering significant losses far exceeded our pre-war expectations."

"I believe that now is the time to show the positive and proactive side of our army."

The Kansas Line was a pre-existing front line drawn by Ridgway before the war (which is now the border between North and South Korea).

To the west, the Imjin River serves as a natural barrier; in the middle lies a series of gradually rising mountains and the narrow Woncheon Reservoir; and to the east are towering mountains with virtually no roads.

Along this easily defensible and difficult-to-attack defensive line, the UN forces could easily construct a solid defensive line.

According to Ridgway's orders, any military action that crossed the Kansas Line required his personal permission.

Regarding VanVleet's aggressive approach, Ridgway shook his head: "A full-scale offensive is not advisable."

The further north the advance went, the longer the UN forces' supply lines became, while the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's supply lines became shorter.

This situation was advantageous to the Chinese People's Volunteer Army but disadvantageous to the US military.

If the UN forces were to suffer another crushing defeat, as they had in the first and second battles, even Ridgway would not have the confidence to rebuild the troops' morale.

“Sir, even if we can’t launch a full-scale attack, we should at least launch an attack on the Jinping Triangle region.” Van Fleet drew an arc along the Jinping and Tiehua area on the sand table.

"This triangular area is the most important forward outpost of the central army,"

"If we can advance north into the triangle region, we can not only enhance the resilience and resistance of the Kansas Line, but also create a northward salient in the western and central battlefield."

"The UN forces will have a significant advantage in both defense and offense going forward."

Ridgway is not interested in mere offensive tactics.

However, Ridgway believed it was worthwhile to take action if it could strengthen the UN forces' defenses.

After careful consideration, Ridgway said, "The main UN forces have halted their advance along the Kansas line and are building a strong defensive line. You can withdraw the main force of one corps and continue the offensive northward."

After a pause, Ridgway added, "The UN forces' next focus is on building the Kansas Line."

"A series of patrol bases should be established in front of the defense line to strengthen the garrison at the company or even battalion level, so as to extend the defensive reach and increase the defensive depth."

"However, the distance between the base and the main defensive line should not exceed the range of medium-range artillery."

"The Southern Dynasty government is recruiting three labor divisions, and they will arrive at the front line soon."

"Yes, sir!"

(End of this chapter)