Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 620 Bomb it for me!
When dawn broke, the shelling by the 241st Regiment finally stopped.

The British soldiers emerged from their bunkers, looking puzzled.

"What do you mean?" The British deputy battalion commander asked, puzzled.

"Is the Central Army just trying to cause us trouble?"

With the mines and barbed wire destroyed, it will certainly be difficult for the British army to re-lay them.

After all, no one knows whether the landmines have detonated or not, and they have to search for and lay mines themselves, which greatly increases the difficulty.

The British battalion commander realized, "Now that you mention it, it's very possible!"

"I think the Chinese army might deploy snipers to deal with our engineers."

"Tell the soldiers at the front to be careful and see what happens tonight."

"If the central army stops shelling tonight, we'll take advantage of the darkness to move in!"

Throughout the day, the British troops kept their eyes wide open, observing carefully for any possible sudden changes.

They waited until 4:30 pm, and just when they were completely confused, they suddenly heard a strange sound.

As the British soldiers looked up, they saw a series of small dots appearing in the distant sky.

"Bazooka!"

Once the British soldiers realized the situation, they rushed desperately into the bunker.

When rocket artillery is fired, it is not said that it fires ten or eight rockets at a time.

Faced with a barrage of shells, taking cover was the only option.

The British assessment was correct; the rocket artillery regiment's 54 guns could fire 648 shells in a single salvo.

Several British positions on West Ma Hill were covered by the explosion.

The British troops, who had already taken cover in their bunkers, sensed that this attack was likely to be unusual.

After all, such a large-scale event couldn't possibly be just for them to celebrate with fireworks.

After firing two rounds in succession, the rocket artillery regiment stopped.

Soon the British troops heard the sound of machine gun fire from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

"The enemy is coming!"

"Ready! Ready!"

Large numbers of British troops rushed out of their bunkers at top speed and headed to their respective defensive positions.

However, to the British army's surprise, what appeared before them was not the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, but another round of rockets.

The British troops, who had just arrived at the position and started to peek out, were bombed and screamed in terror.

Looking at the Ximashan position once again engulfed in explosions, Chen Chengxing laughed heartily.

"You bastards, you've been killing people indiscriminately! You're in for it now!"

You can take cover when facing artillery fire, but you should come out when you hear gunfire, right?

Qin Sheng said from the side, "Commander-in-Chief, this volley should take out at least one or two hundred enemy soldiers."

"This is just the first appetizer," Chen Chengxing ordered. "Have the tank company conduct pinpoint strikes! 241st Regiment, launch the attack!"

The rocket artillery regiment had just finished bombarding when the tanks hidden in front of the British positions opened fire.

The British bunkers, which had already been marked, were called out one by one.

The accuracy of close-range direct fire is extremely high; if a hit is achieved, the bunkers on the British positions will immediately be reduced to ruins.

Because they were concealed in advance, only half of the tank's turret and gun barrel were exposed on the ground.

The British troops, who had been badly beaten, did not discover the tank positions until fifteen minutes later.

It wasn't that the British soldiers had good eyesight; it was simply that the dust kicked up by the continuous shelling was quite noticeable.

The British battalion commander ordered, "Immediately call for artillery fire!"

In an effort to suppress the tank positions, the British artillery battery's 16 25-pounder guns fired relentlessly.

Meanwhile, reinforced US aircraft also began dive bombing raids.

Because they hadn't initially anticipated encountering tanks, the US military aircraft primarily carried napalm bombs.

After a barrage of bombing by the US military, the tank position was engulfed in thick smoke and flames.

Aircraft without specialized anti-tank equipment cannot effectively damage tanks hidden underground using napalm bombs alone.

Only three tanks were hit by napalm, and their surfaces caught fire.

However, the engineer platoon was prepared in advance. The moment the tank caught fire, the soldiers rushed up to fight the fire together with the tank crew.

Meanwhile, the other unaffected tanks continued to fire.

At the same time, the armored battalion's air defense company and the Second General Independent Air Defense Battalion, which had been lying in ambush, lifted their protective nets.

4辆40毫米双联自行高炮、6辆四联自行高机和12门37毫米防空炮火力全开，坦克阵地上空瞬间被织出一道弹网。

The American planes, which were diving to prepare for a second bombing, were caught off guard and were hit and started smoking one after another.

Several planes crashed into the ground, instantly creating small mushroom clouds.

After the emergency disengagement, the US aircraft no longer cared about tanks and support, and focused all their attention on fighting against air defense fire.

Watching the few white flowers falling from the sky, Chen Chengxing turned his head and gave the order:

"Call the special operations team and have Wei Dayong capture those pilots. They're all valuable."

"yes!".
Just as the special operations battalion was moving forward to capture the American pilot, the 241st Regiment, under the cover of the 1st Tank Company, also launched an attack.

With the arrival of 14 heavy tanks, the pressure on the British forces increased, as the continuous artillery fire kept them pinned down.

Using the tanks as cover, the soldiers of the 241st Regiment successfully stormed up the various hilltops.

However, the tanks could only carry them up the hill; they themselves could not climb it in a short time.

At this moment, only a small number of bunkers located in blind spots were still putting up a stubborn resistance in front of the soldiers.

A hidden bunker located in a depression in the mountain appeared in front of the 4th Company. If they could break through here, they could then storm into the British positions.

However, the three Vickers heavy machine guns formed a tight barrage, completely blocking the soldiers' path forward.

The British heavy machine guns, following pre-defined firing parameters, forced the 4th Company to remain hidden in blind spots, afraid to peek out.

Looking at the bunker a little over a hundred meters away, the 4th Company Commander exclaimed urgently, "Damn it! We have to take out this bunker immediately!"

Although the 4th Company did not suffer any casualties due to the heavy machine gun fire, the situation is now extremely critical.

On the battlefield, the role of heavy machine guns is to immobilize the enemy; once the enemy is suppressed and unable to move, mortars will immediately come into play.

Therefore, it's obvious that the British army is probably already preparing for an artillery barrage.

The best way to deal with a bunker is to call in tank support or to send in a recoilless rifle.

However, they didn't have a radio, so they couldn't make a call at all. If they sent someone to notify them, it would be too late.

"Company commander, I'm going!" The rocket launcher operator next to him was about to rush out with his rocket launcher.

To ensure an accurate hit, he had to risk getting within 100 meters.

At the critical moment, the 4th Company Commander remembered the two reinforced heavy machine guns and pre-emptively engaged the rocket launcher operator with one.

"Don't worry! There's another way!"

As he spoke, the 4th Company Commander waved repeatedly toward the heavy machine gun behind him.

After the observer ran over, the 4th Company Commander pointed to the bunker in front and asked, "Can we take it down?"

The observer immediately raised his binoculars: "It's concrete, but the recess isn't very wide, and the wall doesn't look very thick, so it should be fine."

"Then fight!"

The observer nodded, but without getting up, he turned around and raised his small flag to signal the others.

The two heavy machine guns fired several short bursts. After the observer waved the flag again and reported the new data, the two heavy machine guns began to fire long bursts.

The 12.7mm bullet is a steel-core bullet with excellent armor-piercing capability.

In just one minute of firing, the British bunker was silenced.

Without the cover of this bunker, the British forces could no longer stop the 4th Company's advance.

The 4th Company quickly advanced to within 50 meters of the enemy's position.

At this distance, the rocket launcher can easily take out other enemy firing positions.

After destroying the main British strongpoints, nothing could stop the soldiers' advance.

Of course, warriors had also gone inside and checked out the previous bunker.

They wanted to pull out the heavy machine gun to use it, but all the soldiers who went in returned with pale faces.

Inside the bunker, they couldn't find even a single intact corpse; more than a dozen British soldiers had been reduced to mangled pieces.

It looks like a pile of rotten tomatoes, and rotten tomatoes that have burst with juice.

The walls inside the bunker were even covered in blood and bits of flesh.

As for the three heavy machine guns, they were all reduced to parts; they couldn't even be assembled, let alone used.

"Commander, the 241st Regiment reports: Ximashan has been captured! The results have been tallied!"

"1200 British soldiers were killed, 500 were captured, 14 aircraft were shot down, and 6 tanks were destroyed."

"We captured 8 British tanks, 16 heavy artillery pieces, 43 mortars, and countless firearms and ammunition!"

Upon hearing Qin Sheng's report, Chen Chengxing glanced at his watch: "Four hours, excellent! Very fast!"

Even if the US military chose to provide support overnight, they wouldn't have arrived so quickly.

"The 241st Regiment should immediately strengthen its defenses; the enemy will not give up easily."

"I'll leave the rocket artillery regiment to you, and when the enemy attacks, we'll bomb them two more times."

"Keep the weapons you captured, except for the tanks. Consider it a waste to make use of them."

"yes!".
Chen Chengxing showed absolutely no interest in the seized supplies.

Of all the forces on the Korean battlefield, the British forces were the most unique.

The British army's supply system was unique; apart from the Centurion tank, the captured equipment was basically useless to the Second Division.

Leaving these weapons in Xima Mountain allows them to be used directly against American and British troops, saving the trouble of transporting them around.

Although most of the spoils were unusable, the significance of this battle was extraordinary.

This marked the first time the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had conducted a combined arms operation involving infantry, tanks, and artillery.

The effect of the firepower coverage far exceeded expectations.

Chen Chengxing's judgment was correct. Upon learning that four hours had been lost at Ximashan, Van Fleet was furious.

"Those damned Brits! Defense Masters? What rubbish?!"

"Four hours! Just four hours! The well-fortified Ximashan was captured by the Chinese army!"

"Are they all useless?!"

Chief of Staff Dane, seemingly oblivious to Van Fleet's angry outburst, spoke up to remind him:

"Sir, the central army has deployed heavy armor and heavy firepower this time, which is something we should take seriously."

In the past, the advantages of the UN forces were their armor, artillery, and aircraft.

Dane couldn't imagine what it would be like if the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had these weapons.

Van Fleet asserted, "Even if the Chinese army has tanks and heavy artillery, and their numbers are not superior, we still have a firepower advantage!"

"Send orders to the British 28th Brigade, instructing them to retake the Ximashan position by tomorrow. I will provide them with the necessary fire support!"

“Tell them that if they want to restore Great Britain’s honor, they must demonstrate the strength of the Royal Army at Westminster Hill!”

"Yes, sir!"
The following day, the British 28th Brigade launched a major counterattack under the cover of aircraft, tanks and artillery.

In order to retake the position, the British 28th Brigade sent two infantry battalions directly.

However, before they could even officially enter the attack position, they were bombarded by more than 600 shells raining down from the sky.

The commander of the British 28th Brigade turned ashen as he watched the battle end before it even began.

On the other side, seeing that the British troops were being intercepted, the American artillery positions immediately opened fire to provide support.

The soldiers paid no attention to the American artillery fire.

They have already dug tunnels in Ximashan, and there is 15 meters of soil above them.

No matter what kind of artillery the US military used, what method they used, or how long they bombarded the soldiers, the soldiers hiding in the tunnels were unaffected except for getting covered in dirt.

Moreover, even as the American forces opened fire, the soldiers continued to deepen and widen the tunnels.

The soldiers would not return to their positions until the American artillery stopped firing.

When the British infantry charged forward, they were met with Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers who were still unharmed.

During that day, the British army launched more than twenty attacks.

However, after suffering more than 800 casualties, they achieved nothing.

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army, which had tunnel defenses, suffered only twenty-odd casualties.

The fighting continued until nightfall, at which point the British forces chose to retreat and regroup.

The next day, American planes and artillery bombarded Mount Sima again.

This time, however, the British infantry did not advance.

Seeing the British army's poor performance, Van Fleet was furious, but he couldn't do anything about the British 28th Brigade.

Van Fleet's only option was to withdraw the British troops and replace them with American and Confederate troops.

But the final result was no different.

After suffering nearly three thousand casualties, Van Fleet was forced to temporarily abandon Mount Sima.

Of course, this is only temporary.

Van Fleet could not ignore the threat from West Mash, and he continued to deploy troops.

Inside the headquarters, the commander looked at the combat reports from various armies in his hand and was somewhat pleasantly surprised.

The positional warfare we've been fighting over the past two months has been far more effective than expected.

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army was also more adapted to positional warfare than expected.

Not only were casualties manageable, but the lethality against the enemy far exceeded expectations.

"Judging from the situation in September and October, it was appropriate to adopt a policy of active defense. The enemy suffered heavy casualties but did not achieve much in terms of results."

The deputy commander said, "It seems the situation has changed, and the plan for the Sixth Campaign needs to be revised."

"It's not about changing it," the leader shook his head, "it's about canceling it."

"Large-scale counterattacks are difficult to execute without air support."

"Since the positional warfare is going so well now, there's even less need to take risks."

"Pass down the order: unless there are special circumstances, we are not planning a full-scale counterattack this year."

"Make sure all units are prepared for positional warfare."

"The reverse slope positions must be carefully constructed, the tunnels must be dug deep, and it is best to form a three-dimensional defensive fortification."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)