Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 625 A New Offensive
The Chinese People's Volunteer Army's counterattack was utterly devastating.

After being attacked, the US military suddenly realized that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had undergone tremendous changes in just over half a year.

Previously, the US military was accustomed to using its firepower advantage in combat, but now, suddenly subjected to the overwhelming firepower of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, it was completely overwhelmed.

Inside the headquarters of the 69th Regiment, a group of high-ranking U.S. military officers gathered around a sand table, arguing incessantly.

Listening to the heated debate inside the command center, Van Fleet felt a bit overwhelmed.

He had received reports that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had launched offensives in multiple locations, and that all US positions had fallen in this offensive.

These sporadic battles may not seem like a big problem, but if the entire front becomes one-sided, then there will be a serious issue.

If this continues, the battlefield situation will gradually tilt in favor of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, which will directly affect the negotiation process between the two sides.

"Stop arguing!" Van Fleet shouted, interrupting the discussion.

"The question now is not whether to attack, but how to take back the position!"

"We must retake Hill 915 at all costs!"

Under Van Fleet's orders, Vincent had no choice but to gather all available forces and launch a fierce attack on Hill 915.

The 9th Company was under immense pressure as it had to withstand the fierce attack of an entire American regiment.

The artillery battle between the two sides was extremely fierce.

At this point, the US military's air superiority came into play once again.

The artillery positions of the Second General Headquarters have been discovered.

Several attack aircraft began to dive, preparing to bomb.

Seeing that the US military had only deployed a few attack aircraft, the concealed armored battalion's air defense company was furious.

But they had no choice but to floor the gas pedal and rush out of cover.

"Fire! Fire!"

Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and self-propelled machine guns unleashed their full firepower, with dense bullets and shells forming a protective net over the artillery positions.

"Anti-aircraft guns!" the American pilot shouted over the radio, "Abandon the bombing! Abandon the bombing!"

Several attack aircraft immediately began to turn and climb.

"Guys, the enemy has emerged. Adjust targets. Attack aircraft, destroy enemy air defenses; bombers, conduct high-altitude bombing!"

The artillery position was covered by a series of explosions.

When artillery is hidden in a crater, unless a bomb explodes at close range, the shrapnel and shockwave will not cause much damage to the artillery.

Although the artillery positions did not suffer significant damage, the artillery's telephone communication with the front lines was severed, and Hill 915 lost its artillery support.

The American troops were overjoyed to see the Chinese People's Volunteer Army artillery cease fire.

Van Fleet shouted, "Order the 2nd Battalion to immediately launch a full assault on the high ground! All remaining tanks, join the battle!"

Seeing the American troops charging up, the soldiers of the 1st Platoon of the 9th Company at the forefront of Hill 915 gripped their guns tightly.

"Comrades! It's finally our turn to show our skills!"

"Listen up, everyone! Fire away! Don't be stingy with your ammunition!"

"Fire!"

Facing an enemy ten times their size, the soldiers of the 1st Platoon showed no fear and repelled the American attacks time and time again.

Inside the 211th Regiment, watching the increasingly fierce battle, Ren Wuliu turned his head and asked, "What's wrong with the communications? Why haven't we been able to get through yet?!"

Although the artillery positions were attacked by US aircraft, they did not completely lose their ability to provide support.

The reason we can't fire is simply because communication is down; the artillery can't receive the coordinates.

The chief of staff quickly explained, "Regimental commander, I have already sent out a communications officer who is checking the lines."

Faced with the intense bombing by the US military, radio antennas simply couldn't be erected, making a stable telephone call the only option.

"Tell the communications platoon leader to send out all the telephone operators and get the line connected within half an hour!"

"yes!".
A communications officer from the telephone unit was braving American bombing raids to inspect the telephone lines.

The US bombing range was very large, and telephone lines were bombed to pieces.

He was the only one left of the original platoon of soldiers.

The messenger could only connect one end of the cable and then crawl forward on the ground with the reel on his back.

Along the way, fragments of artillery shells and aerial bombs were scattered everywhere, and the communications officer was injured in multiple places.

The communications officer breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a loose thread in a shell crater not far away.

The line ends outside the bombing zone; once it's reconnected, communication should be restored.

However, when he climbed into the crater to connect the two wires, he suddenly discovered that the telephone line he brought was not long enough; the missing wire was a full meter long.

No matter how much he tries to pull it off, with such a huge gap, it's impossible to connect.

Hearing the fierce artillery fire from the direction of Hill 915, the communications officer gritted his teeth and tightly tied one end of the telephone line to his already bleeding ankle.

At the other end, he used his teeth to tear off a piece of the wire's insulation and bit it hard in his mouth.

An electric current immediately passed through his entire body, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

On Hill 915, the fierce battle between the two sides had lasted for several hours. The original 44-man platoon could now only field a 4-man combat team.

Just as the soldiers were preparing to fight to the death with their semi-automatic rifles, a phone suddenly came on.

"Hill 915! Hill 915! Report the coordinates immediately! Report the coordinates immediately!"

The nearest soldier lunged forward, shouting, "3, 2, 3! 3, 2, 3! The enemy is coming!"

On the artillery position, the commander immediately ordered into the walkie-talkie: "Target area 323! Covert fire!"

"Boom!" "Boom!"
More than a dozen howitzers that were unaffected by the US aircraft immediately began rapid firing.

The American troops, who were on the verge of reaching the high ground, suddenly suffered a major blow.

At the same time, the 9th Company Commander also organized the reserve team to rush to the front line and launch a counterattack, and the US troops retreated again.

Upon hearing the cannon fire, Van Fleet's expression instantly changed, as he thought he was about to succeed.

"Fuck! What is the Air Force doing?!"

"Sir, the bombers have dropped all their bombs and are now returning."

"Due to the enemy's anti-aircraft firepower, the only attack aircraft were unable to suppress all of the enemy's artillery."

"Fuck!" Van Fleet roared. "Tell the 69th Regiment I don't want to hear any excuses. Continue the counterattack!"

"Yes, sir!"
Over the next three days, the 69th Regiment launched a fierce counterattack under Van Fleet's personal supervision.

However, the artillery of the Second General Headquarters had already learned their lesson, and the nine artillery batteries were spread out very far apart, several kilometers apart.

The US military aircraft simply cannot suppress all the artillery at the same time. After all, the entire front is currently engaged in combat, and it is impossible for all US military aircraft to be deployed here.

With artillery support, the U.S. military no longer posed a fatal threat to Hill 915; instead, its own casualties increased dramatically.

In the end, the American soldiers of the 69th Regiment, with no hope of victory, completely collapsed. "Sir! The 6th and 9th Companies have refused to obey orders and have withdrawn from the battlefield!"

When Vincent heard that two companies had abandoned the battlefield without authorization, he could barely stand.

Van Fleet also learned of this situation at this time, and he knew that the battle had been completely lost.

Even if orders are given to other companies now, they will still disobey and retreat.

After a moment of silence, Van Fleet ordered, "The troops shall cease their attack and retreat to rebuild the defensive line."

"Yes, sir!"

Although VanVleet appeared to be in a relatively stable position at this point, only he knew the true situation.

At the Second General Headquarters, Xu Wu reported: "Commander, the US forces in the Xiyueling direction have completely withdrawn."

"At the cost of 56 casualties, the 9th Company of Hill 915 killed or wounded more than 800 American soldiers, destroyed 8 tanks, and captured a large amount of weapons and ammunition."

"The attacks by the other armies also went very smoothly."

"In this attack by the Fourth Army Corps, a total of more than 9000 UN troops were killed or captured, including more than 2,000 American troops."

Chen Chengxing nodded: "Tell all the armies to speed up the digging of tunnels, and put the captured machine guns directly on the front line for use. The American army will not let this go."

The US military is notoriously petty; having suffered a major loss at Hill 915, they won't just swallow their pride.

Just as Chen Chengxing had predicted, Van Fleet returned to headquarters and immediately ordered the removal of the commander of the US 3rd Division and the commander of the 69th Regiment, and began to search for a counterattack plan across the entire front.

VanVleet has always been an offensive player.

In order to reverse the unfavorable situation, Van Fleet decided to plan a crucial counterattack.

Inside the headquarters of the UN Eighth Army, Van Fleet wore a serious expression.

"Sir, although the autumn counterattack launched by the central army is not large in scale, it is clear that their combat effectiveness is rising rapidly."

"The enemy has achieved a complete victory this time. All indications show that the Chinese army has gained an increasingly clear advantage in ground operations."

"If we don't organize a counterattack now, we may never have another chance."

Hearing Van Fleet's words, Clark felt a headache coming on; he had no desire to launch a counterattack.

Clark was well aware of his own abilities. He was able to become the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations forces mainly because of his strong connections, not because of his abilities.

"Given the current battlefield situation, it is unlikely that the UN forces will gain any advantage in their ground offensive."

"Since there's no benefit in fighting, I think it's better not to fight at all. Let's wait and see."

"My opinion is that we should focus on air bombing and use ground combat as a supplement."

In fact, since Clark came to North Korea, he has never planned to launch any large-scale offensives.

"Sir! It is precisely because of our current defensive actions in response to the enemy's attack that we have suffered the heaviest casualties since last year."

Van Fleet was furious with Clark. He not only missed Ridgway, but also harbored some resentment towards Eisenhower.

If Eisenhower hadn't run for President of the United States, Ridgway wouldn't have succeeded him as Commander-in-Chief of NATO, and Clark wouldn't have become Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command.

However, since Clark was now in charge, Van Fleet paused for a moment and then changed his wording.

"Sir, in order to turn the tide, even if we don't launch a large-scale offensive, we should immediately take small-scale offensive actions to put the enemy in a passive defensive position."

"Offense is the best option for the UN forces."

Clark shook his head repeatedly: "It makes no sense."

"Unless the United States is willing to fight the war all the way to the Yalu River regardless of the consequences, there is no need to sacrifice soldiers' lives to fight for those hills. Such an offensive is worthless and meaningless."

As for whether the United States will go to any lengths to wage war to the Yalu River.

Let alone Clark, even a random private would know that this is absolutely impossible.

"Sir."

"Alright," Clark interrupted Van Fleet.

"Strengthen the fortifications, wait for the enemy to attack, and use firepower to kill the enemy. The US military must never leave the bunkers to launch an attack."

"The Chinese army's combat capabilities are getting stronger and stronger. The losses from proactive attacks will exceed the gains, which is not worth it for us."

"This matter is settled!"

Clark's operational strategy remained unchanged. Even when the Joint Chiefs of Staff sent a telegram asking him to assess "what the U.S. military should do if the peace talks fail," Clark still replied to Washington very bluntly: "The U.S. military is powerless on the ground."

This result has given the White House a headache.

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army is launching continuous offensives on the Korean battlefield, and the UN forces are losing their positions one after another.

Now, at this crucial time of the election, the situation in the Korean War will directly affect the election results.

Soon, Clark received a letter.

The letter was very simple, with only one sentence at its core.

The key to the Korean War peace talks lies in ensuring that effective military pressure on the enemy is not relaxed during this period.

Although the letter contained only seemingly harmless political language, the writer of the letter was someone Clark could not ignore.

This is a handwritten letter from Truman to Clark.

Now that his superiors had given him instructions, Clark could no longer hide his true intentions. He had no choice but to fly to North Korea again and consult with Van Fleet.

"The White House is now asking us to put some military pressure on the Chinese army. Among your many previous operational plans, I think the 'offensive north of Tiehua' plan can be used."

Upon hearing Clark mention ironmaking, Van Fleet immediately recalled the plan.

The "offensive north of Iron" was not his idea, but a plan proposed by Beckett, the commander of the rebuilt Polar Bear Regiment.

Beckett planned to capture the Five Directions Ridge in front of the Polar Bear Regiment in five days, at the cost of losing two hundred men.

Van Fleet, who had been eager to launch a counterattack, immediately began explaining the plan on the map when Clark relented.

From the perspective of the US military, Wufangling was a salient on the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's front line, which would pose a significant threat to the Tiehua area.

To the north of Wufangling is Shengwushan. The Chinese People's Volunteer Army used these three mountains—Shengwushan, Ximashan, and Xiyueling—to form a defensive line against Pingkang.

If the US military wants to attack Pyonggang, it only has two options.

One option is to attack from the wide open area between West Horse Mountain and West Moon Ridge, which is flat and conducive to the deployment of US armored forces.

However, precisely because it is flat, if the US military breaks through here, it is equivalent to penetrating the heartland of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

If the battle is fought well, it's considered a successful attack from the center; but if it's fought poorly, it's like lambs to the slaughter.

The other route is between Xima Mountain and Shengwu Mountain. The passage here is narrower and it is easy to be attacked from both sides, so the US military's mechanized advantage cannot be fully utilized.

However, it is precisely because of the terrain that the US military can easily establish defensive lines.

Furthermore, the US military could also coordinate with the 2nd Division stationed in Tiehua to put the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in a pincer attack situation.

After capturing Wufangling, the next step, whether it's attacking Pingkang or a ceasefire, will be advantageous to the UN forces.

Listening to Van Fleet's analysis, Clark stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)