Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 627 Proceeding as Planned

The intense shelling by the US military continued until 5:30 a.m., after which the artillery fire gradually moved backward.

324 artillery pieces formed a ten-layered barrage between Wufangling and Shengwushan.

The U.S. military, relying on its powerful firepower, directly severed the connection between Wufangling and Shengwushan.

Moreover, in just the previous two hours, the US military fired 20 shells at the two hills of Hill 597 and Hill 537!

The dust kicked up by the explosion obscured the entire sky.

At 5:30, when it should have been getting light, Wufangling seemed to still be shrouded in darkness.

As the artillery fire extended, the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the US 31st Regiment rushed towards Hill 597 from the left and right flanks.

At the same time, the 23rd Regiment of the Southern Army also launched a fierce attack on Hill 537.

Before the operation, Van Fleet authorized Beckett to send a maximum of two battalions to attack, but Beckett used up his forces in the first wave of attacks.

He not only sent both battalions up the line, but also had another battalion from the 32nd Regiment follow behind as a reserve force.

Similarly, the 2nd Division of the South also mobilized all its forces in the first wave of attacks.

In order to capture Hill 537, the 23rd Regiment of the South directly launched a full-scale attack, with the 22nd Regiment providing fire support on the flanks, and a battalion of the 21st Regiment being transferred down the mountain to serve as a reserve force.

The soldiers inside the tunnel heard the artillery fire begin to spread and immediately understood that the American offensive was about to begin.

As soon as Wang Er stepped out of the tunnel, he immediately realized that the battle the 1st Company was about to face would be extremely fierce.

On the position, the trenches they had built had long been bombed flat.

The soldiers could only fight on the open battlefield, where there was no cover. Wang Er found a high spot, lay down, and began to command.

南23团3营负责的是左翼进攻，其下属9连最先与志愿军1连3排的遭遇。

Wang Er was well aware of the firepower of the US forces, so he only deployed three soldiers to the forward position, No. 9.

If there are casualties, they can be replaced immediately, as long as there are always 3 people fighting on the position.

However, all three men were equipped with firearms, including light machine guns, general-purpose machine guns, automatic rifles, or submachine guns.

The crossfire formed by this three-person team completely overwhelmed the Southern army.

After the South Korean 9th Company launched its attack for more than ten minutes, it was forced to retreat when it saw that the firepower of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army on the position had not only not weakened, but had instead shown a tendency to intensify.

When the 8th Company of the Southern Army saw them, the 9th Company of the Southern Army was being suppressed by machine guns on the position and was stuck in a small pit under the high ground.

By this time, they were on the verge of collapse, and even the company commander of the South 9th Company was killed in front of position number 9.

The commander of the 8th Company of the Southern Army grabbed a lieutenant and asked, "What's the situation on the enemy's position?!"

The Southern Army lieutenant was clearly terrified, so the company commander of the 8th Company raised his voice again.

It was only then that the Southern Army lieutenant realized what was happening.

"There is a large number of enemy troops on the position, and they are providing suppressive fire over our heads!"

"However, these volunteers must have been on the front lines before the artillery fire stopped, so they suffered heavy casualties."

The Southern Army lieutenant had selectively forgotten that there had always only been three lines of fire on the position.

He couldn't accept being beaten down by three people in a row.

"Useless!" The Southern Army's 8th Company Commander shoved him aside: "I'm in command now!"

Since the enemy above has suffered heavy casualties, he must take the credit for this first victory!

The commander of the 8th Company of the Southern Army gathered the remnants of the 9th Company and launched a fierce attack with the strength of two companies.

However, the Confederate army remained circling at the foot of the mountain, despite the fact that the No. 9 position was consistently maintained by three men.

Even mortar bombardment was completely ineffective; the Southern army did not take a single step forward.

Of course, in their reports to their superiors, they stated that they had encountered resistance from a reinforced company, and that the number of soldiers on the position was never less than one hundred.

Left with no other option, the 2nd Division of the South reinforced the 23rd Regiment with four battalions, which launched a simultaneous attack from both flanks.

In contrast to the Confederate army, the Polar Bear Regiment, commanded by Beckett and supported by American tanks, artillery, and aircraft, launched far more effective attacks.

Hill 597 is V-shaped in shape, and the 9th Company of the 243rd Regiment set up a total of 12 positions on the hill.

其中3号阵地为597高地制高点，9号、10号位于高地南麓，0号、4号、5号、6号位于左侧山棱，1号、8号、2号、11号位于右侧山棱，7号则是单独孤悬在外。

At the start of the battle, position 7 was abandoned after offering only brief resistance.

Beckett had already made thorough preparations regarding the deployment of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

Under the cover of mortars and heavy machine guns, two U.S. battalions launched an attack from the left and right flanks simultaneously.
The two sides immediately became locked in a stalemate as soon as they exchanged fire.

Beckett had anticipated this situation and was not surprised at all.

"Send orders to air support to conduct low-altitude bombardment of position 5 and open a breach in the attack."

The various positions on Hill 597 could support each other, with Position 5 being the core of the western hill ridge.

If the US military can suppress the flanking fire on position 5, it can create gaps in other positions.

Heavy bombers cannot provide precise support at this time, but carrier-based attack aircraft can.

Upon receiving the order, four carrier-based attack aircraft suddenly began to dive, and eight napalm bombs turned position number 5 into a sea of ​​fire.

After dropping their bombs, the four carrier-based attack aircraft did not fly away, but continued to straf the remaining positions.

The soldiers who were fighting fiercely with the American troops were instantly engulfed in flames, and the remaining positions on the left flank were also suppressed by these aircraft and could hardly raise their heads.

Taking advantage of the aircraft's suppression, the US military set up a heavy machine gun at a tricky angle, and the bullets were almost skimming the ground as they wildly swept across the No. 4 position.

Seeing that position 4 was being suppressed by machine gun fire and unable to raise its head, the general-purpose machine gun team on position 0 kept moving around the position, trying to suppress the enemy's firepower.

However, due to the altitude, they were never able to find an angle that could suppress the US heavy machine guns.

Seeing that position number 4 was in imminent danger, Zheng Zhiguo, the assistant gunner, squatted down, grabbed the machine gun mount, and then hoisted the machine gun onto his shoulder.

"Squad leader! Go ahead and hit them! Beat these bastards to death!"

Squad leader Liu Xu was shocked. This wouldn't do. If Zheng Zhiguo were to set up his gun like this, he would be completely exposed to the enemy.

However, before Liu Xu could pull him back, an enemy bullet had already hit Zheng Zhiguo.

Zheng Zhiguo staggered and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Hurry! The enemy is coming!"

Liu Xu's eyes turned red instantly, and the machine gun began to roar, silencing the American heavy machine gun.

But enemy bullets continued to hit Zheng Zhiguo.

The intense pain caused Zheng Zhiguo to go from squatting to sitting, and finally collapse to the ground, where he fell silent.

Throughout the morning, the U.S. military, with two battalions supported by aircraft, tanks, and artillery, failed to capture a single position.

This made Beckett a little anxious and frustrated.

Ignoring Van Fleet's pre-battle rule that only two battalions could be used, Beckett decided to increase the force. "Order the 2nd Battalion to send an additional company to attack the enemy positions on the southern slope, with the tank company providing close air support!"

The enemy kept coming in waves, but the 9th Company on Hill 597 was already nearing its end.

With ten barrages of bullets from the US military, reinforcements from the 243rd Regiment simply couldn't get up there.

After repelling another wave of attacks, only five wounded soldiers remained on position number 5, including Ma Shuming, the deputy platoon leader of the 4th platoon.

Seeing the American troops regrouping, Ma Shuming put down his binoculars and said, "We can't hold the position anymore. We'll retreat to the tunnels."

The tunnels on each position were the last line of defense for that position.

The group helped each other as they retreated.

However, just as the group was about to reach the tunnel, an American light machine gunner rushed onto the position and immediately suppressed Ma Shuming and his men.

Several people were pinned to the ground by machine gun fire at the tunnel entrance and were unable to move.

Ma Shuming knew that they had less than half a minute left. Once a few more American soldiers came up, they would surely die.

Ma Shuming roared, "Damn it! I'll rush out and draw the American devils' attention, then you guys can take the opportunity to kill him!"

After saying that, Ma Shuming rolled away and rushed out. Just as he raised his gun to fire, he saw a bloodied figure standing up next to the enemy machine gunner.

Sun Ziming, a soldier in the 2nd Platoon of the 4th Company, was shot four times in the previous battle and fell into a coma.

When he woke up, an American machine gun was positioned next to him.

Sun Ziming had barely stood up and hadn't even had a chance to make a move when he noticed that the American soldiers who had been looking at him had already wet their pants in terror, dropped their machine guns, and scrambled away.

However, by this time, the American infantry had already charged up.

As he watched the dozen or so American soldiers rushing toward him, Sun Ziming calmly detonated the grenades strapped to his body.

Just as Ma Shuming led his men to the tunnel entrance, they heard a loud 'boom'.

When he turned around, all he saw were countless severed limbs flying through the air.
On Hill 537, the 1st Company fought against four battalions of the Southern Army until 3:30 p.m.

After fighting the enemy for 10 hours, Wang Er took stock of the equipment in his hands.

Although the Confederate army still hasn't set foot on Hill 537, the 1st Company has very few weapons and ammunition left.

1连的9挺轻机枪已经打废了6挺，6挺通用机枪打废了5挺，加强过来的2挺12.7毫米重机枪早就成了零件。

Even most of the submachine guns, automatic rifles, and semi-automatic rifles in the soldiers' hands were no longer usable.

Wang Er knew very well that the First Company could no longer continue fighting.

"We can't fight on the position anymore!"

"Send the signal for all units to retreat to the tunnels and make final defensive preparations."

"As long as we can hold out until nightfall, we'll have a chance to counterattack!"

Three red signal flares were launched into the sky, and the soldiers who were holding their ground quickly retreated.

With the capture of Hill 537 by the Confederate army, a small hill between Hill 597 and Hill 537 was exposed.

The 23rd Regiment immediately seized the small hill called Triangle Mountain.

Triangle Mountain is located in the middle of the "O" shape, which can cut off the direct connection between Hill 597 and Hill 537.

To hold this position, the 2nd Division of the South transferred a battalion from the 17th Regiment to defend it, and the regiment's heavy mortar company was also reinforced.

At this point, even though Luo Cheng, the commander of the 243rd Regiment, was so anxious he was jumping up and down, there was nothing he could do.

Getting through 10 layers of bullets is incredibly difficult.

Using Triangle Hill as cover, Beckett sent another company to attack the back slope of Position 11.

After enduring more than three hours of relentless fighting, the remaining soldiers at position 11 had to retreat back into the tunnel.

失去了高度优势，与11号阵地同属一条山棱的2号、8号、1号、3号阵地也接连告破。

Standing on Hill 597, Beckett looked north twice and then west twice.

往西是0号、4号、5号、6号阵地，往北则是243团一营指挥部和3连的阵地。

After thinking it over, Beckett decided to first capture Hill 597 before launching an attack northward.

However, it was already too late, and even though Beckett was known for his madness, he dared not engage the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in a night battle.

Putting down his binoculars, Beckett ordered, "The entire army must immediately construct a defensive line and capture Hill 597 in one fell swoop tomorrow!"

"Yes, sir!"

Beckett was not too worried about a counterattack by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army at this time.

Since the shift to positional warfare, the UN forces have repeatedly demonstrated through actual combat that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army has never been able to hold any north-south mountain ridge.

This terrain provides a natural geographical advantage for US artillery and infantry attacks.

However, Beckett did not expect that the Second Division's warriors had no intention of giving up this time.

Nighttime was when the Chinese People's Volunteer Army launched its counterattack.

Inside the 24th Detachment Command Post, everyone gathered around the sand table.

"The U.S. military has now launched a full-scale offensive on the central front, and all units of the Fourth Army Corps have engaged in combat with the enemy."

"Especially in Xima Mountain, the US 2nd Division has already completed its deployment on the front."

After looking around, Qin Sheng said, "We probably won't have any additional assistance in the short term."

"The commander-in-chief has replied, instructing us to proceed according to plan."

If we proceed according to plan, we will retake the positions we vacate during the day at night.

The aim is to inflict casualties on U.S. forces through repeated battles for positions.

This is an effective tactic that has been fully proven in the previous autumn offensive.

The political commissar standing nearby said, "Judging from the situation, although the enemy has deployed an unprecedented high density of artillery, the actual number of troops involved in the battle is only two regiments. It will not be difficult to retake the position."

Although, according to the 243rd Regiment's report, they could only send out three companies for a night raid, and only 15 artillery pieces of various sizes could provide support, the people in the command post were still confident of recapturing the position.

"Now that we've reached a consensus, Chief of Staff, give the order to the 243rd Regiment to take back all the positions!"

"yes!".
Putting down the telegram, Luo Cheng ordered, "Order the 8th Company to support the 9th Company, and the 2nd and 3rd Companies to support the 1st Company, to recapture all positions!"

"The artillery battalion will maintain contact with each company and provide fire support when necessary."

Detailed maps have been made of every corner of Wufangling, so that fire support can be provided based on coordinates even at night.

At this time, the 120mm mortars had been deployed to various detachments of the Second General Corps.

Each regiment's artillery battalion has one heavy mortar company and one 75mm recoilless rifle company.

It has six 120mm mortars and six 75mm recoilless rifles.

(End of this chapter)