Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 634 Offense as Defense
"Commander-in-Chief, it's Shiji calling."

Chen Chengxing reached out and took the telegram handed to him by the staff officer.

"That's really good news," Chen Chengxing said with a smile. "The support from the Volunteer Army Headquarters this time is quite substantial."

The telegram stated that the headquarters had urgently dispatched 10 artillery battalions and 5 anti-aircraft artillery battalions to the Second Defense Zone, and that these artillery pieces would be temporarily placed under the command of Chen Chengxing, effective immediately.

By this calculation, Chen Chengxing now possesses over two hundred heavy artillery pieces with a diameter of 100mm or larger.

In addition, the headquarters also provided the artillery units with 10 basic ammunition reserves.

After sending the telegram, Chen Chengxing ordered, "Notify logistics to immediately transport artillery shells and distribute them to each artillery battalion's reserves according to the prescribed ratio."

"Tell Wang Chengzhu that, apart from providing necessary protection for the tunnels, he is not to provide any other fire support without orders!"

Ten basic loads of artillery shells amount to over 10 rounds, but these shells are all at the transfer station, and Chen Chengxing has to find a way to transport them himself.

Chen Chengxing could not engage in a firefight with the US forces until all the artillery shells and reinforcements were in place.

Although Chen Chengxing now possesses a level of heavy firepower that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army has never had since entering Korea, it is still several times behind the US military, since artillery battles are fought with artillery shells.

The US military's artillery shells were being fired at an average rate of six per second, and their 24-hour continuous fire blockade of the area around Wufangling was Chen Chengxing's biggest headache.

Chen Chengxing's plan was to concentrate firepower at one time in order to effectively confront the US military.

Therefore, the safety of artillery shells is of paramount importance before a major battle.

To avoid attracting the attention of the US military, Chen Chengxing not only strictly ordered that no one should open fire indiscriminately, but also deployed all five air defense battalions near the artillery positions.

Just as Chen Chengxing was busy preparing for the subsequent decisive battle, the soldiers on Wufangling retreated to the tunnels as ordered.

There are more than 30 tunnels of various sizes on the entire Wufangling area, including tunnels that are hundreds of meters long and tunnels that are platoon or squad long.

According to Chen Chengxing's order, all tunnels within 30 meters were to be abandoned.

These tunnels are poorly defended, and would be completely incapable of being defended should a battle break out with the US military.

When Chen Feng, the company commander of the 8th Company of the 241st Regiment, retreated to the main tunnel of Position No. 1, the tunnel was in complete chaos.

More than 80 people were crammed into the tunnel, which was over 100 meters long, and most of them were wounded who had not yet been transferred down to the higher ground.

When Chen Feng sorted out the organizational structure, he realized that there were as many as 12 companies among these 80-plus people, all of whom had been hastily evacuated here.

Due to the rush of time and lack of management, the tunnels were in complete chaos.

Although Chen Feng didn't know the meaning behind the order to retreat to the tunnels, he knew very well that things couldn't continue in this chaotic state.

Chen Feng decisively convened a tunnel meeting.

"Comrades, no matter what, there must be no chaos or lack of command in the tunnels."

"Look at the ground, weapons, ammunition, and military equipment are scattered all over the trench."

"No matter which team you belonged to before, from now on you are all members of the 8th Company of the 241st Regiment! I am your company commander, Chen Feng."

As soon as Chen Feng finished speaking, a soldier asked, "Company Commander Chen, what does it mean that the higher-ups aren't allowing us to counterattack, but instead want us to retreat to the tunnels to defend? Are they abandoning us?"

"Trust the organization!" Chen Feng affirmed. "Since the Red Army days, our troops have never abandoned anyone!"

"Besides, look at those comrades who braved the bombing to bring us food and ammunition. Does that mean they don't want us anymore?"

“For every comrade who delivers steamed buns alone, there is a possibility that a squad of soldiers might fall on the way.”

"What we should do most now is not to give up on ourselves, but to persevere to the end, to avenge our comrades, and to fight the American devils to the bitter end!"

After Chen Feng's ideological rectification, the soldiers' morale was restored.

Subsequently, after a meeting, it was decided that the troops inside the tunnel would be reorganized, and platoon leaders and squad leaders would be appointed. The soldiers began to conserve their energy and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.

At night, the political instructor of the 3rd Battalion of the 241st Regiment led more than 100 soldiers, mainly from the guard company of the 24th Detachment, into Tunnel No. 1.

In addition to bringing Chen Chengxing's operational instructions on holding the tunnels and the mission objectives for the next phase, the instructor also brought an order.

From now on, a tunnel command post will be established with the 8th Company as the main force. All troops entering Tunnel No. 1 will be incorporated into the 8th Company and placed under the command of Chen Feng.

The newly established command will not make any personnel changes unless someone is killed in action.

Even if a battalion commander, regimental commander, or even division commander were to come in, they would still have to obey Chen Feng's orders.

After integrating the reinforcements, Chen Feng arranged for officers of platoon level and above to take turns guarding the tunnel entrance, while squad leaders led their soldiers to rest as much as possible and await further orders.

The next day at daybreak, the platoon leader ran over: "Company commander, the enemy has built several makeshift bunkers outside, and our tunnel entrances have been blocked."

Upon hearing that the US military had built a bunker near the tunnel entrance, Chen Feng immediately ran to the tunnel entrance and quietly observed the outside.

"The bunker has just been built; we can't give them time to reinforce it."

After making the decision, Chen Feng immediately dispatched a five-person demolition team, with two people carrying grenades to carry out the bombing and three people carrying guns to provide cover.

In small-group combat, the Second General Staff's combat capabilities are far superior to those of the US military.

Soldiers wielding automatic rifles swept the tunnel entrance from left and right, while the American soldiers responsible for monitoring the entrance retreated to their bunkers in a disheveled state.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the soldiers with grenades sneaked out of the tunnel, aimed at the bunker, and threw grenades one after another. At the same time, automatic rifles came up to provide cover and suppression.

The five-man team annihilated a squad of enemy soldiers guarding the cave entrance with zero casualties.

Upon seeing this, the American troops on the position immediately adjusted the muzzle of their heavy machine guns and began firing bullets at the entrance of the hole.

However, the soldiers who had completed their mission had already retreated back into the tunnels.

In the following days, various sniper shots and artillery fire occurred frequently on Wufang Ridge; one place was bombed, and another person was killed.

A U.S. soldier found a sheltered spot to relieve himself, but as soon as he took off his pants, several hands covered his mouth and dragged him into the tunnel.

This was during the day; by nightfall, the UN forces' positions had suffered even more.

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army launched attacks in small groups, and the sound of military whistles filled the mountains and fields.

However, at this time all the high ground in Wufangling was occupied by the UN forces, which meant that the US military could not carry out artillery fire and was forced to fight the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

In just two days, the US military felt they couldn't take it anymore.

Inside the command post of the US 31st Regiment, Beckett was looking at the battle reports from the past two days, his hair practically falling off.

"Fuck! He's constantly on the go all day and doesn't rest at night either!"

Such intense mental pressure would weaken even the most resilient nerves.

The chief of staff standing nearby said with a headache, "Sir, the enemy is very familiar with the terrain of the high ground, and also with the location of each of our bunkers."

“They would sneak up to the top of the bunker or the edge of the trench in groups of several, first throwing grenades, then rushing into the fortifications and firing automatic weapons. Our men didn’t have time to react at all.”

"Now almost every soldier is on edge, and they will immediately open fire uncontrollably at the slightest unusual sound."

"On position 4, a lieutenant was killed; on position 9, our tanks were destroyed by our own men with rocket launchers." "If we don't find a way to change this situation, we will never have peace."

Beckett considered for a while and said, "We can't let the enemy harass us endlessly. Next, we need to adopt a 'pulling out the nails' tactic and remove the enemy's tunnels one by one."

"Even if you can only remove one or two a day, over time, you can remove them all eventually."

The chief of staff nodded: "I will go and issue the order and determine the order of elimination."

The next morning, the freezing rain that had been drizzling all night stopped, and the soldiers at the entrance of Tunnel No. 1 heard a creaking sound outside.

"The American devils are coming!" the sentry shouted as he turned around.

The soldiers in the squad responsible for defending the tunnel immediately perked up.

Outside the tunnel, the U.S. military set up recoilless rifles.

The US military first bombarded Tunnel No. 1 with artillery, then blasted it with explosive charges, and finally threw grenades into it like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

After bombing the tunnels with various means throughout the morning, the US military sent out troops, one squad at a time, to storm the tunnels.

However, faced with the two large-caliber heavy machine guns that had been set up, the American troops would be torn apart whenever they rushed in.

After four squads were wiped out, the US commander shouted for the attack to be halted.

Looking at the tunnel, which was badly damaged but still standing, the US battalion commander was furious.

"We can't fight like this," the American battalion commander said. "Switch to fire blockade, and then hurry up and build bunkers."

"Also, bring the searchlights over and keep an eye on the enemy's movements at night to prevent them from harassing us."

Hearing the commotion of the US military outside, Chen Feng realized that the US military was about to carry out another bunker blockade.

Chen Feng ordered, "Send someone out to check on the enemy's situation. Go in and out quickly, don't linger."

"Yes!"

Soon, a soldier from the 3rd Platoon leaped out of the tunnel. Upon seeing the American soldiers, the soldier immediately opened fire with his automatic rifle.

However, two fists can't fight four hands in the end. At this time, the US military had two platoons of troops in front of the tunnel.

Although most of the U.S. troops were digging, there were still a dozen U.S. soldiers and four light and heavy machine guns pointing at the tunnel entrance.

Seeing the soldiers who charged out sacrifice themselves, the soldiers following behind were ready to charge out again.

Chen Feng reacted quickly and stopped him in one swift motion.

Then, Chen Feng turned to the communications officer and shouted, "We need artillery fire! Fire at the cave entrance!"

The communications officer was very clever; he attached the antenna to a grenade and then threw it out of the hole.

When the American soldiers outside saw grenades being thrown, they immediately took cover.

Taking this opportunity, the correspondent has already made contact with the regimental headquarters.

"Regimental Headquarters! Regimental Headquarters! This is Tunnel No. 1! Tunnel No. 1! Requesting artillery fire! Requesting artillery fire!"

Just as the US military realized what was happening and was preparing to remove the antenna, six 120mm mortars began firing rapidly.

The mortars fired extremely quickly; within just one minute, more than a hundred shells landed one after another.

The tunnel entrance was blown up and dust filled the air, resulting in heavy losses for the US military.

At this point, they no longer cared about whether it was a blockade or not, and all of them retreated in a panic.

Beckett was furious when he learned that his troops had not only failed to achieve anything but had also suffered heavy losses.

"Concentrate all the firepower of the mortar battery and launch a fierce attack on the enemy's tunnel entrance!"

"I'm going to suffocate these groundhogs!"

The 12 107mm mortars at the foot of the mountain began to fiercely fire at the tunnel entrance.

Even with a 35-meter-high layer of soil above their heads in Tunnel No. 1, the soldiers were not afraid of artillery fire.

However, the soil layer is not as thick at the tunnel entrance.

After being bombarded by heavy mortars from the US military for more than ten minutes, the tunnel entrance collapsed several meters inward.

The already somewhat murky air inside the tunnel became even more choking.

"Damn it, the US military probably won't be focusing on this hole anymore. Let's hurry up and dig an exit!"

Although there were quite a few people in the tunnel at this time, due to space constraints, only two or three soldiers could work at most. Therefore, by the time the tunnel entrance was reopened, it was already night.

Beckett, who was already troubled by the attacks launched by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in other tunnels, became even more troubled after learning that the Volunteer Army in Tunnel No. 1 had launched another attack.

The chief of staff said, "Sir, it seems that we can only wear them down now."

Beckett sighed, "Such consumption is not good for us."

After thinking for a moment, Beckett called out towards the door, "Prepare the car! I'm going to the division headquarters!"

Given the current situation at Wufangling, relying solely on the 31st Regiment would only result in a bloodbath, and Beckett could not accept such an outcome.

After speeding all the way to the command post, Beckett reported directly: "Sir, I request permission to launch an attack on the northward advance!"

Marquez, who was initially surprised by Beckett's arrival, was somewhat taken aback upon hearing this.

"I think you should know that the Commander-in-Chief's goal is simply to capture Hill 597 and Hill 537."

"If we continue to attack the northern part of Wufangling, the casualties may increase significantly."

Beckett remained expressionless: "Sir, I know everything you're saying."

"But judging from the current situation, the Volunteer Army's plan is to use the tunnels to wear us down. If this continues, our casualties will definitely not be small."

"But if we launch an offensive against Beishan, the Volunteer Army will not be able to focus its efforts on these two high grounds."

"Moreover, the UN forces' firepower advantage can only be brought into play during offensive operations, rather than relying solely on individual combat."

"Furthermore, with the support of artillery, it is not necessarily necessary for the US military to attack Beishan. The 2nd Division of the South can also put considerable pressure on the Chinese People's Volunteer Army."

Marquez understood Beckett's idea: Beckett wanted to use offense as a form of defense.

By using the 2nd Division of the South to draw the attention of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, the US forces could then concentrate on eliminating the enemy on the high ground.

“Your idea is very constructive, and I need to think about it carefully,” Marquez said. “Go and rest first. I will hold a military meeting tomorrow morning, and you can explain your idea in detail then.”

"Yes, sir!"

(End of this chapter)