Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 639 Harder than a rock

In order to hold Wufangling, the Southern Army spared no expense after taking over the position.

On Hill 597, the Southern Army worked tirelessly to repair the defensive position, and in just a few days, they built more than 70 firing points of various sizes.

These firing positions contained 35 12.7mm heavy machine guns and 14 107mm mortars.

As for the 7.62mm heavy machine guns, there were countless of them, with at least two in each firing point.

This firepower represents the full range of firepower that the 2nd Division of the South can muster.

Therefore, despite Chen Chengxing's use of what could be described as an extravagant amount of artillery shells, the Southern Army's positions were repeatedly plundered countless times.

However, on the South Korean positions, there were still many bunkers located in blind spots of artillery fire, and more than 30 heavy machine guns remained.

Although it is far inferior to the previous Hedgehog in terms of firepower, for a small company-level position like Hill 598, such firepower is still considered extremely high.

As the artillery fire of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army began to extend backward, the 4th Company in Tunnel No. 0 launched the first wave of attack as planned.

More than 20 soldiers from the first platoon formed the first vanguard team, whose mission was to outflank and encircle the No. 10 position.

However, at this moment, the battlefield at Wufangling was illuminated as if it were daytime by the firelight and the continuous stream of flares.

The 3rd Platoon of the 1st Company had just emerged from the tunnel as a combat team was met with fire from the remaining enemy bunkers.

Although only one heavy machine gun was firing at this time, the suppressive force it created prevented the 1st Platoon from making any rash moves.

Upon seeing this, the platoon leader immediately ordered, "Machine gun team, move forward and fire together with the 3rd squad to cover the 1st squad as they exit the tunnel!"

"Squad leader, lead your men out of the tunnel. Don't linger in battle. Flank the enemy from the flank and attack their rear!"

The reinforced general-purpose machine guns from the company immediately moved forward and began to provide fire support together with the light machine guns of the 3rd Platoon. The Southern Army's heavy machine guns had to focus their main efforts on suppressing each other.

The soldiers of Platoon 1 took the opportunity to crawl out of the tunnel entrance and advanced on their hands and knees.

By the time they managed to outflank the enemy's position, their clothes were already worn through, and their arms and legs were covered in countless bloody gashes.

Hiding in the blind spot of the Southern Army's fire, the squad leader said, "If we want to continue flanking, we must take down this flanking position of the enemy. Otherwise, if we go any further, we'll become sitting ducks."

Whether it's fighting a war or marching, once the troops enter open ground, they become sitting ducks.

Never enter an open area, no matter the risk, unless you can be absolutely certain of safety.

The deputy squad leader, who was standing nearby, naturally understood this as well and immediately said, "Squad leader, there's no need to say anything. We all know the situation. I'll take a group to blow up this position."

"Okay!" The squad leader nodded heavily. "We only have one chance. We must succeed, or the whole platoon will not be able to get out."

"Don't worry." After saying that, the deputy squad leader waved his hand and led the other two members of the group to split up and move forward in a combat formation.

Even though the three of them tried their best to hide, their figures were still very conspicuous under the sky full of flares.

"Enemy!" came shouts from the Southern army on the battlefield.

With a shout, a belt of bullets swept across the area.

In the blink of an eye, a soldier was shot and killed, and the deputy squad leader was also hit in the right leg by a bullet.

Lying on the ground, the deputy squad leader endured the excruciating pain and looked to the side.

The soldiers who were originally assigned to support were seen hiding in a shell crater, firing desperately.

"Cover me! Cover me!" the deputy squad leader shouted immediately.

Upon hearing the shouts, the soldier in the shell crater who was exchanging fire with the Confederate soldiers ignored the Confederate soldiers firing at him and aimed his gun at the heavy machine gun position on the position.

A barrage of bullets flew toward the heavy machine gun position.

The heavy machine gun positions were protected by bunkers, so the bullets did not cause direct casualties. However, the bullets at close range still made the Confederate machine gunners instinctively take cover.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the deputy squad leader gritted his teeth, endured the excruciating pain, and crawled with both hands and feet to the vicinity of the enemy's position.

Taking a few deep breaths, the deputy squad leader suddenly stood up and threw a string of cluster grenades toward the Southern Army's position.

After throwing the grenade, the deputy squad leader tried to leap to the side, but his injured right leg prevented him from jumping.

The exposed body was instantly hit by several bullets, and blood splattered out.

"boom!"

The heavy machine guns on the Southern Army's position fell silent instantly.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the squad leader led his troops up and immediately moved into the flank of the Southern Army's No. 0 position.

Ten minutes later, the 1st Platoon rushed up the hill from the tunnel and wiped out all the enemy defenders on position 0.

4连长没有耽误时间，立刻命令1排负责防守0号阵地，自己则是带着2排、3排，按计划朝10号阵地迂回了过去。

不过当4连对10号阵地发起进攻的时候，南军3号阵地和9号阵地不但对10号阵地提供了火力支援，还派出了援军直接参战。

The 4th Company was immediately plunged into a fierce battle.

At this time, fighting had broken out on multiple positions across Hill 597.

Although the Confederate artillery battalions suffered heavy losses, the dozens of 155mm cannons and 203mm howitzers in the hands of the Americans, thanks to their extremely long range, were not affected in any way.

Both sides' artillery was covering every passage of the other side, and the Wufangling battlefield was filled with almost non-stop explosions.

Meanwhile, the troops fighting on the front lines were met with the strongest firepower from mortars and 12.7mm heavy machine guns.

Gunshots and explosions echoed throughout the high ground.
When the 7th Company braved the bombing and rushed to the battlefield in 35 minutes, the 4th Company was struggling to hold out on position number 10, while the Southern Army launched a fierce attack on position number 10 from three sides.

Seeing that Southern army reinforcements were still arriving in droves, Li Weigang made a decisive decision.

"Change the plan! Send all troops!"

“1排支援10号阵地，2排进攻9号阵地，3排和火力排跟我进攻3号阵地。”

"Class 9 will lead the way and take on the task of clearing the path!"

The entire battlefield is now in complete chaos, with no safe place at all.

Although the 7th Company had already crossed the No. 0 position, they still had to fight their way through to attack whichever position they were attacking.

When the 1st Platoon fought its way to Position 10, the 2nd Squad, which was at the forefront, clashed head-on with the enemy who were coming to reinforce them.

The squad leader's eyes narrowed, and he shouted, "Grenade!"

This was a plan they had discussed on the way. The 1st Platoon currently had no mortar support, so if they encountered the enemy, grenades would be the best option.

With a roar from the squad leader, a series of grenades were thrown at the Southern Army.

The continuous explosions completely stunned the Southern army.

Before they could figure out whether to advance or retreat, Class 2 had already gone all out.

The firepower unleashed by one light machine gun and three automatic rifles in a short period of time was extremely fierce.

The more than 40 South Korean soldiers who encountered them head-on were almost all killed or wounded under the double attack of grenades and automatic weapons.

However, the current Confederate army is no longer the same one-track mind that blindly charges into the American bulletproof vests.

A platoon of Southern troops was flanking from the east towards the rear of position number 10.

However, they didn't expect that the soldiers of Platoon 1 were lying prone on the flanks and backs of the defending troops. The Southern Army, which had intended to launch a surprise attack, was instead ambushed.

With just one round of fire, the Southern army left behind half of its dead, and the rest scrambled back.

As the attacking Southern troops retreated, the 1st Platoon successfully joined up with the remnants of the 4th Company, and the 10th position was stabilized.

On the other hand, Class 9, as the elite class, overcame all obstacles.

However, when they were only 50 meters away from position number 3, 9th Platoon had only one person left.

The newly appointed squad leader, Li Zixiang, who was always smiling, was now wounded in five places and covered in blood.

Taking advantage of the enemy's attention being drawn by the follow-up attack, Li Zixiang slowly crawled to the enemy's bunker.

Lying diagonally beside the bunker, Li Zixiang was panting heavily.

He wanted to throw the cluster grenade into the bunker, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the more than two-kilogram cluster grenade up.

This forced Li Zixiang to abandon his original idea.

After glancing at his comrades fighting behind him, Li Zixiang gritted his teeth, mustered his last bit of strength, grabbed the bunker roof, and rolled up with all his might.

At this moment, the cluster grenade that Li Zixiang was holding was gone, and only a pull cord was hanging on his finger.

"boom!"

With a loud explosion, the cluster grenade that Li Zixiang had pinned down detonated.

The bunker, which had been firing continuously, collapsed instantly.

"Damn it!"

"Comrades! Charge with me!"

"Leave no one behind!"

Li Weigang led the charge.

The soldiers fiercely charged towards position number 3.
Just ten minutes later, Li Wei wiped the blood off his face and, after confirming that there were no survivors, ordered: "Clean up the battlefield immediately, mortar squads set up their guns and cover other positions."

The loss of the No. 3 main peak was a devastating blow to the Southern Army.

After securing the high ground, the 7th Company's firepower can support all positions on Hill 597.

The Southern Army wanted to escape, but positions 9 and 10 had already fallen, and no matter where they ran, they would be hit by multiple layers of fire.

"Commander, the 24th Detachment reports that, except for positions 11 and 7 on the outer perimeter, all other positions on Hill 597 have been captured!"

"The enemy's four companies were completely wiped out, while our army suffered fewer than 4 casualties."

"Good!" Chen Chengxing stood up: "Pass on my order that all troops currently on Hill 597 shall be temporarily placed under the command of the 241st Regiment, and shall be under the unified command of Chen Feng, the 8th Company Commander."

"Have Qin Sheng organize troops to prepare for a pincer attack on Hill 537 from the north and west."

"Yes!"

Chen Chengxing suddenly stopped the staff officer again and said, "By the way, call the front line now and ask them what they need. Call Chen Feng directly."

The staff officer standing nearby immediately picked up the phone.

"Hello? Need the front lines!"

"Chen Feng? This is the headquarters. The commander-in-chief has ordered that you take command of all troops on Hill 597."

"I'm asking you, what do you need right now?"

Upon hearing that he was in charge of the entire 597 Hill, and that Chen Chengxing was directly involved, Chen Feng didn't hesitate and immediately said:

"We've captured quite a lot of supplies. We have plenty of food and water, but we're short of grenades and mortar shells. Also, I need sacks, the more the better!"

After capturing the position, the Southern army will inevitably launch a counterattack. When defending, the more grenades you have, the better you can hold the position.

As for the burlap sacks, it was only because the topsoil was loose for several meters, making it impossible to dig trenches.

The only option now is to use sacks to build earthen bunkers.

Although such shelters cannot withstand heavy artillery bombardment, they are better than nothing.

Upon hearing Chen Feng's request, Chen Chengxing immediately understood their predicament.

"Meet all of Chen Feng's needs. Transport as many grenades and shells as you can, and send up all the logistical sacks."

"Tell the logistics director that from now on, at least a thousand sacks must be sent to Hill 597 every day!"

Having secured the surface positions on Hill 597, Chen Chengxing had no intention of retreating.

Therefore, positional defense naturally became the top priority.

Looking towards Wufangling, Chen Chengxing's tone was somewhat heavy.

"Wufangling, a granite hill, was the most troublesome place for all troops when they were digging tunnels."

"Now, we want to find a sturdy place, but we can't."

"After the Battle of Leningrad, the Soviets carved a sentence on a stone statue: May this stone be as strong as a man."

"But in my opinion, no stone is harder than the soldiers of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army."

Inside the 2nd Division headquarters in the south, upon learning that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had captured the main positions of Hill 597 in just one night, Li Dongxu was so angry that his eyes turned red.

"Damn it! Four reinforced companies, 800 men! Less than 80 are still alive! Two companies went to provide support, and they were all wiped out!"

"Useless! They're all useless! Are they all pigs?!"

If you can't win, can't you run away? If you run back, you still have a chance to counterattack. If you die on the battlefield, what will happen next?
"Sir, the enemy attacked positions 9, 10, and 8 first. The retreat route is blocked, so even if the soldiers want to retreat, they can't."

Once these three positions are sealed off, any retreat to the south or east will expose them to the firepower of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

Most of the 80 people who escaped were evacuated from the unblocked No. 2 position to the No. 11 position.

As for all the other positions, fewer than 20 people were able to evacuate alive.

Li Dongxu slammed his fist on the table in anger: "Damn it! We can't just let this go!"

"Chief of staff, contact the supply depot immediately and expedite the troop transport to the front lines."

"I want to see a thousand new recruits before dawn!"

"Order the 21st Regiment to cease rest and regroup, and join the 597th Battlefield!"

"I refuse to believe that the central army is made of iron and can withstand the attack of two of my regiments!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Southern army began mobilizing troops overnight, preparing to launch a full-scale counterattack at dawn.

Based on Li Dongxu's previous experience, although the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's counterattacks were fierce, their defense was not actually resolute. As long as they were put under a little pressure, they would retreat back to their tunnels.

This time, Li Dongxu mobilized two regiments to completely seal off the tunnels, even if it meant suffering heavy casualties.

(End of this chapter)