Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 642 Cease the Attack
Inside the U.S. military command post, Regiment Commander Kvis of the 187th Regiment looked at the retreating troops and reported:

"Sir, the enemy seems to have changed; it's not the same enemy as before."

Van Fleet said with a somewhat gloomy expression, "I've already found out."

According to previous reports, although the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had a number of automatic firearms, the main weapon of the infantry was still the semi-automatic rifle. However, now all the Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers on the front line are equipped with automatic rifles.

This prevents the 187th Regiment from fully utilizing its advantage of having all its personnel equipped with automatic weapons.

Although, based on the combat situation, the range of the US automatic rifles was greater than that of the automatic rifles used by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

However, at long range, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers did not engage in combat with the American troops at all.

General-purpose machine guns and large-caliber heavy machine guns completely outclass automatic rifles in terms of both power and range.

Even though the US military's automatic rifles use full-power ammunition, the same applies.

After glancing at Hill 597 twice, VanVleet looked at Kevlar again, his face full of trust.

"Although the enemy is different, I still believe in the strength of the 187th Regiment. The warriors will surely bring victory to America!"

Looking at VanVleet's expression, Kevlin cursed inwardly.

However, the glorious history of the 187th Regiment leaves no room for him to refute it.

Kvis snapped to attention: "Of course, sir! The 187th Regiment will ultimately prevail!"

The 187th Regiment truly lived up to its reputation as an elite unit, possessing not only superb tactical and technical skills but also an unwavering fighting spirit.

The 187th Regiment launched wave after wave of attacks on Hill 597.

On position number 9, upon seeing the American troops move out again, the soldier in charge of observation turned his head and shouted, "Team leader, the enemy is coming up again."

Faced with the U.S. military's small-group assault tactics, the guard battalion consistently used a small force to engage the enemy on the position.

If it is a squad or platoon-level force, a four-man squad on the position is enough to suppress them.

Of course, this wasn't because these four people were particularly skilled, but because the guard battalion had used artillery.

Upon hearing the soldier's shouts, the squad leader straightened up from the trench and grabbed the walkie-talkie from the side.

In order to achieve the greatest results with the least manpower, walkie-talkies were placed on each position, and not just one or two; sometimes, there were more walkie-talkies than people on the position.

After taking down the walkie-talkie, the team leader didn't waste any words and directly reported the coordinates into the walkie-talkie.

Just a dozen seconds later, the 60mm mortar shells came down.

The U.S. military was forced to halt its operations and begin covert operations.

Thirty seconds later, the 82mm mortar on Beishan opened fire.

One minute later, the four 120mm mortars on Shengwushan also opened fire.

This time, the US military could no longer hold out and began a rapid retreat.

An American platoon launched an attack; none of the four soldiers on position 9 were injured, but the Americans left behind ten corpses.

The US military launched attack after attack, and its fierce artillery repeatedly routed the US forces.

Often, before the American troops even got close to their positions, the artillery fire would scatter the attacking forces.

After a day of fighting, the soldiers on both sides did not actually engage in combat many times; they mostly exchanged artillery fire.

At 4 p.m., looking at the troops that had been shot down again, Kvis felt that the driver had arrived.

"The enemy should have gotten used to the attack rhythm by now. Let's proceed according to plan and send the entire 1st Battalion forward!"

"Yes, sir!"

Kvis had actually discovered the problem long ago, but he never changed his attack rhythm, in order to take advantage of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's lapse in concentration and deliver a fatal blow.

After a barrage of heavy artillery fire, the US forces launched another attack.

Upon seeing this, the three soldiers on position 9 reported the situation via walkie-talkie while simultaneously directing renewed artillery fire.

Everything went so smoothly, and things unfolded exactly as they had anticipated.

However, just as the artillery was fiercely attacking the American troops, the Americans suddenly deployed an entire company to launch a fierce attack on position 10.

Under the cover of fire from dozens of mortars, the US forces advanced with unstoppable momentum.

The four soldiers on the position fought desperately, but under the relentless charge of the American troops, they only held out for a few minutes before the Americans took control of the position.

"Fire! Fire now! The enemy is coming! Fire on me!" The last surviving soldier, severely wounded, shouted desperately into the walkie-talkie.

Inside the U.S. military command post, Van Fleet smiled with satisfaction as he watched several people work together to plant an American flag on the position.

Doesn't that provide news material?
However, before his expression could last for two seconds, the Volunteer Army's artillery fire arrived, and before he could even raise the flag, he and several soldiers were reduced to ashes.

Moreover, this time it wasn't just one company's four heavy mortars firing; it was the full-scale firing of two heavy mortar battalions and three 122mm howitzer battalions.

Behind the shells, soldiers from the third platoon also desperately followed the impact points of their own artillery fire, charging towards position number 10.

They didn't waste any time exchanging fire in front of the position; they jumped straight into the position.

The two sides were less than two meters apart, yet they took no defensive measures whatsoever, and bullets were being fired at each other relentlessly.

Such a fierce charge completely stunned the American troops.

Not everyone has the courage to engage in direct firefights like that, and in the blink of an eye, the American troops on the position were driven off.

"Don't pursue them! Just direct the artillery fire!"

"Repair the fortifications immediately, the American troops will definitely come back up!"

"Platoon leader, we don't have any sacks!"

The ground on Wufang Ridge was covered with loose soil, making it impossible to build shelters.

The platoon leader glanced around and pointed to the American corpses on the ground, saying, "Stack up the American devils' corpses and set up machine guns on top of them."

"Infantrymen, find a shell crater and lie down; something is better than nothing!"

Inside the U.S. military command post, Van Fleet's eyes turned red as he looked at the Stars and Stripes reduced to ashes.

"Farke! Farke!"

"Pass on my order! Move all available troops from the vicinity here!"

"Fire! Fire! I'm going to blast the enemy on Hill 597 to pieces!"

"Get the four 203mm howitzer battalions and the three 155mm howitzer battalions to open fire at full speed!"

Among the shells supplied by the US military, 105mm shells were the most numerous, followed by 155mm shells, and finally 203mm shells.

These 48 203mm howitzers were Van Fleet's most powerful force.

However, in order to win, VanVleet no longer cared about anything else and chose to go all in at once.

A single shot from a 155mm howitzer has a kill radius of over 1500 square meters, not to mention a 203mm howitzer; nothing on Hill 597 can stop it.

Faced with devastating artillery fire, the 1st Company, which had suffered few casualties in the first day, began to see its casualty numbers rise sharply.

The next day, VanVleet continued his insane onslaught of unlimited firepower.

The newly substituted 2nd Company had no choice but to send them up to the front line one by one.

On this day, although the soldiers fought very bravely, they still suffered heavy casualties.

Inside the North Mountain Command Post, Lu Ze looked at the casualty figures of the 2nd Company and trembled with heartache.

"Damn it, we can't just let the US military attack us like this."

"The American devils traded artillery shells for our people, we're losing out too much." After pondering for a while, Zhuang Licheng reminded him, "Old Lu, I don't know if you've noticed, but the enemy has been launching attacks at the same time these past two days, at 8 o'clock."

"Since the time is fixed, do you think it's possible that the location is also fixed?"

Lu Ze immediately perked up.

"If the attack is scheduled to take place at a fixed time, then the probability that the location is fixed is over 80%."

As he spoke, Lu Ze picked up the phone.

"Hey? Monk, I need a favor."

Lu Ze told Wei Dayong his guess.

Wei Dayong was very supportive of Lu Ze's request. A small detachment of special forces members traveled by vehicle from Shengwu Mountain to the flank of Wufangling, and then sneaked behind enemy lines.

The special forces' infiltration behind enemy lines was very effective. By 4 a.m., they discovered several groups of American troops gathering in a forest directly south of Hill 597.

Upon receiving the intelligence, Lu Ze immediately determined that this was the enemy force preparing to attack.

Li Ze called Chen Chengxing.

Half an hour later, the rocket artillery regiment launched a salvo.

More than 600 rockets hit the woods where US troops were gathering.

The results were remarkable; the US military did not reorganize its offensive until 2 p.m.

Moreover, this time it was no longer a solo operation by the US military; a large number of Confederate troops rejoined the battle.

However, the guard battalion suffered only 20 casualties on that day before the battle ended.

After the 1st Company took over the position, the soldiers suddenly realized that in just three days, the morale of the American troops had completely changed.

Although the offensive was still ongoing, the US military was using artillery more for its attacks, and the offensive was mainly led by the Confederate army. The elite US troops from the previous two days were only deployed occasionally.

Even so, the US military only fought for half the morning, and by noon the attack completely stopped.

Inside the U.S. military command post, all was silent. Even for essential tasks, the U.S. military staff moved as quietly as possible, afraid of making the slightest sound.

VanVleet sat somewhat listlessly in his chair.

His eyes were still fixed on the direction of Wufangling, but his gaze was noticeably listless.

Truman had already lost the election, and VanVleet had anticipated his own fate.

Yesterday, VanVleet originally intended to take Hill 597 regardless of casualties.

However, a single salvo from the rocket artillery regiment wiped out an entire battalion of the 187th Regiment, along with hundreds of South Korean soldiers who were reduced to ashes.

That blow almost made VanVleet faint on the spot.

Since its establishment, the 187th Regiment has never suffered such heavy casualties at once, even during the airborne landings behind enemy lines in World War II.

This is also why the US military's subsequent offensive was lackluster; their elite troops were gone.

After a long silence, Van Fleet finally spoke: "Order the troops to cease the attack."

"Prepare for a press conference."

"Yes, sir!" A staff officer immediately ran out.

The following day, the U.S. military held a press conference to announce that it would cease its offensive on Hill 597.

This caused an uproar in the audience.

"General Van Fleet, does this mean the UN forces have admitted defeat?!"

"Is it only Hill 597 that has ceased its attack, or has the entire Wufangling area been abandoned?"

"General Van Fleet"

"Silence! Silence!" Van Fleet shouted, waving his hand.

After the noise subsided, Van Fleet said, "The UN forces have not been defeated!"

"We have still occupied Hill 537 in the central area and pose a deadly threat to the northward advance from Wufangling!"

"Through this battle, I believe the Chinese army has come to realize the strength of the UN forces."

"The UN forces suspended the attack solely out of humanitarian considerations, in order to minimize unnecessary casualties on both sides."

"I think this will play a very positive role in the upcoming peace talks!"

"Their purpose? Their only purpose is to tell the world that the Chinese are not to be trifled with!"

"You think I can just start fighting whenever you want and stop whenever you want? Do you think this is a marketplace?"

Chen Chengxing disdainfully tossed the newspaper back onto the table.

"Old Chen, when do you plan to launch a counterattack?" Luo Ping asked.

"The commendation order from the headquarters has arrived, and the central leaders have also sent a telegram congratulating us on the phased victory at Hill 597."

"The soldiers are in high spirits right now."

Chen Chengxing affirmed, "Let's prepare for two days and make proper arrangements before pushing the American troops out of Wufangling in one fell swoop!"

No sooner had Chen Chengxing finished speaking than Li Yunlong rushed over in a flurry.

"Old Chen, when is Army C going to deploy?!"

"Old Li's here, have a seat, have a seat." Chen Chengxing greeted him, "Good food is worth waiting for, what's the rush?"

"Didn't I tell you before that you'd be in charge after the final assault?"

"I will soon organize troops to attack Hill 537, and then I will leave it to you to defend."

Before Chen Chengxing could finish speaking, Li Yunlong almost jumped up: "Great Leader Chen!"

"I know you're the Second Chief's Commander, but you're also our Acting Commander!"

"You can't be so biased, can you? Giving all the good things to the second boss?"

"Those American devils didn't even dare to fight on Hill 597. After you take back Hill 537, will they still dare to launch a major offensive?!"

"I heard you're in trouble, but I've brought five regiments to help you. You can't just leave me sitting here watching, can you?!"

Seeing Li Yunlong jumping up and down in a panic, Chen Chengxing almost burst out laughing.

"See, you're in a hurry again. I never said you'd be relegated to the sidelines."

Li Yunlong immediately said, "Then let me lead the team to attack Hill 537!"

Chen Chengxing nodded: "We can send the C Army, but let me make this clear beforehand: don't do anything like rushing to the front lines, or don't blame me for reporting to the Volunteer Army Headquarters."

Feeling somewhat embarrassed that his thoughts had been seen through, Li Yunlong still stubbornly retorted, "Look at you, what kind of person do you take me for? Do you think I'd run to the front lines to launch an attack?"

"You know what you're doing," Chen Chengxing said. "The attack on Hill 537 is your responsibility, and the defense of Hill 597 will also be handled by Army C."

"The Second Division has withdrawn from the battle. I'm handing over the entire battlefield to you, Li Yunlong."

"I've spoken with the artillery command, and they will fully cooperate with your work."

"Okay, okay, okay." Li Yunlong nodded repeatedly.

"Don't worry about it, just leave it to me. I guarantee we'll take Hill 537, and maybe even more territory."

That's over two hundred cannons! Li Yunlong has never fought such a rich battle in his life!
(End of this chapter)