Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

When the artillery shells of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army reached the mountainside, Volunteer Army soldiers also appeared at the foot of the mountain.

The American troops who were desperately defending their positions at the foot of the mountain were no match for them and were swept away like vegetables.

Five minutes later, the shells hit the mountaintop, and the soldiers, still feeling the heat of the ground, made their way to the mountainside.

The US military's defenses, which had not been rebuilt, were directly breached.

However, after completing the breakthrough, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army did not rush to attack the main peak position.

"Proceed according to plan!" the company commander shouted.

"The 1st Platoon will maneuver southeast along the eastern slope, the 2nd Platoon will flank from the rear along the southwest slope, the 7th Platoon will launch a frontal attack, and the 8th and 9th Platoons will serve as reserves!"

The various units of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army immediately began to disperse and move out.

Badr's previous orders also played a role at this point.

The US 6th Company on the reverse slope was not hit by artillery fire.

Therefore, when the American troops on the reverse slope learned that only one squad of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had charged up, they immediately became more alert.

If we can't beat a whole company of your volunteer army, surely we can beat a whole squad?

The US 6th Company also sent two squads to take over.

The two sides engaged in a fierce battle.

However, to the surprise of the American troops, their two squads were actually no match for a single squad of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

The U.S. troops on the reverse slope began to send reinforcements to the hilltop position.

At this time, the volunteer soldiers did not rush to attack; they were waiting for the flanking force to arrive.

Inside the 66th Regiment headquarters, Bader breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Corey Hill had held his ground.

"Pass on my order: the howitzer battalion will bombard the enemy's rear support lines, and the heavy mortar company will cooperate with the 81mm mortars to strike the enemy on the north slope of Kori Mountain."

"Play to our strengths! Now that the enemy has come, they won't be leaving!"

Just as the US military launched a fierce artillery counterattack, the 1st and 2nd companies had already completed their encirclement from the east and west.

The 1st and 4th platoons established concealed blocking positions behind enemy lines, while the other four platoons attacked the American forces from four directions.

This sudden situation caught the US 5th and 6th Companies completely off guard.

Upon learning that his troops were surrounded, Badr's expression changed instantly.

"Fuck! How could the enemy appear from the south?!"

The chief of staff standing nearby said urgently, "Sir, the enemy has probably infiltrated our ranks. We need to launch a rescue operation immediately!"

Without hesitation, Badr immediately issued the rescue order.

"Order the 2nd Battalion Commander to provide immediate support to the Kelishan position, and the 3rd Battalion to immediately assemble at Shixiandong and await orders."

"The 5th and 6th companies absolutely cannot be compromised!"

Badr was so anxious he was jumping up and down. If the 5th and 6th companies were gone, his regiment's fighting strength would probably be completely depleted.

Upon receiving the order, the 2nd Battalion of the US Army did not delay at all and headed straight for Mount Corey at top speed.

The 5th and 6th companies were both units from the 2nd Battalion.

From their concealed positions, the soldiers spotted lights suddenly appearing on the distant highway.

"Ready to fight!"

Both squads positioned on either side of the road were fully prepared for combat.

As soon as the American truck entered the firing range, several machine guns opened fire.

The American soldiers on the truck were instantly killed or wounded.

The battalion commander of the US 2nd Battalion jumped out of the command vehicle and shouted, "Not many enemies! Counterattack! Counterattack immediately!"

By listening to the gunfire, the American battalion commander could easily assess the strength of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army; he now possessed an absolute firepower advantage.

Each truck of the US Army was equipped with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, and a large number of bullets were fired at the blocking position like a torrential downpour.

Immediately afterwards, the mortars carried by the US military also began to fire.

However, breaking through the resistance of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army was clearly not that easy.

Inside the command post, upon learning that the 2nd Battalion had been blocked by a small unit of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, Bader was so anxious that he jumped up and down in frustration.

According to the report from the troops at Koli Mountain, reinforcements from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had arrived, and if they delayed any longer, they risked total annihilation.

"How many men have arrived in the 3rd Battalion?!"

"Report, a company of soldiers has arrived! However, they do not belong to the same unit."

"We can't worry about that now," Bader ordered. "Tell them to report to the 2nd Battalion immediately. From now on, they will be temporarily assigned to the 2nd Battalion!"

"The 23rd Artillery Battalion has changed its mission. Following the instructions of the 2nd Battalion, it will conduct fire strikes against the enemy's blocking positions!"

"Tell the 2nd Battalion Commander that he must break through the blockade within 10 minutes, or I will send him to a military court!"

"Yes, sir!"

Inside the 21st Detachment command post, after listening to the report from the front lines, Li Chishui had already decided to retreat.

"The American devils have gone mad, charging forward without regard for the cost."

"But my soldiers are more valuable than the Americans, and there is no need to fight them to the death now."

"Ren Wuliu, pass on the order to retreat according to plan. Artillery, prepare for fire!"

"yes!".
Upon hearing the latest orders over the radio, the 1st and 4th squads threw a series of grenades, instantly killing the first few American soldiers who were charging at the front.

Taking advantage of the temporary withdrawal of the US troops, the soldiers carried the wounded and the dead and quickly withdrew from the position according to the established route.

The American battalion commander was overjoyed: "The enemy can't hold out any longer!"

"Tell everyone not to pursue, get in the vehicles immediately to support the front line, armored vehicles, clear the way at top speed!"

At this point, their most important task was to support Kori Mountain, not to pursue the enemy.

Inside the headquarters of the US 66th Regiment, the chief of staff reported, "Sir, reinforcements have arrived at Kori Mountain, but the Chinese People's Volunteer Army has retreated across the board."

Bader felt a headache coming on: "What about the casualties?"

"43 dead, 31 seriously wounded, 86 slightly wounded, and 15 missing, though Captain Mike is missing."

"At the time, Captain Mike was stationed on the south slope of Mount Corey. It is unknown whether he was killed by artillery fire or captured."

When a 152mm shell falls, if the distance is close, there is absolutely no trace of the body. Therefore, these missing people had no idea what happened.

"Fuck!" Badr's face turned ashen.

Mike had followed him for many years, but he never expected to meet with such misfortune here.

"In the battle report, Mike was recorded as killed in action, while the other soldiers were normally recorded as missing."

"Yes, sir!"

"In addition, have the 5th and 6th companies retreat, and have the 4th company leave two platoons to repair the position."

Based on past experience, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army would leave after fighting.

Moreover, it's almost 4 a.m. now, and given the Volunteer Army's habit of being active at night and resting during the day, they can't possibly continue attacking Kori Mountain.

Just as Bader had thought, Li Chishui had no intention of continuing the attack.

However, not attacking does not mean letting the US military off the hook.

Instead of retreating, the artillery observation team took advantage of the chaos to sneak up on the enemy lines. Hiding in a shell crater, the observers quietly reported their coordinates as they saw the American troops approaching.

Shells rained down on Mount Corey.

The American soldiers, with guns on their shoulders and shovels and pickaxes in their hands, immediately lay down.

However, faced with the overwhelming bombardment of artillery, the two platoons of American soldiers still suffered more than half their casualties.

Inside the shell crater, looking at the heavily wounded enemy, the soldiers of the artillery observation group nodded in satisfaction before quietly withdrawing.

Upon hearing the artillery fire and learning that his unit had suffered dozens more casualties, Badr was speechless.

Badr was at a loss. He didn't know what orders he should give or how many men he should put on the position.

Inside the 21st Detachment headquarters, Ren Wuliu came over and reported, "Detachment Commander, our troops have hit an American captain. What do you think we should do?"

Li Chishui didn't even look up: "Interrogate them if you can, otherwise send them to the headquarters."

"Tell me when you've caught the enemy's leader."

"Also, there are no attack missions these two days, so the 211th Regiment should take the time to rest and prepare for the next battle."

"Yes!"

Two days later, amidst trepidation, another platoon of American troops stationed on the position was wiped out.

Seeing that no matter how many men were sent, they couldn't defend Mount Kori, Badr was utterly desperate.

After a long meeting, Bader transferred some of the Confederate troops that had been given to the 66th Regiment to form a reinforced company with four infantry platoons and one fire platoon, and put them in charge of defending the southern slope.

Meanwhile, Bader deployed an additional U.S. infantry platoon and a fire support unit to provide fire support on the reverse slope.

In this way, regardless of whether the Chinese People's Volunteer Army launched an attack or not, the US military suffered no losses.

Soon, Li Chishui received a report that the enemy had once again overrun the Kori Mountain.

"We can harvest another batch of goods from Kori Mountain."

Pointing towards the direction of Koli Mountain, Li Chishui said, "Go, send two people to scout out the specific situation."

Soon, the latest situation in Kori Mountain was presented to Li Chishui.

Looking at the report, Li Chishui was a little puzzled: "There are quite a few people, but why are they all Koreans? Isn't the 66th Regiment an American regiment?"

Ren Wuliu said from the side, "Commander, I think the American devils are scared and are using the Koreans as cannon fodder again."

“They’re all Koreans, what a pity,” Li Chishui said. “If they were 300 American devils, we could have just requested artillery support for a fire strike.”

"Commander, it seems unlikely that the American devils will come to fill in Kori Mountain on their own. If we want to kill more, we'll probably have to hold Kori Mountain."

Mount Corey is a very important place for the U.S. military.

If the U.S. military loses Mount Corey, it will be unable to contain Hill 264, northwest of Jinping.

From Hill 264, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army could directly threaten important strategic locations of the US forces on the south bank of Yinchuan.

This is absolutely unacceptable to the US military.

"Should we take over Koli Mountain now?" Li Chishui was somewhat undecided.

According to Chen Chengxing's previous instructions, the 21st Detachment should at least fight their way in and out of Keli Mountain seven times.

Only after the 66th Regiment of the US Army has exhausted its resources can it better establish a foothold in the Corey Mountains.

However, after a moment of contemplation, Li Chishui decided to adjust the original plan.

"Plans can't keep up with changes. Let's take out the enemy on Corey Mountain first, then establish a position on Corey Mountain and see how the US military reacts."

"Ren Wuliu, can you handle a whole company?"

"Don't worry, Captain. You know the fighting strength of the 211th Regiment. Although there are many enemies, it's not too difficult."

“我给9连加强8连的1个排和警卫连的1个排，15个步兵班加相应的火力支援，绝对有信心灭了他们。”

"Okay." Li Chishui nodded: "The troops will begin their advance at 8 p.m. tonight, and the artillery will begin its fire strike at 10 p.m.

"However, you should be careful. The US military has deployed Confederate troops this time, and they may have other tricks up their sleeves. Be careful not to fall into an ambush."

"Don't worry, Commander! The US military is short of teeth when it comes to ambushing the Second Division!"

Of course, although Ren Wuliu looked down on the US military, he still specially arranged for the 4th Company to follow as a reserve force during the operation.

At 10 p.m., the 9th Company reached the assault position.

The artillery delivered a five-minute rapid-fire attack on time, after which the 2nd Platoon of the 9th Company launched the first assault.

And the US 66th Regiment did indeed change its tactics.

However, their change of tactics was truly unexpected.

There was not a single enemy on the position directly to the north, facing the direction of the 21st Detachment's artillery.

The South Korean army wasn't stupid either; they were all afraid that their defensive positions would encounter the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, so from the moment the shelling began, the South Korean soldiers kept retreating.

You hide behind me, and I hide behind you.

In the end, everyone retreated to the mountain ridges and reverse slopes where there was nowhere left to go.

For security reasons, the U.S. military also deployed six tanks to patrol and guard the area around the position.

However, these tanks patrolled behind the mountains to prevent the Chinese People's Volunteer Army from flanking and encircling them again.

Upon receiving the report from the front lines, Li Chishui was so angry at the enemy that he almost laughed.

"Damn it, what a waste of my cannonballs."

"Since they don't want the position, then we won't be polite."

"Tell the attacking troops to give them a good beating! If the heavy artillery doesn't kill anyone, then bombard them with mortars!"

Despite the fierce attacks of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, the US military showed no sign of giving up and continued to send troops from the reverse slope to support the mountain ridge.

A company-level offensive operation was turned into a platoon-level skirmish.

When the firepower was evenly matched, the American troops were riddled with bullets, not to mention the Confederate troops, who died wave after wave on Corey Hill.

Although the 9-game winning streak was easy, it took a long time.

It took three full hours of fighting before this reinforced company of Southern troops was finally wiped out.

The US military immediately changed its previous hardline stance and, with the support of tanks, fled without looking back.

The soldiers grew angrier as they watched the fleeing American troops.

However, they couldn't change this fact, so they could only work hard to build trenches and dig fortifications, waiting for the American troops to come to them.

Badr didn't care too much about the two hundred Confederate soldiers who had died; it was just a number in the report.

But when he learned that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had not only not retreated, but had instead begun to build positions, he became truly anxious.

Robert made it very clear before that Corey Hill absolutely could not be lost.

If Robert finds out that Corey Hill was handed over because of Badr's decision, he can forget about being the commander.

"Assemble the troops! Assemble the troops immediately!" Badr wished the 66th Regiment could rush to the position right away.

Bader's only consolation right now is that the 3rd Battalion is still in the vicinity of Shixiandong, otherwise he would not have many troops available for use in the short term.

However, just as Bader was making all the necessary preparations, Robert once again stormed the forward command post.

(End of this chapter)