Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

When Robert entered the 66th Regiment headquarters, he didn't start cursing like he did last time; instead, his face remained expressionless.

"Tell me, can we take back the Corey Hill position?"

Seeing Robert's expressionless face, Bader didn't dare to say a word of nonsense and immediately made a pledge.

"Rest assured, sir! We will retake this position today!"

Robert said, word by word, "Very good! Remember what you said."

Robert did not leave, but instead moved to the rear command post.

This put immense pressure on Bader, who understood perfectly well what Robert meant.

If I don't perform well, I will definitely be removed from my position as regimental commander.

Before the troops had even finished assembling, Badr had already ordered the artillery to prepare for artillery fire.

In order to retake the position, the artillery began a relentless bombardment.

Countless shells turned the small position of Corey Hill into a sea of ​​fire.

While enduring the shelling, the soldiers of the 9th Company expanded the anti-artillery shelter into a tunnel on the reverse slope.

By daybreak, the 9th Company had completed a basic deployment of its positions.

Under Bader's personal command, the 3rd Battalion of the 66th Regiment attacked Corey Mountain from both the left and right flanks.

At this point, Badr could be said to have been driven to the brink of despair.

Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, and when the US military is cornered, they will fight desperately.

The US offensive never stopped, with one wave of retreat followed by another.

Just as Badr was watching the front line with a tense expression, Oliver, the 3rd Battalion Commander in charge of the front line, received a phone call from the 8th Company.

"Sir! The enemy's defenses are too strong. Let's retreat and rest!"

"What?! Retreat?!" Oliver exclaimed in surprise.

How can we retreat now?!
The 8th Company Commander pleaded, "Sir, it's not that I'm trying to boost the enemy's morale. They occupy advantageous terrain, and their firepower is no weaker than ours. We really can't win!"

"Don't give me these excuses!"

Oliver sternly interrupted the 8th Company Commander's explanation.

"We must take this position today, or none of us will have an easy time!"

After saying that, Oliver slammed down the phone.

Oliver knew perfectly well that if Bader was dismissed, he would be next.

Even the entire 66th Regiment could be subjected to a major purge.

However, after hanging up the phone, Oliver hesitated for a long time before finally picking up the phone and calling Bader.

Regardless of Bader's thoughts, the situation at the front must be reported.

Upon hearing Oliver's report, Bader nearly ground his teeth to powder.

"Fuck! Don't you know the Master is watching from the back?"

"This battle is our chance to turn the tide, and now we're retreating?"

"The artillery has been firing for three hours, and you've only been firing for less than 30 minutes. How am I supposed to explain this to the division commander?"

"Go directly to the Master and tell him we can't win and we need to retreat!"

"I can't say that to myself. Why don't you go and tell the Master directly?"

"Sir, that's not what I meant!" Oliver explained repeatedly.

"Then what do you mean?" Badr roared. "I'll ask you one question right now: can we still fight?!"

"We can fight! We can fight!"

Oliver hung up the phone in a panic.

Then they sent another 8th Company to try and get them to continue their attack.

However, the phone line that was working just a few minutes ago is now unanswered, or rather, it's simply impossible to get through.

Oliver could no longer hold back, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Oliver threw the phone on the table, turned around and shouted, "Quick! Send the communications soldier to the 8th Company's position and see what's going on!"

The communications soldier stepped out, got into the jeep, and floored the gas pedal.

A few minutes later, as Oliver was anxiously pacing around in circles, the communications soldier finally arrived at the 8th Company's position and reported the latest situation via radio.

There was no one left on the 8th Company's position; everyone had vanished from the position, leaving only dozens of corpses on the ground.

"Disappeared? How could they have disappeared?!"

Oliver felt like his head was about to explode. "It would be better if you were all dead than to disappear!"

The correspondent clearly couldn't answer Oliver's question.

After hanging up the call, Oliver urgently ordered: "Notify the 7th Company to rush to the 8th Company's position and take over the attack."

Watching the 7th Company's truck convoy leave, Oliver couldn't help but make the sign of the cross.

"God bless the 8th Company, please don't desert your posts."

"I wish they were all dead."

"Amen."

After drawing a few strokes, Oliver remembered the nine-in-a-row.

When Oliver grabbed his binoculars and looked toward the 9th Company's position, he was almost speechless with astonishment.

Judging from the firepower situation, his 9th Company was almost wiped out by a reinforced platoon of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

However, before Oliver could figure out what to do, a telegram plunged him into utter despair.

The 7th Company was subjected to a barrage of hundreds of rocket artillery shells while en route.

Apart from the corpses lying on the ground, the remaining soldiers had scattered.

Oliver plopped down on the stool.

"It's over. It's all over."

The 3rd Battalion has now completely lost its combat capability; such a major incident is simply impossible to contain.

When Badr learned that the 3rd Battalion had been wiped out, he almost collapsed.

Just as Bader was anxious to have the 2nd Battalion fill in, Robert walked into the command post with a blank expression.

"66th Regiment, cease all operations and retreat immediately."

"I have ordered the 7th Regiment to proceed here and prepare to take over the position!"

Even though Badr felt as if his entire family had died, all he could manage to say was, "Yes, sir!"

"Commander, the American devils have retreated!"

"What's the situation at the front?" Li Chishui asked.

"We suffered more than 70 casualties, and we estimated that we killed more than 500 enemy soldiers and captured more than 30 enemy soldiers from the 8th Company."

“The US military won’t just let this go,” Li Chishui said. “Send the 4th Reserve Company up as well, to defend the main peak and the secondary peak together with the 9th Company.”

"To transport supplies into the tunnels, we should at least provide them with 3,000 hand grenades, 70 barrels of drinking water, 500 servings of compressed rations, and 400 first-aid kits."

Ren Wuliu nodded: "Don't worry, Captain, I've already started preparing the supplies."

“In addition, I also had a 3-kilometer-long log road laid, which went all the way to the bend in the Cori Mountain.”

"If necessary, logistical supplies can be sent up at any time."

"Alright, tell the comrades to be prepared for a tough battle. Since we've decided to defend this high ground, we must hold it to the very end!"

This time, the 21st Detachment stockpiled more than 1,000 tons of various ammunition and supplies, and also reserved enough medical supplies to treat 6,000 people.

These supplies are enough for the 21st Detachment to fight a major battle for a month and a half.

In terms of troops, in addition to the 211th Regiment deploying 6 companies, Li Chishui also drew 3 companies each from the 212th and 213th Regiments, which will be deployed to the battle in stages as needed. Furthermore, the 21st Detachment also has an armored battalion and artillery support ready to provide support at any time.

Li Chishui was confident that he could fight the US military around Mount Corey.

The U.S. military did not keep the 21st detachment waiting for too long.

The next morning, the US 7th Regiment had already appeared in the Corey Mountains area.

Sporadic firefights broke out between the reconnaissance units of both sides.

"Commander, the enemy is here again. This time it's a different regiment, the US 7th Regiment."

"US 7th Regiment?" Li Chishui put down the documents in his hand and asked with some confusion, "Why does this sound so familiar?"

"Is it the same unit that urinated on the border before we entered North Korea?"

“It was them.” Ren Wuliu nodded: “At that time, we ambushed the puppet troops on the western front, and they took advantage of the chaos to escape.”

"Damn it, this is God giving us an opportunity!"

Li Chishui stood up: "Tell the comrades, beat that son of a bitch to death! Beat him until he can't pee anymore!"

"Also, tell the artillery unit about this and let them fire a couple of shots as well."

"Don't say that our 21st team isn't a good friend in the future."

"yes!".
Both sides are currently very angry, and the first battle has already seen an extremely fierce artillery duel.

In just three hours, the soldiers repelled 11 attacks by the American troops.

The 1st Battalion of the 7th Regiment of the United States suffered more than half of its casualties, and its front-line infantry was almost completely wiped out.

Li Chishui also successively reinforced several platoons of troops at Keli Mountain to ensure its complete defense.

Such a fierce battle was truly beyond Robert's expectations.

Inside the command post, looking at the troops that had been shot down again, Robert ordered, "Have the 7th Regiment halt the attack!"

The lives of American soldiers are very precious; they cannot be wasted in a head-on confrontation.

If this continues, Kori Mountain will only become another Wufangling.

A few minutes later, Birke, the commander of the 7th Regiment, strode in from outside.

"Sir!"

After giving a salute, Birk quickly reported on the battle situation.

Robert said seriously, "Colonel, I agree with your point of view. We cannot launch a mindless attack."

Robert beckoned Bill to the map and pointed to Mount Corey, saying, "The enemy on Mount Corey has at least one battalion, and their artillery and tanks are much stronger than before."

"To win, we must find another way."

"And I have discovered the enemy's weakness."

"What weaknesses?" Birke was somewhat surprised. He couldn't see anything, only that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army was very capable in combat.

Pointing to the map, Robert explained, "This is the main position of the central army, and this is Mount Corey, and there is a full 1.5 kilometers between the two."

"Do you know what this means?"

Before Bill could speak, Robert said directly, "This means that as long as we send a task force behind enemy lines, we can isolate the enemy on Mount Corey."

"Will we still be afraid of not being able to beat them then?"

Upon hearing Robert's analysis, Birke exclaimed excitedly, "The 7th Regiment can definitely retake Mount Corey with ease!"

"You'll be in charge of the specific operations," Robert said. "Be fast, and use plenty of tanks."

When infiltrating behind enemy lines, where there is no advantageous terrain for defense, tanks become the best artillery platforms.

"Yes, sir!"
After half an hour of emergency preparation, the US 7th Regiment dispatched a task force led by 18 heavy tanks, followed by a reinforced company of infantry.

The task force began its detour from Shixian Cave, heading northeast towards the north side of Keli Mountain.

The task force's operation went very smoothly; they did not encounter a single volunteer soldier on the way.

They reached their designated positions without firing a single shot, much to the delight of the American troops in the task force.

However, before they could even boast for a moment, they were suddenly met with fierce firepower.

A battalion of 76.2mm cannons and more than a dozen recoilless rifles opened fire simultaneously, and half of the task force's tanks were destroyed on the spot.

The American troops following behind the tanks were also subjected to a barrage of heavy machine gun fire.

Faced with firepower from all sides, the US military had nowhere to hide.

Even as the battlefield lay littered with corpses, the American troops never saw a single Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldier.

"Commander, the US military has indeed sent men!" Ren Wuliu reported with a smile.

"We suffered no casualties, killed 200 enemy soldiers, destroyed 10 tanks, and captured 8, but we didn't capture many weapons."

The 12.7mm heavy machine gun was so powerful that it destroyed many of the weapons in the hands of the US military, let alone people.

Li Chishui laughed and said, "These Americans are naive. I'm not blind, how could I not see such a big hole?"

"They didn't even think about why they didn't encounter any volunteer soldiers, they just kept going straight in."

The reason the US task force was able to travel so smoothly was entirely because Li Chishui had opened up a convenient passage for them; otherwise, they would never have been able to arrive so easily.

When Robert learned that the task force had been wiped out, his face immediately turned bright red; he felt he had made a huge fool of himself.

"Deploy troops! Deploy troops! Immediately send the 15th Regiment here as a reserve force! I want to fight the Central Army to the death!"

Enraged, Robert once again brought in the US 15th Regiment.

In this way, apart from the 66th Regiment, which suffered heavy casualties and was forced to retreat, the main force of the entire US 3rd Division was gathered here.

The battle quickly reached its climax.

In the three-day battle, in addition to artillery duels, the two sides even engaged in tank battles.

However, because a company had been wiped out earlier, the US military only deployed 22 tanks this time.

The armored battalion was fully mobilized, consisting of 42 tanks of various types from 3 tank companies.

The armored battalion was already quite powerful, and with nearly twice the number of tanks, the American tank formation was completely breached. Of the 22 tanks, only 6 managed to escape.

This result nearly made Robert's eyes pop out.

"Fuck, how is this possible?"

"How come the Chinese army has more artillery and more tanks than us?"

"This is not scientifically sound."

With their only remaining asset, the tanks, crushed, even Robert, a veteran of countless battles, was now at a loss as to what to do next.

Or, with the tank units defeated, the US 3rd Division was no longer able to fight.

Robert witnessed firsthand the 15th Regiment charge forward, only to crumble at the first contact.

The only advantage the US military still has is its aircraft, but aircraft can't occupy positions.

"Sir, it seems the only thing we can do now is retreat," the chief of staff advised.

"The fighting along the entire front has basically ceased. Reconnaissance aircraft have detected that the Chinese forces are showing signs of gathering in this direction."

This counterattack was not only carried out by the Fourth Army Corps; fighting broke out along the entire front line that ran from east to west across Korea.

The fighting was just more intense at Mount Corey, where the U.S. Army deployed a division, and the main force of the 21st Regiment also assembled to participate in the battle.

Now, Chen Chengxing has drawn another division from each of his units. If the US forces do not withdraw, he plans to outflank and wipe out the US 3rd Division.

Robert was also well aware of the situation of the troops. The 66th Regiment had lost its combat capability, and most of the 7th Regiment and part of the 15th Regiment had also lost their combat capability.

The 3rd Infantry Division has become a mere shell. If the fighting continues, it's no longer a question of whether we can retake Kori Mountain, but rather whether we can even retain the designation of the 3rd Infantry Division.

After a military meeting at headquarters, Robert chose to retreat.

Three days later, Clark's order came down.

Robert and Bader were dismissed from their posts. The 66th Regiment was temporarily retained, but a major reshuffle was to be carried out. (End of Chapter)