Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Although Vietnam was utterly defeated by the Chinese air force, and even lost its electricity, Le Duan did not believe that Vietnam had been defeated.

He still has 100 million main force troops and more than 200 million militiamen, as well as several thousand tanks and armored vehicles.

Moreover, land warfare is Vietnam's forte.

Le Duan wanted to use Vietnam's million-strong army to wage ground war against China.

Le Duan believed that as long as China was dragged into a quagmire of ground warfare, they would definitely take the initiative to cease hostilities and seek peace.

Vietnam can even defeat the United States, so China is no match for it.

While Le Duan was constantly encouraging himself, the troops on both the Yunnan and Guangxi fronts had made their final preparations.

"Damn it, it's finally our turn!" Li Yunlong stood up, his face full of excitement.

Watching the air force thrashing Vietnam, he was itching to join in.

"Old Ding, the person in charge of the Vietnamese First Military Region across the street seems to be an old acquaintance of yours."

"Me?" Ding Wei was a little puzzled when he was suddenly called on. "I don't know anyone in Vietnam all these years."

"Of course I have one?" Li Yunlong tapped the documents on the table. "Back when we were fighting the French and aiding Vietnam, you were on the advisory group, weren't you? Tan Guangzhong, remember?"

Upon hearing Li Yunlong mention Tan Guangzhong, Ding Wei immediately remembered him.

Back then, the Vietnamese army's food was so bad that the advisory group could only provide one-on-one assistance.

The army commander he was helping at the time was named Tan Guangzhong.

The more Ding Wei thought about it, the uglier his face became. China had helped Vietnam a lot, but in the end, they had raised an ungrateful wretch.

Ding Wei slammed his fist on the table. "Damn it, this is a case of master beating apprentice. I'm going to beat him to a pulp today!"

Li Yunlong sneered twice, "Times have changed. Do those Vietnamese monkeys still think China is like it was in the past, lacking guns and cannons?"

"Tell the artillery to give that son of a bitch a good beating."

"How long will the artillery preparation take?" the staff officer asked.

"How long?" Li Yunlong sneered, "Fire as many shells as you have, until they're all gone!"

"All other departments, proceed according to plan!"

"yes!".
At 6:00 a.m., hundreds of heavy artillery pieces and rocket launchers from the artillery positions launched a massive bombardment of key Vietnamese positions in the Dong Dang area.

In just 20 minutes, the artillery position fired more than 20,000 shells.

However, the more they fought, the more the artillerymen suffered.

Following Li Yunlong's orders, they were to retreat after firing, but even with their desperate shelling, the rate of fire could not keep up with the rate of shell resupply.

It's endless, there's no way it'll ever end.

Li Yunlong, who had never fought a battle with abundant resources, never even considered the possibility of running out of ammunition.

The artillery soldiers, shirtless, were desperately carrying and firing shells.

Inside the command post, Li Yunlong checked his watch several times, finally unable to hold back any longer, "How many shells did the logistics department prepare? Why haven't they run out yet?"

"Report!" A staff officer jogged over.

"According to the latest report from the logistics department, artillery shells are still being transported to the position."

"Fire one, then fire another; there are more and more shells on the position."

"The more they fight, the more they get?"

Li Yunlong and Ding Wei exchanged a glance; they had never encountered anything like this in their entire lives.

"What was the Vietnamese army's reaction?" Ding Wei asked.

"The Vietnamese army attempted to retaliate with artillery fire, but our artillery positions have already countered it."

The Vietnamese army still relies entirely on human calculations to fire artillery, while China has already deployed counter-battery radar.

Once the Vietnamese artillery opened fire, radar could detect the trajectory of the shells within 8 seconds, and the computer had already calculated the enemy's coordinates before the shells even hit the ground.

Within 5 minutes, counter-fire artillery could cover the Vietnamese positions.

After a few attempts, the Vietnamese heavy artillery dared not retaliate anymore and fell silent.

As for those positions that are constantly being shelled, the only hope lies in the strength of the fortifications.

Li Yunlong glanced at the sand table and had to make a change. "How about this, let the artillery continue to bombard Dong Dang, and let the two regiments of the 164th Division launch a feigned attack on Tham Long."

"I want to see if the Vietnamese army can recognize our main attack direction."

The main force of the Vietnamese army responsible for the defense of the Lang Son area was the 3rd Division, a veteran elite division from the anti-French period. They were highly decorated and arrogant, and did not take other Vietnamese troops seriously at all.

The 3rd Division of Vietnam was one of the units that was trained by the Chinese advisory group.

They have a very good understanding of Chinese tactics.

When Li Yunlong learned about the Vietnamese army's deployment, he decided that he couldn't fight them using conventional methods.

The tactics devised by the Chinese army were to first bombard Dong Dang, and then have two regiments launch a feint attack on Tham Long, completely disrupting the Vietnamese army's judgment.

Finally, they used two regiments to penetrate from the east and west, two regiments to attack from the flanks, and one regiment to break through from the front, thus capturing Dong Dang.

At the same time, two more divisions attacked Loc Binh to contain the enemy in Lang Son.

The border line isn't drawn very accurately, but take a look at it roughly.

Upon receiving the order, the 164th Division was mobilized.

The 164th Division split into several groups, with the tank regiment as the vanguard, the 376th Regiment moving forward in tanks and armored vehicles, and the 378th Regiment following closely along the trails.

The 1st Company of the 1st Battalion of the Tank Regiment was responsible for clearing the way.

Before setting off, everyone had expectations about the karst road, knowing that it would be difficult to travel.

But no one could have predicted that the road wasn't just difficult to travel on, it was practically impossible to travel on at all.

The road was narrow, with a cliff on one side and a precipice on the other.

To make matters worse, they encountered a huge rock on the way.

The road suddenly narrows at the boulder.

The driver of the lead vehicle climbed out of the tank and spent a long time examining it from all angles on the road.

"How is it?" Ding Yong, the tank company commander, jogged over as well.

"Company commander, we should be able to get through, but it's a bit dangerous."

“Then let’s go!” Ding Yong said confidently.

The tank company's mission is to launch a surprise attack. If too much time is wasted on the road, the enemy may recover from the air and artillery bombardment, and the surprise attack will be ineffective.

"Yes!"

After getting on the bus, the driver stuck his head out and cautiously probed forward.

However, the road is constantly eroded by rainwater, making it extremely slippery. Even if the driver is extremely careful, skidding still occurs.

The moment he sensed something was wrong, the driver took decisive action, flooring the accelerator in an attempt to quickly escape the cliff.

However, the tank flipped over into an anti-tank trap carefully set by the Vietnamese army in the next second.

Upon seeing the accident, Ding Yong immediately stepped forward.

The tank was halfway into the trap, its tracks spinning with the roar of the engine, but to no avail.

Ding Yong immediately realized that the tank could not possibly climb up on its own. The only solution was to tow it, but that would be very difficult on the narrow road.

Most importantly, the tank company doesn't have much time; the main force could arrive at any moment. If the entire convoy is blocked, not only will they fail to complete their mission, but a Vietnamese attack could also lead to their complete annihilation.

After a moment's thought, Ding Yong made a decisive decision: "Push all the tanks into the trap!"

Everyone was shocked.

"Company commander!"

Tanks are the apple of the soldiers' eye, and if they are pushed into a trap at this time, they are basically gone forever.

"We can't worry about that now," Ding Yong said. "Our mission is a surprise attack; anything that gets in our way must be pushed aside."

"Take the electronic equipment away, and then the tanks behind will come over and push it into the trap!"

Despite their reluctance, everyone worked together to push all the tanks into the trap.

The tanks behind it drove right up to the tracks of this tank.

The road was so difficult to traverse, and there were traps along the way, that the Vietnamese army simply did not believe that tanks could get through.

Therefore, when Ding Yong and his men infiltrated behind Tanlong and arrived at the high ground on the outskirts of Tanlong, the Vietnamese troops responsible for defending the high ground were taken aback.

"Tanks! Enemy tanks!"

"Shoot! Shoot quickly!"

Taking advantage of the rugged mountain roads and numerous caves in the karst terrain, the Vietnamese army has built a complete defensive position in Than Long.

The tank suddenly emerged from the flank, catching the Vietnamese army completely off guard.

A 7.62mm heavy machine gun bullet hitting a tank, even a medium tank, would only cause a minor irritation.

The tank didn't even have a scratch.

Inside the tank, Ding Yong grabbed the radio and shouted, "I order that odd-numbered tanks move to the left and even-numbered tanks move to the right to suppress Vietnamese fire and cover the infantry as they seize the position!"

The main force of the 164th Division was still behind them, and Ding Yong and his men had to seize a position so that the main force could complete its deployment.

Under the intense firepower of the tanks, the 2nd Battalion of the 376th Infantry Regiment, following behind, charged up the hillside in small groups.

As soon as they saw a crater, the soldiers didn't hesitate and immediately unleashed grenades and flamethrowers.

The soldiers attacked the enemy's strongholds one by one, and soon wiped out the dozens of Vietnamese soldiers on the high ground.

The tank company then continued forward.

The main force also rushed out of the mountain road in an endless stream.

When the 122mm self-propelled rocket launcher appeared, the defensive line built by the Vietnamese army in Than Long was completely destroyed.

Faced with the barrage of rocket artillery fire, any resistance would be futile.

The tank company and the 9nd Battalion of the 376th Regiment did not linger in battle. They broke through nine hills along the way and advanced directly to the outskirts of Tanlong City.

Subsequently, all units of the 164th Division completed their breakthroughs, and the Vietnamese Independent Battalion was directly trapped inside Tham Long City.

Inside the headquarters of the First Military Region of the Vietnamese Army, Tan Guangzhong received a telegram from the front lines.

"Siling, something's happened! Tanlong is surrounded by the central army!"

"Surrounded?" Tan Guangzhong suddenly stood up: "The Tanlong position was very well set up, how could it be surrounded so quickly?!"

Normally, they should have fought a few battles first, and the situation should have gradually become more critical. How did they end up surrounded all at once?

"According to the report from the Tanlong Independent Battalion, the Chinese army directly used tanks to penetrate the enemy lines."

"By the time they realized something was wrong, the enemy had already appeared in the southwest of Tanlong City, blocking Tanlong City's retreat route."

"The Central Army really has a lot of tricks up its sleeve." Tan Guangzhong's face was somewhat grim.

With Dong Dang under such intense artillery fire, it seemed the Chinese army was poised to launch an attack on Dong Dang from Zhennanguan.

But now that Tanlong is surrounded, Tan Guangzhong is not so sure.

Tan Guangzhong was very clear that the central army's target was definitely Lang Son.

To attack Lang Son, the central army had three routes: Dong Dang, Than Long, and Loc Binh.

Although the Tham Long direction is not as advantageous for deploying heavy firepower as the Thung Dang direction, the central army can still advance directly into Lang Son from here.

Just as Tan Guangzhong was debating whether or not to send troops from the 3rd Vietnamese Division to support Tanlong, another staff officer rushed over.

"Siring, we have received a report from Tongdeng that the Chinese army has launched a frontal attack under artillery cover!"

"The central army has finally moved out!" Tan Guangzhong immediately looked in the direction of Dong Dang.

Compared to Tan Long, Tan Guangzhong was more concerned about Tong Deng.

Dong Dang is closely connected to Zhennan Pass. If the central army captures Dong Dang, it can quickly launch an armored assault on Lang Son.

"How strong is the attack? Is the fortress safe?"

"According to reports from the front, the Chinese offensive is very fierce and has completely exceeded expectations. The front-line defenses have been breached in multiple places."

"The enemy also concentrated their fire on the fortress, but the fortress was impregnable, and the enemy's artillery fire had no effect."

"Good!" Tan Guangzhong finally smiled. "Tell Dongdang Fortress to use its firepower advantage to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy. Reinforcements will arrive at any time!"

Tan Guangzhong is now certain that the main force attacking Dong Dang was the central army.

However, no sooner had Tan Guangzhong finished speaking than another staff officer ran over.

"report!"

"Reports came simultaneously from Dongxi, Qixi, and Shuojiang that they have all been attacked by the main force of the central army!"

"What?!" Tan Guangzhong's expression changed drastically once again.

Dongxi and Shuojiang, like Tongdeng, are outer defense nodes of Gaoping.

This meant that fighting broke out on the entire eastern front.

Tan Guangzhong can no longer even tell whether the fighting in Cao Bang or Lang Son is more urgent.

"How is the Shuojiang defense line?" Tan Guangzhong asked, a hint of tension in his eyes.

He was afraid of hearing bad news.

"According to reports from the front, we can still hold out," the staff officer reported.

"However, the Chinese army's artillery counter-fire capability is too strong. Our heavy artillery regiments cannot concentrate their fire. The front line is now mainly relying on small-caliber mortars for firepower, which is under a lot of pressure."

"It's okay if the pressure is a bit high, as long as we can hold on," Tan Guangzhong breathed a sigh of relief.

After a moment's thought, Tan Guangzhong made up his mind: "Pass on my order: the Dongxi garrison will withdraw to Qixi and focus all their efforts on defending the flank of Tongdeng. Blow up the Dongxi Reservoir for me."

Both Lang Son and Cao Bang are important, but if Tan Quang Trung had to choose one, he would choose Lang Son.

To defend Lang Son, it is essential to defend Dong Dang, and Chi Khe is the western gateway to Dong Dang.

If the central army encircles Dong Dang, Qixi can threaten from the flank, which can effectively reduce the pressure on Dong Dang.

"Blow up the reservoir?!" The staff officer exclaimed in surprise. "Sir, the rainy season is coming soon. If we blow up the reservoir now, the Dongxi area will definitely suffer a disaster."

If the reservoir is bombed, even if there is a ceasefire tomorrow, it cannot be rebuilt before the rainy season arrives. Floods are certain to occur near Dongxi, and countless people will die.

Moreover, it's the tail end of the dry season now, and there's hardly any water in the reservoir. Even if it's blown up, it won't be able to wash away the central army; at most, it can only disrupt their offensive rhythm.

"We can't worry about that now, let's just blow it up first," Tan Guangzhong said firmly.

There were only tens of thousands of people near Dongxi. To Tan Guangzhong, even if all of them died, they would not be as important as Gaoping.

(End of this chapter)