War Military: From 1978

Chapter 113: Digging your own grave, battle plan!

This New Year, Chu An and others were lucky because they had no missions for the time being, and the reconnaissance platoon did not have to defend the position, so they could spend the New Year in the temporary base.

But at the same time, for many troops assembled at the front line, this year was extremely tense.

Many people even forget that today is New Year's Day.

Because everyone was busy preparing for war during this period, there was no New Year atmosphere at all on the front line.

Including Chu An, it was only yesterday that the company commander reminded him that today was New Year's Eve.

More people only realized that today was an unusual day when they smelled the fragrance of the extra meals prepared by the kitchen staff on the battlefield.

However, no matter how special this day is, they cannot truly relax now that they are on the front lines.

After dinner, those who needed to stand guard continued to stand guard, and those who needed to train continued to intensify their training.

Regiment C is doing well now because they expanded in advance due to the Maodingshan incident. Many of the soldiers are veterans transferred from other inland troops and recalled from the army, so the overall quality of the soldiers is good.

But other troops that have come to the front line are now filled with a large number of new recruits because they were expanded from Type B troops. Many of the new recruits in many troops are even brought directly from their homes.

The new recruit companies are temporarily formed directly on the front line.

Some were even brought here directly from their homes and assigned to companies for training.

I just joined the army at the end of December!
Many of these recruits had never touched a gun before.

But now we have to go directly to the battlefield. This is what it means to sharpen your sword before a battle!

They have to seize every minute and every second to learn various combat knowledge.

New Year?

Celebrating the New Year is not as important as life. If you don’t seize the time to learn combat skills, this year may really be your last.

Although there were no new recruits in Chu An's reconnaissance platoon, Chu An still did not dare to relax.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, after the wake-up call, the entire platoon once again entered into intensive combat readiness training.

In fact, there are not many regimental units left that still have scouts.

In many units, scouts at the regimental level were directly transferred from the divisional headquarters to form reconnaissance battalions.

However, the reconnaissance platoon of Regiment C was not recruited.

The reason was very simple. Chu An and his regiment were assigned an independent combat mission.

In fact, the C Regiment was initially assigned the task of assisting the neighboring border defense regiment in attacking Maoding Mountain, which had been besieged by them for a long time. They were preparing to combine the forces of the two regiments, first directly eliminate the stubborn enemies entering the mountain, and then enter the opposite side and follow the main force to eliminate the remaining enemies.

But later, the mission of Group C was modified.

The superiors decided that the neighboring border defense regiment would attack Maoding Mountain alone, while Regiment C would split into two groups and attack from two small paths that could connect to our territory.

After eliminating the strongholds held by the Vietnamese devils in these two places, they would advance from the side to assist the main force in the penetration.

Chu An didn't know why the combat mission for Regiment C was changed, he was just a platoon leader.

Right now, all he had to do was to train his soldiers well within the last bit of time.

Scouts, the front lines of war.

Their mission is now clear.

When the war begins, they will be the first to enter the country, scout the enemy situation, identify firing points, survey maps, and serve as observation posts.

In addition, another very important task for them is to find out the enemy's retreat and make detours to cut off the enemy's retreat.

This is a daunting task.

Chu An and his men were just a reconnaissance platoon of a regiment, not a reconnaissance brigade organized by the division headquarters, although the enemy they faced was not a large force in the enemy's important defensive area.

But with only thirty or so people, they had to go deep behind enemy lines and do so many things. If anything unexpected happened, they would be killed there.

But no way.

That's what scouts do.

When Yan Wang was training everyone before, there was a phrase he often said.

Scouts must be brave, careful and not afraid of their lives!
Although the words are rough, they are also very straightforward.

Those who are timid and cherish their lives cannot be scouts. They have to infiltrate behind enemy lines and make detours to cut off the enemy's retreat.

Each of these jobs is very exciting and also very demanding.

Therefore, in order to protect their lives from being taken away by the enemy, Chu An and his companions could only train hard.

Time passed slowly during Chu An and his team's intense training.

An art troupe from the army came to visit, but Chu An and the others didn’t have time to watch the performance.

This kind of day lasted until the 14th.

Because on that very day, our country made a public statement.

At the same time, on the same day, the regiment also ordered the reconnaissance platoon to end training and gather for rest.

Chu An knew very well why this was happening.

Now it's time to conserve your energy.

However, people internationally seem a little indifferent to this notice from the flower grower.

They thought we were still trying to scare them.

The main reason is that it has been a long time since our troops were mobilized, but no action has been taken. The story of crying wolf has been cried once, twice, and three times, and each time it was false, and they thought this time would be the same as before.

But all the officers and soldiers of Regiment C now know that this time it will not be the case.

Because the first battalion of the C regiment ran to a nearby mountain and started digging a grave that day.

Yes, the war had not started yet and no other personnel had been sacrificed, but under the order of the regiment headquarters, the first battalion went there and began digging graves and building a temporary martyrs' cemetery.

This was a very tragic thing. Although Chu An did not go to dig, he could imagine the feelings of the soldiers in the first battalion.

The war hasn't started yet, and I haven't sacrificed myself, but now I may be digging my own grave!
After the scouts who were on leave learned about this situation, they all ran down the mountain and looked at the graves dug out on the mountain in silence for a long time.

Cigarette butts were scattered all over the floor.

Although they did not dig, as scouts and soldiers who had to advance deep into the enemy's territory alone, they heard the words "death" and "sacrifice" many times in their daily training.

Now when I see these cemeteries, I can’t help but think of myself lying in one of them.

Others talk about facing life and death, but now, the emotions are more complicated than facing life and death.

This is facing the cemetery where you may be buried.

"Hehe, it's actually pretty good. Look at this place, with its green mountains and clear waters. If I could return here after sacrificing myself, I'd be satisfied!"

Suddenly, someone was laughing with a cigarette in his mouth.

Chu An glanced at him but said nothing.

In fact, what he said makes sense. Scouts, if someone dies while advancing deep into the enemy's territory alone, it is impossible to carry them all the way.

We can only look back after the war.

But can it really be found after the war?

This raises a big question mark.

Therefore, being able to lie down and come back after sacrificing oneself may be a real blessing for these scouts.

"Poor children!" An old lady holding a child from a nearby village passed by Chu An and his friends and couldn't help shedding tears after seeing the scene on the mountain.

But the three or four-year-old child she was holding looked at Chu An and the others on the roadside innocently and asked, "Big brother, those brothers are playing with digging in the dirt? Why don't you go play?"

The woman's originally sad expression changed, and she hurriedly slapped the child on the butt: "What are you talking about, little kid!"

"Wow!" The child burst into tears on the spot.

This caught Chu An and the others off guard, and they hurriedly comforted him, "Hey, Auntie, don't hit the child! Children speak without restraint, and he didn't say anything!"

"Yeah, we won't care!"

Some people even rushed to tease the child: "Be good, don't cry, big brother will give you candy!"

Some soldiers actually took out candy from their pockets.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, the child is so ignorant!" The aunt was still very embarrassed. Fortunately, the child was coaxed by the candy. After chatting for a few more words, Chu An and the others watched the aunt leave with the child.

But the child's words made Li Guoping bring it up again after they left.

"Hey, Platoon Leader, tell me, should we really go up and discuss this with the brothers from the First Battalion?

Let's take a place and make it nice for ourselves, and it would be best if we could pick some wild flowers or something and put them in there!"

Chu An rolled his eyes at him angrily: "What? You want to decorate it for yourself in advance after booking!"

After saying that, Chu An walked back: "If you want to go, go ahead. I'm not going anyway!"

Chu An doesn't have this hobby.

Even if he really died on the battlefield, he would be wrapped in his horse's hide after death. It doesn't matter where he died or was buried.

Of course, in the end Li Guoping didn't go.

Got scolded.

Although we often say during training that we must face life and death head-on and not be afraid of death, we are all still alive now. It is too outrageous and too unlucky to reserve a cemetery for ourselves in advance.

That night, Chu An, the deputy company commander and the company commander were called to the regiment headquarters.

The regiment commander and a deputy division commander who had just arrived a few days ago were waiting inside.

It’s not Deputy Division Commander Ma. Although Deputy Division Commander Ma is still serving in the division headquarters, it is obvious that he can no longer replace the division headquarters to be stationed in the regiment.

"This is your reconnaissance platoon's battle plan!"

The regimental chief of staff pointed to a point on the map and said, "Your entire platoon must infiltrate through Pingguan Mountain. You must reach here within three hours after the operation begins!"

He held a red pencil in his hand and drew a line directly from the so-called Pingguan Mountain on the map to a three-way intersection three or four kilometers behind.

The Chief of Staff continued, “If the enemy has reinforcements, they will have to pass through here.

On the other hand, if they retreat, they can only retreat from here!"

"Aren't the troops divided into two groups?" At this time, Chu An frowned and spoke.

Because this time Regiment C needs to launch attacks on two points at the same time, but now the regiment headquarters actually asked their entire platoon to go to one side.

"No!" The Chief of Staff said, "Pingguan Mountain has four connected high grounds. It's easy to defend but difficult to attack. It's a tough nut to crack. The key is that this side is close to the main attacking force.

We need to assist the main force in the attack, so although we will send troops to attack from the other side, we will not leave from there after the battle, but will withdraw directly and then pursue us from the small road on the Pingguan Mountain side. This way, we can reduce the burden on your reconnaissance platoon and avoid the losses that may be incurred by dividing our forces and advancing through enemy territory."

(End of this chapter)