Changjin Lake: From Xinxingli to Seoul

Chapter 72: The Steel Seventh Company Annihilates the American Battalion!

Snowflakes fluttered down and fell into the scorched crater.

Niu Qiang slowly climbed out of the crater, his brain still filled with ringing in his ears.

"Bug horn..."

Niu Qiang quickly dug through the snowdrift, took out the General's horn, and felt a pang of heartache.

On the mottled old bugle, there are two bullet holes letting in the wind.

Those were left behind on the Xiaogaoling position.

"There's still time."

"We must complete the mission!"

Niu Qiang glanced at his watch and resolutely continued charging forward.

Without a pattern to the shelling, it means that shelling could happen at any time.

He used all his strength and went mad as he charged towards the wind and snow ahead.

The biting wind howled in Niu Qiang's ears, and the feeling of hypothermia nearly made him faint.

Forward! Forward! Forward!

Our team is like the sun!

"Standing firmly on the land of our motherland..."

To stay awake, Niu Qiang sang the military song loudly in his hoarse voice.

"call out--"

"call out--"

At that moment, a shell ripped through the sky, and the sharp sound of air friction instantly drowned out his singing.

Niu Qiang's heart clenched, and he immediately rushed towards a bomb crater.

"boom!"

In an instant, a shell landed some distance away from him.

The massive shockwave sent him flying, and the shrapnel from the explosion tore off a large chunk of flesh from his thigh!
A small section of the stark white bones was exposed, making the scene exceptionally gruesome.

"what!"

Niu Qiang was in so much pain that the veins on his forehead bulged, and he roared in agony.

However, the continuous artillery fire and the violent explosions immediately swallowed his voice.

After enduring what felt like an eternity, Niu Qiang gritted his teeth and got up again, gritting his teeth and walking resolutely forward despite the excruciating pain in his legs.

The pain was excruciating, like a hammer pounding on the nerves in his thigh.

"Forward, forward...forward..."

Niu Qiang's voice grew increasingly hoarse, and the scene before him became more and more blurry.

He was just an ordinary volunteer soldier.

Without Wu Wanli's various bonuses.

They lacked the various American-made equipment of the Seventh Steel Company.

But with an iron will, he was able to move forward step by step with unwavering determination.

The charred black and snow-white landscape along the way was stained crimson by the soldier's blood.

Miracles may not have color to begin with.

But at least at this moment, his true color is the blood red of a hero.

"Almost there, not late..."

Niu Qiang looked at the regimental headquarters not far away, a smile appearing on his lips, as he prepared to complete this last section of the route.

"Bam—"

In an instant, Niu Qiang fell heavily to the ground.

He touched his injured leg, his eyes widening in slight panic.

My legs feel no pain anymore...

Niu Qiang's eyes were slightly red, but he immediately wiped away the ice shards that had dripped down, gritted his teeth, and crawled forward.

At that moment, his company commander's words seemed to echo in his mind again:
"I don't believe there's any task that can't be completed!"

"I don't believe that difficulties are insurmountable!"

"I do not believe there is an enemy that cannot be defeated!"

With that in mind, he crawled little by little toward the regimental headquarters.

Until consciousness gradually faded, until the body's strength was gradually drained.

He took out his "old friend" with some difficulty, put it to his lips, and blew hard.

"drop……"

"drop……"

The air blown out made very little noise as it passed through the bullet hole.

He only sounded the rallying cry when his face turned red and he used up the last bit of strength in his body.

"Drip drip drip..."

The bugle call pierced the sky and was finally heard by the nearby volunteer soldiers on sentry duty.

In a flash, the volunteer soldier sentry ran to Niu Qiang and saw the white bone and wounds on his leg. His heart ached.

"Telegram to Commander Kong Jie: Artillery fire..."

"Large-caliber artillery bombards Xiaogaoling..."

"Avoid the cracks and fissures..."

When Niu Qiang saw someone arrive, he shakily took out the marked map drawn by Pinghe and said forcefully.

"Comrade..."

"I'll take you to heal your wounds..."

A volunteer soldier took the marked map and, feeling sorry for Niu Qiang, tried to help him up, but was suddenly stopped by another volunteer soldier.

"He's asleep..."

Another volunteer soldier, after checking Niu Qiang's breath and heartbeat, said with slightly red eyes.

"salute!"

With a shout, the sentries saluted Niu Qiang in unison within two seconds, then quickly took the intelligence and marked map back to the regimental headquarters.

Soon, the regimental headquarters received the intelligence and the artillery coordinates and immediately reported them to the army headquarters via telegram.

At this time, the 27th Army Command
"Reporting to the commander, the battle situation on Hill 1071.1 is extremely fierce."

"Countless comrades are sacrificing their lives every day. Do we really have to hold out to the death?"

The chief of staff handed Kong Jie a series of battle reports, saying with a hint of heartache.

"Of course, it's not about stubbornly holding onto one place."

"The U.S. 1st Marine Division has an absolute advantage in terms of air force and firepower."

"The only way is to snipe them layer by layer, slowly wearing down their fighting force!"

"We'll find another opportunity for a final showdown and wipe out the entire 1st Marine Division!"

Kong Jie slammed his hand on the table and said domineeringly.

"Based on the pre-arranged blocking time, it is estimated that a large number of troops will be sacrificed as a whole."

"Don't we still have that batch of 155mm howitzers?"

"Although we don't have many shells left, at least it can relieve some of the pressure on the troops."

said the chief of staff.

"Who wouldn't want to win a battle without sacrificing their life?"

"As for that batch of artillery, once it is used, it is very likely to be destroyed by American bombers, so it must be used in the right place."

Kong Jie nodded and said.

"Commander, urgent telegram from Hill 1071!"

"The Seventh Steel Company needs large-caliber artillery support to fight a decisive battle against the American forces!"

At this moment, a staff officer from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army arrived and said...

"War of annihilation?"

"Aren't they on defense?"

Kong Jie was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and then said...

"Commander, these are the coordinates marked according to the telegram."

"There are also precautions mentioned in the intelligence report."

The staff officer handed a piece of paper to Kong Jie and said...

"Bring me the battle map of Hill 1071."

Kong Jie immediately gave the order.

"Yes!"

The chief of staff immediately found the battle map and handed it to Kong Jie.

"Avoid the trenches and bombard the position with all your might..."

"The Seventh Steel Company is really bold; they really want to wipe out this American force!"

Kong Jie's eyes lit up, and he said.

"Moreover, it requires support from large-caliber artillery, and the US military is estimated to be quite large, and certainly equipped with armored forces."

"Otherwise, their own batch of mortars would be enough."

said the chief of staff.

"That was awesome! So awesome!"

"There's still some time before they need to fire."

"Telegram to artillery: Once the time is up, immediately unleash full fire on the marked small hill position. Remember to avoid the marked ravine!"

Kong Jie glanced at his watch and said with a hint of excitement in his heart.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the chief of staff immediately agreed.

....................................

"Wanli, the American infantry are advancing from behind the tanks."

Looking at the large number of American troops below the mountain, Yu Congrong reminded them, "No rush, Xiaogaoling has a treacherous terrain."

"The American tanks couldn't get back up after just crossing the ravine."

"At that time, their infantry could only climb up to attack."

Wu Wanli opened the candy wrapper, took out the candy, blew off the snowflakes that stuck to it, calmly put it in his mouth, and said.

"Too."

"It was so exciting to take on an entire American battalion with just the two of us for the first time!"

Yu Congrong rubbed his frozen hands and then excitedly hugged the machine gun.

"Just remember our tactical objectives."

"It was merely to harass the US forces and delay their advance."

"There's not much time left, it's not difficult."

Wu Wanli glanced at the watch that Secretary Liu had given him and said...

"Row!"

I followed the military path.

....................................

At the foot of the mountain, in the chasm
"Company commander, the American troops haven't found the 7th Company. They've pushed forward with tanks and infantry."

Pinghe cautiously peeked out and observed for a while before speaking.

"We have bazookas, I really want to just charge over there and take down their tanks."

Gao Daxing, holding a bazooka, said.

"Stay hidden. Now is not the time to attack."

"However, Lei Gong, your artillery platoon can start estimating the firing parameters now."

"After the large-caliber artillery has finished firing, the artillery platoon will fire another round of mortars, and then we'll charge again!"

Wu Qianli thought for a moment and then whispered to Lei Gong.

"Company Commander, have you noticed that our tactical thinking has changed since Wanli joined us?"

"It's better to use more shells than to sacrifice fewer comrades."

Mei Sheng chuckled softly.

"Don't worry, Company Commander, we'll blow those bastards to bits!"

As Lei Gong spoke, he personally went to participate in the debugging of the mortar.

....................................

Outside Xiaogaoling position
"What's the Chinese military up to? Why is it so quiet..."

"Order the artillery to fire, let's bombard them twice first."

"Launching the attack immediately after the shelling is complete!"

The U.S. Army major became suspicious and immediately said something.

"Yes, sir!"

A U.S. Army captain immediately responded.

Soon, the tanks lined up in a row, their cannons slowly raised, aiming at the position on Xiaogaoling.

"Boom bang bang-"

With a muffled boom, the six tanks were violently jolted backward by the enormous recoil.

"Whoosh—Boom! Boom! Boom!"

When the shells whistled and crashed into the defensive fortifications, the soil of the fortifications was almost completely reduced to dust in the violent collision.

Fortunately, Wu Wanli and Yu Congrong saw the tank stop and immediately ran to the back slope fortifications.

The deafening roar of the cannon fire was deafening, and sand occasionally fell, landing on Wu Wanli and Yu Congrong's heads, but causing them no harm.

It wasn't until after several rounds of shelling that the air finally returned to silence.

"Let's get to the front lines, we don't have much time left to show our skills."

Wu Wanli glanced at his watch and smiled.

"it is good!"

"Fuck you!"

Yu Congrong showed no fear, and carrying his machine gun, he followed Wu Wanli back to the front line.

Facing the slowly approaching American troops below, Yu Congrong picked up his machine gun and began firing directly downwards.

"Da da da da da da da..."

A burst of bullets shot downwards, instantly hitting seven or eight American soldiers, leaving several bloody holes.

Upon hearing the gunfire, the American soldiers did not immediately retaliate. Instead, they immediately lay down on the ground before firing their guns.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of gunfire.

The U.S. military's fierce firepower struck the position, sending countless pieces of earth and stones flying.

Two rockets even flew in and blasted a gap in the position.

However, by this time, Yu Congrong had already abandoned the machine gun and ran to another location, where he picked up other prepared firearms.

"Judging by this firepower, there should be a battalion."

"Even a single polar bear regiment would be annihilated by the 27th Army."

"If our Steel Seventh Company wiped out an entire American battalion..."

Wu Wanli smiled slightly, observing the valuable target through the 16x scope.

At that moment, a U.S. Army lieutenant giving orders in the distance caught his attention.

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out, and the bullet struck the U.S. lieutenant precisely in the head.

After firing a shot, Wu Wanli ran desperately towards another location.

"Sir!"

"A sharpshooter! They have a sharpshooter!"

Upon seeing this, the soldiers near the American officer immediately panicked and shouted.

Soon, all of the US military's small-caliber artillery were aimed at the area where Wu Wanli had just been, and began to bombard it.

The barrage of shells rained down, almost instantly collapsing the trenches.

"Luckily, I ran fast."

Wu Wanli leaned against the trench, took a deep breath, looked at Yu Congrong in the distance, and gave him a thumbs up.

By this time, the American troops were quite close to their positions.

Wu Wanli estimated the time, then took out a grenade, crouched low in the trench, and threw grenades at the American troops below as he ran.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

After several rounds of airbursts, several of the US military's heavy firepower were instantly silenced.

Seeing this, Yu Congrong wanted to pick up the machine gun and fire one last burst.

"Let's go! We're running out of time!"

Wu Wanli shouted at Yu Congrong.

"Row!"

Yu Congrong glanced back one last time, unwilling to give up, before following Wu Wanli toward the air-raid shelter behind them.

The US military was unaware that Wu Wanli and his men had left their positions.

After a sustained barrage of firepower and a cautious advance, they were finally close to breaching the position.

"Guys, the cunning Chinese army definitely wants to fight us with bayonets!"

"Prepare for close combat!"

The U.S. Army major, observing the silence of the position, arrogantly shouted a reminder.

However, at that moment, a fierce roar shattered his illusions.

"call out--"

The enormous sound echoed across the white highlands, like the wrath of a god, making the hearts of all American soldiers clench.

"Sir!"

"It's a 155mm howitzer!"

A seasoned U.S. Army lieutenant cried out in despair.

In an instant, the shells, carrying the roar of death, streaked across the sky, leaving behind twisted trails of smoke and dust, before plummeting straight down.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom..."

The shells detonated instantly, bursting into flames like miniature suns, engulfing the American troops.

The earth trembled, and for a moment, explosions rose and fell, as if it were a demon's carnival.

The smoke from the exploding shells filled the sky, obscuring the view ahead.

The scent of death was spreading, with blood and severed limbs scattered everywhere.

The roar of howitzers continued to echo across the small hill, the relentless explosions tearing through the armor of tanks.

Thick black smoke swirled around the tank like a vengeful spirit, twisting, rising, and blackening the sky.

Broken armor fragments lay scattered on the ground, reflecting the cruel gleam of the firelight. Every now and then, debris would fall, emitting a piercing metallic clang.

After the shelling ended, all four American steel behemoths were reduced to charred wreckage, still burning fiercely.

Only one American tank with its tracks blown off and another with its gun barrel broken survived.

Of the original battalion of American troops, only one company was still capable of fighting.

At this time, inside the crack
"According to the pre-set artillery data and attack direction, advance the barrage slowly, fire!"

Lei Gong waved his hand and roared.

Another round of artillery fire rained down on the remaining American troops.

"Comrades of the Seventh Steel Company, follow me and charge through the bullet holes!"

"Annihilate this entire American battalion!"

Wu Qianli picked up his submachine gun and roared.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

At this moment, all the soldiers of the Seventh Steel Company jumped up, guns in hand, and followed Wu Qianli as they charged toward the American troops.

(End of this chapter)