American Strategic Deception Bureau

　Meanwhile, Dr. Kissinger, who insisted on personally observing the situation at the front lines, was far from calm. Instead, the stench of corpses immediately overwhelmed him, causing him to vomit violently. However, afterward, Dr. Kissinger coughed and told Firi the good news.

　Air Force Chief of Staff General LeMay has launched strategic bombing against North Vietnam!

　The U.S. Air Force, which had just been urgently mobilized to the Guam base, would dispatch B-52 Stratofortress bombers today to carry out large-scale bombing on the bridges over the Bien Hai River and the Mei Zheng River, as well as the material distribution centers along Highway 1, in order to disrupt the logistical transportation of the North Vietnamese army.

　Well, although Firi felt that air strikes alone might not be able to defeat the Vietnamese, some bombing was better than no bombing at all.

　Half a day later, another good news came: new reinforcements arrived!

　In order to support the battle in Da Nang, Wang Bao tried his best to get more than 800 Miao soldiers who had received crash training from his old nest, Xieng Khouang Province in Laos. They landed at Da Nang Airport by plane and were now on their way to Hai Van Ridge on foot, just in time to make up for the casualties in last night's battle.

　The escort aircraft carrier USS Card also arrived in Da Nang carrying two A-1 Skyraider attack aircraft and four Huey helicopters, plus a large number of trucks, some ammunition and fuel. It is now unloading the cargo in full swing, and the ammunition is directly transported to Haiyun Ridge using the unloaded trucks.

　In addition, the 405th Air Force, originally deployed in Taiwan, began to gradually relocate to Da Nang to participate in the defense of Da Nang. Over 500 US airborne troops and Marines, who had previously been guarding airfields in Tainan and Kinmen, had already arrived at Da Nang Airport aboard transport aircraft.

　——Since the outbreak of the Korean War, the US Pacific Fleet has established the "US Military Assistance Command" in Taipei, mobilizing about 5000 US troops and a fighter jet to be stationed in Taiwan. After the outbreak of the Kinmen artillery battle, the number of US troops stationed in Taiwan further expanded to 20,000.

　, and once took over the defense of Kinmen and Penghu, and even deployed nuclear weapons in Taiwan as a last resort to deter the mainland.

　(From the late 1950s to the early 1960s, Kinmen was actually defended by the US military, so the mainland was unable to take it.)

　Now that the war in Vietnam is urgent, the Pacific Fleet will naturally gather reinforcements from nearby places such as Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Okinawa. Among them, Taiwan, which is not at risk of war for the time being, will be the main pool of troops to be dispatched to Vietnam.

　Well, if we could also transport the nuclear bombs deployed at the Tainan Air Force Base to Da Nang, we would be more confident.

　Firi muttered so, but he did not rush to use these newly arrived reinforcements to fill the line on Haiyun Ridge. Instead, he let them defend the airport and port on the spot.

　In recent days, as the decisive battle of Hai Van Ridge draws closer, the sabotage activities of the Viet Cong underground party and guerrillas have become increasingly rampant. Recently, Viet Cong spies who attempted to set fire to oil depots and ammunition depots have been captured many times, as well as Viet Cong action teams that planted bombs in churches and bars to carry out terrorist attacks.

　——Unlike their Chinese counterparts who are obsessed with mysophobia, the Vietnamese Communist Party’s bottom line in this regard is as low as their counterparts fighting “dirty wars” in Latin America.

　Therefore, General Zun Shiding has been very busy these past few days, just enforcing martial law in Da Nang and engaging in firefights with infiltrating Viet Cong guerrillas. Now, letting these newly arrived US troops share some of the defense work in Da Nang will also reduce the pressure on security in the rear.

　According to Firi's assessment of the current war situation, with the Pentagon already mobilizing at least five divisions of US troops to Vietnam and one division expected to land next week at the latest, it is completely impossible for North Vietnam to sweep across all the remaining territory of South Vietnam within seven days.

　Even if Hanoi's goal was simply to break through Hai Van Ridge and capture Da Nang, its chances of success would be slim - unless they could bomb the Da Nang airport, destroy the Da Nang dock, assassinate the local political figurehead, and the transport of American reinforcements would be delayed due to the typhoon...

　But in fact, according to Firi's understanding, the Viet Cong guerrillas' sabotage activities in Da Nang in recent days seemed chaotic and reckless, with a feeling of completely missing the point. They were basically just throwing bombs at crowded places or shooting indiscriminately on the streets.

　It is completely not on the same level as the various brutal and sharp special operations launched by the Viet Cong in Saigon before.

　What was going on? Were all the powerful Vietcong agents congregated in Saigon, while only the weak ones were in Da Nang?

　——Even as a time traveler, Firi did not know that since Ngo Dinh Diem established the South Vietnamese regime, the Viet Cong had planted a large number of spies in various departments of the South Vietnamese government, including confidential units such as the Presidential Office and the General Staff, and even President Ngo Dinh Diem's ​​secret police.

　Thanks to these insiders stealing intelligence and causing sabotage, the Viet Cong special forces' various operations in Saigon were always successful.

　But the problem is that with the liberation of Saigon, the large number of spies that the Viet Cong had buried in the core of South Vietnam automatically became ineffective.

　Even if they were willing to go north to join General Zunshiding, Zunshiding would not be able to trust these people at all because of the previous South Vietnam Civil War.

　In fact, since the establishment of the "Republic of South Vietnam," the Vietcong were ordered to remain underground in Saigon. Instead of promotions and wealth, they were subjected to rigorous scrutiny by political officers. Many were dismissed or imprisoned for "failing to explain their historical issues clearly."

　In this situation where they could hardly protect themselves, these veterans of the spy war naturally had no interest in continuing to hound the remnants of the Ngo Dinh Diem government.

　On the other hand, the Southern Liberation Front's military strength is ultimately limited, and they do not have any "endless guerrilla fighters."

　At the same time, the Viet Cong guerrillas were not Superman or magicians and did not know the skills of teleportation.

　Previously, in order to seize the opportunity of the South Vietnamese army's infighting and seize the South Vietnamese capital Saigon in one fell swoop, the Viet Cong headquarters in Cu Chi had mobilized most of its manpower to the capital and the Mekong Delta region, preparing to fight a fateful decisive battle with the reactionaries here.

　Now, Saigon was taken, but the Viet Cong fighters had all fled to the south, and Da Nang was hundreds of kilometers away in the far north.

　At present, the air and sea are still controlled by the enemy, and they want to force the Viet Cong troops to run from Saigon to Da Nang to fight on foot...

　Is this something that can be accomplished in a day or two, or even two or three days? They are not the legendary Speedy Guardians.

　Well, theoretically, there was a safe troop transport route from Saigon to Da Nang if the Vietcong simply followed the Ho Chi Minh Trail in reverse. However, the total distance would have been over a thousand kilometers, and there was no way to prepare the logistics along the way...

　More importantly, the rainy season was coming before the troops could get from Saigon to Da Nang, and the Ho Chi Minh Trail had to be shut down during the rainy season every year - the streams turned into rivers, and the roads turned into mud puddles. Not only could cars not run, but even people could not walk: unless they were willing to bear the extremely high mortality rate!

　Therefore, it was only a theoretical possibility to have the Vietcong transfer troops from the southern theater to Da Nang. In reality, it was too late and impossible to do so.

　Finally, the war in the Mekong Delta has not yet ended. The remaining landlord militia, Catholic militia, the defeated South Vietnamese army, the scattered US troops stationed in Vietnam, and the stubborn Hoa Hao militia are all continuing to fight with the armed forces of the Viet Cong.

　(Official history, 19

　75年4月30日南越政府投降，但黎明岛少将继续战斗到5月9日才放下武器。）

　There were also large areas of chaos and anarchy, waiting to be taken over and liberated by the Viet Cong.

　Those South Vietnamese government troops who had just surrendered also needed to be monitored, screened and selected, and they could potentially riot and rebel if not handled with care.

　In other words, the "Republic of South Vietnam" or "Red South Vietnam" that had just been established in Saigon was not able to consolidate the occupied areas and wipe out the remaining enemies around it with its existing strength. Moreover, it was now known to the world that the US military would soon be arriving and might even counterattack Saigon first.

　In this situation, if we force our comrades in the South to hastily withdraw troops to the north, resulting in the loss of Saigon... who should be held responsible?

　Although both Le Duan and Wen Tien Dung are politically non-stick frying pans, there are many things that cannot be easily shirked.

　On the other hand, letting the North Vietnamese regular army go west from Hue into the mountains, and then go south and back to the back of Hai Van Ridge... this is also very difficult.

　In the past, when the dividing line between North and South Vietnam was still at the 17th parallel north, Hanoi tried every means to open up many smuggling routes, allowing guerrillas to bypass the Bien Hai River demilitarized zone at 17th parallel north and enter the South Vietnamese-controlled areas of Dong Tri and Hue.

　But now, with the entire Hue Plain falling into the hands of North Vietnam, the national border has moved hundreds of kilometers southward. The previous route of North Vietnam's infiltration to the south has been automatically scrapped, and the new infiltration route from Hue around Hai Van Ridge to the south has not been opened up for a while.

　Hanoi could only force the few remaining Vietcong underground members and guerrillas in Da Nang and Quang Nam to "burn themselves" behind the Hai Van Ridge defenses like moths to a flame, creating chaos. Furthermore, due to the short time available, there was no time to formulate a comprehensive plan.

　In addition, the Viet Cong had a very poor mass base in Da Nang, a bit like a rat crossing the street, everyone shouting and beating it, and it was impossible to obtain any effective intelligence.

　As a result, in Fili's eyes, it seemed as if they were mindlessly self-destructing and committing suicide...

　Author's words: PS: If a foreign country recognized "Red South Vietnam" at this time, Ho Chi Minh and Le Duan would probably be very embarrassed, right?

　Is this a gesture of goodwill and support? Or is it secession? And will the comrades in the South consider establishing their own factions?

　Chapter 240: War and Business

　Then, throughout the day on May 6, the North Vietnamese army on the Hue Plain, except for occasional cold gunfire, did not launch any new attacks on the Hai Van Ridge defense line, as if licking the wounds of last night's bloody battle.

　On the western front, a few scattered Viet Cong guerrillas crossed the mountains and forests, infiltrated into the coastal plains near Da Nang, and burned and killed people.

　According to aerial reconnaissance, the Viet Cong guerrillas not only gave up the siege of two important cities in the Central Highlands, Kontum and Pleiku, but also abandoned their camps in the Central Highlands. They almost exhausted all their forces and rushed towards Da Nang regardless of everything.

　However, this long-distance, unsupported operation was no less challenging than the Chinese Red Army's capture of Luding Bridge. Along the way, they faced surprise attacks from Miao militia and bombing from American aircraft. The Vietnamese couldn't afford to carry heavy anti-aircraft machine guns across mountains and hills. Anti-aircraft positions were typically stationary around important targets like division headquarters and warehouses. Apart from seeking cover during the march, the troops could only endure bombing and strafing.

　Therefore, the number of Vietcong guerrillas who were able to reach the outer perimeter of Da Nang was extremely small. The local Catholic villages had long been armed, and under the leadership of priests and nuns, every citizen was a soldier. The strict inspection of outsiders was like the aunties in Chaoyang District, Beijing, China.

　Whether the Viet Cong infiltrated in disguise or attacked by force, it would be difficult to effectively strike a blow against the "Quang Nam Kingdom" regime that had just been born in Da Nang.

　Moreover, the instructions from the Viet Cong headquarters deciphered from the enemy's secret messages also made Firi feel a little confused.

　"Let the Viet Cong guerrillas from the Central Highlands conduct a descent operation against the Allied forces? Cutting off Highway 1? What's the point? We're not the Soviet and German armies during the Soviet-German War, relying on rail and road for supplies! Focusing on destroying the airport would be a much greater threat."

　Regarding this intelligence, Fili couldn't help but complain at the command center at Haiyun Pass, "Although we don't completely rely on luck for our livelihood."

　In response, US military advisors within the command who had previously served in South Vietnam suggested that the Vietcong might be viewing their new adversary through outdated lenses, mistaking the legitimate US forces for the South Vietnamese Army. In the early 1960s, the South Vietnamese Army lacked helicopters, and battlefields were often fought inland, far from rivers and seas, making it impossible to use ships for transportation. Consequently, they relied heavily on roads for mobility and supplies.

　In view of this, a large part of the combat between the Viet Cong guerrillas and the South Vietnamese Army in the past was centered around the destruction and counter-destruction of roads.

　It is possible that they will continue to view the US military based on past experience.

　However, Dr. Kissinger noticed a blind spot and pointed it out: "Colonel Jin, our position is not next to the dock or the airport. After the reinforcements have disembarked and the ammunition has been unloaded from the merchant ships, we still have to take the highway to reach the defense line of Haiyunling!"

　Ferry looked at the map and found the blind spot: the road from Da Nang Airport and the dock to the Hai Van Ridge defense line is indeed a small part of the National Highway 1 that runs from south to north across Vietnam.

　It is the lifeline that Firi currently relies on.

　However, this stretch of road is only 20 kilometers long, and along the way are Catholic villages, which are considered by the Vietcong to be "the most reactionary"...

　It shouldn't be so easy for the Viet Cong guerrillas to successfully disrupt the route and cut off the only road between Da Nang and Hai Van Ling, right?

　Of course, just in case, after thinking about it, Firi decided to use the second batch of US ground forces stationed in Taiwan, which will arrive in Da Nang tomorrow for reinforcement, to patrol the highway behind Haiyunling in order to enhance the safety of this lifeline.

　In addition, while the Battle of Da Nang in Quang Nam Province in the north was in full swing, the Battle of Buon Me Thuot in Dak Lak Province in the south also broke out again.

　The Vietcong had attacked Buon Me Thuot several times before. But now, the enemy stationed in Buon Me Thuot was no longer the demoralized South Vietnamese army, but the Hmong militia defending their homeland. The relationship between them and the Vietcong was somewhat similar to that between the Indians and the Americans during the westward expansion movement.

　The difference is that the Miao militia received aid from the United States and had an absolute advantage in weapons, equipment and ammunition supply, while the Viet Cong had to suffer frequent bombings.

　The Vietcong, realizing they had become the invaders, struggled mightily in the mountains of Dak Lak Province, encountering ambushes and traps everywhere. They then attempted to negotiate with the Hmong people, hoping to peacefully reorganize the Hmong militia and offer them a chance to survive.

　But the problem is that compared with the generous conditions offered by the United States, which allowed the Central Highlands mountain people to "establish an independent country" and relocate all Kinh immigrants from the Central Highlands region, the Vietnamese Communist Party only allowed them to establish a few autonomous counties, and even then they were extremely reluctant, requiring the Miao people to pay a large amount of grain and taxes as "compensation."

　North Vietnam's nationalism far surpassed that of China and the Soviet Union. Although it briefly recognized the autonomy of the Hmong and other ethnic minorities, this was merely a temporary measure, completely abolished in 1975 with the implementation of the policy of land nationalization.

　Just think about it, how could the Miao people refuse the fashionable American aid, be good people, and instead be dogs for the Viet Cong who were so shameless?

　There's no way around it. No matter how we look at it, we can't reach an agreement. We can only continue fighting!

　The Kinh and Miao soldiers once again engaged in a fierce battle among the mountains, while the U.S. Navy Air Force of the "Forrestal" aircraft carrier, which had just arrived in the waters of South Vietnam, was a referee who took sides and was responsible for bombing and destroying the Viet Cong's logistics lines from the sky.

　Under normal circumstances, in battles between the Kinh people of Vietnam and the Miao people of the mountainous areas, the Kinh people always have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength.

　But in the several battles of Ban Me Thuot in May, the Vietcong fought weakly, only able to muster a few hundred men at a time, at most a thousand peasants who had just put down their hoes, to cross mountains and ridges to attack a provincial capital, and even forced the recently surrendered South Vietnamese army to lead the charge...

　The result was that these rabble were often defeated by bombing and strafing by aircraft before they could even engage in a firefight with the Miao militia in Dak Le Province.

　Why did the Viet Cong perform so poorly on the battlefield in the Central Highlands this year?

　Because the war came too suddenly and there was a lack of preparation before the war!

　War is never a simple matter. Even less likely is a large-scale campaign launched tomorrow simply by decision-makers today.

　During the Vietnam War in history, whether it was the "Tet Offensive" or the "Easter Offensive", the Viet Cong spent a year gathering troops and stockpiling supplies. Only when they felt more or less confident did they dare to bet their entire fortune on a decisive all-in.

　But the Vietcong's glorious victory this year, sweeping across half of South Vietnam in less than a month, was entirely accidental. Not only were Hanoi authorities in the north ill-prepared, but so was the Vietcong headquarters in the south. They saw a godsend opportunity and simply couldn't let it go, forcing it into a desperate attempt to gain a big advantage, relying on the enemy's even weaker performance to achieve a seemingly easy victory.

　However, victory on the battlefield could not immediately solve all problems. After taking Saigon and establishing the "Republic of South Vietnam", the problem of "over-expansion" by the Viet Cong this year had become very obvious, and the land that was quickly conquered could not be digested in just a few days.

　However, the senior leaders of the Workers' Party in Hanoi were looking at the map that was quickly turning red and the news of victory after victory. They were all extremely excited. Various orders urging the southern comrades to speed up the attack flew to Saigon one after another like snowflakes, completely ignoring how many soldiers the Southern Liberation Front still had.

　Now, when the Viet Cong sends people to take over a place, they can only let the county head or county party secretary "take office" with a bunch of letters of appointment and recruit people locally to put together a makeshift team. Even if bad elements are recruited, it doesn't matter. After a few months, they will be used up and purged.

　But the problem is that, to put it bluntly, this is just a case of the fox taking advantage of the tiger's power and bluffing.

　In this situation, it might be okay to win without doing anything. But if you encounter a tough opponent, you will definitely get beaten up.

　Of course, if there is no resistance in front of the Viet Cong, then even the weakest Viet Cong will be able to triumph and advance with unstoppable force.

　For example, while Ferry was setting up a defense line at Hai Van Ridge, firmly blocking five regular North Vietnamese divisions, behind him, a Viet Cong guerrilla force, initially numbering only about 300 men, was advancing northward along the coastline, or Highway 1, with the delusion of a thousand-mile march and attacking Da Nang from the south!

　What's even more outrageous is that this small force not only successfully flew all the way north, but also relied on recruiting surrenders and defections along the way, and its number grew like a snowball!

　"The Vietcong

　They've conquered Phan Lang (Bin Tong Long), the old capital of Champa, and are now at Cam Ranh Bay? They've already gathered over 3,000 troops? They've raced over 300 kilometers in five days? Wow, that speed... it's almost as fast as the German blitzkrieg during the Battle of France in World War II! Are they running faster than a tank?

　When he learned that he was holding off the North Vietnamese regular army at Hai Van Ridge, the South Viet Cong commandos from Saigon were actually advancing madly towards him from hundreds of kilometers to the south, trying to kick his ass, the commander of the US forces in Vietnam, Philip, was quite surprised: "What is going on? Although we are not giving an inch at Hai Van Ridge, the front line is still closing in on us from behind? Well, it can't be that the only thing standing in the way of these South Viet Cong troops is air? Alas, the consequence of the government's collapse is such a thousand-mile collapse..."

　However, after discovering that at least two to three thousand regular American troops could arrive in Da Nang in the next few days, Firi felt relieved.

　Anyway, as long as Da Nang was held, his mission as the "firefighter" would be complete. Even if all the other port cities in South Vietnam were lost, it didn't matter. General Westmoreland, who would lead a 100,000-man army into Vietnam next week, would definitely retake them all.

　-

　On the night of May 6, the battle on Haiyunling broke out again.

　Having learned the lesson from the last attack, the Vietnamese army did not spread out its forces and attack across the board tonight. Instead, it chose a relatively flat beach as a breakthrough point, deploying as much assault force as possible at one time, while launching feint attacks in other directions to divert the enemy.

　Unfortunately, for the sake of static defense, the defenders also laid a large number of mines on the Linggu Bay beach in order to leave no blind spots.

　So, when the North Vietnamese commandos just started to move south along the beach, someone stepped on a landmine and was blown away with a "boom", attracting the attention of the defenders.

　Next, the American destroyers anchored in Linh Coc Bay immediately opened fire on the beach, sending plumes of smoke and shrapnel whistling, leaving the exposed North Vietnamese soldiers on the beach with blood and flesh flying everywhere, and screaming in agony. The bunkers on the hilltop also opened fire downwards, firing a dense stream of tracer bullets, illuminating the battlefield.

　It has to be said that this breakthrough point was indeed chosen very cleverly. The defenders of Haiyunling relied on their air supremacy, sea supremacy and artillery advantages, and did not deploy many troops on the flat, open and unobstructed beach. There was only a battalion of US Marines.

　Ma Runsi and his men had just won a victory last night, easily annihilating a group of North Vietnamese soldiers who swam ashore, and were now very relaxed.

　So, despite the obstacles of mines and barbed wire, about 3000 North Vietnamese soldiers successfully broke through the US military positions by taking a detour along the beach after the tide receded, under the American machine gun fire and naval artillery bombardment, and then ran desperately to the rear of the defense line.

　These Vietnamese were completely reckless. Even the wounded struggled to crawl forward after their frontline fell. Faced with such a massive, kinetic charge, any hail of bullets was ineffective. Even the 127mm naval guns were like throwing a few stones into the flood.

　In a moment, the US Marines stationed on the Linggu Bay beach were completely routed by this tsunami-like surge of people. The remnants were separated into more than a dozen pocket-shaped positions, fighting desperately like trapped beasts, isolated islands in a flood, and their situation was critical.

　Seeing this, Philip, standing on Hai Van Pass, immediately ordered all artillery fire to attack the enemy on the beach. However, the North Vietnamese and American troops were already entangled, and the artillery, fearing casualties among their own troops, resorted to extended fire, slaughtering the subsequent echelons of the North Vietnamese.

　Countless bright flares illuminated the night as bright as day. The 127mm naval guns on the American destroyers and the 105mm guns and 155mm "Long Tom" gun battalions on the positions were roaring wildly, accompanied by continuous flashes, pouring tons of steel and explosives on the enemy's heads, and incidentally, they also blew into pieces some American Marines who were still fighting desperately, without distinguishing between friend and foe.

　By dawn the next day, looking down at the beach from Haiyun Pass, all that was left was a horrific slaughterhouse, the scale of the tragedy far exceeding anyone's imagination. The entire beach was covered in layers of dead bodies, with no place without corpses. All that could be seen were broken limbs and rotting flesh.

　Even the black crematorium team, which specialized in handling the dead, could not help but tremble and their legs went weak, their faces turning pale when they saw such a scene.

　Astonishingly, even with the offensive route reduced to such a bloodbath, hundreds of North Vietnamese soldiers still managed to break through the defenses and advance along the coast to the outskirts of Da Nang. The "Quang Nam President," Son Thi Dinh, who had only been in office for less than a week, was forced to personally lead his guards and a makeshift Catholic militia to pursue and intercept the exhausted enemy in the outskirts of Da Nang, ultimately wiping out the enemy completely.

　In addition to the main attack on the beach, the Viet Cong also launched night attacks of varying sizes at other mountain passes on the Hai Van Ling defense line. There was even a group of North Vietnamese rock climbers who tried to climb up from the bottom of the steep cliffs and attack the defenders' weak defenses.

　However, compared with these North Vietnamese soldiers who mainly lived in the rice fields on the plains, the Miao people brought by General Wang Bao from the mountains of Laos were the real experts in mountain warfare. The Vietnamese army's tricks could not fool their eyes at all.