Volume 1 Sudden Battle Scene Chapter 53 Ten

  It was three hours later when we arrived at Hill 239.

  It's not that we're slow in our march, actually we've been jogging all the way. The problem is with Vietnam's roads... even if you call them highways, they still wind around and curve, on the map it looks like just a few miles, but after going through so many turns, several times more will appear out of thin air.

  In addition to this, a not-so-big-or-small battle was fought on the way, and there were also concerns about whether the Viet Minh had other ambushes... It wasn't until almost dawn that they arrived at their designated destination - Hill 239.

  I and Dāo Bā brought a few soldiers to climb up the high ground for reconnaissance, after discovering that there were no Viet Minh troops on top, we then collapsed onto the grass like a puddle of mud.

  A night of rapid march plus a battle has left us utterly exhausted.

  Chen Yiyang's physical strength also surprised me, she didn't sleep all night and walked such a long way, but she seemed to be fine, casually sitting down beside me and biting into an energy bar...

  She teased us like this, and the warriors and I all felt our stomachs growling with hunger, only to realize that we were too tired to feel it earlier. So one by one, we followed Chen Yiyang's example, taking out compressed biscuits and canned goods.

  As soon as they arrived at the high ground, they immediately set up a radio station and reported back to the headquarters.

  "Yes! We have reached Hill 239!"

  "Accurate and flawless, no enemy can withstand!"

  "Is there a road on the west side?!"

  Lian Chang gave me a wink, and I had to jump up and run quickly west for several steps. Looking down, there was indeed a highway under the foot of Gaoling 239, which turned a corner and then went north.

  I nodded slightly in the morning.

  Lian Chang immediately replied:

  "There is one on the west side of the highway!"

  "Yes! Yes......"

  After hanging up the phone, he waved at us and shouted: "Get up, all of you! Build fortifications immediately!"

  The warriors let out a mournful howl, especially the row under Scar's command, which was the most enthusiastic because it had the most new recruits.

  "Commander Lian, we've been traveling all night, our bones are almost scattered, even if we're going to be hanged, can't we catch our breath first?"

  "Yes, Lianzhang, our stomachs are still empty till now, we need to fill them up before we have the energy to work!"

  "It's no big deal if this project is delayed..."

  "Get up, all of you!" Scar shouted at the complaining soldiers: "Don't you want to live anymore? Will being a bit late for dry rations starve you to death or what? Will resting a bit later exhaust you to death? What if the enemy arrives immediately without fortifications? What will you use to dodge the devils' cannons? Those who want to survive, get up!"

  As soon as the knife scar shouted, all the warriors fell silent, and one by one they stood up with exhaustion, pulling out their engineer shovels.

  To be honest, I was also on the side of resting first, but after being shouted at by Knife Scar... it really feels that way. In a combat unit, you never know when you'll encounter the enemy. If the enemy comes and the fortifications aren't done well, that's a life-or-death matter.

  As for being a bit tired and hungry... as long as the enemy comes, under the threat of death, this bit of fatigue and hunger will be forgotten in an instant.

  The standard for trenches is 1.5 meters deep and 1 meter wide, which is just the right depth for a person to stand up and fire, and then dig a small hole about 75 cm high on the back wall of the trench, because this small hole looks like a cat's ear, so it's also called a cat ear hole. It's mainly used to avoid shells, and can also be used to store ammunition. The ammunition is placed inside, which will not block the passage of the trench and will not be detonated by enemy fire, it can be said that one stone kills two birds.

  After the cat ear hole was dug, I still felt fresh and deliberately hid in it for a while, but I couldn't bear it and crawled out from inside. The reason is that it's stuffy and humid inside, with a height of 75 cm and a small space, making people squeeze in like practicing shrinking bone skills, and the sand on top of their head keeps falling into their neck. What's even more unbearable is that the first to move in after the hole was dug were swarms of mosquitoes, and as soon as we hid inside, we would be attacked by them, while we often couldn't fight back because we were curled up...

  Maybe someone will say just make this cat's ear hole bigger!

  That's right! At first, I thought so too and did the same thing. I wanted to dig a bigger space to hide in and feel comfortable, but soon I was stopped by the scars on my knife!

  "Are you looking for death?!" Scar said, "Dig a bit deeper, the thickness of this soil is not enough, one shell comes over and it can bury you alive!"

  Listening to this, I also think it makes sense. For holes like Cat Cave that have no original wooden support and no steel-reinforced concrete top beam, there's no doubt that the larger the space, the more likely it is to collapse. To prioritize our lives, let's just put in a bit less effort!

  After the construction was completed, the soldiers were all almost starving, and as soon as they sat down in the trenches, they hastily stuffed biscuits and drank water. Some soldiers were so tired that they couldn't bear it, holding a canteen in their hands and still biting half a biscuit in their mouths, but they had already fallen asleep leaning against the wall of the trench...

  I, too, was exhausted and hungry, watching this scene only felt a heart-wrenching pain, tears almost burst out. This is the harsh life on the battlefield, we not only have to endure hunger and hardship, but also face the threat of death at any moment, can ordinary people bear all this?

  To be honest, I also can't bear all this, but I have no choice but to bear it, because this is a battlefield.

  What made me angry was... I hastily took two bites of compressed biscuits and drank a few mouthfuls of water, just wanting to lean against the trench and sleep for a while. Suddenly, the communication soldier Xiao Liu ran over along the trench and shouted: "Each platoon leader, go to the company department for a meeting..."

  Damn it! I couldn't help but curse loudly in my heart, is this still humanly possible?

  I was really exhausted at this point, so I pretended not to hear and closed my eyes, going to sleep on my own. After all, it's nighttime anyway. Who knows whether I'm really sleeping or just pretending?

  Unfortunately, I had just closed my eyes for a short while when Knife Scar came up and kicked me hard: "Hey, didn't you hear the meeting has started?"

  "Hmm!" I reluctantly got up, carrying my gun and following Knife Scar with a dejected look.

  In modern life, I have never suffered such hardships, not even getting enough sleep. At this moment, I wish someone would immediately dismantle the entire row so that I can sleep well like other soldiers.

  Following the scar on his cheek, he crouched and ran in the trenches for a while, and soon turned to the company headquarters. It was called the company headquarters, but it was actually just an air-raid shelter that could only hold three or four people, with a slightly better location, rarely hit by shells in the valley, and somehow they had managed to prop up the top of the cave with a few logs, looking like it could withstand several rounds of artillery fire.

  Of course, there are radio soldiers hiding in this air raid shelter now, so we can only have a meeting outside.

  "Sit down!" Luo Lianchang warmly invited us to sit on a piece of thatched land beside the trench, and after several people formed a circle, Luo Lianchang habitually took out cigarettes to distribute...

  As a result, except for the instructor, no one dared to receive it.

  "What's going on here..." The instructor looked at us with some surprise.

  "Report to the company commander, instructor!" I replied: "We are worried that the Vietnamese devils will shoot cold guns. Although there is no enemy situation now... but it's uncertain if there are Vietnamese snipers lurking in the dark. They just shoot at the cigarette butt that point of fire..."

  "Hmm!" Luo Lianchang, who was about to light a cigarette, hastily put it away and kicked me with some annoyance, saying: "You little brat! Why didn't you speak up earlier... Do you want to see me and the instructor get sniped by the enemy one by one?"

  I'm so wronged...... If I wanted to see you guys being sniped by the enemy one by one, would I still be talking?

  "The situation is like this!" The company commander unfolded a map in front of us, shining his flashlight with a black cloth covering it, and then pointed to a location saying: "This is the 239 high ground where we are located. Next to us is Highway No. 10, where the Vietnamese army's 345th Division is stationed, about 15 kilometers west of Laojie. Intelligence shows that an unidentified unit of the Vietnamese army plans to pass through Highway No. 10 and join forces with the 345th Division to attack our troops in Laojie. Therefore, the order from headquarters is for us to hold our ground at 239 high ground and not let a single Vietnamese soldier pass through here!"

  "Comrades!" The instructor chimed in, "Our task is very serious! Let's think back to the battle yesterday when the Vietnamese special forces launched a surprise attack on our artillery battalion. According to the analysis from above, the Vietnamese army didn't launch this sneak attack without a purpose. We speculate that the original plan of the Vietnamese army was to use the troops in the old street underground fortress to coordinate with the 345th Division and surround us, but they didn't expect... one regiment in the underground fortress was taken out by us just a few days ago. Therefore, the 345th Division of the Vietnamese army is isolated and weak, and when they arrived at our northwest position, they didn't dare to launch an attack easily. This is why we have today's situation."

  "That's right!" Luo Lianzhang nodded and said: "The complete defeat of the underground fortress in Old Street has undoubtedly disrupted the overall plan of the Vietnamese army, so the Vietnamese army formulated a new plan. This plan is likely to send special agents to sneak into our artillery camp first, striking both our firepower and morale at the same time, also attempting to disperse our attention and forces... hoping that our army can capture this Vietnamese special operations team. Then, under the cover of darkness, another unit will be sent out to launch a pincer attack on Old Street from both front and back, retaking this strategic location in one fell swoop!"

  "This location of Laojie is very important!" The instructor said with deep meaning: "It can be said that it is the supply base and artillery position of our army's front line, its safety directly affects whether our soldiers on the front line have food to eat, bullets, and cannon fire support! This affects the outcome of the entire battle, so we absolutely cannot let Laojie fall into the hands of the Vietnamese devils, we must block them in the south and thoroughly crush their plans!"

  After being said by Lian Chang and the instructor, I think it's really... To be honest, I've always been a small soldier who fights confusedly, never thinking about the connection between these battles. Now that I've heard this, I feel like all the previous battles are connected, and they're actually just for one place - Old Street!