Chapter 55: Breaking the Sabbath's Momentum 4
My head is throbbing, my body is shaking a bit, the weather in Shanghai is terrible, it's hot and cold all of a sudden, and I still have to get up at 6:30 tomorrow to rush to school!
When General Zhū's leader was discussing how to fight in the future, Li Qīwèi also discussed with his generals under him how to face this sudden change. How to deal with that suddenly advancing Gaoquan Independent Division and its three divisions together.
The 5th Cavalry Regiment of the ROK Army was sent to support the 38th Regiment of the 2nd Division, which reported that it had been attacked by a large number of Communist troops with tank and artillery support, suffering heavy casualties. While retreating, they requested air support to stop the Communist advance. It seemed as if the Communist forces had become a modernized armored force overnight. General Ridgway looked at the stack of distress telegrams with a bitter smile, thinking that the over 6,000 troops in Tobang-ri were probably already annihilated. General Peng Dehuai must have been trying to lure out his reserve troops and throw them into the trap-like rescue operation, leaving the main force of the US-ROK army empty behind the front line facing the Communist forces. With such a large gap in the middle of the battlefield, General Peng's aggressive personality would put the main force of the US-ROK army in danger, regardless of whether they were on the eastern or western front. If the front line collapsed, General Peng would likely give the US-ROK army a very profound lesson with his mechanized mobile warfare capabilities. It seemed that the atomic bomb had to be used - could the Communist forces still advance after one was dropped?
In the command post with huge military maps on the wall, the curtains were tightly closed, and only a few lamps lit up the silent faces of the generals. General Ridgway, who was worried, looked up at his trusted generals and said, "Alright, gentlemen, your silence won't make the Chinese Communist army retreat. What we need to do now is figure out how to stop their attack and alleviate the threat they pose to us. Those damn tanks, artillery, and trucks seem to have been conjured onto the battlefield, and our air force didn't even detect any signs of them. The sudden attack caused great casualties and fear among our troops. It's as if General Peng Dehuai is a god in Eastern classical culture, bringing disaster to those who resist him. Indeed, the Chinese army's 'human wave' tactics were broken by Peng Dehuai, but what we should see is that the Chinese army concentrated almost all its resources on these elite troops. Look at other units, they are still retreating under our attack, so this time we have a good chance of defeating Peng Dehuai, who lacks sufficient material support. Does anyone have any good ideas?"
Listening to Li Qiwu's earnest words, the commander of the US X Corps, Almond, said: "Commander, my suggestion is that we withdraw our entire line. This will not only prevent our army from exposing its flanks to the Chinese army, but also make Gao Gang's unit a salient for the Chinese army. We can then concentrate our forces and annihilate them between Lishui and Yuanzhou. Once this army is eliminated, the Chinese army will not only lose an elite modernized land force, but also suffer a heavy blow to their morale. However, at the same time, we should quickly establish a solid defense line in Lichuan, Lishui, Wenmu, Dashadi, and Yuanzhou to prevent Gao Gang's escape and block our retreat, occupy our important logistics supply center, and prevent us from being defeated in the Chinese army's stormy attack. The impression of the second battle is too deep!"
The US mechanized troops quickly moved into action, watching the dust-settled US pseudo-army. The high-ranking military officer of our army who received the enemy situation report couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "This tall and handsome man is really a Sun Wukong, daring to make trouble on the enemy's head!"
The 5th Cavalry Regiment, which had lost the cover of tanks, soon collapsed under the impact of our tank forces. The sound of charging was everywhere, and the American troops who had almost lost their formation were running around in all directions. Occasionally, some American soldiers tried to use 90 rocket launchers to test the thickness of the M26's armor, but they were quickly shot down by infantry accompanying the charge. The huge muzzle flames, the rockets with bright tails, and the machine guns shooting out tongues of fire illuminated the narrow lowland. However, enemy planes soon arrived on the scene, and tanks exposed under the enemy's illuminating shells were immediately hit by incendiary bombs and 130mm rockets, destroying five of them. Watching the raging flames burning the twisted steel plates, with occasional explosions of shells inside the tanks, Yu Lei hastily drove his tank to a hidden location that the enemy night planes couldn't detect. The 8th Cavalry Regiment in Lipu also arrived as reinforcements under the cover of tanks and planes, and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions watched helplessly as the panicked American troops fled into the distance, still looking back at the burning lowland from their cars.
In the command post of the 126th Division, the division commander, in a fit of rage, scolded his regimental commanders, slamming his fist on the table. "You won't fight without tank cover! You're afraid to charge forward with just air support from the American planes! The Independent First Regiment fought a fierce battle in Pingzhen and annihilated so many well-equipped American troops. You only had to deal with 3,000 American troops without tank cover, and their artillery couldn't be used effectively due to the darkness. And you didn't dare fight!" The enraged division commander of the 126th Division wished he could have rushed forward himself and captured some prisoners at that moment. The enemy, who was supposed to be easily annihilated, had turned into scattered sheep, allowing over 1,800 American troops to escape. Losing face, he volunteered to lead the main attack on Rui State with Gaoquan. Smiling, Gaoquan said, "That's right, where you fall is where you get up. The American army isn't a strong fighting force either. However, Old Li, your tactics were a bit rough this time. You didn't wait for the flanking and encircling troops to arrive before attacking. Next time, be sure to pay attention!"
Looking at Gao Quan's pale and haggard face, "Old Gao, you'd better hurry up and transfer to a hospital in the rear for treatment! The conditions here on the front line are poor, just look at what you've become? Do the leaders of the 126th Division know about this?"
Gao Quan was still smiling and said, "You'd better not let this get out, after we win this battle I'll go back and take good care of myself for a while. Besides, one's own troops are like one's own children, even if you're as good a brother as you are, it's hard to put them in someone else's hands!" After that, the two of them burst out laughing.
As night fell, the Independent Regiment and the 126th Division set out on the road to Suizhou again. Gao Quan, who had just finished drinking the thin porridge fed by his guard Zhang Xiaoshan, was sweating profusely with beads of sweat as big as beans on his forehead, gritting his teeth and enduring the intense pain of his wound as he was carried onto a stretcher and followed the troops forward. (Ever since Gao Quan's body had been possessed by his own consciousness, he had developed a sense of being connected to this unit by blood ties, and even after getting injured, he didn't want to leave, fearing that those familiar faces would be sacrificed in battle one by one, becoming a lifelong regret.)
