The Forty-Third Chapter: Blood Stains the Han River 3

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  Withdraw from Wenhengshan, the third battalion of Shen Feihu became a reserve team with a full stomach of resentment, and the independent first division was also ordered to snipe at the enemy for at least 5 days on the line of Guangjiao Mountain, Junpu field, and Xiuli Mountain. After experiencing continuous harassment, night raids, sneak attacks, and sniping, the US 25th Division finally arrived at the Xiuli Mountain line on January 29, while the second battalion commander Zhao Zilong was using a telescope to observe the "distant" enemy in a trench dug in the middle of the rocky mountain. The position of the independent first division's second battalion was along the mountain ridge, with long trenches and shelters made of layered ice and mud that were even harder than reinforced concrete, all disguised with white snow, making it difficult to discover without entering. Even after many days of aerial reconnaissance by the US military, no clues were found.

  As the enemy's vanguard and tanks cautiously advanced along the highway, a bullet whizzed past Lieutenant Shira's ear, piercing the steel helmet of the soldier behind him. In an instant, a red-and-white flash burst out, followed by a thunderous crash to the ground. It was only then that Lieutenant Shira realized his own ear had been scorched, with a deafening roar inside his eardrum. However, his long-term training and combat experience kicked in, allowing him to instinctively drop to the ground quickly. Then, like rain, mortar shells came pouring down from above, accompanied by massive howitzer shells, as well as small stones intentionally placed on the ground beforehand. After a dull explosion and a massive cloud of smoke, the enemy's ranks were suddenly filled with wails and screams. The commander of the US Army vanguard then led dozens of tanks and over 300 infantrymen to search for the despicable attacker, only to be met with intense artillery fire that inflicted heavy casualties, forcing them to retreat.

  The commander of the US 25th Division, General Keane, was furious upon receiving reports of the attack and rejected his staff's suggestion to bypass Hill 303. He decided to take the hill before advancing further. On January 31st, after thorough artillery and air preparation, the enemy launched a one-hour barrage. When the massive shells from the 203mm cannons exited the barrels, the gun emplacements were filled with smoke, and white smoke billowed into the air. After the deafening sounds subsided, the front lines of Hill 303 were shrouded in smoke, trenches were flattened segment by segment, and hundreds of other large-caliber guns repeatedly pounded the hill. Meanwhile, at the forefront of the battlefield, Lieutenant Colonel Zhong Wuying was counting the number of shells that had exploded with his soldiers in a trench. As the one-hour bombardment dragged on, they grew increasingly weary. Suddenly, a swarm of A-7 Corsair attack aircraft flew in, dropping dense clusters of bombs that instantly turned the battlefield into an inferno of napalm. 1000-pound heavy bombs left craters as large as 10-meter rooms in the mountain, and the summit was flattened by several meters. All vegetation was incinerated, not to mention that more than half of the wooden planks covering the trenches were blown away, with the remaining ones emitting sparks.

  When the enemy's artillery fire extended, soldiers ran out of the trenches on the reverse slope with engineer shovels and quickly moved along the traffic trenches that had been blown up in many places to the mountain ridge fortifications. Under the enemy's flat-fire power and M-16 high-speed machine gun hail, they quickly dug out the floating soil in the trenches, dug out individual soldier trenches one by one, and then quickly formed a segment.

  When the American soldiers, who were waist-deep in mud, slowly advanced towards our military fortifications under the cover of tanks and M-16 high-speed machine guns, they immediately came under the interceptive fire of Gu Dabing's mortar and the reinforced heavy mortar of the regiment. The dense firepower of the machine gun suppressive fire on both sides of the mountain head, even from behind the giant rocks, burst out in a hail of bullets. The American soldiers, who were caught off guard, fell down in large numbers, leaving behind more than 60 corpses and more than 20 seriously wounded soldiers. The vanguard of the US military fled in disarray under the cover of tanks.

  The enemy began a fierce artillery preparation, and the newly repaired trenches were again flattened by intense cannon fire. The giant stone was given special treatment, with the M4 Sherman firing armor-piercing shells at it, while the 203mm howitzer, capable of hitting a gasoline barrel ten kilometers away, concentrated its fire on it. Under the US military's "abuse", the poor stone was blown to pieces, and the machine gunners who had already retreated to the tunnels below were grateful that they had escaped quickly, or they would have been killed by the blast.

  As the enemy tanks approached, Lieutenant Colonel Melite of the 35th Regiment of the 25th Division finally erupted in silence after enduring for a long time!!!!!!! Following a series of dull explosions, he was shocked to discover that seven of the 21 tanks assigned to him had been blown up or disabled on the battlefield. The panicked enemy tanks hastily retreated, with smoke still billowing from the front, and occasional ammunition explosions occurring as they fired at this position, which was very dangerous!

  Time and time again, the attacks were repelled, and time and time again, the Chinese army's soldiers were mowed down at the foot of the mountain, but still they came. Several companies that had charged forward were pinned down in a depression on the mountainside by machine guns that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The soldiers were killed or wounded one by one as they tried to retreat back down the mountain. The radio calls for help from the troops trapped in the depression grew more and more desperate, until they too fell silent, their brains blown out by Chinese snipers. The Second Battalion was all but destroyed, with casualties exceeding 70%. Of its 800-odd men, only a little over 200 were still able to run, guns in hand. Perhaps the Second Battalion was just an unlucky unit, but as far as the defense line on Mt. Shuri was concerned, it was not alone in its suffering. General Kiyo's scalp crawled as he read the report of over 1,200 casualties for the day, and the endless stream of enemy fortifications that seemed to spring up out of nowhere.

  But when the dawn broke, Ma Li Te, who was trembling with fear, led his troops to climb up to the front line position. Looking at the empty mountain top, there were no Chinese corpses, only charred land, rolling black smoke, and crackling wooden planks covering the trenches that were still burning. The trench was filled with shell casings and grenade rings, indicating that the Chinese army had fought here before. At this time, Zhong Wuying was quietly listening to the enemy's movements in a well-covered mountain tunnel, and the soldiers held their breath, only the northwest wind blowing through the ventilation holes drilled into the cliff face, bringing a cool breeze and fresh air to the stuffy tunnel.

  "Commander, why do we have to hide in this trench? If the enemy finds us, won't we be finished?" a newly arrived old soldier asked strangely. "This is our commander's command art and high IQ, besides, how can you get tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair? If we wait until the battle starts and then suddenly pop out to give the enemy a surprise attack, won't they be done for?"

  "Oh"

  Thus, from the forward positions of Mount Repair to the main peak positions were all "occupied" by the enemy in 2 and a half days.