The Forty-Fourth Chapter: Blood Stains the Han River 4
"Report, enemy is shelling our troops with 203mm heavy artillery, our troops need immediate support!!!!!!!!!!"
The entire line broke through the repair mountain defense line, and General Keane was having a pleasant dinner with the division chief of staff, deputy division commander, division chief of staff, and other staff members. A dozen white candles illuminated the tent, and the shallow red wine in the cups slowly went down amidst the clinking of glasses, contrasting with the pale and bloodless faces. The heavy losses during the day had already been put aside, as long as they were victorious, as long as they could drive the strong Communist forces out of the position, it would be a great achievement. After all, so far, no unit has gained an advantage over them. Even if the enemy was still sniping in front, preparing to ambush our army, that was tomorrow's business, but as long as we were on the offensive, advancing, General Li Qiming would not scold us.
Night, the main peak of Shuri Castle was shrouded in thick fog, and the water vapor condensed in the air made Lieutenant Colonel Meritt, who was guarding the mountain head, worried. The Chinese army, skilled in night battles, might take advantage of the darkness and fog to launch a surprise attack from somewhere. But the damned logistics department had not sent up landmines yet. Even the spicy beef soup delivered by South Korean transport workers had lost its flavor, only constantly driving away the exhausted soldiers who wanted to sleep in their tents to build fortifications, throwing away the empty cans on the front line. The loose soil that had been bombed was easily scooped up, and the sound of iron shovels scraping against mud fragments kept echoing through the quiet night, making the soldiers in the enemy's trenches below nervous. They might have discovered our tunnel and were preparing to dig it open. Although the company commander repeatedly whispered to them that it was the enemy building fortifications, the soldiers remained tense and sleepless, waiting for the start of the battle.
With two companies and one assault platoon, Gu Dabing was rapidly advancing along a hidden mountain valley towards the front line of the repair mountain, trying to outflank the enemy. He remembered what Captain Zhao Zilong had said, and his heart grew hot with excitement. "As long as you quickly eliminate the enemies on the front line and consolidate your position without letting them break through, the credit for eliminating one and a half American companies and one Turkish company will be yours. If the enemy breaks through from your position, you'll become a cook!" Gu Dabing exclaimed excitedly, "I guarantee to complete the task, but before dawn when the enemy launches an attack, please provide our battalion with plenty of ammunition, and transport it all to the trenches." Zhao Zilong smiled and said, "Alright, you little scamp, I agree. If you don't complete the task, just wait and see..." As soon as Zhao Zilong punched Gu Dabing in the chest, Gu had already run away quickly. However, Gu thought to himself, "The captain is also like the division commander, loving to punch people!"
The advancing troops were moving quickly along the pre-scouted route, perhaps the sound of rolling rocks on the mountain slope startled the enemy's search party on the opposite side. A sentence in English "What are you people, what unit?" pierced through the layers of fog and reached the ears of the soldiers. The seasoned and battle-experienced soldiers quickly dispersed their formation, machine guns were swiftly set up, and bullets were loaded into the chamber. Other soldiers also quickly lay down, loading their rifles and aiming at the direction of the enemy's camouflage. Hand grenades were opened, and the strings were pulled tight. The sound of loading also alerted the enemy, who quickly hid themselves, and the battle was about to erupt! "We are from the Turkish regiment, is your battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Jie?" asked the quick-witted platoon leader. "Our 35th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, our commander is Major Maileite," replied the American soldiers with a smile. "No way, we were once disguised as you Americans and got close to launch a surprise attack, so we have to be careful." Dog Wa Zi suppressed his laughter and said to the American soldiers. And so they parted ways, each going their separate directions. Gu Da Bing wiped away cold sweat and exchanged smiles with Dog Wa Zi.
When the clock struck 24:00, the artillery battalion commander shouted "Fire!" over the phone. The 105mm howitzers, 107mm and 120mm mortars quickly fired out shells filled with fury. The artillerymen who had been suppressed by enemy planes during the day finally found a place to vent their anger. The enemy's newly repaired positions were once again "repaired". The soldiers in the trenches, although shaken by the exploding shells, were still happy to count each shell and judge its type. The enemy on the surface of the fortifications suffered heavy losses. After the artillery fire stopped, the soldiers in the trenches did not intend to let the enemy off either. 82mm mortars with super-caliber shells flew towards the enemy's positions from two or three hundred meters away, and the enemy on the positions was once again subjected to a "rape". For a time, from the front-line positions to the main peak of the repair mountain, the surface positions were filled with the whistling of shells, the thunder of cannons, and the dull and heavy explosions of super-caliber mortar shells. The surviving enemy soldiers scurried around like frightened rabbits, or called for artillery support over the radio. Major Meillet, who had jumped into a bunker at the start of the bombardment, was shaken by the poor quality of the fortifications and vomited blood nonstop. Many soldiers quickly emerged from the trenches and launched a swift attack on the enemy positions just tens of meters away.
After the artillery fire stopped, Zhong Wuying quickly led the soldiers to open the cover of the tunnel entrance. The mortar fired at the coordinates and hit the enemy with super-caliber shells, causing them to become disoriented. Then, they swiftly led the soldiers to charge into the enemy's fortifications. Although the enemy was also quick to react and jumped into the trenches, the dense hail of bullets from all directions left them nowhere to hide. They didn't dare to shoot back, only sticking their gun barrels out to fire randomly in front of them. However, the accurate and intense hand grenade rain that came down from above caused the enemy to suffer heavy losses immediately. In the narrow trenches, the two armies clashed at close quarters, resulting in significant casualties for our army, which had weak firepower and mostly long guns. More than 20 soldiers were lost in an instant, with their bayonets not even reaching the enemy before being shot down by the enemy's submachine guns, carbines, and pistols. Several soldiers who were hit by multiple bullets quickly detonated the dozen or so hand grenades on their bodies and jumped into the midst of the enemy, paying a heavy price. Only then did Zhong Wuying manage to compress the enemy into an area of only about 50 meters in length and width.
After the rapid elimination of more than 40 remaining enemies by the arriving assault troops, Zhong Wuying only discovered that his company had less than 30 people left. He thought about yesterday's fierce sniper battle and realized that he had paid a price of more than 40 casualties to eliminate more than 300 enemies. However, fighting for this small mountain had resulted in more than 60 casualties. With tears in his eyes, Zhong Wuying led the remaining soldiers to collect the bodies of the martyrs and bury them at the foot of the mountain where the enemy's artillery fire could not reach. The bodies of the American dead and wounded were taken by the captured American prisoners to the roadside below the mountain. (In order to increase the cost for the US government, a dead person does not require much money, but a permanently disabled person not only leaves a lasting impact on those around them, affecting the morale of the US military and the public's support for the war, but also requires the US government to care for these disabled people for life.)
