Chapter Thirty-Seven: Severance

  Thanks to book friend Chen Mu Yu Xiang for another reward ^_^

  Such a force, Hu Weidong cannot help but attach great importance to it. However, Luo Zhuoying, the battlefield commander and deputy commander of the 18th Army, is now also in a difficult situation. Originally, he thought that rushing to the battlefield could give the enemy a stab during the stalemate, but unexpectedly Liu Zhi's army of over 100,000 was defeated so quickly. Now, it has become his own more than 30,000 people actively seeking out the enemy with high morale and advantageous forces in Xinsheng, sending themselves to death (due to Liu Zhi's previous prestige, the 18th Army generally overestimated the strength of the Red 15th Army).

  "Deputy commander, the Red Bandits are too powerful, it's hard to resist them, better retreat quickly." The 14th Division Commander, Huo Kuizhang advised.

  Luo Zhuoying deeply agreed, and was about to order a retreat, when the commander of the 11th Division, Huang Wei, suddenly shouted with wide eyes, "Vice-Chairman, absolutely not! The Red Bandits are known for their iron footboards, which our army cannot match. If we retreat, the enemy will follow and pursue, and we will definitely be unable to escape. At that time, all of us in the 18th Army will become prisoners of war. Rather than this, it would be better to defend to the death. With the Red Bandits' poor ability to attack fortified positions, they will definitely not be able to take the city within a few days. In the meantime, we can request that the Chairman send planes to support us, and the Red Bandits will certainly lift the siege and leave. If luck is on our side, there may even be an opportunity to heavily defeat the enemy."

  "This is too risky, this Red Army is different from the previous ones, it seems to be extremely good at attacking fortifications. If we leave some troops behind, I'm afraid it will only serve their purpose. However, leaving a rearguard is indeed necessary......" Luo Zhuoying said with hesitation, but leaving the entire army behind would be extremely dangerous, let alone just a part of the force? The term "rearguard" sounds good, but in reality, it's just a sacrificial pawn to delay the enemy's pursuit. Who would be willing to take on this heavy responsibility?

  "I'll stay behind," said a young squad leader with a sigh, but his face was full of an impudent smile.

  Luo Zhuoying took a look and found it was Hu Zongnan, the commander of the 66th Regiment of the 11th Division. Although he was not yet 28 years old, he was highly valued by Chen Cheng. Now that he had been entrusted with this task, it was a pity to let him go, but who else could be more suitable? So Hu Zongnan stayed behind with his 66th Regiment...

  "The time is too short, but even if it's a field fortification, it should be enough to deal with those bandits. Even if they have many big guns, they may not dare to use too much ammunition?" Hu Lu thought, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. If he could repel the enemy in this battle, he would surely become famous throughout the land, and then he wouldn't need to be just a small regiment commander anymore?

  Hu Zong's confidence was not without basis. His 66th Regiment had a total strength of over 3,000 men and was originally one of the most powerful mainstay regiments of the 11th Division. He had also obtained many artillery pieces, automatic weapons, and some elite troops from Luo Zhuoying before leaving. The current 66th Regiment now had a strength of over 5,000 men, with firepower close to that of an enhanced division of the National Army. With Hu Zong's excellent command and the 66th Regiment's unparalleled fortification capabilities in the country, he was confident that he could hold off the enemy for several days...

  "Arrived so quickly?", Hu Xuan was startled by the whistling sound of the cannonballs, but he didn't fall into a panic, instead, he let out a cold laugh, "However, it's a pity that our fortifications were dug even faster..."

  Considering that our side had an absolute advantage in military strength, in order to avoid unnecessary casualties, the first attack of the Red Fifteenth Army still adopted the old tactic of "artillery preparation - infantry charge". After a burst of gunfire, more than 800 people The Red Army's assault team bravely charged towards the enemy's position on the small hill under the encouragement of the charge number, and then followed by a main force of more than 2,000 people...

  "It's already very close, why hasn't the enemy fired yet?" Hu Weidong suddenly felt a chill, just about to order the assault troops to retreat, when he saw countless automatic weapons on the enemy's position suddenly open fire simultaneously, weaving a dense web of firepower. The Red Army assault troops, who were only over 100 meters away from the enemy's front line, didn't even have time to duck before being mowed down in batches. Although Hu Weidong had previously taught his subordinates how to save themselves under the enemy's strong firepower, this battle was too overwhelmingly advantageous, and everyone was somewhat complacent. Some things can never be learned without personal experience... Unfortunately, these hundreds of Red Army fighters would no longer have the opportunity to test their skills...

  "Lei Li, the tactics I taught you at first, how can you all return them to me so quickly?", Hu Weidong said in a rage. The infantry tactics he had imparted to his subordinates were the result of more than 20 years of bloody battles by the people's army, and had been effective in the war against US aggression in Korea. They could greatly reduce the damage from enemy firepower while minimizing the impact on their own firepower. For example, the basic requirement for a charging formation was that one artillery shell could at most hit one person, one 105mm mortar shell could at most hit two small groups (6 people), and the sideways machine gun fire with the greatest killing power against infantry could at most take out half a squad. However, despite having practiced these tactics until they were familiar with them during training, they still couldn't execute them strictly in actual combat, which was why Hu Weidong was furious. This was just the most basic tactic; if strict requirements were made, these tactics would also have to change flexibly according to the enemy's firepower, troop strength and combat effectiveness. How could this be done?

  "General, give us another chance, this time we were too careless......", the commander of the main force regiment of the old independent division, Lei Lie, who had almost not killed a single enemy but lost hundreds of his men, took off his hat and grasped it in his hand, heavily pounding his thigh as he spoke.

  Hu Weidong's face turned solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "Alright, I'll give you another chance. The artillery will provide continuous supporting fire for you. If you still can't take down the enemy position, don't come back to see me! Wait, I'll add another battalion to support you. This time's enemy seems to be not ordinary..."

  Lei Li's heart was burning with anxiety, due to his poor foundation and lack of experience. As one of the old soldiers in the militia team, he had become a regimental commander, and no matter what, he couldn't lose face in front of the old commander! To break through the enemy's firepower network, more troops were needed. This time, Lei Li brought all the remaining 2,000+ men from the entire regiment (Hu Qiu chose the position well, the advantage of the Red Fifteenth Army could not be deployed, and at most, only one regiment could be sent to attack the 66th Regiment at a time. Otherwise, it would be too crowded, and in the face of the enemy's heavy automatic firepower, it would be suicidal.) He brought them all along, anyway, as long as they broke through the enemy's position, the army commander would surely provide timely fire support and send reinforcements.

  However, unlike the last time when the enemy remained silent, this time they fired a string of various shells from their position more than 2,000 meters away, with quite accurate landing points, instantly killing hundreds of people. The morale of the assault troops was dealt a significant blow. But at this time, Lei Lie and his men had no way to retreat, and could only fight bravely forward to avenge their fallen comrades!