Volume 1: The First Battle Chapter 12: The Battle of Wenjing (Part 2)
"Tick-tick-tick-tick..." At three o'clock in the morning, the long-awaited charge finally sounded.
"Kill..." Almost at the same time as the bugle call sounded, 30,000 volunteer soldiers let out a deafening roar and rushed towards Wenjing, and gunshots rang out immediately.
The South Korean soldiers in the well were stunned. In the firelight, we could clearly see them crawling out of their sleeping bags in panic, looking for their M1 rifles like headless flies. After finding the M1 rifles, they soon discovered that they had made a fatal mistake - the bonfire!
The dozens of bonfires they lit proved the saying that I am in the light and the enemy is in the dark. They only heard the shouting and gunfire around them, and saw their comrades falling one after another in the gunfire, but they could not see any enemies.
Only then did I understand their helplessness. In this situation, if they continued to resist, it would only be a massacre. No wonder they fled without resistance in history. I think even the British 27th Brigade, which was recognized as the most capable in the United Nations Army, could only flee in this situation.
Before long, the volunteers in the front had already approached the edge of the city. A row of grenades were thrown over, and only bursts of bangs exploded. This was the usual way of fighting for the volunteers. Grenades could not only injure the enemies hiding in the dark in front, but also stir up thick smoke to cover the troops' charge. However, this time, after the smoke from the grenades faded, it was found that the South Korean troops had almost all run away.
The volunteer soldiers continued their offensive and chased the South Korean army in the direction of their escape, but there was one exception, which was the 354th Regiment where I was.
"You bastard, you always come up with bad ideas." Hu Zi glared at me fiercely while running, raised the shovel in his hand, and said dissatisfiedly: "Others are carrying Type 38 rifles and throwing grenades, chasing deserters in a grand manner, but our regiment is carrying shovels to the battlefield. Isn't it shameful?"
"Brother Huzi." I ran and laughed, "I did come up with a good idea, but the order was given by our captain. You can't blame me for it all, right?"
I ran to a bonfire, scooped up a large piece of snow with a shovel and threw it into the bonfire. I watched the snow quickly melt into snow water in the fire, making a hissing sound. I continued, "Let me tell you, Brother Hu, don't underestimate this shovel. Just wait and see. The military exploits we have made with the shovel are much greater than those made with the Type 38 rifle and the hand grenade."
"Tsk..." Hu Zi shoveled a few large pieces of snow and put out a bonfire in no time. He sneered at me and said, "Just... just putting out a few fires can earn you military merit? I don't believe it!"
"I don't believe it either."
Xiao Shandong was busy shoveling snow. Although he was small in stature, his hands were very strong. The snow he shoveled was piled towards the bonfire as if it was blown by the wind, and several pieces of snow were extinguished in a short while.
"Look at the comrades running past us ." Xiao Shandong stopped what he was doing and raised his head to say, "Which of those comrades is not looking at our regiment? Which one of them is not laughing at us?"
After saying that, he buried his head in shoveling snow, as if he was afraid of being seen.
"Maybe... I can really make a contribution." The old squad leader tilted his ear and listened carefully. He could hear faint rumbling sounds coming from the sky.
"Quick...quickly put out the fire! The American planes are coming!"
After the old squad leader's reminder, everyone quickly understood what was going on, and they all sped up their actions. A regiment of more than 3,000 people worked together and quickly put out dozens of bonfires of varying sizes. The air was soon filled with choking smoke, and Wenjing fell into darkness again.
It was only then that we noticed the flames jumping in the darkness not far away. It turned out that the fleeing South Korean soldiers hurriedly pulled firewood from the campfire and used it as torches to illuminate their escape path.
rumble……
The sound became louder and louder, like thunder coming from far away. The volunteers had stopped shooting long ago because they knew that the gunshots, explosions, and the accompanying lights could become targets for enemy bombing.
rumble……
It was like a giant beating a drum above our heads, and everyone looked up at the sky, even though they knew they could see nothing.
"Woo..." A shrill and strange cry pierced the night sky, followed by several more, and soon the sky was filled with noise.
"Get down and find shelter!" The old squad leader, who had rich combat experience, knew that was the sound of enemy planes dropping bombs.
The volunteer soldiers ran back and forth, each looking for a place to hide, but this Wenjing was full of dilapidated wooden houses, and there was no place that could withstand the bombs.
"Alas! The enemy planes still discovered our target. Was it because we put out the fire too late?" I lay on the ground in frustration, waiting for the bloody storm to come.
But what happened next was so unexpected to the volunteers that it was like a heavy snowfall in June. With a series of earth-shaking bombings, red mushroom clouds exploded in the direction where the South Korean army was fleeing. The forest instantly caught fire, and the flames illuminated the surrounding scenery and melted the snow nearby. From time to time, there were a few "fire men" wailing, dancing wildly, and crashing around, and soon they fell to the ground without any sound.
"It turns out that these American planes took the torches in the hands as their targets." After a long while, the old squad leader came back to his senses.
"Ha...haha...hahaha!" Hu Zi laughed strangely. He patted my shoulder and said, "Comrade, your bad idea is still the best. You have beaten more reactionaries than I have in my entire life."
"This time our group can show up!" Little Shandong couldn't stop laughing.
"Okay! Which regiment is this from?" With a hearty laugh, a volunteer soldier with a Soviet-made Tokarev pistol on his waist appeared in front of us under the protection of several guards. His military cap was pressed down by a cotton hat, with only a little of its brim showing. Two red collar badges on his neck were faintly visible under his windbreaker. His eyes were bloodshot but bright, and his thin face was angular. You could tell at a glance that he was a decisive and tough person.
"Report to the division commander, it's from the 354th Regiment!"
The old squad leader and his men all stood up and saluted at the same time. Only then did I realize that the man in front of me was Deng Yue, the commander of the 118th Division of the 40th Army.
"So it's Lao Chu's regiment! Well done, you have made a great contribution this time." Deng Yue walked up, patted the man's shoulder cordially, shook his hand, and the smile on his face made people feel so warm.
"Report to the division commander! The commander of the 354th Regiment, Chu Chuanyu, is reporting." At this time, Commander Chu trotted to the division commander, leaned on his heels, saluted, and stood upright in front of the division commander.
"At ease." Deng Yue patted Chu Tuan's shoulder like an old friend and said, "Old Chu, your wound still hurts a lot, right?"
"Report to the commander, it doesn't hurt!"
"What? Do you think I'm blind?" Deng Yue laughed and said, "You gasp even when you stand at attention. Are you bullying me because I have poor eyesight?"
Captain Chu smiled foolishly in embarrassment, and everyone followed suit and laughed.
"But we are not afraid of this little bit of hardship and fatigue." Deng Yue went on to say, "Because we are soldiers, revolutionary soldiers must use their bodies to defend their country and their lives to protect the people. Revolutionary soldiers must dare to sacrifice and are not afraid of suffering. Comrades, are you afraid?"
“Don’t be afraid!”
"Okay." Deng Yue seemed to be in a very good mood. He nodded and said to Chu Chuanyu, "Old Chu, it is true that a strong general has no weak soldiers. The 354th Regiment is full of good comrades. If it weren't for your regiment this time, we would have suffered a great loss!"
"Hey, Commander!" Chu Chuanyu was obviously not used to being praised. He said a little embarrassedly, "Commander, isn't it just putting out a few fires? What's that?"
"Old Chu." Deng Yue shook his head and smiled, "You didn't follow the troops to charge, so you don't know the situation ahead. There are dozens of large trucks parked ahead, and they are full of guns and ammunition given to us by the puppet army division! If we are hit by the American planes, how many people will our volunteer army lose if those ammunition explodes?"
"Really? Dozens of trucks of ammunition?" Captain Chu became excited when he heard it. The volunteers went abroad to fight in a hurry, and they lacked everything except food and ammunition. Now they seized dozens of trucks of ammunition at once. How could he not be overjoyed?
"Really? I'd be a turtle son of a bitch if I lied to you." Deng Yue made the shape of a turtle with his hands, which made everyone laugh again.
"Comrades." Deng Yue straightened his face and said, "You fought well in this battle. Although you didn't fight in the battlefield, you let the American planes bomb the puppet army. They fought against each other ! Not only did you greatly reduce our casualties, but you also seized a large number of guns and ammunition. You fought well! I will ask the commander for credit for you!"
"Good!" Everyone cheered, and everyone was excited about this unexpected outcome.
"Oh, right, division commander." Regimental Commander Chu seemed to remember something, and dragged me in front of the division commander and said, "This was all this comrade's idea. If we want to reward people based on their merits, let's reward him first!"
"Hmm!" Deng Yue first looked at me in surprise, and then looked me up and down, which made me feel uncomfortable. Looking at his expression and eyes, it seemed like he was choosing a wife!
