Volume 2 The Second Battle Chapter 13 It's Your Own Sowing
After laying down a layer of felt cloth and spreading out a map on it, Captain Chu gathered together with the political commissar and instructors to discuss the matter.
"It is certainly right to choose a weak position for the enemy to penetrate." Chen Ye was the first to express his opinion: "But we have been away from the military for some time, and we have no idea about the enemy's troop deployment. How can we choose this position?"
"Can we contact the military?" asked Captain Chu with a frown.
"Still can't get in touch." Chen Ye shook his head: "Perhaps they are trying to get behind enemy lines and are afraid that the enemy might detect their radio and notice them, so they are keeping the radio silent!"
It turns out that this regiment is now in a state of no one in command. After hearing this, I finally understood the current situation. If Commander Chu had been temporarily incorporated into the 39th Army according to the orders of his superiors, he would not have lost his target like now.
But now he is like a blind man, unaware of the enemy's situation or the situation of his own troops, and is flying around on the battlefield like a headless fly.
"Political Commissar, what do you think is going on?" Commander Chu pointed at the map anxiously and said, "Other armies have started fighting in a hurry, and we are the only one who doesn't know what to do. We have no mission and can't find any troops! Do you really want me to lead my troops to become a mountain king?"
"Old Chu, don't be in a hurry!" Chen Ye was a slow person. He calmly lit a cigarette and took a long breath, then pointed at the map and said, "The military headquarters is probably here. Otherwise, we can find a few People's Army comrades who are familiar with the terrain to lead the way and choose the shortest way to rush to the military headquarters."
"I guess this is the only way." Captain Chu nodded helplessly.
"No, Captain!" Seeing Captain Chu agreed, I could no longer hold back and objected: "Captain, we can't go that way!"
"Why can't we leave?" The group of people surrounding the map all looked at me in confusion.
"Captain!" My face turned red, and I walked forward like a duck on a shelf, pointed at a few places on the map and said, "Captain, this is the Southern 1st Division, this is the US 24th Division, this is the US 25th Division, and this is the US 1st Cavalry Division. If we go this way, not only will we not be able to return to the military headquarters, but we will also fall into the enemy's encirclement!"
"How do you know the enemy's troop deployment?" Chen Ye asked curiously.
In fact, it wasn't just Chen Ye. Everyone present, including Captain Chu, looked at me with doubtful eyes.
"It's just that radio!" I have a bad habit of stuttering whenever I tell a lie, but since the lie has come to this point, I have no choice but to continue.
"That, that, that... that radio, it was always saying that the 24th Division of the U.S. Army was victoriously advancing into Bochuan or something like that. I kept listening to it and wrote it down. I had forgotten it... I had almost forgotten it, but this, this, this... this time when I saw the map, I just... I remembered it."
It’s so tiring! I couldn’t help but wail in my heart. Fortunately, Captain Chu and others didn’t know about my bad habit. Back then, my colleagues often used this habit as a means of teasing me, saying it was something like... a human lie detector!
"Oh." Because he had told Captain Chu about it last time, he was the first to react and explained, "There is such a radio, which was seized in the battle of Yunshan last time."
After Captain Chu said this, the other people's suspicions were quickly dispelled. I made up my mind that if they asked where the radio was, I would say that it was too heavy and I lost it on the way, so that there would be no evidence.
"Okay! You..." Chen Ye was happy when he heard this: "Come on... Platoon Leader Cui, tell me about the enemy's other positions."
"Okay!" I knew I could get away with it when I heard this, so I calmed down and spoke without hesitation, gesturing on the map and saying, "The British 27th Brigade is in this position, in the direction of Dingzhou. Here is the US 1st Army, and here is the US 9th Army. Where is the enemy's right wing? It is the pseudo 7th Division, the pseudo 8th Division, and the pseudo 6th Division that were severely damaged by us in the first battle, in the direction of Tokugawa and Ningyuan."
I thought about it for a moment and continued, "According to the radio, the total strength of these three divisions is less than 20,000."
After hearing what I said, everyone looked at each other and nodded, and they all chose the enemy's right wing as the penetration point.
"But!" Chen Ye exhaled a puff of smoke, drew a route on the map with his finger and said, "Although it is most ideal to go through here, but Old Chu, this route is more than twice as long!"
Hehe, I laughed slyly in my heart, this is exactly my conspiracy. If I follow this route, the length will be twice as long as the original one, so even if I can reach the enemy's rear without any danger , it will four or five days!
I know very clearly from modern data that the offensive launched by the Volunteer Army could generally only last about seven days. This was due to insufficient logistical supplies. Seven days after launching the offensive, the Volunteer Army faced a situation of running out of food and ammunition. So once the seventh day came, regardless of winning or losing, they had to find a way to end the battle.
It was for this reason that the U.S. military called our offensive the Sunday Offensive, which was later used by General Ridgway to cause the Volunteer Army to suffer a lot.
What about now? I was thinking that if I took this route this time, even if I didn't encounter any obstacles and reached the enemy's rear, the battle would be almost over, and I would just go and clean up the mess and the battlefield... I'm really awesome! I smiled proudly in my heart, secretly admiring myself, my ability to protect myself was getting better and better.
"No problem!" After a long silence, Captain Chu made a decision: "Let's take this road!"
When I heard this, I was so happy. I thought I could finally get through this battle safely!
"As long as we travel day and night." Unexpectedly, Captain Chu continued, "This four or five-day journey will only take two or three days of forced march, so we should be able to make it in time!"
"What? Forced march? Day and night?" Captain Chu's next words were like a bolt from the blue, leaving me stunned on the spot.
"It seems that this is the only way!" Chen Ye nodded and said, "But comrades will have to endure more hardships. They may . Can you comrades do it for two or three days of marching day and night?"
"able!"
"Complete the mission resolutely!"
…
The soldiers surrounding the map all expressed their agreement, but I was the only one who kept complaining in my heart. I had once again brought it upon myself.
…
(I would like to pay tribute to Fan Tianen, the commander of the 335th Regiment of the 112th Division of the 38th Army, with most of the chapters in this volume. After completing the task of luring the enemy deep into the territory in the second battle, Fan Tianen learned that the 38th Army had penetrated the enemy's rear and resolutely requested to cross the enemy's defense zone to return to his own troops. He played a pivotal role in the subsequent battle to block the enemy's escape to the south.)
