Chapter 41: The Battle of Tongdeng (11)

Chapter 41: The Battle of Tongdeng (11)

Commander Zhao called and the artillery observer immediately took action. But the number... was not the few I said at all, but the dozens of observers that could be found in the regiment were sent all over.

What they have to do is to determine the entrance and exit of the secret passage based on the information provided by the old militia He Guoan and observations on the battlefield, and then measure the possible direction of the secret passage. After all, secret passage is difficult to dig and hidden underground, so most of them go straight. Since they are taking a straight line, once they know the direction of the entrance and exit, they can basically determine the location of the secret passage.

"Haha..." After Captain Zhao gave the order, his mood seemed to suddenly become clear. He walked to me and patted my shoulder enthusiastically, and said, "You have a way to turn the situation of this turret in an instant!"

"Yes!" Political Commissar Huang also nodded, looked at me with praise and said, "We had surrounded the Guitun Fort before, but no one expected that the surrounding was only on the surface. We didn't know that the Japanese were drilling in the underground. Now... I think it was really surrounded!"

"No!" I turned around and asked He Guoan: "Comrade, there is still electricity in this fort, is there water? Do you remember this water, where did this electricity... come in?"

"Oh!" He Guoan frowned and thought for a while, shook his head and replied, "I really didn't pay attention to this. At that time... I only saw electric lights and water pipes inside, and I really didn't pay attention to where I got in!"

"This is no problem!" Commander Zhao laughed, turned around and said to the chief of staff beside him: "Immediately notify the communication team to find the wires leading to Guitun Fort. If it doesn't work... I will cut off all the wires! As for the water... carefully check along the nearby water source, and remove all the pipes and other pipes connected to me!"

"Yes!" The Chief of Staff responded and immediately walked to the other end of the phone to make arrangements.

"This time it's really surrounded!" Political Commissar Huang laughed: "It's still the company commander Cui who thinks carefully! There's no water, no electricity, and there's no way out. Let's see how long the Japanese can last!"

"There is another..." After looking at the puzzled Political Commissar Huang and Captain Zhao, I added: "There are also ventilation holes!"

"You are so cruel!" Hearing this, Captain Zhao and Political Commissar Huang couldn't help but laugh.

What they didn't know was that it was not that I was cruel enough or that I thought carefully, but... I had fought the enemy in the tunnel of Shangganling for several days and nights! What's important, or how to deal with the enemy hiding in the tunnel, can I still not know? I can even say that the puppet army and the US military used to deal with us now I can use it now!

The work of finding a secret passage went smoothly. With the efforts of the artillery scouts, the secret passage leading to Tan Mou and Tan Long was quickly found. Although Tan Mou's tunnel was not very necessary to find it, because Tan Mou was already under the control of our army, it would be tantamount to seeking death if the Vietnamese army wanted to leave Tan Mou.

But both Captain Zhao and Political Commissar Huang had some verified my idea, or were also interested in verifying whether the artillery's measurement was accurate, so he ordered the artillery scout to meticulously find these two secret passages. Even the secret passage leading to Tan was directly dug from top to bottom, revealing the secret passage top supported by layers of logs and the bottom covered with footprints and blood. It is obvious that the wounded members of the Vietnamese army were transported to Guitun through this secret passage.

Of course, it is not necessary to mention how to deal with these secret passages. Seven or eight explosive packs were stuffed into both ends, and then they were blocked with a "boom". The ridge side was even more exaggerated. Perhaps the soldiers of the 637th Regiment tied more than a dozen blasting tubes into a bundle, and stuffed them into the secret passage like sugarcane... When the explosion was made, they would feel the ground moving a few miles away.

"Company Commander Cui!" In the evening of the same day, Commander Zhao took a telegram to me and said excitedly: "Good news! We just received a telegram from the 638th Regiment. They said that the pressure from the 638th Regiment was significantly lower. It should be that the secret passage was blocked by us that the Vietnamese army could not send more reinforcements to the singling direction, so the singlingling army was less and less, and the more they fought, the weaker they were. I guess they could be defeated tomorrow morning!"

"It's good news!" I nodded and said, "Once the ridge is knocked down, the Guitun Fortress will be alone!"

"That's right!" Political Commissar Huang nodded and responded: "If the battle situation in Tanlong stabilizes and the secret passages are all ours, then this Guitun Fort is a turtle in a jar, and it will only be a matter of time before it is caught or slaughtered!"

"But..." Then Captain Zhang hesitated again, pointed to the map and said: "The artillery scout had some difficulties when detecting the secret passages of the Vietnamese army..."

"Can't find it?" I asked in confusion. In other words, this is not a difficult task for them.

"No, they found it!" Commander Zhang pointed to the two lines on the map and said: "Tongdeng Railway Station and the Unknown Highland are not far from Pingding Mountain. As long as they are compared with the Guitun Fort, it is not difficult to find the secret passage leading to these two places. But the problem is... these three firepowers support each other, and we have no way to insert it into the middle of them..."

"Oh!" I understood when I heard this. It was not that I could not find those secret passages, but that I could not blow them up.

"I'll go and see the terrain!" As I said that, I grabbed the rifle and walked out.

"Xiao Li, Xiao Chen!" I heard the commander Zhao behind me commanding the guards: "Protect Captain Cui's safety!"

Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but sweat. I was a company commander and I was supposed to charge on the battlefield. When did I become a protected object?

However, I did not say anything and rejected Captain Zhao's kindness, so I could not let it go. I took two guards and turned a few turns on the mountain road, and Pingding Mountain appeared in front of me.

It has been half a day since I came here, and this is the first time I have seen this legendary Guitun Fort. Looking at it, Pingding Mountain seems to be no different from other mountains. The Guitun Fort on the top of the mountain is just a small thing. Looking at all, it is hard to imagine that this is the turret that fought a little timidly in the 637th Regiment... No wonder they didn't take it seriously at the beginning, because it was really hard to fight on the surface, but who would have thought that there were so many names in it.

He carefully raised his telescope and looked left and right. The train was on the right and the nameless high ground was on the left. The two strongholds were distributed in front of Pingding Mountain like the two tentacles of the Guitun Fort. If these two strongholds were not captured, then the attack on the front slope of the Guitun Fort was undoubtedly a fantasy. Because then we would light our backs in front of the Vietnamese army in the railway station and the nameless high ground.

Do you want to attack the back slope of Pingding Mountain? The nameless highland can also form side firepower on our troops. On the contrary, the Guitun Fort can provide fire cover for them from a high point. Moreover, the Guitun Fort can also increase troops to these two strongholds through secret passages!

Therefore... if you want to capture the Guitun Fort, you must first occupy the nameless highland and the railway station. If you want to occupy the nameless highland and the railway station, you must first cut off the connection between them and the Guitun Fort, that is, blow up the secret passage.

But... how can I blow up the secret passage that contacted them? I used a telescope to look at the left for a while, and then at the right for a while.

To blow up the secret passage between them, we must send troops to the middle of the two strongholds. This will undoubtedly be shot from the enemy's high ground on both sides, or even on three sides. As Captain Zhao said, we have no way to dig and explode under such circumstances!

I took out the map and compared it with the terrain in front of me, looking at the line on the map while comparing the scenery. So... I found a bamboo house on the line that was almost collapsed on the nameless high ground. I looked at the terrain of the train station and then I quickly got an idea.

He put away his rifle and ran back to the regiment headquarters with the two guards in a few steps. Commander Zhao and Political Commissar Huang immediately came up and asked anxiously: "How is it?"

"It's easy to solve this side of the train station!" I pointed to the map and said, "But there must be soldiers with good driving skills and familiarity with the terrain..."

"Good driving skills? Are you familiar with the terrain?" Hearing Captain Zhao, he couldn't help but feel confused.

I simply said: "The terrain of the railway station is relatively smooth, and it is at the connection between Pingdingshan and the railway station..."

I pointed to a location on the map and said, "It's right here. This is the vacuum of the Vietnamese army's defense. I'll use a car to pull a truck of explosives. If I don't blow up the secret passage, I think it's going to be fine!"

"It's that simple?" Captain Zhao couldn't help but touched his head incredibly: "Why didn't I expect..."

"But..." Political Commissar Huang was a little worried: "What if the explosion and collapse were not serious, what if the Vietnamese army could dig it out?"

"That's okay!" I replied: "What we need is to temporarily block this passage so that the Vietnamese army cannot increase its troops in the railway station, and then..."

"Then launch an attack on the railway station immediately!" Captain Zhao replied, "I think it can work. There are not many Vietnamese troops at the railway station, and the terrain is relatively low, and even tanks can be used. As long as the secret passage is blown up, the Vietnamese army cannot increase its troops for the time being, so it is still no problem to attack. Once the train station is defeated by us, we can blast the secret passage in time..."

"It makes sense!" Political Commissar Huang nodded in agreement with the plan.

"So where is the direction of the nameless highland?" Captain Zhao asked again.

"This is a bit difficult!" I pointed to the map and said, "There is a bamboo house at this location, which is just above the secret passage of the Vietnamese army. I need someone to sneak into this bamboo house, and then dig under the cover of our army's cannons, and then blast it!"

Upon hearing this, Captain Zhao and Political Commissar Huang couldn't help but gasp. If a person accidentally discovered this by the Vietnamese army, not only would the person who was carrying out the mission be finished, but the plan would also have to have a miscarriage.

But Captain Zhao just hesitated for a moment, and soon nodded and said, "No problem, let me arrange all these!"

"Yeah!" I nodded and said, "Since you are all doing the blasting mission, let's hand over the mission of attacking the nameless highlands and the railway station!"

"That won't work!" Captain Zhao replied: "Our group is waiting for revenge! When we have the opportunity, how can we let you do it!"

"Captain Zhao!" I replied: "Your battles one after another have suffered heavy casualties, and the soldiers are also very tired. It is time to breathe a sigh of relief. Let's get on! We have two infantry companies and more than twenty tanks, which just happen to deal with them!"

Captain Zhao hesitated for a moment and had to nod in silence.

Actually, there is another thing I have not stated clearly. The setbacks and such large casualties in the first two attacks have actually affected the morale of the 637th Regiment. If they were asked to go up to fight at this time, it is very likely that a victory would be successful and defeated. As the commander of the regiment, of course, the commander of the regiment would not not understand this truth. Moreover, this battle can almost be said to be the basis for attacking the Guitun Fort, so no one dared to be careless. Considering these factors, the commander of the regiment did not dare to show off!

Seeing that Captain Zhang nodded in agreement, I saluted them, turned around and walked out of the regiment headquarters to return to the temporary garrison of the soldiers.

"Company Commander!"

"Company Commander!"

...

As soon as I got back to the garrison, the soldiers gave me a look one after another, even Battalion Commander Ding's company and Battalion Commander Wu's tank troops.

If this were in the past, I might have been a little fluttering again. But after being the commander for a few years, I seemed to have become accustomed to all this, just nodded to the soldiers casually and walked into the queue.

"Company Commander Cui, what's going on?" Battalion Commander Wu and Battalion Commander Ding were looking at the topographic map next to a tank, as if they were worried about how to attack the Guitun Fort.

"Be ready for battle!" I replied: "Tonight's attack, Battalion Commander Ding and Battalion Commander Wu cooperated to attack the railway station! I led the fifth company to attack the nameless highland! After defeating these two targets, quickly blast the secret passage and withdraw immediately!"

"Yes!" Battalion Commander Ding and Battalion Commander Wu stood up and responded.

Our purpose is to cut off the connection between the nameless highland and the railway station and the Guitun Fortress, and kill all the Vietnamese troops stationed on it. As long as these two points are achieved, if the Vietnamese army wants to reoccupy the nameless highland and the railway station, they must come out of the fortress, which will undoubtedly become our target.

Of course, we wouldn't be so stupid that we stationed a large number of troops in these two places, which would undoubtedly be a target for the Vietnamese army on the Guitun Fort. Therefore, the nameless highland and the railway station are destined to become two unmanned areas.

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see that I actually gave up the easy-to-fight target to Commander Ding and Commander Wu. The railway station is low and suitable for using tanks. After the artillery fire is prepared, the infantry rushed forward with the tanks, and basically nothing left. But I later learned that the battle situation at the railway station was not as easy as I thought.

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At 8 o'clock that night, I took the soldiers and lurked more than 200 meters in front of the Unknown Highlands. This was a battle without a specific time to start the war, because we had to wait for the successful explosion of the secret passage in the direction of the Unknown Highlands.

I couldn't help but raise my rifle and looked at the nameless high ground nervously, but I couldn't see the bamboo house at all. The bamboo house was between Guitun and the nameless high ground, that is, on the other side of the high ground. Unless I could see it through, it would be impossible for me to see it.

But I knew that there were four soldiers quietly invading inside, and nervously digging with the sound of bombing from our army. When will they successfully blast, it will directly affect the time when our army launches the attack; whether they can succeed will directly affect whether the battle will start tonight...

It is precisely because of this that I have a walkie-talkie in my hand that contacts the engineer unit responsible for blasting.

"How is the situation?" I shouted softly into the walkie-talkie.

"Everything is normal!" The voice of the engineer captain came from the walkie-talkie: "It's just too smelly, it's all feces..."

Upon hearing this, I almost laughed out loud. I forgot to tell them that the Vietnamese who live in bamboo houses are always used to living upstairs and live downstairs. They are going to dig secret passages, so they will suffer!

Time passed by bit by bit, and all the soldiers were waiting for the good news from the walkie-talkie in my hand. But after more than an hour, there was still no movement.

I tried to ask about the situation on the walkie-talkie several times, but in the end I held back, because I was worried that the sound of our speech would attract the attention of the Vietnamese army, although the possibility was slim in the sound of cannons.

At this time, the gasping voice of the engineer captain came from the walkie-talkie: "The progress is too slow, please increase the bombardment density!"

The engineers need to use explosions to cover up their excavation.

"No!" I immediately refused: "The bombardment density is too high and it may arouse suspicion of the Vietnamese army. Take your time, we have time!"

"Yes!" The engineer captain responded and continued to work.

Taking advantage of this time, I looked at the nameless high ground in front of me. It can only be regarded as a small hill, with an elevation of less than two hundred meters, but barbed wire, trenches, anti-aircraft holes, etc. are all available.

Apart from the hazy moonlight, the surroundings are covered with darkness. This is a little different from the Korean battlefield. If it is on the Korean battlefield, there will be searchlights and flares everywhere, but now there is nothing.

But this is also normal. During the Korean War, the United *** had the advantage of artillery fire and air superiority. They could blatantly use searchlights and flares... On this battlefield of counterattack, if the Vietnamese Japanese also learned to use searchlights like that, they would have covered our artillery fire in just two moves...
Chapter completed!