Chapter 74: 417 Highland

Chapter 74: 417 Highland

The next morning, I took the soldiers and lurked behind two high grounds about 400 meters in front of the 417 Highland.

The reason for lurking at such a distance was entirely determined by the terrain of the 417 Highland. The road and railway in Tonglong San passed by the foot of the 417 Highland. In order to prevent our army from charging, the Vietnamese army not only burned the weeds on the open ground several hundred meters wide near the highway, but also intentionally placed several abandoned train wands on the railway to slow down the charge. This made our army unable to lurk near the 417 Highland at all.

And if we want to take down the 417th Highland, we must pass through this death zone.

Our battalion was arranged to attack the 417th Highland, and I don’t know if it was lucky or unlucky.

It is said that we will not attack the wings of Mashan Mountain like the first and third battalions, risking the danger of exposing the firepower of the 417th Highlands.

Unluckily, there is not only a death zone in front of the 417 Highland, but also a condescending firepower support from Koma Mountain and 536 Highland. This means that to win the 417 Highland, it is not just as simple as winning one.

In fact, after returning from the regiment headquarters last night, I didn't sleep all night and went back and forth to observe the position several times, but no matter how I looked, I couldn't find the flaws of the 417 Highland.

Just as on the battlefield of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, the British Gloucester Battalion could stop our volunteer army for a few days with just one battalion's troops, the Vietnamese high grounds were also arranged in triangular shapes.

There is no doubt that such an arrangement is the safest, because the highlands can support and cover each other, and even the firepower of each highland can naturally form cross-fire. The Vietnamese army is also very clear about this, so they use such triangle defenses on the battlefield. For example, in the iron triangle formed by Tan Mou, Tanlong and Guitun in Tongdeng, there is even a small triangle in the Guitun Fort...

Nowadays, we have to face another iron triangle.

If this battle was commanded by me, it would not have attacked the 417 high ground. The reason is very simple. The 417 high ground has the lowest elevation among these three high grounds. Even if we take it down with great difficulty, it will not play any obvious role in the battlefield. The result is that our army was suppressed by the firepower of the other two high grounds on the 417 high ground and increased casualties.

For the Vietnamese army, they seemed to have the fire support from the other two high grounds, and it seemed easy to launch a counterattack on the 417 high ground and take it back.

In other words, this 417 Highland is simply a meat grinder for our army.

If it were me, I would focus on attacking Koma Mountain. The elevation of Koma Mountain reaches 800 meters, which is the highest elevation near Lang Son. It can be imagined that once Koma Mountain falls into the hands of our army, the enemy situation in the high grounds outside Lang Son will be fully visible. The artillery observers stand up... and command long-range artillery fire, and they will fight wherever they want!

And more importantly, the Vietnamese army obviously also thought of this, so I think their artillery command post is likely to be located in Koma Mountain. Even the Vietnamese army on Koma Mountain can command the coordination and cooperation of the entire outer highlands of Lang Shan. Once Koma Mountain is knocked down, it will undoubtedly dig out the eyes of the Vietnamese artillery and control the nerve center of their entire defense system.

Facts also proved that my idea was correct. Later we learned that the artillery command post of the Third Division of the Vietnamese Army was located in Komashan. All the artillery of the Vietnamese Army, even our army's attacks and the Vietnamese Army's artillery was commanded by this artillery command post.

But unfortunately, it is not me who commands this battle now, so I can only accept this kind of offensive without focus.

I raised my telescope and looked at the 417 high ground, and my brows became deeper and deeper.

No! The death zone in front of the 417 Highland is too wide. If I were a Vietnamese army, I would definitely arrange a large number of light and heavy machine guns on the 417 Highland. The anti-aircraft machine guns form a cross-fire network to control this death zone. You can even arrange artillery positions or mortar positions behind the 417 Highland, and adjust the elements in advance with this death zone as the target. If this is the case, no matter how many people we rush up, we will take them on that open ground.

Of course, I can't hope that the Vietnamese army will not do this! When fighting, we have to make the worst plans. The Vietnamese army has also been fighting for decades, so what I think should be similar to what they think.

If this is the case... how should we fight? Even if we use straggler formations to protect each other and rush forward, it seems that there is no difference between a group charge!

After looking at my watch, I only had ten minutes to leave the phone and my sweat fell off my forehead.

To be honest, I have never encountered such a difficult problem since I shot the first shot. It would be okay if I let me do it, but now I am tied with my hands and a group of recruits, facing an opponent who has been rolling on the battlefield for decades - Vietnam! This inevitably makes me feel like I am losing my skills.

There seems to be only one way!

I gritted my teeth and ordered to the walkie-talkie: "Every company commanders are here for a meeting right now!"

"yes!"

"yes!"

...

The three company commanders should have answered, but they were obviously confused. Now they have only been ten minutes away from the fight, and the entire army is preparing to charge. It seems a bit inappropriate to hold a meeting at this time. But although they were confused, they still firmly executed my order and rushed to me as quickly as possible.

"This is the situation!" I said with gritted teeth: "The superior's order is that the artillery fire preparation is twenty minutes, followed by ten minutes of artillery fire extension, and the attack will be launched after the signal flare. But... I want you to launch the order to charge when the artillery fire preparation is just over, and follow the artillery fire upwards!"

"What?" Several company commanders couldn't help but look at me in surprise when they heard this.

"Battery Commander, I heard it right!" Li Zhifu seemed to not believe that I would give this order: "Follow the shells, what should I do if the soldiers accidentally injured the shells?"

"Yes! Battalion Commander!" Xu Yongjian also nodded and said, "Our training requirements are 200 meters away from the bullet point prepared for the artillery fire during charge, and the nearest must not be less than 100 meters. If we follow the shells like this..."

"Fifty meters!" I interrupted Xu Yongjian and said, "Short this distance to fifty meters!"

As I said, I picked up two branches and inserted them on the ground, saying, "The shrapnel of the shell flew at a forty-five degrees. Most of our army's artillery fire extensions hit the inclined surface of 417, so the distance of fifty meters is relatively safe!"

"But..." Li Zhifu wanted to say something, but he was quickly interrupted by me.

"No, but, just do it!" I looked at my watch and ordered: "There is not much time left, so I will convey this order immediately! And I ordered all the soldiers to neither form nor cover this charge, and follow the shells to the top of the mountain with the fastest speed! The Fifth Company is responsible for blowing up the tunnel of the Vietnamese army on the reverse slope. The other two companies quickly built fortifications on the top of the mountain and organized all mortars in the battalion to suppress the 536th Highland. Do you understand?"

"I understand!" The soldiers responded. Only the people from the hometown asked in confusion: "All mortars are used to suppress the firepower of the 536th Highland, what about Kumashan?"

"The elevation of Kumashan Mountain is 800 meters, and it is far from the 417th Highland!" I replied: "And it's heavy fog now. Our army has another twenty minutes of artillery preparation. The smoke and dust flew up. If the Vietnamese army on Kumashan Mountain cannot see us for the time being. As long as we are fast enough, it is entirely possible to take the 417 Highland before they can react!"

"Yes!" Several company commanders responded, turned around and returned to their company to make arrangements.

Looking at their backs, I couldn't help but sigh: In theory, the distance of fifty meters is indeed safe, but the shells are not as accurate as that. Even if the same cannon fires the same shell with the same elements, it would be normal to have a difference of more than ten meters. So... this charge will definitely cause accidental injuries, but I have to do this, because compared to the entire battalion falling under the firepower net of the Vietnamese army, this sacrifice is still worth it.

Is it worth it? This is actually a very simple addition and subtraction method. What the soldiers cannot accept is to die under their own shells. This is not only the pain of the sacrificed people, but also the pain of those artillery soldiers if they know it.

"Tengteng..." Several red signal flares slowly rose towards the sky, and the sound of cannons suddenly sounded. Our army's artillery shells shot from Tongdeng were crossing us in pieces and heading straight towards the Vietnamese defense line in front of us. With the sound of roar, the shells exploded with smoke and dust in our sight, and at the same time they also detonated the mines buried in front of the positions of the Vietnamese army, and exploded the layers of barbed wire fences blocking the foot of the mountain.

Especially in the death zone in front of us, the several broken carriages that the Vietnamese army parked on the railway tracks were instantly blown into the sky, and then they were divided into several pieces and fell back to the ground like a celestial girl. However, before it could stop on the ground, it was blown into the air again by new shells.

This cannon is well-knitted and it is also very good!

Every infantry hopes that the more powerful the guns of their sides will be, the better. It is best to kill all the Vietnamese troops in the opposite position and be stunned, and then we will go up and collect the corpses.

But this is obviously impossible, so I have to have a next plan.

I shifted my gaze from the bombardment in front of me to the multi-functional watch in my hand, watching its pointer tremble in the vibrations coming from the ground, and watching it jump forward little by little...

I dare not be careless because I know very well that the most important thing about following the shells is to grasp the time accurately. If the charge is too early, it means that more soldiers will be accidentally injured by their own shells; if the charge is too late, the Vietnamese army will undoubtedly become more and more troublesome as soon as it comes out of the tunnel.

Finally, the hour hand jumped to 6:20. Without saying a word, I waved my hand and rushed to the battlefield that was bombed in a mess.

When the soldiers saw me rushing up without any hesitation, they followed in groups. Our second battalion, a unit of three or four hundred, rushed into the group of shells in a surprised gaze.

Smoke, dust, heat waves...

All of this was like a few mountains, which made me breathless. At first, I could see the soldiers following me from the corner of my eyes, but after a while, there was no one left. The fog and smoke made the visibility here very low, and I could only vaguely see the scenery more than ten meters away in front of me.

I have thought that I might be injured by shells, and I have thought that I could not get the 417 Highland, but I didn’t expect that I would see it when I rushed into the pile of shells... This may be the so-called wise man’s mistakes will make a mistake! (I shamelessly put myself in the position of wise man.)

But it doesn't matter if you can't see the scenery ahead. The artillery troops seemed to have already extended the artillery fire at this time. I led the way with the explosion of the shells. I would go wherever there were explosions and waves. But this sounds easy, but if you really want to do it, it would be a life of life. If you don't do it quickly or the artillery's hand is slower, then your life will be over.

I ran forward all the way, but I don’t know how long I ran, and suddenly my whole body eased and I fell into a ditch. So I knew I had reached the top of the mountain and fell into the enemy’s trenches.

Immediately afterwards, a few more people fell in, the soldiers following me. I wanted to remind them, but I knew it was meaningless. In such an explosion, the soldiers could not hear my orders or see my gestures.

But I had already reached the top of the mountain, and my heart was hanging halfway down, because at least we don't have to face the enemy's raindrops in the death zone.

After resting in the trench for a while, I patted the shoulders of the warrior beside me, and jumped up again toward the other side of the back slope.

At this time, the artillery fire was still extending and was hit on the back slope. Once the artillery fire passed, the Vietnamese army would quickly emerge from the tunnel, so this was the critical moment of racing against time.

He led a few soldiers to run forward with guns for a while and then arrived at the backscene. He was stunned when he saw the scene. The smoke and smoke were filled with smoke. He could not find the entrance of the Yue Army!

There was a pile of soil not far ahead and moved abnormally. I didn't think I could raise the gun and just two bullets, a pool of blood sprayed out of the pile of soil. It was the observer left by the Vietnamese army on the position, but he seemed to have not fulfilled his responsibilities. Or it could be said that we were coming too fast, and he was not in a hurry to report to his comrades in the tunnel.
Chapter completed!