Siheyuan: A Family of Loyal and Brave People

The few people who survived the shelling stood in the snow and looked at each other. It took them a long time to recover and then they focused their attention on Cheng Hao.

The 7th Company had suffered almost all casualties. Should they continue to move forward to carry out their mission, or retreat along the original route and report the situation to their superiors to preserve their manpower? All of this had to be decided by Cheng Hao, the only remaining commander.

Standing on the devastated snowy ground, Cheng Hao looked solemn. He felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders and he couldn't breathe.

After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and made a decision. He sent a new soldier back to report the situation, and the rest of the people took all the available supplies and continued to move forward.

If an accident occurs during the march, it is necessary to report to the superiors.

Secondly, the battle was fierce, and Cheng Hao could not easily retreat without losing his combat capability.

When the order was given, everyone present had no objection and immediately divided into two teams and acted separately.

……

As soon as they arrived at the front line, Cheng Hao and his team were interrogated by friendly forces.

In the cold wind, the head of the 642nd Regiment, Li Zhengguo, who was wearing only a single layer of clothing and whose face was frozen purple, looked at the embarrassed five people with a serious face and asked sternly: "Didn't the 702nd Regiment say that they would send a company of troops to support us?

Why are there only a few of you? Where are the others? !"

Three days ago, the 642nd Division of the 82nd Regiment surrounded a battalion of US troops and tried to annihilate them. However, the resistance of this US army was extremely tenacious, and the 82nd Division failed to defeat the enemy after suffering heavy casualties.

What was worse was that the 82nd Division lacked winter clothing, weapons and ammunition. After repeated attacks, it had run out of ammunition and food, and had no choice but to ask for help from friendly forces. It hoped that all parties could spare troops and supplies to help the 82nd Division defeat the US troops in this battalion.

The 702nd Regiment had clearly promised to send a company to provide support, but only a few soldiers showed up.

Captain Li felt that he had been cheated and was in a bad mood.

Facing the accusation of Li, Cheng Hao did not feel angry, but answered calmly: "Report to the commander, the 7th Company was bombarded by the enemy during the march, and most of the members including the commander were killed. Only the five of us arrived safely.

Please advise! "

The 642nd Regiment was short of supplies and the battle was very difficult. Cheng Hao could understand Captain Li's feelings, and after experiencing many life-and-death crises, he was numb. The only thing in his mind was how to complete the mission and survive. As for other things, they were not important at all.

"Hi~"

Upon hearing this, Captain Li's expression darkened and he solemnly saluted Cheng Hao and his party.

The 7th Company did not fail to come, but they were wiped out halfway. They did not flinch, and were as brave and loyal as all the soldiers present!

"You guys will be temporarily assigned to the second platoon of the first company and prepare for battle!"

There is no explanation or apology, words are too thin. Killing the enemy and avenging our comrades is the best way to give the deceased a good answer.

"Yes!"

"Captain, these are the clothes and ammunition we collected."

After entering the position, Cheng Hao and his men unloaded all the supplies they were carrying. These were part of the reinforcements, and for the 642nd Regiment, which was about to run out of bullets, they were even more important than just a few of them.

"Okay, distribute them quickly. We'll launch a general attack soon."

In the past few days, several troops, including the 642nd Regiment, have been attacking the US positions almost non-stop. At this point, only two companies of the entire regiment can still fight. One of the companies ran out of ammunition, and the soldiers could only wear single clothes and fight the enemy hand-to-hand with sapper shovels in the low temperature of nearly minus degrees Celsius. It was very tragic.

Cheng Hao and his party advanced along the trenches and soon reached the front-line position.

Both sides of the trenches along the way were full of craters. The originally brown frozen soil had long been dyed black and was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

The situation on the front-line positions was even more serious. They were bombarded with artillery fire from time to time, making it difficult for the soldiers to raise their heads.

Lying on the ground, Cheng Hao looked far ahead at the American positions through a gap in the earthen rampart.

A tough barbed wire fence was set up in front of the circular trench made of sandbags and earth blocks. Various types of light and heavy firepower of the US military were arranged in an orderly manner in the positions, forming a strict firepower strike system that could deal with enemies from all directions.

The open space between the US Army position and the Volunteer Army position was filled with the remains of the Volunteer Army soldiers. There were so many broken limbs and arms that it was hard to see the whole thing, which showed how heavy the casualties were in this battle.

"Everyone listen up, prepare to attack!"

After days of fighting, the 82nd Division's logistics situation was very severe. They could not even get enough bullets, let alone artillery support. Therefore, if they wanted to defeat the American troops in this battalion, they had no choice but to bite hard.

Of course, the enemy's condition was also very bad. A battalion of troops was surrounded and trapped in a corner. If it weren't for the rear artillery regiment and air support, it would have collapsed long ago.

The endurance of both sides is reaching its limit. It depends on whether the Volunteer Army can defeat the U.S. Army with a general offensive, or whether the U.S. Army can successfully resist the offensive and escape during the gap.

The order for the general attack was issued, and units of the 82nd Division began to pour out of their positions in batches from all directions and launched an offensive against the US troops.

There were not many soldiers in each attacking batch, and some of them even only had an engineer shovel in their hands.

There is no doubt that this is a tactic of adding fuel to the fire.

It is said that the tactic of adding fuel to the fire is a taboo in military strategy. Dispersed troops are easily defeated one by one, which is tantamount to suicide.

The troops of the 82nd Division did this not because their commanders were stupid, but because they had to adopt this tactic based on the actual situation.

The firepower of the US military was too fierce. Too many troops were deployed at once, making it difficult to break through the narrow terrain and easily becoming targets. The casualties were too great, so they could only consume the enemy's manpower in batches.

As fresh forces, Cheng Hao and several others were arranged into the first wave of assault, launching an attack on the U.S. troops from the north.

After the soldiers left the trenches with their bodies lowered, they were divided into several three-person combat teams. The three-person combat teams formed a triangular attack formation, with each soldier having a clear division of labor, taking turns to carry out the tasks of attack, cover, and support.

Multiple teams formed a skirmish line, spread out, and relied on limited cover to quickly approach the US military positions.

This is the three-three system tactic that originated during the Anti-Japanese War. The principle is to disperse the density of troops appropriately to avoid the enemy's intensive firepower, while closely coordinating and cooperating to advance layer by layer.

Cheng Hao led the survivors of the 7th Company, plus several friendly soldiers formed a combat team of four, and braved the hail of bullets from the American troops, and quickly advanced to the position between the two armies.

Cheng Hao leaned against a corpse, holding his gun and trying to provide fire cover for his teammates. However, before he could show his superb shooting skills, the US military's overwhelming artillery fire attacked them.

"hidden!"

The group had to temporarily stop advancing and find ways to avoid the bombardment.

美军装备的火炮数量庞大，一个步兵师就有54门105毫米口径的重炮、18门155毫米口径重炮、36门107毫米迫击炮。比志愿军一个军配置的火炮数量都多。

Listening to the roar in their ears, Cheng Hao and his party could only curse inwardly, "These sons of bitches are so rich!"