Chapter Eighty-Three: Encirclement and Reinforcement

With two guards and a communications soldier to make a little preparation, he ran along the 'crossing' trench to his own position. When we came to the open ground of the 417 Heights, we all stopped and waited for Zhu Jixing's artillery cover.

At this time, the slope of the 417 Heights was already in the hands of our army, so the open field of death in front of it was actually no longer as dangerous as before. One is that because the fog closed the mountain, the Vietnamese troops on the 536 Heights and Kuma Mountain could not see this open land at all, and the other reason was that the Vietnamese army thought that our army had already broken through this death zone, so it would be meaningless to carry out firepower. But in order to allow us to pass through this open land smoothly, the hometown people still let Zhu Jixing prepare for fire cover.

Looking at his watch, the hands slowly jumped to two o'clock, and then a bomb whistled in the air. The shells were like starting guns for our race, and several soldiers jumped up from the trenches and rushed towards the narrow valley a few hundred meters away......

A few minutes later, we passed through the death zone without any danger, and when we looked back at the 417 heights, we saw that our artillery fire was still firing at the top of the hill, and occasionally a few machine guns were heard. I can't help but sigh in my heart, it's really the same life! During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, we had to exchange human lives for bullets and shells. But now, we are so generous with bullets and shells to cover for me, the battalion commander......

If you want to go back to the Korean battlefield and tell those comrades-in-arms about this, you have to make them angry to death!

I didn't dare to linger here to express my thoughts on time, so I turned around and walked towards the regimental headquarters with the soldiers. The two guards were also clever, protecting me one after the other, and the one who walked in front was vigilantly observing the ground with a submachine gun to check if there were any mines underground.

Although our soldiers have been walking this road every day, after fighting in Vietnam for so many days, I know that this move of the guards is by no means unfounded. Because we have to face not only a frontal enemy on this battlefield, but also a pervasive Vietnamese agent...... They will always lay mines and traps in areas we don't expect at any time.

I still remember...... A few days ago, when a group of soldiers from one of its units passed by our army's position, they enthusiastically handed me a cigarette and asked with a smile: "Comrade! Are there any mines on the road ahead? Have any comrades walked by? ”

"Don't worry......" I waved my hand very confidently: "Don't worry!" We walk that road every day, and there are mines that make us step on it! ”

The comrade was also very polite, thanked me several times, and insisted on giving me a pack of cigarettes, I thought that it was okay to ask for a pack of cigarettes for the pleasure of helping others, so I accepted it. I didn't expect it...... The fighters had not taken a few steps before they heard two "booms", and after a while they were still the same comrade...... It's just that this time it was carried back, and one 'leg' was missing. When he saw me, he scolded hysterically: "'Milk' and 'milk' bears, doesn't it mean that there are no mines?" Lao Tzu's 'legs' are gone......"

This made me embarrassed, and it also made my soldiers laugh at me for a while, so I understood a truth: people walk a lot, so there is a road, but it doesn't necessarily mean that there are no mines!

A group of four people trotted along the mountain road, and from time to time some warriors on both sides stood up to salute me. Occasionally, someone would whisper, "Look! That's the commander of the second battalion......"

"Is that him? I can't see it...... So can you fight? ”

"Do you know what it means to be unseemly?"

……！ Listening to these words, I couldn't help but curse secretly, in modern times, I also boast of being suave 'jade' tree in the wind, even if I am not a handsome guy, at least I am worthy of the audience, but I didn't expect to be described by the word "people can't be good-looking" at this time. If it weren't for a few of my men around, I'd have rushed up and beaten that guy so much that he wouldn't even recognize his mother!

After ten minutes, I came to the rock 'cave' where the regiment headquarters was located, and this time the two guards standing in front of the 'gate' did not stop me again, and there was no longer that kind of lofty look in their eyes, but they stood up and saluted me.

I replied casually, shouted a report, lifted the black cloth and walked in. I couldn't help but be stunned when I entered the rock 'cave', and found that it was not only me as a battalion commander, but also the cadres of the other two battalions, including Wang Zhengang, the commander of the first battalion, and He Liqiang, the commander of the third battalion. As soon as they saw me coming in, they warmly greeted me and shook hands, especially Wang Zhengang, the commander of the first battalion, who nodded when he held me, and his eyes were so red that he almost burst into tears.

In fact, I understand what Wang Zhengang is thinking, and some people may think that my existence will make him lose face. This is not? When he was allowed to fight on this 417 heights, he lost two companies in more than half an hour and didn't even gnaw a bone! As soon as I went up, I not only knocked down the 417 heights, but also caused heavy casualties to the Vietnamese army by a large score......

Indeed, if this is under normal circumstances, it will make Wang Zhengang lose face. However, this is not a normal situation, and there will never be a normal situation on the battlefield. At present, all we care about is whether we can recover the blood debt for those sacrificed soldiers, whether we can fight for the living comrades, and whether we can maintain the dignity of the great country that we are afraid of......

Wang Zhengang's face is compared to these, so what can it be counted? A person who is not even afraid of death on the battlefield, and wants to commit suicide because he pretends to be guilty of his subordinates, will he still care about his face?

Obviously, he won't, and now he only has a feeling of helping his subordinates avenge his blood hatred.

"Comrades!"

As soon as I arrived at this person, the chief of staff opened the conversation, he stood up, nodded at me and said: "First of all, we want to commend Comrade Cui Wei, the commander of the second battalion, for his outstanding performance in attacking the 417 heights, not only successfully taking the 417 heights, but also killing and wounding more than 600 Vietnamese troops, giving a bad breath to our soldiers and fighting for our motherland!" ”

"......", applause soon rang out. I was wondering in my heart, saying that although this battle caused heavy casualties to the Vietnamese army, it did not reach the point of killing and wounding more than 600 people!

The Vietnamese army was only one battalion, and many people were still trapped in the tunnels, because we were worried that we would be retaliated by the Vietnamese artillery fire, so we did not have time to sweep the tail, and then the slope was quickly occupied by the Vietnamese army. Therefore, there are two or three hundred people killed and injured in this battle, and more than 600 people are exaggerated. Not to mention...... I haven't reported this casualty figure to the regiment headquarters yet! This chief of staff knows the casualty figures of the Vietnamese army?

I looked at the chief of staff suspiciously, only to see him look at me disapprovingly, so I understood - this may be the so-called pompous style in ten years!

However, this did not seem to be a bad thing, and I quickly thought that exaggerating this number a little bit would increase the morale and motivation of the front-line fighters to a certain extent, and it would also give the fighters confidence and confidence to continue fighting to a certain extent.

Thinking of this, my heart is also calm.

"Comrades!" After the scene calmed down, Political Commissar Huang continued: "In the past two days, we have attacked the high ground on the outskirts of Lang Son, and the soldiers have fought very well and bravely! However, a few of these units still failed to master the skills of combat, and the troops suffered heavy casualties. I hope that comrades can learn more from Comrade Cui Wei, who relies on wisdom to fight wars, which is called strategy in military affairs, that is, skillful warfare in which thousands of catties are pulled out in four or two! Only in this way will we be able to achieve the greatest victory on the battlefield at the least cost! ”

The "......" was another round of applause, and this time the applause was longer and louder than the last one.

I have to admit that I am not a person who can afford this kind of appreciation. If it's like the heartfelt admiration of the warriors, then I will be very useful. But this kind of 'naked' praise at a meeting only makes me feel awkward......

"Comrades!" The chief of staff raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and then said solemnly: "Let's get down to business, this time we called the comrades back from the firing line for a meeting, first, because the front is temporarily in a stable state, and second, because the battlefield situation has changed greatly. ”

"Hmm! It turned out that it wasn't the 417 Heights that we gnawed on! "Listening to the words of the chief of staff, my heart that had been hanging was also relaxed.

I thought it was ...... As soon as the chief of staff and Political Commissar Huang came up, they praised me so vigorously, the purpose was to let me set an example again! I didn't expect that this time I would still spend the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain.

What is so important...... Why did the regimental headquarters take the risk of transferring us down from the firing line for a meeting? I quickly turned my attention to the Chief of Staff and Political Commissar Huang in front of me.

"Here's the thing!" The chief of staff took out the command 'stick' and pointed to the map on the wall and said: "According to the latest information of our army, the infantry of the Vietnamese army from Cambodia is rushing to Lang Son in a hurry, in addition, the 327th and 337th divisions of the Vietnamese army have also entered the Lang Son area, the specific location is unknown, according to the speculation of the superiors...... It is very likely that the position of the 337th Division is in the jungle southwest of Kuma Mountain......"

Looking at the map and listening to the words of the chief of staff, I couldn't help but 'pump' backwards, if the location of the 337th Division is really in the jungle southwest of Kuma Mountain, then the threat to our army is unimaginable. Because it may at any time launch an outflank and penetrate the flank of our army in the southwest direction of Kuma Mountain, cutting off our army's troops attacking Lang Son and the domestic logistics supply line!

Once this logistical supply line is cut off, then our army will not only be unable to attack the outer heights of Lang Son, but the troops of several divisions will be surrounded here and will also be flanked from inside and outside. At that time, it is very likely that our army will be like the great rout of the People's Army during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and let the Vietnamese devils turn the situation back!

"In addition......" After a pause, the chief of staff continued: "In addition to these troops, a newly formed rocket artillery division that the Soviets helped Vietnam to form is also deployed between Hanoi and Lang Son, and its exact location is unknown. So we're under a lot of pressure! Judging from this information, although our army has an absolute advantage in the battlefield forces in both Guangxi and Yunnan, because Lang Son is the 'gate' of Hanoi, the capital of the Vietnamese army, and is a place that the Vietnamese army must defend, we do not have a superiority in strength in this local area! ”

The chief of staff said that the comparison of forces was reasonable, and at the beginning our army was only the 71st Army where I was located to attack Lang Son, and then the 70th Army joined the battlefield to attack the high ground on the outskirts of Lang Son. That is, in the Lang Son direction, we all have only two corps......

As for the strength of the Vietnamese army, they originally had the 346th Division and the remnants of the 3rd Vietnamese Division that was defeated from the direction of Dong Deng, plus their tun (that is, the militia, but although it is said to be a militia, most of them have fought on the battlefield and have quite rich combat experience), an army urgently transferred from Cambodia, as well as the 327th and 337th divisions, plus a rocket artillery division...... There are more than two armies in total!

It can also be seen from this that the top level of the Vietnamese army is also very concerned about the gains and losses in Lang Son area. In fact, in a certain sense, the success or failure of the Battle of Lang Son was no longer just a matter of conquering the city, but a question of which was stronger or weaker politically. In other words, as long as our army can defeat Lang Son, it means that we have the ability to 'force' Hanoi directly, and we have won in terms of momentum. For Vietnam, the opposite is true, so no one wants to make any compromises on the military point of Lang Son.

"I think it is necessary to mention to the soldiers that it is ......" At this time, Commissar Hoang 'interjected' a sentence: "The 327th and 337th divisions of the Vietnamese army are the capital defense divisions of Vietnam!" Do you know what the Capital Defense Division is? That is to defend the capital Hanoi, let us fight to Lang Son now. It seems that the Vietnamese army is interested in moving the capital to Lang Son! ”

With a "coax", the soldiers couldn't help laughing.

"Camp Commander Cui!" The chief of staff looked at me with interest and asked, "If you encounter such a situation, how are you going to fight?" ”

"This ......" I couldn't help but be stunned when I heard this, it was obvious that the chief of staff had asked me to assume that I was the commander-in-chief of the Lang Son Campaign, and I was actually just a small battalion commander, and this sedan chair must have helped me lift it too high.

But I thought about it and expressed my opinion: "I don't think the reason why the 327th and 337th divisions of the Vietnamese army are lurking in the jungle has no big moves...... It is entirely because they feel that they are not strong enough to surround our army and inflict heavy losses on our army. So I think they're waiting......"

"Oh, what are they waiting for?" The Chief of Staff looked at me with some admiration, and I knew I had guessed correctly.

"They are waiting for the army that Cambodia has transferred!" I continued: "If that army has already reached Lang Son, then the 337th Division will quickly attack our flank with a thunderous force to cut off our army's logistical supply line, and the 327th Division will cooperate with the newly arrived new forces of the Vietnamese army and cooperate with the defenders of Lang Son to quickly defeat our army!" ”

With a "coax", my words instantly set off a lot of 'waves' among the soldiers. Several of the fighters were nodding their heads in agreement.

The chief of staff smiled bitterly and nodded appreciatively at me: "Battalion Commander Cui's analysis is almost the same as that of your superiors, which shows that your views are very similar to those of your superiors!" ”

When I heard this, I muttered in my heart, what kind of superiors can perceive the 'yin' tricks of the Vietnamese army like me, it seems that the superiors are not all blind commands! Later, I learned that it was none other than Liu Shunyi, the commander of the 71st Army, who saw this!

"Camp Commander Cui!" The chief of staff continued: "Tell me what you think, if you are asked to fight this battle, how will you solve it?" ”

"Raw rice cooked rice!" I didn't think about it, so I replied: "Accumulate ammunition 'medicine' and occupy the high ground on the outskirts of Lang Son before the Vietnamese reinforcements arrive!" ”

"Not bad!" At this time, even Political Commissar Huang was convinced: "I thought of going with my superiors again, and the Vietnamese army can only occupy the high ground on the periphery of Lang Son and rely on this to besiege our army inside and outside." If our army occupies these favorable terrain on the periphery of Lang Son before the arrival of Vietnamese reinforcements, and accumulates a little ammunition 'medicine', and it is not a problem to defend for ten days and half a month, then the trick of the Vietnamese army will be self-defeating! ”

"Not bad!" The chief of staff looked at me with some surprise: "I didn't expect that there was such a talent in our regiment, and he almost ......"

He didn't finish the rest of the sentence, but I knew what it meant. Actually, it's not a big deal, that is, I almost destroyed me because of a moment of anger before. Young people! Not all of them......

However, there is one thing that Political Commissar Huang and Chief of Staff did not expect, and my thoughts will never be as simple as that superior. I thought of what my superiors could think of, and I thought of what my superiors didn't think of.

After a pause, I explained, "Actually...... My thoughts are still a little different from those of my superiors! ”

"Hmm! Tell me about ......" Political Commissar Huang encouraged with interest: "It's okay! If there is a discrepancy, there will be a discrepancy, boldly talk about your ideas, brainstorming, ah! ”

"My idea is......" I looked at the chief of staff, who seemed slightly disappointed, and said, "I think we only need to capture Kuma Mountain, Kudang Mountain, 417 Heights, 536 Heights and a few other defensive heights, and we don't need to take down all the outer high grounds!" ”

"Don't need to knock down the outer heights?" Political Commissar Huang couldn't help but ask suspiciously: "What do you mean?" Doesn't that leave a gap for the Vietnamese army to take advantage of? ”

"It is to give the Vietnamese army a chance!" I replied coldly: "Only in this way can the Vietnamese army think that there is still hope to hold Lang Son; Only in this way can they continue to throw reinforcements to Lang Son; Only in this way can we achieve greater results and beat the wolf of the Yue Devil! ”

"What?"

"Encircle the point and send reinforcements!"

……

As soon as my words fell, everyone in the regiment headquarters threw surprised glances at me, including Political Commissar Huang and the chief of staff!