Chapter 66 Human Demining

Chapter 66 Human Demining

At four o'clock in the morning, I called several company commanders to the command and ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle.

In fact, the soldiers had already guessed that there would be an operation this morning, so there were no too many accidents, and in a few minutes, several company commanders and instructors gathered at my battalion headquarters.

"Here's the situation," I said, pointing to the map hanging on the wall of the 'hole' by the light of a flashlight: "The time for the attack is six o'clock this morning, the whole army will be ready before half past four, enter the latent position at five o'clock, prepare for half an hour of artillery fire at six o'clock, extend the artillery fire for twenty minutes, and launch a charge with three signal flares."

Speaking of this, I couldn't help but glance at the cadres of the various companies gathered beside me, and none of them had an unexpected look on their faces, except for the people in their hometown, who were not shocked, and the others even had some expectations, and seemed to want to use this period of training to try their skills on the battlefield.

"The mission of our regiment is to ......," I nodded secretly, and then continued: "Advance in a roundabout way along the north bank of the Chi Poor River in the direction of Lang Son, and cooperate with the 637th and 638th regiments to attack Kukhao Mountain." Of course, before our army reached the Kukhao Mountain, there were more than ten large and small highlands between the ten kilometers of the journey. For these heights, our army did not know the deployment of fire and the distribution of forces of the Vietnamese army. But one thing is certain, the Vietnamese army will never let us pass easily, do comrades have confidence? ”

"Yes," the fighters replied in unison.

Our army's reconnaissance of the Vietnamese army is insufficient, and there is not much intelligence, which has long been known to everyone, so no one has asked too many questions, anyway, they have advanced while reconnoitring along the way, and the soldiers are used to it.

"One thing that needs to be reminded is ......" I continued: "During this time, the Vietnamese army has made full preparations, so we can no longer estimate the Vietnamese army at the level of the attack on Tongdeng, and in order to prevent our army from attacking, the Vietnamese army has laid a wide frontal and large depth minefield in front of its position.

"Yes," several company commanders responded.

"Finally......" I stretched out my right hand to the soldiers and said fiercely, "Kill the Yue Devils"

"Kill the Yue devils" The soldiers responded in unison, dozens of hands clasped tightly together.

A brief pre-war meeting was over, and it seemed that those of us who were soldiers did not need to know much about strategic thinking and the situation of the battlefield, we only seemed to need to know where to go and which high ground to attack, so half an hour was enough for us to 'hand' all the tasks to the soldiers.

So after the final inspection of the equipment, the soldiers lined up silently outside the station. As soon as I gave the order, the warriors bent their waists and tried not to make any noise towards their target position.

It was still drizzling outside, and it didn't take long for the soldiers' uniforms to be wet. The moonlight shone through the clouds and struck the warriors, and the little fluorescence that reflected made them look like warriors in silver armor.

At this time, I should probably think about something, such as how to deal with the Vietnamese army, or how to deal with the poisonous gas of the Vietnamese army...... But the truth is that I didn't think anything about it at this point. In fact, this is what the war looks like, I don't know if I can get by at this level in front of me, what is the use of thinking so much about the future, if I really want to say that I have a thought, it is also thinking about whether I can live to see the sun tomorrow......

"Battalion commander" I don't know when Liu Yun has run to my side, I looked behind her, and sure enough, Yichen was not far away. The two of them can really be said to be inseparable, and Meng is inseparable

"What's wrong?" Seeing that Liu Yun was a little nervous, I asked softly, "Are you a little scared?" Let's go to the battlefield for the first time."

"Hmm" Liu Yun nodded and said, "It's the first time I've been on the battlefield, but I'm not afraid."

"And say I'm not afraid" I couldn't help laughing when I heard this: "You should really take a mirror and look at it, your whole face is white"

"Really?" Liu Yun unconsciously 'touched' his face.

With a "flutter", Yichen beside him couldn't help laughing, and scolded Liu Yun in a low voice: "Do you believe what he says foolishly?" This is so black that you can't even tell the nose and eyes, and you can see whether your face is white or not? ”

When Liu Yun heard this, he felt right, and couldn't help glaring at me fiercely.

I couldn't help laughing, Ichen is still smarter, this Liu Yun is like an ignorant child

"You two listen," I laughed for a while, and then I said solemnly to Liu Yun and Yichen: "When you fight, don't blindly rush forward bravely, you know?" What is the name of that saying, only by preserving yourself can you destroy the enemy, you should understand this, especially you front-line health workers...... Let me tell you first, your task is to rescue the wounded, and if you are all injured, there will be no one to rescue you, and no one will rescue the wounded, and you will not be able to complete the task, you know? This is to be punished, you know? ”

"Yes" Liu Yun answered very dryly, but Yichen followed reluctantly, and seemed to disagree with my crooked reasoning.

The station was not far from the place of lurking, and soon the time was almost up, and I whispered through the walkie-talkie to the soldiers to slow down and spread out in formation in battle formation in the two-kilometer-wide grass. Then he 'handed over' Liu Yun and Yichen and said: "You also follow the troops, everything is under the command of the company commander, remember my words carefully"

"Yes" This time Yichen should be very refreshing, but Liu Yun muttered.

After a while, she whispered, as if she had mustered up enough courage, "You ...... too You should be careful......"

"Let's go," she said, before she could finish speaking, she asked Yichen to pull her into the grass.

I just laughed dumbly, it is said that the 'sex' personality of these two girls is completely different, how can they become such good friends on the contrary. The things about 'women' are sometimes really difficult to understand.

Shaking his head, he took the sniper rifle off his back and threw himself on the ground, burrowing into the grass

Once I had found a suitable spot in the grass, I raised my binoculars and looked into the night. The rain painted a landscape in my sight like thin lines—dense jungles, babbling streams at the foot of the mountains, undulating grasses in the wind, and moonlight casting fish scales...... It was a poetic sight, but I knew that in an hour it would be filled with war, blood and death

"Report that the battalion commander has found the target" At this time, Li Shui's 'wave' voice came from the walkie-talkie: "Seven o'clock position, six hundred meters"

Looking in the direction indicated by the people from my hometown, we saw a few dark shadows wriggling in the grass, and although their movements were small, they still could not escape our eyes.

Soon after, members of the 'shooting' team reported: "At eight o'clock, 700 meters."

"Five o'clock, six hundred meters ......"

……

"Don't shoot, don't shoot" After observing for a while, I hurriedly ordered into the walkie-talkie: "Those are the engineering units of our army, and they are clearing the way for our charge"

"Well, it turned out to be a comrade in the engineering unit"

"I was shocked, I thought it was an enemy......

……

The relieved voices of the fighters came over the intercom.

At this time, I learned that the engineering unit had entered the lurking area before us to clear mines, and although Regiment Commander Zhang had mentioned that the engineering unit would clear mines for us, he did not say at all that the engineer unit would enter the lurking area before us......

This is the characteristic of our army's operations, and the coordination and information 'exchange' between the various units are very poor, and although we are ordered not to 'expose' our targets before the battle starts at six o'clock, what if the engineer unit and us misunderstand each other

But fortunately, nothing like this happened, and I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. If this is really a fight between their own people in front of the Vietnamese army's position, then the enemy will not be laughed at and lose his big teeth

Raising the binoculars, he looked at the engineer unit in front of him who was concealing the demining, and ordered: "Communicator, whatever method you use, try to get in touch with the engineer unit"

"Yes," was quickly answered.

Getting in touch with the engineering units is a must, we know them, but they don't know us yet. These guys are concentrating on dealing with the mines, in case anyone turns around and finds a group of soldiers behind them......

The signal corps was also capable, and it didn't take long for him to contact the engineer unit.

"Comrade, you are a unit of the second battalion," an almost inaudible voice came over the walkie-talkie.

"Yes" I replied, "I am the commander of the second battalion, may I ask you ......"

"I am the platoon commander of the third platoon of the engineer battalion," his reply came over the intercom: "Our platoon is carrying out demining operations."

"Well, what's going on?" I asked.

"The situation is not good," the engineer platoon commander replied: "There are a lot of mines laid by the Yue devils, and we have been platoon here for more than three hours, but we are still more than 100 meters away from the target position......

"How long will it take to finish the queue?" That's what I'm most concerned about.

"This ......" The engineer platoon commander did not answer my question directly, but said helplessly: "There are a lot of mines laid by the enemy, and there can be no sound in concealed mine clearance. Therefore, the demining efficiency is quite low, and you can only advance twenty meters in an hour......"

"What? Can only advance twenty meters in an hour? "I couldn't help but be stunned when I heard this.

We can only go 20 meters in an hour, doesn't that mean it will take at least five hours to clear the way for us?

"Can you use artillery fire to clear mines?" I asked.

"The place where we need to clear mines is the dead end of the artillery fire," the engineer platoon commander replied, which made me a little desperate.

In fact, even I know the answer to the question I just asked, if it can be cleared by artillery fire, then is it necessary for the sappers to risk their lives and the danger of 'exposing' their combat intentions to clear mines?

Moreover, the Vietnamese army does not seem to be so stupid, after having suffered the losses of our artillery fire in the Battle of Dong Deng, they will also throw mines one by one to the places that can be covered by our artillery fire......

I looked at the multi-function watch on my wrist, the hands were already five o'clock, and it was less than an hour before the attack. You can only advance twenty meters in an hour...... That means there are at least 80 meters of minefield waiting for us......

Can this battle still be fought?

If I had in my hands the 'elite' soldiers of the 100 battles during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, I might still have confidence, because they could rush to the enemy's position regardless of their own life and death, but now...... Most of the soldiers in my hands are only recruits who have only been trained for more than a month

Can they do the same?

No, no, no

Even if they could, I wouldn't let them do it, because under the fire of the Vietnamese army, it would be almost suicidal

"What's the solution?" I asked a little weakly.

After all, for things like mines, it is professionals such as sapper platoon commanders who have more to say. Although I also learned mine clearance at a high-level infantry school, I learned mine clearance in the 50s......

The engineer platoon commander on the other end of the walkie-talkie was silent for a while, and after a long time, he replied in a low voice: "Only when our army is preparing for artillery fire...... At that time, there will be no need to secretly clear mines, it will be faster"

"Hmm" I nodded, and that seemed to be the only way to do it now

As the minutes passed, the progress of the demining was still proceeding in such an unhurried manner. I was anxious, and so was the engineer platoon commander, but it seems that the demining thing is not in a hurry, because if you are in a hurry, you will make a mistake, and if you make a mistake, there will be a "boom......

So I waited quietly in the grass, waiting for the moment when our artillery fire roared

Finally, when the hands pointed to six o'clock, three red 'colored' flares rose from the sky. The cannon fire soon rang out, and the originally dark sky flashed with bright lights, and with a loud bang, clusters of flames exploded on the enemy's position. The mine we were lying on was like a big drum and there was a violent vibration.

In the past, I was either using a telescope to observe whether our artillery fire had blown up the enemy's firing points or fortifications, or I was appreciating the refreshment of our artillery bombardment of the enemy......

But today, my eyes are always on the engineer unit in front of me. The reason is simple, whether they can complete the task or not will be directly related to our lives

As soon as the cannon sounded, the sapper soldiers lurking in front of us jumped out of their hiding places as if they were alive, some threw grenades in front of us, and some used detonating cords to open the way...... Not to mention, the speed of demining was really much faster, and I watched as those sapper soldiers lined up and pushed all the way forward......

However, the speed was much faster, but the time was too short, and the preparation of artillery fire was only half an hour. In this half hour, the engineer unit advanced at least thirty meters, but this was far from enough, which meant that we had to face a minefield of more than fifty meters

The artillery fire had already begun to extend the 'firing' fire, and according to the pre-war deployment, the beginning of the artillery fire to extend indicated that the time to launch the charge was only twenty minutes. If the mines cannot be cleared within 20 minutes, it means that we will have to face the Vietnamese firepower in the minefield, which will undoubtedly increase the casualties of our troops to a great extent......

"Time is running out" came the faint shout of the engineer platoon commander over the walkie-talkie: "Now I order, the whole platoon is organized into four groups, the distance between the groups is 15 meters, and the human body is used to open up the road in turn"

"What? Using the human body to open the way? "I thought I had heard it wrong. But when I saw that the engineering units were really organized into four groups and lined up in a straight line, I realized that all this was true.

"Comrade Sapper, Comrade Sapper...... "Seeing this, I couldn't help but shout over the walkie-talkie.

But the engineer platoon commander did not answer, and only his indomitable shout was on the intercom: "I will go first, and the others will follow......"

The engineering units really moved, and in the light of the shells, I saw that they had bamboo poles, slashed with knives, and stepped on with feet...... One by one, they went to the minefield

Seeing this, I couldn't help but be silent, I always thought that the current troops did not have the style of the period of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, and I thought that they were not as brave as the volunteers. But when I saw this engineering unit in front of me, I realized that I was wrong, and I was very wrong

There is no shortage of heroes like them, no matter what period or place they are

With a "boom", a mine exploded.

A sapper soldier was blown away by a mine in the firelight, and the soldiers' figures couldn't help but froze for a moment. But the engineer platoon commander quickly ordered: "Keep moving forward, not a minute or a second can be delayed"

The troops continued to move forward, and to my heartache, the engineer soldier who had just been blown up turned over with difficulty, dragging the only remaining retreat and continuing to crawl forward......

"Boom" was another firelight, and a few shouts faintly came from the walkie-talkie: "Platoon commander, platoon commander......"

Listening to the voice, I knew that it was the engineer platoon commander who was injured this time

I thought I would never hear his voice again, but I didn't expect that after a while, I heard the engineer platoon commander continue to order: "Xiao Meng, carry me behind your back and follow ......"

So there was one more person in the team carrying the wounded on his back, and the one on his back was the engineer platoon leader.

The "boom ......" mines kept exploding in my sight, and the group of engineering troops simply lined up like a pile of iron men that could not be blown up.

Step by step...... Blow one down and go up, blow up one and go up again......

Xiao Meng, who was carrying the platoon commander on his back, was also blown up, and the engineer platoon commander shouted at his team: "Listen to my orders, I will climb in front, if I can't do it, you will be separated again, and we will complete the task no matter what." ”

As he spoke, he dragged his injured legs and used the support of his arms to crawl forward and roll......

After only two meters of advance, another mine exploded, and after a burst of fire, the engineer platoon commander no longer had the slightest strength......

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In order to ensure the smooth charge of the troops, the Han squad leader led all the soldiers of the ninth squad to clear mines with human bodies, and only one minute before the general attack was launched, they used their own flesh and blood to open a passage 3 meters wide and 72 meters long in the minefield