Chapter 26: The Mire

Chapter 26: The Mire

I thought there was going to be a tough battle ahead of us, but I was wrong; I thought the enemy wouldn't let us into the encirclement so easily, but I was wrong......

After more than half an hour, I felt as if we were already in the encirclement. First of all, I saw several destroyed tanks on the road, both Vietnamese and ours. At the beginning, we couldn't tell which ones were from the Vietnamese army and which were from our army, after all, the tanks on both sides were Soviet-style tanks (our army's Type 56 main battle tank imitated the Soviet T54, while the Vietnamese army was heavily equipped with T54 and T55 provided by the Soviet Union), and the mark was similar, and there was a red 'color' five-pointed star on the turret. It was only when I got closer that I found the difference between the two, and the five-pointed star on the tank of our army had the words "Bayi" arranged up and down.

And......

Without exception, there are four or five PLA fighters hanging on the tanks of our army, and it is said that they are hanging...... It's because they've all died.

In modern times, I have heard that some troops, in order to prevent the infantry from being thrown off by the tank, use backpack straps to fix the soldiers on the tank, and as a result, when the tank is attacked, the infantry cannot get out of the vehicle in time to fight, and almost becomes the 'meat' of fish on the iron plate. I didn't believe much in this before, but now I have to believe it when I see it with my own eyes.

The fighters who were hung on the tanks could not bat their eyes when they were dying, and their postures were almost the same, as if they were trying to get off the tank, but a backpack strap tied their bodies tightly. Some of them only have the upper body or the lower body, and the other half has long since lost their heads......

It's been a while since they died, and as soon as the sun shines on them, the temperature around them rises dramatically, which accelerates the decay of these corpses. The foul stench in the air soon attracted flies, ants, and unknown insects to crawl and bite on the faces, mouths, and wounds of the fallen warriors......

The soldiers turned their faces away from the poignant scene, and a desolation from the depths of their hearts permeated the front and back of the team.

"The first platoon and the third platoon should be on alert" Seeing this scene, I didn't want to order: "The second platoon is responsible for collecting the bodies of dead comrades and carefully mine"

"Yes," the fighters answered, and immediately dispersed, occupying favorable terrain and preparing for battle. Li Shui 'Bo' led his soldiers to climb to the tank to remove the corpses hanging on the tank, and Battalion Commander Ding also consciously took a few people up to help.

"Company commander" The deputy company commander said with some worry: "Could this be a trap laid by the devils?" Our top priority now is to get in touch with the tank units first, and we should not delay too long."

"Hmm," I nodded, not speaking.

Actually, what the deputy company commander said made sense, but I had to do it. Although the soldiers didn't say anything when they saw the corpses uncollected, I knew what they were thinking. Thinking about it from another angle, if it was us who died in the war, and if the corpses hanging on the tanks were ourselves, would it be like now, at the end of the insect bite and fly bite, and no one would take it?

Chinese people believe that there is a soul after death, and believe that they can be reborn after drinking Meng 'Bo' soup, and if their soul sees that the 'flesh' body and corpse cannot enter the soil for peace, the degree of desolation can be imagined.

If I had left these corpses alone, it would undoubtedly have dealt a significant blow to the confidence of the fighters. The reason is simple, the warriors would not want to die at the thought of the possibility of a violent corpse like these sacrificed warriors after death.

But...... If I let them know that I will not give up a single corpse at any time and under any circumstances, then they will not have this "afterlife" worry, and they will be able to die and die on the battlefield

Therefore, whether it is from a personal point of view or from the perspective of the combat effectiveness of the troops in the future, I must take these corpses away.

It should be said that the terrain here is suitable for the Vietnamese army to launch an attack on us. At this point, the path merges into a road, and suddenly it is wide in front of us, and we see a 'crossed' of farmland and a few dilapidated bamboo huts, surrounded by nothing but a few small hills and thatched grass more than half a man high. If the Vietnamese army were to launch a surprise attack on us here, it seemed that we would have to retreat into the dense forest behind us.

My sixth sense tells me that there have been several pairs of eyes in the forest staring at us since we annihilated two platoons of Vietnamese troops. It can be said that our every move of the Vietnamese army is well understood, and our troops are not many, only two companies. Even if we were prepared, I believe that if they wanted to, they could still lay another ambush.

But for some reason they didn't do it, but unexpectedly put us in the encirclement......

"Woo......" A whistling sound came from our air, and the warriors rushed to lie down without waiting for my order. Several mortar shells exploded around us, setting off waves of scorching heat and earth. Then the hometown people who were on guard in the rear reported: "The devil is coming, five hundred meters behind, two companies."

I leaned back on a tank and raised my sniper rifle to look back, and sure enough, a group of Vietnamese soldiers flashed out of the dense forest not far away. But they did not mean to attack us, but walked unhurriedly, seeming to ...... It's trying to drive us out into the open field......

At this time, Yang Songjian, who was in charge of guarding the front of the "tank", nervously shouted: "Found enemy tanks, two Type 56 ......"

The "bang bang ......" fighters had not yet dealt with the tank, and when they saw the two big guys rushing towards them, they were so nervous that they grabbed the weapons in their hands and attacked. But how could rifles and submachine guns stop the tanks, and the bullets "clanged" on the tanks like fried beans for a while, and then "shot" like mud.

I couldn't help but be taken aback when I heard this, at this time, if I was attacked by the Vietnamese army in front and rear, it would be really a little embarrassing, and I couldn't help but shout in a hurry: "Mortar, 40 fire...... Explosives pack ready"

I'm not sure if mortars or 40 rocket launchers can destroy modern tanks, after all, I know so little about the tanks of this era that if they don't work, then I'll have to pack them with explosives.

But looking back, those two tanks seem a little weird. It should be said that our troops are now defenseless, and a considerable part of them have been 'exposed' under their firepower, but they neither fight* nor shoot. There seems to be a small red flag on the turret waving at us. Take a serious look at the red five stars, and there are two big characters written "August 1st".

So he hurriedly ordered to the walkie-talkie: "Ceasefire ceasefire, that's our tank"

"Our tank?" The soldiers raised their heads suspiciously when they heard the letter, and after carefully identifying it, they finally determined that it was their own people, and then let go of a hanging heart.

The tanks rumbled all the way towards us at full speed, and we didn't know whether they were demonstrating to us or to identify themselves, so the Vietnamese troops in the distance fell to the ground one after another with two shells fired by the "Boom ......."

With the dust in the sky, the two tanks drove up to them, and a soldier wearing a tank cap poked out of the turret and shouted at us: "What are you doing, you keep shooting at you and shooting at your own people or enemies, so you can't tell the difference between your own people and the enemy, so hide behind the tanks......"

We didn't dare to answer, so we took the fighters and went behind the tanks. When I walked to the back, I found that there were still a few fighters lying on the tank, as if they had just untied their backpacks, and when they saw us, they jumped off the tank and hugged us without saying anything, shouting: "Comrades have waited for you"

"Come with us......" One of the short, sturdy warriors waved at us, "It's dangerous here, get out of here"

Under the cover of two tanks and under the leadership of these soldiers, we ran along the road to the open field for more than 10 minutes, and after turning two mountain passes, we came to a high ground with an elevation of only more than 100 meters. On the other side of the heights is the river, and on this side of the open space are more than two dozen large and small tanks parked in a semicircle of defense relying on the high ground, surrounded by large and small craters, and there are several mutilated tanks, and even one is smoking......

"Comrade" When we walked into the defensive circle of the tank, a cadre wearing a tank hat and a slightly short stature soon greeted us, shook hands with us warmly and said: "Comrade, but when I wait for you, which unit are you from?" ”

"I am the commander of the 71st Company of the 213th Battalion of the 639th Regiment of the 5th Division of the 5th Army," I replied, "My name is Cui Wei"

"Hello Company Commander Cui"

"I am the commander of the 70th Battalion of the 629th Regiment of the 210th Division of the 1st Army, my name is Ding Zhiping" Battalion Commander Ding also came up and introduced himself.

"Hello Battalion Commander Ding" The cadre couldn't help but be stunned when he heard our introduction, obviously he thought that the two of us should be introduced in the order of official rank, but we came the other way around. I didn't really think about that at the time.

"My name is Wu Changhui, and I am the commander of the second tank battalion of the 384th Regiment of the 128th Division of the 43rd Army" said and looked around worriedly, almost pushing me to the direction of the high ground, saying as he walked: "Let's go inside, let's talk about it, it's not safe outside......"

I couldn't help but faint when I heard this, if it wasn't safe even in the defensive circle composed of this tank, then I really couldn't think of any place that was safe

"How did you get in?" As soon as we sat down in an anti-artillery 'hole' in the high ground, Battalion Commander Wu asked suspiciously.

Battalion Commander Ding and I glanced at each other and replied helplessly: "We don't know either."

"You don't know either?" Hearing what I said, Camp Commander Wu was even more 'confused': "How many people were there when you came?" ”

"There are three companies in total," Battalion Commander Ding replied with hatred, "but it was attacked by the Vietnamese army on the road, and more than 100 people were killed and wounded."

"Only one company was killed or wounded and then came in? The Vietnamese army didn't stop you? Battalion Commander Wu said with a look of disbelief: "Do you know how many Vietnamese troops are besieging us? They have a total of two regiments, and they are also the two main regiments of the third division, the ace of the Vietnamese army. I also used various means to ask from the prisoners, one is the 12th regiment that has won the title of 'heroic regiment', and the other is the 141st regiment that has won the title of 'hero of the people's armed forces', both regiments are very good at fighting tough battles, and the strength of one of your battalions can break through the encirclement and break in? ”

Listening to Camp Commander Wu's words, even Camp Commander Ding felt a little puzzled. He had also seen the combat effectiveness of the Vietnamese army in the jungle, and the strength of two platoons almost wiped out our entire army, let alone two regiments......

"They deliberately let us in," I replied.

In fact, I had this guess from the beginning, and now listening to what Camp Commander Wu said, it has strengthened my idea.

"I think so" Camp Commander Wu nodded thoughtfully: "But why?" They could have wiped you out, so why bother? ”

I picked up a map in the corner, spread it out and looked at it, and said, "I think I know why the Vietnamese army let us in."

"Why?" Camp Commander Ding and Camp Commander Wu couldn't help but turn their eyes to me.

"Encirclement and reinforcements," I said, pointing to our location on the map, "As far as I know, our army is attacking Tongdeng and Gaoping, right?"

Battalion Commander Ding's face was confused, but Battalion Commander Wu nodded.

It can also be seen from here that Battalion Commander Ding is completely unaware of our army's strategy, while Battalion Commander Wu knows some. This is not surprising, Battalion Commander Ding has just joined the battle, and it is not surprising that he does not know the general strategy of our army. And Battalion Commander Wu is a tank battalion commander, and tanks are a kind of treasure in this era, and they even have a bit of a 'superstitious' taste of tanks. It is said that in the military exercises of this era, the leaders did not listen to the number of soldiers participating in the military exercises at all, but asked "how many tanks participated......

Therefore, although the rank of battalion commander Wu is a battalion commander, his status is extraordinary, and it is not surprising that he will know the strategy of the whole army.

As for me, Tongdeng and Gao Ping have already started fighting, and it is normal for a company commander to hear some gossip. But what they don't know is that I know a lot more than they think.

"That's what I think...... "After thinking about it, I pointed to the two areas of Tongdeng and Gaoping, and said: "The two places of Tongdeng and Gaoping should be regarded as one city......

I stopped, and then added, "I guessed, I haven't been to these two places either."

"Come on, you talk so much nonsense," Camp Commander Wu was a little impatient.

I embarrassed to 'touch' my nose, and then said: "From yesterday's war to today, the Vietnamese army has given me the deepest feeling...... They are better at fighting jungle warfare than regular positional defensive battles. ”

"Well, that's good" Battalion Commander Wu nodded, he must have fought a few battles with the Vietnamese army, so he has a deep understanding: "The Vietnamese army can still deal with it on the position, the tanks and artillery are almost half dead after a while, and the infantry rushes up again, although the fight is a little more fierce, but it can still be defeated." But when these guys hide in the forest, they are like monkeys, they can't hit them, they can't find them, they can't find them......"

"So......" I said, pointing to the two places of Gaoping and Tongdeng, "our army is surrounding these two places of Gaoping and Tongdeng to fight positional warfare that they are not good at, or it can also be said that urban offensive and defensive battles, in any case are not what they want. They want more people to turn their attention in our direction, on the one hand, to relieve the pressure on the two places of Dong Deng and Gao Ping, and on the other hand, if our army sends more and more troops to reinforce them, or to fight a big battle in this jungle area, it will be even more desirable for them."

In fact, this is very understandable, during the US-Vietnam War, it did not mean that the US military fought the Viet Cong in a regular war, but that the Viet Cong hid in the jungle, so that the US military did not know where the battlefield was. But now, the Vietnamese army is stronger in terms of equipment and quality than during the US-Vietnam War, but it has one more weakness, that is, they have come out of the jungle, and they must garrison the defense lines of some important cities

"Oh" Hearing this, Camp Commander Ding and Camp Commander Wu couldn't help but suddenly realize, and both nodded in agreement with my analysis.

"These cunning devils" Battalion Commander Ding couldn't help gritting his teeth and scolding: "No wonder they let us in, they want us to ask our superiors for help, and they want us to pull more troops in"

"No wonder they seem to have been merciful," Battalion Commander Wu replied with a frown: "It is said that our twenty or so tanks are guarding here, and they only need to let the artillery bombard us for a while, but they did not do it." I thought their artillery was all used in Gaoping or Tongdeng."

"Company commander" At this time, a communications soldier took a walkie-talkie at the entrance of the 'hole' and reported: "It's Regiment Commander Zhang."

I nodded, took the walkie-talkie and said, "Report to the head of the group, I'm Cui Wei, we have reached our destination and successfully joined the tank."

"Very good" Commander Zhang's answer came from the other end of the walkie-talkie: "How is the situation of the enemy?" What about the losses of tankmen? ”

"This ......" I hesitated, glanced at Battalion Commander Ding and Battalion Commander Wu, and then gritted my teeth and said, "We have just arrived at our destination, and we don't know much about the situation yet. However, I believe that as long as we cooperate closely with the comrades of the tank battalion, have an iron determination and a 'spirit' that is not afraid of sacrifice, we will definitely be able to defeat the enemy and successfully break through."

"Ho...... There is a growth in the "Walkie-talkie" Captain Zhang replied unexpectedly: "Then I will wait for your good news"

After hanging up the phone, I found that Camp Commander Ding and Camp Chief Wu were looking at me in a daze.

I know what I just did, and I actually stopped the troops from rescuing us. If I continue to be so "great", we will undoubtedly have to face the two regiments of the Vietnamese army independently, and they are also the main regiments of an ace division......

I don't know if it's the right thing to do, I just know that I can't get more troops into this jungle. Otherwise, this jungle will be like a quagmire from which our army will not be able to extricate itself.

But what can we do ourselves?