Chapter 33: The Battle of Tongdeng (3)

Chapter 33: The Battle of Tongdeng (3)

That night, the regiment headquarters convened cadres at and above the company level of our regiment and held an operational meeting. The location was at the regimental headquarters on the 339 heights. Although the small mountain village of Tan has been captured by our army, after all, it is too close to other positions of the Vietnamese army, and there is no danger to defend.

The atmosphere in the venue was very oppressive, and the cadres had been gathered for a while, but the head of the regiment Zhang still did not speak, just squatting on the ground and 'smoking' a stuffy cigarette. One after another, Political Commissar Huang gave him several 'looks', and he pretended not to see it.

In the end, it was Political Commissar Huang who opened his mouth: "Comrades have passed today's battle, and we must clearly understand that the defending enemy of Tan is a strong enemy, not a remnant enemy; The positions of the Vietnamese army were fortified positions, not field positions; The Vietnamese army has heavy weapons such as high-firing machine guns and high-firing artillery, rather than only light weapons. The main reason why we failed to fight this battle well was that we did not seriously and accurately judge the enemy's situation, and when we discovered that the enemy's strength was greater than one company, we did not pay enough attention to it, so that we made a serious analysis and judgment and adopted corresponding countermeasures. Head Zhang and I are both responsible in this matter."

After a pause, Political Commissar Huang continued: "Here, I want to show Comrade Cui Wei, the commander of the fifth company of the second battalion of our regiment. On the battlefield, he keenly felt the hidden troop transport tunnels in the enemy's position, flexibly cut off the Vietnamese army's troop transport route, and then led the soldiers of the whole company to fight a beautiful battle cleanly, preventing our army's casualties to a large extent. So we decided to repay Company Commander Cui for meritorious service."

At the sound of "......", the cadres unanimously applauded me.

The deputy company commander sitting next to me clapped his palms the most, touched my shoulder, raised his head to a cadre sitting in front of him on the left, and whispered: "This time he is uncomfortable."

Looking at the eyes of the deputy company commander, I found that the cadre's face was quite unnatural, and the applause was also weak. Later, I learned that he was my immediate boss, the commander of the 2nd Battalion, and he had suffered a lot of losses in this offensive battle.

Anyway, I was sent here and there to fight within a few days of being a company commander, and I really didn't know the battalion commander above......

After the applause of Political Commissar Huang and the others stopped for a while, he changed his words and said: "We still have to adopt a critical attitude towards the performance of a small number of soldiers, and the 'three disciplines and eight points of attention' are the basic codes of conduct and norms that each of us must follow, and they are also an important content and fine tradition of our army's political work, and at the same time, it is also an important symbol that distinguishes our army from all old armies, if our army also burns, kills, and loots the people like other armies, then what is the difference between it and banditry?" ”

Hearing this, I couldn't help but chuckle in my heart, isn't this what I'm talking about? In other words, in the past few days, I have done a lot of things that have violated the "three major disciplines, pay attention to all sides", and it is enough for me to bombard that village with a tank

After a pause, Political Commissar Hoang continued: "Before the war, discipline required us to love every grass and tree of the Vietnamese people, more than our own land, but some soldiers openly shot prisoners on the battlefield and accidentally injured the Vietnamese people."

At this time, I was basically sure that what Commissar Huang was talking about was me......

However, Political Commissar Huang's next sentence made me understand that I was wrong: "Here I want to criticize the Ninth Company, even if I killed a few prisoners, I also injured the common people."

Yes? When I heard this, I realized that the original object of criticism was Jiulian. It is said that they were red-eyed and followed us and fired a few more shots, one of them in the clothes of a common man......

On the other hand, my soldiers were very tight-mouthed, and they didn't leak out about my "misdeeds" at all. It was only later that I learned that this was not the case, and that the soldiers had already told others about their "war history" when they showed off their "war history" to other troops. Political Commissar Huang actually knew about these things, but because I was too good at fighting on the battlefield, he didn't deal with me

"This will have a very bad impact on our army," Political Commissar Hoang glanced at me and continued: "At the same time, it will also destroy the image of our army in the hearts of the people to a great extent, even though they are ordinary people in Vietnam, it is the same for this kind of violation of 'disorder' and discipline, we will seriously deal with comrades who have behaved like this, and we must also recognize our own mistakes and change this ......."

I won't listen much to the following words, that is, some things like being careful not to make mistakes in future battles. I don't care about what Commissar Huang said. If it had been according to my old temper, I would have stood up and argued with him a long time ago, but I knew that such an argument would not lead to anything. Because this is not the opinion of Political Commissar Huang alone, but the discipline demanded by the whole army

It will not be wrong to emphasize these disciplines in the War of Liberation, nor will it be wrong to emphasize these disciplines in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, because they are all civil wars, and whoever is more benevolent, righteous, and more just will naturally be more supported by the common people. But was it useful to emphasize these disciplines in the Vietnam War? In the war between countries, can we still hope that the Vietnamese people will welcome us with gongs and drums?

Another reason why I didn't argue was because I knew that my superiors would soon change these pedantic policies, but this change would be paid for the blood of the soldiers.

After the meeting ended, the deputy company commander and the instructor came to me.

"Company commander" The deputy company commander said with some fear: "What do I think...... Political Commissar Huang's words are all talking about us."

"I think so too," Instructor Xie nodded and said worriedly, "Look...... Shall we have a meeting and do the ideological work of the fighters and make them pay attention? ”

"No" I didn't want to refuse: "How to fight before, how to fight now, who dares to do ideological work, I am anxious with whom, and I am responsible for any problems."

The instructor and the deputy company commander couldn't help but look at each other helplessly when they listened.

What they don't know is that, for me, compared to the lives of the soldiers, those disciplines and punishments are just a fart

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Early the next morning, a company of our regiment crossed our defensive line and entered a certain village to search. There were two reasons for the search: First, our position was attacked twice by the Vietnamese army last night, but fortunately, we had already laid mines and light and dark sentry posts around it, but the Vietnamese army did not succeed, and at dawn we found a few "villagers" with guns and wearing civilian clothes in front of the position.

On the other hand, our army's logistical supply line was attacked by a group of Vietnamese "old ladies," and it is said that several truckloads of ammunition were blown up, and this is also the reason why our army is unable to launch a large-scale offensive today.

It is said that the commander of the Ninth Company was criticized and educated overnight by Political Commissar Huang because of the "mistake" he made yesterday, and he was also punished with a major demerit. Today is to let them "mend their ways".

For this reason, I asked the political commissar several times to let us even go into the village to search, but I was refused. Political Commissar Huang also patted me on the shoulder meaningfully and said: "Comrade Xiao Cui, it is not enough to just know how to fight, the so-called army and strategy, we can't always think about fighting, killing and killing, and more importantly, winning the hearts and minds ......of the people.

I saw that there was no hope for the application, so I had to drag the commander of the Ninth Company aside before the Ninth Company went up, and whispered to him: "That...... Company Commander Xu ......"

But I don't even know what to say at this point.

The commander of the Ninth Company, surnamed Xu, is a native of Jiangxi, and he admires me very much because he saw me take down the defense line that he couldn't beat for half a day. Seeing that I was embarrassed at this time, he patted me on the shoulder and said generously: "Brother, if you have anything to say, I'll listen."

"Let the soldiers be careful," I said, gesturing to a certain village, "don't let those old people, children, and 'women' be deceived......

Company Commander Xu smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I can't help it, we learned discipline all night last night."

As he spoke, he led the soldiers across the trenches and into the village, and I saw that his steps were a little generous and righteous.

Before he could go up, gunshots rang out in the village, and then a bloodied warrior was carried down with all his hands and feet.

Junko rushed up and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"He's an old woman," a soldier shouted hatefully: "Our deputy company commander gave her canned biscuits, but she didn't expect to shoot her as soon as she turned around......"

A few minutes later, another burst of submachine gunfire was fired, followed by four more fighters being carried down. When I asked, this time it was a child playing in the mud, and without anyone noticing, he 'pumped' out the AK47 from the haystack......

After a while, there was another bang, and this time it was even worse, and one of the villagers planted a mine in his house

Hearing this, I couldn't help it, and I was about to go up with my rifle, but I asked the deputy company commander and the instructor to hold them hard.

"The political commissar just said at the conference last night, aren't you looking for death here?" The deputy company commander persuaded: "Besides, what can you do with those Vietnamese?" You're going to get them together in a bunch and shoot them? ”

"That's right, company commander," the instructor also said in embarrassment: "Those guys are all as cunning as loaches, their guns are hidden in the grass and firewood, you search their bodies and can't find the guns, what reason do you have to shoot them......?"

"Are we just being bullied by them?" Some fighters were not convinced.

"What else can I do?" The deputy company commander responded angrily: "Do you have a kind of way that you are going to gather all those old people, children, and 'women' together and kill them?" ”

As soon as the deputy company commander said this, the soldiers all lost their voices. Not to mention, if you really can't do this, it's no different from slaughtering the village.

The search mission of the Ninth Company could not continue at all, and it was withdrawn from the village after a while. Because it is obvious that if the search continues, there will inevitably be a conflict with the Vietnamese with guns, and some coercive means will be required, but these are contrary to the policy of the superiors. It is very likely that you will be punished when you return to do something that you can't do in the village to save your life......

It is precisely because of this, because of this pedantic policy of the superiors, that our army was 'engaged' with the enemy in fear throughout the Battle of Tongdeng. Sometimes a Vietnamese agent suddenly appeared behind the back, sometimes the transport line was suddenly attacked by unknown militants, and our transport line and even the troops were often shelled with great precision, and the infiltration of Vietnamese agents into us by the night was almost never interrupted.

Obviously, these Vietnamese agents are lurking among those ordinary people, or pretending to be ordinary people, lurking in various places to launch an attack on our army. Our company is not bad, and the soldiers, under my training, meticulously place mines and light and dark posts on the periphery of the position every night, and it is difficult for Vietnamese agents to infiltrate. However, other companies suffered greatly, and were made uneasy day and night, and some even collapsed.

I've also played infiltration warfare on the battlefields of Korea, so I know it's a tough tactic. And coincidentally, all the major wars that our country has fought in modern times seem to be suitable for infiltration warfare. For example, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, the Korean War, and our current self-defense and counterattack war against Vietnam.

The Japanese army, the puppet army, and the current Vietnamese army are all yellow-skinned, black-haired and black-eyed, and it seems that as long as they learn the other party's language, they can't tell the difference.

I'd love to tell the whole army everything I know and know, but alas, I'm just a company commander now......

"Company Commander Cui" was indignant about the casualties of the Ninth Company when a messenger came to me and reported: "The regiment commander told you to go to the regiment headquarters."

"Why don't you just call me alone?" I couldn't help but ask, confused. It is said that during this time, whenever there is a meeting or something, at least the deputy company commander and instructor are called to go together.

"I'll just call you one," the correspondent nodded.

I got up and followed the correspondent with doubts, and when I came to the regiment headquarters, I saw that the posture was a little wrong. The battalion commanders of all battalions were there, including Battalion Commander Wu of the tank battalion. Battalion Commander Wu saw me come in at this time, and nodded at me with a smile as a greeting.

"Company Commander Cui" Political Commissar Huang stepped forward and handed me a cigarette and said: "We are discussing how to investigate tomorrow, originally cadres above the battalion level participated, but Battalion Commander Wu said that you have the brains and methods, and strongly recommended you to participate in this meeting, plus your performance in yesterday's battle was indeed outstanding, so we unanimously agreed to let you participate in the discussion." I hope you can speak freely and give us more advice."

It turned out that this was the case, and when I heard this, I couldn't help but glance at Camp Chief Wu.

The guy smiled wickedly and quipped, "You kid owes me a favor"

There was a coax, and the soldiers in the pit laughed.

In other words, for others, it is indeed a matter of pride for a company commander to be appreciated by his superiors and participate in battalion-level combat meetings, and the road ahead will definitely be much better. So Camp Commander Wu said that I owe him a favor, and it will not be wrong. It's just that I'm thinking in my heart, I don't know who owes whom, you call me, don't say anything else, the chance of winning the battle is greater, right, you owe me about the same amount of affection...... But for the sake of sacrificing a few fewer soldiers, of course I won't refuse.

"Here's the situation" When I stood next to me, Commander Zhang pointed to the sand table with a bamboo stick and said: "Tan Mou Village is surrounded by more than 20 highlands of all sizes, and each of these 20 highlands is guarded by Vietnamese troops, and all of them are connected by short 'holes', A-shaped fortifications, earth-wood firepower 'firing' points, trenches and 'crossing' trenches, which can be hit and hidden. The firepower of the various heights supported each other, forming a complete defense system. Based on reconnaissance, we have preliminarily judged that there are two battalions of Vietnamese troops in the defense group of Tan, and there are also an unknown number of Vietnamese 'mixed' artillery positions between the 16th and 17th heights."

"Yo good" Listening to Captain Zhang's introduction, I couldn't help but feel a little impressed by him. Our army didn't make any big moves for most of the day, and we didn't want to get so much information. This was the first time I had heard such detailed information before the war. Later, I learned that in fact, all this was not done by Commander Zhang, but by Political Commissar Huang.

A cadre of the "regiment commander" pointed to an open field between the 16th and 17th heights and said: "The Vietnamese army placed artillery here, and our army blew up all places with artillery fire when the war began, how can the enemy still have artillery?" ”

I replied: "Actually, it's very simple, dig a few rows of large anti-artillery 'holes' on the 16th and 17th heights, and as soon as our artillery fire passes, they will pull the cannons out of the tunnels and pull them back as soon as they finish firing."

In fact, this is the method commonly used by our army in resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, and it should be said that this trick was taught to the Vietnamese army by our army. But...... During the 10 years of turmoil, our army's troops spent most of their time intensifying ideological and political study, and they no longer knew even such ordinary tactics.

"And I think," I said, pointing to the position between Heights 16 and 17, "this should be the core position of the Tan defense group, and the so-called capture of the thief first captures the king, if you want to quickly capture the Tan defense group, you must knock out this 'mixed' artillery position"

"What Company Commander Cui said makes sense," Political Commissar Huang nodded in agreement: "The Vietnamese army's 'mixed' artillery position is located in the center of a certain defense group, which can not only provide fire support for the surrounding highlands, but also very likely to be the location of the storage of ammunition and the command center. But...... It's not easy to hit this seven inches."

I didn't say much, but I picked up a pen next to me and drew on the map and said, "One battalion is responsible for capturing positions No. 5 to No. 8, one battalion is responsible for attacking heights 13, 14, 15, and 16, and one battalion is in reserve." Then send a team of 'elite' soldiers......"

I drew a long arc on the left side of a defensive group on the map, and then punched it between heights 16 and 17 again, saying, "Take the Vietnamese artillery position directly."