Chapter 67: The Wounded

Chapter 67: The Wounded

Before the artillery fire was over, three red 'colored' flares rose in the sky, and I led the soldiers to rush forward desperately along the road opened by the engineering troops.

There may be mines that have not been cleared underground, because no one can be sure that every mine will be cleared in the dark. But the fighters don't care anymore, the comrades of the engineering units dare to test the mines, so why can't we? So at this time, the soldiers, who had a deep fear of the invisible ghost of the landmine, suddenly forgot everything and stepped into the minefield as fearlessly as if they were walking on the road.

This can be seen from their orderly offensive formation, the fighters attacked when it was time to attack, stopped to cover when they should cover, and did not stop at all because there were mines under their feet, and even several fighters had already been injured by mines.

I came to the side of the engineer platoon commander with my rifle, he had already shed the last drop of blood, one hand and two feet were gone, but he still grabbed the front with his only remaining hand, staring at the position of the Vietnamese army with both eyes, as if he wanted to climb closer to the enemy's position, and beside him, there were soldiers of the engineer unit who were missing arms and legs, and some of them were dragging their wounded legs to continue crawling forward even at this moment. Behind them, there were bloody roads......

"Hygienist...... "Hygienist," I shouted behind me.

"To" Several hygienists immediately appeared in front of me, and to my surprise, there were also Liu Yun and Yichen among them.

"Bandage the wounded and send them back immediately," I ordered, without hesitation.

At this time, I don't care whether they are 'female' soldiers or not, let alone whether they are ** or not, I only think about rescuing the wounded and saving their lives

"Yes" Several hygienists rushed to the wounded without hesitation, in fact, before I could give the order. For frontline health workers who are rescuing the wounded, time is of the essence.

"Let go of me, let go of my ......" When Liu Yun and Yichen held down a sapper who was still climbing up with a broken 'leg', they didn't expect him to resist. The sappers shouted hysterically while struggling: "Let go of me, let me go up, I haven't finished the task yet, I still have to clear the mines......"

"Comrade," I stepped forward and grabbed his hand and said, "You have completed the task, so give us the rest."

The sapper couldn't help but be stunned, looked at me, and then at the infantry soldiers who were charging forward beside him, and then breathed a sigh of relief, and then fainted with a limp......

"Why are you still stunned? Bandage quickly," I anxiously ordered Liu Yun and Yichen, who were still in a daze.

"Yes," Liu Yun and Yichen answered, wiping tears while busily bandaging the wounded sapper's leg.

These are all admirable soldiers, looking at the unconscious engineer soldiers, a sense of déjà vu rises in my heart, they have taken the completion of the task as a mission, a responsibility, and when they fight to the point of losing their minds, they will regard it as a habit, a physiological reaction, so that they don't know when to stop...... When we fought on the battlefield to resist US aggression and aid Korea, this was not the case

I didn't think much about it, and I didn't have time to think about it, because this whole battlefield needed my command. So I pointed the rifle in my hand forward, and rushed towards the Vietnamese position.

The firepower of the Vietnamese army has not yet recovered from the artillery fire of our army for the time being, and they need time to drill out of the tunnels to deploy their troops, and they also need time to judge the direction of our army's main attack. At the same time, they did not dare to easily 'expose' their firing points, because they were afraid that the mortar units that were covering behind the infantry would knock out their firing points one by one from a distance.

But I'm sure they'll be fighting back soon

The sound of artillery had stopped, and groups of soldiers lined up in straggler formations to cover each other and 'pressed' towards the Vietnamese army's hilltop position, and there was silence all around, only the rapid footsteps of the soldiers echoed in the valley. The air was filled with a strong smell of gunsmoke, white 'colored' smoke everywhere, and I don't know if it was fog or something else. This makes the visibility of the battlefield very low, although the sky is already brightening by this time.

I was still more than 200 meters away from the 'approaching' position at the top of the hill and did not advance any further. For a sniper, the greater advantage is distance rather than melee. If I go a little further and approach the "shooting" of the Vietnamese AK47, it will completely "waste" the "shooting" range of nearly 1,000 meters of this SVD in my hand.

I found a position and set up my sniper rifle, a distance where I could just see the Vietnamese trenches in the sniper scope. I believe in a truth, that is, if I happen to be able to see the Vietnamese army in the sniper scope, then the Vietnamese army without the sniper scope will not be able to see me. So I don't want to see clearly, because that would only expose myself to the enemy's guns

"Slow down the attack," I ordered into the walkie-talkie: "A platoon of fire reconnaissance mortars ready for battle"

I was well aware of the Vietnamese army's tricks of anti-slope warfare, so I also knew that it was impossible for our artillery to crush the Vietnamese troops holding on the high ground. Just as we did during the period of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, they were willing to get out of the tunnel after our artillery fire had passed and get ready on the hilltop position. Therefore, taking advantage of the aftermath of artillery fire, it seems that the trick of rushing forward in time to occupy the enemy's position will not be of much use, it will only increase the casualties of our troops.

"Yes," Yang Songjian, who was not far in front of me, answered, and with a wave of his hand, he scattered with more than 30 soldiers and 'touched' the Vietnamese army's hilltop position.

Unlike before, they did not charge, but stopped when they were still more than a hundred meters away from the hilltop position, and each looked for a hiding place. If they really can't find a place to hide, they 'draw' the sapper shovels and build a foxhole in the spot.

"A row is ready," and it didn't take long for Yang Songjian's report to be heard on the walkie-talkie.

"Mortars ready," the deputy company commander also reported to me.

"That...... What is the name of the artillery observer? Then I remembered that I didn't even have time to ask their names.

The voice of the artillery observer came over the "report" intercom: "Zhu Jixing, squad leader of the third squad of the first company of the artillery regiment"

"Okay," I whispered, "keep your eyes wide for me, and see where the enemy shoots, and your shells will be smashed, do you understand?" ”

"Understood"

"Ready," I ordered over the intercom, "hit"

As soon as I gave the order, Yang Songjian's troops opened fire. After several battles, the soldiers of the Fifth Company had already eliminated all the Type 56 rifles in their hands and replaced them with Soviet-style AK47s in the hands of the Vietnamese army, so the fighters had either submachine guns or machine guns in their hands. At this moment, as soon as the fire began, the gunfire rang out like bursting beans, and the bullets poured into the Vietnamese positions in pieces, and from time to time, a few soldiers raised bazookas or recoilless guns at the Vietnamese army's formation

I looked around, and the smoke and fog of the shells surrounded the whole high ground, and the visibility of the whole high ground was even lower due to the 'chaotic' and 'chaotic' bombardment of the soldiers. In this case, I don't believe that those Vietnamese troops can calm down and not be fooled, if they are really calm, I don't worry, it's a big deal, I will really rush forward with the soldiers......

Sure enough, after a while, there were bursts of gunfire from the Vietnamese army, and the bullets were also whizzing above our heads. I couldn't help but feel happy, and I picked up my rifle and looked through the sniper scope at the Vietnamese position. Despite the low visibility, the fire from the muzzles of the Vietnamese guns was still clearly visible

"Zhu Jixing, can you see clearly?" I asked over the intercom.

"Yes" Zhu Jixing's voice put my mind at ease.

"Don't be busy fighting yet," I ordered: "Write down all the firing points for me, and then assign a few 'mortars' to each firing point, and adjust the Zhuyuan as quickly as possible."

"Yes" Zhu Jixing answered, and there was no more sound, thinking that he was busy calculating the location and arranging those mortars.

On the battlefield, there was only a 'chaotic' fight between guns and artillery on both sides, and both sides used fully automatic weapons, and the bullets came and went like a big net enveloping the entire position. Especially the Vietnamese army in a defensive position, regardless of whether there were people below or not, the grenades and explosives were thrown down the position in rows, only to blow up the front of the position everywhere dust, and what made me feel a little funny was that the soldiers under Yang Songjian were still very cooperative and let out a scream......

"Report that the battalion commander is ready," at this time, Zhu Jixing's voice came from the walkie-talkie.

"Good," I immediately ordered: "All of them, after three rounds of artillery fire, rush to the enemy's position as fast as possible."

"Yes," the fighters replied over the intercom.

"Mortar preparation...... As soon as I gave the order, dozens of 'doors' of mortars located in the rear of our army opened fire, and dozens of shells rushed to the Vietnamese army's troop point with a whistling sound.

Mortars are a must-have heavy weapon for infantry. Although its power is not comparable to those long-range howitzers and cannons, it has a great advantage that it is lightweight, and the infantry can break it down into several parts and distribute it to several fighters. Compared with recoilless guns and rocket launchers, it has the characteristics of long range, high precision, and great power.

For example, the Type 71 100-mm mortar that our army is now equipped with has a range of 4,700 meters, which is worthy of its name and is the weapon with the longest range and the greatest power among the infantry equipment of this era.

At this time, the mortar played another role on the battlefield, and the gunfire in the direction of the Vietnamese army was obviously much less when one round of artillery shells went up, and they basically had no sound when they went up in two rounds......

Of course, I believe that the Vietnamese troops on those hilltop positions did not flee back into the tunnels, and they could not be faster than the shells

As soon as the cannon stopped, I yelled at the soldiers: "Comrades, rush to avenge the sapper comrades"

"Rush"

"Avenging Comrade Sappers"

……

The fighters shouted loudly and rushed towards the Vietnamese position, and it was clear that we rushed to the top of the hill without encountering any obstacles. The first few rounds of mortars had already killed and wounded most of the Vietnamese troops on the hilltop position, and our troops were fully prepared to charge, and occupied the position in one go before the troops in their tunnels could be urgently replenished

The rest is the question of how to deal with the Vietnamese troops who are blocked in the tunnels by our firepower

Naturally, I don't need to care about this, the soldiers seem to be very good at this now, and at the same time they are happy to find out the Vietnamese army's tunnels one by one and blow them up. Many soldiers even learned my method of dealing with the Guitun Fort, tying the explosives bag to a bamboo pole with a rope and hanging it at the mouth of the tunnel of the Yue Devil, and then there was a "boom" sound......

The fighters also gave this trick a nice name - "Jiang Taigong Fishing".

The whole battle lasted only half an hour, and our troops only suffered 10 soldiers wounded by scattered mines, and two soldiers were killed in the 'engagement' with the Vietnamese army, and the rest were heavy casualties among the engineer units.

When I reported this result to Regiment Commander Zhang, he couldn't help but sigh: "How can the Vietnamese defense line in your direction be so weak, the first and third battalions have already suffered dozens of casualties, and they have not been defeated yet."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but smile bitterly, this is the logic of Regiment Commander Zhang, we achieved the greatest results with the least casualties, not because our battalion fought well, but because the enemy was too weak

But it doesn't matter, I don't need useless exploits, rewards, or medals, I want a simple number of deaths

I've done that, and my training methods have proven to work.

According to the original plan, our troops were supposed to continue to advance after breaking through the Vietnamese defensive line, but the attack of the 1st and 3rd battalions did not go well. Later, I learned that in fact, the 213th Division was the only one on the entire front that our battalion could finish the battle the fastest. In order to prevent our battalion from being besieged by the Vietnamese army in depth, the higher authorities ordered us not to advance for the time being and wait for the other troops to end the battle.

Originally, I also wanted to go to support other troops, but considering that our army is not familiar with the terrain, it is easy to 'get lost' in this light rain and fog. In addition, the friendly forces are all superior forces against the enemy's weak forces, and we will not only not be able to help if we go, but may also add 'chaos', so we are happy to let the soldiers build fortifications and fortifications in the same place.

I took some time to go to the makeshift hospital in the rear, and I wanted to see the sapper soldiers, although they were also fulfilling the tasks that their superiors had 'assigned' to them, but one thing was obvious, if it were not for their sacrifices, it would have been us who would have suffered.

The so-called hospital is to set up a simple tent in the jungle, the tent is dark green, and a few trees are randomly found in the jungle to tie a few corners...... It will be enough to cover the light rain overhead.

Inside was a mess, though there were not many wounded, only forty or fifty. This amount is really not worth mentioning compared to the previous patches of dead bodies. But the condition of the wounded still shocks me.

These fighters are either missing 'legs' or hands, and some even lack several...... Screaming, unconscious, groaning, feverish...... As far as the eye can see, there are mutilated, bloody people.

The hygienists were busy helping the soldiers with simple bandages, infusions and blood transfusions, including Liu Yun and Yichen.

Originally, I thought that the two of them might not be able to stand this scene because of the first time they went to war, but now I realize that these worries are unnecessary. In the hospital, they were as busy as if they had changed people, although they were covered in blood, they didn't care at all, they still skillfully rescued the soldiers, and they only raised their eyelids when they saw me walk in.

Maybe what Commander Zhang said is really right, we have our battlefield, and they also have their battlefield. They may be really afraid of killing and war, but they are not afraid of saving people......

With a roar, more than a dozen Jiefang-brand military vehicles drove from the path in the jungle to the front of the hospital, and the hygienists hurriedly carried the wounded one by one onto the stretcher, and then sent them to the car one by one.

In order to be idle, I put my rifle on my back and joined the transport of the wounded. More than 50 wounded were assigned to 11 military vehicles, each of which had to transport about four wounded. The small space in the rear compartment of this "old liberation" made it necessary for us to place the wounded sideways. Some of the wounded had to bend their 'legs', some had to sit half-sitting, and some even had to be squeezed into a car with five people...... It was inevitable that they would huddle each other together and touch the wounds of the wounded, so after a while, the carriage was full of screams of the wounded, and we only looked at the pain in our hearts

With great difficulty, the wounded were placed, and two more hygienists were assigned to each car to take care of them, and after a burst of motor sounds, the car drove crookedly towards the middle of the mountain road. From time to time, the screams of the wounded were heard, and blood was dripping down the mountain road, which was thought to be caused by the wounds of the wounded.

"You can't...... Do you arrange for migrant workers to carry it? Seeing this, I couldn't help but ask.

Yichen shook his head wordlessly: "Their injuries are too serious, and they must be sent to the field hospital immediately for rescue." The speed of migrant workers is too slow......"

"But let them ...... like this," I said, pointing to the car that was gradually moving away, and said with some anger, "let them be rocked to the field hospital like this, how many soldiers will still be alive?" Can't you send more cars? ”

"We've asked for it," Liu Yun took off the mask pinned to his ears a little weakly, and said: "But the military department's car is not enough, this war car has to transport ammunition and medicine, transport supplies, and the whole front is full of wounded, it's good to be able to get these."

I couldn't help but be silent when I heard this, what I really didn't expect was that it wasn't just on the battlefield that we could lose our 'lives'......