Chapter Seventy-Two: Driving Cattle and Stepping on Thunder

We took some time to 'plant' some warning signs in the minefield to the west to remind the troops of the 1st and 3rd Battalions following from behind to be aware of mines.

After a short rest, we set out on the march again. Because we lost most of our guides, our march was slow, and we only walked seven or eight miles after more than half an hour.

In fact, the reason for our slow march speed was that I wanted to wait for the troops of the first and third battalions appropriately, and the other was because there were many mines laid by the Vietnamese army along the way, and the soldiers had to advance while detecting the mines, so this speed was naturally slow.

In other words, the mines of the Vietnamese army are really a headache, and those mines buried in the ground that can be detected with mine detectors are not terrible. But the Vietnamese are not fools, they don't plant mines in the middle of the road that are so obvious that we can detect them.

They planted mines in a variety of ways, hanging from trees, burying them in the side walls of roads, hiding in cracks in stones...... In short, walking on this road is a sentence, that is, if you can not touch anything, try not to touch it, and if you can follow the footprints of the soldiers in front, try to follow the footprints.

This is not? A warrior tried to lean against the stone and drink saliva, but he leaned so lightly...... With a "boom", the mine hidden in the crack of the stone was detonated, and the soldier was not killed, but was killed by the debris that burst out of the crack in the stone.

Another soldier walked to the side of the road to relieve his hands, and easily moved Teng Tiao, who was blocking in front of him, but there was another "boom", and a mine buried in the side wall blew him up on the spot......

The most headache is still crossing the grassland, the soldiers always think that there will be no mines in the grassland, the more devils want to dig up the grass and bury mines, there will always be some traces on the grassland, right? And that big mine can't hang on the grass, can it? As long as we don't go into those bushes of dense grass, what else can we do?

But the truth is not as simple as the fighters imagined. I don't know where the Yue devils learned it, they hung a lot of small pieces of TNT explosives in the grass. This TNT explosive 'drug' is powerful, as long as a piece as big as a skin rub is enough to injure a person, plus this TNT is pale yellow 'color', with a transparent fish wire hanging at the root of the grass can not be seen at all......

At the same time, the mine detector has also become an ornament, and the mine detector can only detect the kind of mine-shelled mine, and it can only look at the thunder and sigh for such a TNT explosive 'charge' block

Therefore, although the soldiers had moved forward carefully, seven soldiers were still blown down on the march within half an hour.

I would rather fight the Vietnamese army on the battlefield than face these mines, because in the face of mines, the enemy can be said to have zero casualties, but we did not even see the shadow of the opponent, and watched our comrades fall under the mines one after another. So this only makes me more and more angry the further I go, but I can't do anything about it

"Damn the devil" When another soldier was blown down by a mine, the hometown people could no longer hold back the anger in their hearts, and scolded fiercely: "These guys are all bad seeds, if he wants to fight, he will come out and fight with Lao Tzu happily."

"That's it" There are also warriors who should be with: "What kind of hero is hiding like a mouse"

"Didn't we just wipe out one of their companies alive? Where do they dare to come out, dare to come out, Lao Tzu will tear him alive"

……

Listening to the grumbling of the soldiers, I can't help but feel a little funny, in fact, what is said on the battlefield is only reality and interests, and the Vietnamese army can use mines to cause casualties to our army, where will there be no reason. If they really come out and fight us, they will be fools

However, the problem of this mine is really a headache, although the casualties are not large, but it seems that the soldiers have lost their minds.

Seeing that we are about to reach the 417 Heights and Kuma Mountain, it doesn't seem like a good thing to let the soldiers go up to fight with this mentality

Just when I was worried, I turned a corner of the mountain road and saw an old Vietnamese man grazing cattle on a meadow not far away.

So he frowned and took it to heart, turned around and shouted to the side: "Hu Shaowen"

"To" Hu Shaowen trotted all the way to me.

"You ......," I said, raising my head at the herd, "go and talk to that fellow and lend us his cattle."

"How much does the battalion commander want to borrow?" Hu Shaowen asked with some hesitation.

All

"What? All? Hu Shaowen's face quickly showed a look of embarrassment: "Battalion commander, what ...... What if they don't borrow it? ”

"Not borrowing?" I glared at Hu Shaowen fiercely: "If he doesn't borrow it, what is the gun in your hand for?" ”

Hu Shaowen was stunned for a moment, and then replied helplessly: "Yes"

"Company Commander Li" looked at Hu Shaowen's little guy, and knew that he couldn't bear to do such a thing, so I glanced at Li Zhifu again and said, "Take a few soldiers to drive cattle, and none of them will be missing."

"Yes" Li Zhifu answered very simply, and casually nodded a few soldiers to the back and followed.

The situation was really as I thought, Hu Shaowen said that the old man would not "lend" the cow to us if he said anything. But this seems to be nonsense, Vietnam is not a rich country, these dozen cows are a lot of wealth, maybe a whole village of people are waiting for these cattle to plough the land, who would want to "lend" these cattle to us soldiers who look like tigers

In the end, Li Zhifu moved roughly, pulled out his pistol and pointed it into the sky, "bang bang" is three times, so frightened that the old man no longer dared to object, he is also a smart person, knowing that this cow is going to be decided, if he objects again, except for losing his 'life', the result seems to be no different.

Actually, I didn't want to do that, and when I gave this order, I was thinking about the word "bullying". This word made me feel very uncomfortable in my heart, especially when I saw the pitiful appearance of the old man, I felt even more uncomfortable. But these are nothing compared to the lives of the soldiers.

Since the Battle of Dong Dang, I have come to understand one thing: everything is empty in this special battlefield, and even if we don't take a stitch from the Vietnamese people, they will never be able to welcome us with gongs and drums. Therefore, the only real thing is the lives of the soldiers. As long as it is beneficial to one's own troops, as long as it can save the lives of the soldiers, what kind of morality, discipline, and quality are there...... Get out of the way

"Battalion commander" After a while, Li Zhifu drove the cattle back, he pointed to the cattle and wiped his saliva and smiled: "Are we ...... Hey hey ......"

"Yes, battalion commander" Some soldiers echoed: "We always eat canned food these days, we are tired of eating it, and the battalion commander is thoughtful, we can fight tooth sacrifices"

"Tooth sacrifice, you're big," I scolded with a wry smile, "You guys, you think about eating all day long...... Can this common man's cattle be eaten casually? Can you eat this borrowed thing? ”

"Battalion commander, this ......" Li Zhifu and the others were all 'touched' when I said this.

I smiled lightly and said, "I just borrowed a few cows from my fellow villagers to lead the way, understand?" ”

Ignoring them as he spoke, he ordered over the walkie-talkie: "The reconnaissance troops stop advancing, come back and drive the cattle in front"

"Yes," Yang Songjian, who was on a reconnaissance mission ahead, quickly responded.

"Oh," the warriors suddenly realized.

The people in my hometown whispered to me with a wry smile: "If you drive the cow and step on the thunder, you will step on the thunder, and what do you say about borrowing the ox to lead the way?"

I also smiled, as the so-called close to Zhu is red and close to ink is black, this has been with Captain Zhang for a long time, and unconsciously learned the official clichés, and can say everything so high-sounding

But all of this doesn't matter, the important thing is that I'm doing the right thing.

Of course, the warriors did not drive the cattle forward as they normally would, and if they did, the cattle would soon be frightened and flee in all directions if a mine exploded.

Many of the fighters came from the countryside, so they were well aware of this. So they thought of another way, which is to go up one cow at a time, just like the "refueling tactics" we use on the battlefield, only in this way can we achieve the greatest results at the lowest cost

The warriors also ingeniously tied a small canopy to the tail of the ox, so that the ox would detonate as many mines as possible when it ran. After all this is prepared, someone will 'draw' the army and stab the cow in the ass......

The sore cow runs forward along the mountain road as if it is crazy, because it has the characteristics of fast speed, thick skin, strong vitality, etc., and often detonates the mine by the branches behind it, so few mines can blow it up. So it rushed down all the way, and we heard the "indiscriminate" bombing of the mines in front of us "booming...... It didn't feel like any ordinary thing

With these oxen, we can march much faster. When we successfully arrived at the target position 417 Heights and saw the Vietnamese defense line, it only took half an hour. And by this time we still had four cows left unused.

"Battalion commander" I took a few people to lie in the grass and observe the 417 highland in front of me, and the deputy battalion commander slowly climbed up and asked: "Zhu Jixing has measured it and determined that this is the 417 highland."

"Hmm" I nodded, the 417 Heights have arrived, so it will not be far from Kuma Mountain. As soon as the Kuoma Mountain is beaten down, then you can condescendingly look down on Langshan.

It is said that when many people hear the name of Lang Mountain, their first reaction is that it should be a mountain. Actually, I thought the same thing the first time, but I found out later that it wasn't.

Lang Son is a city in Vietnam, and the topography is a basin, surrounded by various highlands, including 536 Heights, 445 Heights, 461 Heights, Ba Wai Hills, and 417 Heights and Ku Ma Mountains, which we are going to attack. These heights hold the main road to Lang Son City, and at the same time, they are also the main barrier to protect Lang Son City, and once our army attacks these high grounds, then long-range weapons can directly hit Lang Son City. Therefore, the laying of these peripheral heights is undoubtedly the key to the capture of Lang Son City.

It's just that we all know this, and the Vietnamese army doesn't know it. Therefore, in order to hold Lang Son, the 'gate' to the capital Hanoi, the Vietnamese army mobilized heavy troops to defend the perimeter of Lang Son City. Just like the 417 heights I see now, the trenches are full of heavily armed Vietnamese troops running back and forth.

The rest of our division seemed to have reached their destination one step ahead of us, as could be seen from the sound of gunfire coming from other directions.

The elevation of Kuma Mountain in the upper left of the 417 Heights is 800 meters, and the 536 Heights are in the upper right, both of which are higher than the 417 Heights, and even if the Vietnamese army loses this height, it will be easy to recapture it. Moreover, the position of this high ground is relatively high and easy to be attacked by the enemy, so generally such a high ground does not need to deploy too many troops

But I observed here for a while, and I knew that like this high ground, the Vietnamese army had also deployed at least one battalion of troops. This is a strange phenomenon for the under-armed Vietnamese army, but it also shows how much importance the Vietnamese attach to the defense of Lang Son.

"Battalion Commander" Zhou Changxiang raised his binoculars and observed for a while, then asked in a low voice: "Do you want to report to the regiment headquarters?" ”

I hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Let's wait until we find out the enemy's situation, and then report the details to the regimental headquarters."

"Yes" Zhou Changxiang responded, seemingly feeling a little surprised.

I know why he was surprised, usually at this time, we have determined that the high ground in front of us is the 417 high ground, then we should report to the regiment headquarters that we have arrived at the destination, and ask the higher authorities to give instructions on the next move.

But I didn't do it because I was worried...... What if this regimental commander has a hot head and orders us to take the lead in launching an attack on the 417 heights? Not to mention that there is a battalion of Vietnamese troops on the 417 heights, and there are also Kuma Mountain and 536 heights behind it, one left and one right, any of these two heights can condescendingly hit the artillery shells to the 417 heights, without the cooperation of other forces, I will take a battalion of troops to attack, that is tantamount to self-defeat

Therefore, the best way is to delay it, but fortunately, I will also play an official tone, and the situation must be reconnoitred clearly to report more clearly

Crawling back from the grass on the high ground, I summoned the company commanders to the map, but after looking at the map for a while, I couldn't understand what it was. In other words, although I am road blind, I am also a person who has been a regiment commander on the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and I am also a person who has commanded several battles by looking at the map, but I just can't understand the map...... It's completely different from the actual terrain

So I had to push the map to the side, pick up a branch and draw on the ground: "This is 417 Heights, there are three triangular highlands on its front, and our location is here......"

I pointed to the three heights and said, "For the time being, we have organized these three heights into Heights 1, 2, and 3, with the 4th Company responsible for defending the 1st Height, the 5th Company defending the 2nd Height, and the 6th Company defending the 3rd Height......"

The "battalion commander" listened to my order, and the instructor was a little strange: "We are here to attack the enemy, why are we still defending?" ”

I looked at the sky and replied: "The sky is about to get dark, and the 'touching' fish in the soul water is the most popular 'trick' of the devils, and they will not wait for us to attack there, not to mention that our army has just arrived at the front line, and they are not familiar with the terrain and the enemy's situation, and their positions are not stable, so this is a good time for them to sneak attack our army."

"Oh" Hearing this, everyone understood, and couldn't help but nod their heads in agreement.

Pointing to the sketch on the ground, I continued: "Each company has built field fortifications and laid mines on various heights, especially in the narrow valley between the heights, and must arrange sentries and troops to prevent the Vietnamese army from sneaking up on the dark attack, and must complete the task before dark. Tonight's password is...... Cattle and thunder. Are there any questions? ”

"No problem"

"Guaranteed to get the job done"

……

The warriors answered, and they scattered to build the fortifications.

After arranging this, I picked up a flat stone and sat down, took out a can of beef 'meat' from my backpack, pried it open and munched on it. After a busy day, I really felt a little hungry, so I ate all day after a while.

As soon as I finished eating, a correspondent ran up to me and reported: "Battalion commander, the troops of the 1st and 3rd battalions have come up"

"Hmm" I raised my binoculars and looked behind me, I really didn't expect them to move so fast, we just reached the front foot and their back foot followed. After thinking about it, I felt that I was so stupid, we walked in front and cleared all the mines, and it was strange that they were unhappy to follow them all the way

At this time, another correspondent of the "battalion commander" ran up and reported: "Commander Zhang asked you to go and said that it was ...... Go to the regimental headquarters for a meeting"

When I heard the words at the meeting, I couldn't help but curse in my heart, I didn't know where this regiment headquarters was, so I held a meeting with the 'sexual' personality of Regiment Commander Zhang, I think it's time to study the combat plan again, and I will fight this time, and I am more anxious than anyone else

As I expected, when I took the deputy battalion commander and asked a few soldiers to find the regiment headquarters, I found that the commanders of the other two battalions were already waiting inside.

As soon as he saw me walk in, Regiment Commander Zhang nodded at me and said anxiously: "Our regiment has arrived at the destination two hours later than planned, and the 638th Regiment has already launched an attack on Kuma Mountain in the front, but our outflanked troops have not even beaten down the 417 Heights, and the superiors strictly ordered us to immediately attack the 417 High Heights with one force according to the original plan, and the rest of the troops will cooperate with the 638 Regiment to attack the flank of Kuuma Mountain......

When the "regiment commander" heard this, I couldn't help but stand up and said: "I don't think it's suitable to attack now, we are not very familiar with the battlefield situation, terrain, and enemy situation, and we should let the troops have a familiar process, not to mention that it will soon be dark now, and once it gets dark, it will be even more unfavorable to our army who are not familiar with the terrain."

Although I know what it means to be a military order, I have to stand up and say a few words for the sake of the soldiers' lives