Zhao Hu immediately asked people to interrogate the captured prisoners, and after taking various cruel measures and comparing the confessions of multiple prisoners, he was finally convinced that the enemy had also thought of a similar surprise attack plan, although it was aborted because of the blizzard, but the elite infantry division of the American army did not leave after returning to Missoula, plus the original garrison of Missoula, the total strength of the American army south of Lake Flathead has exceeded 50,000!

"Counting what we eliminated on the road, it is almost exactly the strength of two divisions, and now Missoula should already know that we are coming, and will not be as negligent as those strongholds pulled out on the road......", political commissar Wang Yuanshan couldn't help frowning, with the strength of the first brigade, it is not too difficult to defeat 50,000 American troops, even if the other party is well prepared and has built a basic defensive position, but the problem is that Missoula is on the main line of the North Pacific Railway, and the US army can easily transfer reinforcements, The limit speed can even reach two divisions a day......

If it was ten years ago, Zhao Hu might have chosen to take a risk, but after more than ten years of tempering and accumulation, he has now calmed down a lot in major matters, and he shook his head when he heard the words and said, "Unless the enemy collapses on its own, it is impossible for us to wipe out all the defenders in one day, and if we attack the city, seven or eight out of ten will be consumed alive." Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info Of course, we also have reinforcements, but the speed of reinforcements can't be compared with the US army in any case, not to mention that the ice can't pass directly soon, and then we have to find a ship and wait for the ice to melt, at least we have to wait for another half a month before a large force arrives, so long, our brigade must have exhausted the 10,000 people......"

Although he gave a negative answer, Zhao Hu's expression was not as ugly as Wang Yuanshan, and the latter suddenly had confidence again, he knew that although his partner was born in a rough embryo, his brain was very easy to use, and since he was so calm, he must have come up with a solution.

Sure enough, I saw Zhao Hu grinning and said something that made Wang Yuanshan suddenly brightened, "What is the purpose of our southward journey?" It's a surprise attack on Missoula, why a surprise attack on Missoula? Naturally because the city is so important, why is Missoula so important? Because it is an important transportation hub on the North Pacific Railroad line, the above requirement is not to occupy the city of Missoula, but to cut off the North Pacific Railway, and to achieve this goal, in fact, we do not need to attack the city of Missoula......"

"Only mountain soldiers can show their greatest advantage in the mountainous areas, coupled with the impact of the offensive and defensive dislocations and the difficulty of deploying large troops in the mountainous areas, as long as our brigade can seize the advantageous terrain and arrange the position, before the ammunition and grain and grass are exhausted, even if there is a million troops to attack, there is nothing to be afraid of." Zhao Hu said and took out the military map, pointed to the two positions to the south of the current location and said, "But before that, we must first take the two mountain passes in the south, otherwise everything will be out of the question." ”

Following the direction pointed by Zhao Hu, Wang Yuanshan saw a small basin with a shape very similar to ************ surrounded by two small sections of oblique ridges and the main vein of the Cordillera mountain system, and his eyes suddenly lit up, the area of this small basin has almost reached 10 square kilometers, and there is no need to worry about the threat of the air these days, as long as the enemy's balloon airships are not allowed to enter, there is no need to be afraid of long-range shelling, as long as the control of the southern ridge is taken down, the troops will have a stable rear, At the same time, it can directly threaten the North Pacific Railroad, which can be cut off by going down the mountain, and can directly attack Missoula if it goes south along the railway line, and if it can be taken, there will be no more variables in the war in the Northwest Bureau of the United States.

However, it is still early in the morning, not to mention the ridge in the south, and the ridge in the north is still under the control of the US military, but fortunately, the reconnaissance detachment has completed the task of uprooting those posts cleanly, and the US military has not only failed to make phone calls, but also has not had time to send out a wireless telegraphy, so it can sneak attack again.

Sure enough, as Zhao Hu estimated, the vanguard battalion of the 1st Brigade succeeded in taking the enemy by surprise, sacrificing only 17 comrades and taking the only pass on the ridge to the north. However, their good fortune almost ended there, and when the 1st Brigade pursued and attacked the mountain pass to the south, it was naturally met with stubborn resistance from the American army.

"With radio, the difficulty of sneak attacks is much greater than before, and it can only take advantage of local areas, and the impact on the entire battle situation is already minimal." Zhao Hu sent out such a sigh after receiving the telegram from the attacking troops requesting fire support, it is both lucky and unfortunate to lead troops to fight in a special period when weapons and tactics are rapidly upgraded, and if you can keep up with the times, you will definitely become a generation of famous generals, but if you are a little rigid in your thinking, you will be quickly eliminated......

Fortunately, the US military top brass did not expect that this place would be attacked by a large army, and a strong fortress with large-caliber heavy artillery was not built, and the number of troops was not very large.

For the enemy in open fortifications such as trenches, the lethality of 120mm mortars can almost be compared with 150mm caliber howitzers, and dozens of them are used together, which is enough to turn a large area of American positions into a graveyard in an instant.

The U.S. troops stationed at this mountain pass had never experienced actual combat before, and they were not even mentally prepared to participate in the battle, but now they were about to face such a cruel and tragic battle all of a sudden, and the string in their hearts was suddenly broken, and one by one the American GIs screamed and threw down their weapons and ran out of the position, but the improvised supervision team could not stop it at all. This is not to say that there are too many deserters, after all, most of the US officers and soldiers on the position have already died or are seriously injured and cannot escape, but because the mortars of the 1st Brigade have begun to extend the shelling, and the supervision team itself is difficult to protect, where can they free up their hands to execute the deserters?

"The enemy's shelling once a second (in fact, more than this speed) is terrible, terrible! Please support immediately, please support immediately! The commander of the American regiment yelled incoherently into the phone, but it was useless, but after only a quarter of an hour, a platoon of Chinese troops rushed into the regimental headquarters and quickly cleared the resistance, the regimental commander after a moment of hesitation, lowered his head and slowly raised his hands above his head...... (To be continued.) )