Before the formation of the special forces, Li Weimin worked in the reserve officer training team of Phu Quoc University of Technology, and put forward various ideas on special operations from memory. Although many of the people who participated in the discussion did not say anything, and even nodded yes, they did not think so. Think it's too ahead of its time, too sci-fi.

Probably related to his experience in the French army, Li Vinh Luong, who was a captain instructor at the time, developed a great interest in special operations. Not only entrusted the overseas colleagues of the industrial investment company to help collect information on the special forces of various countries, but also used every opportunity to discuss with the "big boss".

Because of this, when the special forces were formed and the first commander was selected, Li Weimin's first thought was him.

Those who are close to Zhu are red, and those who are close to ink are black.

Li Yongliang's understanding of special operations is the same as that of Li Weimin.

In his opinion, in the face of several times the enemy, rushing forward and fighting hard, it is a death squad, not a special forces. Directing air fire or long-range artillery fire for precision strikes is what special forces should do. I was ready to fight hard, but there was no way, there was no such condition. Now there is air support, and of course the Air Force must play its due role.

With the successful contact with Tan Son Nhat and Bien Hoa Air Base, the Satun Camp Command where he was located officially became the Joint Operations Command.

Although there are not many troops, there are quite a few combat units, including the special forces of the Fourth Tactical Region, the Fourth Tactical Region Air Force, the 5th Infantry Division Detective Team, which is nominally subordinate to the Third Tactical Region, five squadrons from two air divisions of the Air Force, the intelligence officers of the "Vietnamese Chinese Literature and Art Research Association" who have not seen the light of day, and even international allies such as the "Free Khmer Rouge."

In the big tent, the radio "tick-tock" kept ringing. Four operational staff officers constantly passed through the telegrapher. Instructions were given to the ministries participating in the war.

Tao Wenguang, deputy commander of the air force, read the telegram he had just received. After calculating the time again, he looked up sharply and said, "General Liang, this is the third time, and it should be no problem to start the operation at 5:15." ”

After successfully establishing contact with Nguyen Gao Qi, the air force quickly drew up an operational schedule based on the previous plan for "Operation Left Hook," the air force's preparedness, and the climatic conditions in the combat area.

It is up to the front-line commander to decide whether or not the schedule made while sitting in an air-conditioned office will be adopted. It looks very beautiful and accurate to the point, but it is related to the success or failure of the operation and the safety of more than 500 officers and soldiers, Li Yongliang did not use it immediately, but asked Tao Wenguang to calculate it a few more times, so that he could take into account all the uncertain factors that he could think of.

It was already 5:06 a.m., and the rain had stopped in the middle of the night, so I couldn't hesitate any longer, and I had to make a decision immediately.

Li Yongliang lifted the canvas and looked at the crew who were finishing the helicopter overhaul. Turning back and ordered: "Order the ministries to act according to the schedule." ”

"Yes!"

Acting according to the schedule does not mean an immediate attack by ground forces. The order was transmitted to the airstrip of Yongshao-eup, and Shang Wei, the pilot of the air team sitting in the cabin of the O-1 observation plane, gave a thumbs up to the navigator behind him, and then pulled the tempered glass hatch cover, started the engine, and prepared to take off.

A communication command vehicle converted from an M113 armored infantry fighting vehicle was parked on the side of the runway, and the ground commander of the aviation team turned on the high-power radio station, picked up the microphone and shouted: "Woodpecker, woodpecker, I am a dog farm, act as planned, and the eagle dog will take off in two minutes." ”

With a mocking electric sound, there was a response in the headphones: "Woodpecker received, woodpecker received, act as planned, take off in five minutes!" ”

"Woodpecker" is the temporary call sign of the T-28 squadron stationed at Tan Son Nhat Air Base, the T-28 is actually a training aircraft, left to the South Vietnamese Air Force before the French army evacuated, and can only carry a small number of bombs, but something is better than nothing.

The reason for the late take-off was that the O-1 observation aircraft of the air force did not fly as fast as it.

In terms of combat capability, the air force's piston military observation aircraft, which was developed and modified from the famous Cessna 170 tour aircraft, is not even as good as the T-28 training aircraft. Not only unarmed but also unarmed, the only means of defense for pilots and navigators was to put on an anti-fragmentation vest.

It is worth mentioning that today there is armament, and four rockets are hung under the wings, but they are nothing more than smoke bombs, which cannot kill people. In addition, the navigator carried 15 smoke canisters with him, and once the target was confirmed, he threw them down by hand, which were all used for positioning as well as smoke rockets.

At 5:15 a.m., the O-1 observer staggered into the sky.

It was not yet bright and visibility was low, so you had to rely on instruments to fly.

Shang Wei adjusted his posture, held the joystick and said with a smile: "Old Lu, I have reconnoitred in the air several times, and I can fly there with my eyes closed." Leave the route alone, keep an eye on the radio behind you, and don't let those rookies fly into Cambodia. ”

In front of the Nationalist Air Force, which has been hiding under the rain wings of US aviation advisers, the Fourth Tactical Region Air Force, which has fewer people and fewer aircraft, is entitled to pride, and navigator Lu Guihaha laughed and said: "Don't look down on him, look down on you, the 'woodpecker' is led by Liu Yanxiao, and he seems to be classmates with you." ”

Shang Wei is the oldest qualified pilot in the air force, and when Nguyen Van Xin was chief of the General Staff, he joined the Air Force under the call of the Chinese Youth Association and Li Weimin's arrangement. He was trained for a period of time at the then U.S. Military Advisory Group's training base at Tan Son Nhat Airport.

The whole training process was very slow due to the low level of education of many Vietnamese trainees who joined during the same period.

The military adviser really couldn't stand it, so he arranged for 27 trainees with relatively strong acceptance ability, including him, to go to the United States for training, where they studied in the United States for four years and flew six types of aircraft. After returning to China, he did not join the Air Force, but went to Phu Quoc as an instructor in the Reserve Officer Training Corps.

In order to increase his actual combat experience, he later went to Algeria to defect to Nguyen Van Xin under Li Weimin's arrangement.

Don't look at Nguyen Van Xin, who can't do Nguyen Dinh Diem in Saigon, but in France, he is very prosperous, and he is promoted from a colonel of the French Air Force to a major general, and serves as the commander of an air base in Algeria, an "overseas province."

After working with "General Xin" for three years, learning to fly three new aircraft, participating in more than 120 operations, and accumulating flight time from the time he got on the training plane to the present, the cumulative flight time has reached more than 2,300 hours.

Speaking of the classmate who always failed the exam during the training, Shang Weile said: "I am only a captain now." I don't know how he got mixed up. Look at the people's Du Gaozhi. He has long been a major general. ”

"How can the Air Force compare with the Army, you think they are the same as us."

At 5:26 a.m., when the observer plane flew into the assembly airspace, Lu Gui turned the radio to the combat frequency, and while looking around, he shouted: "Woodpecker, woodpecker, I am an eagle dog." Hear the answer. ”

After calling six times in a row and waiting for about 40 seconds, there was finally a response in the headset: "Eagle dog, eagle dog, woodpecker received, woodpecker received." ”

"Please report the altitude, bearing."

……

At the same time, the deafening sound of aircraft engines sounded at the Satun camp.

The rotten leaves raised by the helicopter's rotor wings flew all over the sky, rolling up the water on the ground into the sky, and the members of the three major special forces teams were wrapped in it. It's simply suffocating.

One, two. Three, four......

More than 30 people from three detachments squeezed into the cabin, the squadron leader gave a thumbs up and pointed to the east, the captain quickly pulled up the control stick, and the plane left the ground.

The brothers who set off at night were about to attack, and the squadron leader was a little anxious, and asked in a loud voice: "Lieutenant, how long are we going to fly?" ”

After calculating more than a dozen times in advance, the captain replied without thinking: "The flight is 13 minutes and 21 seconds, that is, two minutes after they attack." ”

"Oh, got it."

The helicopter flew over a hill, and everyone suddenly lit up, the east appeared white, the sun seemed to be about to show its face, the air was cool and fresh, and the ground was surrounded by clusters of mist.

Looking down from the air, the scenery is beautiful, and the green jungle in front of you is presented in front of you, and the mountains with dense vegetation crisscrossed by rivers that look inaccessible to people. This is followed by an undulating plateau plain, dotted with some 9-15 meter tall trees, scattered with a few fields of mountain people's crops, as well as meandering creeks and dry riverbeds.

The helicopter suddenly descended to the top of the tree, adjusting its altitude as the undulating ground continued, apparently preparing for the final leg of the ultra-low-altitude ground-skimming flight. As the two planes roared over the trees at 180 kilometers per hour, frightened birds scattered from their perch.

There is still a two-minute flight from the landing area, and a puff of smoke can be seen rolling up in the northeast in the distance.

It's fired!

At 1 a.m., the 4th Squadron of the 2nd Brigade, which had been hiding outside the village for nearly two hours, fired the first shot of the "Left Hook Operation" in accordance with the operational schedule updated by the headquarters.

The position of the dark post has been exposed during the change of guard, and it is easy to solve the whistle position at the entrance of the village.

The KPA guards stationed in the village and in the northeast had just gotten up, and according to the insider's introduction, they should now be out of the morning exercise, running a few laps, walking in a queue for a while, before returning to the camp to wash and eat, which was confirmed by the loud slogans before the firing.

It is worth mentioning that in order to avoid misfire, except for the sentries on duty, they should have no bullets in their guns.

Don't miss the opportunity, and never miss it.

Zhu Wensong, the leader of the second brigade, did not want to delay the fighter, and as soon as the time came, he fired a point at the haystack.

The sound of gunfire was an order, and two grenadiers of the 7th detachment fired two 40-mm high-explosive grenades at the bamboo building where the machine-gun fire point was located.

"Bang bang" made two muffled sounds, and the bamboo building was blown up to the ground.

At this time, the village outpost position had been cleanly solved by the 6th detachment. The sudden sound of explosions and gunfire woke up the entire village, and only many people rushed out of the shabby and dilapidated wooden buildings, bamboo buildings or thatched huts, some wearing white shirts, some disheveled, and only a few had guns, and they were pistols.

"Detachments, act according to plan!"

"Yes!"

The 7th detachment was divided into zeros, from two combat squads to six combat groups, and under the leadership of Fang Lexian, the inner line, while firing at men in military uniforms, white shirts, and guns in their hands, they rushed into the village under alternate cover, and attacked and advanced straight in the direction where the prisoners of war of the 5th Infantry Division were being held.

I just woke up and haven't fully woken up yet.

The organs of the Southern Bureau of the North Vietnamese Workers' Party in the village were mainly cadres, and combat was not their strong point.

Detachment 6 had to respond to the follow-up personnel, could not participate in the attack, and could only fortify around the threshing floor.

Nguyen Chi Thanh, a senior general of the North Vietnamese People's Army, Nguyen Van Linh, a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of North Vietnam, and other big fish were in a private house 800 meters east of the village. (To be continued.) )