Chapter 1144: Night Attack

At 7 p.m. on October 15, the sun had already set, and only a little afterglow was still in the sky, and the whole land was about to fall into darkness...... The fighters of the Chinese Air Force in the sky have all returned, and these fighters are not yet capable of fighting at night, and they must rush back to the airport before it is completely dark. In addition, the pilots of the Chinese Air Force were divided into several batches and took turns to support the army's operations, and each pilot participated in almost two or even three operations, which made them very tired. They also need to take a good rest so that they can continue to support the army tomorrow.

The Chinese Air Force's fleet has achieved considerable results in today's battle. They repeatedly bombed the US defense line, and thousands of US troops were directly killed by them. In addition, in several strikes against the heavy artillery units of the US army, they also achieved fruitful results, destroying at least 100 heavy artillery pieces of the US army, and killing as many as 1,000 artillery pieces. The Chinese Air Force only paid the price for the downing of two F5 Haidongqing fighters, the damage of two H5 Hongyan fighters, and the downing of one FH5 Falcon dive bomber.

After the Chinese Air Force fighters returned, the heavy responsibility of providing fire support for the crossing of the Rio Grande fell to the army's heavy artillery units. It is foreseeable that the US military will definitely launch a fierce attack on the troops crossing the river tonight. It will be a very difficult night for the squadron stationed on the north bank of the Rio Grande. If the Army's heavy artillery units could provide them with fire support, they might have had less difficulty. But if the heavy artillery unit can't play its due role, then I'm afraid the squadron that crossed the river will have a hard time tonight! To this end, the squadron is also as prepared as possible.

Marshal Zhao Bowen, the supreme commander of the North American battlefield of the squadron, arrived at the headquarters of the 7th Group Army of the Chinese Army, and he was also very satisfied with the expression of the 7th Army today. It would be great if we could survive this evening!

"General Du, are you ready for tonight's battle?" Marshal Zhao Bowen asked. He firmly believes that the US military will definitely take action tonight. The troops that have already crossed the Rio Grande will be hit by a storm of American troops.

"Marshal, we are ready. Now both the 23rd and 32nd Divisions have crossed the Rio Grande. The mercenaries also sent three divisions across the river. The total number of our troops on the other side of the river has exceeded sixty thousand. If the army on the other side of the river can't hold on, we can provide them with support at the first opportunity. The 33rd and 34th divisions were also combat-ready. They will be the first to reinforce the front. In addition, the commander of the mercenary army, Admiral Yoshimasa Oshima, also assured that if reinforcements were needed at the front. The mercenaries are ready to go into battle at any time! General Du Qizheng, commander of the 7th Army, said. Both the troops that had already crossed the river and the troops that were preparing reinforcements were the jīng sharp troops of the 7th Army. In this battle, he has invested a very large amount of money. You know, in the daytime battle, the 7th Army lost less than 5,000 men. And almost all of them were losses paid by the 23rd Division. Admiral Du Qizheng originally wanted to transfer the 23rd Division back to the south bank of the Rio Grande River to rest, but was refused. All the officers and men of the 23rd Division said that they would fight to the end to avenge the dead comrades. Seeing this situation, Admiral Du Qizheng had no choice but to agree to their request.

"Hmmm! The only thing I'm worried about now is the firepower preparation. At night, the air force can no longer provide us with fire support, and we have to rely on artillery! The Americans will definitely carry out massive shelling as well! Marshal Zhao Bowen said. According to the intelligence obtained by the Chinese side, the US military has a considerable amount of heavy artillery on the Rio Grande line. It's just that these heavy artillery pieces have not been involved in large-scale battles. Even during the day, only a small number of U.S. heavy artillery units participated in the attack.

"Marshal! I have assembled the artillery brigade of the 7th Army and the artillery battalions of the divisions under my command. They will provide fire support to the front line. Admiral Du Qizheng said. The 7th Army had a total of one artillery brigade plus the following five artillery battalions, with a total of 480 heavy guns with a caliber of 105 mm or more. Although in this number it may not be comparable to the total number of heavy artillery of the American army on the Rio Grande Line. However, the heavy artillery units of the US army were scattered along the entire line of defense. And the artillery of the 7th Army could be used intensively.

"Although there are already quite a few of them, it is necessary to strengthen the artillery. I have already ordered the transfer of 5 artillery battalions to reinforce you. They will arrive after nightfall! Marshal Zhao Bowen said. In the case that the air force could not be miserable, it could only strengthen the artillery as much as possible.

"Thank you, Marshal! In that case, then we are more sure! Admiral Du Qizheng said with a smile. Five more artillery battalions, that's half more heavy artillery! Then they will be able to provide better fire support to the army on the other side of the river.

"Pontoon bridges on the river should also be taken care of. The Americans will definitely shell our pontoon bridge at the first time to stop our reinforcements on the other side! Marshal Zhao Bowen said. Although the Rio Grande is only more than two meters wide, it is still not something that people can cross lightly. If the U.S. military destroys the pontoon bridge as soon as possible, it will be equivalent to cutting off the squadron's reinforcements to the other side.

"Marshal, we have had the sappers build two more pontoon bridges before dark. Now we have built a total of five pontoon bridges, and it is impossible for the Americans to blow up all five at the same time? Even if it is destroyed, we can use ships to reinforce the other side of the river. It's just that the strength of reinforcements will be greatly affected! Admiral Du Qizheng said.

Marshal Zhao Bowen nodded and didn't say anything more. The preparations of the 7th Army have been very complete, and what will happen to the battle tonight will only depend on the final result. Of course, it is certain that this will be a very tragic battle.

Just as the squadron was actively preparing for the defense at night, the U.S. military was also beginning to make pre-war preparations. A large number of US troops began to be active. Originally, because of the threat of the Chinese Air Force, the heavy artillery units of the US army, which had been hiding in the woods, also came out of the woods and entered their respective artillery positions. Wait for the order to attack!

Within the command of General Pershing, General Pershing, Admiral Davis, and Peyton. Lieutenant General March was frowning, studying the information they had just gotten. On the other side, there are 3 major generals of the US army. One of them, whose face was a little pale, was none other than Major General Eddie of the 30th Army of the U.S. Army. Today, his 30th Army suffered a huge blow and suffered very heavy casualties. And also lost his position, which allowed him to be scolded by General Pershing. In addition, General Pershing also strictly ordered the 30th Army to be the first unit to attack the squadron this evening. Admiral Eddie really didn't know how many men would be left in his 30th Army after this battle.

The other two major generals were Major General Adrian, commander of the 14th Army of the US Army, and Major General Alva, commander of the 15th Army, who participated in this night's attack. Two of their corps will also be involved in tonight's battle. That is, the US military will put 3 armies in counterattack against the Chinese this evening. Among them, the 30th Army had only more than 30,000 people. The other two armies were 50,000 men!

"Ladies and gentlemen, according to the information we have received, there are more than 30,000 squadrons crossing the Rio Grande. In addition, there are no less than this number of rìben mercenaries. Both the Chinese and the rì themselves are very strong troops. But tonight's battle must be successful! Otherwise, there will be huge holes in our defense line, and it is even possible that they will be broken through by the Chinese! This is something that neither I nor the United States zhèngfǔ want to see. Therefore, tonight we must wipe out all the squadrons that crossed the river and let them know how powerful we are! Admiral Pershing said, looking at the crowd.

"Yes, General!" Eddie, Adrian, and Alva replied in loud voices.

"Although the Chinese are strong, we are not much worse than them. At night, the Chinese air force can no longer participate in the war, and every qiē will rely on real strength to speak. We will provide you with the best artillery support. At present, we have transferred heavy artillery units from 12 artillery regiments, with a total of more than 700 large-caliber heavy guns. They will destroy all the pontoon bridges that the Chinese have built on the Rio Grande, and they will bombard all the Chinese who have invaded our positions. At that time, you only need to be very light to be able to attack the position and finish out those Chinese! We will definitely win this battle! Admiral Pershing said with a pretended lightheartedness. In his words, the battle seemed to be very easy, as if the American army could win very easily. However, it is estimated that even he himself will not believe this.

"Yes, General!" The three major generals all nodded. But no one knows what is going on in their hearts.

"So, let's go down and prepare! The attack will begin at 8 p.m. today. First of all, the artillery will prepare for artillery fire for half an hour. After that, it's the infantry's turn to play! Admiral Pershing said.

After saluting, several major generals prepared to leave the headquarters and return to their respective units.

"Admiral Eddie, tonight's attack, the 30th Army collects and organizes the attack!" As the three were about to leave, Admiral Pershing added.

"Yes, General!" Major General Eddie, commander of the 30th Army of the US Army, replied. For this order, his heart is very bitter! rs