Under the cover of our artillery fire, the battle went smoothly.

Among them, the 119th Regiment, which was the main attack on the left flank of Songmaoling, took all the heights smoothly before noon and began to organize defenses.

The progress in the direction of Laoshan is also very fast, it has been seven hours since the battle began, and the soldiers of the 118th Regiment have successively captured the 56th, 54th, 57th, 50th and other heights.

But it is clear that the battle in the direction of Lao Son is much more difficult than in the direction of Song Mao Ling, because until now there are still several Vietnamese troops on high ground who are engaged in fierce and stubborn resistance.

Looking at my watch, it was already past two o'clock in the afternoon, and I couldn't help frowning.

The Battle of Laoshan was planned to end in one day for the simple reason that the battle was to end in one day...... Our army is not familiar with the terrain of Laoshan, so it is not suitable for night battles. On the other hand, at the same time that our army launched a strong attack on the front line of Lao Son, the Vietnamese army 316A, after realizing that it had been fooled, was very likely to return to Lao Son from the direction of Kulin Mountain for reinforcements.

What I didn't know was that the 316A Division was already on its way to Laoshan at this time, but because I was commanding artillery at this time, I didn't know much about the battlefield situation.

In other words, if we don't fully take Laoshan and organize a defense before dark, then the battle will be very passive.

On the one hand, our army had to engage in a night battle with the Vietnamese army on unfamiliar terrain.

On the other hand, in one night, the Vietnamese reinforcements will continue to reinforce Lao Son.

At that time, if you want to take Lao Mountain, you are afraid that it will be more difficult, and you may even be counterattacked by the Vietnamese army.

"Battalion commander!" At this time, the correspondent took the microphone and shouted to me: "It's Division Commander Jiang, he asked you to go to the division headquarters immediately!" ”

"Hmm!" When I heard this, I immediately realized that something was wrong with this battle. Otherwise, it would not have been possible to call me, the commander of artillery, to the infantry headquarters at this time. Although at this time the victory or defeat of the artillery of the Vietnamese army was divided. But the unexpected can happen on the battlefield at any time. The commander cannot leave his post unless he has absolutely to do so.

So I confessed to Zhang Zuoliang and asked him to command instead of me, and then called the driver and two guards and drove the car to the division headquarters.

I guessed correctly, as soon as I arrived at the division headquarters, I saw that the headquarters was busy, and Division Commander Jiang and a few cadres were frowning in front of the map, and the air was full of anxiety and irritability.

"Report!" I walked up to Senior Commander Jiang and the others and shouted.

"Hmm!" As soon as Master Jiang saw that it was me, he couldn't wait to beckon me to step forward and said, "You came just in time, you have encountered a problem!" ”

"Here's the problem!" When I got up, Senior Commander Jiang pointed to a location and said, "1072 Heights!" ”

Sure enough, there was something wrong with the attack on the main peak of the old mountain...... That's what I expected. It's not because I know history, although as a modern person I know the direction of the whole history, but I still don't know how the first battle played out in detail or in detail.

"We have met with stubborn resistance from the devils in this high ground!" Division Commander Jiang said: "On the one hand, it is because the Vietnamese devils stationed on this high ground have very strong combat effectiveness and the terrain is also very dangerous, and on the other hand, it is also because our army is responsible for attacking this high ground and cannot penetrate it in time. ”

"They can't be blamed for that!" A cadre next to him sighed and said: "We didn't expect the geography of the Laoshan area to be so complicated, we arranged a battalion to intersperse, but it turned out that there was less than a company that could be interspersed before the battle started!" ”

I couldn't help but be stunned when I heard this, which means that more than a third of the fighters did not enter the battle in time. Of course, they will arrive at their designated positions one after another after dawn, but this has already had a detrimental effect on the battle.

On the one hand, this adverse impact is that the strength of the force is not enough to guide the impact on Lao Son and on the other hand, it can enable the Vietnamese troops stationed on the main peak of Lao Son to deal with it calmly. Having had many fights, I certainly know what that means.

"That's right!" Another cadre also frowned and said: "The slopes of the mountains in this area are all more than 60 degrees. Coupled with the fact that there are cliffs and dense forests everywhere, we thought it would only take five hours to get through. But it took more than ten hours, and there was less than a single interspersed ......"

"Here's the thing!" Division Commander Jiang said with a straight face: "The Vietnamese army is a battalion headquarters and battalion reserve on the 1072 heights, and the strength of a reinforced company is greatly regretted. Although the troops are small, they are all elite soldiers and have ample ammunition supplies. On the one hand, they relied on the favorable terrain to resist stubbornly, and on the other hand, they used anti-aircraft machine guns to provide fire cover for the surrounding heights, and even suppressed the highlands that our troops had captured, so that our troops could not effectively organize defenses! ”

"Oh!" As soon as I heard this, I understood why this 1072 Heights would be so important, and it is conceivable that if this is the case now, then when the Vietnamese reinforcements arrive...... As long as the Vietnamese reinforcements establish contact with the Vietnamese troops on the 1072 heights and cooperate with each other, they will have the ability to recapture the highlands that our army has pressed with blood, sweat and life like a devastating one.

Sure enough, I heard Division Commander Jiang say: "We have received news that the first batch of reinforcements from the Vietnamese army is likely to arrive in the Lao Son area within an hour. Of course, it will take time for them to climb the old mountain, and our artillery will try to stop and shoot at them as much as possible, but if they are given a night's time...... The situation will be unimaginable! ”

That's exactly what I feared, and like I said before, one night was enough time to change the whole fight. And once the Vietnamese reinforcements are allowed to arrive at Lao Son in time, then even if our army has the advantage in artillery fire, this battle is very likely to develop into a protracted stalemate.

So, there is no doubt that this fight must be ended before dark.

But......

"Divisional Commander!" I was puzzled and asked, "What can our artillery do?" Such terrain as the 1072 heights is not suitable for artillery bombardment! ”

This is obvious, on the one hand, because the position on the top of the 1072 Heights is like a blade, and the artillery fire in such a position is very hit, even if there is a gunnery radar. On the other hand, because the 1072 heights are too steep, you must know that the slopes in the vicinity are more than 60 degrees, and a cannonball will hit it...... The debris and flying cannonballs, as well as the pieces of bamboo, wood chips, etc., are more likely to fly towards your own fighters without posing much of a threat to the enemy.

"It's not that artillery can do anything!" Master Jiang replied: "It's your secret service company!" ”

"Oh!" When I heard this, I couldn't help but suddenly realize.

"I know your agent company is tasked with protecting the gunsight radar!" Division Commander Jiang said: "But now that the situation is urgent, our army must take the 1072 heights before dark. The 118th Regiment, which was responsible for attacking Laoshan, suffered heavy casualties, and there were no extra troops to support the 1072 Heights. At the same time, because the terrain around Laoshan is very complicated, the reinforcements sent by our army to the 1072 heights will not arrive until three hours later. ”

"Master Jiang means ......"

"Now the only one who can reinforce the 1072 heights in time is the agent company of the synthetic battalion!" Division Commander Jiang said helplessly: "The helicopter of the special agent company can carry out the landing on the 1072 heights, that is, they can reach the 1072 heights in the shortest possible time. ”

I couldn't help frowning, and after being silent for a while, I replied: "Division commander, it's not that I don't accept this task, but you also know that the 1072 heights are still in the hands of the Yue devils, and there are still a large number of anti-aircraft machine guns in its position......"

I quickly got confirmation from Commander Jiang's expression, in fact, there is no doubt about this, 1072 Heights is the main peak of the old mountain, and its important role is to provide fire support for several surrounding highlands. Starting from this strategic goal, then the 1072 heights will of course have to be equipped with many anti-aircraft machine guns with long range and fierce firepower.

When our army attacked the 50 heights before, it was because it was suppressed by the fire of the main peak that it suffered heavy casualties.

And it is conceivable that in order to achieve this strategic goal, the Vietnamese army must have stockpiled quite a lot of ammunition on the main peak, we don't know how much of this ammunition there is, but we believe that the amount of these ammunition will definitely be enough for the Vietnamese army to hold out until the night.

In fact, after we laid down the main peak, we learned that there were as many as 15 anti-aircraft machine guns on the main peak of the old mountain, and some of them were of course able to be replaced when the high plane broke down during the battle. And its ammunition reserves are no problem to hold on for two days and nights.

"So!" I continued: "The division commander also knows that our Zhi-5 can't withstand the strafing of anti-aircraft machine guns at all, plus we still have to act during the day, and the landing location is still ......."

"The landing point is here!" Division Commander Jiang pointed to a location on the map with some helplessness: "This is an area controlled by a battalion, and they will open a rope landing point here!" ”

I looked at the topographic map, shook my head and said: "The difference in altitude between here and the 1072 Heights is more than 200 meters, and the straight-line distance from the 1072 Heights is only more than 700 meters...... It's not about sending the agent company to reinforcements, it's about sending them to their deaths! ”

"Battalion Commander Yang, it's not right for you to say that!" At this time, a cadre next to him said: "How can there be no risk in fighting? If everyone refuses the tasks assigned to you by your superiors with the idea that you are greedy for life and afraid of death, then how can this battle be fought?! ”

I just smiled and replied unceremoniously: "I don't think that in our army, no one in the army will be qualified to say that our synthetic battalion is greedy for life and afraid of death, including you!" ”

This cadre was choked by my words for a moment, after all, the results of the synthetic battalion were clearly displayed there. (To be continued......)