"Division Commander Liu, it's okay to leave you on the Eastern Front to fight a counterattack, right?" Deputy Commander Han looked at Liu Hai and asked. Bangs smiled: "I've been used to it for a long time!" "Hehe, those who can work hard! On our Eastern Front, there is only one artillery division, and the comrades at the division headquarters were attacked by American commandos the day before yesterday and all of them died! Now I can only find one temporarily, how about Master Liu? Deputy Commander Han asked. No problem! But I have to look at the deployment of the campaign before I can make a plan! There are also shells, if you want to attack and counterattack, you must have enough shells! Bangs said. No problem with this! We're all ready, just waiting for you, Division Commander Liu, come on, let's go to the war room and see the plan! "Yes! Deputy Commander Han! Liu Hai followed Deputy Commander Han to the war room!

"On the Western Front, where you were originally located, when the 38th Army and the 50th Army of the Volunteer Army blocked the United Nations Army's counterattack to the north with their flesh and blood, the advance of the Eastern Front was faster than the speed of the Western Front, so it stood out from the entire front. This state of affairs on the battlefield made Commander-in-Chief Peng, who was very worried about the situation on the battlefield, feel that the opportunity to reverse the passive situation might have come. Fighters on the battlefield are fleeting and must be seized and used decisively. Deputy Commander Han pointed to the map and said. Does that mean it's time to fight back now? Bangs asked. The 23rd Regiment of the 2nd U.S. Division and a French battalion were blocked by the Chinese 42nd Army north of the Critics; The 8th and 5th Divisions of South Korea advanced to the line of Pungsuwon, Sangcheongbong-ri, Budong-ri, and Umedjeon-ri north of Hoengseong; Further east, the 7th and 9th South Korean Divisions and the Capital Division lagged behind on the line of Hajinbuli and Gangneung. At this point, the United Nations forces deployed on the front line of Toheong-ri and Hengcheng had stood out from the entire front. Deputy Commander Han said with some excitement. Did Mr. Peng give the order? To be honest, they are about to cry when they are defending on the Western Front during this time, and they should really be given a moment! Liu Hai also said excitedly.

"General Peng has telegraphed the 42nd Army and the 2nd and 5th Army Corps of the North Korean People's Army to block the United Nations forces advancing north on the Eastern Front, so as to reduce the pressure on our blocking troops on the Western Front. At the same time, the 39th, 40th, and 66th armies under the command of Deng Hua were ordered to move eastward, waiting to find fighters. Now that the time is ripe, we plan to beat him up in Hengcheng! Deputy Commander Han said. Okay, I'll cooperate with you in fighting these bastards! "You are going to command the Fifth Artillery Division," Deputy Commander Han said, "Since the division headquarters was defeated by the enemy, the morale is very low, and you have to solve the morale problem first!" "Don't worry, the artillery division is in my hands, there must be no problem! I promise to blow up Yokojo over! ”

In fact, when Liu Hai organized an anti-tank operation, Peng Dehuai, commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army, had already sketched in his mind a preliminary idea of fighting a counterattack on the Eastern Front, but he was not completely sure. Desperately holding the western front, quickly concentrating the large corps on the eastern front, and carrying out a large-scale counterattack against the relatively weak south Korean forces, if the counterattack is successful, will greatly alleviate the current situation of the Chinese army's retreat, and perhaps even halt the offensive of the United Nations forces. However, Peng Dehuai knew very well in his heart that there were at least three conditions to be met to organize a counterattack on the Eastern Front: first, the position of the United Nations Army on the Eastern Front to advance northward formed a forward situation; 2. The troops participating in the counterattack can reach the place where the battle was launched in a timely manner; Third, this is also the most important thing, that is, the 38th Army and the 50th Army, which are blocking the United Nations forces on the Western Front, must be able to block the fierce offensive US troops near the Han River.

Peng Dehuai's worries were necessary, but the 50th Army and the 38th Army on the Western Front relied on their toughness to block the United Nations forces led by the United States south of the Han River. The U.S. planes and artillery bombed those positions over and over again, burned them over and over again, but there were always gunshots coming from above, and the U.S. soldiers who rushed up were knocked down every time. More than 100,000 US troops fought for more than 40 days, but they advanced only a few dozen kilometers, which gave Commander Van Vliet and Ridgway of the Eighth Army a headache, but they were helpless! It was precisely because of the desperate efforts of the 38th Army and the 50th Army on the Western Front that although the blocking line was retreating little by little, it still delayed the northward advance of the US army to a large extent. The armies of the Eastern Front commanded by Deng Hua had quickly reached their pre-battle positions. Fighters are ripe!

"Division Commander Liu, our counterattack this time is to open a gap in the South Korean Eighth Division northwest of Hoengseong and attack the US defense line in Wonju. The specific deployment was as follows: The 42nd Army, with the 124th and 17th Divisions as the vanguard, attacked the Hakgo-ri and Upper and Lower Kaun defense lines northwest of Hoengseong to cut off the retreat route of the 8th South Korean Division; The 125th Division advanced to the area of Jietianli and Huiyanfeng in the southwest of Hengcheng to block possible assistance from the enemy's direction of Yuanzhou, and to plan for the 66th Army to fight; The 126th Division was deployed in the area north of Toping-ri to continue to contain the enemy in Toping-ri. The 40th Army was assaulted by the South Korean 8th Division, which was facing north-west of Hoengseong. The 66th Army struck southeast of Hengcheng with the 196th and 197th Divisions to cut off the enemy's retreat from Hengcheng. The 39th Army was a reserve, deployed in the southeast area of Longtou-ri, approaching Toping-ri, and if the enemy fled south after the counterattack began, it would be resolutely pursued. So your task is heavy too! Deputy Commander Han said solemnly.

After listening to this, Liu Hai looked at the map and thought about it, "I want to use the strength of an artillery division to cover the attack of the 40th Army, and also take care of the roundabout actions of the 42nd Army?" Bangs said. Yes, the task is very heavy, there are only so many artillery, how to arrange it depends on you, the artillery god! Deputy Commander Han Xianchu said. It is indeed a bit difficult for the artillery strength of a division to cover such a large counterattack operation, but it is not a big problem, as long as it hits accurately, it can hit a little less, and it is okay to shoot accurately, and the shell charge is a little smaller! Don't worry, I'll take care of it! I want to meet the commanders of the 5th Artillery Division now! Bangs said. There is no problem with this, there is one thing I want to tell you, this Fifth Artillery Division was also adapted from the Kuomintang troops at the beginning, and you may be able to get along with them more easily than others."

After Liu Hai accepted the task, he was taken to the station of the 5th Artillery Division by a staff officer! After arriving at the 5th Artillery Division, Liu Hai asked the staff officers to summon the heads of the regiments and the chiefs of staff to come over for a meeting. It didn't take long for the three regiment commanders of the 5th Artillery Division to arrive! "Comrades, I have just been appointed commander of the Fifth Artillery Division, but don't worry, temporary! We are going to fight a counterattack war, and the Fifth Artillery Division needs someone to command it, and Deputy Commander Han asked me to take the shift, so in the next counterattack, I will command you, so I hope you can cooperate! My name is Liu Hai, I am the commander of the Eighth Artillery Division, and I hope that in the next battle, we can cooperate tacitly and jointly complete this counterattack mission! Liu Hai said standing in front of several regiment commanders and chiefs of staff.

"Senior Commander Liu, do we really want to fight back?" One of the regimental commanders asked. "Yes!" Bangs said. "If we really want to fight back, Division Commander Liu, we will fight as much as you say, as long as we can avenge our division commander, we will definitely cooperate!" Another regimental commander said. "Very good, I heard that you are adapted from the Kuomintang! Although the original Kuomintang warlord troops were not very good, the Kuomintang lineage was still quite good, especially their artillery, I believe you are the same, as long as we cooperate tacitly, what about the Americans, they will still overthrow him! Bangs looked at several regiment commanders and said. Naturally, there is no problem with our artillery, there is no problem with the soldiers, the only problem is whether we can avenge our division commander! A regimental commander said. Win this counterattack to comfort your division commander Yingling, and my bangs guarantee will lead you to win this counterattack! Bangs said, "Now I need your morale and courage!" ”

"Division Commander Liu, if I remember correctly, you are the commander of the Honorary Fourth Division of the Kuomintang back then, known as the God of Artillery!" The regimental commander, who had not spoken, said. "That's right, it's me!" Liu Hai said, "Back then, I was the famous cannon god Liu Hai, and I was like you in the eight-year Anti-Japanese War, fighting with Japanese devils!" Later, after becoming the People's Liberation Army, I became the principal of the artillery school, and then I became a volunteer army, and I came to North Korea with you to defend the country! This time we, the national army, are together again, brothers, let's do it again! Bangs said. Division Commander Liu, I was an artillery soldier of the Tax Teaching Corps that year, and before the Battle of Wuhan, you gave us an artillery instructor for a month! The regimental commander said. Very good! This time, let's unite again! Bangs said.

"What is our mission? Say it! The other regiment said. This time, we will fight a counterattack in the Hengcheng area, with as many as four corps, and our division is the main force of fire cover! I wonder how many of your artillery divisions are really home? I think you can provide me with information on your cannon models and so on, and I will arrange your artillery fire according to the attack plan! "Yes! Teachers! Several regiment commanders said immediately.

Half an hour later, Liu Hai got the information of this division, and at this time Liu Hai found that the difficulty of this battle was indeed not small, and Liu Hai decided to take a few regiment commanders to conduct field observations!