Chapter 53 Health officer

The puppet army mistakenly thought that our army's main attack direction was on the 973 Highlands and put a large amount of troops into the 973 Highlands, and the subsequent battle situation was as smooth as I had estimated.

The battlefield news came one by one, first of all, the troops of the two battalions of the 540th Regiment launched a raid on the 883.7 Highland. Before this, the puppet army had sent the reserve team to the 973 Highland. They were short of troops and could not organize new reinforcements to reinforce the 883.7 Highland. After half an hour of artillery preparation, the resistance encountered by the 540th Regiment could be described as insignificant. It took only more than two hours to successfully capture the 883.7 Highland.

It is already very difficult for ordinary troops to win a highland with complex terrain in more than two hours. Of course, this is still a certain gap compared to our 7th Company winning the 902.8 highland with just one company.

As soon as the 902.8 and 883.7 highlands on both sides of the 973 highland fell into the hands of the volunteers, the 973 highlands fell into the situation of being attacked on three sides. The heights of these highlands are not very different, and they are not far from each other. The soldiers can directly threaten the 973 highlands' top positions and their empty back and flanks of the defense line. This makes the puppet soldiers guarding the 973 highlands panic and have no intention of fighting.

At this time, the volunteer army was no longer busy attacking. The three regiments of the 180th Division were located on the left wing, front and right wings of the 973 Highland, cooperated with each other. Sometimes you fight, sometimes I fight, and sometimes they jointly launched a sneak attack, which only caused heavy casualties in the puppet army on the 973 Highland. I felt that there were loopholes everywhere in my defense line, and there might suddenly be enemies on all sides. Each side needed to be defended but could not be defended.

We do not need to worry. Although the 973 Highland is large and has the highest elevation, its geographical location is actually surrounded by us. In addition, the puppet army's own fortifications also have many shortcomings, and it is impossible to improve under the interference of our artillery fire and our army's sneak attacks, so it has actually become a large tomb of the puppet army.

In this case, the 973 Highland became a chicken fender of the puppet army. This is the so-called "tasteless and pity" of discarding it.

Don't lose it! Every day, the so-called "excellent soldiers of the Republic of Korea" will lose their lives here, and the volunteers seem to be able to capture the 973 Highland at any time, but they are not willing to do so.

Give it away! The 973 Highland is the center of their "Gyeonggi-Bao Lu". Once you throw it away, it means that the "Gyeonggi-Bao Lu" will no longer exist!

After increasing the forces of the two divisions and receiving full support from the US Air Force, the puppet army was unwilling to fail and launched a counterattack against the two lost high grounds again. But the result can be imagined...

Most of the highland terrain in this area is very complex. It takes about three hours to climb from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain with empty hands. In addition, the ice and snow melt, the entire incline is muddy everywhere, making the counterattack of the puppet army very difficult.

It would be fine if the puppet army attacked at night. The sight of the night was not good, and our volunteers would not be able to see it even if they were far away. But the puppet army was not good at fighting night battles.

The reason why the puppet army is not good at night wars should start from two aspects. First, since the Korean War started, most of the volunteer troops have started wars at night. After a few years of fighting, they have caused psychological barriers to the puppet army. Therefore, as long as they can choose the time for war, they will not choose to start fighting at night. Another reason is that they cannot fully utilize the modern equipment they have in their hands at night. Therefore, the counterattack of the puppet army was initiated during the day without exception.

The attack on this complex terrain during the day is only a nightmare for the puppet army. Although the 902.8 and 883.7 highlands are not steep, the valleys and deep ravines are circling around the inclined surfaces. When the puppet army climbs up the mountain, they have to circle around these terrains in front of us, and the mud on the road makes them unable to run quickly.

This coke ruined the volunteer soldiers guarding the positions. They used mortars to hit the distance and rifles when they were close. The Mosinnagan in the hands of the soldiers was farther, so they used the puppet troops who were circling around the inclined surface as a target! The troops of a battalion of the puppet army often got some of the mortars to blow up when they reached the foot of the mountain. Before they could even deploy their troops at the forefront of our army, they let the rifles to knock out part of the rifles. When the attack was really launched, the people were almost exhausted and their morale was gone, and the number was less than half of the time they set off...

This often required the puppet army to move upwards for two or three groups of people, and under the cover of US aircraft, to launch a decent attack. However, the day was almost dark after the attack twice, and they were psychologically afraid of the night and had to retreat in shame with their tails.

The battlefield was so shattered for six or seven days. Although the puppet army now has much more troops than us, the two additional divisions, plus the puppet divisions that were almost the same as us, had twice to three times the force of ours, and had full support from the US Air Force, but we had no choice but to do anything to us.

Then the puppet army finally gave up the 973 Highland surrounded by us on three sides. They retreated in such a hurry that a large number of dead bodies were left on the highlands that were not burying. Because the environment was very humid, these corpses soon began to corrupt and smell.

Of course, these corpses are not something that our 538th Regiment needs to consider. I will know this because Wu Min, the leader of the 539th Regiment, called me and complained: "I said, Brother Cui, what's your idea? We won't take turns fighting in our 539th Regiment, and we are waiting to go up the mountain to collect the corpses of the puppet soldiers. This smells so bad that I can't eat for two days..."

The 539th Regiment was always responsible for the front of the 973 Highland. Because the frontal defense of the 973 Highland was very perfect, in the whole battle, they basically used guns and trumpets to attract the attention of the puppet army. Of course, they also waited for the puppet army to retreat and build positions on the 973 Highland. However, it was better to say that it was digging graves than building positions. Because they spent two days searching for the stinky corpses of the puppet army and burying their organs. No wonder Wu Min, as the regiment commander, was dissatisfied.

After that, Wu Min didn't forget to add: "Brother Cui, we have to take turns to do this good thing. If there is such a job next time, remember to arrange it for Lao Zhang's regiment! Other troops call us "professional corpse collectors". Next time, we will be in the 539th regiment, and you and your brother have nothing to do!"

When I hung up the phone, I only had a helpless smile on my face. Which unit is arranged to take on the task, which is not something that I, the commander of the 538th Regiment, can make up for. Wu Min was dissatisfied and dared not vent his feelings at Commander Pang, so he came to me to complain!

"Captain Cui!" At this time, Liu Shunyi handed me a telegram and said, "Just received a telegram from the division headquarters, the troops in our regiment who were in the interspersed mission had blown up two bridges near Sanmu Valley and blocked the retreat of the puppet army. The troops of the 540th Regiment pursued all the way. The retreating enemies could only swim south and flee south, and countless drowned. Sun Tongjian, the battalion commander of the 35th Regiment, and more than 250 people were desperate and captured by our army. During the pursuit, the comrades of the 540th Regiment seized more than 50 artillery pieces, more than 700 guns, sixty cars, twenty-five bombed tanks and other substances!"

"Okay!" After hearing Liu Shunyi's report, cheers broke out in the tunnel immediately.

This was planned long ago. In fact, our interlude troops had been lurking near Sandal Valley for three days. They could have blown up the two bridges, but because of my order, they waited until now.

The reason is very simple. If the bridge was blown up too early, the puppet army could choose to hold on the 973 Highland for a few days and wait until the bridge is repaired before retreating. The result is nothing more than asking the puppet army engineers to spend more effort.

But if the bridge is blown up when the puppet army has begun to retreat, the effect will be completely different. There is a saying that defeat is like a mountain. People who have had social experience know that there are many people who can persist in good times or when they see victory, but there are very few people who can persist in failure.

I don’t know if the commander of the Pseudo-Fifth Division is a person who can remain vigilant when defeated, but it doesn’t hurt me to try it. So I arranged a small ambush again on the way to retreat... Now it seems that the commander of the Pseudo-Fifth Division is indeed not an excellent commander.

I later learned that the commander of the pseudo-5th Division suffered a series of defeats in this battle, and his position as a brigade general was removed on the spot due to improper command.

"Captain Cui!" Li Pinghe handed over another telegram and said: "Commander Wang Jinshan sent a congratulations to the 180th Division for sending it to us!"

I couldn't help but be stunned. After receiving the telegram, I read it loudly without looking at it: "All commanders of the 180th Division: Congratulations to you on your victory. You attacked the enemy's Jingji Baole with heroic and tenacious fighting style and clever command in one fell swoop, and took advantage of the victory to push the front line into the water cave. Sun Youmu's line, the news of good news came, and the whole army was excited. You fought bravely and tenaciously and completed the task well. This is your glory and the glory of the entire army!"

"good!"

"good!"

"Long live the Chinese People's Volunteer Army!"

"Long live Chairman Mao!"

...

The soldiers in the tunnel made thunderous cheers, and the news soon reached the tunnels around the high ground. But after a while, the entire high ground boiled. Cheers and slogans rushed straight to Yunxiao, and the ice and snow that were half melted fell down.

"Captain Cui!" Li Pinghe handed me a cigarette and said, "This victory came too quickly. Not only were we surprised, but the Americans were also surprised!"

"Hmm? What's going on?" I looked at Li Pinghe in confusion.

"That's right..." Li Pinghe lit a cigarette for me and explained: "I just received news from Panmunjom that our army had drawn the 902.8, 973 and 883.7 highlands that had been seized were included in the 60th Army's actual military control line. The US representative did not believe that our army had so many areas in the actual control line, so he proposed to go to the site to check. Our representative said it was completely OK and cheered openly to take a look at the actual control line. As a result, when the US representative inquired, he realized that the puppet army had just retreated from these highlands, and there were heavy casualties. Their embarrassment made our representative really proud!"

"Oh! There's still this matter!" I couldn't help but feel happy when I heard Li Pinghe's words.

"No?" Li Pinghe replied: "Our negotiator has sent a telegram to Commander Pang to express his gratitude. What do I think! Commander Pang is so happy that he can't find North at this moment!

As he said that, Li Pinghe and I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

This is an unexpected gain, and the Americans seem to be facing another pressure. On the one hand, they are unwilling to invest in the battlefield where an agreement is about to reach, because it will make the US soldiers meaningless sacrifice. On the other hand, they face huge pressure in negotiations, because the later signing means that more land will be stolen by the volunteers from the hands of the puppet troops. Apart from providing some air aid, the US military basically does not want to intervene at this time.

"This battle... is almost over!" Li Pinghe let out a mouthful of smoke, sighed and said, "Are you planning to do it after the war ends?"

"Plan?" I couldn't help but be stunned. I didn't think about it before, but now I seem to have to think about it again.

Yes! In more than a month, the Korean War will be over, and it is time to think about what will happen after the war. What should I do? I am a modern person. Do I really return to China and live in this era like this? Can I really adapt to the life of this era?

If I knew that I could live a good life, it wouldn't matter. But I knew it wasn't like this! Many heroes who resisted the U.S. and aided Korea returned to China but failed to receive fair treatment. As a reporter in modern times, I have heard many such stories. The tank bombing heroes fell into poverty, the combat heroes slept in pigpens, and the injured veterans could not afford a wheelchair...

"Captain Cui, Captain Cui..." Seeing that I didn't answer for a long time, Li Pinghe couldn't help but ask in confusion: "You must have an idea! I'll tell you, you can't let Lin Xue down, otherwise I will never end up with you!"

It turned out that Li Pinghe was thinking of Lin Xue. Only then did I understand what Li Pinghe meant. He wanted me to give him a verbal promise and marry Lin Xue when he returned home!

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but hesitate again. It would not be a bad thing to say that it would be possible to marry a beautiful woman like Lin Xue. But what about my parents when we got married? Where is my family background? Lin Xue is not an ordinary family. If anyone else says it, I can't get through Li Ping and this brother.

"Political Commissar..." I replied after a long time: "Isn't this still fighting now? Why do you talk about those private matters?"

"There is no war now! I am not the political commissar!" Li Pinghe replied without hesitation: "I am Lin Xue's brother, and I am here to discuss private matters with you now!"

"I'll talk about this later!" I was a little impatient.

"Just say it now!" Li Pinghe obviously refused to let me go so easily: "I am Lin Xue's brother. I have the right to consider her happiness and also to do this! Cui Wei, I know that you have a relationship with a North Korean girl, and you must give me an explanation now!"

"What are you talking about?" I have to admit that Li Pinghe is indeed caught and hurts his feet.

"I'm talking nonsense?" Li Pinghe gritted his teeth and pushed the glasses on his nose hard and said, "This North Korean girl has come to you several times before. That was before you met Lin Xue, so I can ignore it! But now she is here, think about it yourself!"

"What? What did you say?" I was stunned when I heard this.

"Jin Qiulian is right!" Li Pinghe sat in the chair angrily, took a few sips of cigarettes, and gritted his teeth as if he was pressing his anger, "She is in the tunnel No. 3, and she has been here one day. Because she is afraid of affecting your command of the battle, she has never sued you."

After pausing, he added: "As a brother, I didn't tell Lin Xue, you can do it yourself!"

As he said that, he threw the cigarette butt to the ground, turned around and walked out of the tunnel.

Jin Qiulian came, and when I heard Li Pinghe's words, my head couldn't help but buzz. Before this, I had not thought of this situation, but I was busy with war and didn't want to think about these things. Although to be honest, it was really nothing between me and Jin Qiulian, but if I really wanted to say this, I would have nothing to do with the traditional and conservative Lin Xue!

What's more, these are nothing, but in this era, what's wrong with these two women gathered together, and now I don't know what to do!

I have to let Jin Qiulian go back quickly... it’s a woman! Isn’t it just to find an excuse to coax her and send her back to the hospital?

Thinking of this, I pulled back and walked towards the direction of tunnel No. 3. Li Pinghe is really interesting. Tunnel No. 3 is the farthest from tunnel No. 10 where Lin Xue is located. It should have a deep meaning to arrange Jin Qiulian in tunnel No. 3, but I soon discovered that I was wrong!

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

...

More than ten minutes later, when I lifted the black cloth from tunnel No. 3 and walked in, I saw the wounded people on the ground in the tunnel, and I felt that things were not as simple as I thought.

"Report to the regiment commander!" Jin Qiulian, who was caring for the wounded, jumped to me like a happy little rabbit, and saluted in front of me with joy: "Jin Qiulian, a health officer of the 2nd Company of the 1st Battalion of the 538th Regiment, reported!"

"What?" I was stunned when I heard that I was stunned. After a long time of reaction, I said in disbelief: "When did you...become a sanitary officer of the 538th Regiment?"

"What does the revolution need!" Jin Qiulian squeezed at me mischievously and explained: "The 180th Division has won several major battles in succession, and a large number of casualties have not been able to transport them. Considering that you are a meritorious army, the superiors will give you priority to transfer a group of health workers into the army and bring a lot of medicines..."
Chapter completed!