Chapter 102: Dipingli

Dipingli is located in a small basin. The diameter of the small basin is about 5 kilometers and surrounded by small hills: the highest Wangmei Mountain to the south is 297 meters high, the 248 highland in the southwest, the 345 highland in the northwest, the 207 highland in the north, and the 212 highland in the northeast.

That night, after two hours of rapid march, our regiment came to this village where I had been afraid. I have always thought that the US military must have been stationed in the village, but when the comrades of the 354th regiment pointed out the enemy's stationing location for us, I realized that I was wrong.

The US troops were stationed in a valley with a diameter of about one kilometer. The valley was Highland 207 to the north, Wangmei Mountain to the south, Highland 202 to the east, and only the west was a flat rice fields and railway line. On this side, it was the location where our 353rd Regiment and 354 were going to attack.

I think the US military chose to defend in this narrow valley because of insufficient troops. More than 6,000 people can form a ring defense without gaps in this area with a radius of only one kilometer, so that we can avoid inserting into the defensive gap.

If our army had artillery fire, it would not be difficult to capture this place, because there was no need for many shells to cover the area with firepower.

But we don't.

In fact, there is one. In the information I know, in order to cooperate with the attack on Tipingli, the command center also transferred the 42nd Artillery Regiment, but the regiment exposed its target because of the frightened horses during the march, and was bombarded by enemy planes and could no longer enter the battle. There is no way, who asked our artillery to use horses to pull cannons!

I climbed up to a high ground and observed the enemy's position through the sight. Since I seized the m1c sniper rifle in my hand, observing the enemy's terrain before the war seemed to have become a habit for me.

Under the moonlight, tanks lined up at the end of the rice fields. Several trenches were dug in front of each tank, and barbed wire was surrounded in front of the trenches. You could vaguely see several soldiers running back and forth in the trenches. Behind the tank were howitzers with gun barrels towering.

This arrangement can be said to be perfect. If we want to blow up the tank, we must cross the wire, cross the trenches, and then drop explosives and grenades onto the tanks... But before that, we must first cross the firepower net composed of howitzers, tank guns, anti-aircraft machine guns on the tanks, and various weapons in the hands of infantry in the trenches!

What made me a little strange was that on the slope in front of the position, you could often see a whole piece of things shining in the moonlight. After careful observation, I found that it was the ice surface. It was the enemy who splashed water in front of the position to turn ice in order to delay the charge of the volunteer soldiers. It seemed that they had made very sufficient preparations, so I was thinking that they might have buried landmines in front of the position.

My heart couldn't help but sank. It was almost impossible for me to break through such a line of defense without the cover of artillery groups relying solely on the charge of infantry. Of course, unless the opponent fired all the bullets and shells.

Although I don’t know the enemy’s troops, I can still tell from the flying French flags on the opposite side that we are facing a powerful French battalion. It’s also an irony. Although other countries sent few troops during the Korean War, in order to save face, they all sent out the most powerful troops.

For example, the French battalion in front of them is said to kick the butt of the American soldiers who were running back like a tide when they were bayonets with the Chinese army, and shouted loudly: "Bastard, go back to the hill over there!" Instead, the US military, as the backbone of the United Nations military, has a surprising combat power.

Since the French battalion guards the open land in front of him, then the other three high grounds must be the three battalions of the US military! The Americans will get cheap and always throw troubles to the troops of other countries. First, they send Turkish brigades to block the volunteers that rushed into the gap. When they retreat, they let the British army cushions, and this time they give the most unfavorable terrain to the French battalion to defend...

"Shhh..." At this time, the few movements coming from behind attracted my attention. When I turned around, Zhao Yongxin slowly climbed up from behind and shouted in a low voice: "Captain Chu is asking for a meeting, and it's almost time to start a fight!"

After crawling back for a while, he followed Zhao Yongxin all the way back to the regiment headquarters. As soon as he arrived at the regiment headquarters, he felt that things were not very good.

Sure enough, after a while, when Commander Chu saw that everyone had arrived, he said with great concern: "My 42nd Artillery Regiment was found by enemy planes during the march and was unable to participate in the battle. The 375th Regiment of the 125th Division of the 42nd Army was blocked by the enemy on the way close to Xiangdipingli. The 356th Regiment of the 40th Army-19th Division did not arrive on time, for unknown reasons. Currently, only the 354th, 357th Regiment, 359th Regiment and our regiment are able to enter the battle."

"Captain, didn't you say there weren't many enemies?" A volunteer soldier smiled and said, "Then let's not wait, eat this piece of fat and pull it down in one bite!"

The soldiers also laughed out loud and agreed with the soldier's statement. Some said that it was not easy for four regiments to hit such a palm-sized place? Some said that it was not easy for them to go up quickly, or if the credit was made, they would let other regiments snatch them... Even the old squad leader Huzi and others were no exception. They were all ready to take the Pipingli seriously.

This surprised me and realized that the soldiers didn't know the situation of the garrison in Dipingli. I couldn't help but look at Captain Chu in confusion. Captain Chu also saw my gaze and sighed helplessly and continued: "The 359th Regiment is mainly attacking the 202 highland in the east, the 357th Regiment is mainly attacking the 207 highland in the north, our regiment and the 354th Regiment are mainly attacking the west, the 354th Regiment is first echelon, and we attack as the second echelon..."

"Captain! Why don't we let our regiment fight first?" A soldier stood up and said, "Just that little enemy, just follow the 354th regiment in, then you're just picking up bullets?"

"Captain!" Seeing that Captain Chu had not yet mentioned the real situation in Dipingli, I couldn't help but feel a little panicked, and stood up and called out, but Captain Chu just thought he didn't hear it.

"Captain..." I called out again, but Captain Chu still didn't take it seriously. Political Commissar Chen Ye looked at me and signaled me to sit down.

After I sat down with a frown, I waited for a while but still couldn't see what Captain Chu said. The soldiers beside me were still talking and laughing, treating Dipingli as easy as eating vegetables. I could no longer hold back and stood up and shouted: "There is not only a few enemies in Dipingli, but at least one regiment!"

After I shouted, the whole audience was quiet. The soldiers all looked at me with a strange look. Hu Zi secretly pulled me a few times next to me, but I took the initiative and continued, "Captain Chu, have we seen the telegram sent by the enemy in the morning? That army commander strictly ordered the commander of the 23rd Regiment of the US Army to stick to Dipingli, and said that the Air Force should give priority support, right?"

As soon as I said this, the soldiers started to talk. Commander Chu looked stern and said nothing. Political Commissar Chen Ye pulled me outside.

"I'm talking about Comrade Xiao Cui!" Political Commissar Chen Ye whispered: "Why are you not flexible? I kept browsing at you and you didn't see it or what?"

"Political Commissar!" I couldn't help but ask in confusion: "This person's life is at stake! If the soldiers rush forward without knowing the truth, then... that will affect the lives of thousands of soldiers!"

"Do you think we don't understand? You just understand?" Political Commissar Chen Ye said distressedly: "Captain Chu and I don't know how many times have reported to our superiors throughout the day, but our superiors' reply back and forth: a telegram cannot explain the problem. This may be a maze set by the enemy to delay time. Time is tight, and the battle must start tonight!"

"Hmm?" Although I had known for a long time that the command center could not give up its offensive plan just because it knew the number of troops garrisons in Tepingli, I was still surprised when I heard the political commissar, because I didn't expect that they didn't believe it at all.

Perhaps it is because the war has not yet been fought, and there has never been a situation where any US army has the opportunity to retreat after being surrounded and does not retreat. In addition, if the attack is not fast enough, Li Qiwei is likely to send a reserve team to block this gap. At that time, it will become impossible to shake the entire enemy's front line. Therefore, the command center will be so determined to order the battle to start tonight in such a situation of insufficient preparation.

"But..." I sighed helplessly: "Then I'll remind the soldiers! I rushed forward recklessly..."

"So what if you know?" Chen Ye shook his head and said, "Captain Chu also told the division commander about this, but the division commander had no choice. One is that the information may not be reliable. Another time for the attack has been set. If you can't fight, you have to fight, and if you can't fight, you have to fight. Now that you can't tell the truth, you can only shake the morale of the army and let the soldiers go to the battlefield with a suspicion..."

"But the political commissar..."

"Comrade Xiao Cui!" Political Commissar Chen Ye did not allow me to say much, interrupted me and said, "Put down your burden and prepare! There is a tough battle to fight!"

As he said that, he walked straight back to the venue.

I stood there and was stunned for a while, and gradually realized that not only I could not make the decision on this battlefield, but the regiment commander and political commissar could not make the decision, and even the division commander who unified the commander of this battle could not make the decision.

In real history, there have been cases where the volunteer army captured several prisoners and then interrogated the prisoners that there were more than 6,000 garrisons in Dipingli, but the command center still ordered an attack regardless of everything...

The sky is getting darker and darker, there are a few stars in the sky but not too bright, a crescent moon has already disappeared in the dark clouds, and the surroundings are terriblely quiet. Everything seems to be in a deep sleep. Only a few flares occasionally shot from the enemy's positions can make people feel that there is murderous intent hidden in this silence.

This is not the battlefield I want to see, nor is it the battlefield I want to experience personally. I lay on the snow and looked at the darkness in front of me in a heavy mood. I felt a little helpless and a little sad. Because I knew that soon, this place would be stained red by the blood of the soldiers and filled with the corpses of the soldiers. In the end, we still couldn't take this valley that was only one kilometer in radius.

If I can, I hope that the moment of war will never come. But time will not stop because of me, and the earth will not stop turning because of me...

Finally, with a harsh and loud military trumpet, the soldiers shouted and jumped up from the snow and rushed towards the enemy's position.

Because our regiment was attacking in the second echelon, everyone was lying in the snow and watching the battlefield nervously.

Almost at the same time as the sound of the military horn sounded, several flares suddenly rose from the enemy's position, illuminating the snow in front of the position white. The ice surface even reflected dazzling light, immediately illuminating the soldiers' charge.

The guns and cannons quickly rang out. The first ones were the US tank guns, howitzers and anti-aircraft machine guns. They sprayed flames at the volunteers with the most intense firing speed. These long-range weapons formed the first fire blockade line in front of the enemy's positions.

With the roar of roar, shells exploded among the soldiers. Each explosion caused a bloody storm. The snow-white battlefield turned red in just this moment. But the soldiers were not afraid and still shouted to charge towards the enemy. The soldiers in front fell down, and the soldiers behind rushed forward stepping on the corpse. Under the light of the flares, the figures of soldiers rushing forward everywhere in front of the positions.

"Boom..." The soldiers who rushed through the first barrage quickly broke into the minefield. With just a few roars, more than a dozen soldiers were knocked to the ground. Although the explosion of the mine was very similar to the explosion of the shell, those of us outside the battlefield might not be able to see any difference, but the soldiers in it were very clear, because they watched their comrades run up, watch them step on the mine, and then were ruthlessly taken to the sky...

So the soldiers were very clear about what they were going to face. They knew that every step they stepped on would cause a loud noise, and they were likely to step into the gate of hell, but they still stepped forward without hesitation, step by step until a loud noise made them lose consciousness.

They have no time to clear mines, so they can only use this simplest method to exchange, the exchange of life and landmines! If this is also clearing mines, then they are using their lives to clear the way forward for their comrades behind them.

A soldier was blown away by a mine, but he did not howl on the ground with his legs held and howled like the US military. Through the scope, I clearly saw that he just grabbed a few handfuls of snow and stuffed it on his injured leg. The instant cold stopped the blood spurted out of the injured leg. Then he stood up tenaciously with a gun on the ground and limped forward. He didn't want to kill the enemy, he had lost the conditions to kill the enemy; he didn't want to make a contribution, and making a contribution has lost its meaning to him; he just wanted to... step on another mine...

With a bang, his figure finally disappeared from the battlefield and disappeared. My tears came out uncontrollably. No one knew his name, and no one would remember his appearance, but that leg and gun were always imprinted in my mind.

Several soldiers quickly set up mortars and fired at the enemy's positions, but before they could fire a few shells, the enemy was discovered. A bunch of machine gun bullets came over, and several soldiers fell into a pool of blood. The range of the mortar was too short and only one thousand meters, less than half the range of the anti-aircraft machine gun on the enemy tanks.

But surprisingly, a hand suddenly stretched out from the pile of corpses, a bloody hand. The hand grabbed a shell and then trembled and stuffed it into the mortar port. The shell successfully exploded on the enemy's position, causing a scream. Then another one, another... Finally, the hand could no longer move. It grabbed a mortar plane and tried hard to send it into the muzzle, but in the end it failed to get what it wanted...

The enemy would shoot a row of flares every five minutes, which would keep the battlefield covered with dazzling light. The volunteers were completely exposed to the enemy's firepower, but the soldiers could not see the enemy's position at all. They could only rush forward again and again with will and spirit, but were beaten back again and again by the enemy. Finally, after the enemy's planes also participated in the bombing, the soldiers retreated helplessly.

This is not a battle, this is a massacre.

In just one charge of more than ten minutes, at least four or five hundred volunteer soldiers were lying down on the position. Many of the corpses were covered in blood and blood, and they could not recognize their original appearance at all.

The enemy's firepower is carefully arranged. Howitzers, tank guns, and anti-aircraft machine guns form the outer fire net, rifle, machine gun form the intermediate fire net, submachine gun, grenade, and flamethrower form the inner fire net. The firepower is airtight and not airtight. In addition, the support of mines, barbed wire net and aircraft makes it impossible for the volunteer soldiers to get close to it at all.

When they found that they had repelled the attack of the volunteers, the French soldiers on the enemy's positions cheered loudly. When I looked through the scope, I realized that they were all not wearing helmets, and they all had a red cloth strap on their heads. At this time, they held their guns and shouted in unison to the battlefield: "Camoloni!"

"Camoloni" is the name of a Mexican village. In this village 90 years ago, 65 soldiers from the French foreign legion were all killed in the battle with Mexican soldiers, and none of them surrendered. Most of the soldiers in this French battalion were veterans of the former French foreign legion.

They were all a group of killers and butchers on the battlefield.
Chapter completed!