Chapter 55 Pre-war Conference

At nine o'clock in winter, it was already dark.

It didn't snow for a few days, but the weather seemed to be getting colder. The whole world seemed to be frozen without any sound. Only the cold wind roared in the air, as if it was demonstrating to us,

When Li Ping and I shrank our necks and came to the division headquarters with Xu Yongwei and Zhang Mingxue, the division headquarters was already crowded with people. Although the air in the tunnel was mixed, it was much warmer than outdoors.

I rubbed my hands and glanced at the volunteer soldiers sitting in the tunnel, and found that none of them would know each other. But it was not surprising that I didn’t know many people in the 180th Division, and now those who are qualified to hold meetings here must be the commanders of the 538th Regiment and the 539th Regiment, political commissar, etc. Since the 180th Division suffered heavy losses under the siege of the US military, the commanders of each regiment have either sacrificed or been replaced, so now I see new faces, which is normal.

But what surprised me was that when the cadres in the tunnel saw me walking in, they all showed kind-hearted smiles, some gave me a seat, and some waved to me. I had to pretend that they still recognized them and nodded to them frequently with a smile. I just thought to myself, fortunately, this was a meeting in the division headquarters, and no one dared to say hello loudly and get close to me, otherwise as long as a few cadres came up to make me politely, I would show my strength.

"Comrades!" When Li Pinghe and I sat on a bench, Commander Pang stood up and pointed at me and said, "I don't think I need to introduce this person! He is Cui Wei, the leader of the 538th Regiment. The 538th Regiment went to the People's Army to fight as soon as it formed a group, so I think Commander Cui is not familiar with our new leadership team. Comrades might as well introduce themselves!"

"Captain Cui!" Soon a tall soldier stood up and stretched out his hand at me: "I am Wang Weicheng, the commander of the 539th Regiment!"

"I am Zhang Xincai, the leader of the 540th regiment!"

"I am Wu Min, the political commissar of the 539th Regiment!"

...

The cadres in the tunnel stood up one by one and shook hands with me enthusiastically. I responded passively one by one, constantly saying, "Hello, hello..."

As usual, after shaking hands and holding them around, no one's name was remembered, let alone their number.

"Captain Cui!" After seeing that we had finished politely, Commander Pang happily assigned us a cigarette, and pointed at other cadres and said, "Maybe you don't know them yet, but they all recognize you! For example, Zhang Xincai was originally the deputy commander of the 538th Regiment, but now he is also the leader of the group!"

Haha… there was a kind laugh in the tunnel.

After hearing what Commander Pang said, I realized why all the cadres in the tunnel recognized me. It turned out that they were all cadres of the former 180th Division, and some of them were even my immediate bosses. However, after the 180th Division escaped from the difficulties, their positions changed drastically.

"Comrades!" After a while of recurrence, Commander Pang turned to the topic: "Comrades, our army has been in Korea for war, and it will soon be time for us to change defenses. In order to gain the initiative, effectively attack the enemy, and enable the new troops to gain more experience, our army plans to take advantage of the change of defense, all front-line troops will choose 3 to 5 targets in divisions, carry out continuous tactical counterattacks, and try to annihilate one of the enemies, and kill and kill the enemy in a large number of repeated battles in the enemy. It is estimated that when I counterattack everywhere, the enemy will definitely fight for it, and even retaliate for local counterattacks, which will help our army kill and damage the enemy. The counterattack battle is planned from the 20th of this month to May 20th, and the defense is replaced at the end of May!"

"Okay! There's another war!"

"I'm hiding from the tunnel all day long, and I'm almost gone to hold my breath!"

...

As soon as Commander Pang finished speaking, the cadres exclaimed. But what I was thinking about was that in this battle, I wonder how many soldiers would never be able to return to their motherland.

"Comrades!" Political Commissar Cai continued the words of Commander Pang: "This battle is the last battle before we return to China. Some comrades will have ideological burdens at this time and will have to return to China! Some soldiers who are not strong enough and have not firm enough in their revolutionary stance will have many negative emotions, such as wanting to save their lives and go home. This requires us to do a good job in the ideological work of the soldiers, unload the ideological burden of the soldiers, encourage them to carry forward the spirit of not being afraid of death or sacrifice on the battlefield, and bravely and tenaciously fight against American imperialism. Our slogan is: Fight this battle well, report to the people of the motherland with excellent achievements, and report to Chairman Mao!"

"Win this battle well, report to the people of the motherland with excellent achievements and to Chairman Mao!"

The cadres raised their fists and shouted several times with Political Commissar Cai. As the situation forced me, I also followed suit and raised my fists. Just kidding, Li Ping and this guy were sitting next to me. If I didn't do this, he might be called a weak revolutionary consciousness...

"Comrades!" Then Commander Pang pointed to the map on the wall with a small stick and said: "Our army's troops are in the front line, and our army has deployed three corpses on the front line, from west to east, and is deployed in sequence: the 63rd Army of the 19th Corps, the 65th Army of the Licheng Riverkou, Maliangshan, and Shangpu Defense Area Defense Area Defense, and the 39th Army is located in the Baichuan and Luchuanli areas, which is the reserve team for the Corps; the 38th Army, the 15th Army, and the 60th Army is the defense tasks of Jiuhuali, General Cave, Xiaoxing Mountain, Xifangshan, and Zhongxianshan areas, and the 40th Army is located in the area near Gushan, which is the reserve team for the Corps; the 20th Corps commands the 12th Army, and the 68th Army is the defense tasks of Yashenli, Jincheng, Wendengli, and the east-west areas of the Beihan River. The 67th Army is located in the Xipuli and Huaiyang areas, which is the reserve team for the Corps.

The People's Army Front Command commands the Third Legion and the First Legion to take on the defense tasks from Lunli, Yingfeng, Sandoudian to the east coast of Puwaijinri. The Second Legion is located in Pengxianli and Huachuanli areas, and is a reserve force!

The West Coast Joint Command commands the 50th Army, the 42nd Army, the 64th Army and the Fourth Army Corps of the People's Army..."

Commander Pang kept talking, and I couldn't help but be stunned when I heard it. I didn't count seriously, but after hearing Commander Pang talk about it for so long, there were more than twenty armies! The second armies were 600,000,000 people! This scale compared the previous battles.

"It's very large!" After pausing, Commander Pang continued: "If you include the reserve team, there are twenty-two troops in total. But comrades must realize that our battle is not an encirclement and annihilation battle as in the past, and the attack targets are limited to the frontier and easy-to-fire positions. Therefore, we should eliminate the fierce rush and attack, and require the deployment of defense on the spot after capturing the designated target, and quickly build fortifications to eliminate the counterattacking enemies!"

"Yes!" the soldiers nodded and responded.

"I will mention some of the situations about the enemy here!" Commander Pang then pointed to the map and said: "It was recently determined that the first American cavalry division is still in Japan, and the first Lu division is still defending the original defense. However, in such weather, the possibility of the enemy landing on our flank is not high, but the possibility of the enemy launching a local attack on us still exists. When our army was fully prepared for this, my front-line fortifications have been completed. The 63rd Army and the 64th Army have deployed Yan'an, Shirakawa, and Haizhou areas, and are actively building fortifications. At the same time, our east and west coasts are starting to establish some permanent fortifications. Even if the enemy lands in this regard, we don't have to worry!"

I understand the purpose of Commander Pang's words. As soon as the Korean War started, the People's Army was defeated by the US military landing on the side and backwards. After that, the Volunteers entered North Korea to fight, they had been facing an embarrassing situation where the US military would use the navy to carry out landing on our side and backwards, which put our army in a few battles. Even the fifth battle was launched in advance because they were worried that the US military would attack our side and backwards. But now, after so long efforts, our army has finally built solid fortifications on the east and west coasts and is fully capable of resisting the US military's landing on the ground. What's more, it is still in the winter when water is dripping into ice. It is extremely difficult for the US military to carry out inter-plane operations on our side and backwards.

Speaking of this is like telling us that the Americans will not make any moves behind us, and even if there are any moves, they will not make any moves. Let us fight with confidence on the front line!

Facts have proved that what Commander Pang said is correct, because from modern information, I know that since the five battles, the US military has made sufficient preparations for heavy troops on the east and west coasts, and has never mentioned any plans to use the navy to carry out landing operations.

"Comrades!" Commander Pang finished his overall military deployment and then assigned specific tasks. He looked at the map and said, "Since the target of this attack is our own choice, we have room for choice. There are five highlands on the front of our position, from west to east, 222.9 highland, 158.6 highland, 490.1 highland, 387.5 highland and 294.7 highland. Our initial choice is the connected 490.1 highland, 387.5 highland and 294.7 highland. What do you think of the opinions?"

"No objection!" The cadres whispered for a while, and answered one after another.

Commander Pang's choice is reasonable. The 490.1 high ground is the highest. If this high ground is not taken down, it will inevitably lead to great casualties when attacking other high grounds. Moreover, even if we pay a huge price to seize other high grounds, it will soon be snatched back by the US military with firepower on the 490.1 high ground. Therefore, the highest 490.1 high ground has become a must-have. The reason for taking down the connected high ground is to strengthen the connection between the troops and not be divided into several pieces by the enemy and defeated them one by one.

So there was almost no opposition to this choice, and it was unanimously recognized by the soldiers.

But... the troops attacking the 490.1 high ground was so dangerous! I stared at the map for a while. Although the 158.6 high ground next to the 490.1 high ground is not high at a height, it is like a prominent nail and is dozens of meters ahead of the position of other high grounds. Don't underestimate these dozens of meters. Just a distance of tens of meters can allow the US troops stationed on it to see the forward slope of the 490.1 high ground...

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but stand up and say, "Captain, this battle cannot be fought!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Listening to my words, Political Commissar Cai couldn't help but frown: "How can there be any war that cannot be fought? The question is whether we have the determination to fight!"

Political Commissar Cai made me realize that the words I said just now may have committed a taboo to disrupt the morale of the army.

"I mean..." So I hurriedly corrected: "I mean it is difficult to capture this 490.1 highland. The 158.6 highland next to it is protruding dozens of meters. The US troops stationed on it can directly aim their guns at the back of our attacking troops. This..."

"I have considered this too!" Commander Pang nodded and replied: "But the problem is that the terrain of the 158.6 highland is too low. We are not fighting this highland, and we are not fighting it. If we fight, the US troops on the two highlands next to it can control the firepower of this highland from a highland. If we don't fight, it will pose a threat to the troops attacking the 490.1 highland. So I plan to use artillery firepower to suppress the US troops on the 158.6 highland, and send an additional tank battalion to cover the flanks of our army. As long as the 490.1 highland is taken down, then the 158.6 highland is no problem!"

"Um!" I won't say much after hearing what Commander Pang said, but I always feel a little furious, because it's not a pleasant thing to shine your back in front of the enemy, even if this high ground is covered by our artillery and tank battalion. But then again, the task of attacking the 490.1 high ground may not be handed over to our regiment! What's the urgency I am...

But as soon as my thoughts arose, Commander Pang changed his mind and nodded at me and said, "Let you come to this task of attacking the 490.1 Highlands!"

"What?" I was not stunned when I heard this, but when I saw Political Commissar Cai's slightly dissatisfied eyes, I quickly stood up and responded: "Yes!"

"There is a reinforced battalion of the US military, which is not easy to deal with!" Commander Pang patted my shoulder, his eyes full of smiles and said, "But I believe you, and I believe your regiment will definitely do it! You must know that whether the 490.1 highland can be captured successfully is directly related to whether other highlands can be controlled by our army, so the burden on your shoulders is very heavy! Are you determined?"

"Yes! Ensure the completion of the task!" I answered without thinking, but in fact, I was secretly complaining in my heart. I should have thought of it long ago, right? The 538th Regiment is the main group of the 180th Division. If such a task is not arranged on me, who else can it be arranged on...

"Comrades!" Commander Pang assigned the combat tasks, and Political Commissar Cai continued to do ideological work.

I am still very impressed by the division of labor and cooperation system between division commanders and political commissars of the Volunteer Army. One is responsible for the deployment of troops and commanding the battle, while the other is responsible for pre-war mobilization and ideological work.

Political Commissar Cai waved his fist and said, "There are a few days left before the launch of the counterattack battle. We must make full use of this period of time to prepare. We must make good preparations before we can attack. We will not only fail to succeed, but will also cause excessive casualties. Therefore, infantry artillery commanders at all levels who serve as counterattack troops must conduct repeated reconnaissance on the targets, enemy situations, and terrain, and even send capable teams to infiltrate the enemy side and observe them in order to construct enemy fortifications, deploy troops, various artillery positions, and deputy defense.

I really understand the imperial setting and other aspects, and then I make up my mind to formulate combat deployment, determine the main attack direction, use troops, organize firepower, select and build artillery positions, build a garrison at the charge departure point, and conduct sand table operations and select similar terrain for exercises, conduct preparation and training of various communication and communication tools and methods to ensure smooth communication and communication in battle, adjust personnel weapons and prepare various ammunition and medicine supplies. Fight a prepared battle, fight a confident battle, and try to minimize the casualties of our soldiers!"

"Huh!" I couldn't help but look at Political Commissar Cai in surprise. Although what Political Commissar Cai said seemed to be quite wordy, it almost covers all the reconnaissance that should be done before the war, understand the enemy situation, formulate combat plans, drills, communications, logistics and other preparations.

By the way, I have been the leader of the regiment for so long and I know a little about these pre-war preparations, but since these tasks are usually organized by the deputy regiment commander Liu Shunyi, I am not as detailed as Political Commissar Cai!

"Captain Cui!" Political Commissar Cai's next words made me even more stunned. He solemnly patted my shoulder and said, "The victory of our division's offensive this time depends largely on whether your troops can successfully win the 490.1 Highland. I hope you can treat it with caution. Like Commander Pang, I am very confident in you, because I know that you have had very successful experience in the coordination of insurgents, artillery and tanks in the battle of Maliangshan. The most important thing is whether you can fully play the role of artillery and the role of our tank soldiers. Especially our tank troops, they are still very young and have basically no experience in coordinated combat, so you have to communicate more with artillery and tank soldiers, and negotiate a practical combat plan based on the terrain conditions!"

"Yes!" I was stunned for a while before I realized it and saluted Political Commissar Cai in a straightforward manner.
Chapter completed!