Driving on the bumpy road, Division Commander Zheng, who was sitting in the truck, leaned out of the observation window of the rear compartment. He propped his arms on the observation window. Apart from stabilizing his body, the air was also good.
The long marching formation of the infantry seemed to have no end. The veteran soldiers had seen this scene too many times and were already used to it. What he wasn't used to was that the motorized infantrymen were too good at running. When marching on the plains in the rain, the average speed was about 45 kilometers per hour. It would take the infantrymen carrying the weapons, ammunition, and marching equipment 78 hours to cover the distance of 30 kilometers.
Division Commander Zheng had worn straw sandals since he was a child. He could clearly remember the feeling when he first put on the rubber soled liberation shoes after he became a soldier. It felt as if he could fly. Since then, the Liberation Army's daily marching speed quickly reached 40 kilometers, or 20 kilometers. Then it reached 30 kilometers. The weight that the soldiers carried also increased from 10 kilograms to 30 kilograms with the popularization of the military backpacks.
Division Commander Zheng had heard Vézé's ideological education classes, and one of them was against the idea that "the present is not as good as the past." Now, Division Commander Zheng completely understood what the Military Governor Vaize was talking about. Now, every soldier in this long marching formation seemed to be walking with heavy footsteps and stupefied expressions, but this army itself was advancing at a speed that shocked the seniors. In front of this infantry that could crush their predecessors, there was another motorized infantry that stood at the forefront of the new era. The motorized infantry covered a distance of 30 kilometers in the morning. After completing such a long march, they immediately engaged in battle with the enemy. After eliminating the enemy, they displayed the spirit of continuous fighting and were fighting a second battle with the enemy.
Breathing in the relatively fresh air, Division Commander Zheng's mind was exceptionally clear. This was a huge change. The strength of the change was so great that it might completely surpass all the previous innovations in the Liberation Army's marching equipment. In a time when the depth of a battle could not reach 50 kilometers, what did it mean for an army that could advance 100 kilometers in a day and win two battles along the way? There was no need to say more.
Division Commander Zheng still remembered that when he sighed over the brand new liberation shoes, his platoon leader sighed and said, "You guys came at the right time!" Now, he couldn't help but feel jealous of the young people who were charging forward. They really came at the right time. In the early stages of the Liberation Army established by the Military Governor Vaize, the troops used matchlock guns. When Division Commander Zheng was a soldier, matchlock guns and flintlock guns were all eliminated. Division Commander Zheng didn't even have to use his flamethrower for long before he switched to a black gunpowder metal cased rifle.
The one-on-one metal-cased rifle had long since been eliminated, and the cartridge type black powder bullets had been replaced by smokeless gunpowder. Even the smokeless gunpowder rifles had been developed to the second generation. The crude rifles of the past had long been replaced by fine rulers. Snipers could accurately shoot the important targets of the enemy from hundreds of meters away. It had been less than 40 years since 1852, and the rapid development of military technology was astounding. Such development did not stop there, and it continued to advance at an even faster speed.
The road in front had already been traversed by the motorized infantry regiment, and there were small units left along the way to guide them. Division Commander Zheng's truck only needed to keep moving forward. In addition to the distance he had already traveled, it only took an hour for Division Commander Zheng to see the battlefield full of American cavalry and warhorses.
He jumped off the truck, put on a warhorse, and personally walked on the bloody battlefield. The deep tire marks, as well as the shell casings and a large number of shells from heavy machine guns scattered on the battlefield, made Division Commander Zheng realize how clean and efficient this cruel battle had been. The cavalry was not stupid. They would never launch an unplanned charge against the enemy's fortified position. A position supported by heavy machine guns and artillery was a nightmare for cavalry. However, the cavalrymen would bravely charge at the advancing enemies.
These UA cavalrymen lying on the ground probably never thought that the Liberation Army's marching formation would turn into an impregnable defensive position in the blink of an eye. Faced with the silent battlefield, Division Commander Zheng lamented gloomily, "These bastards have really come at the right time!"
The faint sound of gunfire came from further away. Division Commander Zheng could tell that the battle was about five kilometers away. Not long after these bastards killed the UA cavalrymen, they ran five kilometers away and launched another round of attack against the new enemy.
After riding past this position, the truck had already circled to the front and was waiting for Division Commander Zheng. Division Commander Zheng was in a good mood when he got on the truck. Half an hour later, he appeared at the entrance of the new regiment headquarters.
On the back of a small dirt slope, a group of commanders from the motorized infantry regiment were busy. When they saw Division Commander Zheng, they put down their work and saluted him.
After returning the salute, Division Commander Zheng said with a slightly mocking smile, "Pass on the commander's order. If you guys want to fight to your heart's content, just say it. Don't be vague and make it sound like you've suffered a great loss just because you obeyed the command. Although we're old, we're not stupid yet! "
After being scolded by their senior, the young soldiers looked a little embarrassed. Seeing that these bastards were too embarrassed to speak, Division Commander Zheng sat on the military chair in a grand manner. "What's the situation now?"
The military chair was immediately moved over. A simple map had already marked out many highlands.
The regiment's staff officer, Li Yannian, pointed to a few peaks and introduced the latest information. "The Americans have set up a camp here. From what we can see, there are about 2,000 to 5,000 enemies in the camp. We think they want to gather their forces here and try to fight us for a long time. The Americans didn't expect us to come so quickly. When they saw our cavalrymen at the front, they thought they could use their cavalry to charge at us and catch us off guard. Now that the main force of the UA cavalrymen has been wiped out, these infantrymen probably haven't figured out what to do next. We want to wipe them out. "
"If you want to wipe them out, your regiment's military strength is not enough." Division Commander Zheng immediately pointed out the key problem. Ten encirclements was the basic concept of war. Even if the Americans only had 2,000 people, a total of less than 2,000 motorized infantrymen would not be able to fully encircle them. If the number of Americans reached 5,000, it would be even more impossible for the motorized infantrymen to complete the task.
"We're now testing the firepower, hoping to use our mobility to surround them. We'll block them and wait for the main force to come up to encircle them. " Qi Rui explained the motorized infantrymen's actions. "After all, these people have seen our motorized infantrymen in battle. If we can kill them all, it will be very beneficial for the future."
"You're quite ambitious." Division Commander Zheng laughed. He was not mocking them. Any reliable soldier would have such a battle expectation. Division Commander Zheng was the same when he was young. "If we want to encircle them and annihilate them, we have to occupy the key high ground before dark."
It was not tiring to talk to smart people. The regiment had reached a consensus. They had to block the enemy's retreat route. Once the main force came up, they would carry out the final annihilation. However, in that case, the motorized infantrymen would have to turn to traditional combat. No matter how impressive they were on the plains, the trucks could not drive up the mountains. It had to be said that the regiment officers felt an inexplicable heartache when they saw their precious motorized infantrymen being used up in traditional combat. They were infantrymen who killed one person every ten steps and traveled a thousand miles without leaving a trace. Moreover, the motorized infantrymen were a hastily put together unit. The officers were not particularly confident in their traditional combat abilities.
"Let's take a look at the position," Division Commander Zheng said as he stood up.
The encirclement had already begun. The 75 mm field artillery was firing fiercely at the exposed American artillery positions and firing points. It was probably because the Americans had never seen such fierce firepower before that the return fire from their position was minimal. Any counterattack would be suppressed by the Liberation Army's firepower several times stronger.
After a brief look, Division Commander Zheng pointed at a small valley and asked, "Have you tried it out from there?"
"Yes, the enemy's firepower is very strong," Ma Xiaoming replied.
"Then go up from another path and drive the enemy toward that valley," Division Commander Zheng ordered.
"Huh?" The regiment officers were dumbfounded. This order was a little strange.
For Division Commander Zheng, infantry battles were not about fighting head-on. Many battles required techniques. "If the enemy is very skilled, that valley will probably be the key point for them to retreat and station their troops. When we attack the other side, we will encounter strong resistance from the enemy. That's when our artillery will be able to unleash its greatest power. If the enemy is bad, when they feel that they can't handle it, they will instinctively gather together and run to where they think it's safe. Since the goal is to encircle and annihilate the enemy, we either have to use our advantage to annihilate the enemy's effective strength or let the enemy gather together and wait for death. We have to choose one of the two. "
Since the division commander had given the order, the regiment commander had no room to object. Qi Rui and the others immediately adjusted their deployment and began to attack the enemy's high ground.
As soon as the battle started, the young soldiers realized that the older, the wiser. The Americans occupied the high ground and occupied a position with a natural advantage. Perhaps it was because they could hide behind a rock and shoot, so they were more at ease. As soon as the Liberation Army infantrymen began to test the enemy's firepower, the Americans would start to fight back with firepower that was several times or even more than ten times stronger.
The lingering smoke not only exposed the location of the Americans' firepower, but it also exposed the location where their firepower was weak. The Liberation Army infantrymen quickly followed their training and inserted small teams into the enemy's gaps. Soon, they broke through.
The "vital points" where a large number of the enemy's troops were placed became the focus of the artillery. The power of the 75 artillery was not bad. One shot would cause rubble to fly everywhere. More important than power was the accuracy of the 75 artillery. After the artillery was set up on the solid ground, the artillery could hit the same spot seven or eight times in a row.
Although the binoculars could not see very clearly, they could occasionally see the Americans being sent flying by the shockwaves of the artillery shells. In places that they could not see, shrapnel flew everywhere, and there were even more rubble flying everywhere. Thinking about it, the Americans might not be able to avoid it. Before the sky was completely dark, two high grounds were seized by the Liberation Army infantrymen. The red flag was inserted in the gaps between the stones of the high ground, showing the combat effectiveness of the Liberation Army infantrymen.
"Do we have enough artillery shells?" Division Commander Zheng, who had been silent, finally asked.
"Enough!" Li Yannian, the regiment's staff officer, immediately replied.
The carrying capacity of the trucks far exceeded that of traditional supply troops, but such an attack was far from the extent of running out of artillery shells.
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