On the 25th of April, the 24th Division headed north. When they left St. Paul, Qi Rui was actually a little unhappy.
It was hard for normal troops to leave the city and embark on a journey. However, the entire 24th Division didn't feel this way. This motorized infantry division was very confident now. Everyone in the army thought that taking over cities and destroying the enemy was the mission that the 24th Division, which had the most advanced technology in the Liberation Army, should take on.
As the 24th Division's deputy chief of staff and acting chief of staff, Qi Rui didn't feel unhappy that the word "acting" was still on his head. The Liberation Army's judgment of the UA was completely wrong in this battle. Qi Rui thought that the Americans would react no matter what when they found out that an important city like St. Paul was lost. The best prediction was that the UA Federal Army would send a large force from the north and south. At that time, the 24th Division could rely on the motorized army to take them down one by one.
In the end, 11 days had passed from the 14th of April to the 25th of April. The UA Federal Army couldn't say that they didn't react, but the speed and strength of their reaction was completely different from what was expected before the war. As the chief of staff of the army, Qi Rui felt that he had failed in his duty to not make any corresponding predictions and arrangements.
What happened in the past was in the past. Qi Rui could only try his best to avoid making the same mistake in the future. However, now that the 24th Division was going to approach the UA Federal Army's defense line, he didn't dare to make any plans to underestimate the Americans. Also, the motorized infantry division received orders to head straight to the Port of Duluth and cut the Americans' northern defense line in half.
The Port of Duluth was located at the westernmost part of Lake Superior. It was also where the Mississippi River entered Lake Superior. St. Paul was the terminus of the Mississippi River upstream. Taking over the Port of Duluth meant that the Liberation Army had opened up this waterway and surrounded the UA Federal Army north of the Port of Duluth at the same time.
The march was much easier as the UA built a railway along the east coast of the Mississippi River. The Liberation Army advanced on land and water and didn't encounter any obstacles along the way. The Americans' reaction was still slow. They seemed to think that 200 kilometers was a long distance. In the eyes of the motorized infantry, this distance was rather dangerous without the assistance of airplanes. With the help of the aircraft, marching along the 200-kilometer railway line was almost a short distance.
The two divisions of the 24th Division boarded the train at 5 am in the morning, and the 1st Division, which had set off half a day earlier, used motorized marching. By 5 pm on the 25th, the 24th Division alighted ten kilometers away from the Port of Duluth and began to attack the city.
A map of the city of Duluth was hung up in the headquarters. It was a beautiful city that resembled a thin ribbon on the shores of Lake Superior. It was nearly ten kilometers long from east to west and only one or two kilometers wide from north to south. Perhaps he was tired, or perhaps he was still angry, Qi Rui felt that this place was not pleasing to the eye.
There were too many mountains in the Great Lakes region, and this godforsaken place was vast and sparsely populated. It was not a good place for the motorized infantry …
As soon as he thought of this, Qi Rui felt that something was wrong. If the motorized infantry really wasn't used to this place, then they shouldn't have been able to run more than 200 kilometers in a day. Also, with the help of the train, the trucks and motorcycles that had broken down could also be transported to their destination by train. The infantry wouldn't be able to run such a long distance even if they ran to their deaths.
Just as Qi Rui was thinking about where these negative emotions came from, he heard gunshots in the distance. Less than half an hour later, the communications staff officer brought the first batch of news. "Our army is entangled by the enemy, and our advance is blocked."
Qi Rui couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He didn't even notice it, but the feelings of uneasiness and dissatisfaction instantly disappeared without a trace. Sitting on the military chair, Qi Rui focused on waiting for more news to come in.
Commander Zheng Minglun had been quietly observing Qi Rui's performance. Seeing that Qi Rui had calmed down, he signaled Political Commissar Hu Dakui with his eyes, and the two of them left the headquarters one after another in tacit understanding.
"Looks like Qi Rui wasn't affected," Zheng Minglun said to Hu Dakui.
Hu Dakui nodded. These old soldiers had experienced too many things. Whether he was in a bad mood because he didn't get promoted, or just a little distracted because of the pressure of the war, the old soldiers could easily tell. It was easy to explain. If he was unhappy because he didn't get promoted, he would be even more unhappy when he was in a war. However, Qi Rui immediately became energetic in the face of a fierce battle, which already explained a lot.
"After this war, let's report to the headquarters." Hu Dakui expressed his opinion. Promoting a military staff officer was something that needed to be done carefully. This was the standard position of a senior colonel. Also, the motorized infantry had just been established. Although this army had shown enough advantages, this army hadn't been truly tested. In the eyes of the old soldiers, if one could only rely on running to become a senior colonel, the war would be seen as a child's play.
Hu Dakui only said to make a report, but he didn't say what report. Zheng Minglun's words were equally strict. "Motorized infantry is still infantry at the end of the day. If it's just a group of motorized soldiers, it's better to call it the driver brigade."
"They come when summoned, and they can fight when they come. The motorized infantry has already done that. Now, let's see if they can win the war. "Although the requirements were strict, Political Commissar Hu Dakui didn't have any intention of belittling the motorized infantry. Just based on mobility, the motorized infantry's performance was already quite good. The only traditional infantry that could beat the motorized infantry was probably the mountain troops when they entered the mountains.
"I hope they can take up the heavy burden. But I think that Qi Rui also knows where his weakness is. "Zheng Minglun also pointed out the crux of the problem. Before the 24th Division went to war, Political Commissar Shen Xin had a conversation with Zheng Minglun and Hu Dakui. If these two old soldiers really wanted to command the war, they would have had the chance to do so long ago. However, the content of the conversation was for these two old soldiers to be the scapegoat and let the young people take up the heavy burden of the war first. Shen Xin hoped that the two of them could keep their composure. Unless the young people made an irreversible mistake, they should just watch and not interrupt.
People who were valued by Shen Xin naturally weren't useless people. Whether it was Zheng Minglun or Hu Dakui, they were both people with sharp eyes. Up until now, they didn't see any problems with Qi Rui and the others' commands. If they had to say that there was a problem, it would be that they weren't used to this kind of high-intensity mobile warfare. After all, it was rare for the Liberation Army to attack a city one to two hundred kilometers deep into the enemy's territory. According to the Liberation Army's tradition of using numbers to fight against the few and using numbers to bully the few, they really wouldn't design this kind of warfare. Now, the war had once again returned to the realm of traditional warfare. Zheng Minglun and Hu Dakui both wanted to see if the young officers of the 24th Division could pass the final inspection.
Four to five kilometers away from the military headquarters, Captain Wei Jianjun saw seven to eight figures suddenly appear from the forest under the dim light. They held their rifles and were about to open fire at Wei Jianjun's company.
"Get down!" Wei Jianjun almost instinctively shouted. Following this shout, Wei Jianjun and the soldiers all got down at the same time. Probably because they had never seen such a quick and spineless reaction, the group of Yankee that appeared from the forest was stunned. However, the Liberation Army also gave them a chance. Rifle bullets flew towards the Yankee.
However, the forest here was dense, so the bullets didn't hit the Yankee. Instead, they were scared and fled back to the starting point.
"Tsk!" Wei Jianjun spat. This was the first time he saw something like this. The enemy was actually able to escape unscathed. The sky gradually turned dark, and they were still some distance away from Duluth Port City. Wei Jianjun was in a bit of a dilemma. If he ignored these people and they were ambushed again, the troops might not be as unscathed as they were now.
However, it wasn't safe to send the troops to chase after them. This forest was very dense, and it was everyone's first time here. What if they fell into the enemy's ambush? Also, the gunshots around them were continuous. Although it wasn't intense, it didn't stop either. It seemed like Wei Jianjun wasn't the only one who encountered this kind of problem.
Lieutenant Shi Qian got up from the ground and bent down to look at the guard who had fallen to the ground beside him. The guard had a painful expression on his face. He tried to cover the wound with his arm, but the wound was on his right rib. After he was injured, it was difficult for him to move. His military uniform was quickly stained with a large patch of dark blood.
The health worker immediately rushed up to bandage the guard. Shi Qian gritted his teeth and hid behind a tree to peep in the direction of the enemy's attack. If the guard hadn't thrown Shi Qian down just now, the one who would have been shot and fallen to the ground would probably be Company Commander Shi Qian.
Although the enemy was cunning, their tactics were very backward. The participants lined up in a straight line and shot at the Liberation Army. This kind of tactic had long been eliminated by the Liberation Army.
"Second Platoon Commander, take the troops and outflank them!" Shi Qian immediately gave the order after seeing the situation.
"Okay!" The second platoon commander adjusted his helmet and immediately prepared to lead the attack. Looking at the second platoon commander's hurried appearance and recalling the enemy's calm ambush, Shi Qian was afraid and worried. He warned the second platoon commander, "Be careful of the enemy's ambush on the way!"
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