Ma Xiaoming didn't like to scold people, but that didn't mean he didn't have the urge to do so. The performance of the first and second battalion made Ma Xiaoming question how Hu Xingzhi, who was currently in the military hospital, built this unit.
"The third battalion has begun their attack!" The political commissar in charge of command was slightly relieved after hearing the news. It seemed that he wasn't satisfied with the performance of the troops.
"I'll go to the third battalion to take a look," Ma Xiaoming said to the political commissar and left the command center with his guards.
The field battle command centers were probably the same. Guards would be stationed at a position suitable for defense and close to the front line. They would pull a few ropes to pull up a camouflage canvas, and the regimental headquarters would begin operating under the canvas. Before the troops were motorized, the regimental headquarters looked like this. After the motorization, the smell of gasoline in the air of the regimental headquarters became stronger. The motorcycles that emitted the smell of gasoline were parked not far from the regimental headquarters, providing transportation for correspondents and other soldiers at any time.
Ma Xiaoming subconsciously tightened his face as he replayed the battle he saw in his mind like a movie. With the help of the air force, the reconnaissance work was much easier. The number of enemies heading south was about two thousand. They deviated from the general direction of the United States from west to east and turned north to south. It seemed that they were trying to avoid Duluth, which was occupied by the Liberation Army, and find a way to escape from the south.
The second regiment, on the other hand, collided head-on with the Americans from south to north. The first battalion blocked the enemy from the front while the second and third battalions flanked them. After seeing the performance of the first battalion, Ma Xiaoming decided not to continue watching. Instead, he went to the third battalion where the battle had begun.
The three-wheeled motorcycle drove along the relatively flat river. As soon as it passed a protruding rock, it saw a lot of trucks parked behind the rock. The garrison troops were laying barbed wire and setting up positions based on the mountain terrain. After getting off the motorcycle, Ma Xiaoming looked down from the top of the rock. The barbed wire was in front of the rock, and a rather tiered defensive position was set up above the rock. Although there were only two platoons of troops defending here, Ma Xiaoming firmly believed that with his command ability, the enemy would only launch a surprise attack when the light was poor. Otherwise, they would not be able to break through this defensive position.
Continuing forward, the defensive position of the third battalion was set up in accordance with the terrain. With a small number of troops and a large number of equipment, the enemy would need a large number of troops and a considerable amount of time to break through the position. Ma Xiaoming's evaluation of Hu Xingzhi increased. It seemed that Hu Xingzhi did have capable people under his command.
Further ahead, the terrain had reached a point where motorcycles could not pass. That was where the battle was most intense. Ma Xiaoming brought his guards and went straight to the frontline. The 24th Division had five companies under its command. These five companies didn't have all their heavy equipment, but they had enough soldiers, and the infantry weapons were all in order.
Ma Xiaoming could see that the Third Battalion had already deployed two companies on the battle line. At this time, the Third Battalion Commander's position only had two companies of troops. Listening to the gunshots, the Third Battalion had already sent the other company far away to engage the enemy. This was different from the other two battalions.
Battalion Commander Wei Jianjun's appearance left a deep impression in Ma Xiaoming's mind. This new Battalion Commander had a long bandage on his face. It seemed that his injuries were not light. Ma Xiaoming didn't mind Wei Jianjun's short answer. It was too much to ask a person with an injured face to give a long speech.
Wei Jianjun's orders were concise and clear. The troops were attacking the two highlands. All the cannons, mortars, and heavy machine guns in the battalion were supporting the attacking troops. Ma Xiaoming raised his head to look at the sky that was about to turn dark. Then, he looked at the smoke rising from the two highlands. He didn't say anything. He just looked at Battalion Commander Wei Jianjun's orders calmly.
West Virginia was a mountainous region. During the Civil War, Virginia had not been divided yet. At that time, the state government immediately joined the Southern Confederacy. However, the mountainous region of West Virginia was not suitable for slavery. The local counties were mainly farmers. The local forces in these counties immediately declared their independence from West Virginia and joined the Northern Confederacy. A war caused the division of West Virginia. This was also why General Li said with pain, "I had to pull out my sword against my fellow Virginians."
The Civil War had passed for more than 20 years. Those old grudges had limited influence on the current war. At least, when the commander of the West Virginia Confederacy faced the Chinese army, he didn't have any thoughts related to the Civil War in his mind. His biggest thought was to "defend and wait for reinforcements."
In the morning, when the troops advanced west, they received news that the Chinese army was blocking their way. Minnesota, known as the State of Thousand Lakes, had beautiful scenery. There were fish in the lake and deer on the shore. It was a good place to visit. However, the northern defense line of Minnesota relied on the mountains. The fish in the lake and the deer on the shore could be used as an occasional supplement, but they could not be a stable source of food.
The Union troops in West Virginia retreated relatively late. The towns along the way had already been ravaged by the retreating Union troops. The food that could be "forcibly collected" had been confiscated several times. The girls did not dare to show their faces because of the scourge of the state troops. As for the taverns in the towns along the way, the commander went in and found that they were in a mess and empty.
Food was scarce. The commander of the West Virginia Confederacy could not get food from other troops. He decided to lead the troops south. If they stayed with other troops, they would only become more and more hungry.
However, not long after the troops went south, they were attacked by the China guys who suddenly appeared. The China guys quickly surrounded them. The China guys on the other flat maps unhurriedly spread out their troops. The China guys on the more changeable terrain were frantically seizing the commanding heights.
There were many mountains in West Virginia. Even though there hadn't been a war for many years, the local Union troops had a practical understanding of mountain warfare. The commander knew that if he wanted to hold on until reinforcements arrived, he had to compete with the China guys for control of two key highlands. The China's actions were far faster than the United States Army. Moreover, the China's arrival was so sudden that the commander of the Union Army felt that the China was farsighted. From the perspective of the Union Army, since it was very likely that they would fall into the China's trap, if the China set up a machine gun on the highlands that threatened the Union Army's retreat route, the Union Army's military operations would face the point of complete collapse.
"Forward! Forward! For the Union, for our West Virginia! Forward! " The middle-level commander of the Union Army ordered the flag bearers to wave the Union Army's military and state flags in an attempt to inspire the soldiers' fighting spirit.
"Soldiers, in front of you are the enemy of the white man, in front of you are the enemy of the church, in front of you are the evil pagans, the devil's believers, and the enemies of Christ!" the military chaplains shouted at the top of their lungs. These days, the chaplains had also held some meetings. As for how to carry out war propaganda, the chaplains generally preferred to follow the path of the Holy War. The three Semitic cults were actually similar. The best one was the one that talked about the end of the world. The more absolute the outcome, the more it could incite absolute emotions. In the agitation of war, the irrational emotional impulses far surpassed the calm and careful rational thinking.
Hearing the familiar words about home and God, the soldiers felt that their acceptance of the war was indeed much higher. They either touched the crosses they carried or crossed their chests. Then, they picked up their rifles and headed straight for the highlands under the command of the officers.
There were more than 2,000 people in the Union Army in West Virginia. The commander did not rashly put all the troops into the military operation to capture the highlands. More than half of the troops were barely maintaining the battle line at this time. About 30%, or more than 600 people, were competing with the Chinese team for the highlands.
"The faith of Christ will turn into armor …" The chaplains chanted the prayers that their predecessors had chanted more than a thousand years ago to the Union Army who were pouncing on the battle line.
"Hallelujah! Hallelujah! " There were also some pastors with beautiful voices who chanted symbolic words that were more emotional to the armed federal soldiers. If it were not for the fact that they could not form a choir at this time, the pastors would probably sing the classic song that was reserved for religious occasions, "Hallelujah" from "Messiah."
The United States Army was trying its best to improve its combat effectiveness, but the Liberation Army did not have so many tricks. The Americans had the advantage in terms of military strength and terrain. They were facing a gentle slope, while the Liberation Army was facing a steep slope. If it were not for the aerial map, it would be difficult for the infantry commander to have the idea of taking the difficult road to capture the highlands by walking on the ground. But now, the Liberation Army was also in a difficult position. There was no other way but to win against the enemy. Once the Americans captured these two highlands, they would be able to set up a defensive position. What was advantageous to the enemy was bound to be disadvantageous to them. At this time, there was no other way but to win.
The Chinese fought more rationally, so the Chinese infantrymen kept their mouths shut and followed behind the grass-roots officers. How did the platoon leaders and squad leaders climb over those difficult places? The soldiers followed suit. In the gap between the enemy's bullets, the platoon leaders and squad leaders jumped out of their hiding places and flashed to the next hiding place as quickly as possible. The soldiers would also learn from the officers to grasp the enemy's shooting rhythm and frequency. At about the same time, under the orders of the platoon leaders or squad leaders, they would expose their bodies to the enemy's muzzles in the shortest time possible.
The distance between the infantrymen of both sides was getting closer. Although Ma Xiaoming did not see the American infantrymen, he could see the Liberation Army infantrymen approaching the key commanding heights of the highlands. The follow-up troops also carried the heavy machine guns and moved toward the highlands as much as possible. As long as the soldiers in front controlled the vital points, the soldiers carrying the heavy machine guns could move safely to the highlands. Therefore, before the final decisive situation appeared, the machine gunners could only wait in a relatively safe position. The reason why they could not continue to advance was very practical. If the enemy occupied the highlands first, these heavy machine guns would fire fiercely at the enemy and help the troops launch the battle to capture the highlands.
It had been a long time since Ma Xiaoming had seen such a classic infantry battle to capture the highlands. In fact, the highest proportion of battles to capture the highlands that Ma Xiaoming had seen in his life were exercises. In the battle to sweep the West Coast of the United States, most of the troops were fighting in the streets or against houses in the countryside.
Therefore, Division Commander Ma Xiaoming watched the battle without saying a word. Battalion Commander Wei Jianjun used to be a political cadre, and Ma Xiaoming knew this very well. Political cadres were by no means synonymous with incompetence in the Liberation Army. However, it had been a long time since political cadres had personally led the troops to charge and break through the enemy lines.
Finally, a Liberation Army soldier trembled and fell backward. Soldiers who had fought on the battlefield could not see clearly where the soldiers were injured from hundreds of meters away. However, they could tell at a glance whether they were shot and fell to the ground or accidentally slipped. It seemed that the enemy and the Liberation Army had each occupied a part of the highlands and were shooting at each other on the mountainous terrain!
Less than ten minutes later, the phone rang. The battalion staff officer picked up the phone and said a few words, then handed the phone to Wei Jianjun. "Battalion Commander, Fifth Company on the mountain is calling."
"I'm Wei Jianjun." Wei Jianjun's voice sounded extremely cold. This was the effect of his expressionless face and the way he spoke without affecting the wound on his cheek as much as possible.
After listening to a few words, Wei Jianjun still asked in this super cold tone, "The number of the enemy is two or three times that of you? Have their main forces gone up to the highlands? "
Ma Xiaoming listened quietly. He even calmly took out a cigarette and lit it. Such a cold voice not only did not make Ma Xiaoming disappointed in Wei Jianjun, but it also greatly increased Ma Xiaoming's confidence in Wei Jianjun. Ma Xiaoming raised his head. From the Liberation Army's point of view, the road leading to the highlands was very rugged. The fact that the telephone operator had run to the highlands to set up a communication line was really not tolerable.
"The enemy's main forces are also starting to attack?" Wei Jianjun's tone sounded as cold as if he was criticizing the lack of meat in his dinner. "You guys hold on. The reinforcements will be leaving soon. "
Putting down the phone, Wei Jianjun said to the staff officer, "Have Third Company follow me!"
After saying that, Wei Jianjun picked up a rifle from the gun rack in the command center, turned to Ma Xiaoming, and said, "Division Commander, I'm going to the front line."
"… Be careful!" That was all Ma Xiaoming could say.
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