The Allied forces launched another assault on Hu Hao’s defensive line. Hu Hao stood there, his eyes locked on the defenses. If there was any indication that a section might be breached, he was prepared to immediately deploy his reserve forces to plug the gap.
“The Allied forces have committed three divisions again! They haven’t escalated the attack!” Xiao Quan said, standing beside Hu Hao.
“They aren’t stupid. They shouldn’t have committed so many troops right from the start. They used two divisions for the initial probing attack, and now they’re using four divisions. They’re even employing artillery on a massive scale—just indiscriminately bombarding, heedless of friendly fire. They definitely intended to break through. They were overconfident at first, but now they’ve become cautious. If they manage to charge through now, I’ll admit they have some skill,” Hu Hao said, standing there.
“You mean, if they used two divisions for the first attack, and four divisions for this one, while continuously bombarding us with artillery to cover their bridge-building… could they actually break through our defensive positions like that?” Xiao Quan asked, looking at Hu Hao.
“There’s a chance they could break through. However, at that point, we would definitely have to deploy our artillery as well. But once our artillery is exposed, then it would be impossible for me to completely annihilate the Allied forces!
“Notice how they haven’t forced me to use my artillery yet. Think about it: if they fail to breach our defensive line this time, don’t you think they’ll get anxious?” Hu Hao asked, turning to Xiao Quan.
“They’ll definitely be anxious. They have so many troops. They say they’re attacking us with one division, but it’s actually four divisions. If they fail to take our position, it’ll be a massive loss of face. Plus, I bet their command has given them a death order to break through!” Xiao Quan nodded.
“It’s definitely a death order. Think about it, two entire corps are attacking here. In other sectors, they’re only facing one corps each. Those other areas might not even be the main axis of attack.
“This right here is the Allied forces’ main axis of attack. They want to take this industrial city and then continue expanding outward, forcing our troops to retreat. Therefore, if they fail to take it this time, next time they will commit their entire force. When that happens, I’m going to kill every single one of them!” Hu Hao declared, staring straight ahead.
“Their entire force?” Xiao Quan repeated softly. Hearing this, he looked at Hu Hao in shock.
“What do you think? Our casualties today are over 8,000, right? Even if this wave causes roughly the same—another 8,000 or so—how many frontline troops will we have left? Even including the reserves, it’ll be less than 20,000. Don’t you think they’ll want to wipe us out in one fell swoop?” Hu Hao retorted.
Xiao Quan nodded slowly, then asked, “But their casualties aren’t small either. After two attacks, I wouldn’t exaggerate, but they’ve definitely suffered at least 30,000 casualties!”
“They committed a total of seven divisions to this battle. Even with 30,000 casualties, and subtracting the artillery we took out earlier, they still have over 30,000 men left. What do they have to fear?” Hu Hao countered.
“Oh, that’s true. Their troop numbers actually aren’t that high anymore either. If they don’t commit their entire force, taking us out in one go will be difficult!” Xiao Quan realized, nodding in agreement.
“Sigh, I’m worried the Allied forces have more troops on the way. I hope they wait until we’ve wiped out this batch before arriving. It’s impossible that the Allied forces only sent eight corps to attack us. They must have kept a reserve force; I just don’t know where those remaining troops are located.
“Look at the report from Command. All eight Allied corps have mobilized. In my opinion, either the Allied forces are incredibly overconfident—but I don’t think so, they suffered a major defeat earlier, so they definitely wouldn’t fight like this now. Therefore, they must have kept troops in the rear.
“But where are they? I don’t know. My only worry is that they will come here. If that happens, combining those fresh troops with the remnants of these two corps… the Allied forces will have 100,000 men here. It will be incredibly difficult for us to hold the line!” Hu Hao said, staring across the river.
“That can’t be, right? Coming here? We already have two enemy corps attacking us!” Xiao Quan looked at Hu Hao in sheer shock.
“I don’t know either, but that’s what I’m worried about. Logically, they shouldn’t. But I dare say that even after we wipe out these two corps, the Allied forces will still send troops to attack us here. By then, we won’t have many troops left!” Hu Hao said anxiously.
“It’s a possibility, but I reckon they won’t come over right now!” Xiao Quan said, looking at Hu Hao.
“What if they’re close by? Say, less than 300 kilometers away, or just a five or six-hour march? If that’s the case, the moment we wipe out the troops in front of us, the Allied reinforcements will arrive immediately, and we’ll be forced to fall back and continue defending!” Hu Hao asked Xiao Quan. Hearing this, Xiao Quan fell into deep thought.
“That is highly likely. The Allied reserve troops must be waiting nearby. Wherever a breakthrough seems imminent, they’ll add fuel to the fire and rush over to finish us off. That’s exactly what they’re planning. I estimate that…
“…the moment we wipe out the Allied forces in front of us, those reserves will definitely appear. It might even be an entire corps!” Hu Hao stated.
“But why here? Couldn’t they attack another sector? We already have two corps attacking us here. Logically, they shouldn’t need to worry about this direction!” Xiao Quan countered.
“True. But think about it, if the Allied forces break through here, won’t they need more troops to exploit the gap?” Hu Hao replied.
“Oh, I understand now. Those troops might actually be prepared for the subsequent offensive. But right now, they feel the forces here are sufficient, so they haven’t sent them yet. However, they are definitely close!” Xiao Quan nodded in realization.
“Exactly. That’s why our reconnaissance units haven’t fully reorganized yet. Once I’ve reorganized the reconnaissance units, I’m sending them deep into enemy-occupied territory to monitor a 500-li radius. Only then can we anticipate the enemy and make preparations in advance!” Hu Hao nodded, his tone tinged with worry.
He wasn’t worried about the Allied forces currently in front of him. Hu Hao could cripple them at any moment. Even without utilizing Li Jingsong’s hidden armored units, his artillery alone could wipe out a massive portion of them, completely stripping them of their combat effectiveness. But as for the subsequent attacking forces, Hu Hao wasn’t sure if they could hold the line against them!
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
“Rat-a-tat-tat!” The Allied assault continued. Both sides were firing mortars and infantry guns relentlessly, locked in a desperate struggle.
“Fire! Keep your eyes on those pontoon bridge units; do not let them cross! And there are Allied soldiers hiding behind the wreckage of those tanks—blast them!” a Company Commander roared while firing his weapon.
Dong Qipeng was now a Company Commander. His previous commander had been killed in action. As the Deputy Company Commander, he had directly assumed command of the unit. In truth, he had absolutely no idea how to command and hadn’t prepared himself mentally for this even slightly.
But now, he had to bite the bullet and step up. Fortunately, the platoon leaders were veterans and knew how to fight. All Dong Qipeng had to do was keep his eyes peeled; whenever he spotted something wrong, he would shout orders for his unit to eliminate the threat in that area. For now, his company still had sufficient manpower.
“Rocket launchers, take out that firing tank! And infantry guns, do you see those mortars over there? Bombard them! Take them out!” Dong Qipeng shouted loudly while reloading his rifle.
“Boom! Boom!” Hearing the orders, the soldiers immediately aimed at the designated targets and opened fire.
“Save me! Save me! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I haven’t gotten my revenge yet; I’ve only killed three of them! The Allied forces owe my family four lives! Save me! Just let me kill enough to break even, please save me!” A soldier lay on the ground, screaming. Hearing him, Dong Qipeng immediately crouched down to examine the wound.
“It’s fine, you’re hit in the shoulder. The bone isn’t shattered. Medic! Medic! Drag him in!” Dong Qipeng said after inspecting the wound.
“Coming!” A medic in the distance shouted as he finished bandaging another soldier.
“Company Commander, Company Commander, is it true? I’m not going to die, right?” The soldier grabbed Dong Qipeng’s leg with his good hand and asked.
“You won’t, don’t worry! Remember to come back when you’re healed!” Dong Qipeng shouted back.
“Good, good. I will come back. I must come back; I have to get my revenge!” The soldier nodded and let go. At that moment, the medic arrived. After a quick check, he immediately dragged the soldier into the air-raid shelter to disinfect and bandage the wound.
“Fire! Keep firing! Ammo! Bring out the ammo! Haul it out of the air-raid shelters!” Having emptied his rifle, Dong Qipeng noticed that there wasn’t much ammunition left in the trenches and immediately shouted.
Hearing this, several soldiers ducked into their air-raid shelters and hauled out crates of ammunition. Prying them open with their bayonets, they grabbed handfuls of stripper clips and returned to the firing line.
Soldiers who had run out of ammo rushed over to grab more. Once they loaded a full magazine, they immediately resumed firing. Meanwhile, some of the lightly wounded soldiers who had just been bandaged up lay beside the ammo crates, picking up empty magazines and frantically reloading them.
“These ones are loaded!” Whenever a soldier came to grab ammo, the wounded would call out and point to the freshly loaded magazines nearby.
“Here you go!” The soldiers picking up ammo would drop off their empty magazines. As they moved through the trenches, they would also kick any empty magazines they saw toward the wounded.
By this point in the battle, the new recruits had been tempered into veterans. They knew how to fight, and they knew how to cooperate to eliminate the enemy in front of them as quickly as possible. From their initial terror, to frantic excitement, and finally to their current calm—this entire process was a metamorphosis forged in the crucible of war!
(End of Chapter)