20demayo Chapter 310 Battle 2!
Chapter 310 Battle 2!
He originally intended to motivate everyone, since this batch of soldiers, including himself, had never fought a single real battle before, not even a small-scale conflict or campaign. Now they were suddenly being thrown into this large-scale counterattack, and so suddenly at that. If you weren't mentally strong, your legs might have gone weak.
Looking at these guys now, all my worries were unnecessary. They were all as excited as if they'd been injected with adrenaline, and couldn't wait to get started.
Zhong Yuemin said:
"Commander, we're not stupid. Look at the scene. They've assembled so many different types of troops—howitzers, tanks, pontoon bridge units, engineers, communications, motor transport regiments... and even come all the way to the border. If you say it's just an exercise, we don't believe it, and the monkeys on the other side don't believe it either."
Liu Yonghua nodded.
"Since you all understand, I won't say any more. Now I will give you the combat mission. Remember it clearly: the counterattack will officially begin at 6:40 AM on February 17, 1979. This is the early morning. The night before the operation (February 16), all participating troops must have completed their assembly at the attack launch positions and complete their attack preparations between 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM on the 17th."
We are a reconnaissance unit. Before the official start of the counterattack against the enemy, our reconnaissance regiment is required to break into smaller units, disguise themselves as enemy troops, and infiltrate enemy territory two nights before the start of the battle. Each small team consists of 10 to 20 men, with two communications soldiers accompanying them. I want to emphasize again that our mission is to: scout out enemy positions, lock onto targets, provide support for the main force to annihilate the enemy's manpower, and clear obstacles.
Unless absolutely necessary, do not engage the enemy. Quickly retreat to a safe area. Do you understand?
Everyone nodded, and then they began to assign personnel to each squad. Zhong Yuemin, Zhang Haiyang, Man Tun, Ning Wei, Wang Tiezhu, and others were in one squad. As a reconnaissance unit, in addition to strong physical fitness, tacit cooperation among comrades was also very important. The members of this squad had been together for almost seven or eight years, eating, drinking, sleeping, training, and participating in exercises together. They knew each other very well and could understand each other's intentions with just a glance.
After a day of rest, on the second night, each reconnaissance squad went to their respective target locations to carry out reconnaissance missions according to their assigned combat tasks. His squad, in addition to two signalmen, each carrying a 15-watt radio and another carrying a 2-watt radio, also had a local guide, a militia company commander from a nearby village, and a patriotic overseas Chinese from Vietnam. The two were quite familiar with the enemy territory and accompanied him.
Before they set off, the commander poured a farewell drink for each soldier—genuine Moutai, something many of them had never tasted before. They downed it in one gulp.
"I hope everyone can return safely. When you come back victorious, we'll have a celebratory drink."
These words were somewhat against my conscience. In war, people inevitably die. Looking at these young, innocent faces, I felt a pang of reluctance, and gritted my teeth, saying:
"Smash all the bowls, may the broken pieces bring peace!"
"Crack, crack, crack..."
The bowl shattered, and the various teams set off, their figures quickly disappearing into the pitch-black night.
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At 6:40 a.m. on February 17, 1979, while most people on the Chinese mainland were still asleep, thousands of miles away on the border in the southwest, the deafening sounds of gunfire, artillery fire, and tanks filled the air. A total of 550,000 troops were deployed on both the eastern and western fronts to launch the counterattack against Vietnam.