Maybe the Vietnamese army needed time to rest or regroup, so even though our army spent more than an hour looking for the bodies of the martyrs on the Tanmeng 237 highland, the Vietnamese army didn’t dare to follow them. They just walked on the highway.
A few sentries were posted to watch us from a distance with binoculars.
Later we learned that it was not because the Vietnamese army needed time to rest and assemble, but because they were worried about fraud ahead. In fact, they had already assembled two companies of troops at that time, but the two companies of Vietnamese troops had just arrived at Hebian because
If they were caught in our ambush and their entire army was wiped out, the Vietnamese army would be wondering... could there be an ambush ahead?
Then we saw that our company was neither retreating nor building fortifications on Highland 237, but was moving corpses in a leisurely manner, as if waiting for them to attack... Then we were even more sure that the front was a trap.
This is a bit like the empty city strategy mentioned in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms... But I have to make it clear that we had no intention at that time. If the Vietnamese invaded us at that time, although they may not necessarily kill us immediately... but
But they can chase us all the way and make us unable to escape or cause heavy casualties.
It’s just that none of this happened. It can be said that we were lucky, or it can be said that the battle at Hebian made the Yue Japs no longer dare to act rashly, so they watched us pack up the corpses and then retreat... The Yue Japs still
Followed from a distance and didn't dare to come up easily.
Before dark, we finally arrived at Ningkang, where the 5th Engineer Company was stationed.
Ningkang is also just a place name. There is not even a village here, there is only a road bridge. Company Commander Zhang and others have been waiting here for a long time. They even sent two cars to help us carry the corpses and
Wounded warrior.
Company Commander Zhang once thought of simply sending a dozen cars to transport us all to Ningkang. However, the Third Battalion Commander thought over and over again and felt that it was too dangerous to transport us by car under the noses of the Japanese Japs... Transporting us by car would be enough.
This meant that our personnel had to be concentrated, and the Japanese were not far behind us. If we saw a large number of cars coming up, we would notify Yun Cheng to fire a row of shells... Then we would not be able to serve them all, so we gave up in the end.
This time, as Captain Zhang said, they were fully prepared to blow up the bridge... The so-called adequate preparation meant getting a few more sets of detonating devices. It is said that a total of five sets were made: three sets of fuses exploded and two sets were fired.
The wires were detonated so that when the Japanese invaders came back with shells, the wires would not be blown up and something would happen.
However, what made Captain Zhang a little disappointed was that the Vietnamese army did not attack again. Their five sets of detonating devices were a complete waste. For this reason, the soldiers of the engineering unit complained fiercely to the Vietnamese army.
I think if the Vietnamese could hear these words, they would probably cry out for injustice... They would be scolded even if they were attacking, and they would be scolded even if they were not attacking. They were not human beings inside and out.
Then with a loud "boom", the highway bridge flew into the sky. Only then did we really feel relieved... Once the highway bridge was broken, it meant that the Japanese would have to go around it again if they wanted to catch up with us.
Several hours of mountain walking.
What puzzled us was that the Yue Japanese were very quiet before, following us from a distance and remaining vigilant. As soon as we blew up the bridge, they all came out, shooting and yelling at the other side of the highway bridge...
…
"Platoon leader!" Seeing this, the scholar couldn't help but wonder: "What are the Japanese doing? Are they going crazy all of a sudden?"
"That's right!" Bayonet also interjected: "They didn't fight when they had the chance just now... Why are they scolding now?!"
I listened carefully and faintly heard the Vietnamese on the other side of the highway bridge swearing: "The Chinese have been fooled again, they have no ambush here!"
I was stunned for a while at first, but then I couldn't help but feel funny when I figured it out: "The Vietnamese think we have an ambush on the other side of the bridge, so they won't blow up the bridge!"
With a coaxing sound, the surrounding soldiers couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"This Vietnamese Jap is suspicious of us because he caught us in an ambush!"
"Isn't that right? Let's kill two companies of Japanese soldiers in one go. I guess the beatings we gave them will hurt!"
"Now you know that the ** among us are not easy to mess with!"
…
The faces of the soldiers were full of pride, even the soldiers of the third battalion were no exception. Especially the soldiers of the third battalion saw such a huge change in the mental outlook of the entire unit... If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you wouldn't have believed it. We saw it half a day ago
We were still a tired, decadent, and morale-less army, but now we see them full of confidence and strength...
For this reason, the commander of the third battalion came to our troops after the war and thanked us. According to his words... they had always exchanged very heavy casualty ratios for the Vietnamese army's positions on the battlefield. This was reflected in the counterattack.
It is very common on the battlefield. The reason is that our army is poorly equipped and poorly trained. The reason why the casualties in the entire counterattack are less than that of the Vietnamese army is entirely because our army's artillery fire is stronger than that of the Vietnamese army, and it has been suppressing the Vietnamese army's artillery fire.
It is precisely because the troops of the Third Battalion always suffered more casualties in exchange for very few Vietnamese troops on the battlefield, so even if they captured the Vietnamese army's positions, they did not consider it a victory, so as the casualties increased,
, one battalion was beaten down to just over a hundred people... As a result, the morale of the entire army became lower and lower, even reaching the edge of collapse.
It should be said that our army is pretty good at this point, because according to the standards of the US military... if a unit suffers more than half of its casualties in a battle, it will be strange if it does not collapse.
However, this is a common occurrence in our army. For example, the second company I am in also suffered more than half of its casualties, but it still maintained its combat effectiveness.
The same is true for the third battalion. Although their morale is not optimistic, they can still go to the battlefield.
According to the words of the third battalion commander, it was a good thing that they went to the battlefield... The battle at Hebian completely boosted the morale of the soldiers. First, one company successfully ambushed two companies of the Vietnamese army, which inspired the soldiers to a great extent.
After that, the soldiers on Highland 237 used suicidal counterattacks to ensure our army's retreat...
…This has become the proud war history of the Third Battalion, and it has also become a spiritual pillar that will never fail in the hearts of the soldiers of the Third Battalion. So from then on… The Third Battalion has set itself to higher standards in both training and combat.
, to restrain themselves with stricter military discipline. Over time, the Third Battalion became a veritable heroic battalion.
The reason why the commander of the third battalion came to thank us is because he believed that... the third battalion followed the example of our second company in fighting the Battle of Hebian, and this battle also completely changed the fate of the third battalion, otherwise their troops would be very
It is possible that like many troops it will cease to exist due to disarmament.
So life is so strange sometimes, just because of a chance, the entire development trajectory will be changed.
However... I don't think we are the role models of the Third Battalion, because for the soldiers of the Third Battalion on Highland 237... it seems more appropriate to say that they are our role models.
These are all things for later. Although the highway bridge had been blown up and the Vietnamese army could not catch up so quickly, the 3rd Battalion Commander, Company Commander Luo and other cadres still did not dare to neglect, and immediately contacted their superiors to report the situation and wait for the next order.
Originally we thought... since the highway bridge in Ningkang has been blown up, our mission has been completed, and Ningkang has no strategic value, so we should retreat like Hebian.
Although it was already dark at this time, the Vietnamese army had not penetrated into this area yet. In addition, we were eager to return and we had cars... so retreating was not a problem for us at all, and our superiors should also consider it.
We fought one after another, but we were tired and lacked ammunition, so we retreated.
But... things often go wrong in life. What we never expected was that there was still a task ahead.
Later, when I thought about it, it was not because our superiors were making things difficult for us or anything else, but simply because we were at the end of the retreat... Our army was poorly trained and retreated in a chaotic manner, which would inevitably lead to some mistakes and oversights, so these mistakes
Naturally, it will be left to those of us at the end of the queue to solve the problem.
So, just as the soldiers and I were chatting relaxedly while eating food, the Third Battalion Commander and Company Commander Luo came over with gloomy faces.
As soon as we saw the third battalion commander, Captain Luo's face looked wrong, and our heart skipped a beat... Our intuition told us that what they brought was definitely not good news.
Sure enough, after a while the two troops gathered together and began to assign tasks.
"Comrades!" Commander Luo's face was full of apologies, and he looked as if he didn't know how to face us soldiers.
However, in the end he mustered up the courage to raise his head and said to us: "The situation is like this. The retreating troops of our 119th Regiment were attacked by Vietnamese agents in this area last night. Some troops got separated in the chaos.
This includes the cultural troupe..."
Captain Luo's words soon caused quite a stir among the soldiers, because everyone knew... there were many female soldiers in this art troupe, and if the female soldiers were separated, they would be in danger of falling into the hands of the Japanese.
This is something that the entire army does not want to see.
So the soldiers' reaction was beyond Captain Luo's expectations. Before Captain Luo could give the order, the soldiers said one after another:
"Company commander, did our superiors order us to rescue the troops of the cultural troupe? Give us the order!"
"Yes! Company commander, give us the order! Even if we risk our lives, we can't let the comrades of the art troupe fall into the hands of the Japanese!"
…
The soldiers' words could not help but make Captain Luo stunned. He never expected that this mission would be arranged so smoothly. It can even be said that he did not need to arrange it at all. (To be continued.)