Chapter 286 Interception
In the face of coalition forces equipped with black technology such as night vision goggles, even a well-organized night attack will reveal its flaws in advance. This night attack, which the South Vietnamese army had high hopes for, failed just after it started. After more than a hundred corpses were dropped in front of the coalition position, they had to choose to withdraw to the main camp.
Early the next morning, the South Vietnamese army suddenly discovered that the coalition position had moved forward and was closer to its own camp. This was not good news for the South Vietnamese army, which was at a serious disadvantage in long-range firepower - at this distance The Union Army's artillery no longer even needed precise aiming, it could just hit something by firing directly in the direction of the camp. The South Vietnamese army has no way to avoid it, and if it retreats further to the west, it will retreat into the mountains.
Now there is only one way of survival left in front of the South Vietnamese Army. They should immediately abandon everything and organize a retreat to the south. That way, there is at least hope of retaining some of the viable forces. If you continue to huddle in the camp and stand strong, it will basically be a futile effort to give your opponents heads to improve their record.
After two more rounds of shelling by the coalition forces, the South Vietnamese army finally gave up its retreat strategy and organized its troops to begin withdrawing southward. It's just that I didn't seize the opportunity to retreat in time yesterday, and now it's not so easy to move. When the army retreats, the most taboo thing is to be chased by the opponent, and the current battle situation will not give the South Vietnamese army a chance to get rid of the opponent. The leading troops of the coalition forces are less than one mile away from the rear troops of the South Vietnamese Army. What's more, the South Vietnamese Army must now pass through the fire range of some coalition artillery before they can withdraw. This is not only a problem of casualties, but also the consequences of this. Chaos to the retreating troops.
The problem that the South Vietnamese generals were worried about soon appeared. Several coalition guns fired at the retreating South Vietnamese army, causing chaos immediately. The already anxious South Vietnamese soldiers began to rush southward crazily, hoping to escape before this survival channel was blocked by the coalition forces. Some people chose to go west, flee directly into the mountains, and then try to take a circuitous route south. This was undoubtedly much safer than retreating south under the gunfire of the coalition forces. In this chaotic situation, the command system of the South Vietnamese Army quickly lost its function. Tens of thousands of troops and civilians were mixed together, and the combat organization was completely lost.
Seeing that the South Vietnamese Army had lost its ability to resist, the headquarters asked the Concord Army to continue driving southward to drive away the South Vietnamese Army that had fallen into chaos, while the Haihan Militia returned eastward to the seaside to prepare to board the ship. The headquarters had no intention of just driving away the South Vietnamese Army, especially the musketry unit in the opposing camp, which had always been a pain in the neck. No one could feel at ease unless they managed to eliminate this unit. The command’s plan is to have the militiamen directly go south by boat and intercept the retreating South Vietnamese Army at the front line of Zhengjiang. The South Vietnamese Army, which lacks surface power, is bound to be delayed when it arrives at Zhengjiang due to the large number of people and the few boats. At that time, there will be an opportunity to defeat them. They were compressed and slowly packed up on the river bank.
The land route from Nanyue Camp to Zhengjiang is about 40 miles. Taking a boat south into Zhengjiang and going upstream will take nearly a quarter longer than the land route, but the traveling speed is faster than the land route. It is expected that Able to intercept the large force of the South Vietnamese Army in the upper reaches of Zhengjiang River.
If the South Vietnamese army retreated in a normal and orderly manner, the command headquarters might not dare to make such a bold arrangement. But now that the South Vietnamese army has become a mess, and without the cover of water power and heavy weapons, the command will naturally not miss such a good opportunity to severely damage the opponent. Moreover, with the natural moat of Zhengjiang, it is possible to rely on a small number of elite troops to block the retreat of the South Vietnamese Army.
Of course, there is a deeper reason, that is, the command headquarters believes that the training purpose of this operation has not been fully achieved. In previous operations, the North Vietnamese Army still shouldered most of the combat tasks, and the Haihan Militia most of the time They all just played the role of holding back the battle. The only company that has completed more combat missions is the special operations company led by Qian Tiandun. Even the artillery, which had high hopes from the Military and Police Department before the war, only started to really work in these two days. If you just stroll around like this, After finishing the work and going home, I felt a bit sorry to come so far.
Qian Tiandun and his special operations company had already gone to the south for field operations last time, so they were familiar with the situation. Naturally, they were included in this mission. As the commander, Yan Chujie also "used his power for personal gain" a little bit and decided to personally lead the team to participate in this interception operation. Harugong and Mu Xiabai stayed here and were responsible for commanding the CCP army to pursue the South Vietnamese army. As for Wang Tom and others, they definitely couldn't sit still. As soon as the large forces started to board the ship, the "Speed" had already anchored and left the shore, and was ready to set off.
If the command had not prepared the interception plan as a backup plan one or two days in advance, it would not have been so easy to organize a large-scale mobile operation in such a hurry. In addition to the "Discovery" and the "Speed", the command also mobilized five other armed merchant ships in good condition and equipped with artillery as vehicles to assist in the battle. These ships will carry a total of more than 600 combat personnel and crew members to the south, and five other ships will follow as backup and material transport ships, guarding near the entrance of Zhengjiang River to prevent South Vietnam from sending reinforcements from the sea.
The North Vietnamese Army was finally free to fight today. Zheng Bai led his own troops into the South Vietnamese Army's camp, blocking the last group of unlucky ones who had not had time to evacuate in the camp. However, he did not forget the instructions from the headquarters. After taking up the position, he immediately asked the civilians and soldiers to collect the artillery shells scattered everywhere in the camp. Most of the artillery shells that did not show deformation could be recycled and reused. Of course, even if it is severely deformed, the iron lump can be recast. The most important thing is that each of these artillery shells has to be calculated and paid for. If you take back one round, it will save the North Vietnamese regime a sum of money. Counting hundreds or even thousands of artillery shells, this amount cannot be ignored.
Moreover, there are still a large number of military supplies in the South Vietnamese army camp that have not had time to be taken away, which can also reduce some expenditures for North Vietnam. There is not much food and grass among these military supplies, which also proves the role of the command headquarters' raid. However, all kinds of weapons and armors were piled up like mountains, including tens of thousands of bows and arrows. After seeing it, Zheng Bai secretly said that he was lucky. If the Haihan people had not sent troops, it would be difficult for North Vietnam to withstand the next offensive of the South Vietnamese army.
But compared with the coalition forces commanded by the headquarters, after Zheng Bai's North Vietnamese army was suppressed by their opponents for two full months, their desire to fight was obviously stronger. Only a small number of soldiers and civilians were left to count and capture, while the large army was Continue to pursue the South Vietnamese Army.
The interception fleet of the Haihan Militia arrived at the mouth of the Zhengjiang River at five o'clock that afternoon, but if they wanted to reach the upstream crossing point of the South Vietnamese Army, it would still take at least two hours of travel, and at night it was pitch black. Going upstream on the river can be said to be a very risky thing. For safety reasons, the fleet did not sail into Zhengjiang rashly, but rested at the mouth of the sea for one night.
As soon as it got dark the next morning, the fleet set off for the upper reaches of the Zhengjiang River. When they reached the upper reaches of Zhengjiang River, everyone was happy. Tens of thousands of South Vietnamese troops were blocked by the Zhengjiang River, and only a dozen small boats and some temporarily bundled rafts were tasked with transporting the army across the river. There are still many South Vietnamese soldiers on the shore who are taking the time to chop wood to make rafts. On the distant horizon to the north, the flags of the pursuing North Vietnamese troops can already be seen through the telescope.
After this fleet appeared on the river, it immediately caused another commotion among the South Vietnamese army. At first, some people thought it was a rescue fleet coming from the south, but soon realized that it didn't seem to be the case. South Vietnamese ships don't have such big regulations, and there won't be so many artillery on the ship's side - wait, artillery?
Soon the artillery loaded on the ship began to carry out indiscriminate attacks. The gunners did not even need to aim at any specific target, they could directly blast towards the river bank and knock down a piece of it. Those small wooden boats that looked like sampans were completely insignificant in front of Haihan's fleet. The leading "Exploration" ran over them without any reason, crushing these small boats into pieces with its hull.
It was not that there were no knowledgeable people from South Vietnam on the river bank. Officers immediately began to organize manpower to launch a counterattack. Of course, in the absence of heavy weapons, their only means of counterattack was bows and arrows, which immediately attracted a more ferocious attack from the militia.
With a whistle, a long row of gun barrels protruded from the side of the ship. After being fired, they immediately knocked down the South Vietnamese soldiers on the shore. The Haihan militiamen, who had been holding back for many days without being released, finally had a chance to fight. Intensive rain of bullets kept pouring from the sides of several large ships to the shore. Although the ups and downs of the ship will have some negative effects on the accuracy of shooting, the density of the South Vietnamese troops on the river bank is too great, and there is nowhere to avoid it. Even if the bullets deviate from the original target, there is still a huge risk. Opportunity strikes others.
When the number of targets on this riverbank gradually decreased, the boats moved slowly and continued their killing spree in another place. So later on, as the ships moved, the South Vietnamese troops on the shore also began to move. Wherever the ship went, there would be an uninhabited land at least tens of meters deep on the shore. The number of artillery shells carried on the ship is relatively limited, and it is impossible to attack the tens of thousands of people on the shore by smashing bowling balls without limit. But the effect of the attack is undoubted. In order to avoid the murderous god floating on the river, the large South Vietnamese army began to march westward and upstream along the Zhengjiang River. It seemed that they were counting on entering the valley of the Hengshan Mountains and then another Find a narrow and shallow place to cross the river. Although Haihan's fleet has an absolute advantage in equipment, it does not dare to be too aggressive because it is not familiar with the water conditions upstream. After consulting the command headquarters, the fleet carried out repeated attacks near the river bank where the South Vietnamese Army was most densely populated. The entire river bank and river surface were littered with corpses dropped by the South Vietnamese Army. The casualties were far greater than those in the north. The first few encounters on the battlefield were much more brutal.
Haihan's casualties were much less in comparison. Except for a few people who were injured when the South Vietnamese army on the river bank counterattacked with bows and arrows at the beginning, the battle later became one-sided. People on the shore took shelter when they saw the boat coming. If it is too late, there will be no counterattack that can threaten these ships.
That evening, the North Vietnamese troops who had pursued them all the way from the mountain defense line finally arrived at the Zhengjiang River. According to rough statistics provided by the North Vietnamese Army, during this one-day battle royale, at least more than 20,000 South Vietnamese troops were annihilated, of which more than 14,000 were captured, and the remaining Most of them were casualties or could not be determined - for example, they were torn to pieces by cannonballs, or unlucky people who fell into the Zhengjiang River and were swept away by the water, etc.
As for the part of the South Vietnamese army that fled to the upper reaches of Zhengjiang River, it does not mean that they have escaped. If you want to go back to the south from the upper reaches of Zhengjiang River through the virgin forests of the Hengshan Mountains, the entire journey will be at least nearly a hundred miles. This is not easy for the South Vietnamese army, which lacks food and clothing and whose morale is at a low ebb. During this escape process, I don't know how many injured soldiers will be abandoned halfway. The result waiting for them may be worse than becoming prisoners of North Vietnam.
A considerable number of the officers who were still unsatisfied were clamoring to "fight across the Zhengjiang River and liberate Hue Prefecture." However, Yan Chujie was still relatively sober and was not affected by the fanaticism of others, so he put an end to this impracticality in time. thoughts. The main purpose of the Hai Han militia fighting here this time is to repel the offensive of the South Vietnamese army. From the current point of view, this strategic goal has been relatively successfully achieved, and annihilating the Nguyen regime in South Vietnam is not the short-term goal of the Executive Committee. , going south to attack Hue Province, which is hundreds of miles away, is not a battle plan that can be realized by a few radicals shouting slogans.
In order to win this battle, the Crossing Group can be said to have invested most of its resources in preparing for the war. However, the entire group's months-long war preparation supplies have been consumed in just a few battles, which is not enough to continue the battle. . If the South Vietnamese army had not chosen to retreat due to the disadvantage of weapons, the Haihan Militia's combat supplies would probably have lasted another five or six days. Even if they don't retreat by then, they can only hang up their war-free card and wait for the base camp to send ammunition and supplies.
And this kind of combat consumption is still difficult for the crossing group to bear for a long time. Although North Vietnam did promise to bear all the expenses, that was an afterthought, and it would take at least one or two months after the war for the settlement to be clear. Moreover, North Vietnam was simply unable to provide many of the combat materials needed by the Hai Han Militia. It can fight small battles, but it cannot support large battles, and because it has too few troops, it cannot bear excessive battle losses. This is the current situation of the Haihan Militia.
The North Vietnamese Army is also powerless to carry out the southern expedition. First, the consumption of materials and personnel has not been replenished in time, and a rash advance south will only drag itself down. Secondly, it was because the damn musketry unit in South Vietnam finally escaped from the encirclement by luck, and Zheng Bai did not have the courage to send his troops to the enemy's gunpoint to die again.
According to the prisoners' confessions, the musketry unit had crossed the Zhengjiang River in the evening of the previous day, and was probably near Donghai by this time. After hearing the news, Qian Tiandun was so angry that he slammed the table and regretted that he had not had the courage to rush into Zhengjiang the day before. Maybe there would be a chance to intercept it at that time.
But Yan Chujie is quite optimistic about this result: "Although this unit has not been wiped out, our combat goal has been achieved. Besides, the existence of this musketeer unit in South Vietnam is not necessarily a bad thing..."
Seeing Qian Tiandun looking up at him, Yan Chujie then analyzed him: "South Vietnam has a musketeer team, so North Vietnam's dependence on us must continue. At least for a period of time, our arms exports can still have good results. ”
"If South Vietnam rests and goes north to fight, will we come here to put out the fire again? Although this is a profitable business, we cannot participate in the civil war in Annan for a long time, don't you think so, Mr. Yan?" Qian Tiandun still has some doubts.
"South Vietnam should not move so fast. If you are the commander of South Vietnam, after being beaten so hard, and knowing that the opponent's weapons and equipment are several grades better than your own, you still dare to fight on the frontal battlefield. Opponent?" Yan Chujie said with a smile: "As long as your brain is not burned out, the South Vietnamese army will not take the initiative to attack again in the short term. You are nervous, but the enemy on the other side of the river is actually more nervous than you."
"That's true!" Qian Tiandun was previously thinking about how to use the victory to expand the results, ignoring the environment the South Vietnamese Army was in. After being reminded by Yan Chujie, he came back to his senses and realized that in this situation, it should have been The weaker party should be more worried.
"Our current task is to clean up the battlefield and do the finishing work for the aftermath." Yan Chujie looked around at the officers present and said solemnly: "Especially the calculation of military merits and casualty statistics during the battle, commanders at all levels must carefully keep records , after returning, the Executive Committee and the Military and Police Department will receive corresponding rewards and pensions. Although this battle is over, these soldiers under our command who have shed blood and fought for their lives must also receive corresponding rewards! ”
In the nearly ten days of fighting, the number of casualties suffered by the Haihan Militia was the lowest among the three parties participating in the war. According to current statistics, the number of Haihan killed in the battle is 19, 11 were seriously injured, and more than 70 were slightly injured. Two of them were civilian husbands, crew members and other non-combatants. Fortunately, no officers were killed during the battle. Only two platoon leaders were slightly injured during the battle. Fortunately, they were not serious. Most of the people who died in the battle died in the battle for the mountain tops on both sides of the coalition position, which also exposed the shortcomings of the militia soldiers in mountain operations.
Although Qian Tiandun's field company undertook the most combat tasks, its casualty rate was quite low, with only two dead and seven wounded, fully demonstrating the results of special training. As for the special operations company's subsequent meritorious service awards, or even the expansion of its establishment and the replacement of better equipment, these are all completely out of the question.
(End of chapter)