Chapter 1985
For the Haihan Army stationed in Northeast Asia, climate conditions are one of the factors that must be considered when formulating combat plans. In particular, the Liaodong region spends half of the year in winter. From near the end of the year to the beginning of the next spring, there will be frequent snowfalls of various sizes. This bitter cold weather environment is not suitable for most people from the south. For the Haihan soldiers, it was undoubtedly an extremely severe test.
Although Haihan is as prepared as possible for winter operations in terms of logistics support and daily training, the winter here is really not suitable for launching large-scale military operations. After all, it is difficult to transport logistics equipment over long distances in the snow. The combat effectiveness of the Han army will be greatly reduced as a result. Even the opponents of the Haihan Army will actively choose to cease their activities after winter, shrink their defense areas, and then restart their activities after the beginning of spring.
Under such circumstances, when winter came last year, the warring parties on the Liaodong Peninsula tacitly chose to cease the war, rest for a winter to prepare for war, and wait for spring to resume fighting. This rhythm of fighting was slightly more beneficial to the Qing army, which was on the passive side of the battle. The main project of the fortress defense line they built north of the Jinzhou Isthmus also took advantage of the winter truce. If this fortress defense line had not blocked the way, the Haihan Army would have pushed the boundary line of the actual control area northward to the vicinity of Erlong Mountain.
Erlong Mountain is located about a hundred miles north of the Jinzhou Isthmus. Although the distance between the east and west coastlines is three to four times wider than the Jinzhou Isthmus, Erlong Mountain and the adjacent Shahe River flowing from west to east into the Yellow Sea can be connected. It forms a natural barrier. If the area is occupied, it is not too difficult to build a new line of defense with the help of the terrain.
In the original combat plan drawn up by the Ministry of National Defense, there was also a plan to advance the front to Erlong Mountain. However, the size of the troops that could be mobilized to fight in Liaodong was limited at that time. The Ministry of National Defense believed that it would be difficult to defend such a large area after the victory, so in the end It was decided to use the Jinzhou Isthmus as the boundary first, occupy the southern part, and then push the front northward when conditions are mature in the future.
However, after the Qing army returned from the Korean battlefield this year with a huge defeat, they were probably worried that the Haihan army would take advantage of the victory to launch an offensive in the direction of Jinzhou, so they consciously strengthened the defense on the peninsula and made some changes to the fortress defense line they had painstakingly built. The expansion further increased the density of deployment of small fortresses on the defense line. In addition, based on various intelligence information collected by the Military Intelligence Bureau, it can be inferred that after the autumn, the Qing army added at least five to eight more men and horses in the north, and they were mainly cavalry with high mobility. This measure was obviously Prevent Haihan from launching a surprise attack.
But as the weather turned colder and the Liaodong Peninsula began to snow and cool down, the desire to fight on both sides seemed to have dropped a lot. The Haihan patrol that was attacked before was careless because of this, and did not expect that its opponent would attack at this time. Arrange a raid. But this short conflict was just like the battles that happened every month in the past. It seemed that neither side paid much attention to it. The Qing army did not cut off the heads of the trophies and bring them to the Haihan defense line to publicize them, and Haihan did not Hence the offensive was launched in retaliation. Both sides have remained silent on this matter, as if everything will have to wait until this winter is over before they can discuss it.
But this kind of calmness is just an appearance. At least the Haihan side does not intend to give up after admitting defeat. The new muskets used by the Qing army in this battle have attracted the attention of the Haihan Military Intelligence Bureau, and have even alarmed For this reason, Haihan's Executive Committee as far away as Sanya mobilized relevant agencies in Liaodong, Shandong, and North Korea to trace the source of the Qing army's new weapons.
Among the troops stationed in these three places, the troops currently stationed in North Korea are the most elite. The two ace units of the Army Special Operations Group and the Marine Corps stayed at the Datong River Base on standby after this year's Korean War. In the end, the Marine Corps was Entrusted with the important task of entering areas behind enemy lines by sea, he conducted reconnaissance and collected information on the Qing army's new weapons.
Of course, it is not very scientific to send the entire Marine Corps behind enemy lines. The current establishment of the Marine Corps is a reinforced battalion. If the entire Marine Corps enters enemy-occupied areas, the possibility of hiding its whereabouts is basically zero, and the logistics pressure will be considerable, so Wang Tom mobilized only one platoon of elites to carry out this mission in the area behind enemy lines. Of course, for safety reasons, he arranged for several warships to accompany him, so that they could respond near the coastline and provide cover for the evacuation of the reconnaissance team.
The fortress defense line built by the Qing army was based on the Daheishan Mountains and extended from west to east to the mountainous areas around Jinshitan on the east coast. At midnight one day, two small boats slowly rowed from the sea to the coast near Golden Pebble Beach. Since Haihan has frequently dispatched warships to repeatedly raid Haihan in Liaodong in the past two or three years, the Qing army no longer stationed troops near the coast and basically gave up defense of the coastline landing sites. Therefore, before this, the Haihan Army had actually sent reconnaissance teams into enemy lines several times to collect intelligence. However, the nature of the operations was not as special as this time. Before departure, it had received a lot of attention from Haihan's senior officials.
The troop transport ship on which this reconnaissance team boarded was parked a few miles away at sea. Then they transferred to a small boat painted black and rowed to the coast to land by human power. This is also done to avoid being discovered by the Qing army sentries near the coast. Compared with the troop transport ship with a more obvious hull outline, the black boat is much more concealed on the sea at night.
But it was also pitch black on the coast, and there were no conspicuous markers to provide navigation for the reconnaissance team. Snowflakes were still flying intermittently in the sky, and they could only rely on the faint starlight to identify the direction of travel. This was also a problem for them. No small test. Fortunately, the navigators on the two small boats have performed reconnaissance missions here before, and are not completely unfamiliar with the surrounding environment, so they can guide the correct direction.
Everyone on the boat remained silent and just rowed hard. Their faces were irregularly smeared with dark mineral grease, which made it difficult for them to see the expressions of their companions even if they were close at hand. .
Also having a concealing effect are the military uniforms they wear. This kind of military uniforms was just sent to the Datong River base for installation not long ago. It is specially prepared for winter operations in Northeast Asia. In addition to its basic function of keeping warm, What's more important is that the camouflage spots on this military uniform are modeled after the winter snow environment, and its concealing effect is far better than the original gray military uniform.
Sun Bing, who was leading the team, squatted half-crouched on the bow of the boat, pressing one hand on the board to keep his body balanced. The other hand was holding a telescope and looking towards the coastline. However, even in the field of view of the telescope, the front is still pitch black, which does not allow for a clear view, and the falling snowflakes have a great impact on the visibility. He estimates that the current visibility will not exceed 3 Ten feet, perhaps in the end the two landing craft will hit the coast directly.
Being able to receive this special task from Wang Tom, in addition to the military quality and command experience of Sun Bing as the commander of the first company of the Marine Corps, it is also extremely important that he was born in Liaodong, so for this The region's winter environment has greater adaptability. Most of the soldiers dispatched to participate in this mission were selected according to this condition to ensure that they can still maintain normal combat capabilities in the low-temperature environment of the Liaodong region.
Of course, even if they are from the Northeast, these Haihan soldiers still need reliable measures to keep warm. Moreover, they had to sleep in the wild during the mission, so in addition to their own weapons and equipment, each person also carried special warm bedding, a sleeping bag filled with light goose down. This kind of sleeping bag only weighs four to five kilograms, but it has excellent warmth retention. It can even wrap a person's head in it, and it only takes up a small package when stored. However, it is said that this kind of special equipment is quite labor-intensive to manufacture. Even the wealthy Haihan Army does not deploy it on a large scale. It only distributes a small amount to troops that need to carry out field operations such as the Marine Corps and special operations groups. They are also considered elite troops. One of the special perks that only one can enjoy. But for those soldiers who are accustomed to fighting in the warm environment of the south, these extra kilograms of load are not easy. For this reason, they can only reduce the ammunition, rations and other materials they carry, which actually weakens the combat effectiveness in disguise.
Sun Bing had used this kind of goose down sleeping bag twice during field combat missions. He was well aware of the necessity of carrying this kind of special equipment during this mission. They couldn't light an open fire for warmth when they were camping in enemy-occupied areas. Without this thing, if they didn't want to freeze to death in the wild, they would have to bring heavier quilts or furs. In comparison, this goose down sleeping bag was much easier to use.
After paddling on the sea for nearly two hours, Sun Bing finally saw the coastline ahead. According to the signs on the map, there are miles of sandy beaches on the coast here, and the faintly white horizon that can be seen in front of them should be the beaches.
In recent years, Haihan has taken advantage of the armed fleet to carry out repeated raids and attacks on the Qing army along the Liaodong coastline. In addition to destroying its ships and driving the Qing army further inland from the coastline, his other purpose was to draw detailed maps. Coastline topographic maps, where are smooth beaches and where are reefs and dangerous shoals, will be clearly marked on military maps to provide reference for subsequent landing operations.
When the two small boats arrived near the shore, Sun Bing directed them to adjust their direction and rowed west for a while until they reached the end of the beach where it intersected with the mountains. Then everyone worked together to drag the small boats to the shore and took them from the boats. The prepared camouflage cover was put out to cover the small boats, so that when viewed from a distance, the two small boats looked like two pieces of rotten wood washed ashore by the waves and would not attract too much attention.
After packing up the boat, Sun Bing ordered the establishment of a temporary base nearby to gradually transfer the various materials carried on the boat. Their reconnaissance mission is likely to last for several days. If they carry all the supplies with them, the efficiency of marching in the wild will definitely be greatly affected. So their plan is to establish a temporary base in the nearby mountains and forests, and then use it as a center to launch reconnaissance operations in the nearby area.
In order to ensure the concealment of the operation as much as possible, Sun Bing divided his men into two teams. One team carried out reconnaissance missions, while the other team stayed here to sort out supplies and build simple defenses. However, before setting off, he still ordered to rest for an hour, eat and replenish calories, and hold a small meeting to confirm the current location and next reconnaissance direction.
The equipment of the reconnaissance team was extremely complete. They quickly pulled up ropes in the forest and set up a light-shielding tent. Sun Bing lit an oil lamp in the tent, and then used the map to plan the next move to his men around him. Task.
"... Our current position is less than ten miles away from the Qing army's fortress defense line. There are mountains in the middle, which are also our main bunkers. According to the information we have, there are only Qing troops in this mountainous area. There are no organically stationed troops at the sentry post, so as long as we are careful and pass through this mountainous area, we can observe the deployment and mobilization of the Qing army. "
Sun Bing explained in a low voice while drawing a rough marching route on the map with his hand. In fact, these contents have already been explained in the preparation meeting before departure, but Sun Bing needs to repeat it at this time so that his subordinates can maintain a clearer understanding of the action goals. At the same time, he himself also needs to explain the action through explanations. The steps deepened the impression. After all, after setting off, there was no time and space for him to stop and re-study the action plan at any time.
Self-heating military rations can quickly relieve the fatigue caused by soldiers during the landing process. However, this way of eating without an open flame can only be enjoyed by elite troops when performing special tasks. Ordinary troops will not be allocated this kind of food. Higher special military rations. However, because this kind of dry food needs to be equipped with a self-heating pack, and considering the limited load capacity, these soldiers who will go out to perform reconnaissance missions later can only carry compressed dry food in order to free up the load to carry more combat materials.
Sun Bing ate two portions of self-heating military rations in one go. His appetite was surprisingly good before performing combat missions. He believed that this would help him maintain strong energy and physical fitness in subsequent operations. After eating, he drank half a bottle of water, then raised his hands to roll up his sleeves and looked at the time.
The watch on his wrist is not his personal property, but special equipment temporarily distributed to the commander by the Marine Corps headquarters before performing a special mission, so that the commander can accurately grasp the time of the operation. Especially when you need to coordinate with other troops, this thing can come in handy.
Although Sun Bing did not have much education, he quickly learned to use a watch to confirm the time. But this high-end gadget can only be worn on his hand for a few days, and he must turn it in and return it immediately when he returns to the army. However, it is said that senior officers who have reached a certain level can get a permanently issued watch. For example, the famous special operations group leader Takahashi Minami seems to have such treatment. Sun Bing thought that sooner or later, I will have to rely on my military service to get a watch. , it will be the heirloom of the old Sun family from now on.
(End of chapter)