Chapter 34 Chapter Fourteen

At 8 o'clock in the morning on this day, when the first batch of shells fell into Heifengjian and exploded, our army on the front line of Gongmu Mountain - the A regiment that had occupied the front line of Qipanling, was the first to reach the southern foot of No. 001 highland and spread out. A battalion of the attacking Regiment B, as well as the forward command posts of the A Regiment and L Division located on the reverse slope of Maoerling, and the artillery groups deployed northward in the Maoerling and Laoyeling canyons—all encountered the enemy. Large groups of synthetic artillery attacked unprecedentedly violently.

Fifteen minutes before the shelling began, Jiang Tao had returned to the "hall" from outside the cave.The battle in the morning was fought so beautifully. The most important thing was that the enemy had no artillery to pose a threat to Maoerling. Jiang Tao happily thought that breakfast should be eaten in the open space outside the command tent as usual.The view here is wide and the air is fresh, which can make the human body experience a kind of picnic-like pleasure.Since everyone was as excited and happy as he was (except for the female reporter Bai Fan, who seemed a little gloomy, but no one paid special attention to her), the battlefield breakfast lasted for half an hour and was not over yet.At 7:40, the staff officer on duty hurried out from the No. 2 cave, leaned over and said something in Jiang Tao's ear, and Jiang Tao stood up calmly and said:

"Everyone, I'm sorry, the commander is calling, I'm going to answer it!" Breakfast was also interrupted fifteen minutes ago, when the division commander, on behalf of the division party committee, congratulated Regiment A on the victory in the Qipanling area.Now that the army commander called again, Jiang Tao felt that the meaning was about the same—the gunshots from Height 001 became more and more intense, which further reflected that his victory was indisputable. —Today he is entitled to the glory of this victor! He walked into the "hall", picked up the phone receiver that was placed on the table, and said "Hello".He spoke to the army commander with the joy of accepting the commendation, but when the army commander opened his mouth, his joy was greatly compromised.

"Is it Comrade Jiang Tao?" "It's me, Commander!" "What are you doing now?" Jiang Tao froze for a moment, but didn't react right away.He is now happily eating breakfast for the victory of Qi Panling, of course he cannot tell the army commander about this.Suddenly he woke up and answered loudly: "Report to the army commander, the various units of our regiment are building positions on Qipanling, ready to deal with the enemy's counterattack!" The commander said "no".Jiang Tao heard that the old man was basically satisfied with his answer.But at the same time, he also felt that the old man's tone was severe, and he didn't make this call to praise himself.This made Jiang Tao's heart vigilant.

"On behalf of the Army Party Committee, I would like to congratulate your regiment on the victory on Qipanling!" The commander said, "I have officially reported your victory to the frontline headquarters of the military region and the head of the Military Commission, and they also want me to convey my congratulations to you." But you must not be dazzled by the victory. Judging from the current situation, the occupation of Qipanling is only the beginning of the entire combat operation of your regiment. The head of the Military Commission has instructed: Since we can regain the lost land, we must firmly Hold it firmly, and never let the enemy take it away again! That is to say, from now on, the Qipanling area is not allowed to discard an inch of land. No matter who loses a mountain top or a mountain leg, every commander Everyone must bear the responsibility of losing territory, losing power and humiliating the country! Including your regiment leader!"

"yes!" "Comrade Jiang Tao, I want to remind you that what you wiped out on Qipanling was only one enemy platoon, and you did not encounter any more troops. The Qipanling area is easy to attack and difficult to defend. It seems that the enemy is also clear, so They only put up a platoon of guard posts there. You have to be alert to the enemies of Tianzi Mountain, once they attack Qipanling, you will be under great pressure....Do you understand what I mean?" "Report to the commander, I understand!" "Okay, goodbye! I wish you and the A group a greater victory!"

Putting down the phone, Jiang Tao panicked.First of all, he sensed from the words of the army commander that the old man knew everything that happened on Qipan Ridge at Liming, and the army commander could even guess that what he was calling was just a guard post of the enemy's platoon. He who had been in a state of intoxication poured a bucket of cold water on his head.Since the army commander viewed his victory in Qipanling in this way, one can imagine the true weight of this victory in the army commander's mind, and his excitement and complacency seemed ridiculous. "You are still young in front of this man. It is impossible for you to hide anything from his small hole-like triangular eyes." He said to himself; secondly, the commander's phone call completely changed his view of himself. Views on the completed Qipanling offensive battle: Before the commander called, he thought that because the Qipanling offensive battle had ended victoriously, the combat mission of Regiment A had been completed, but the commander's words made this battle that made him feel ecstatic all morning. It became the prelude to another defensive battle on Qipanling that might or would definitely happen.The warning in the commander's words is unmistakable: it is nothing if you take down Qipanling, and more importantly, you must hold it, and you must not abandon any mountain or a mountain leg!Beijing now knows that Regiment A has regained Qipanling, and once you lose it—even if it’s only part of it—you will be held accountable for losing your land and power. This kind of responsibility is something no soldier can afford!

Jiang Tao did not return to the table.The commander's call brought him a heavy and gloomy awareness that was the opposite of the morning's joyful mood, and his appetite was completely gone; the war was taking a turn in a direction he hadn't thought about before, something he hadn't had time to think about. Something made his spirit tense again like it was late last night.Before the battle, what he thought the most and planned most carefully was how to win Qipanling, rather than fighting a defensive battle of Qipanling.Any tactical textbook has this statement: the defensive battle after the offensive battle is an important part of every offensive battle.Jiang Tao secretly admitted that he had neglected this point because he was affected by the border war a few years ago.The experience that that war gave him is: the enemy always puts the main force on the front line to resist tenaciously. Once the front line is broken through, they will no longer be able to organize a threatening counterattack, and our army can take advantage of the situation to drive straight in.The situation today is very different from that war.What he destroyed on Qipan Ridge was only an enemy platoon, and what Liu Daoming encountered in the direction of the No. 001 highland was only a reinforced company of the enemy.A few months ago, our army suppressed the border in this area. It is impossible for the enemy to use such a thin force to organize the defense of the Gongmu Mountain area.The commander's estimate may not be unfounded.The enemy should have counterattack forces this time (although he doesn't know where they are yet). Once they start to counterattack to Qipanling, the six-kilometer-long defense line of the A regiment on the Qipanling line may be broken through. He can't guarantee that his troops will not lose a mountain or a mountain leg today!

There is also a defense time issue.Before the battle, he thought about this matter lightly: once the offensive battle was over, the troops spread out on the ridge, built a position, and made an appearance of turning into a defensive posture, and the enemy would no longer counterattack—that was a rare occurrence—as usual Normally, second-line troops should come up to take over and formally organize the next stage of defensive operations.But if there is an enemy attacking Qipanling from the direction of Tianzi Mountain today, or simply because the B regiment has been unable to take down the No. 001 highland—this is possible, and so far not all the troops of the B regiment have reached the starting point of the attack— — They are unlikely to be replaced in a short period of time.Jiang Tao thought that the army commander had set the last time for his regiment and the B regiment to complete the combat mission at 24:00 midnight today. From this point of view, even if the army commander planned to send troops to replace him, it would only be after that time , the biggest possibility is dawn tomorrow.From this, Jiang Tao made one more thing clear: Even with the most optimistic estimates, Group A must stick to Qipan Ridge for a day and a night!

So far, his mind is basically calm and clear, and his thinking and handling of problems are also quick and correct. Jiang Tao knows what he should do.He didn't delay for a moment, so he called the battalions, and first learned about their deployment on Qipanling—the first battalion and the second battalion have been deployed, and the third battalion is continuing to deploy—then he briefly and forcefully sent a message to Zhao Yong. He and the battalion commanders of the second battalion and the third battalion conveyed the instructions of the commander to defend against the enemy's counterattack and "not to abandon an inch of land, and those who violate it will be punished by losing power and humiliating the country", and ordered them to immediately implement it layer by layer, and at the same time, the whole regiment immediately transferred to defensive operations; After that, he specifically emphasized that the commanders of each battalion must now fully understand the situation of every highland, every mountain leg, and every mountain protrusion guarded by the battalion, and specifically implement the defensive tasks to the company, platoon, squad and team. battle group.Jiang Tao asked all units to issue military orders to their superiors step by step: People are in the field, and whoever has problems in their places must bear the responsibility!

It was all done before eight o'clock.Jiang Tao breathed a sigh of relief, wondering whether his reaction to the commander's call was a little too much.His good mood was completely spoiled, and he was very unwilling to believe that the commander's vision would come true.However, he had just left the "hall" and returned to the "bedroom", facing the towering combat map on the cave wall, he couldn't help but believe it!For the first time, he cast his eyes over the Gongmu Mountain area to Tianzi Mountain at the bottom of the map, and immediately made a major discovery.Looking up from the bottom of the map, instead of looking down from the top as he had always done in the past, he suddenly understood why the enemy only placed one row of guard posts on Qipanling: there is no danger on Qipanling, and the strength of the troops Too many are vulnerable to artillery fire, too few are not enough.Looking at the Tianzishan area and the Gongmushan area together, it is Tianzishan, not Qipanling, that is really worth guarding.The Tianzishan area is densely packed with contour lines, and there are many peaks and mountains. The altitude not only exceeds Qipanling by a large margin, but also holds a condescending trend to No. 001 highland. Its main peaks are the straight-line distance from Qipanling Dashanliang and No. 001 highland The closest point is only 500 to 1,000 meters, and many mountain legs are even closer to each other, intertwined.Jiang Tao is now sober: If he is the enemy's commander, the most likely defensive plan is: use the main force to defend Tianzi Mountain and No. 001 highland, and at the same time implement a top-down fire blockade against Qipanling.If the attacking party goes to Qipanling, it is not a pity for him, because it will be lost anyway, as long as the heavy machine guns and the high-level dual-purpose machine guns that were used in large quantities in the last border war are mounted on the peaks of Tianzi Mountain, they can be used. Our army on the Qipanling mountain ridge line and the surface positions on the front slope suffered heavy casualties, making it impossible to gain a foothold; if there are sufficient troops, he can launch a counterattack from the direction of Tianzi Mountain at any time with the support of strong artillery fire.The enemy's terrain is familiar, and it should be easier to recapture Qipanling.Jiang Tao once again paid attention to the national border stretching in the Dashan Gorge between Gongmu Mountain and Tianzi Mountain, but he used a brand new vision. "National borders are a historical and fluid concept," a famous foreign general wrote in his book, "War has no national boundaries, and it is always to redefine national boundaries." Jiang Tao suddenly had a feeling of enlightenment: Before the war, he had always had some vague doubts about his battle plan, and today he finally saw why!If there were loopholes when he and the chiefs of the military and division levels considered the combat plan before the war, the loopholes came from this border!The national borders on the enemy's combat map must be drawn in another way. They will not separate Gongmu Mountain and Tianzi Mountain to think about it! At this moment, a shell exploded with a "boom" on the Maoerling ridge, shaking a wine glass on the table in the "bedroom" to "jingle"; The direction passed dully, and Jiang Tao felt the ground under his feet tremble suddenly.Before he could return to reality from the intense thinking activities, the phone in the "hall" outside rang hastily! Jiang Tao ran out of the "bedroom" in three steps and two steps, and Yin Guocai had already answered the phone.The sound of shell explosions became denser throughout Gongmu Mountain.Jiang Tao realized what had happened, and his face turned pale for a moment! "The phone number of deputy commander Zhao of the first battalion!" Yin Guocai handed him the phone receiver, and his expression changed.Jiang Tao picked up the phone receiver, and before he could put it to his ear, there was a loud "boom-boom", and a heavy artillery shell fell outside the No. 2 cave and exploded! Everything in the "hall" shook violently, and clusters of dust and gravel fell from the dome one after another, forming a choking cloud of dust and spreading in the cave.Yin Guocai and several staff officers rushed towards the entrance of the cave naturally, but were choked back by the thick smoke! It turned out that the shell ignited the command tent! Jiang Tao's head was "buzzing" from the shock, he tried his best to calm himself down, and shouted loudly: "What are you panicking about!...Isn't it because the enemy started to counterattack? What's so strange about this!...Go back to your position!" The chaos in the cave was stopped.Only then did Jiang Tao put the receiver to his ear and said "Hello".Immediately, he heard Zhao Yong's nervous and excited voice: "Regimental Commander! Commander?...I am Zhao Yong! Report to the Commander that our battalion suddenly encountered heavy enemy shelling!" "I was also shelled by the enemy!" Jiang Tao replied loudly, his lips trembling.Yin Guocai, who was still in shock, realized that a greasy and smooth liquid began to ooze from the tip of his fat nose, "What else did you find there?" "Regimental Commander," Zhao Yong's voice rose, he must have discovered something new, "A large number of enemies appeared in the valley between the No. 1 and No. 2 peaks of Tianzi Mountain right in front of me! They are running towards us! " Jiang Tao felt a "thump" in his heart! "Zhao Yong! Listen to me, you have to prepare now to defeat the enemy's counterattack!" He shouted into the microphone, his voice was fierce and fierce, "How are you preparing? Report to me!" "Reporting to the head of the regiment, all the companies of our battalion have deployed all the highlands, mountain legs, and protrusions around the 164th highland, and the fortifications have been basically completed!...Regimental commander, don't worry, I will make him suffer when the enemy comes! "Zhao Yong shouted, and suddenly called out again, "Regimental Commander! The enemy's vanguard troops from Tianzi Mountain have descended to the bottom of the valley in front of us. Instead of rushing to us, they all went westward to the No. 001 Highland diagonally!" Jiang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. "How many troops?!" he asked. "Two companies or a battalion!" "How's the situation at the No. 001 Heights?" "Reporting to the regiment commander, regiment B is not progressing very well, and now they are still moving under the mountain legs. They are also being bombarded!" The sense of crisis that had just dropped a little in his heart rose again to his throat. The precarious situation of the B regiment made him think of Qipanling again, especially the 164 highland next to the 001 highland. "Listen, Zhao Yong! You must be alert to the enemy's counterattack on Height 164!... You must hold your position for me! You must remember what the commander said just now!" "Don't worry, commander," Zhao Yong replied, "I am with Highland 164!" Yin Guocai was answering the call from the commander of the Second Battalion nearby. Height 342 is also being bombarded by the enemy. The enemy has not been found in the direction of Tianzi Mountain, but the two high-level dual-purpose machine guns on the two opposite peaks—the No. 3 peak of Tianzi Mountain and the main peak Yingzui Peak—are facing their positions Hit hard.The second battalion also completed the defensive deployment before the enemy's shelling.Jiang Tao ended his call with Zhao Yong and walked over to speak to the commander of the second battalion.He once again ordered the other party to closely watch the enemy's actions in the direction of Tianzi Mountain, resolutely repel the enemy's counterattack, and ensure not to lose an inch of land!The battalion commander of the second battalion obviously became nervous, and said several times in a row, "Don't worry, commander!" The third battalion was in trouble.Five minutes later, the commander of the third battalion reported to him that the defense system of the battalion had not yet been completed. Fangshou; and since the enemy shelling began, the three highlands in the Jade Ridge area on the east side of Qipanling, which are similar to the 629 and 630 highlands, are temporarily called Dongyi and Dongdong from north to south because they are not officially numbered. 2. The enemy on the third highland in the east also used intensive firepower to attack the 629 and 630 highlands.Especially the high-level dual-purpose machine gun on Dongyi Highland, it blocked the big hillside from the 631 Highland to the east of the 630 Highland as soon as it fired, making it impossible for the Ninth Company to advance.This situation also made them insufficient troops to occupy the 632, 633, and 634 highlands that lined up in the southeast of the 631 highland.The battalion commander of the third battalion reminded Jiang Tao that the above-mentioned three small highlands were far away from the main position of Qipanling, and they were deeply embedded in the junction of Tianzi Mountain and the enemy's deep defense of Jade Ridge, and their positions were prominent and isolated.In particular, the 633 and 634 highlands are adjacent to the enemy's second and eastern highlands in the east, and to the southwest and west is a big mountain leg of Yingzui Peak, the main peak of Tianzi Mountain, extending to the northern canyon (the latter is only separated from the 633 and 634 highlands. A gully with a gentle bottom and less than 100 meters away) is extremely vulnerable to being flanked by the enemy from both sides.If our army's combat intention is limited to recovering Qipanling, occupying or not occupying the above three small highlands is actually irrelevant to the overall situation.However, the battalion commander of the third battalion said: Since they boarded the 631 highland at dawn, they have been searching these three small highlands with binoculars, and they have not found a single enemy soldier. Jiang Tao held the handset and walked to a map spread out on the table.Now there is another crisis point in his heart: Emerald Ridge!He saw it clearly: not only the enemy from the Tianzi Mountain direction poses a threat to Qipanling from the south, but also the enemies from the Jade Ridge direction pose a threat to it from the east and southeast! "Hey, listen!" He said sharply to the commander of the third battalion, "Don't worry about the 632, 633, and 634 highlands! Your current task is to recover the 629 and 630 highlands. You must not let the enemy occupy them. It has become a foothold for counterattacking against Qipanling Dashanliang! Let me clarify the mission again: from now until tomorrow morning, you must not let the enemies from the direction of Tianzi Mountain and Jade Ridge rush to Qipanling from you!" "Understood!" The commander of the third battalion replied.For some reason, Jiang Tao heard a kind of relief from his words. From then on, Jiang Tao devoted himself wholeheartedly to the fight against the enemy's counterattack. He didn't even realize that he was unwilling to believe the commander's foresight more than ten minutes ago.The defensive battle at Qipanling had already started. After Yin Guocai called the artillery group of the division to suppress the enemy artillery, he also gained a new kind of composure because his defensive deployment at Qipanling was basically completed.Now there are only two excitements left in his heart. One is the possible counterattack against Qipanling in the direction of Tianzishan and Jade Ridge at any time, and the other is what the commander of the third battalion pointed out to him just now, that they have no strength to occupy The 632, 633, 634 highlands.The enemy's counterattack against Qipanling had not yet started, so his attention naturally turned to these three small highlands.In order to allow himself to concentrate on thinking, he returned to the "bedroom" and stood in front of the huge military map again. Now he understood why the commander of the third battalion was unwilling to occupy these three small highlands! ——It is these three seemingly inconspicuous small highlands that may become troublesome in today's Qipanling offensive and defensive battle! ——Not only because the 632, 633, and 634 highlands are between the emerald mountain and the enemy's defense depth of Tianzi Mountain, ——he regained the kind of eyes that see Gongmu Mountain and Tianzi Mountain together ——but also because The enemy's defensive structure that gradually emerged lacked a kind of tactical symmetry and integrity: the enemy did not abandon his horse to defend Panling, but knew that it could not defend, so he retreated and deployed his main force on the front line of Tianzi Mountain. Focus on defense on the No. 001 high ground.If he was the enemy's commander, he would use Tianzi Mountain as the axis of the pincers, and the No. 001 highland and another highland at the east end of Qipanling as the left and right jaws, forming a pincer attack on Qipanling.Without the "claw teeth" in the east, the construction of this defense system has obvious flaws.And if there is such an unexposed "claw teeth"; it is likely to be one of the three small highlands in the 632 highland area! He didn't dare to be completely sure of his own judgment, because there was another possibility: the other "claw teeth" were the East 1, East 2, and East 3 highlands in the Enemy Cui Ridge area that had been exposed so far.However, in this way of thinking, one must expand one's field of vision to observe the enemy's actual defense situation, not only the Gongmu Mountain and Tianzi Mountain, but also the Emerald Mountain. ——The latter defensive concept obviously has big and unreasonable disadvantages in academics, while the former is a masterpiece in tactics! ——If his judgment is true, no matter which army is sent to recover the 632, 633, or 634 highlands today, it may poke a hornet's nest! ——Once a troop appears in the 632 highland area, it will immediately become the enemy's confidant!No matter which of the two defensive concepts the enemy deploys according to his guess, this army will be like a sharp knife, piercing into the deep part of the enemy's entire defense system, where it is also its weakest part!Just to get rid of this confidant, the enemy has to invest a lot of troops in the area. If so, the pressure on the front of Qipanling will be greatly reduced.This is called "defense with offense" in tactics! ——It is impossible to mobilize the troops on Qipanling to fight this battle: the second battalion is in the front of Qipanling, with a long line, and it is easiest for the enemy to break through, so the strength there cannot be weakened; the third battalion is suffering In addition to the enemy's frontal pressure, the enemy's pressure from the direction of Emerald Ridge was added, and there was no spare force for self-care; the first battalion could spare a little force, but Zhao Yong was under a lot of pressure on the 164 highland. Always be alert to possible sudden attacks on him by the enemy from the front and from Height 001.If Regiment B is defeated—the main force of the regiment is currently under the enemy at the height of No. 001, and it is not impossible to completely destroy it—the enemy's forces will naturally turn to the 164 height.Jiang Tao has another concern: even if the above situation does not happen, he must keep some troops with Zhao Yong, just in case.Today, he could no longer guarantee that the worst situation would not occur in the Qipanling defensive battle.From the perspective of the overall situation, it is of course much more important to hold Qipanling than to occupy the 632, 633, and 634 highlands. He must grasp some troops that can be used to rescue the crisis as a last resort! ——In this way, only the battalion led by Liu Zongkui is left! ——After meeting Liu Zongkui yesterday, he never forgot about this person.He still had no intention of using this force until the enemy shelled Qipanling, but now he has to use it! ——The division gave him this reserve team, originally to deal with all kinds of sudden and complicated situations! ... Before putting this determination into action, Jiang Tao stayed in the "bedroom" for another two minutes. He asked himself if there was a motive he didn't want to admit: after the Qipanling defensive battle started, he might never be able to smoke again. Troops have been dispatched to deal with the 632, 633, and 634 highlands; the above-mentioned three small highlands are likely to have a bloody battle today and the outcome is unpredictable. The third battalion of the C regiment fought well. As a commander, he also has an honor. Fortunately, he also has something to explain to the army commander ("After all, it is not a unit of our A regiment!" etc.). "No," he immediately and sternly denied such a thought, "In any case, the 632, 633, and 634 highlands must be recovered before midnight today, otherwise I have not completed all combat missions.  … I The reason why I made up my mind to send Liu Zongkui to take his battalion to carry out this task is not only because I have no other troops available, but the real reason is: even though I don't like this man, when it comes to the critical moment, I firmly believe that only he can complete it Mission! In terms of leading the troops to fight tough battles, there may be no one under my command who can compare to him!..." He did not personally issue this order to Liu Zongkui.Before the huge battle map, he specifically studied the time required for the third battalion of the C regiment to go from Heifengjian to the 632 highland area. Jiang Tao called Yin Guocai into the "bedroom" and said without looking at him: "Chief of Staff, please call Deputy Head Liu of C Regiment and convey my order to let him take the third battalion of C Regiment to set off immediately and arrive at the 632, 633, and 634 highland areas at the east end of Qipanling before noon , these three small highlands must be captured before fourteen o'clock!" Yin Guocai quickly wrote down his order in a small notebook.He was about to leave when Jiang Tao suddenly turned around.At this moment, the chief of staff of regiment A noticed that the regimental leader's expression was extremely impulsive.Jiang Tao looked straight into his eyes and said: "Guocai, from now on, you are personally responsible for maintaining the closest contact with the Third Battalion of C Regiment!... Except for the strength of the troops, all other requirements must be fully satisfied in time!...Did you understand?! " "Understood, Captain!" Yin Guocai answered, standing at attention, and quickly walked out of Jiang Tao's "bedroom".In fact, he didn't understand anything, what he didn't understand the most was why the group leader's expression was so impulsive just now.Yin Guocai carefully studied the map before conveying Jiang Tao's order to the Third Battalion of C Regiment. Suddenly, he understood everything.