Chapter 286 Interception

In the face of the coalition forces equipped with black technology such as night vision goggles, even a well-organized night attack will reveal its flaws in advance. The night attack, which the South Vietnamese army had high hopes for, failed just at the beginning, losing ground in front of the coalition positions.

After laying down more than a hundred corpses, they had to choose to retreat to the 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 and hit something directly in the direction of the camp. The South Vietnamese Army had no way to avoid it, and they would retreat into the mountains if they retreated further to the west.

Now there is only one way of survival left in front of the South Vietnamese Army. Immediately abandon everything and organize a retreat south. That way there is at least hope of retaining some of the effective forces. If you continue to huddle in the camp and stand firm, it will basically be a futile effort to send troops to the opponent.

The number of heads has increased.

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 was just that they did not seize the opportunity to retreat in time yesterday, and now it is not so easy to do so. The army retreated.

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, and what is terrible is that the South Vietnamese Army must now

You have to pass through the fire range of some coalition artillery before you can retreat. This is not only a problem of casualties, but also the chaos it will bring to the retreating troops.

The problem that the South Vietnamese generals were worried about soon appeared. Several coalition artillery bombarded the retreating South Vietnamese army, causing chaos immediately. The already anxious South Vietnamese soldiers began to rush south crazily.

Go, hoping to escape before this survival channel is blocked by the coalition forces. Some people choose to go west, flee directly into the mountains, and then try to make a roundabout way south. This is undoubtedly much safer than retreating south under the gunfire of the coalition forces. In

Under 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, which 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 driving away the South Vietnamese Army.

Even if everything is over, especially the musketry unit in the opponent's camp, the headquarters has always been worried. Unless they try to eliminate this unit, no one can rest assured. The headquarters' plan is to let the militia go south directly by boat and fight for the river.

The South Vietnamese Army that retreated after a front-line interception - the South Vietnamese Army that lacked surface power was bound to be delayed when they reached the Zhengjiang River due to the large number of people and the small number of boats. At that time, they would have the opportunity to compress them on the river bank and slowly pack them up.

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 headquarters will naturally not miss such a heavy blow.

A good opportunity for the opponent. Moreover, with the natural moat of Zhengjiang, it is possible to rely on a small number of elite troops to stop 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 just played the role of holding back the battle. The only company that had completed more combat missions was 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 carry out real operations in these two days.

It works. If you just go home after just walking around like this, it would be a bit embarrassing 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 each other. Naturally, they were included in this mission. As the commander, Yan Chujie also "used power for personal gain" in a small way.

It was decided that he would 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 must not be idle. The large troops have just begun to board the ship.

The "Speed" has already weighed anchor and left the shore, and is 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. Except for the "Discovery" and the "Speed"

, the command also mobilized five 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 go south together, and another five ships will serve as backup

and material transport ships followed behind, 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 and blocked the last group of unlucky ones who had not had time to evacuate. However, he

However, he did not forget the instructions from the headquarters. After occupying 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 were not deformed could be recycled and reused. Of course, even if they were severely deformed,

, Iron lumps can also be recast. The most important thing is that each of these artillery shells has to be priced and calculated. If you take back one round, it will save a fortune for the North Vietnamese regime. Counting hundreds or even thousands of artillery shells, this

The number 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 in these military supplies, which also verifies from the side the effectiveness of the command's breakthrough campaign.

However, all kinds of weapons and armors were piled up like mountains, and there were tens of thousands of bows and arrows alone. After Zheng Bai saw it, he secretly said that he was lucky. If the Haihan people had not sent troops, it would be difficult for North Vietnam to withstand the South Vietnamese army.

Down the offensive.

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. However, 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 it was pitch dark at night.

Going upstream on the Zhengjiang River can be said to be a very risky thing. For safety reasons, the fleet did not sail into the Zhengjiang River 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 the 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 temporary bundles came out.

The wooden rafts are tasked with transporting the army across the river. There are many South Vietnamese soldiers on the shore who are taking the time to cut wood to make rafts. On the distant horizon to the north, the flags of the pursuing North Vietnamese army can already be seen through the telescope.

Already.

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 they soon realized that it did not seem to be the case. The South Vietnamese ship

But without such big regulations, there wouldn't be so many artillery placed 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 targets at all. They could directly blast towards the river bank and knock down a piece of it. And those small wooden boats like sampans were in Haihan's fleet.

There were absolutely nothing in front of them, and the "Discovery" in the lead ran over them without any reason, crushing these small boats into pieces with its hull.

It was not that there were no knowledgeable South Vietnamese people 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 militia groups.

A more ferocious attack.

With a whistle, a long row of gun barrels protruded from the side of the ship. After firing, 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 felt relieved.

During World War I, dense rain of bullets kept pouring from the sides of several large ships to the shore. Although the ups and downs of the ships would have some negative effects on the accuracy of shooting, the density of South Vietnamese troops on the river bank was too great.

And there is no way to avoid it. Even if the bullet deviates from its original target, there is still a huge chance of hitting someone else.

When the number of targets on this riverbank gradually decreased, the boats moved slowly, changing places to continue the killing spree. So later, as the boats moved, the South Vietnamese troops on the shore also began to move. Wherever the boat went, there was no shore.

There will be an uninhabited land of at least tens of meters in depth. And the number of artillery shells carried on the ship is relatively limited, so 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 South Vietnamese army began to march westward and upstream along the Zhengjiang River. It seemed that they expected to enter the river valley of the Hengshan Mountains and then move to another area.

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 venture too far 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 the river surface were littered with corpses left behind by the South Vietnamese Army. The casualties were far more tragic than the previous battles on the northern battlefield.

many.

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.

In the evening of the same day, the North Vietnamese troops that had been chasing down 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 two South Vietnamese troops were annihilated.

Ten thousand people, of whom more than 14,000 were captured alone. The rest were mostly dead or injured or could not be determined - for example, they were directly torn into pieces by artillery shells, or they fell into the Zhengjiang River and were swept away by the river.

Wait a minute.

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, it is unknown how many injured soldiers will be abandoned halfway. The result waiting for them may not be as good as 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.

The idea. The main purpose of the Haihan militia coming here to fight 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 the annihilation of the Nguyen regime in South Vietnam is not the Executive Committee.

The short-term goal is to go south and attack Hue Province, which is hundreds of miles away. This is not a combat plan that can be achieved 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 materials have been consumed in just a few battles here, 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 combat supplies of the Haihan Militia would probably have lasted for another five or six days. Even if they did not retreat by then, they would have had to hang up their battle-free cards and wait for dispatch from the base camp.

Just bring some ammunition and supplies.

Such combat consumption is still difficult for the Crossing Group to bear for a long time. Although North Vietnam has indeed promised to bear all the expenses, that is an after-the-fact settlement, and it will take at least one or two months after the war for the settlement to be clear.

Moreover, North Vietnam is simply unable to provide many of the combat materials needed by the Hai Han Militia. It can fight small battles, but cannot support large battles, and because it has too few troops, it cannot withstand excessive battle losses. This

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. A rash advance south will only drag itself down. Second, the damn musketry unit in South Vietnam finally escaped by chance.

After leaving the encirclement, 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 slapped the table and regretted that he had not gone to war the day before.

If you have the courage to rush into Zhengjiang, you might have a chance to intercept it at that time.

But Yan Chujie is very optimistic about this result: "Although this unit has not been wiped out, our combat goal has been achieved. Moreover, 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 will have to continue. At least for a period of time, our arms exports can still have good results.

"

"If South Vietnam rests and then 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 had some doubts.

"South Vietnam's actions should not be 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 smiled and said: "As long as your brain is not burned out, the South Vietnamese army will not take the initiative to launch another attack in the short term. You are nervous, but in fact the enemy on the other side of the river is 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 of the aftermath." Yan Chujie looked around at the officers present and said in a deep voice: "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 have corresponding rewards and pensions. Although this battle is over, the soldiers under our command who 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 casualties in Haihan was 19, 11 were seriously injured, and more than 70 were slightly injured.

Two of them became 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 personnel who died in the battle died in the battle for the mountaintops 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 injured, which fully demonstrated the results of special training. As for the special operations company's subsequent awards for meritorious service, it even expanded its establishment and replaced more new ones.

Good equipment can't run away even if it's properly equipped.
Chapter completed!