Chapter 203

The high-ranking officials on the U. S. Federal side, including the commander of the 1st Marine Division, Smith,

never imagined that in this frozen world of minus 30 or even 40 degrees, there would actually be an ambush of 100,000

troops from the 【Republic】 Volunteer Army.

From the U. S. Federal perspective.

There shouldn't be any enemies at Zhangjinhu, which is why they felt safe spreading out all units of the 1st Marine Division in the Zhangjinhu area.

But they never expected that over 100,000 people were lying in ambush here.

Even this massive army of over 100,000 had reached the surrounding mountains, yet they hadn't discovered them.

Caught off guard.

All units were in complete chaos.

The splitting tactics adopted by the Volunteer Army caused all U. S. Federal 1st Marine Division units at Zhangjinhu to come under attack.

The U. S. Federal 1st Marine Division headquarters at Hagaru-ri was even unable to command due to the chaotic situation.

One report of being under attack would arrive, and then another would follow.

The high ground here was under attack, and the bridge over there was seized by the enemy.

It was so chaotic that a situation of fighting in isolation had formed.

And here at Yudam-ri.

Because the garrison was the main force of the 1st Marine Division, the number of soldiers was huge.

Plus, it was a fully mechanized armored unit.

After suffering a surprise attack from over ten thousand Volunteer Army soldiers, the U. S. Federal side quickly contracted its defensive lines and, relying on the powerful firepower of their mechanized units, held a stalemate with the Volunteer Army for a time.

The U. S. Federal side, fearing the pitch-black night, did not dare to attack and could only hold their ground.

As for the Volunteer Army, after seizing the high ground around Yudam-ri, they also realized the situation upon facing the U. S. Federal side's powerful firepower.

Something was wrong here.

This level of firepower was nowhere near that of a battalion, or even two battalions.

There were at least several regiments.

Although the Volunteer Army had fought so-called U. S. -equipped divisions during the national liberation, the firepower of those divisions was completely different from a real U. S. Federal mechanized unit.

The Volunteer Army's divisional artillery battalion only had a dozen or twenty guns, but here, the U. S. Federal divisional artillery had at least 400

or more howitzers and other pieces.

Plus, the bridge over the Yalujiang had been blown up, making supply transport difficult.

It was even more impossible to have that much artillery support.

They were fighting this U. S. Federal mechanized unit entirely with rifles.

At this moment, facing the U. S. Federal side's powerful firepower, they found it difficult to make a move for a while.

But the fierce battle would not stop.

And after the initial chaos, the U. S. Federal side gradually stabilized, relying on their powerful firepower advantage, though the situation was not very good.

Although there had been a misjudgment of Volunteer Army intelligence at the three locations of Yudam-ri, Hagaru-ri, and Sinhung-ri, resulting in them not being captured immediately.

However, the roads and high ground between these three places.

And even the roads for retreating south from Hagaru-ri, as well as the key points and high ground for U. S. Federal reinforcements moving north.

Had all been occupied and sealed off by the Volunteer Army.

Yudam-ri.

Inside Li Ran's livestream.

The fierce battle had been going on for two hours, and after the initial chaos, the main force of the 1st Marine Division had stabilized.

Although they had lost quite a few high-ground positions on the surrounding mountains after the surprise attack.

But by huddling together and relying on powerful machine-gun fire and repeated artillery coverage, the opposing Volunteer Army couldn't break through for the time being.

Li Ran had been hiding in a corner, watching the battlefield situation.

It had now tended toward stability.

Because under such a surprise offensive, if it wasn't taken, the only thing left was to fall into a long war of attrition.

Gradually.

Aided by their firepower advantage, some soldiers dared to come out; although the camp was still in chaos, the situation had improved a lot.

Seeing the soldiers moving about, Li Ran couldn't continue hiding.

He walked out to find his own squad.

Soon, near his tent, he found the squad that was assembling.

Compared to the daytime.

There were many fewer people in the squad.

The main reason was the shells that landed next door; many more had hit later, and soldiers from more than one tent had been blown up.

One could only say their luck was bad, being right at the Volunteer Army's impact point...

These people looked at Li Ran with astonishment, their expressions strange as they stared at him.

Because they remembered this recruit saying during the day that there seemed to be people on the mountain.

They didn't expect it to actually be true.

At the ruins of the tattered tent, the veteran who had been acting shamelessly during the day walked over while pulling up a brand-new pair of pants and said to Li Ran:

"Oh, recruit!"

"You were right."

"Unbelievable, there are actually people fighting in this kind of environment."

The surrounding U. S. Federal soldiers also looked as if their worldview had been refreshed.

It was hard to imagine.

During the day, they were still saying it was impossible for anyone to appear here without supplies, without weapons, and without even leaving a trace, but now...

They were almost killed by artillery shells.

Damn it.

What were those 1,000 patrol and bombing sorties every day doing?

Did they really go out to patrol and bomb?

The straight-line distance was over 120 kilometers, and it would be even further by road.

Yet they didn't discover so many enemy troops surrounding this place.

Li Ran spread his hands, looking as if to say, "Who told you not to believe it," and then asked:

"What's the situation now?"

An experienced veteran, looking at the firepower still clashing on the distant mountains, said:

"As of now, we are definitely surrounded."

"And looking at the scope of the encirclement around our 9,000 people here, the enemy's troop strength must be several times ours."

"However, their firepower is too poor."

"Except for a few artillery pieces, they only have rifles."

"Their rifle range isn't that long, so they can't hit the core area at all; those who were killed by shells can only be considered unlucky."

"It's also very difficult for them to break through our outer units."

"It's just that they are using the terrain, and we have no way to deal with it."

"You can't see anything at night."

"We can only hold our ground and not go out, waiting for support during the day."

"Bombers can then bomb those mountains in turns."

"That's when we'll show them what we're made of."

This U. S. Federal veteran's words gave many recruits confidence.

But looking into the distance.

The only thing they couldn't figure out was how these Volunteer Army soldiers had suddenly appeared.

Because of this sudden battle.

Many Blue Star players didn't sleep, intending to stay up all night to watch this "real-time broadcast" of the battle.

At the same time.

It wasn't just the Blue Star players who were paying attention.

The military of various federations were also watching from the perspectives of various streamers.

But unlike the ordinary Blue Star players.

The perspectives of the various federations had already been integrated, separating all regional streamers and laying them out on projections, making the peninsula battlefield clear at a glance.

Daxia Federation, inside the 7th Special Operations Brigade.

Shen Yan had already lain down in the virtual sensory pod to attend a meeting and study.

And Qu Guang was leading the battalion and company-level officers of the 7th Special Operations Brigade to analyze the battle situation, while the 7th Special Operations Brigade soldiers below also sat curiously and straight, watching the projection in front.

The current situation was that on the western front, the U. S. 9th Corps, having been lured deep by the Volunteer Army, had its retreat cut off at Samso-ri and was retreating further west to link up with other units.

And on the eastern front at Zhangjinhu, the battle had just begun because none of the U. S. Federal officers had expected there to be so many Volunteer Army soldiers here.

The original U. S. Federal plan was to advance on both the eastern and western fronts and reach the Yalujiang by Christmas.

While the Volunteer Army's side was luring the enemy deep, followed by splitting and encircling them.

The U. S. 9th Corps on the western front felt something was wrong, but the Volunteer Army launched a surprise attack on Samso-ri, cutting off the U. S. 9th Corps' retreat.

This move.

Directly separated the U. S. Federal's eastern and western fronts, which hadn't been linked up anyway, right in the middle.

The U. S. 9th Corps on the western front couldn't break through "Samso-ri" and was forced to retreat west toward Sunchon. At the same time the U. S. 9th Corps was retreating, the U. S. 1st Marine Division, which should have been smooth sailing.

Was also ambushed by 100,000 Volunteer Army troops at this time.

Qu Guang looked at the "Zhangjinhu" region livestream and said to the battalion and company officers and soldiers below:

"You should mainly look at the Volunteer Army's tactics."

"Because in a large-scale battlefield."

"Most of the time, that's a matter for the higher-ups to consider; rather, you can learn from the Volunteer Army's fighting to improve yourselves."

The commander of the 1st Special Battalion, Liu Feng, said:

"Chief of Staff, don't we have exclusive dungeons for combat?"

"Why don't you tell us about the big picture."

"Everyone likes to hear that."

"Like the approximate subsequent development of the Zhangjinhu battle situation."

Qu Guang heard this, looked at the surrounding battalion and company officers and the expectant soldiers below, and said with a smile:

"Alright, let's analyze it."

"But I can't guarantee it."

Some soldiers might be able to understand, while others might not.

But officers and staff at a certain level could analyze the situations and goals of all parties by looking at the battle.

Battalion and company levels might only see a partial view, but a veteran staff officer like Qu Guang could analyze it quite well.

Looking at the current situation on the peninsula, Qu Guang said:

"As we can see now."

"After the start of the Second Campaign, the Volunteer Army's goal was very clear."

"It was to wipe out all the invading U. S. Federal enemies."

"It's just that limited by the weapons and equipment at the time, this goal could not be achieved."

"On the western front, the 【Bloody Battle of Samso-ri】 cut off the U. S. 9th Corps' retreat."

"Forming an encirclement."

"It's just a pity that the equipment was too inferior, and the U. S. 9th Corps' mobility was too high; they chose to turn around from Samso-ri and head west to link up with other units."

"The Volunteer Army was already too late to pursue."

"But the Volunteer Army's goal on the western front had already been achieved."

"We can currently see the U. S. 9th Corps fleeing west."

"During the pursuit, the Volunteer Army also caused relatively large casualties to the coalition forces, such as the Turkish Brigade."

"The U. S. 9th Corps moved west to link up with the U. S. 1st Corps, and then fled south from the Sunchon area."

"So where is the next location?"

"It's the core city next door."

"And this should also be the Volunteer Army's next target, because once this city is liberated, the boost to the morale of the 【Republic】 and the remnants of the neighbor next door."

"Will be extraordinary."

The soldiers below listened and couldn't help but suddenly understand.

Qu Guang continued, turning his gaze to the eastern front:

"Now look at the eastern front."

"Zhangjinhu region, many people online have also analyzed it."

"That's right."

"Both the Volunteer Army and the U. S. Federal side had intelligence errors, so an annihilation battle is unlikely."

"Look at the map again."

"It's roughly divided into several key points."

"Currently, the U. S. Federal troops in the Zhangjinhu region are divided into three parts."

"Yudam-ri, Sinhung-ri, and Hagaru-ri."

"Among them, Hagaru-ri is the headquarters of the 1st Marine Division."

"Yudam-ri is the main force of the 1st Marine Division."

"Sinhung-ri is the reinforced regiment of the U. S. Federal 37th Division; this regiment also has a title, the Polar Bear Regiment."

"A regiment that once participated in the expedition to Siberia during World War I and was later personally decorated by the then-U. S. President; those interested can go to the 'World War I' series of games and experience it starting in Siberia."

"Next is the current situation."

"Because of the Volunteer Army's intelligence misjudgment, the troop strength in each direction actually couldn't achieve an annihilation battle, especially here at Yudam-ri."

"9,000 U. S. Federal mechanized troops against 12,000 Volunteer Army infantry."

"Naturally, there's no need to say more."

"Annihilation is impossible; since it can't be annihilated, then break them one by one."

"Yudam-ri, Sinhung-ri, Hagaru-ri."

"Which one is easiest to break?"

The soldiers below shouted one after another:

"Sinhung-ri!!!"

Qu Guang nodded and said:

"That's right."

"It's Sinhung-ri."

"Because compared to the 9,000 main force troops at Yudam-ri, and the 1st Marine Division headquarters at Hagaru-ri where an airfield was built."

"The U. S. Federal 'Polar Bear Regiment' at Sinhung-ri is the easiest to annihilate."

"In the next situation, the Volunteer Army should launch a fierce attack on Sinhung-ri."

"Whether they attack Yudam-ri or Hagaru-ri afterward is uncertain, but we can see that all roads in the U. S. Federal Zhangjinhu region have been cut off."

"The road from Kotori wanting to go to Hagaru-ri for support is also full of Volunteer Army troops."

"If the U. S. Federal troops flee."

"Then it won't be just a little miserable."

"Because looking at the Volunteer Army's layout, they clearly intend to bite the U. S. 1st Marine Division to death."

"The road from Yudam-ri to Hagaru-ri, and the road from Hagaru-ri retreating to Kotori, are all occupied by Volunteer Army high-ground positions."

"Just this retreat route alone will result in heavy casualties."

"And it's not just here; once they retreat, Kotori definitely won't be held, and if Kotori can't be held, if the Water-Loss Bridge behind is assaulted..."

As Qu Guang's voice fell.

Many gasps of cold air were heard; how many U. S. Federal soldiers would be killed?

Just thinking about that scene made the Daxia Federation soldiers' scalps tingle.

From Yudam-ri to Hagaru-ri, then to Kotori, and then to the Water-Loss Bridge, this long stretch of road was no less than 50 kilometers.

One simply dared not imagine what it would feel like to be ambushed for over 50 kilometers.

And this place on the peninsula, besides roads, was just mountains...

When fleeing, Volunteer Army combat units would appear on the mountains on both sides from time to time.

Wouldn't that give the U. S. Federal 1st Marine Division soldiers trauma?