Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 118



Only Krnovel

#118. Their hell has just begun

In the end, only about 70 of the 300 Soviet Air Force raiders who attempted the first wave of air strikes were lucky enough to return alive, and the rest were all shot down.

And about 30 minutes later, the 200 aircraft that attempted an airstrike in two waves also found themselves in the same situation, and only about 50 were able to escape, and after that, the 12th Air Force’s airstrikes were halted.

If you go out on a sortie, you come back not cut in half, but cut in half, so it was difficult to bear the loss any longer.

“How on earth did this happen? “Ivanovic!”

Hudyakov, commander of the 12th Air Army, praised Sergei Morozov, the most senior pilot who returned alive in this amazing reality.

“If you haven’t returned by now, you’ve been shot down, Comrade Commander.”

“What on earth happened?”

“I do not know.”

“You don’t know? What are you talking about?”

“I literally don’t know. “I don’t know.”

“Is there such a thing as this? Make sense! A total of 500 vehicles were dispatched in the first and second rounds, but only 120 came back alive! 120 units!”

“Whoa!”

Despite the commander’s warnings, Major Morozov simply puffed out his cigarette.

“Then, tell me at least what you saw! “Tell me what you know!”

“It was when I crossed the Dashing’anling Mountains. “We were mostly flying at low altitudes to find and eliminate the enemies who were firing over the mountain range.”

“however?”

“Then suddenly a beam of light rose from the ground.”

“A ray of light? “You mean tracer bullets?”

“There is no explanation for it as a tracer bullet. It literally means a beam of light. “I can’t even imagine how fast the rate of fire would have to be to create such a beam of light with a tracer bullet.”

“This is crazy! so?”

“That beam of light was insanely accurate. They just dropped our fighter jets. That’s not all. “Anti-aircraft cannons rained down on us, and they were so accurate that it made you cringe.”

“Is that possible? “An anti-aircraft gun can’t be that accurate!”

“There was also an attack with what appeared to be 40mm Bofors bullets, but there were only three.”

“What exactly is 3 shots?”

“They said they only fired three shots at a time. But it was a hundred times.”

“That can’t be… … .”

The 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun is truly the standard anti-aircraft gun.

During World War II, it was the same weapon as the basic armament of the Allied Navy. In particular, the U.S. Navy licensed-produced as many as 60,000 twin-barrel guns and distributed them to each ship, so even the Soviet military, which received American weapons until it was cut off by Roosevelt, could not have been unaware of it. .

Because the Soviet Union also received a huge amount of support.

Although the Bofors 40mm was an excellent anti-aircraft gun, it could not achieve the level of accuracy that Major Morozov had just mentioned.

This is because, like almost all guns of this era, it basically uses a spiderweb-shaped visual sight and the rate of fire is slow, about 120 rounds per minute.

But taking down one fighter plane with just three shots?

That sounds unbelievable.

“I’m not the only one who saw it, so if you really don’t believe it, ask other pilots.”

“… … .”

“That’s not what’s really hard to believe.”

“Is there anything else?”

“As anti-aircraft fire rained down from the ground, Captain Ivanovich gave orders to ascend immediately.”

“That’s a natural order.”

“you’re right. So we all ascended at the same time, but something like a rocket came from somewhere and shot us down. From what I saw, they were F4U Corsairs firing.”

“This is crazy! “No, getting shot down by a rocket or something!”

“Ha, it wasn’t a rocket or anything.”

“It’s not a rocket or anything? If the rocket launched by Corsair is HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) used by the US military, right? No, how can a fighter jet be shot down by a ground attack HVAR? “Maybe it’s a heavy bomber?”

“there is. Because that rocket was chasing us.”

“… … .”

Hudakov’s mouth dropped open.

A rocket is chasing you?

“You may not believe it, but it’s true. It was so fast I couldn’t see it closely, but something like a rocket was chasing us. Even though I avoid it.”

“I can’t believe it… … .”

“The Koreans must have received new weapons from the US military.”

“Even the U.S. military doesn’t have anything like that!”

“Well, I don’t know either. Anyway, if I got caught by that guy, it was the end. “Even though we were lucky enough to spot it and take evasive maneuvers, it chased after us and shot us down.”

“Joe, what about the pilots?”

“We confirmed that some were lucky enough to escape, but most of them had no chance to escape. Unlike anti-aircraft guns.”

“… … .”

“Now that I’m here, it looks like you’re sending a third wave, but I’m sure you don’t intend to kill all of our children. “If you go on a sortie, you will die for sure.”

“… … .”

At least for the time being, sending fighter jets was all wrong.

* * *

09:20.

bang! Quang! bang! bang!

“Ugh!”

“help me!”

The 6th Guards Tank Army began to be pounded 5km in front of the Horohon Pass and retreated more than 8km to the rear, but the artillery fire continued.

“I’m telling you to retreat quickly! hurry!”

Although Kravchenko of the 6th Guards Tank Army urged the troops to retreat, the retreat was slow.

No, in fact, they were retreating at a very fast speed, but they only seemed slow because they were in a hurry as they continued to receive deadly artillery fire.

There was no need to even mention the urgency of the troops on the front line, as artillery fire approached them even when they were more than 20km away from the Horohon passage, and they had to hastily withdraw more than 10km.

“Comrade Commander!”

“what!”

“Connection with the 9th Mechanized Corps headquarters has been lost.”

“… … .”

Krabchenko’s legs seemed to be shaking.

The 9th Mechanized Corps was the leading corps on the right wing.

Such loss of connection with corps headquarters means only one thing.

Even the corps headquarters was bombarded.

“Comrade Commander… … .”

“Keep encouraging retreat. “We will also retreat another 5 km.”

“All right.”

“What is the situation in the 17th or 39th districts?”

“It seems like they are just like us.”

“Okay… … .”

Although he shouldn’t think like that, Krabchenko felt lighter when he heard that other soldiers were in the same situation.

At least I have something to say.

09:30.

Headquarters of the 1st Field Army of the Republic of Korea Army.

“Keep hitting! continue!”

“The longer the range, the shorter the gun barrel life.”

“The towed guns are okay, just chase the self-propelled guns and tell them to hit them, right?”

“All right. But you’re not going to pursue it properly? Tank battalions are on standby… … .”

“No, we will fire a little more and then stop today. “We have to give them time to get back together, right?”

“ah!”

“This war is not one that will end here. So we must fight as efficiently as possible. And one of our strengths is night fighting, so there is no need to fight unnecessarily during the day.”

“I know what you mean.”

“Knowing that, tell the 2nd Corps to attack by 11 o’clock and clear the battlefield. “There will be a lot to organize before we can advance.”

“What will you do with the enemy’s wounded soldiers?”

“What should I do? Those who can be saved should be saved. What kind of Japanese imperial army are we? “Let me die?”

“All right. Phew! “I’m worried that the number of wounded soldiers they abandoned will be enormous.”

“Still, I can’t help it. Even though we are criticized by the international community, we still have to think about the aftermath of the war. Even if the border changes due to this war, we will continue to have a border with the Soviet Union in the future. Do you want to become a marshal of Cheolcheon by letting the wounded soldiers die? “That’s really not good.”

“All right.”

11 o’clock sharp.

The artillery fire of the ROK Army’s 1st Field Army, which had been harassing the Zabaikal Front for so long, stopped.

At this time, the Zabaikal Front Army had already retreated more than 20km to the rear from the front line, and the 1st Field Army, which confirmed this, sent out troops and began to organize the front line.

This was because the enemy’s corpses, wounded soldiers, and the remains of all kinds of weapons and equipment, including tanks and self-propelled guns, made it difficult to move, which became an obstacle to advancing.

“Off… … . help me!”

“Ugh! my legs! “My legs!”

The retreat was so rapid that there were many wounded soldiers everywhere who could not escape, and their corpses were cut into pieces, sticky to their boots every time they moved.

“Wow!”

“Hey! “Don’t throw up on the corpse!”

“Wow!”

“Mr… … .”

South Korean soldiers clearing the battlefield vomited in various places, and the weak even fainted.

“Don’t even think about clearing it all, just make a path! Gilman! “It’s not enough to stay up all night to clean it all up!”

“Anyway, we will have to take prisoners to clean it up properly! Rescue only the wounded soldiers and clear the way! Gilman!”

Only dead bodies and wounded soldiers remained, and there were not many healthy prisoners.

However, sooner or later, there would be a large number of prisoners, and the plan was to have them clear the battlefield.

The weather was mid-March, but it was below freezing, so it would be okay to leave it alone for a while.

* * *

13:00 on March 13, 1948.

Headquarters of the Zabaikal Front.

“How could this happen…?” … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Malinovsky, commander of the Zabaikal Front, was devastated when he received the provisional damage report.

The losses suffered by the Zabaikal Front in just half a day from dawn to now were unbelievable.

Of the 2,400 tanks and self-propelled guns, 1,000 were melted down, and the damage to the artillery was even more severe, with half of them disappearing.

This happened due to the Korean army’s intensive artillery bombardment.

And it is said that the number of dead and wounded abandoned on the front lines is close to 100,000.

Almost one-sixth of the 650,000 members of the Zabaikal Front were lost in a matter of hours.

“Someone please explain.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

No one answered.

And the number of people who can answer has drastically decreased.

All the chairs that were once full were empty.

Group commanders such as Krabchenko, Alexei Danilov of the 17th Army, Ivan Lyudnikov of the 39th Army, and Aleksandr Luchinsky of the 36th Army were clearly safe in the rear, but most of the generals close to the front, such as corps commanders and division commanders, were killed or injured. Because.

“You can say anything, so please open your mouth.”

“Whoa! “I think I understand why the Japanese Kwantung Army collapsed so easily.”

“Yes, Krabchenko. say it.”

“They knew our location as if they were looking down from the sky. Moreover, that terrifying bombardment… … . “It was an accurate artillery fire that I have never seen in over 30 years of being on the battlefield.”

“That’s not all. They were firing from across the Daxinganling Mountains, and 155mm bombs flew as far as where we had retreated more than 20km. “I think their 155mm has a range of at least 25 to 30 km.”

“Does that make sense? “Isn’t it some kind of large-caliber naval gun?”

“Then how do you explain it? “Apparently, the artillery fire from across the mountain range reached a place 25km away from the mountain range.”

“… … .”

Malinovsky also had nothing to say.

“Our Air Force did even better.”

“What do you mean?”

“I will get over that crazy level of anti-aircraft guns for now.”

“then?”

“The rocket chased me.”

“what? A rocket is chasing you? “Did the pilots drink vodka as a group to fly the car, or something?”

“It’s true. I checked them one by one. “The Koreans must have guided rockets.”

“… … .”

Malinovsky really looked like he was going to turn away.

What kind of nonsense is this?

“Suka… … .”

All that came out was cursing.

However, their hell had just begun.

01:00 on March 14, 1949.

Wooooow!

Sssssssssssssssss!

Along with the normal sound of propellers, a strange noise filled the sky over northwestern Manchuria.