Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 336



Only Krnovel

#336. When you explain it like that, it sounds a bit sloppy.

June 25, 1966, 05:06.

Command and Control Center of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan, Seoul.

“Northern Front! Enemy artillery fire is ongoing along the entire front! 152mm! 122mm! Multiple rocket launchers, all types of artillery have been mobilized!”

“Southeastern Front! Starting at 4 o’clock local time, the Republic of China Army has begun shelling all fronts! All types of artillery, including 155mm and 105mm, have been mobilized!”

“The same goes for the Southwestern Front! Starting at 3:00 local time, the People’s Liberation Army has been mobilizing all its firepower to bombard the border with the Dali State!”

In all areas bordering North and South China, except Tibet and East Turkestan, a fierce artillery bombardment by the joint forces began.

This is a classic invasion.

Breaking down the enemy’s defenses through fierce artillery fire and advancing with armored forces in the lead.

However, the South Korean government, which could not have been unaware of this, has withdrawn its forward troops as secretly as possible in advance.

It was obvious that there would be a fierce artillery barrage, so there was absolutely no reason to foolishly turn around and let it happen.

Even the night before, the minimal force guarding the border had been withdrawn or hidden in well-constructed bunkers.

Of course, the Chinese were not stupid, and they knew to some extent that the South Korean military and the EATO allied forces had withdrawn their troops in preparation for artillery fire, but as an invading force, they had no other choice but to start with artillery fire.

I didn’t know that the troops would be withdrawn so thoroughly, so I thought that there would be some damage.

“It’s pouring down like crazy.”

Lee Kang-cheol said he was amazed as he watched the vivid battlefield footage transmitted from the Albatross 2 deployed over the border.

“On the northern front alone, there are said to be over 20,000 152mm howitzers and 30,000 122mm howitzers. This excludes lower caliber guns and multiple rocket launchers.”

Only Go Seok-man answered.

“It’s a crazy number, but considering the number of troops, it’s not really that crazy.”

“That’s right. There are 6 million troops. They say there are over 500 divisions, but if you do a simple, crude calculation, there are only about 40 152mm guns per division.”

“When you explain it like that, it sounds a bit sloppy.”

“It’s very weak compared to the artillery of our division.”

“Is it because we are a nation obsessed with firepower?”

“Well, I guess you could say he’s crazy, but he’s a bit obsessed.”

“I see.”

The South Korean military’s obsession with firepower has a long history and tradition, and the modern war between Ukraine and Russia has added fuel to the fire.

This war once again demonstrated the value of artillery in large-scale all-out war situations, especially the 155mm and 152mm guns capable of long-range power projection, and caused a worldwide shortage of self-propelled guns and ammunition.

And the one that received attention during that war was the South Korean Army.

The Republic of Korea Army artillery was said to be out of its mind because it possessed over 2,000 K9 and K55 self-propelled howitzers.

However, the Ukrainian-Russian War proved the ROK Army right, and thanks to that, the K9 self-propelled howitzer, which was already doing well, became a global hit, and they had to hear pleas from all over to please sell them some ammunition.

In any case, after experiencing this, the military leadership of the 1940s had a firm belief in large-scale artillery, to the point where it would not be an exaggeration to call it a religion, beyond paranoia about artillery.

The Republic of Korea Army, which they created, naturally became an army that was artillery first and foremost, and artillery second.

And in the meantime, as artillery played an absolute role in almost all the wars fought here, the faith of the South Korean Army leadership deepened even more.

Accordingly, while the People’s Liberation Army’s divisional artillery at that time was based on three 152mm artillery battalions, the artillery of the South Korean Army’s divisions was based on eight 155mm artillery battalions, and even the independent artillery brigades operated ten artillery battalions, showing a special love for artillery.

In the organization of the Republic of Korea Army, one battery had six guns, and three batteries came together to form one artillery battalion.

That is, if one artillery battalion has 18 guns, and one division basically has 8 artillery battalions?

It is calculated that one division operates as many as 144 155mm guns.

The Northern Operations Command has a total of 90 divisions.

So, the total number of 155mm guns held by the Northern Army’s divisional artillery is 12,960, to which an additional 3,600 guns are added by the 20 independent artillery brigades.

Therefore, the Northern Army possesses over 16,500 155mm guns.

What is even more shocking is that all of these 155mm are self-propelled guns, and their caliber is 45 caliber, with a firing range of over 30km.

That’s why the rumor that the South Korean Army is a 155mm fetish has been spreading in the US military for a long time.

And so, while watching the enormous barrage of artillery fire pouring down, Lee Kang-cheol and Ko Seok-man were talking as if they were joking.

“Didn’t our kids run away a long time ago?”

“Don’t worry. The Northern Army has retreated at least 30km, with a good 50km retreat.”

“That’s more than enough.”

“The range of the ML-20, the main howitzer of the People’s Liberation Army, is less than 18 km. You don’t have to worry. Besides, the commander is Lee Jae-ha.”

“It’s reassuring if you’re sure about Lee Jae-ha.”

“So, let’s take it easy.”

“I get it.”

Lee Kang-cheol and Ko Seok-man turned their gaze to the large screen with indifferent expressions.

* * *

June 25, 1966, 05:35 Seoul Standard Time.

The Northern Operations Command is located approximately 70km northeast of Sanhae Pass.

Northern Command created its headquarters by linking together four 40-foot containers to allow for rapid movement.

“You keep pouring it out.”

Commander of the Northern Operations Command, Jae-ha Lee, opened his mouth while drinking coffee.

“They are the ones who prepared for war for over a dozen years after the end of the Chinese Civil War. They have to do this much.”

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Lim Cheol-hwan responded to Lee Jae-ha’s words indifferently.

“Hey, Im Cheol-hwan. What’s with that attitude? Are you saying we should have been hit by that kind of artillery fire?”

“Hehehe! How could that be?”

“What the hell is going on? I brought you here after promoting you to lieutenant general, and now you’re saying strange things?”

“Why do you always pick on me? Did you bring me here to torment me like this?”

“… … Did you notice?”

“Where is it for a day or two?”

“Then, be faithful to the purpose of your coming here.”

“yes yes…….”

“ha ha ha!”

“Hehehe!”

Even as Captain Lee Jae-ha joked like this, his eyes were focused on the monitor.

Even though we keep a generous distance, we are still always on guard because the battlefield is a place with so many variables.

“How much more will they shoot?”

“Even so, wouldn’t it take at least 2 hours?”

“yes?”

“But it won’t be as powerful as the initial firepower. The firepower has decreased significantly compared to the last 30 minutes.”

“So now you’re going to let the barrel cool down before you shoot?”

“Until then, please rest a bit.”

“I get it.”

After saying those words, Lee Jae-ha really closed his eyes, but Lieutenant General Im Cheol-hwan fixed his gaze on the front lines, thinking that it was a sight he had always seen.

Because the commander was sleeping, he couldn’t sleep himself.

At 7:00 AM sharp on June 25th.

Lee Jae-ha opened his eyes wide.

The roar of gunfire that had been blaring so fiercely just a moment ago had stopped.

“Has it stopped now?”

“Yes, Commander. It stopped at 7 o’clock sharp.”

“So is it time to advance now?”

“Please don’t talk like that as if you were talking about someone else.”

“I’m telling the truth, the truth.”

“If I tell the truth, I will definitely advance.”

“Well then, shall we see?”

Lee Jae-ha’s gaze turned to the monitor.

Contrary to what he said, he had a very cold gaze.

And after a while.

Kurrururur!

Ddddddddd!

“Wow wow wow wow!”

“Advance! Advance and reclaim our lost territory!”

“All hands on deck!”

As soon as the artillery fire stopped, the People’s Liberation Army began to advance with the armored units in the lead.

There must have been at least 10,000 tanks at the front, about half of which were T-34 tanks used by the Soviet Union during World War II, while the rest were T-54 and T-55 tanks equipped with 100mm guns, produced under license in the People’s Republic of China.

Kurrururur!

Ddddddddd!

That’s a whopping 10,000 tanks.

Even in the Battle of Kursk, which was the largest tank battle on a single scale, they never did something as crazy as sending in 10,000 tanks at once.

And then a wave of humans, estimated to be around 3 million strong, engulfed the entire front line, which was over 100 kilometers long.

“Wow, this is amazing!”

“Huh! It’s the minister! The minister!”

“Wow!”

Not only Lee Jae-ha and Lim Cheol-hwan, but everyone in the command center was staring at the monitor in a daze.

It seemed that everyone instinctively knew that this was a spectacle that would never happen again in human history.

“I couldn’t believe it, but you can hit that many troops at once… … .”

“I guess you must have studied the war between us and the Soviet Union a lot. You know, the war where we had an overwhelmingly large number of troops but were defeated after being deployed one after another.”

“That’s true, but isn’t this bad? There’s almost no space between the pods.”

“There’s no room, right? There are three million of them. And that’s good for us, isn’t it?”

“yes?”

“Yes.”

“Anyway, it is truly amazing. Is this the spirit of the Chinese people?”

“It’s a problem because it’s so great in a bad way. These guys don’t know the value of people because there are too many of them. Even if it’s a human wave tactic, what is this?”

Chief of Staff Lim Cheol-hwan spoke with a pitiful tone.

But Lee Jae-ha’s thoughts were a little different.

“Even human wave tactics are tactics.”

“yes?”

“They know that too. In terms of weapons, equipment, and individual soldier training and qualifications, they are far behind us. What kind of tactics can the commander-in-chief use in such a situation? If they are lacking in quality, but are overwhelmingly superior in quantity?”

“… … .”

“You said earlier, right? That those guys seem to have studied our war with the Soviet Union quite a bit?”

“yes.”

“Yes, that’s right! I know that a clumsy human wave tactic will only result in a gradual waste of power.”

“No, but is that so?”

“In my opinion, those guys have a good grasp of their own weaknesses and strengths. That’s why they’re trying to seize the opportunity to win the battle by swarming their overwhelming force, which is their strength. Of course, it’s their misfortune that they’re facing us.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“… … .”

“Anyway, let them stay as they are until they advance 10km to the front!”

“All right.”

It’s an advance of 3 million people.

Because the scale of the force was so large, the speed of the advance was also very slow, and even though the waiting northern army had lunch comfortably, the enemy could still only advance to a front of 15 km.

“When are they arriving?”

“I think it will take around 2pm to get to the 10km mark.”

“Oh, me! I really didn’t know this time would be this boring.”

“I agree.”

It was when the Northern Army, waiting like that, leisurely waited, not only eating but also smoking cigarettes.

It was finally 2 o’clock, and the guys had come within 11 kilometers.

“Prepare all batteries!”

“All batteries ready!”

Soon, their vanguard reached 10km ahead.

“All batteries fire!”

“All batteries fire!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

All batteries of the Northern Army opened fire simultaneously.

Now hell was about to unfold before my eyes.