Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 260
Only Noblemtl
#260. Hidden Victory (1)
“Everyone, check your weapons! Those vile things are coming here!”
“Tch, I told you not to come here!”
The veterans hurriedly opened the bolts to check that their guns were properly loaded, cursing so that the platoon leader, who had previously boasted that he would never come, could hear them.
The five-round clip was well-loaded, and the soldiers, having confirmed this, gasped for breath as they pushed the bolt forward again.
“No matter what happens, we have to defend this place! If this place is breached, we’ll be at the regimental headquarters in no time!”
Even in the pitch darkness, the battalion commander with a thoughtful expression drew his sword and consoled the shaken soldiers.
Of course, he seemed just as scared as the soldiers, but his sense of duty as a commander made him fight with both feet on the ground.
As he said, the moment this hole was breached, everything was over.
Everyone calmly aimed their guns straight ahead under the command of the company commander, platoon leader, and non-commissioned officers, and waited for the order to fire.
No matter how scary those guys are, they can’t avoid the firepower focused on them.
It was a time when everyone was trying to calm their minds.
“hmm?”
“Hey, hey, the song stopped···.”
The creepy song was cut off at its climax. It was a sharp, almost promised, sound.
Everyone who has experience has something to say.
Just before the attack, the enemies stop singing and begin to bombard the enemy with grenade launchers, then advance with machine gun fire.
And then they begin to reveal their true form amidst the pools of blood and smoke. In their wake, only screams and debris remain.
That ominous thought was immediately reflected in reality.
The flash of grenade launchers, smaller than the enemy artillery fire earlier but striking directly would change your mind, landed on all sides of the battalion’s position.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Doo doo doo.
And then, with the loud roar of machine gun fire, a full-scale enemy infantry offensive began.
The infantrymen, full of fear, and even the officers and non-commissioned officers who had been urging them, were all helplessly pushed back by their stormy attacks.
A storm of men, brass, and gunpowder covered their lines.
***
Captain Kim Si-jin looked ahead with wide eyes and thought.
If humans could create a storm of their own, it would be this terrifying bombardment taking place before our eyes.
The human storm created with steel and gunpowder was nothing compared to a natural storm, but it was enough to sweep away the invaders.
If the Japanese called the typhoon that stopped the Mongol invasion a divine wind, or kamikaze, he thought that this hail of smoke shells that he was seeing with his own eyes was the storm protecting the Korean Empire, the goddess of victory, and the wrath of the gods that all the soldiers here believed in or worshipped.
“Sporadic artillery fire has begun. The enemy appears to be shaken by the artillery fire.”
The damn enemies were relentlessly pursuing our troops who had not managed to escape between the first and second lines, day and night, or sending some of their troops to the second line to prevent them from responding.
Above their heads, the skilled 17th Artillery Battalion was firing a mixture of shrapnel and high-explosive shells.
“Okay. All commanders and officers above platoon leader, gather together.”
Of course, the situation on the front lines was all bad news, but at least it looked a little different to Lieutenant Kim Si-jin.
The enemy was so dispersed and the offensive formation itself had so many holes that he could see with his own eyes the points where he could openly penetrate.
Lieutenant Kim Si-jin, who remembered what he had heard from the search company commander of the 3rd Jinwi Brigade who had recently returned alive, told the commander of the 17th Artillery Battalion exactly what he had thought.
“Base points A, B, C, and D. The artillery will launch a short but powerful concentrated barrage on these four points to intimidate the enemy, and then our infantry battalion will break through the front line. After that, the cavalry battalion will make a detour and destroy the enemies approaching the road. This will be the start of the battle.”
They would use up all their remaining ammunition, but if they could just rush into the front lines and break the enemy’s advance, it would be worth a try.
“But there are too many enemies. They are scattered here and there, but the enemy at the front right now has more than twice the number of our troops. Is that possible?”
Although they were scattered, they could always come together.
The Japanese military that I experienced so far had a strong organizational structure between officers and soldiers based on local units, strict military discipline, and the tenacity and fanatical aggressiveness to pursue a designated target to the end.
If a proper commander made the right judgment, it would be extremely threatening, but Lieutenant Kim Si-jin shook his head this time.
“Instead, the enemy’s offensive formations have collapsed significantly. They are also very tired because the battle has continued. The commanders and the soldiers are all exhausted. So, all we have to do is shock the enemy once. I believe you all understand what I mean.”
He took out his watch while comforting the tense battalion staff and company commanders.
The second and minute hands of the pocket watch were both converging to zero, and the appointed time had arrived.
“Ah, the concentrated bombardment will begin soon. Everyone, prepare yourselves mentally.”
One, two, three, four.
Flashes of light began to appear here and there, and shouts rose from all over the defensive line.
“Hurrah! This is our artillery!”
The infantrymen of the 7th Brigade, who seemed too exhausted to fight any longer, raised their fists and cheered.
As promised, the 17th Artillery Battalion began to pour out fire on the enemy at an incredible rate of fire per minute.
The bombardment was so powerful that I was worried whether the gun barrel would be intact.
The enemy’s confusion was palpable even from here amidst the unexpected artillery fire.
Moreover, the shells are not focused on the front line, but rather on the breakthrough points through which enemy reinforcements can rush in, so they cannot help but feel discouraged.
Lieutenant Kim Si-jin, who had been watching the enemy lines for a while, decided to concentrate his troops and operate them, unlike his older brother.
After breaking through the enemy in front, we will penetrate as deep as possible.
If we destroy all the enemy’s deep-rooted positions like that, we will ultimately be able to cut off the main force and the enemies who have infiltrated deep into the Hwangju defense line, causing great confusion.
“Now is the time!”
Now was the opportunity, as the remaining battalions of the 7th Brigade in front were holding off the enemy for quite some time.
Beep-!
Finally, the whistle blew sharply, and the assault infantry emerged from the trenches.
“Stay close to the barrage! Use the fastest maneuvers you can and make sure they can’t even respond!”
“Stand firm and fight, my men! This is the only way to stop the enemy’s brutal offensive! Do not spare any who stand in our way! Attack!”
The assault infantry, which suddenly emerged from the second line, attacked the flank of the Japanese army’s battle line, which was surprised by the artillery fire concentrated on the rear.
The leading Japanese company, which had already suffered heavy casualties from the continued attacks, collapsed before the assault infantry’s charge.
And the subsequent attack was also able to open up all the paths with the powerful firepower and shock effect of the infantry.
As the enemy infantry scattered from the unexpected shock and the defensive line began to open, cuirassiers could also be seen charging down the main road from afar.
They lined up in an offensive formation, not even giving the approaching enemy time to switch to a quick defensive formation.
At the moment when I thought, “Oh no,” he approached me at close range, threw a grenade, fired a machine gun, and finished me off with a brutal close combat.
“Our infantry and cavalry are cutting through the enemy lines!”
“Okay, tell them to keep charging! Break through every defensive line you see, and advance until your strength runs out! Don’t give them any time to regroup!”
The assault infantry that reached the trench line built by the Japanese army did not jump in right away.
The Japanese, who had encountered them several times, responded by building extremely crooked and complex trench lines instead of straight ones in case infantry assaults broke through the trench lines.
That’s why I took out the grenades that I had stuffed into the breech, threw them at where the enemy might be, and watched the explosions before I went in.
“There, and throw a grenade over there.”
“Two shots should be enough, right?”
“You decide for yourself.”
Usually, instructor-level commanders with excellent eye for detail would decide where to throw the grenades, or veteran soldiers would throw the grenades at points where they could be thrown on their own.
Anyway, the places where the enemy can ambush are limited, and there were many cases where they held out by relying on corners.
Usually, in such cases, 3 or 4 grenades would be enough to subdue them.
After throwing the grenade, the assault infantrymen crouched for a moment, then saw screams coming out from between the continuous explosions, and thinking that they had hit the target well this time, they rushed in, carrying their rifles on their backs and their revolvers and close-quarters equipment in both hands.
“Now is the time! Enter, enter!”
“Sweep them out properly and move on! If you leave even one of them behind, the friendly forces that follow will suffer!”
Continuous revolver fire followed, accompanied by passionate commands from officers and instructors.
An enemy who was hit by a bullet that flew in without warning fell forward, and behind him, the assault infantrymen were slaughtering the Japanese infantry who were scattering here and there while shouting.
The assault infantrymen struck the heads of the Japanese infantrymen who still had the will to fight with nailed clubs, giving them a fitting greeting to the invaders who had set foot on their land, and showed their sincerity by stabbing them in the neck and chest with short swords prepared only for close combat in trenches.
When the carefully prepared countermeasures failed to work against the assault infantry’s attack style, the soldiers began to retreat.
And as the fleeing enemy was being chased, the assault infantrymen would grab the legs of the enemy who had barely managed to get out of the trench and drag him back into the trench, just like a predator would catch its prey.
Soon, lukewarm blood splattered all over the trench walls, accompanied by screams for help.
The enemy officer, who resisted until the end by swinging his sword, seemed to have no intention of fighting back, and the friendly officer spit on him as he stabbed him in the muzzle of the rifle he was carrying on his back and knocked him down.
“Let’s keep going! Rescue our isolated comrades and send those Japanese to hell!”
Once again, accompanied by shouts, artillery fire poured in to cover the infantry’s advance.
As if they were emptying every last bit of their remaining ammunition, they struck their targets with incredible accuracy.
“The artillery is doing its job well.”
“We will continue to advance.”
Lieutenant Kim Si-jin nodded to his aide’s words and put away his telescope. He no longer needed the telescope.
Already in front of me, waves of assault infantry were pushing back the enemy.
***
“What? Say it again. I haven’t slept for days, so you’re not just hearing nonsense, are you?”
“The enemy is now counterattacking.”
I was just about to break down Hwangju’s concrete defense line, but the enemy suddenly counterattacked?
What on earth is going on out there?
The 1st Army Command, faced with this absurd situation, was already in a state of extreme confusion.
“What are you talking about? A counterattack!”
“It’s not certain because the forward units are collapsing, but it seems like a large-scale counterattack is continuing!”
The staff was in disarray due to the unexpected situation, and the division commanders were each counting the number of reserve units they had left.
“Didn’t we completely destroy the enemy brigade through attrition?! How can the enemy brigade, which was reduced to rags by our offensive, counterattack?!”
“I, that is… The enemy who retreated to the second line is pushing back our offensive formation with elite infantry presumed to be assault infantry. The enemy’s cuirassiers have also appeared towards the road and are crushing our retreating formation…”
“what?!”
bang!
Lieutenant General Kuroki showed his anger by slamming his fist on the table.
Meanwhile, the counterattack continued.