High-ranking officials on the United States side, including the commander of the 1st Marine Division, Smith,
never imagined that in this freezing weather of minus 30° to even 40°, there would be an ambush of 100,000 troops of the Republic Volunteer Army.
From the perspective of the United States Federation,
there would be no enemies at Changjin Lake, which is why they confidently spread all the troops of the 1st Marine Division across the area.
But unexpectedly, over 100,000 troops were lying in ambush here.
Even this massive army had reached the mountains around their camps without being detected.
all the troops fell into chaos.
The Volunteer Army’s tactic of splitting the forces caused the entire 1st Marine Division in Changjin Lake to come under attack.
The chaos at the United States Federation’s 1st Marine Division headquarters at Xia Jie Yu Li resulted in their inability to command.
No sooner was one attack reported, another attack was reported.
The height here was attacked, and the bridge there was seized by the enemy.
The chaos escalated into a situation of every unit fighting alone.
because the garrison was the main force of the 1st Marine Division, with a large number of soldiers,
combined with being a fully mechanized armored unit,
after the sudden attack by over 10,000 Volunteers, the United States side quickly contracted their defensive lines, relying on the powerful firepower of the mechanized units to stalemate with the Volunteers.
Due to the darkness of night, the United States couldn’t dare to attack, only holding their ground.
Meanwhile, after capturing the high ground around Riutang Village, the Volunteers also realized the powerful firepower of the United States.
Something felt off here.
This firepower didn’t belong to just a battalion or two.
At the very least, there were several regiments worth of firepower.
Though the Volunteers had once fought the so-called American-equipped divisions during the national liberation, those divisions’ firepower was nothing like the actual mechanized United States force.
The Volunteer Division’s artillery battalion only had a dozen or so cannons, but the equivalent on the United States side had no less than 400 howitzers and the like.
Adding to that, with the bridge over the Yalu River being blown up, transporting supplies was difficult.
There was no way to have that much artillery support.
They were solely using rifles to battle the United States mechanized troops.
Facing such formidable firepower from the United States at this time, it was hard to know what to do.
However, the fierce battle wouldn’t stop.
On the United States side, after the initial chaos, they gradually regained stability with their superior firepower, though the situation wasn’t favorable.
Although the intelligence of the Volunteers concerning the three areas—Riutang Village, Xia Jie Yu Li, and Xinxing Village—had errors, leading to delays in capturing them,
the roads and high ground between these places,
including the retreat routes from Xia Jie Yu Li southward and the key positions and high ground for the United States reinforcements from the north,
were all occupied and blocked by the Volunteers.
In Li Ran’s live broadcast room,
the fierce battle had already lasted two hours. After the initial chaos, the main force of the 1st Marine Division had also stabilized.
Although many high grounds set up on the surrounding mountains were lost after the surprise attack,
huddled together, relying on sweeping firepower and artillery bombardment, the Volunteers couldn’t break through for the time being.
Li Ran, hiding in a corner, observed the battlefield situation.
By this time, the situation had calmed somewhat.
Without capturing the area amidst such a surprise attack, they could only fall into a prolonged war of attrition later.
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with the advantage of firepower, some soldiers dared to come out. Though the camp remained chaotic, the situation had improved greatly.
Seeing the soldiers moving around, Li Ran couldn’t keep hiding.
He stepped out to find his unit.
Soon, near his tent, he found his regrouping unit.
Compared to the daytime,
many people were missing from the unit.
The main reason was the shells that fell nearby, with many more landing later, blowing up soldiers in more than one tent.
They could only blame their bad luck for being at the Volunteers’ impact site....
Seeing Li Ran, everyone wore a look of surprise, gazing at him with peculiar expressions.
Because they remembered that during the day, this new recruit had mentioned there seemed to be someone on the mountain.
And it turned out to be true.
By the tattered tent ruins, the veteran who had shirked during the day walked over, holding new pants, saying to Li Ran:
"Unbelievable that people would actually battle under such conditions."
Even the surrounding United States soldiers looked as though their worldview had been rewritten.
During the day, they were saying it was impossible for anyone to appear here without supplies, weapons, or even leave traces.
They almost got killed by artillery shells.
What were those 1,000 daily patrol and bombing flights doing?
Did they really patrol or bomb?
Over 120 kilometers as the crow flies, longer by road.
And yet those numerous troops surrounded the area without being discovered.
Li Ran shrugged, showing a ’you didn’t believe me’ expression, then asked:
"What’s the situation now?"
An experienced veteran, watching the firefight on a distant mountain, responded:
"Currently, it seems we’ve certainly been surrounded."
"And considering that 9,000 of us are surrounded, the enemy’s number must far exceed ours several times over."