Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in hlnovel.com -> Romance -> soldiers

Chapter 37 The end of the crossbow (2)

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    You can search "Bing" in Baidu to find the latest chapters!

    On the way back to Seoul from Uijeongbu, General Ridgway was as listless as an eggplant beaten by frost. He didn't say a word for a long time. This made Paul sitting next to him a little at a loss.  Afraid that his commander would be frightened by the chaotic scene and lose his opinion, he couldn't help coughing lightly and asked: "General, the enemy has begun a fierce attack. I wonder what your plans are? Are you prepared to obey MacArthur?"  Is the general thinking of preparing for a future withdrawal from South Korea? Or does he have other plans?"

    Li Qiwei glanced at it, but did not answer his question immediately. After thinking for a moment, he asked him back: "The superiors have told me to set up a defense line at Jinjiang. Once the Hanjiang defense line is breached by the enemy, then we will immediately return to defend the Jinjiang defense line! Colonel Paul  , what do you think of this combat plan?"

    Paul was stunned for a moment. At the beginning, the United Nations Army was planning to deploy three lines of defense. In front of them was the 38th Line. Now that the 38th Line has been breached, Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has been exposed to the eyes of the Chinese and North Korean coalition forces.  , and at this time, the United Nations Army's established policy is to retreat to Seoul and rely on the Han River defense line to provide tenacious resistance; if the Han River defense line cannot be defended, then they will have to take a step back south and retreat to the Jinjiang defense line. Jinjiang is another area south of the Han River.  An important river.

    Paul thought for a moment, then gave a wry smile and said: "General, if the Han River Defense Line cannot withstand it, then the Jinjiang Defense Line can only be a piece of paper and cannot defend against anything!"

    "How can you say that?" Li Qiwei asked somewhat unhappily.

    Paul said seriously: "General, we are fighting on a small peninsula. The place is not big. The Han River defense line is between the 37th and 38th parallels, while the Jinjiang defense line is at the 36th degree.  The distance between the 37th Parallel and the 37th Parallel is very short; if the enemy breaks through the 38th Parallel, they can reach the gates of Seoul in a blink of an eye, and the Han River cannot stop them; the Han River is the largest river on the Korean Peninsula. If this river  If we can't stop the enemy's attack, then what's the use of Jinjiang? I suggest we evacuate the Korean Peninsula early, so that fewer people will die and more face will be saved!"

    Li Qiwei couldn't help but frowned tightly after hearing this, and couldn't help but ask: "Colonel Paul, your report has been advocating that we should fight back, but this battle has just started, why do you bring it up in such a depressing way?  What¡¯s your idea?¡±

    Paul said: "General, the morale of our army has been extremely low now. It doesn't matter whether we are discouraged or not! Haha, we soldiers still look at your thoughts, sir; whether to attack, defend, or retreat.  Okay, you are in charge, I just watched you waver all the time, so I told you the worst outcome, that's all!"

    Listening to this, Li Qiwei couldn't help but laugh. He was not a very stupid person, on the contrary, he was very shrewd. He could tell that this was Paul speaking sarcastically. In fact, he was trying to get him to make up his mind to fight again. At that moment,  He once again expressed his determination to the combat staff: "Colonel Paul, I came to South Korea not to be a defeated general, but to lead everyone through difficulties together! Although we have suffered several defeats before,  I also believe what you said in your report. As long as we learn from the pain and draw lessons, we can find ways to defeat our enemies! I will tell you the truth now: I am a person who will never give up. As long as I am responsible  Once I become the commander of the Eighth Army, I will find ways to lead everyone to win the war. This is also my goal!"

    Paul was startled for a moment, nodded, and said as if he was relieved: "If the general says this, then I will feel relieved!"

    "Haha, don't you still have some opinions about me?" Li Qiwei asked.

    "No more!" Paul said.

    "Okay!" Li Qiwei was finally satisfied and went straight to the topic: "Paul, let me tell you the truth, I have been thinking just now, should we defend Seoul or not!"

    "Oh?" Paul was stunned again: "Don't the general plan to defend?"

    Li Qi smiled and said: "Yesterday, I still had the determination to defend the city, but today, seeing the condition of our soldiers, my determination is gone!"

    Paul pondered for a moment and immediately understood General Ridgway's intention. He thought about it again and couldn't help but said: "General, when you came to the Korean Peninsula, didn't you vow to the whole world that you would stick to South Korea? This has just happened.  Will there be any bad political impact if you abandon Seoul in less than a week?"

    "I gave up Seoul in order to come back!" Li Qiwei said solemnly: "Political issues are what the politicians in Washington consider. I have to consider how to fight the war. Besides, I stick to South Korea andp;"First Battalion!" Liu Lei replied.

    "Haha, I also know the battalion commander of your battalion. His name is Xia Yang, right?" Xiong Geming asked.

    Liu Lei still shook his head and told him: "Xia Yang was our original battalion commander. He has died. Now the battalion commander of our battalion is named Yu Deshui!"

    "What? Xia Yang died?" Xiong Guangye could hardly believe his ears and stayed there as if he heard a thunderbolt.

    After returning to Seoul, Paul and several senior staff accompanied General Ridgway on a light plane to the front line for a large circle to learn about the situation on the front line.  When listening to the opinions of the senior commanders who were directing operations, these senior commanders actually suggested to General Ridgway to retreat quickly, and warned that the flanks of the Eighth Army were already in danger at this time.  If we withdraw, Seoul will most likely be surrounded by the enemy, and it will become a battlefield for a decisive battle.

    ¡°To defend Seoul with heavy troops and fight a city offensive and defensive war with the Chinese and North Korean coalition forces was what Paul had originally imagined, but after discussing it with General Ridgway, he was convinced by others for the first time.  General Ridgway was right, why would he want to fight such a battle that he had no chance of winning?  The Chinese art of war says that you must know yourself and the enemy before you can win a hundred battles. Precisely because you know yourself and your opponent well, it is simply unwise to engage in a decisive battle at this time.

    On January 3, General Ridgway returned to Seoul again and immediately notified the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, asking the ambassador to inform the Syngman Rhee government that the Eighth Army was preparing to withdraw from Seoul immediately and required that some of the South Korean government agencies remaining in Seoul must be in place.  Evacuate Seoul before 3pm.

    However, Syngman Rhee was a little ignorant of practical matters. Instead, he asked the ambassador to South Korea to ask Li Qiwei: "Didn't the general say that he planned to stay in South Korea for a long time? Why is it that he has just arrived here last week and is about to evacuate?"  What about Seoul? Will the army under his command just retreat?"

    Faced with the accusations from President Lee of the Republic of Korea, General Ridgway was a little angry. The president did not want to think about who he relied on to support him until now. If it were not for the support of the United States, he would have been driven into the sea by Kim Il Sung.  But at this time, he still very politely asked the ambassador to tell President Li: "Please tell this lovely president that it is best to ask him to go to the front line to listen to the shrill horns blown by the Chinese Communist army when they attack.  , and then look at the scene of tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers shouting in broken English to surrender their guns but not to kill, and then look at the scene of people rushing up one after another, and then look at how their Korean troops fled like a flock of sheep!"

    After Li Qiwei finished speaking, he stopped paying attention to President Li's clamor, dropped the phone, and began to make arrangements.

    On January 4, General Ridgway was the last to leave the Eighth Army's command post in Seoul when the 27th U.S. Infantry Regiment serving as the rearguard evacuated.  Before leaving, he nailed a tattered pajamas to the wall and wrote this sentence on the wall: "The Commander of the U.S. Eighth Army would like to pay tribute to the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Army!" (Remember the website address of this site!  £ºwww.hlnovel.com
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report