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Text Chapter 838: Defeat

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    The eastern foothills of the Des Mountains have become a key defense area for the Argentine Army.  Argentine Army Minister Martin personally arrived in Uspallata, located in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, to direct the battle. Half of the Argentine Army's troops have been deployed in these areas.  According to the intelligence received by Argentina, this area will become the focus of the Chilean Army's attack.

    Before the war broke out, Argentina had a total of 400,000 troops, and it expanded its army after the Chilean Army's crazy expansion.  However, based on the population of Argentina, the pressure they are under is far less than that of Chile.  Argentina has almost twice the population of Chile, which also means they can field a larger army.  After the outbreak of the war, especially after the navy was annihilated by the Chilean Navy, the Argentine Army once again expanded its forces.  According to the plan of the presidential palace, the size of Argentina's army will be doubled, eventually increasing to 800,000 men.  However, the expansion of the army cannot be completed overnight. It takes at least three months to turn a farmer or herdsman into a soldier.  The Chilean Army's attack is imminent, and Argentina no longer has so much time.  Therefore, the task of Army Minister Martin is to intercept the Chilean army in the western region and buy more time for Argentina!

    Debacas is a small town in the Andes Mountains, with a population of less than a thousand people. From here along the simple road further east is Uspallata.  The Argentine Army deployed a regiment of troops here.  However, when the leading troops of the Chilean Army arrived, they occupied the place in just half an hour.  Most of the Argentine Army soldiers were captured, and only a small number escaped.  This also made the Argentine Army aware of the arrival of the Chilean Army!

    On the evening of November 8, Lieutenant General Yang Ming, Chief of Staff of the Sixth Group Army of the Chinese Army, arrived here. Accompanying him was Admiral Federo, Chief of Staff of the Chilean Army of the Navy.  Nominally, the Chilean Army will be commanded by General Federo, but in fact, all orders are issued by Lieutenant General Yang Ming

    The victory of the Chilean Navy has proved to Chilean senior officials that the capabilities of the officer corps sent by China are far beyond the ability of Chilean generals like them. This has also made the Chilean army generals more willing to obey the Chinese officers.  The command is over!

    Lieutenant General Yang Ming and General Federo walked into the simple temporary headquarters. A map of Uspallata and the surrounding areas has been hung on the inner wall. The Argentine Army's defenses have been clearly marked on the map!

    "Where is the North Road? When can we cross the Andes?" Lieutenant General Yang Ming asked.  This time the Chilean Army was divided into two parts. Lieutenant General Yang Ming was on the South Road, with a total of ten divisions of the Chilean Army, and there were eight divisions on the North Road!

    "General, the commander of the northern route called. They will be able to walk out of the Andes in two days and attack San Jose de Xachal. The Argentine army is concentrated around Uspayata, and they have no Argentine defenders at all.  The army can easily succeed!" a staff officer replied.

    "Well! Send a telegram to the Northern Route Army and ask them to attack San Juan southward after taking San Jose de Hachar, and then continue southward to attack Mendoza, and together with us, we will encircle and annihilate the 200,000 Argentine troops!  As long as these Argentine troops are eliminated, it will be difficult for the Argentine Army to resist us!" Lieutenant General Yang Ming ordered.  The previous division of troops was precisely for the purpose of encirclement.  I just didn't expect Argentina to be so cooperative and take the initiative to assemble the main force.

    "Yes, General!" The staff officer saluted and turned around to leave.

    Lieutenant General Yang Ming and General Federo stood in front of the map, studying their attack plan against Uspallata.

    "General Federo, the Argentines now have 200,000 troops deployed in Uspayata. Among them, more than 50,000 troops are deployed in four divisions in the plains at the foot of the mountain. Another 150,000 troops, including 100,000 troops, are deployed in the plains at the foot of the mountain.  Uspayata and another 50,000 people are in Mendoza. I decided to launch an attack the day after tomorrow. First, I will eat the 50,000 Argentine troops at the foot of the mountain, and then concentrate my forces to attack Uspayata!" Lieutenant General Yang Ming said.

    "General Yang, yes, I have no objection!" Admiral Federo said.

    On KO on October 10, four of the ten divisions in the southern foothills of the Chilean Army had crossed the Andes, including the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th Divisions.  Except for the 5th Division who stayed to rest, the other three divisions all launched an attack on the Argentine army!

    The attack started at 10 o'clock in the morning. The Chilean Army's organization was completely based on the Chinese Army's organization, except that the artillery battalions of each division were all equipped with 105mm light howitzers, not heavy howitzers.  These light howitzers alone have lost a lot of energy when crossing the Andes Mountains. It is even more impossible for heavy howitzers to cross the Andes Mountains!

    Three Chilean Army divisions hit more than a hundred 105mm light howitzers on the AfghanThe Argentinian army launched! Fierce shelling!  !

    "Boom! Boom! Boom!" Dense artillery shells fell on the Argentine Army's position, and clusters of orange-red fireballs rose into the sky. The trenches and fortifications dug by the Argentine Army were easily destroyed in the intensive artillery fire.  The 5mm light howitzer shell only weighs 128 kilograms, but it is still not something that half of the civil engineering works can withstand.  In addition, the Argentine Army has not fought in nearly twenty years, and their tactics are basically stuck in the last century.  Even though France sent many instructors to Argentina, what they learned was very limited.  For example, the Argentine Army had begun digging trenches, but their trenches were simply not up to standard.  Each firepower point was also blasted into the sky by the artillery fire of the Chilean Army.

    "Damn it, why do the Chileans have so many cannons? How much does it cost? Artillery counterattack!" ordered the Argentine commander Lieutenant General Aaron.  However, there are only a few dozen cannons in hand, and most of them are 75mm field cannons purchased from France.  Compared with the 105mm light howitzer equipped by the Chilean Army, the difference in power is not even a little bit!

    After the Argentine artillery fired, the Chilean artillery immediately divided some artillery to suppress it, while the other artillery continued to ravage the Argentine army's positions.

    The artillery battle only lasted less than twenty minutes, and half of the Argentine Army's artillery was lost. Argentine commander Lieutenant General Aaron felt sorry for these precious artillery and immediately ordered the artillery to stop firing and move their positions.

    At 11 o'clock in the morning, the Chilean Army launched an attack under the cover of artillery fire. A division of infantry jumped out of the position and rushed towards the Argentine Army's position with their bodies hunched over.  At this time, the Argentine Army had already suffered heavy losses under the artillery fire of the Chilean Army!

    Although the Chilean Army is still a little unfamiliar with these tactics of infantry and artillery coordination and blocking fire, it has no problem dealing with the Argentine Army.  When the Chilean Army rushed less than 500 meters away from the Argentine Army's position, the Chilean Army's artillery had already begun to extend back, preventing the Argentine Army from reinforcing the front-line position.  At this time, the Argentine army in the defensive position dared to come out and counterattack the attacking Chilean army.

    "Quick! Fire with the heavy machine gun! Kill those Chileans! You coward, get up and shoot!" The junior officers of the Argentine Army drove up the Argentine soldiers who were lying shivering in the trenches and asked them to resist the Chileans.  Army attack!

    "Click, click, click! Bang, bang, bang!" The heavy machine gun started shooting, and the infantry's gunfire also seemed a bit chaotic!

    The few Chilean soldiers who rushed to the front suddenly fell to the ground, not knowing whether to live or die!

    "Heavy machine gun cover! Mortars, knock out the enemy's heavy machine gun!" Chile's junior officers calmly issued the order according to the tactics learned in the past few years of training!

    Soon, the Chilean army¡¯s heavy machine guns began to suppress the Argentine Army, and the mortars also began to understand the Argentine Army¡¯s firepower!

    At 11:30 in the morning, after paying the price of thousands of people, the Chilean army broke into the Argentine army's position and began to clear the Argentine army on the position.

    However, the two divisions of reinforcements sent by Lieutenant General Aaron, the commander of the Argentine army, suffered heavy casualties under the fierce artillery fire of the Chilean Army.  Often, after a battalion of troops has passed through the artillery blockade, only half of the battalion is left.

    Under such an attack, the Argentine Army simply could not hold on.

    At 12 noon, two other divisions of the Chilean army also launched an attack.  Under the powerful attack of the Chilean army, the Argentine Army's defense only lasted less than half an hour before collapsing.

    "General, the front line has collapsed. The Chilean army has broken through our defense line and is now approaching us. We should retreat immediately!" A major general reported to Lieutenant General Aaron, who was a division commander on the front line.  However, his division had been surrounded by the Chilean army. Fortunately, he saw the opportunity early and escaped when the Chilean army breached the position, otherwise he would have been trapped inside!

    "Damn, how could this happen? How could the combat power of these Chileans increase so much?" Lieutenant General Aaron couldn't believe it at all.  If those Chilean troops were not still Caucasian, he would have really thought that the Chinese army put on the uniforms of the Chilean army to fight them!

    At this moment, Lieutenant General Aaron only has one division in his hands.  He weighed it up and realized that even if this division were put in, it probably wouldn't change the situation on the battlefield.  So he immediately led the division to retreat towards Uspallata.  However, as he was retreating, a regiment of the Chilean army pursued them.  So the retreat turned into a rout!
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