That left Teatime Hill. Covered in thick brush for the most part, Teatime Hill was the perfect place for an enemy infantry force to launch a sneak attack under cover of the chaos of battle.
I had no proof of my theory, but it instantly made the most sense.
“Equality 6, this is Progress 4, I think the firing on Devil Hill may be a feint to distract us from a real attack on Teatime Hill.”
There was a pause of a few seconds as Gutierrez considered the suggestion. Brown, who was also in the command center, called back, “Progress 4, why do you say that?”
I couldn’t think of a concise way to explain my point. “Equality 5 and 6, why would the PLA tanks be firing on Devil Hill? Their commander has to know all that does is point us to the location of their attack without damaging our defenses very much. So, he’s just distracting us. Where else would they be attacking, other than Teatime Hill?”
Brown snorted over the radio. “Progress 4, we operate on data, and there is no data to support your theory.”
Gutierrez asked, “Progress 4, if your theory is right that the tanks are just trying to distract us from the main assault, couldn’t that assault come along the western route of Citadel as well?”
I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Equality 6, yes, that is possible, but there is no smokescreen there, and we would see the attack coming.”
“But it is possible,” Gutierrez mused. “And we do have indications of an attack on Devil Hill. So either we guess between Teatime Hill and the western side of Citadel, or we bet that the assault will come at the only place we’ve confirmed is under attack.”
I made one last plea. “We’ve lost the minefields. If we lose Teatime Hill, PLA infantry can bypass the road and storm into Citadel itself. They could fire at will into Citadel. Our forces on Devil Hill would be cut off, and the Equality Line would be shattered. Inside of half an hour, we could lose Citadel. If Teatime Hill falls now, Citadel falls.”
Brown shot back, “That’s also true of Devil Hill.”
It was time for Gutierrez to make a decision. However, he had already ordered the reserve to Devil Hill, and redirecting them to Teatime Hill would take another affirmative act. Inertia meant the order would stand for the reinforcements to go to Devil Hill, and so that’s what happened.
“Shit!” I shouted angrily after twenty seconds, when it was clear no further orders would come. Turning to Lieutenant Williams, I exclaimed formally, “Lieutenant, I have lost my bearings in all this smoke. I believe that to be Devil Hill,” I said while pointing to Teatime Hill. “I have been ordered to reinforce Devil Hill, and so our company is proceeding there directly.”
Lieutenant Williams nodded his understanding. I radioed the squad leaders and the company was moving within the minute. In the smoke, no one even realized that one of the ten reserve companies was heading toward the wrong hill.
It was about a five minute jog to the crest of Teatime Hill. En route, I heard the battle develop over the command circuit of the radio.
Equality 3, the Airborne commander of Devil Hilclass="underline" “Equality 6, the minefield explosions are running down. There’s a wind picking up here, looks like it might blow the smoke away momentarily.”
Gutierrez: “Equality 3, deploy antitank forces against the tanks when the smoke clears.”
A minute passed, and the smoke finally began to lift from Devil Hill. The antitank soldiers on Devil Hill used the Taiwanese antitank weapons to devastating effect, knocking out four tanks with six rockets in a matter of seconds.
The Airborne commander of Devil Hilclass="underline" “Equality 6, the wind’s blowing pretty hard now, we can see the PLA armor on the road. There aren’t anywhere near as many tanks as had been reported, we’re only seeing six tanks down there, and four of them have been knocked out by our antitank guys already. Something’s wrong.”
Gutierrez: “Equality 3, they must know that we can take out their armor, and they decided not to put too much into the assault.”
A few moments passed, and two more explosions marked the deaths of the remaining PLA tanks on the road.
The Airborne commander of Devil Hilclass="underline" “Equality 6, it’s suddenly all quiet here. No enemy infantry visible here.”
Suddenly, a thousand rifles seemed to fire at once on Teatime Hill, now just a few hundred yards ahead.
Gutierrez, in a monotone voice that couldn’t quite hide his fear: “Equality 4, report.”
Nothing.
Gutierrez, louder: “Equality 4, report!”
Equality 12, the second-in-command at Teatime Hilclass="underline" “Equality 6, Equality 4 is down. He just took a round to the head, right next to me. Oh God, it’s a fucking nightmare. Oh shit.”
Gutierrez, shouting: “Equality 12, what is happening?”
Equality 12, forgetting to note who he was talking to over the radio in his haste and panic: “The whole goddamn world suddenly fell on our line. There must be like 2,000 PLA in the forest firing on us in the smoke.”
Above the din of gunfire, a whistle shrieked. A roar rose from the PLA side of Teatime Hill.
Equality 12 stammered: “Th-they’re charging. They’re coming for us!”
I paused the company and issued a command I had never in my life expected to issue in combat. “Fix bayonets!”
The smoke at Devil Hill may have blown away, but a dense artificial fog still enshrouded Teatime Hill. That and the heavy cover meant that we very well might not see the enemy until we were just a few yards away.
That thought raised another issue. What would happen when the company ran charging into the back of the U.S. line? Probably more than a few accidental friendly fire incidents, with my soldiers stabbing or shooting Americans.
There was opportunity in danger, though, as there often was. The smoke had masked the approach of PLA infantry, but it had also hidden the progress of my company. Assuming the second-in-command of Teatime Hill had correctly estimated the strength of the PLA force, there were something like 2,00 °Chinese soldiers crashing into Equality Line on Teatime Hill. If we could hit the Chinese flank, the resulting chaos could give the Airborne soldiers in the line a chance to disengage and create a new defensive line that might stop the Chinese before they could push all the way through to Citadel.
Another command I never expected to give in battle: “Form column, four abreast!”
Though I couldn’t see my soldiers in the smoke, I knew they could figure out the column blindfolded. Drill formations were one aspect of training that required very little in the way of funding or resources, and so I had made sure the company got as much experience with it as possible.
There was a definite cost to the time spent making these preparations. The second-in-command of Teatime Hill called over the radio, “We’re getting killed out here, need support immediately!”
I radioed back, breaking protocol. “This is Progress 4, Captain Concitor here. My company is about to make an attack on the PLA right flank. Recommend you use the opportunity to form a new defensive line. You’ll know when we hit.”
There was a pause as the new Teatime Hill commander processed that suggestion. Finally, he responded, “Roger, we’ll do that.”
The company had formed the column, and I said simply, “Follow me, and don’t lose sight of the soldier in front of you.”
At the head of the column, I broke into a double-time march. I angled us toward where I figured the eastern edge of the Airborne line would be, and had to remind myself repeatedly that it was more important to find the right place than to get to it as soon as possible. Time was of the essence, but if the charge didn’t hit in exactly the right place, numbers would tell and the attack would be swallowed up by the superior Chinese numbers.