Turns 21-30
More Russian reinforcements arrive; a full mechanized battalion is already on board and more troops arrive. This is both a blessing and a curse. While having more troops is good, having many troops concentrated in a small area is an excellent artillery target. And this is quickly proven, as some of my forces are spotted and shelled. I lose several vehicles by immobilization and two ammo trucks. I try to disperse as best as I can, but the area is just too small. Thus, I have to continue attacking to expand my controlled area.
Russians go again in the attack. They capture the smaller ridge at (1) with a BMP-T supported by a FAE squad. The vehicle comes under fire from a 57mm and a 23mm AA gun and quickly dispatches them. A 60mm mortar team is also detected and eliminated. No AT fire hits the vehicle, which seems to be safe from Chinese ATGMs in this angle. I find it interesting that the more I advance, the more North Korean dug in squads that have not been detected are found. One of these knocks out an engineering vehicle, before it was pulverized by an overwatching BMPT.
More Russian forces come towards this area. A couple of mechanized platoons arrive and prepare to push westwards on the ridge. More Russian forces composed of two tank platoons, one anti-infantry platoon and one mechanized platoon arrive in a blocking position along the road to prevent any Chinese advance in the area. They quickly find an infantry company either moving towards (1), or attacking the hill at (2). The resulting attack by fire leaves many Chinese soldiers as casualties.
Chinese also continue their own attack. Their main objective is the hill at (2), which is vitally important for the outcome of the battle. Now, an entire infantry battalion, supported by 100mm wheeled TDs is assaulting the hill. Nevertheless, they cannot progress. Russian artillery makes and infantry advance costly and the TDs are quickly destroyed by overwatching T-90s from the ridge at (3). The position at (4) is also occupied by Russian vehicles that flank the Chinese when they advance and cause serious casualties. Despite this effective defense, some Chinese squads did manage to approach the infantry defending the hill and caused some casualties. The Chinese squads having flame weapons are especially dangerous, as they can lower the morale of the defenders drastically. In addition to that, mortar and sniper fire is very dangerous and hard to counter. Luckily, my 152mm battery is doing a great job, so far knocking out 6 mortar teams. The Chinese push that was the most promising so far was the southern one, at least until my reinforcements came at the blocking position mentioned before. Finally, Chinese ATGMs are also around and they occasionally spot the odd BMP to destroy. They are the reason I cannot put vehicles on the hill at (2) directly, making any strengthening of the position very risky indeed.
The Russian air force also makes its first appearance. A lone Su-34 in a SEAD mission knocks out one Chinese 35mm AA gun. It’s a small step that I hope gradually gets better. I also have some precision munition armed Su-24s that I’ll probably use against the North Korean dug in mortars at (5). When the Su-34 strikes back, it knocks out one SAM and one more 35mm AA gun. Soon after it, a pair of Su-35s appear in the skies and target the North Korean mortars. They cause great damage, but one Su-35 is unfortunately shot down. That is a big blow since it is quite a pricey plane.
To the east, I make a small probing attack towards Yondam-Ni. I find several N. Korean infantry dug in at (6), as well as AA guns at (7). With tank support, the AA guns are eliminated and the N.Korean infantry suppressed. I do lose one T-90 from an RPG team that I didn’t spot though. One rear armor hit was all that needed. Grrr…
I finally decide to use some of my heavy artillery to neutralize the Chinese advance at (8). 300mm rockets were accurately fired in the area, turning the hapless Chinese soldiers into dust. The attacking company was annihilated, only one spent platoon remaining.
My artillery also fired successful CB fire, knocking out 2 more mortars and one 122mm gun. Next targets are the revealed ATGM teams and AAA. The ATGMs are responsible for many BMP losses, so their destruction is vital.
To conclude, despite a huge infantry assault by what amounted eventually to two battalions was repelled thanks to vehicle heavy weapons and intense artillery strikes. Chinese had close to an entire battalion wiped out and the other one is approximately at 60% strength. The good news are offset by the fact that the mortars cause many mobility kills among my vehicles, snipers make any dismounted advance costly, and ATGMs loom around. Despute all that, I believe I held the Chinese advance so far (barring more reinforcements), my casualties were acceptable and I also push to the east.