.The trouble is not only Huang Zhibo, but also Botsman, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces who just took office.

Although Doolid was kind and dealt with many legacy issues before leaving office, the coalition command was still a mess for Botsman.

According to Botsman's standards, not only was the coalition command in chaos, but the coalition's combat troops were also not as good as the eye.

When he arrived at the coalition headquarters, the first thing Botsman did was a "big purge". He replaced half of the staff on the same day and arranged his subordinates to a key position.

Pete was lucky because he was not among the first batch of replacing personnel.

But he knew that Botsman was definitely not an easy person to get along with, and the two of them made him feel that he had not had much time to stay in the coalition command.

What he didn't expect was that on the evening of the 26th, Botsman actually invited him to dinner.

Hongmen Banquet!?

Pete didn't think much about it. Anyway, such a thing will happen sooner or later. If he was destined to leave South Korea, it would be much better to leave early than to leave late.

"Col. I read all the previous battle reports." Botsman is a typical professional soldier, so he is very direct in his work and never beat around the bush. "Although the coalition forces are not fighting well and there are many problems, your ability, especially your judgment of the battle situation, is worthy of affirmation. To put it bluntly, you have fulfilled your responsibilities, and not fighting well has no direct relationship with you."

Pete forced a smile, and to him, this was just a prelude.

"But there are many places that you need to strengthen. Not to mention, in the battle that just ended, there are serious loopholes in the defense deployment you made and a serious lack of initiative. Imagine that if the Fourth Infantry Division could be allowed to attack instead of staying on the defense line, I'm afraid that the volunteers would be happy now."

"General..."

"Of course, there is a reason for this. After all, the early combat deployment has little to do with you. It is mainly done by Allen, and you are just executing the orders issued by the commander. Since then, General Dulid did not know much about ground warfare and did not fulfill his duties as the commander-in-chief. With your ability, you have done a very good job."

Afterwards, Botsman smiled and seemed very sincere.

Pete said nothing because he didn't understand Botsman's intentions.

"Now, you have a chance, a chance to prove your ability and save the defeat." Botsman stared at Pete for a while before saying, "If you want, you can stay and continue to serve as a combat staff officer, and be my right-hand man."

Pete was startled and looked at Botsman in a little unbelievable way.

"I know that some things in the past have made you have prejudice against me, but we are professional soldiers and should not be affected by personal grievances. If you don't have talents, even if we don't have a bond, I will not let you stay. In addition, letting you stay has nothing to do with personal grievances, but the coalition command needs talents like you. My purpose is very simple, you have to continue to serve the coalition and help me win this war."

"General, it's probably too late to say this now."

"Yeah?"

"If I had believed you two months ago, we would have won this war."

"What about now?"

"It's not that I don't have confidence, but that we did lose and lost a lot."

"Col. Whether to lose or not is up to you." Botsman smiled and shook his head, saying, "War is only a means, not an end, so the winning or losing on the battlefield cannot determine anything. No matter what, the war broke out, and China sent troops to the war as expected, and our combat troops were still north of the 38th parallel. Even if we took a step back, even if we were driven out, we would still stay in South Korea."

"This is also a victory?"

"Is the enemy considered victory if it didn't win?"

"this……"

"Although the Chinese authorities have long claimed that sending volunteer troops to North Korea to fight is to defend North Korea, if we block the volunteer troops on the 38th parallel, can China only save North Korea after paying such a great price? Soldiers do not need to consider this issue, that is the business of politicians. We only need to know that in the next battle, as long as we can defend the 38th parallel, it will be considered victory."

"At present, there is little hope."

Botsman smiled and waited for Pete to continue.

"After winning two consecutive battles, the volunteers will be full of morale and will definitely launch the third battle. Judging from the logistics support of the volunteers, the 38th parallel will be fought by mid-November at the latest. In addition, the news has been received that the volunteers show no sign of stopping the offensive, and it is very likely that an attack will be launched in the near future."

"Yeah?"

"From the battlefield situation, the volunteers will definitely work hard to win Kaicheng."

"You are right. The volunteers will definitely attack the open city immediately. Maybe the combat troops have been deployed." Botsman paused for a moment and said, "Kaicheng is the southern gate of Pyongyang and the most important military stronghold on the north side of the 38th Parallel. As long as our troops are still in Kaicheng, the volunteers will stare at this place. If the volunteers plan to cross the 38th Parallel, they will put heavy troops in Kaicheng."

Peter sighed, which was also his judgment.

"Then, we have to gain a foothold in Kaicheng and thwart the aura of the volunteers."

"General, it's easy to speak, but what do we use to defend Kaicheng? Is it only a few tens of thousands of Korean troops?"

"Col. What else do we have except the Korean army?"

Pete shrugged his shoulders, and he really couldn't think of it.

"Nothing." Botsman smiled and said, "so we can only find ways elsewhere except for counting on the Korean army to fight a beautiful battle at home."

"for example……"

"The most urgent task is to hold a ceasefire negotiation with the Volunteer Army. I have arranged it. If the Volunteer Army is willing to negotiate, it will be possible to gain a few days."

"General, the Volunteer Army is not a fool."

"Of course, so we can't have too much hope for negotiations."

"So……"

"If the Korean army cannot defend Kaicheng and take the initiative to attack..."

"It is equivalent to suicide, and with the current situation, especially the morale of the South Korean army, I'm afraid no South Korean army is willing to take the initiative to attack."

"You mean, the order cannot be implemented?"

Pi Yi nodded, indicating that this is what it means.

Continuous failures, nearly 400,000 Korean troops were destroyed, and the atmosphere of failure was filled with South Korea. Even many Korean generals believed that South Korea could not win the war.

"It seems that we really have to think about it."

"General, our suggestion is to withdraw the Korean army in Kaicheng as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"With the current state of the South Korean army, we can no longer bear the blow of failure. More importantly, we will definitely not be able to defend it, so it is better to withdraw the living forces."

Botsman nodded thoughtfully, but did not express his opinion.

"Saving tens of thousands of Korean troops will definitely help you fight the volunteers on the 38th line next time."

"Hundreds of thousands of Korean troops have not been able to play a role. What can tens of thousands of Korean troops do? Besides, if we do not adjust the tactics, even if we mobilize many Korean troops, we cannot defend the long front line. The volunteers will definitely find a breakthrough or create a breakthrough on the front line."

"this……"

"Col. We lost two battles. The biggest problem is that the troops are not ineffective in combat. Whether it is the First Land Division, the Third Infantry Division and the Fourth Infantry Division, the combat performance is very heroic, and they all have to surrender to the volunteers after they have run out of ammunition and food. It is obvious that the problem lies in tactics, and the biggest problem is that our combat operations lack enthusiasm and have always been very passive."

Pete didn't speak, and he understood this truth.

The question is, when the South Korean army cannot support it, it is useless for the US military to take the initiative.

Not to mention, even at its peak, there were less than 100,000 US troops entering North Korea to fight, while the total strength of the seven main armies of the Volunteer Army was about 200,000. Including the airborne army and the logistics support force, the ground forces of the Volunteer Army actually exceeded 350,000.

The huge gap in military strength makes it difficult for the US military to take the initiative.

"No matter what, we have to fight a good battle in Kaicheng."

"What to beat?"

Botsman smiled and said, "How to fight doesn't matter. The key is to block the volunteer army north of the 38th parallel before early November. Before that, you have to adjust the air combat deployment, focus on bombing the Volunteer's logistics supply line, and prevent the Volunteer from transporting combat supplies to the front line. You began to mention that the Volunteer's logistics support has always been problematic. If we can crush the Volunteer's logistics supply line, we can get the time we want."

“Unless the range of strikes is expanded, the efficiency of bombing is very limited.”

"The whole territory of North Korea, and I will send all the fighter planes I can find and provide enough ammunition and medicine for the air force."

Pi Te nodded and said nothing.

"In addition, you have to provide all the combat supplies needed to the Korean army in Kaesong and plan the Kaesong defense battle personally. Maybe we will have to retreat sooner or later, but it is definitely not now. No matter what method you use, you must defend Kaesong before the First Armored Division and the Second Armored Division complete the assembly."

"Stay?"

"At least we have to let Kaicheng be in our hands, not let the volunteers move south from Kaicheng."

Pete nodded again, indicating that he understood Botsman's meaning.

"Col. Is there any problem?"

"No, no." Pete said breathlessly, "I will submit the combat plan as soon as possible, but I am not sure about defending Kaicheng."

"Of course, I'm responsible, you're just executing my orders."

Pete didn't say anything more and stood up to say goodbye.

Botsman is not a fool. He also knows that it is almost impossible to launch an attack now. He knows that the hope of the Korean army to defend Kaicheng is very slim, so he does not expect the Korean army to perform exceptionally well. His purpose is to delay the volunteer army and prevent the volunteer army from capturing Kaicheng in time.

What’s important is that he has to find a way to get the volunteers to send all their main forces to Kaicheng.

Only under the active attack of the volunteers, will the coalition forces have the opportunity to launch a counterattack in early November.
Chapter completed!