The decisive battle against the Third Reich

The reason why reverse slope fortification is called reverse slope fortification is because it is built on a reverse slope.

Fortifications generally focus on being high up, so that the field of vision and shooting range are wider and firepower can be exerted.

But the reverse slope fortifications were built at a lower level.

Of course, it still has many shortcomings at low altitudes, such as poor visibility and difficulty in throwing grenades.

In fact, many of these shortcomings can be solved through fortifications and coordination. If the field of vision is not wide, cooperate with friendly forces and maintain contact; if the grenade is not far away, it can be solved through trenches with one side high and one side low... The fortifications themselves are located on the slope and have certain disadvantages. If the slope of the trench is constructed so that the top is higher and the bottom is lower, it will be difficult for the enemy's grenades to be thrown into the trench. The reason is that the higher side will actually make the trench a dead angle for throwing, and the grenade will be blocked when thrown. Either roll over the trench to the other side.

The point is, counterslope tactics render a large amount of the enemy's heavy equipment useless.

For example, the U.S. tanks that have already reached the top of the mountain on the opposite highland can suppress fire on the mountaintop position on the Onna Highlands, but their machine guns cannot penetrate the mountain no matter what, so they lose the threat to the anti-slope position on the Onna Highlands. .

In short, reverse slope fortification is to sacrifice part of the geographical advantage to weaken the enemy's modern equipment.

Of course, this is also the tactic used by Volunteer Army soldiers on the battlefield to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea... The equipment gap between the Volunteer Army and the U.S. Army is really too big. Aircraft, artillery, and tanks are not in the same weight class at all.

In this case, the volunteers can only choose to build fortifications on the reverse slope... It is basically meaningless to build fortifications on the front slope, because the US military can use powerful firepower to blow up the fortifications built on the front slope. For the US military, it is just a matter of how many artillery shells are consumed.

However, if the fortifications are built on the reverse slope, first of all, artillery and tanks will be basically unable to function. The American soldiers can only use people to attack the mountaintop positions and reverse slope positions held by the volunteers, and this is precisely the shortcoming of the US military.

Just like now, the German army also has no air superiority.

Without air superiority, it is impossible to suppress the opponent in artillery battles, because as soon as the artillery positions are exposed, they will be mercilessly bombed by enemy fighter planes. Similarly, armored divisions cannot play their role during the day, so they can only choose this kind of volunteer army to fight against the US military. tactics.

However, although it is "only", in fact, the US military is pinned on the top of the mountain, unable to take the lead, and it does not know how to attack.

The German soldiers were well prepared in the anti-slope fortifications. They mounted their rifles on the fortifications and pointed them at the position on the top of the mountain. The American soldiers took the risk to hit one, then another and another... The American soldiers who attacked the position on the top of the mountain were stunned. They were unable to move forward even half a step, and a large number of American soldiers were blocked on the positive slope and unable to move forward.

"Hell!" Major General Allen roared to Major Jones, the U.S. commander who attacked the high ground: "You have occupied the high ground, what else can stop you?"

"The enemy has established several lines of defense below, General!" Major Jones replied loudly amidst the sound of gunfire: "Their marksmanship is very accurate. We suffered heavy casualties. We don't even know where they are!"

"Go down!" Major General Allen ordered: "You are condescending, organize your firepower to cover, use bayonets, grenades... no matter what, break through their defense line, do you hear me clearly?!"

"Yes, General!" Major Jones answered.

Then he raised his head and shouted: "Mortars, machine guns... get ready for cover!"

Jones arranged the mortar position on a positive slope...the mortar trajectory is curved and can hit one side across the mountain top, so there is no need to place it in a mountain top position where the space is small and will be targeted by the enemy.

However, in this process, the mortars need to be tested against the enemy's defense line under the guidance of artillery observers.

This process was not easy, because within a few seconds of sticking their heads out, the two artillery observers were shot through the head by bullets flying from the opposite side.

It was not until Major Jones used fire to cover the observers that the test was barely completed.

Major Jones then spent another ten minutes arranging the lower machine gun positions to ensure that they could well suppress the enemy's firepower without being blocked by charging own men.

After completing these preparations, Major Jones shouted an order: "Mount the bayonet, prepare the grenade, obey my order, throw out the grenade with all your strength, and wait for them to explode before getting up and charging. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

There is a reason why Major Jones gave such a detailed account. Although the 1st Infantry Division was well-trained, it was still the first time they were on the battlefield. Many soldiers were so nervous that they completely forgot all the skills they had learned on the training ground. When it was thrown, he rushed forward impatiently, only to fall under his own grenade.

However, what Major Jones did not know was that their danger was not this at all.

"Are you ready?" Major Jones asked.

"Yes, sir!"

"Mortar!" Major Jones raised his hand toward the mortar company, and when he put it down, he shouted: "Fire!"

After a burst of "expanding" artillery fire, dozens of mortars of different calibers fired a row of shells towards the other side of the hilltop.

Then a few more rounds were played under the command of Major Jones...

Similar to how each platoon of the German Army is equipped with a 50MM mortar, each platoon of the US Army is equipped with a Type 2 mortar, imitating the French Brand 60MM mortar), plus each company has a cannon platoon equipped with two. There is also a machine gun battery under the battalion, and each battalion is equipped with about forty mortars.

Of course, Major Jones couldn't get them all together, and some of the troops were even scattered down the mountain and couldn't come up. But more than twenty mortars were organized to blast the other side, and their power should not be underestimated.

During the bombing, the machine gunner responsible for covering took this opportunity to set up his machine gun, and fired rows of bullets into the smoke regardless of whether he found the target or not.

"Grenade!" Major Jones yelled.

The American soldiers pulled the safety catch of the grenades they had already grasped, and then threw them toward the other side one after another.

"Boom!" There was another burst of noise.

Major Jones did not hesitate. The next second he shouted an order to the soldiers lying on the ground: "Come on, guys, kill them all!"

The American soldiers shouted loudly, and groups of them got up from their hiding places and rushed towards the German soldiers' defense line with bayonets drawn.

Patton, who was watching all this at the foot of the mountain, couldn't help but praise: "Yes, this is my First Infantry Division!"