Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Chapter 139: Disguised forced march!
After the soldiers of the Third Battalion rested for a few hours, Wu Qianli issued an order for the troops to assemble urgently.

Wu Qianli ordered: "Notify everyone to hurry up and eat, then change into the captured American military coats, and set off in fifteen minutes."

"Yes!"

The order was quickly passed down.

At this time, a soldier asked: "Captain, why do you want to change into the enemy's military coat?"

Although Wu Qianli is now serving as the acting battalion commander and becoming the battalion commander is only a matter of time, the soldiers of the Seventh Company are still accustomed to calling him the company commander.

Wu Qianli pointed to the sky and said, "This time we are marching during the day. In order to avoid enemy bombing, it is best to change into enemy clothes."

"I see!"

Wu Qianli turned his head and looked in the direction of Gutuli, frowning and saying, "I don't know what the situation is like over there, whether it has been bombed by enemy planes."

Mei Sheng handed Wu Qianli a large piece of biscuit and said, "Don't worry! I just checked the situation with the regiment headquarters. Gutuli is very safe."

"The enemy has at least 10,000 prisoners gathered there, and their planes don't dare to drop bombs."

Wu Qianli smiled and said, "This is a pretty good idea."

Mei Sheng smiled and said, "It's because we have captured too many prisoners. Otherwise, this method wouldn't work at all."

This is true. If only a few hundred prisoners were captured, they would be inconspicuous on such a vast battlefield, and the enemy would naturally not have such concerns.

But now it is different. There are at least tens of thousands of prisoners gathered near the Gutuli Highway alone.

Moreover, more prisoners were continuously transported over later on, and these were only approximate numbers; there was no time to count the exact number.

Wu Qianli nodded and said, "That's true. Opportunities like this are rare. We must make good use of them."

Mei Sheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, the superiors are smarter than us."

The soldiers of the Third Battalion quickly prepared to set off. Although the companies of the Third Battalion were not fully staffed, they had sufficient weapons and ammunition, and there was no shortage of food for the time being.

After all, we won a great victory and captured a lot of things, so naturally there was no shortage of supplies.

What's more, with Li Guotao here, not only the Seventh Company, but the entire Third Battalion will not be short of any supplies.

He Changgui ran up to Wu Qianli and said, "Report to the company commander, the troops have assembled."

Wu Qianli raised his head and glanced into the distance, then ordered in a serious tone, "Target Wulaoli, set off immediately."

"Yes!"

Following Wu Qianli's order, the troops set out immediately and advanced quickly towards Wulaoli.

The troops disguised themselves as US troops and had a very smooth journey. Ground troops could definitely distinguish between friend and foe when they encountered them, but they could not distinguish between enemy planes in the air.

……

Xingnan Port, inside the enemy’s headquarters.

Major General Aldmon, commander of the 10th Army of the U.S. Army, Major General Smith, Major General Barr of the th Division of the U.S. Army and other senior generals gathered together.

Major General Aldmon shouted angrily: "It's a complete defeat. So many people have become prisoners of the enemy. We will all be court-martialed for such a terrible defeat."

"Tell me, what should we do now?" Major General Smith said helplessly, "Now that things have come to this, we can only report the truth. I didn't expect the troops to be defeated so quickly, and I didn't expect the enemy's pursuit speed to be so fast."

"I will not shirk my responsibilities, but what we need to do now is to minimize the losses as much as possible."

Major General Barr said with a sad face: "Our combat-capable troops have been almost completely destroyed. Facing such a situation, what else can we do?"

Major General Smith said: "Of course, we can't rescue those who have been captured, but there are still a group of people who are on their way to Wulaoli. We must defend Wulaoli, bring them back, and then evacuate here safely."

"Wulaoli is the only way they can go, and it is also very close to Xingnan Port. As long as they can escape back to Wulaoli, they will be safe."

"If we can save more people, it can also reduce some of the guilt."

Major General Aldmon said angrily: "According to the news just sent by the reconnaissance plane, a group of our people are indeed retreating to Wulao-ri."

"But at the same time, there are also a large number of enemies, who are rapidly advancing towards Wulaoli. They are moving very fast, and their troops are increasing in number."

"Once they catch up, can we hold Wulaoli?"

Major General Smith said: "We have to defend it even if we can't. Things have come to this point. We have no other choice."

Major General Barr said, "Captain Aldmon, I think Commander Smith is right."

Aldmon asked, "Based on the current situation, how many people can we mobilize to defend Wulaoli?"

At this time, a staff officer said: "We just counted and found that there are about a thousand soldiers who can be mobilized to Wulaoli."

Major General Smith said: "We should be able to gather some troops retreating from the north, so let these more than a thousand people build a defense line in Wulaoli to ensure that Wulaoli is firmly in our hands."

"Then we can continue to gather the retreating soldiers and ensure the safety of Wulao Village."

"Our fleet can also provide aircraft support, and we can even directly use our naval guns to provide artillery support. In this way, it will be easy to defend Wulao-ri."

Aldmon thought that this was probably the only way now. To reduce the guilt, he could only try to recover the losses.

Aldmon glanced around the scene and said, "Colonel Anderson!"

"I think you should go to Wulaoli in person to take command. You must defend Wulaoli for me no matter what."

Colonel Anderson was frightened. It was true that what he feared would come true. It seemed that he had already predicted that he might not be able to come back. He quickly waved his hands and said, "No, no, no, I'm afraid I don't have the ability to complete this mission."

Aldmon said angrily: "You abandoned your troops and ran back alone. Do you think you can still come out of the military court?"

"I'm giving you a chance to atone for your sins. Are you really not going to go?"

"I warn you, this is an order. If you don't go, I can arrest you immediately."

Colonel Anderson was so frightened that his face turned pale. He quickly said, "I'm not the only one who escaped."

Major General Aldmon said, "But you are the most suitable person to guard Wulao-ri."

"Didn't General Smith just say that? The Navy will fully cooperate with us. We have the support of aircraft and naval guns. You have nothing to worry about."

Hearing this, Colonel Anderson was obviously relieved. He knew that he could not escape this disaster today. He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, but I hope that Major General Smith will keep his word and we can really get support from naval aircraft and naval guns."

Major General Smith assured with a solemn oath: "Don't worry about this. I will coordinate with the naval fleet to provide you with full support."

(End of this chapter)