Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Chapter 173: Hundreds of thousands of additional troops!
"Let's go~!"

Li Guotao pulled Gu Cangzhou and ran along the trench towards the tunnel.

Gu Cangzhou was still a little confused and had no idea what was going on, but he instinctively followed Li Guotao and began to retreat.

At this time, Li Guotao shouted loudly: "Everyone, retreat to the tunnel immediately."

Following Li Guotao's order, several scouts who were originally scattered everywhere also retreated into the tunnels.

Then there was a sharp whistling sound in the air, and shells fell on the position one after another.

"Boom~! Boom~!"

Violent explosions rang out one after another, and in an instant the entire hilltop was covered by artillery fire.

It turned out that the enemy army was unable to advance and in a rage, they mobilized heavy artillery to aim at the high ground where Li Guotao was and bombarded it fiercely.

The violent explosions were continuous and the entire mountain was shaking continuously as if there was an earthquake.

Li Guotao and his men hid in the tunnel, covering their mouths and noses with towels, and could only hold on with great difficulty.

Because some smoke and dust poured into the tunnels, and the enemy's bombing was too fierce, some tunnels collapsed.

Fortunately, the tunnel is interconnected and has more than one exit. As long as not all the entrances are blown down, we will not be buried inside.

The bombing lasted for half an hour. The entire hilltop was plowed by shells and was completely unrecognizable.

Li Guotao was still frightened, but fortunately he hid quickly and the tunnel was dug very deep.

Finally they survived. After the shelling ended, Li Guotao and his soldiers quietly crawled out of the tunnel.

After observing the situation on the opposite side, I found that the enemy's infantry was advancing forward again, and there were some engineers among them. It was obvious that they were preparing to continue clearing mines.

Li Guotao ordered: "Retreat to the next position."

Gu Cangzhou smiled slightly and said, "We are just trying to buy time with them. There is no need to fight them head-on."

"We have held out here long enough, we can retreat to the next position."

Then Li Guotao led the soldiers and quietly evacuated the position.

Under the cover of tanks, the enemy rushed up again, and the engineers began to carefully carry out mine-clearing operations.

After a while, the enemy became bolder as they still did not encounter any sniping attacks from the volunteers.

They naively believed that the shelling had worked and that the sniper with superb marksmanship had been killed.

So the engineers began to clear mines recklessly.

However, at this time, the enemy suddenly discovered that the mines they dug out were all fake mines.

The engineers who were conducting the exploration in front were responsible for detecting mines and planting small flags at suspicious locations.

The engineers at the back were clearing mines, but as more and more fake mines were dug out, the enemy inevitably became careless.

They thought that the volunteers did not have so many mines, so they placed a large number of fake mines to trick them.

However, these enemies still dug up all the places where the small flags were planted.

I just knew they were all fake mines, and the enemy's speed became faster.

An engineer dug up the ground and found broken iron pieces buried inside. He was so angry that he pulled them out and cursed: "These damn enemies only know how to play such boring tricks."

"Boom~!"

Before he could finish his words, a violent explosion was heard and the enemy soldier was blown away and killed on the spot.

It turned out that there was a booby trap hidden underneath the fake mine, and the enemy was caught off guard and killed on the spot.

This time, the enemy no longer dared to be careless.

However, one engineer ignited a real mine while removing a fake one. Seeing the black smoke coming out of the pit, the guy immediately reacted and shouted, "Get down!"

Then he flew out and lay on the ground.

"Boom~! Boom~! Boom~!"

A series of violent explosions sounded. It turned out that these were not just real or fake mines, but also chain mines.

After this mine was detonated, the previous booby traps were also detonated.

The enemy engineers who were walking in front and clearing mines with detectors were in trouble. Although they heard the warning, they quickly lay on the ground.

But a series of explosions, with great power, killed them all, and several detectors were destroyed.

After a fierce battle, the enemy's engineers suffered heavy losses.

But the enemy command gave a death order to continue advancing.

The enemy could only mobilize more engineers to clear the mines.

In this way, the enemy advanced less than two kilometers in a whole day.

The Third Battalion completed its mission successfully and suffered very little loss as there was basically no direct engagement with the enemy.

As night fell, the enemy ceased its actions.

The Third Battalion also waited for the reinforcements. After the change of guard, the troops retreated to a safe place for a temporary rest.

In this way, the enemy pressed forward step by step, and the volunteers fought and retreated, blocking the enemy at every level, using various methods to curb the enemy's advance.

The fighting lasted until early April, and the volunteer army basically retreated to the vicinity of the 38th parallel.

The 27th Army where Li Guotao was stationed also retreated to the Huachuan area and continued to block the enemy.

At this time, the 19th Corps of the Volunteer Army had arrived at the front line, and the rd Corps was also on the way to the front line.

As long as these hundreds of thousands of fresh troops arrive, the strength of the volunteer army on the front line will be greatly increased, and the situation on the battlefield will undergo fundamental changes.

The strength of the Volunteer Army gradually increased, and during this period, the country was also doing its best to ensure the logistical supply of the Volunteer Army. Under the enemy's heavy bombardment, experience was constantly summed up, and the problem of insufficient logistics on the front line was gradually improved.

Although Ridgway was deeply hit at this moment, he did not give up completely. He still wanted to gradually defeat the Volunteer Army through this long-term war of attrition.

Therefore, the enemy's front-line troops are still maintaining the offensive and continuing to advance northward.

Fighting still occurs from time to time in various places.

That day, it suddenly rained heavily.

Li Guotao and others hid in a tent on a hillside.

Li Guotao stretched out his hands and washed them in the rain. He couldn't help but complain, "This damn weather, it's raining pretty hard."

Yu Congrong said: "I just received a notice from my superiors that according to the forecast of meteorological experts, there will be continuous rainfall in the next few days."

Li Guotao frowned slightly and asked, "Is this weather forecast accurate?"

Yu Congrong shook his head and said, "Who knows?"

Li Guotao was right in thinking that even with advanced technology in later generations, weather forecasts might not be accurate, let alone now?
Li Guotao said: "It's a bit painful in the rain, but the enemy will definitely give up the attack, and their aircraft will be restricted to a certain extent. This may not be a bad thing for us."

"Our army should be gathering strength and preparing for a counterattack. It will be beneficial for us to delay for a while."

Yu Congrong nodded and said, "Yes, and the fourth battle has been going on for so long, more than two months, and the enemy has been exhausted."

"Our army has gained many new troops. If we seize this opportunity, we will surely defeat the enemy again."

(End of this chapter)