Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

At the same time, the U.S. troops attacking Longyuanli also encountered stubborn resistance from the 113th Division. Several fierce attacks were repelled by the Volunteer Army, and the attacking U.S. troops suffered heavy losses.

Moreover, at this time, more and more main forces of the Volunteer Army were chasing after them.

The situation of the US 9th Army has become increasingly dangerous.

Major General Kurt angrily cursed: "This bunch of rubbish, they want to kill us, they want to kill us all."

A brigadier general nearby explained: "There are more and more enemies around us now, and they will launch a more fierce attack."

"We have to divert more troops to deal with the enemy's main attack, which will reduce our forces for attacking and breaking out."

"And with the arrival of the main force of the enemy, they may continuously reinforce Songgufeng, Longyuanli, Sansoli and other places."

"If we continue to attack, I'm afraid it will be impossible to break out."

Major General Kurt frowned even deeper and said, "So what do you mean?"

The brigadier general said helplessly: "We can only change the direction of the breakout. In fact, we don't have to break out to the south. We can also break out to the west and join the main force of the 1st Army."

"Although the 1st Army is also retreating, the pressure they face is far less than our th Army. As long as we meet up with them and all the main forces gather together, it is still entirely possible to escape the enemy's pursuit by retreating from the west to the south."

Major General Kurt stared at the map in front of him, pondered for a moment, and said, "This is also a good idea, but there is a problem. We still have a lot of troops separated between Songgu Peak and Longyuanli."

"Now the road has been completely blocked by them. If we can't take Songgufeng, this unit will not be able to retreat to Kaesong."

The brigadier general pointed at the map and said, "Then we won't take the highway. We'll take the small road from the northwest to Anzhou in the west. The main force of our Ninth Army will set out from Kaesong to Anzhou. If everything goes well, we can meet up with the retreating main force of the First Army in Anzhou and then retreat south together."

Major General Kurt frowned and said, "Take the small road? What about our tanks and cars?"

"From what I've heard the roads here are very bad. Our tanks and heavy equipment can't get through at all."

The brigadier general said, "There is nothing we can do. We can only abandon these heavy equipment and retreat on foot towards Anzhou."

"This is better than waiting to die here."

Upon hearing this, Major General Kurt was stunned for a moment and didn't know what to say for a moment. If he continued to stay here, he would undoubtedly be waiting for death.

The brigadier general said helplessly: "There is nothing we can do about this. Please make a decision as soon as possible, because after dark, the enemy may launch a more fierce attack, and our losses will increase."

"We can hold out for this night, but no one can predict how long we can hold out in the future. Our retreat has been cut off. Once our supplies are almost exhausted, we won't be able to get enough supplies by airdrops alone. It may be okay for a short period of time, but over time, even if we can hold out, our troops will collapse."

"We must leave this dangerous place as soon as possible. This is the wisest decision."

Major General Kurt frowned and said, "This is not a trivial matter. It is not something I can decide."

"Send a telegram to Commander Walker immediately and report this situation. Please give a reply as soon as possible."

Major General Kurt hesitated and was unable to make a decision, so he simply threw the problem to Walker. In this way, even if any problems arose, Walker would be responsible and he would just be following orders.

"Yes sir!"

……

At this moment, Lieutenant General Walker is on the phone with Five Star Mike.

Lieutenant General Walker said helplessly: "I'm sorry, Commander, we really can't launch a counterattack now, and we can't even contain the enemy's offensive."

"Our 9th Army is now in great danger, and the 10th Army on the Eastern Front is also in trouble."

"Even if God put on a helmet and joined the battle now, he couldn't stop us from retreating."

"Even if you send me to jail, I can only do this."

"The only thing I can do now is to minimize the losses and preserve my strength so that we can still have a chance to win in the future. Otherwise, the result will be even worse."

After hanging up the phone, Lieutenant General Walker cursed angrily.

"Fuck! These damn bastards!"

Just then a staff officer came over with a telegram from the Ninth Army.

"An urgent message from Major General Kurt."

Lieutenant General Walker took the telegram and read it carefully. He frowned and said, "It seems that the situation is worse than I thought."

Lieutenant General Walker hurriedly walked to the front of the sand table and asked, "Is it really impossible for the Ninth Army to break out from the south now?"

A major general next to him said, "If Major General Kurt said so, it is probably true."

"They have been fighting for so long and have used every possible method, but they are unable to find a breakthrough."

Lieutenant General Walker pondered for a moment and cursed: "Kurt, this guy, he is shirking his responsibility."

Although he was well aware of this, as the commander, Lieutenant General Walker could no longer shirk his responsibility.

He didn't want to throw this question to the old man Five Star Mike, because he was not sure whether that guy would do anything crazy.

Lieutenant General Walker frowned and said, "The most important thing now is to preserve the Ninth Army. Call Major General Kurt back immediately. I agree to their request and let them retreat westward. The troops that are separated and surrounded can discard all heavy weapons and make a full-scale breakout."

"The most important thing now is to save the lives of these soldiers. We have no shortage of weapons and equipment, but the lives of soldiers are the most precious."

"Yes sir!"

Lieutenant General Walker sighed deeply and said, "This is probably the worst war I have ever experienced. If I were given a chance to choose again, I would rather go home and farm than fight with these lunatics."

At this moment, Lieutenant General Walker did not know that his wish to go home and farm would never come true, but it would not be long before he would be planted in the fields.

……

That night, Commander Fan called together all the company-level and above cadres of the 335th Regiment for a meeting.

Captain Fan said: "In today's battle, all the companies performed well, especially the third company, which held on to Songgu Peak and made an indelible contribution."

Captain Dai Ruyi said quickly: "This is not only our credit, but also mainly due to the assistance of the task force. Otherwise, we would never have been able to eliminate so many enemies and destroy so many enemy tanks." Captain Fan looked at Li Moyin and said: "Don't worry, Commander, we will report the truth. Thank you for helping us defend Songgu Peak."

Li Moyin waved his hand and said, "None of this is important. What's important is winning this battle."

"Correct!"

Captain Fan nodded and said, "Now our main forces have also arrived nearby and launched a counterattack against the enemy in the Kaesong area."

"According to the original plan, we can take advantage of this opportunity to continuously deplete their forces and eventually eliminate them all."

"We can also get reinforcements at any time, so we have no worries at all. We will continue to hold on to Songgu Peak and never let the enemy escape."

"I believe that it won't be long before we can completely win this battle."

Hearing this, everyone was very excited.

At this time, Li Guotao said: "The enemy is now blocked from breaking through. If we continue to fight, we will definitely become more and more disadvantaged. There is no guarantee that the enemy will not become desperate and do something desperate."

Captain Fan asked in confusion: "Desperate? Do they have any other tricks up their sleeves?"

Li Guotao walked to the front of the map, pointed at it and said, "It may not be that there are any special tactics, but the enemy does not necessarily have to break out from the south."

"Now their retreat to the south is blocked. If they give up on breaking out to the south, they can also retreat westward to Anzhou and join the US First Army."

Commander Fan paused for a moment and said, "As far as I know, the US 1st Army is also losing ground under our attack."

Li Guotao said: "They only need to retreat to Anzhou before we capture Anzhou, and then they can meet up with the US 1st Army."

"With our army's offensive capabilities, if the US 1st Army defends Anzhou to the death, we may not be able to capture Anzhou City in time."

Li Moyin nodded and said, "Yes, what Li Guotao said makes sense, because the US 1st Army faces much less pressure. They only have the 50th Army and the 66th Army to the north, which is much safer than the US 9th Army."

"The enemy is now desperate and will do their utmost to ensure the safety of the 9th US Army."

"Then they can just hold on to Anzhou and wait for the U.S. 9th Army to join them."

"This way, the enemies from the two armies will merge together and continue to retreat southward. It will become more difficult for us to kill them."

Captain Fan frowned and said, "In that case, it will be difficult for us to encircle and annihilate the US Ninth Army."

Li Guotao pointed at the map and said, "If we can intercept the U.S. 9th Army's retreat to Anzhou, then they won't be able to escape."

Li Guotao pointed between Kaesong and Anzhou and continued, "We need a troop to quickly get here and block their way to the west. Then we can completely stop the US 9th Army. Then they will be unable to escape."

Li Moyin pondered for a moment and said, "Since the 39th Army has already captured Gunuri, if they want to retreat to Anzhou, they can only choose to take a small road."

"If that's the case, they will discard a lot of heavy equipment and break out with light equipment."

Li Guotao pointed at the map and said, "That's right. That means they can only take this path. They will be safe once they reach Anzhou."

"Yeonxingli is the only way they can go. If we can block it in advance, the entire U.S. Ninth Army will be completely finished."

Li Moyin immediately stood up and said, "I will send a telegram to the Zhisi and report this situation."

Afterwards, Li Moyin personally drafted a telegram and handed it to the signalman to immediately report the matter to the Zhisi and request the Zhisi to send troops to plug the gap as soon as possible.

Then Li Moyin said: "In order to prevent accidents, we'd better send troops to Yanxingli to intercept the enemy."

Captain Fan said with an embarrassed look on his face: "We still need to defend Songgu Peak. We don't know whether the enemy will retreat to the west or when they will retreat to the west."

"So our 335th Regiment cannot move easily. We must continue to defend Songgu Peak. What if the enemy continues to attack Songgu Peak?"

Li Moyin nodded and said, "Of course, the soldiers have been fighting for so long and have worked hard, so they need to rest."

"Li Guotao!"

"To!"

"What do you think we should do?"

Li Guotao said: "I don't think there is a need to rush. Even if the enemy breaks out and retreats to the west, it is impossible to do so at night. Now it is dark, they will definitely rest, so they will retreat at the earliest after daybreak. With the cover of aircraft, their safety can be guaranteed and they will have the courage to act."

"So we can wait until tomorrow morning and then take action."

Li Moyin frowned and said, "But after daybreak, if we set out from Songgu Peak again, we will be easily discovered by the enemy."

Li Guotao said: "The 339th Regiment should not act rashly. Our task force and the st Company of the th Regiment can quietly move to the mountain road northwest of Songgu Peak tonight while it's dark and hide and wait. If the enemy really gives up breaking out to the south and flees to the west tomorrow, we will set off and go straight to Yanxingli."

"We can put on American military uniforms, so we don't have to worry about bombing by enemy planes."

"The enemy took a small path to break out to the west. Without wheels, they relied on their feet. With their speed, even if we let them walk for two hours, we are sure to catch up with them and occupy Yanxingli before them."

"Once we get there, the enemy will have no tanks or artillery and will only rely on aircraft for cover. Their combat effectiveness will inevitably be severely damaged, and it will become much easier for us to block the enemy in Yanxingli."

"As long as we hold out for a while, the enemy will be in chaos. When our main force comes to attack, these bastards from the US Ninth Army will all become our prisoners."

Li Moyin smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, let's do as you say. Let the soldiers get ready immediately, take a rest, and set off in the second half of the night."

"Yes!"

Li Guotao responded quickly, turned around and left quickly.

At this time, Captain Fan reminded: "Commander, if you follow your plan just now, you may encounter a large enemy force on the way, which will be troublesome."

Li Moyin smiled and said, "Thinking back to the time when we were fighting guerrilla warfare against Chiang Kai-shek's bandit army and the Japanese invaders in China, it was much more dangerous than this."

"Compared to that, this is nothing!"

"We only have a hundred people in this unit. We are not a big group and our targets are small. As long as we are careful, we will have no problem getting through."

"Don't worry, we will rush to Yanxingli to stop the Japanese no matter what." (End of this chapter)