Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Under the fierce offensive of the Volunteer Army, the British 29th Brigade was defeated and suffered heavy losses.

Li Guotao led the task force to chase the defeated enemy all the way until they stopped temporarily around four in the morning.

"Report, the captain wants to talk to you."

Li Guotao took the microphone and said with a smile: "Captain, I am Li Guotao."

Li Moyin asked through the walkie-talkie: "Where are you now?"

Li Guotao replied: "We are now southeast of Xuemali, about ten miles away."

As Li Guotao spoke, he turned his head and looked in the direction of Xuemali. The battle over there was very fierce.

Li Moyin said: "It will be dawn soon. In order to prevent bombing by enemy planes and avoid unnecessary losses, the main force has stopped the pursuit."

Li Guotao sighed slightly. Without air superiority, they could only attack at night and stop during the day, which undoubtedly gave the enemy a chance to catch their breath.

This is also the main reason why it becomes increasingly difficult to destroy the enemy in an organized manner in subsequent battles.

The Volunteer Army could only launch attacks at night. If the enemy could defend, they would defend; if they could not, they would retreat. As long as they could hold on until dawn, they could rebuild their defense line under the cover of aircraft and continue to resist the Volunteer Army's attack.

The enemy gradually became familiar with such battles and developed a series of countermeasures, gradually reducing the losses to a minimum, making it so that the attacks of the Volunteer Army could not achieve the expected results.

This also made the subsequent war situation more severe.

Li Guotao said: "These enemies are running very fast. It is obvious that they are well prepared."

Li Moyin said: "It's not that we have gained nothing. Our army has surrounded about a thousand enemy forces near Xuemali, and the enemy is resisting very tenaciously."

"I'm afraid we won't be able to end the battle before dawn. The military plans to launch a general offensive at night to eliminate the surrounded enemy first."

"But after daybreak, the enemy will certainly send troops to support the enemy in Xuemali and cover their breakout."

"Now that you have arrived in the area south of Xuemali, you should cooperate with the brother troops to block the enemy reinforcements and ensure that the main force successfully encircles and annihilates the enemy in Xuemali."

"Yes!"

Li Guotao quickly responded: "I guarantee that the task will be completed."

Snow Mali!
This is also a familiar name.

If Li Guotao remembered correctly, the British troops surrounded here were also the British Army's ace troops, the Gloucester Battalion.

The Gloucester Battalion is one of the most famous meritorious units of the British Army. More than a hundred years ago, it made outstanding achievements in the expedition to Egypt and received special commendation from the Queen. It was awarded the honor of wearing two military badges on its military cap. Because of wearing double badges, it is called the "British Royal Double Badge Battalion".

In this battle, the British 29th Brigade suffered heavy losses.

After daybreak, Brigadier General Brodie, commander of the 29th Brigade, gathered the fleeing soldiers and found that more than half of his troops had been lost. He was so angry that he was shaking all over.

At this time, the chief of staff said helplessly: "General, it's worse."

"Lieutenant Colonel Kahn's Gloucester Battalion was surrounded by the enemy in the Snow Horse due to its delayed retreat. The situation is critical."

"what?"

Brigadier General Brody almost died from anger.

During the third battle, one of their heavy tank battalions was completely wiped out by the Volunteer Army, which was a complete loss of face.

Now that the Gloucester Battalion, this ace and meritorious unit, is surrounded, how can Brigadier General Brodie not be anxious?

If this ace battalion was wiped out again, then his position as brigade commander would probably be over, and he might even be sent to a military court.

Brody shouted angrily: "Fuck, Kahn is an idiot. I think he is a complete idiot."

Although the Gloucester Battalion is nominally an infantry battalion, its configuration is quite luxurious, with four infantry companies, two artillery companies, and one tank company, with a total strength of more than one thousand people.

It is precisely because this unit is well-equipped and possesses a large amount of heavy firepower that it has been able to hold out until now. Otherwise, it would have been defeated or even wiped out by the Volunteer Army by night.

The Chief of Staff quickly advised: "Now is not the time to hold Lieutenant Colonel Kahn responsible. We should find a way to rescue them, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."

Brigadier General Brodie could only suppress his anger and said through gritted teeth, "Send a telegram to the nearby American troops immediately, no... directly to the headquarters, Lieutenant General Ridgway, and ask them to dispatch troops to help us rescue the besieged Gloucester Camp."

"Yes sir!"

Brigadier General Brodie then ordered: "Immediately reorganize the gathered troops and launch a counterattack in the direction of Xuemali. Be sure to support the Gloucester Battalion to break out."

"Yes sir!"

The telegram reached Lieutenant General Ridgway's headquarters. After learning that the Gloucester Camp was surrounded, Lieutenant General Ridgway attached great importance to it.

Lieutenant General Ridgway directly gave orders to Lieutenant General Van Fleet and Major General Milburn, commander of the Fourth Army, and others, asking them to assist the British 29th Brigade at all costs to support the Gloucester Battalion's breakout.

After all, the British Army was their most important ally, and it was impossible for Ridgway to turn a blind eye to the difficulties of their friendly forces.

Van Fleet did not dare to be careless and ordered the nearby 65th US Regiment to fully assist the British 29th Brigade in rescuing the besieged Gloucester Camp.

However, at this moment, the main force of the Volunteer Army was gradually approaching. For the sake of its own safety, the main force of the 65th Regiment of the US Army was all withdrawn to plug the leak. Because except for a part of the 63th Division that stayed behind to encircle and annihilate the Gloucester Battalion, the main force of the 187rd Army was continuing to advance southward, and the US Third Division on the opposite side was also being beaten back.

Therefore, the US 65th Regiment could only dispatch one of its three battalions to assist the British 29th Brigade in rescuing the Gloucester Battalion.

However, the US military command dispatched another unit, the Philippine Monkey Battalion, to assist the British 29th Brigade.

Inside the British 29th Brigade headquarters, the chief of staff frowned and said, "We have already put all the troops that can be used for the attack into battle. Under the cover of aircraft and artillery, we are attacking in the direction of Xuemali."

"But the enemy's resistance is very stubborn and progress is slow at the moment."

Brigadier General Brodie's face darkened and he asked, "Where are the reinforcements the commander promised us?"

The chief of staff replied: "The Philippine battalion supporting us has arrived southeast of Xuemali and has joined a heavy tank company led by Major Hus."

Brigadier General Brodie said quickly: "Immediately order Major Huss to cooperate with the Philippine Army Battalion and launch an immediate attack. Make sure to get through the connection with Xuemali and rescue the besieged Gloucester Battalion."

"The rest of the troops will continue to attack from other directions. We must rescue the Gloucester Battalion at all costs."

"Yes sir!"

Brody frowned and asked, "Where are the American troops? Haven't their reinforcements arrived yet?"

The chief of staff replied helplessly: "The 65th Regiment of the United States has not made any moves. They promised to support us as soon as possible, but so far it has only remained verbal. We have never seen any substantial action by their troops."

"We urged them several times, but they talked nicely but refused to take action."

"At present, the US military has only sent aircraft to assist us."

"These bastards!"

Brigadier General Brody was so angry that he yelled, "I'll leave this to you to continue commanding. Continue to launch the attack. I will go to the headquarters of the 65th Regiment of the United States personally and make sure they send troops to assist us."

"Yes sir!"

…“Buzz buzz buzz~!”

There was a loud roar of engines in the air, and more than a dozen enemy planes flew slowly through the air, and incendiary bombs fell from the sky.

"Boom~!"

Flames shot up into the sky, and several nearby hilltops were burned into a sea of ​​fire one after another.

Li Guotao and the soldiers of the task force hid in a ravine. Looking at the enemy planes flying away in the sky, Li Guotao couldn't help but curse: "Damn, these damn American planes!"

After the fire on the hill gradually subsided, Li Guotao led the task force soldiers to rush to the top of a hill.

The brother troops nearby also quickly occupied some nearby commanding heights.

Li Guotao held up a telescope and looked into the distance. He saw an enemy troop slowly advancing towards this side along the valley. They must be going to support the enemy troops in Xuemali.

They must be stopped.

Li Guotao ordered loudly: "Recover our position immediately and prepare for battle."

The soldiers immediately seized advantageous terrain, built positions, and prepared for battle.

Li Guotao held up a telescope and observed carefully, and found that the enemy was not a single force, but a temporary assembly of two forces.

Because the team not only had British Centurion heavy tanks, but also American light tanks, and a large number of infantry, about several hundred people.

Li Guotao observed carefully, and this time he successfully identified the origin of this troop.

Philippine Monkey Camp!
Li Guotao recognized the enemy's flag.

In this war, the monkeys also sent a battalion of troops to participate in the battle.

Before World War II, these monkeys were colonies of the United States. Although they separated from the United States a few years ago, they still follow in the footsteps of their American father.

This time a battalion of about 1,200 men was sent to fight.

It is said that the Philippine Monkey Battalion also participated in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. These guys were even funnier. Maybe they had never worn cotton clothes in their lives. They ran to Chosin Reservoir in sandals and thin clothes in the middle of winter. Fortunately, their American father provided timely support, otherwise they would all have been frozen into ice monkeys.

I didn't expect to meet this group of monkeys here this time.

Li Guotao doesn't care whether you are a monkey or an ape. No one can get through here now. There is no way to save the Gloucester Camp.

However, these eight Centurion tanks are not easy to deal with. The Centurion heavy tank weighs 50 tons and has an armor thickness of more than 100 millimeters. It can be said that it has thick skin and tough flesh and is difficult to deal with.

Li Guotao lowered his head to observe the terrain at the foot of the mountain. The road in the valley was narrow and the mountain was steep, so he could make good use of the terrain.

Li Guotao turned to Wu Qianli and said, "Old Wu, when the battle starts, first concentrate your firepower to kill the leading enemy tank. As long as one tank is destroyed, the ones behind will be unable to get through."

"The main force should concentrate its firepower and hit their infantry hard. As long as they are hurt, they will naturally retreat."

Wu Qianli nodded and said, "I understand!"

Li Guotao observed the situation on several nearby hills again, and was relieved to see that the nearby brother troops were also ready for battle.

Soon the enemy entered the ambush circle.

At this moment, a shining flare rose into the sky in the distance.

Li Guotao shouted loudly: "Hit him hard."

While shouting, he raised the rocket launcher and aimed at the Centurion heavy tank in the front.

"Chirp~!"

There was a sharp whistling sound and the rocket hit the tank's track.

"Boom~!"

There was a loud explosion, and the tank tracks were blown off. The tank instantly fell to the ground and stopped there.

At this time, three more rockets hit the Centurion tank one after another. Amid the violent explosions, the tank was completely destroyed and a fire broke out.

At the same time, the task force members and volunteer soldiers on other hills also concentrated their firepower and fired fiercely at the enemy forces in the valley.

All of a sudden, bullets came like raindrops, and the enemy was killed or wounded in an instant.

Mortar shells whizzed down into the enemy crowd, and violent explosions sounded one after another.

The Filipino people were thrown into chaos by the explosion, with heavy casualties.

Li Guotao raised his rocket launcher and shouted, "Keep concentrating your firepower and take out their heavy tanks first."

Then another shot knocked a Centurion tank to the ground.

Then several loud explosions were heard, and another Centurion tank was destroyed.

At this time, the British commander, Major Huss, was so scared that he shouted, "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

He originally thought that his Centurion heavy tanks were very strong, but now two of them were destroyed in one encounter. No wonder this guy was scared.

Following his order, the remaining Centurion tanks immediately began to retreat.

As a result, a medium tank of the Philippine Army behind was destroyed by the Volunteer Army. In order to escape, Major Huss directly ordered the destroyed tank to be pushed aside.

In the chaos, two more Centurion tanks were destroyed one after another.

However, the remaining four Centurion heavy tanks, relying on their thick skin and strong flesh, managed to break through a path and escape.

While escaping, they also overturned a Philippine light tank and several trucks.

Lieutenant Colonel Ogada of the Philippine Monkey Battalion was so angry that he yelled, "I will not let these bastards off."

"If the British themselves don't save the British, why should we risk our lives for them?"

"Retreat, retreat immediately across the board."

Lieutenant Colonel Ogada was so angry that he directly issued an order to retreat.

In fact, it was not only because Major Huss abandoned them and ran away, but mainly because the Fei Monkey had suffered heavy losses at this moment and was unable to resist at all. Now that they had a sufficient excuse to retreat, what were they waiting for?

So these guys immediately withdrew from the battle in disgrace, leaving behind more than 300 corpses and a number of destroyed tanks, trucks and other vehicles.

After Lieutenant Colonel Ogada retreated with his remnants, he fled south without any stop and no longer cared about the British 29th Brigade.

The Gloucester Camp has nothing to do with me, to hell with them.

Li Guotao did not expect that the enemy would retreat so neatly. After they had all run far away, he led the soldiers to rush down and seized a lot of spoils. (End of this chapter)