Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Li Guotao frowned slightly as he looked at the two high grounds in the distance that were once again caught in enemy fire.

The enemy launched a large-scale artillery attack again, which showed that the enemy's first wave of offensive had been repelled. The defenders must have fought very well and easily repelled the enemy's attack.

But Li Guotao understood that this was just the beginning.

The brutality of the Battle of Shangganling was something no one had expected.

The contact with the front line has been cut off, and now Li Guotao and his men are unable to understand the specific situation on the front line.

Moreover, the enemy's artillery fire was too fierce. Even if the troops in the rear wanted to provide support, they could not get through the enemy's fire blockade line.

Li Guotao couldn't help but curse: "Damn it! These damn foreign devils, are their shells really blown by the wind?"

For this counterattack, Van Fleet replenished the front line with sufficient ammunition, and subsequent ammunition was continuously transported to the front line.

Therefore, the enemy did not have to worry about the consumption of ammunition at all, and even launched a group charge again, regardless of the huge casualties of the attacking troops.

In fact, this kind of group charge by an entire company or battalion is a tactic that the enemy is more wary of, after all, it will result in heavy casualties among the troops.

But this time, the enemy acted out of character and seemed to be crazy, launching fierce group charges on the two small hills.

Groups of enemies rushed towards the mountain with great momentum.

The brave volunteer soldiers crawled out of the tunnels, relied on the favorable terrain, tenaciously resisted the enemy's fierce offensive, and repelled the enemy's attacks time and time again.

The hillside was already littered with enemy corpses, and casualties were rising rapidly.

Major General Jenkins was too lazy to listen to the casualty figures. At this moment, the old guy seemed to have completely fallen into a state of madness, constantly ordering his troops to launch fierce attacks.

In just a few hours, the enemy launched several group assaults.

However, the volunteer army defenders on the position remained calm and followed the established battle plan, repelling the enemy again and again.

The battle lasted until noon.

The attack of the US 31st Regiment was once again repelled by the Volunteer Army.

A staff officer came up to Major General Jenkins and said, "General, we just received a report from the 31st Regiment that the attacking 2nd and 3rd Battalions suffered heavy losses, with casualties reaching %."

"I'm afraid we are no longer able to launch an attack. Should we dispatch a battalion to attack?"

The two battalions suffered seventy percent casualties!

In other words, in just one morning, the 597.7st Regiment of the US Army that attacked Hill 31 suffered more than a thousand casualties, its two main battalions were completely destroyed, and the entire st Regiment was crippled, leaving only the st Battalion that had not yet entered the battlefield.

Such heavy casualties made Major General Jenkins feel sad.

This was completely different from what he expected.

At this moment, Major General Jenkins also realized that he might be too crazy.

The troops kept launching attacks, but the soldiers were afraid to go forward, so they sent supervision teams to force them to charge forward. Now thinking about it, this was simply forcing them to die.

More than a thousand casualties in one morning. Who can afford such a huge number of casualties?

Moreover, these were only the casualties of the US military. The casualties of the Second Korean Division attacking Hill 537.7 were also heavy, and the fighting was extremely brutal.

At this time, the hot-headed Major General Jenkins calmed down rarely and began to hesitate whether to continue fighting.

But this is not something he, as the army commander, can decide.

So Major General Jenkins called Lieutenant General Van Fleet.

As soon as the call was connected, Van Fleet couldn't wait to ask: "Old buddy, are you here to tell me the good news? Have you taken those two hills?"

Major General Jenkins felt bitter in his mouth and was speechless for a moment.

Annunciation?

I'm here to announce a death!

Major General Jenkins said with difficulty: "Dear Commander, on the contrary, we have not yet taken those two damn hills."

"As soon as we launched an attack, there would be a steady stream of enemies emerging from the mountain to repel our attack."

"The bodies of the soldiers have covered the entire hillside, but we still can't take the position."

"The two battalions of the 31st Regiment suffered more than percent casualties and are no longer able to launch an attack."

"I'm wondering... should we continue the attack? If we continue like this, I'm afraid there will be even greater casualties."

After hearing Major General Jenkins' report, Lieutenant General Van Fleet was unable to react for a while. He was stunned for a long time before shouting angrily, "We can't even take down two palm-sized hills. When did our troops become so incompetent? This is simply a shame."

"I've said it before. We must take those two hills at all costs. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!"

Major General Jenkins responded helplessly, and then said: "Then I will send the 31st Battalion of the st Regiment to continue the attack."

Lieutenant General Van Fleet groaned for a moment and said, "Wait, let those rubbish retreat!"

"Two battalions have been destroyed. If this first battalion is destroyed again, the entire 31st Regiment will be finished."

"Besides, their performance is really disappointing. Let's replace the 33rd Regiment and continue the attack."

"Yes sir!"

Major General Jenkins quickly responded, "I'll arrange it right away."

Van Fleet reminded again: "Remember, no matter what, you must take down those two hills for me, understand?"

"Yes sir!"

Major General Jenkins responded again, then hung up the phone helplessly and ordered his officers, "Let the 31st Regiment withdraw and rest!"

"Send the 33rd Regiment up and continue the attack. We must take these two hills no matter what."

"Yes sir!"

……

At this moment, in the headquarters of the Second Division of the puppet army opposite, the division commander, Lieutenant General Ding Yiquan, was also furious.

After fighting for an entire morning and suffering thousands of casualties, they were still unable to capture such a small hill.

Such a result is really hard for this old Korean to accept.

Generally speaking, the division commanders of the puppet army are usually brigadier generals, or at most major generals.

But Ding Yiquan is a lieutenant general, and he is the first lieutenant general in South Korea. He has previously served as the chief of the general staff, but now he has been demoted to the position of division commander.

The problem is that he wasn't demoted because he made any fatal mistake.

Some time ago, Ding Yiquan was ordered to go to the United States for further studies.

Originally, after returning to China, Old Man Li planned to make him the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces.

However, he was opposed by Van Fleet, because Van Fleet said that Ding Yiquan had only commanded one regiment at most before and lacked experience in leading troops, so he was not qualified for the position of commander-in-chief.

Ding Yiquan had indeed only led a regiment of soldiers before, and later worked in the General Staff as the Deputy Chief of Staff, and later as the Chief of Staff, always a high-ranking official. So Van Fleet said that in order to fill the gap in his qualifications, he should start as a division commander, then a corps commander, and then consider being promoted to commander.

So Ding Yiquan was appointed as the commander of the puppet Second Division with the rank of lieutenant general.

This old Korean guy feels aggrieved and has been holding a lot of anger in his heart, but now is the chance for him to show off, right?

Not long after he took office, the Battle of Shangganling broke out.

This old Korean guy is also rubbing his hands, ready to show off and let his American fathers see how capable he is.

But unexpectedly, they suffered a heavy blow from the Volunteer Army right from the start.

In just one morning, they lost more than a thousand soldiers. The problem was that they had not yet captured Hill 537.7. They were almost losing face.

At this time, a staff officer said cautiously: "The 7th Division of the US Army on the other side is not making good progress either, and two battalions have been destroyed."

Hearing this, Ding Yiquan's expression eased a little.

The US military suffered such heavy losses, but they still failed to capture Hill 597.9, which is almost the same as theirs!

This doesn't seem so shameful.

Return it to him, the Polar Bear Group?
Wasn’t it defeated in just half a day?
And this is not the first time that this polar bear has been crippled.

This damn polar bear, I think it’s more appropriate to call it a bear.

Because of Van Fleet, he was made the commander of a small division. He couldn't say anything, but he had long hated these Americans in his heart. At this moment, he cursed them in his heart.

However, Ding Yiquan changed his mind and thought, if he could get ahead of the US troops and capture Hill 537.7 in advance, wouldn’t that further prove his ability?
Let’s see what Van Vleet has to say then. This time we must give these self-righteous Americans a slap in the face.

Thinking of this, Ding Yiquan gritted his teeth and ordered loudly: "Mobilize the troops immediately and launch another attack."

"Call for artillery support from the U.S. military. After the artillery preparation is completed, launch another group charge."

"Capture Hill 537.7 for me at all costs."

A Korean officer said cautiously: "Your Excellency, the attacking troops have suffered too many casualties. Now the soldiers dare not launch an attack."

"Is it really worth it to continue fighting like this?"

Ding Yiquan was furious and said, "You know nothing! This is our own territory. We cannot give an inch to the enemy. Even if it costs us heavy casualties, we must take Hill 537.7."

"If the troops don't dare to charge, then what's the point of supervising the battle?"

"Let the supervision team go up to supervise the battle. Anyone who dares not charge will be executed on the spot."

"Yes!"

Ding Yiquan was completely crazy at this moment and decided to take the 537.7 high ground at all costs.

Ding Yiquan's order was quickly passed down.

With the support of the U.S. military's artillery fire, the puppet army's Second Division once again dispatched hundreds of troops to attack Hill 537.7.

A black mass of sticks, under the pressure of the supervision team, rushed towards the mountain screaming.

Under the repeated fierce attacks of the Babars, the volunteer troops on the position also suffered heavy casualties.

After a fierce battle, some enemies took the opportunity to sneak into the defenders' positions.

There were only three wounded soldiers left on Position No. 8. They were no longer able to hold their position and were preparing to retreat into the tunnel.

At this time, a stickman rushed up to the position, aimed a machine gun at the entrance of the tunnel and fired.

Dense bullets continued to hit the entrance of the tunnel, splashing up clouds of dust.

The three wounded were suppressed by the enemy's firepower and could only lie on the ground, not daring to move.

At this time, Sun Ziming, who was lying next to him, was suddenly awakened by the gunshot. It turned out that he was just knocked unconscious by the explosion, and his comrades thought he was dead.

Sun Ziming opened his eyes dazedly, just in time to see the man next to him, Bangzi, shouting and screaming like a madman, firing a machine gun.

At this moment, Sun Ziming was also seriously injured, but he endured the pain, stood up directly, roared, and rushed towards the puppet soldier.

When the puppet soldiers saw this, they were immediately frightened and thought it was a zombie or a ghost!

He struggled to break free from Sun Ziming, turned around and ran, not even caring about his machine gun.

Sun Ziming grabbed the machine gun, turned the gun around and fired a burst of shots, directly turning the stick into a sieve.

At this time, the machine gun was empty. Sun Ziming threw the gun aside and was about to look for other weapons.

However, more than 20 Koreans took the opportunity to rush up and surrounded Sun Ziming.

He was not afraid of danger. He simply pulled the fuses of the three grenades on his body, roared, and rushed towards the enemy group.

"Boom~!"

A violent explosion sounded, and more than 20 enemies who rushed up were all blown to the ground, and Sun Ziming died heroically.

The enemy's offensive was repelled again, but soon a large number of enemies rushed up again desperately.

At around noon, a large number of puppet troops rushed to the main position of Hill 537.7.

However, what greeted them was a brutal hand-to-hand combat.

Led by the company commander Wang Fuxin, the soldiers engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand fight with the puppet troops who swarmed in like locusts.

The battlefield was filled with shouts of killing and blood and flesh flying everywhere.

The sound of bayonets piercing the body, the snapping sound of breaking bones, the angry roars, and the screams of dying struggles were endless.

A deputy platoon leader of the Volunteer Army had his arm cut and his entire arm drooped, but he still insisted on fighting.

He held a bayonet in one hand, and his broken arm kept swinging back and forth as he ran, seriously affecting his movements.

The deputy platoon leader actually cut off the last piece of flesh with a knife, and the severed arm fell to the ground.

The deputy platoon leader shouted loudly: "Fuck you, I'm going to fight you."

The enemies around who saw this scene were all terrified. Some were so frightened that they turned around and ran away.

One enemy was so frightened that his legs went limp. The deputy platoon leader rushed forward, cut his neck with a knife, and then continued to pounce on other enemies.

Until he lost too much blood and exhausted his last bit of strength, the deputy platoon leader fell unwillingly on the battlefield. He held his bayonet tightly until his death, staring angrily at the direction where the enemy was rushing.

After a fierce and desperate fight, the battlefield was covered with corpses, blood flowed like a river, and corpses piled up like mountains.

There were soldiers who were exhausted and would detonate grenades or blasting tubes to die together with the enemies who were rushing towards them.

The battle lasted until two o'clock in the afternoon, and there were only more than twenty people left in the company, and most of them were injured.

However, the enemy continued to swarm onto the positions like locusts. Most of the positions had been lost. The soldiers were outnumbered and were forced to retreat into the tunnels to hold their ground.

All the surface positions of Hill 537.7 were lost. (End of this chapter)