Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

On June 6, Shima Genkichi commanded the Japanese to continue their fierce attack on the Wumaguicao line.

Under the tenacious resistance of the soldiers of the 190th Division, the Japanese offensive never made any progress, but instead suffered considerable casualties.

At this time, Shima Genkichi also understood that it would not be easy for the defenders to quickly defeat the 190th Division despite their advantageous terrain.

Therefore, Shima Genkichi had no choice but to change his strategy and started a war of attrition with the defenders. He used his advantage in artillery fire to continuously bombard the defenders' positions, and his attacks were mostly feints.

The battle went on intermittently throughout the entire day.

Li Guotao and his team got a rare period of rest.

During this day, no main force of the Japanese invaders launched a large-scale attack towards the airport.

The Japanese only sent a group of scouts to investigate the situation, but they were all killed by people arranged by Li Guotao.

In the headquarters, Li Guotao stared at the sand table in front of him and said, "Can you see that the Japanese have suddenly become patient? They are preparing to fight a war of attrition with us."

Yang Jihe nodded and said, "It seems that after these few battles, the Japanese are completely scared, so they dare not launch a large-scale offensive, but just keep probing around, looking for the weak points in our defense."

"But their artillery still bombards from time to time."

"It's obvious that they want to gradually deplete our military strength until we are completely exhausted."

Li Guotao analyzed: "They know that we are short of troops, this is just one of the points."

"Another point is that they are also waiting for the arrival of the follow-up main force."

"We have analyzed this before. The Xiangjiang River separates the east, so it is impossible for the Japanese to attack Hengyang from the main direction."

"Now that the airport is destroyed, there is no need for the Japanese to rush to capture the Jiangdong position."

"So they are waiting until their main force crosses the Xiangjiang River in the south, and then they form an encirclement of Hengyang from the south and even the west."

"That is their main attack direction for attacking Hengyang. They will also concentrate their main forces and continue to attack Hengyang City in that direction."

"And here, being able to disperse some of our forces will be of some benefit to the Japanese."

"After all, our troops are insufficient. If we leave some troops in the Jiangdong area, the defenders in the city will be less powerful."

Yang Jihe pondered for a moment and said, "You mean, there is no need for us to stay in Jiangdong area now."

"We should withdraw all our forces back into the city to defend Hengyang."

Li Guotao pointed at the map and said, "You can see that such a large area in Jiangdong is currently only defended by our 190th Division and part of the Provisional 54th Division."

"They are called two divisions, but in reality they only have the strength of two regiments."

“How do you defend such a large area?”

"If we hadn't occupied the advantageous position, we would have been divided and surrounded by the Japanese and then annihilated one by one."

"Even if we continue to fight, we will be consumed bit by bit by the Japanese. This is basically meaningless for defending Hengyang."

Yang Jihe nodded slightly and said, "What you said does make some sense. You mean that we should withdraw all our troops to Hengyang."

Li Guotao pointed at the map and said, "We have discovered that there are a large number of Japanese scouts in the south. If nothing unexpected happens, the Japanese army will soon arrive in the south of the city and surround Hengyang from the south and west."

"At that time, the enemy will certainly concentrate their forces and launch a general attack in the south and west. The east will definitely not be their main attack direction due to the natural barrier of the Xiangjiang River."

"We held on here before to delay the speed of the Japanese and buy time for the defenders."

"But as the main force of the Japanese army crosses the river from the south and arrives south of Hengyang, it becomes meaningless to continue to hold on to the Jiangdong area."

Yang Jihe nodded and said, "What you said makes some sense, but the main force of the Japanese has not yet arrived in the south of the city."

Li Guotao casually said: "The main forces of the Japanese 68th Division and the 116th Division are all heading south."

"I guess it will only take a day or two."

"Once their main force arrives, they will surely launch a general attack on Hengyang City."

"At that time, the battle has just begun."

Li Guotao also knew this. Although it was now the third day of fighting, it was actually just peripheral fighting. The main force of the Japanese had not yet arrived at the city of Hengyang, and had not yet formed an encirclement of Hengyang.

Once the Japanese surrounded Hengyang, they would launch a real general offensive, and that was when the battle truly began.

Now it's just a warm-up at best.

Of course, if we can take advantage of this opportunity to kill more Japanese devils, it will be very beneficial for the next battle.

Yang Jihe pondered for a moment and said, "But this matter is not something we can decide."

Li Guotao frowned and said, "The main reason is that the Japanese have learned their lesson. They are not desperately continuing to attack. Therefore, if we continue to fight like this, we will not actually gain much advantage and will just waste our manpower."

Yang Jihe asked, "You mean we need to report this to our superiors and suggest that we retreat to Hengyang City and hold our ground."

Li Guotao waved his hand and said, "These superiors are not fools. They don't need us to remind them of these things."

Yang Jihe asked in confusion: "Then what do you mean by what you just said?"

Li Guotao smiled and said: "One of Hengyang and Jiangdong must be abandoned, so Jiangdong must be abandoned."

"Once the main force of the Japanese invaders arrives in Hengyang, they will surely launch a general attack. Then our superiors will transfer us back to defend Hengyang City."

"Before that, we can still try our best to achieve some results in Jiangdong."

"Try to take advantage of this opportunity to kill more devils."

Yang Jihe smiled and nodded, saying, "I understand. You have just been quiet for a while, but now you are getting restless again."

"It's just that now the Japanese are not launching a fierce attack like before. They are just launching a small-scale attack. They are preparing to fight a protracted war with us to wear us down."

"In this case, we don't have much chance."

Li Guotao explained: "If the Japanese don't give us opportunities, then we have to take the initiative to create opportunities. We can't just wait for the Japanese to come to us."

Hearing this, Yang Jihe frowned deeply and said thoughtfully: "You mean, we should take the initiative to attack."

"Correct!"

Li Guotao smiled and said, "The Japanese think we don't have enough troops and will definitely not dare to attack us. If we launch a sneak attack at this time, we can catch them by surprise." Hearing this, Yang Jihe nodded and said, "What you said does make sense, but after all, our troops are limited. It seems a bit too risky to take the initiative to attack."

Li Guotao said: "There is no such thing as war without risk. We can't just sit there and wait."

"If we have a chance to kill more of the devils, it will reduce some of the pressure in future battles."

"Let's take a step back. We only have this battalion of troops. Even if we fail and suffer some losses, it won't have much impact on the overall situation."

"But if you're lucky, you might be able to get a great bargain."

Yang Jihe frowned and said, "I knew you were bold and would do anything."

"only……"

Yang Jihe still had some concerns about this matter.

Li Guotao pointed at the map and continued, "Look, according to the current situation, the main force of the Japanese has crossed the Leishui River, and the number of troops gathered in the area east of the Leishui River is not too large."

"The subsequent 68th Division and 116th Division will directly detour to the south and surround Hengyang from the south, so they will not come here again."

"So there are only about one brigade of Japanese troops left in the vicinity, and most of these small Japanese troops have crossed the Leishui River and reached the Wumaguicao front."

"Leishui is a tributary of Xiangjiang River, which converges north of Hengyang. If we take a boat from Xiangjiang River, we can enter Leishui River from here, then cross Leishui River from the north and go straight to the area east of Quanxi."

"According to previous intelligence, these Japanese soldiers came from the east and crossed the Leishui River through Quanxi."

"Now that their main forces have all arrived in the area east of the Xiangjiang River, the defenses in the rear must be empty. If we launch a surprise attack at night, we will surely win."

"The Japanese's logistical supplies are basically transported along this route."

"If we're lucky, we might be able to seize a large amount of strategic materials, and then transport them from here to the Xiangjiang River by water."

"Of course, I also know that this is definitely a bit risky, but as long as we are careful, there is still a great chance of success."

"It's much better than just passively taking a beating like this."

Hearing this, Yang Jihe couldn't help but feel moved.

"How sure are you?"

Li Guotao said: "It's hard to say, but if the enemy has more troops here, we won't act rashly."

"At least it's safe, so we have to give it a try."

Yang Jihe pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's go to the division headquarters immediately."

"This matter is of great importance and requires the cooperation of our superiors. If they disagree, then there is nothing we can do."

Afterwards, Yang Jihe and Li Guotao hurried to the division headquarters.

The two men carefully introduced the entire battle plan to Commander Rong.

Commander Rong's combat style is relatively conservative, and he initially disagreed with Li Guotao and his men's risky actions.

But after Li Guotao's constant persuasion, he was finally tempted.

Commander Rong finally said: "I can dispatch ships to assist you, but you must ensure your safety. Don't sacrifice yourself without being able to defeat the enemy. We only have so few troops left in the 190th Division, and we really can't afford the loss."

Li Guotao said quickly: "Please rest assured, Commander. We are only bringing two companies this time. If there is an opportunity, we will act decisively. If there is no opportunity, we will not take risks and will withdraw as soon as possible. There will not be too much danger."

Commander Rong nodded in satisfaction and reported the matter to the military. After obtaining the approval of Commander Fang, he began to take action.

Under the dispatch of the military, dozens of civilian ships were dispatched to assist Li Guotao and his men in the battle.

Li Guotao mobilized two companies of troops. Yang Jihe was somewhat worried that Li Guotao would be too bold and reckless, so he asked to lead the team himself.

In this way, Li Guotao, Yang Jihe and others, with more than 200 soldiers, quietly boarded a boat at a pier on the Xiangjiang River, and then took the boat into the Leishui River. Under the cover of night, they quietly went south along the Leishui River.

With Li Guotao as a living map leading the way, and taking advantage of the darkness along the way, no noise was made.

The boat docked at the shore, and then Li Guotao and his soldiers quietly went ashore.

Yang Jihe approached Li Guotao and said, "I have already told them to meet us at the designated location. They should hide in the reed marsh and wait for orders."

"Even if there is any accident, we can contact the division headquarters through the radio. There are a group of ships waiting to pick us up there."

Li Guotao nodded and said, "It's better to be prepared!"

At that time, the defenders also requisitioned hundreds of ships nearby. These were small civilian ships, and their purpose was to pick up the troops east of the Xiangjiang River and retreat to Hengyang.

Therefore, there are quite enough ships, and this time only a batch of them were temporarily allocated for their use.

Li Guotao observed the surrounding situation and then said, "I will lead the scouts in front, and the regiment commander will lead the other brothers to follow from behind."

"According to the original plan, we will move east of Quanxi."

Yang Jihe nodded and said, "Okay! Be careful on the road. If you are accidentally exposed, retreat immediately and don't fight. We will pick you up when the time comes."

Li Guotao quickly responded: "Don't worry, I know my limits."

Yang Jihe was reassured about Li Guotao, because based on what he had learned over the past two days, he knew that Li Guotao was still very concerned about the casualties of his troops. Although he seemed bold and reckless, he was actually unwilling to let his soldiers take risks.

After several battles, we used all available advantages to eliminate the Japanese while minimizing casualties.

Therefore, Yang Jihe was relatively relieved about Li Guotao.

Before leaving, Li Guotao patted Yang Jihe on the shoulder and said, "Captain, I have a feeling that we will definitely make a fortune this time."

Another premonition?

But this kid's premonitions always seem to be pretty accurate, so this time shouldn't be any different.

After Li Guotao finished speaking, he took a few scouts to clear the way and carefully moved towards the area east of Quanxi.

Yang Jihe led the rest of the people and moved forward cautiously in the dark. He was very nervous all the way, fearing that he would be discovered by the enemy.

However, after listening to what Li Guotao just said, Yang Jihe also had some expectations in his heart. (End of this chapter)