Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Li Guotao said: "It's just that the Japanese have suffered such a great loss, and they have also seen the commander's powerful defensive fortifications. They must be thinking of countermeasures."

"These damn devils are not fools. They will definitely find ways to deal with us."

"However, the Japanese may not have a good way to deal with the military commander's defense system. Our army can rely on these fortifications to hold off the Japanese for a while."

"But these bastards are so heartless that if conventional force attacks don't work, they will definitely resort to underhanded tactics."

Commander Fang was also a veteran with rich experience in fighting against Japan. When he heard this, he immediately understood.

"You're right. These devils have suffered heavy losses. They will most likely use poison gas bombs."

At this time, a staff officer nearby said: "Our army is currently equipped with a serious shortage of gas masks. Once the enemy uses poison gas, it will pose a great threat to us."

Commander Fang couldn't help but frown, because the Japanese repeatedly used poison gas, causing considerable casualties to our army.

In order to prevent their poison gas, veterans from various units also have some experience.

However, the best thing to deal with poison gas is the gas mask, but this thing could not be produced domestically at that time and was completely dependent on imports.

Although the Allies also provided support in this regard, the number of gas masks was still far from enough, and they were basically given priority to the expeditionary force, while other troops received even fewer.

Therefore, the 10th Army’s gas masks were quite limited and were not enough to meet the troops’ needs.

Commander Fang pondered for a moment, then immediately ordered: "Gather all the gas masks immediately and give priority to the brothers on the front lines."

"Yes!"

A staff officer nearby responded quickly.

Li Guotao reminded again: "If I'm not mistaken, this won't be able to meet the needs of all the troops."

"More water should be prepared at various positions. Now is the rainy season, and God is helping us. There is no shortage of water. Prepare more water at the front-line positions, and equip each person with at least two wet towels."

"If you find the Japanese using poison gas, immediately cover your mouth and nose with a wet towel. It is best to cover your entire face."

"Also, the Japanese now have corrosive poison gas, which can cause poisoning if it comes into contact with the skin, so we should try to avoid exposing any skin, especially the hands, face and legs, to the air."

“Minimize the losses as much as possible.”

Commander Fang nodded and said, "That makes sense. Let's do as he says. All troops must execute it immediately. We must act quickly."

"Yes!"

Commander Fang then said, "The Japanese suddenly stopped their attack. What do you think of this?"

Li Guotao said casually: "I guess the casualties are too great. The Japanese can't afford to fight anymore. They can only stop the attack temporarily and go back to find a solution."

"And they probably can't think of any good solution. Poison gas may be their only means."

"Other than that, they can only ask for reinforcements. I'm afraid there won't be any other solutions."

Commander Fang nodded slightly and said, "Well! Their sneak attack last night also failed. They probably won't use this trick again tonight."

"Of course, we can't be careless."

"Even if we use poison gas, we probably have to wait until tomorrow, but we have to be prepared at all times."

"The commander is wise!"

Commander Fang continued, "I have already ordered all of your regiments to be deployed to the southern part of the city as a reserve force, ready to support the frontline at any time."

"Yes!"

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

Li Guotao continued, "Commander, I think what we need to do now is to rely on the defensive positions you have built to block the attacks of the Japanese and consume their manpower."

"But our military strength is limited, so we must do our best to avoid a confrontation with them."

"According to my understanding, Gaoling and Tingbingshan have been holding off the Japanese for two days. Under the Japanese's bombardment, the fortifications have been severely damaged. If we continue to defend, our casualties will be great."

"It is better to give up decisively, shrink the defense line, and use the rear position to continue blocking."

Commander Fang sighed helplessly and said, "We still have too few troops, and according to the information we have received, the enemy's reinforcements are still heading to the front line."

"In addition to the two divisions besieging Hengyang, the Japanese soldiers responsible for covering the periphery of Hengyang have at least two divisions of troops, and a large number of Japanese soldiers are constantly heading to the front line. The total enemy strength exceeds 100,000."

"We don't have any advantages at all. We have already mobilized all the forces that can be mobilized."

"With limited manpower, it is not advisable to fight the Japanese to death. We can only use the terrain advantage as much as possible to block the Japanese layer by layer and continue to delay time."

"Old Ge!"

Commander Fang said this and turned to look at Commander Ge of the 10th Reserve Division next to him.

"Please make the arrangements! Let the defenders of Gaoling and Tingbingshan take this opportunity to repair their positions as much as possible."

"If the Japanese attack again, we should defend if we can. If we can't, we should withdraw in time and save as many troops as possible."

Commander Ge quickly said, "Yes, I will decide based on the situation."

……

By the evening, Yang Jihe and his brothers from the 568th Regiment arrived at the south of the city. It could be called the 568th Regiment, or the First Battalion, because apart from the First Battalion, the 568th Regiment only had the regimental headquarters left.

The brothers of the first battalion were ordered to set up camp behind several small hills. This place was relatively hidden and there was still some distance from the front line. At least for now, it was an absolutely safe place.

Yang Jihe said: "The task assigned to us by our superiors is to serve as the reserve team."

Li Guotao said: "Don't worry, the battle has reached this point, and the scale will only get bigger and bigger."

"Our army is short of manpower. Rather than being a reserve force, we will soon become a fire brigade."

"Will you still worry about not having a war to fight by then?"

"Haha~!"

Yang Jihe laughed and said, "I'm not worried about that. I'm worried that you might have an opinion."

Li Guotao smiled and said, "I have no objection. I killed quite a few Japanese soldiers at the front today."

"And I've also told the commander that we can conduct reconnaissance at the frontline at any time in the future."

"We've come this far, how can there be no war to fight?"

"I see!"

Yang Jihe smiled and said, "Okay, as long as you don't have any objections."

"But the brothers have won several battles before, and I think they are a little too proud of themselves. They can't help but want to fight the Japanese again."

"Of course, this is human nature."

Li Guotao nodded slightly and said, "A proud army will be defeated. We must not underestimate the enemy. The commander needs to pay more attention to this aspect." Yang Jihe waved his hand and said, "Stop talking about these useless things."

Li Guotao said: "What I said is true. The strength of the Japanese is not weak. It is not that easy to defeat them."

"Once we are on the battlefield, we should be more careful and never underestimate the enemy."

Yang Jihe nodded and said, "I didn't say that. Now that I've brought up this matter, I'll naturally try my best to resolve it."

"I mean, don't call me the commander. It makes me uncomfortable."

"Haha~!"

Li Guotao laughed and said, "You'll get used to it. You're now a colonel and a regiment commander."

"By the way, I just saw Song Weiguo coming here too."

"Didn't the commander tell him to stay at the headquarters to help with air defense and liaison with the Flying Tigers?"

Yang Jihe explained with a smile: "The thing is, didn't you rescue a pilot today?"

Li Guotao nodded and said, "Yes, his injury should be fine, right?"

Yang Jihe said: "It's nothing serious, I just got hit. I felt a little dizzy at first, but I'm awake now. But I lost four teeth, and I have a lisp when I speak."

Li Guotao nodded slightly and said, "As long as it doesn't affect the flying of the plane."

Yang Jihe continued: "But he can't go back now, Hengyang has been surrounded."

"The Hengyang Airport was bombed and fell into the hands of the Japanese. This guy is a squad leader, so he has some experience."

"With him in the military, Song Weiguo, a mediocre guy, is useless, so he came with us."

Li Guotao nodded slightly and said, "That's good. We are in need of people right now."

"There are not enough soldiers. Each person has to be split into two halves."

"I really hope that reinforcements can arrive soon."

Yang Jihe sighed slightly, but some words were difficult to say. In fact, he also knew some of the situation. Under the current circumstances, it would be difficult for the higher authorities to mobilize superior forces to rescue Hengyang.

Because the focus is now on the expeditionary force's counterattack in Burma, the most elite troops are basically deployed to Burma.

The Japanese launched the Henan-Hunan-Guangxi Campaign and have now reached Hunan, and Changsha has been lost.

The disastrous defeats in northern Henan and Hunan resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of troops and large tracts of territory.

As a result, the military force is even more insufficient. Neither the Ninth War Zone nor Chongqing can probably allocate strong troops to support Hengyang. It is almost impossible to rescue Hengyang.

Of course, Yang Jihe only dared to think about this kind of thing in his mind and absolutely dared not say it out loud.

Li Guotao seemed to see what Yang Jihe was thinking. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, our reinforcements will definitely arrive."

"We will not only repel these little devils outside Hengyang, but we will also defeat them thoroughly."

"The Japanese are already on their last legs, yet they still dare to act so rampantly. Let's make Hengyang their grave."

Yang Jihe looked at Li Guotao in surprise. He really didn't know where this kid got such confidence from.

Judging from the current situation, even a fool can see that the current situation is extremely unfavorable for the defenders.

Yang Jihe didn't believe that Li Guotao would not see this. Judging from the current trend, it would be a luxury for them to be able to repel the Japanese.

And now Li Guotao even vowed that he could completely wipe out this group of Japanese devils. This is really too arrogant.

Even the pilot of the Flying Tigers didn't talk so arrogantly! Of course, it was definitely not because he had lost four teeth and was just bragging.

Yang Jihe smiled bitterly and said, "I hope so."

Li Guotao also realized that this guy definitely didn't believe what he said. He didn't want to explain it to him in detail, so he just smiled mysteriously.

"Just wait! In about a month and a half, the outcome of this battle will be clear."

"As long as we can get through this, we will definitely win."

Yang Jihe understood instantly that this boy was just trying to persuade him to hold on.

What you said makes sense. We'll know the result in a month and a half.

Judging from the current trend, they will hardly be able to last more than a month, and by then he will probably have died on the battlefield.

But Yang Jihe had nothing to worry about. He was a professional soldier. He died on the battlefield, wrapped in his horse's hide. Moreover, he died for his country. It was a glorious death, which was also the best destination for a soldier.

As the night grew darker, the two chatted for a while and then went back to bed.

When Li Guotao was half asleep, a crisp system prompt sound rang again.

[Ding Dong~! Congratulations to the host for successfully winning a chance to draw a lottery. ]

Li Guotao suddenly opened his eyes, his face filled with excitement.

It's time to draw again.

This is the fifth time.

Li Guotao instructed the system without hesitation: "Start the lottery immediately."

[Ding Dong~! The lucky draw begins. Please wait...]

[Ding Dong~! Congratulations on successfully drawing the Special One Battalion (550 people), from my Special One Battalion world. ]

The crisp system prompt sound rang again, and Li Guotao was overjoyed.

This time, they actually drew a battalion of troops, a total of 550 people.

Moreover, this First Special Forces Battalion is the elite of the 56th Army in my First Special Forces Battalion world. Not only are they well-equipped, but each of them is composed of carefully selected veterans, so their combat effectiveness is naturally not to be underestimated.

Li Guotao did not expect that an entire battalion of troops, and an elite force at that, would be mobilized at once, so he was naturally very excited.

In this way, Li Guotao's strength became even stronger.

I became more confident about the decisive battle in more than forty days.

If this trend continues, in more than 40 days, Li Guotao will have a powerful army. By then, as long as the army is properly deployed, it will be no problem to kill these Japanese devils.

Thinking of this, Li Guotao was also very excited. The biggest problem now was to try to preserve his strength and hold on to the final counterattack.

The Japanese have already launched attacks from several battlefields in the south and west, although it seems relatively calm tonight.

But this kind of calm is more like the last peace before the storm. Everyone knows that the Japanese will inevitably attack like a storm. (End of this chapter)