Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Li Guotao was awakened from his sleep by the sound of artillery fire from the front line. He then rushed to the top of the mountain with a telescope. Seeing the continuous artillery fire from the direction of Tingbing Hill, Li Guotao could not help but frowning.

"Damn it! These damn Japanese devils never stop making trouble."

Li Guotao did not expect that the Japanese would launch a night attack at this time.

Judging from the situation, the fighting on the front line is very fierce.

At this time, the signalman ran over and said, "Battalion Commander, I finally found you. The regiment commander asked you to go to the regiment headquarters."

"understood!"

Li Guotao responded, put down the telescope, turned around, went down the mountain, and went straight to the regiment headquarters.

On the way, Li Guotao remembered that he still had one chance to enter the lottery.

He opened the system and directly instructed it: "Start the lottery immediately."

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

[Ding Dong~! Congratulations to the host for successfully drawing Yang Zhihua's artillery battalion (400 people), from the Artillery God World. ]

A gleam of light flashed in Li Guotao's eyes, and he actually managed to draw an artillery unit.

However, Yang Zhihua's artillery battalion was from the Eighth Route Army. All of their guns were captured from the Japanese. There was no unified equipment at all, and the guns they were equipped with were of various types, ranging from mortars to mountain and field guns captured from the Japanese.

But no matter what, this is an artillery battalion. In modern warfare, the role of artillery is unquestionable. With such a force, Li Guotao's strength can also be strengthened.

After all, it is quite difficult to completely defeat the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of main forces of the Japanese relying solely on infantry. This time, an artillery battalion was drawn out, which can somewhat make up for the shortage of artillery.

Li Guotao was quite satisfied with the result.

Soon, Li Guotao arrived at the regiment headquarters.

Yang Jihe looked up at Li Guotao and said, "The Japanese suddenly launched a sneak attack. Tingbing Mountain has been lost, and the Gaoling defenders have also withdrawn."

"Judging from the current situation, the Japanese will continue to attack."

Li Guotao was not at all surprised by this, because it had been determined before that if Tingbing Mountain and Gaoling were attacked fiercely by the Japanese, they would choose to abandon them, because it was impossible to continue defending there.

The defenders are short of manpower, and in order to preserve their strength and hold out for a longer period of time, they can only abandon some outer positions when necessary.

The two frontline positions of Tingbingshan and Gaoling blocked the Japanese for three days and completed their mission.

Li Guotao glanced at the map on the table and said, "That means the Japanese will definitely gather their troops and continue their attack?"

Yang Jihe nodded and said, "Looking at the situation, it should be like this. I originally thought that since their artillery positions were blown up, they might stop attacking."

"It seems that our prediction was wrong this time."

Li Guotao said thoughtfully: "It is obvious that the Japanese want to take Hengyang as soon as possible. They don't want to waste any more time."

Yang Jihe nodded and said, "The Japanese are so impatient. This is not a good thing for us."

Li Guotao sat on the chair next to him and said, "I don't think it's a bad thing."

Yang Jihe frowned upon hearing this and said, "What do you mean?"

Li Guotao explained: "What I mean is, you see, we have built so many fortifications to defend Hengyang."

"Now the artillery regiments of the two divisions of the Japanese are probably all destroyed. There is not enough artillery fire."

"If they launch a strong attack at this time, regardless of the cost, then we can take advantage of this opportunity to consume more of their manpower."

"Hehe~! I'm just afraid the Japanese don't have the courage."

Li Guotao estimated that the Japanese would not be so stupid. In the previous battles, they had already witnessed the power of Fang Xianjue's trench. At this time, would they continue to attack fiercely regardless of casualties?

It's unlikely. At the very least, they have to wait until the follow-up support arrives before they can let go and continue the attack.

Therefore, it is estimated that the scale of tonight's sneak attack will not continue to expand. At least the Japanese will not continue to attack at the cost of casualties.

Yang Jihe pondered for a moment, and seemed to have figured out the key point. He asked tentatively: "You mean, the Japanese may not be so stupid."

Li Guotao nodded slightly and continued, "Of course, we can't be careless. This time, the Japanese probably expected that we might slack off, so they took this opportunity to launch a sneak attack."

"So we still have to strengthen our vigilance. As for the Japanese, I don't think they will stop their offensive."

"The Japanese have no advantage in this kind of assault, so they will definitely use poison gas bombs to reduce casualties."

"We don't have any good countermeasures for this. We can only do our best to prevent it and minimize the losses."

Yang Jihe said: "The commander has ordered that all gas masks be distributed to the brothers on the front line."

"The commander also said that he would apply to the higher-ups to see if they could airdrop a batch of gas masks."

Li Guotao didn't have a better solution for this. Among the supplies that exploded when he killed the enemies before, there were indeed some gas masks.

However, the quantity was not too large, and Li Guotao found opportunities to exchange them all.

However, it is still far from enough. Now all troops are short of gas masks, and the 10th Army can only barely ensure that some frontline combatants can wear gas masks.

And most importantly, this thing is also a consumable. I don’t know how much damage it will suffer after a battle.

In fact, any equipment is consumable, and after a battle, there will be some damage.

There is no better solution, so we can only try to use primitive methods to solve it. For the soldiers on the front line, we should distribute as many towels as possible and prepare enough water just in case.

Li Guotao glanced at the map and said, "If this trend continues, Zhangjiashan will definitely become their main attack direction."

Yang Jihe nodded and said, "Zhangjiashan is a very important place. The Japanese will definitely take it at all costs, and our army will do its best to defend it."

"We must be ready to fight at any time and be ready to support Zhangjiashan."

Li Guotao asked: "Has the commander issued an order?"

Yang Jihe replied: "We are the reserve team, and we don't have a clear mission yet, but I guess if the devils launch another strong attack, we will soon have to go to the battlefield again."

Just as Li Guotao expected, although the Japanese did not stop attacking, they did not launch a large-scale attack as crazy as before. Instead, they launched more small-scale exploratory attacks.

If the defenders resist stubbornly, they will retreat in time.

If they encounter a position where the defenders are weak in defense and resistance, the Japanese will take the opportunity to launch a fierce attack and seize these positions.

After two days of fighting, the Japanese occupied some positions on the periphery, and these positions that were forced to be abandoned were naturally unimportant positions.

Shima Genkichi organized his troops and launched several attacks on Zhangjiashan, but all of them failed. Zhangjiashan is very important. As long as Zhangjiashan is captured, a hole can be torn in the defense line of the defenders, and the entire defense line may be in danger of collapse.

After two days of rest and replenishment, the old Japanese soldier Isamu Yokoyama urgently transferred a part of the artillery from the rear and transported a batch of poison gas bombs to the front line, which restored some strength of the Japanese soldiers on the front line.

Moreover, reinforcements were still pouring into the Hengyang front, and Yokoyama Isamu was determined to take Hengyang as soon as possible at all costs.

Shima Genkichi was discussing with his officers about continuing the attack on Zhangjiashan when a Japanese officer came over and whispered, "General, the commander of the Iwanaga division is calling."

Upon hearing this, Shima Genkichi hurried over and answered the phone.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, I am Shima Genkichi."

The voice of Lieutenant General Iwanaga Wang came from the other side.

"Shima-kun, what's the situation on the front line now? Have you taken Zhangjiashan?"

Shima Genkichi said respectfully: "Your Excellency the Division Commander, please calm down. The enemy resistance at Zhangjiashan is very tenacious. We have launched several attacks, but all failed."

"The locust army suffered heavy losses. We are now studying how to capture Zhangjiashan."

Yan Yongwang couldn't help cursing, "Bagayalu, I didn't expect these hateful enemies to be so difficult to deal with."

"Zhangjiashan is of great importance. We must take it down as soon as possible."

"Hayi~!"

Shima Genkichi responded respectfully: "Your Excellency the division commander is absolutely right. We will definitely find a way to capture Zhangjiashan as soon as possible."

Yan Yong Wang continued, "I also know that your 68th Division is under too much pressure and may be short of manpower. So, let's give the task of attacking Zhangjiashan to the 120th Regiment!"

"I have already sent the main force of the 120th Regiment to Zhangjiashan. They will be in charge of the main attack, and you will be responsible for assisting. Our two divisions will cooperate sincerely and must take down Zhangjiashan."

"Hai!"

Although Shima Genkichi had been cursing in his heart, he did not dare to express the slightest dissatisfaction.

After all, Iwanaga Wang is now in charge of the full command of the two divisions on the front line, and Shima Genkichi can only obey orders obediently and dare not express any dissatisfaction.

Previously, Yokoyama Isamu had sent a telegram, repeatedly emphasizing that he must obey Iwanaga Wang's command.

Therefore, even though Shima Genkichi understood that Iwanaga Wang was trying to steal the credit, he had no choice but to obey orders.

Iwanaga Wang was also very happy to see that Shima Genkichi agreed so readily.

"Yoshi~! Shima-kun, as long as we work together sincerely and take down Hengyang City, we will all be heroes of the empire."

Shima Genkichi said quickly: "Your Excellency the Division Commander is absolutely right. I firmly believe that under your wise command, we will be able to capture Hengyang in no time."

The two chatted for a few more sentences, and after hanging up the phone, Shima Genkichi couldn't help but curse, "Bakayayalu."

At this time, the Japanese officer next to him asked, "General, what instructions does the commander of the Iwanaga division have?"

Shima Genkichi frowned and said, "He has sent the 120th Regiment to Zhangjiashan. They will take the lead in attacking Zhangjiashan."

A Japanese lieutenant colonel said angrily: "Aren't they clearly trying to steal the credit?"

"They must be worried that we would take Zhangjiashan and then attack Hengyang first, so they came to take over our attack."

Shima Genkichi waved his hand and said, "Alright, no need to say any more."

"Things have already come to this, what can we do?"

"After all, Iwanaga Wang is the frontline commander designated by Commander Yokoyama. We can only obey his orders."

"Zhangjiashan is not that easy to conquer. If they want to rob it, then just give it to them."

"I just want to see how powerful the 116th Division is!"

Although Shima Genkichi was angry, he changed his mind and realized that Zhangjiashan was also a tough nut to crack and was not so easy to chew.

Since Yan Yongwang is so eager to take the credit, just give it to him.

Even if I can't grab the first credit, as long as I don't make too big of a mistake, I can be considered to have passed this time.

Moreover, if the 116th Division's attack was thwarted, they would have to attack Zhangjiashan again.

A Japanese officer said: "General, what should we do next?"

Shima Genkichi pondered for a moment, then said: "We should fully cooperate with them. At this critical moment, the locust army must work together sincerely to capture Hengyang."

"Understand?"

"Hayi~!"

The Japanese officers present responded in unison.

The reason why Shima Genkichi did this was because this guy really didn't dare to cause trouble now. He was already redeeming himself for meritorious service. If he was caught with any evidence at this time, wouldn't it be terrible?

Therefore, at this critical moment, one has to behave himself. Therefore, the old Japanese did not dare to cause any trouble and still ordered the troops to launch attacks from other directions to cooperate with the 120th Regiment to launch a general attack on Zhangjiashan.

Early the next morning, the Japanese concentrated their artillery fire and fiercely bombarded the Zhangjiashan defenders' positions.

The Japanese also sent planes to bomb the Zhangjiashan position.

The commander of the Japanese 120th Regiment and Colonel Erjilong personally rushed to the front line to command the battle.

The old Japanese soldier was holding a telescope and observing the situation on the battlefield.

A Japanese officer nearby introduced: "In front of the Zhangjiashan position, there are two high grounds, namely 227.7 High Ground and 221 High Ground. These two high grounds are the gateways to Zhangjiashan."

"If the locust army wants to occupy Zhangjiashan, they must occupy these two small hills and use them as a stepping stone to attack the main position of Zhangjiashan."

"But the enemy's resistance was very tenacious. The 68th Division's previous attack had incurred considerable casualties. Although it had captured these two small hills, the enemy quickly launched a counterattack and recaptured them, thus failing at the last hurdle."

Colonel He Erjilong sneered and said, "Humph! I don't believe that with the strength of our entire regiment, we can't take down a small Zhangjiashan."

"Besides, the division commander will fully support us, and the troops of the 68th Division will not stand idly by."

"Immediately order the first echelon to launch an attack and take down the two small hills ahead first."

"Hayi~!"

A Japanese officer responded respectfully and turned to convey the order. (End of this chapter)