Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

As a loud explosion sounded, the sandbags that were originally blocking the entrance of the bunker were blown into pieces.

The Japanese soldiers who were in charge of observation nearby saw this scene and immediately sent out a signal that the bunker was destroyed. The two bunkers were destroyed one after another by the Japanese soldiers using the same method.

After destroying the bunker, the Japanese immediately mobilized their main forces to intensify their offensive on the main peak position of Zhangjiashan.

The news quickly reached Jiro Kono's headquarters.

"Report to the commander, the attacking force reports that the enemy's two bunkers have been completely destroyed."

"Yoshi~!"

A smile finally appeared on Jiro Takano's face. After destroying these two bunkers, it would become easier to capture the main peak of Zhangjiashan.

Takano Jiro said with some pride: "It seems that these two bunkers are not that difficult to destroy!"

"In this way, I don't think those cunning enemies will be able to come up with any new tricks."

The Japanese officers from the 116th Division present at the scene could not help but curl their lips, feeling extremely unconvinced.

I thought: If we hadn't warned you in advance and told you the method, how could you have destroyed these two bunkers so easily?

Now he takes all the credit for himself, how shameless.

However, even though I thought so in my heart, I didn't dare say it out loud.

At this moment, Jiro Takano was in a good mood. Although he had lost a large number of troops, fortunately Zhangjiashan could be captured soon. It was considered a great achievement. It was better than their 116th Division, which lost so many troops and ultimately failed to capture Zhangjiashan.

At this moment, the battle on Zhangjiashan became even more brutal.

A large number of Japanese soldiers rushed towards the main peak of Zhangjiashan, wave after wave, launching continuous and fierce attacks on the main peak of Zhangjiashan.

The Japanese also set up a large number of machine guns on Hill 221 and Hill 227.7, and fired fiercely at the main peak positions to provide fire cover for the attacking forces.

At the same time, more and more Japanese soldiers climbed up from the southern hillside, passed the top of the mountain, and continued to attack the main peak.

Captain Lao ordered loudly: "Brothers, fight to the death. No matter what, you must hold on and stop the enemy's attack."

"Yes!"

At this moment, all the brothers on the position were blood-thirsty and were trying their best to block the Japanese attack.

Captain Lao observed the situation and immediately ordered: "Flying Thunder Cannon, aim at the top of the opposite mountain and fire another round at him."

"Yes!"

It turned out that when the Japanese bombarded, the brothers had already moved the flying thunder cannon to a safe place in time.

Therefore, the Japanese's indiscriminate bombing did not cause much damage to these flying thunder cannons.

Although these flying thunder cannons are all cheap, all kinds of supplies are in short supply in Hengyang City now. Each weapon is very precious and naturally needs to be protected with all efforts.

At this time, dozens of flying thunder cannons had been deployed to the corresponding positions.

Following the order from Captain Lao, dozens of flying thunder cannons opened fire one after another.

One after another, explosive packs were thrown onto Hill 227.7 and Hill 221.

"Boom~! Boom~!"

Violent explosions were heard, flames rose into the sky, and the two hilltops were once again covered by artillery fire.

The Japanese heavy machine gun positions and the Japanese soldiers who had just come up the mountain were immediately blown to pieces, suffering heavy casualties.

Takano Jiro, the old devil, had been keeping an eye on the situation at the front line. Seeing this scene, he could not help but get furious and said, "Damn it, these damn artillery pieces have not been destroyed."

Without even looking, Jiro Takano could guess that this round of shelling had caused them considerable casualties.

The old devil roared in anger: "Continue the attack. No matter what, we must take down the main peak of Zhangjiashan."

"Hayi~!"

At this moment, the old Japanese soldier has become completely bloodthirsty and will spare no expense to capture the Zhangjiashan position.

A Japanese officer nearby said: "According to my humble judgment, the frequency of their shelling is not too high."

Takano Jiro nodded slightly and said, "This shows that their rate of fire for this kind of breakthrough is very slow."

The Japanese officer continued, "There may be another reason, that is, the defenders are short of ammunition and cannot guarantee continuous firing with this kind of homemade cannon."

"Yoshi~!"

Takano Jiro nodded slightly and said, "But no matter what the reason is, we can't delay too long. We must take the main peak of Zhangjiashan as soon as possible. If we continue to delay, our casualties will only be greater."

The Japanese officer said respectfully: "Your Excellency the Colonel is wise."

Takano Jiro gritted his teeth and said, "Before dark, you must take down the Zhangjiashan position for me."

"Hayi~!"

……

However, just as the fierce battle was in full swing, a large number of Japanese soldiers rushed to the bottom of the main peak and were rushing upwards with all their might.

Behind the Japanese soldiers, intensive gunfire rang out again.

"Da da da~!"

As the machine gun roared, a series of hot bullets quickly swept towards the Japanese.

The Japanese soldiers at the foot of the mountain were swept to the ground in large numbers, suffering heavy casualties.

The two bunkers that had been blown up by the Japanese opened fire again.

It turned out that during this period of time, the defenders had been constantly expanding the space in the bunker, digging out a larger cave inside and drilling two more shooting holes.

The Japanese used explosives to detonate at the entrance of the cave, but did not kill all the soldiers inside.

Taking advantage of the critical moment, when the Japanese were not paying attention, the surviving soldiers inside opened fire at the Japanese again.

A Japanese major who was in charge of commanding the battle on the front line was furious when he discovered this situation.

"Bagaya Deer~!"

"Hasn't the two bunkers been destroyed?"

"What happened?"

A Japanese officer said helplessly: "It seems that not all the enemies inside were killed by the explosion."

"Keep blowing them up. Blow these bastards to death."

"Hayi~!"

Under the pincer attack from the defenders, the Japanese attack ended in failure again.

So the Japanese had to continue to think of ways to blow up the two bunkers. After resolving their worries, they launched another fierce attack.

Jiro Takano was furious when he learned that the attack had failed again, but he was powerless in the face of such a situation.

A Japanese officer from the 116th Division said: "Colonel, facts have once again proved that the enemies we face are too cunning and too stubborn to be dealt with easily."

"Hmph~!"

Takano Jiro snorted coldly and said, "No matter how difficult these bastards are to deal with, I will destroy them all."

"Continue the attack. We can't let some people laugh at us. We must take Zhangjiashan for me no matter what."

Jiro Takano, who had been completely enraged, now had no distractions and only wanted to capture Zhangjiashan. For this reason, he no longer even cared about the casualties of his troops.

In addition to Zhangjiashan, the Japanese also concentrated a large number of troops and launched fierce attacks on other battlefields.

However, due to the stubborn resistance of the defenders, progress was very slow, and the Japanese paid a heavy price in casualties.

Yan Yongwang was also furious when he heard the report from the front line. After fighting for such a long time, there was still no hope of victory. No wonder this old Japanese was so angry.

Yan Yongwang, who was furious, severely scolded the Japanese officers under his command, scaring the Japanese officers present so much that they dared not even breathe.

Yan Yongwang panted and asked, "What's the situation at Zhangjiashan?"

A Japanese officer replied cautiously: "The attack has been blocked again. The enemy's resistance is too stubborn. The 65th Regiment has also suffered heavy losses. We have not yet taken Zhangjiashan."

Iwanaga Wang cursed: "Takano Jiro is an arrogant idiot and a complete glutton."

"I originally thought he was very capable! Now it seems that I overestimated him before. This guy is just an incompetent and arrogant guy."

In fact, what made the old devil most angry was that they could not think of a way to change the current situation. If they could not successfully defeat the defenders and take Hengyang, then he would be in danger.

As the highest commander on the front line, he will definitely be held accountable.

Even now, with such heavy losses, even if he captured Hengyang, at most he could only make up for his sins.

How could this old devil not be anxious with such a result?
Yan Yongwang, who had been gradually forced into a desperate situation, had no better way out and could only order his troops to continue the attack.

In fact, the Japanese have been thinking of other ways during this period.

For example, psychological warfare and persuasion!

Especially during the armistice days, the Japanese sent planes almost every day to drop large numbers of leaflets on the positions of the 10th Army inside and outside Hengyang City.

Tell the defenders that the reinforcements they were expecting have been repelled by them, and there will be no more reinforcements in Hengyang. Surrender is their only way out, otherwise they will all be wiped out.

As long as they came with the leaflets and surrendered voluntarily, the Japanese would guarantee their safety and also give them a certain amount of reward.

Faced with such despicable and shameless tricks of the Japanese, the defending troops naturally would not believe it.

However, in order to prevent the military from shaking morale, the military immediately sent people to collect all the leaflets and then destroy them.

Commander Fang also visited almost all the front-line positions. Commanding the operations was secondary. His main purpose was to stabilize the morale of the troops and tell his brothers that he, Commander Fang, had made up his mind to live and die with Hengyang and would definitely stick with them.

As a result, the Japanese devils' tricks ultimately had no effect.

In fact, all the soldiers and civilians in Hengyang City had a general understanding of the current situation. Each of them was determined to die and was ready to fight the Japanese to the end.

At this moment, most of the people in the city had already evacuated in advance.

However, there were still about 10 civilian workers left to assist the troops in fighting, as well as a group of about several hundred boatmen who had previously driven boats for the defenders and later volunteered to stay and fight the Japanese together with the th Army.

Li Guotao's First Battalion was resting as planned. After several fierce battles, there were only about two hundred people left in the entire First Battalion, or the entire 568th Regiment, who were still combat-ready. The rest were either sacrificed or injured.

The long-term fighting has also caused a large number of casualties. The field hospitals are basically full of wounded, and the front line is still continuously transporting wounded.

Due to the lack of medical care and medicine, many casualties who would not have died were seriously injured and died.

However, even in the face of such a difficult situation, the military and civilians of Hengyang did not give up and continued to defend this isolated city.

Li Guotao was in no mood to rest and kept looking into the distance. This place was far away from the front line and he couldn't see the specific situation clearly, but he could roughly see that the Japanese attack was fierce and the fighting was intense.

Yang Jihe was also worried and looked sad.

Li Guotao slowly said, "Looking at this situation, the Japanese's attack has become more fierce."

Yang Jihe gritted his teeth and cursed: "These bastards are really desperate."

"Although we fought hard, the Japanese suffered greater casualties, but they were able to hold on and continue to launch fierce attacks."

Li Guotao sighed slightly and said, "I've said it before, these damn devils are determined to take Hengyang."

"This should be related to their overall strategy. Even if it means paying a greater price in casualties, they will do their best to capture Hengyang."

"That's why the Japanese kept attacking like crazy. Facing this situation, we had no better solution but to grit our teeth and hold on."

"Now it depends on who can hold on until the last moment."

Yang Jihe said helplessly: "Our casualties are increasing, and we are not getting any reinforcements. If we continue like this, we will be exhausted sooner or later."

"Now we just hope that reinforcements can arrive as soon as possible."

"Even if they can't reach Hengyang, as long as they launch a counterattack on the periphery and tie down most of the enemy's forces, it will be enough to break the siege."

Li Guotao comforted him, "Don't worry, reinforcements will arrive, and we won't really be wiped out here."

"As for the Japanese! They paid such a huge price, it is definitely impossible for them to maintain such an intense attack all the time."

"We are exhausted, and so are they."

"Even if the Japanese can continue to receive reinforcements, they are limited. It is impossible for them to continue to receive reinforcements."

"Anyway, the Japanese are still unable to break through our defense line. We can hold on for a while longer and there will be no problem at all."

Yang Jihe smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to be so optimistic."

Li Guotao smiled and said nothing more. There was nothing more to say.

In fact, this current situation is what Li Guotao least wants to see.

Although the defenders now have a certain advantage, such a battle is basically a fight of attrition, and both sides can only fight desperately.

Some strategies and tactics have no effect at all in this desperate battle.

Especially when they are on passive defense, they have no room to maneuver.

Of course, this tactic of building a strong camp and fighting a stupid battle is not bad, but Li Guotao always feels that something is missing!
But there is really no better way at the moment, so we can only grit our teeth and persevere.

At this time, a staff officer ran over and handed a piece of paper to Yang Jihe.

"Captain, the latest battle report."

Yang Jihe read it carefully and sighed helplessly.

Li Guotao asked: "How is the situation?"

Yang Jihe said casually: "Another position was lost in the south and northwest of the city."

Li Guotao asked: "What about Zhangjiashan?"

Yang Jihe replied: "Zhangjiashan is still holding, but Hill 227.7 and Hill 221 have been lost."

"According to the latest situation, the Japanese have replaced the 65th Regiment to launch the attack. This is a fresh force with strong combat effectiveness. The defending battalion is almost wiped out."

"But the main peak position is still firmly in our hands."

"But no one can tell how long we can hold out."

Li Guotao frowned and asked, "The 65th Regiment?"

"Is this the Japanese 13th Division's troops?"

"So, the 13th Division is also joining the siege?"

Yang Jihe replied: "So far, we have only found the number of the 65th Regiment, and no other unit numbers of the 13th Division have been found."

"It is impossible to tell whether the entire 13th Division will participate in the battle, or only the 65th Regiment."

Li Guotao frowned even deeper and said, "According to the intelligence we got before, the 13th Division should be deployed on the periphery to block the main force of the th War Zone from reinforcing Hengyang. Now they have also joined the siege, whether it is one regiment or two regiments."

“This is enough to illustrate a point.”

Yang Jihe also understood this truth and said helplessly: "This shows that our reinforcements have not posed a threat to the 13th Division's defense line. They still have spare capacity to draw troops to join the siege. In this case, it may be even more difficult for the reinforcements to arrive in time."

Li Guotao quickly said: "Let's be more optimistic!"

"And it's better to say less of this kind of thing, so as not to shake the morale of the army."

Yang Jihe said: "I understand, I'm just telling you."

"But I still believe that the superiors will not stand by and watch us die. If they give up Hengyang, the Japanese will open the door to the south. They will definitely continue to move south, and Guangxi will probably be lost."

"In order to protect Hengyang City, the higher-ups will definitely provide full support to lift the siege of Hengyang."

Li Guotao gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, even at the last moment, we must remain firm in our beliefs."

"Since our positions outside the city have been lost, we will retreat into the city and fight the damned Japanese in the streets. Even if we are still alive, we will fight to the end."

Yang Jihe nodded and said, "Well said!"

"It's getting dark soon. The Japs have been fighting all day. It's probably time to stop."

"This way, our brothers on the front line can also breathe a sigh of relief."

Li Guotao said thoughtfully: "It should be possible. After all, these little devils are not made of iron."

"But we probably won't have a chance to go to the frontline today. As for tomorrow, I can't say for sure."

Yang Jihe said: "We have just withdrawn to rest, we should not be sent to the front line too soon."

"Unless the front line can no longer hold on."

Li Guotao smiled and said: "So now for us, no orders are good news." (End of this chapter)