Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Sun Mingyu said quickly: "General, I think you should not be too pessimistic. Perhaps the reinforcements can still arrive in time."

Commander Fang sighed helplessly and said, "I hope so."

"No matter when the reinforcements arrive, we must do our best to resist the Japanese attack and try to hold out for a while longer at all costs."

"I also believe that the superiors will definitely not stand by and watch someone die."

Now Commander Fang did not dare to be too optimistic, but he could only pin all his hopes on reinforcements.

Because they were short of manpower, and as the battle progressed and their troops were constantly depleted, their losses grew greater and greater.

However, there was no sign of the Japanese offensive weakening. If the situation continued like this, they could only hope that reinforcements would arrive as soon as possible. Otherwise, they would not be able to repel the enemy with their own strength. So they could only hope that reinforcements would arrive as soon as possible.

Of course, the Japanese were not having a good time at the moment, especially Jiro Takano. The continuous attacks caused the troops to suffer increasing losses.

However, the small Tianma Mountain has always been difficult to capture.

This made Jiro Takano full of worries, and now he was in a dilemma.

If we don't fight, we will definitely not be able to take Tianma Mountain. If we attack by force, it will only cause greater losses.

The superiors were constantly urging him, so Jiro Takano had no choice but to command his troops to continue the fierce attack on Tianma Mountain.

After a fierce artillery bombardment, a large number of Japanese soldiers once again rushed towards the Tianma Mountain position with great momentum.

"Battalion Commander, the Japs are attacking again!"

Li Guotao gnashed his teeth and said, "Inform the brothers, fight to the death. No matter what, you must stop the Japanese attack and ensure the safety of Tianma Mountain."

"Yes!"

At this moment, the soldiers of the first battalion were all blood-thirsty. In order to defend the Tianma Mountain position, they tried their best to block the attacking Japanese.

The battle also became more intense.

Li Guotao rushed into the trench again, carrying a Type 38 rifle, and came to a relatively safe position with a wide field of vision. He quickly locked onto a Japanese machine gunner in the distance.

Crisp gunshots rang out, and the Japanese machine gunner was shot in the head, and the roaring machine gun stopped abruptly.

Just then, Li Guotao saw a Japanese soldier climbing up the hillside. As soon as he showed his head, he rushed up with a machine gun.

Li Guotao raised his hand and fired a shot without saying a word, directly blowing up the Japanese soldier's head. The Japanese soldier groaned, fell to the ground, and rolled down the mountain.

While pulling the bolt of his rifle, Li Guotao shouted to a soldier beside him: "One o'clock, cluster grenades."

The soldier not far away immediately picked up a cluster grenade, tied three grenades together, pulled the fuse, identified the direction and threw it down the hillside.

The cluster grenade hissed, emitting black smoke and fell into the trench at the foot of the mountain.

At this moment, several Japanese soldiers were climbing up with ladders.

"Boom~!"

A loud explosion was heard, and several Japanese soldiers were blown to the ground. The ladder was also destroyed and fell into the trench.

A Japanese soldier was about to climb up, but as the ladder fell, he also fell heavily down. He fell more than ten meters away. The Japanese soldier was seriously injured and lay in the trench, screaming like a pig being slaughtered.

There were also many Japanese soldiers who tried their best to climb up from the gaps that were blown up.

However, the defenders had arranged machine guns to block every gap, and as soon as the Japanese climbed up and showed their heads, they would be mowed down by the machine guns.

At the same time, grenades were constantly thrown into the gap, violent explosions continued to sound, and the Japanese soldiers who climbed up were blown to the ground one after another.

Every gap was littered with the corpses of the Japanese soldiers. However, these crazy Japanese soldiers still climbed up desperately, as if they didn't see the corpses on the ground.

The Japanese were so crazy because they had received death orders to charge forward at all costs.

The fierce battle continued, with waves of Japanese soldiers rushing up. Although the defenders fought with all their might, they were still unable to repel these crazy Japanese soldiers.

At this time, Yang Jihe came up to Li Guotao and said, "Guotao, the damn Japanese devils' attack is too fierce."

"We have prepared a lot of firewood and straw. Let's burn them again so that the brothers can have a break."

Li Guotao also realized that the situation was indeed a bit bad at the moment, nodded and said: "Then burn these bastards to death."

Following Yang Jihe's order, a group of soldiers rolled bundles of straw and firewood down the mountain.

All the firewood was poured with kerosene, ignited, and rolled down the mountain into the trench, where the fire gradually started.

Billowing black smoke rose into the sky, and the brothers continued to shoot, killing the Japanese soldiers who rushed up.

The Japanese in the trenches saw the fire growing bigger and bigger, and they were so scared that they began to retreat.

Some injured Japanese soldiers who could not run away could only lie in the trenches and wail. In order to save their own lives, the Japanese soldiers naturally did not care about these injured Japanese soldiers.

Therefore, these wounded Japanese soldiers could only be burned to death in the trenches one after another.

Those Japanese soldiers who tried their best to escape were also strafed by the defending army's machine guns on their way back to their positions, resulting in many casualties.

With the full resistance of the defenders, this round of offensive by the Japanese was finally repelled.

Thick smoke billowed from the trench and the fire grew bigger and bigger. The Japanese corpses were set on fire, crackling and gradually turned into charcoal and even ashes.

Seeing this, Li Guotao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Although the entire Tianma Mountain was filled with a stench, they finally repelled the Japanese attack and held their position. The brothers gradually got used to this environment and no longer cared about it.

Li Guotao returned to the headquarters, picked up the teacup and filled it halfway with water.

"Notify the brothers to seize the time and have a good rest. Also, be on high alert to prevent any surviving Japanese soldiers from climbing up and launching a surprise attack."

"Transport the wounded to treatment as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

Yang Jihe frowned and said, "The battle is very fierce, and our casualties are increasing."

"The military is unable to mobilize enough troops to take over our defense line now."

Li Guotao said helplessly: "Then continue to defend, we should be able to hold on for a while."

Yang Jihe nodded slightly, and then said: "But the commander did agree to give us a few dozen more brothers to strengthen our defense."

Li Guotao said: "If we can keep replenishing it and hold on for a while, there will be no problem."

Yang Jihe said: "The military strength is limited. Now those lightly wounded soldiers who can return to the battlefield have basically all returned to the battlefield."

"The number of troops that can be deployed will only decrease."

Li Guotao gritted his teeth and said, "Then we will try to defend him for another ten days or half a month. No matter what, we must stop the Japanese attack."

Li Guotao glanced at the situation of the Japanese positions and said, "The Japanese casualties are greater than ours. Even if they have more troops, they can't sustain such consumption for a long time. If they continue to fight like this, they will definitely not be able to hold on."

"If they are not afraid, then we have nothing to fear either. No matter what, we will fight them to the end."

On the Japanese position, Jiro Takano once again became furious and scolded several Japanese officers under his command.

After a while, the old Japanese finally got tired of cursing and sat on the chair, panting and sulking.

Faced with the stubborn resistance of the defenders, the old Japanese now has no other options.

A Japanese officer asked cautiously: "Sir, Captain, do we still need to continue the attack?"

Takano Jiro shouted angrily: "Of course we have to continue the attack. If we don't take Tianma Mountain, we have to continue the attack. If you all want to die here together, then continue to live here."

When the Japanese officers present heard this, they all felt deeply aggrieved, because they had indeed tried their best.

"Hayi~!"

A Japanese officer responded respectfully: "I will organize the troops right away and prepare to launch a new round of offensive."

At this moment the phone suddenly rang.

"Your Excellency, the Commander of the Lieutenant Colonel. Your Excellency, the Commander of the Iwanaga Division, is calling."

When Jiro Takano heard this, he couldn't help but feel a headache, because he didn't know how to explain to Iwanaga Wang. What he was most afraid of now was a call from Iwanaga Wang.

Takano Jiro could only bite the bullet and answer the phone, and said carefully: "General."

Iwanaga Wang asked, "Takano-kun, how is the battle situation at the front?"

Takano Jiro said helplessly: "The enemy's resistance is too stubborn, we..."

"Bagaya Deer~!"

Iwanaga Wang was furious. Takano Jiro responded respectfully: "Hayi, I deserve to die."

Yan Yongwang said angrily: "If we fail to take Hengyang, we will all die to pay our debts. Even if we all disembowel ourselves, we will not be able to recover the empire's losses. Do you understand?"

"Hayi~!"

Takano Jiro responded respectfully: "General, please calm down. We are ready to launch a new round of attack."

"All right!"

Yan Yongwang said helplessly: "Things have come to this point, and I understand your difficulties."

"Stop attacking for now!"

"Nani?"

"I mean to stop the attack for now."

"Hayi~!"

Jiro Takano responded respectfully, but he was still a little confused as to why the attack stopped at this time.

Yan Yongwang said helplessly: "It is not a solution to continue fighting like this. The casualties of the troops are too great. Temporarily stopping the attack is also to readjust the deployment. You should also reflect on how to take Tianma Mountain as soon as possible."

"Hayi~!"

Takano Jiro said respectfully: "I will seriously reflect on myself, sum up my experience and lessons, and strive to take over Tianma Mountain as soon as possible."

Yan Yongwang went on to say: "The enemy's reinforcements are approaching Hengyang. We need to readjust our deployment and find a way to repel their reinforcements."

"This is the only way to ensure that the Locust Army can capture Hengyang. In addition, the commander also wants to take this opportunity to eliminate as many enemies as possible."

"So we can only temporarily stop the attack and readjust our deployment."

Upon hearing this, Takano Jiro said with some concern: "Have the enemy's reinforcements arrived?"

Yan Yongwang said coldly: "You don't have to worry about this. The commander has already made preparations. Even if they arrive, what can they do?"

"It's a foolish dream to want to enter Hengyang."

"You should think carefully about how to take over Tianma Mountain as soon as possible."

"Hayi~!"

Takano Jiro responded respectfully: "I understand, General, please rest assured."

There was no way Yan Yongwang could be at ease. After all, they had been fighting for so long, and not only had they failed to take Tianma Mountain, but it could even be said that there had been no progress at all.

Even if the defenders' reinforcements were repelled, it would not be easy to capture Tianma Mountain.

But the situation had developed to this point, and Yan Yongwang had no choice.

Yan Yongwang went on to say: "If we can successfully repel the enemy's reinforcements, the enemy will definitely lose all confidence in resisting. This may be the best time for us to capture Hengyang."

Takano Jiro quickly said: "I understand. We will never let go of such a good opportunity."

After hanging up the phone, Takano Jiro pondered for a moment, then ordered: "Pass the order down, temporarily stop the attack."

"The troops will rest here, but you all have to use your brains and think carefully about how to capture Tianma Mountain as soon as possible."

"We are only temporarily suspending the attack, but the plan to capture Hengyang will not change."

"Hayi~!"

The Japanese officers present responded in unison.

Not only on the Tianma Mountain line, the Japanese were forced to suspend their offensive across the board in order to readjust their deployment.

A rare period of peace has been restored on various battlefields.

Li Guotao held up a telescope and observed the enemy positions in the distance. He said thoughtfully, "It's really strange. Why did the enemy suddenly stop attacking?"

Chen Jianghe smiled and said, "I think these bastards are just scared after being beaten."

Song Weiguo said: "I don't think so. They should just stop attacking temporarily and readjust their deployment. They will definitely launch a more fierce attack next time."

Chen Jianghe said: "Anyway, they have temporarily stopped attacking, which is not a bad thing for us. We can take this opportunity to have a good rest."

Li Guotao said thoughtfully: "No matter what, we must not be careless and continue to pay close attention to the movements of the Japanese devils."

"Yes!"

……

Inside the military.

Commander Fang looked at the sand table in front of him with concern.

Sun Mingyu said: "According to the reports from the front-line troops, the Japanese have temporarily stopped their attack."

Commander Fang said: "Why do you think the Japanese suddenly stopped their full-scale attack?"

Sun Mingyu said: "It should be that the Japanese suffered too much loss and were forced to temporarily stop the attack and readjust their deployment. After all, they have been fighting for so long, and the Japanese have suffered heavy casualties. Moreover, they are not made of iron, so they will definitely not be able to hold on any longer."

Commander Fang nodded slightly and said, "This should be just one aspect."

"You mean there are other reasons?"

"I don't know. Maybe only the devils themselves know what's going on."

At this moment, a staff officer came over quickly and said excitedly: "General, good news, our reinforcements will soon arrive in Hengyang."

Upon hearing this, Commander Fang was overjoyed and quickly reached out to take the telegram. After reading it carefully, Commander Fang said excitedly, "Great! Under the strong urging of the principal, the 62nd Army and other units have already approached Hengyang. Now they are only about kilometers away from Hengyang."

"According to the original plan, the reinforcements will continue to advance towards Hengyang and plan to enter Hengyang to help us break the siege."

"Great!"

Sun Mingyu was also overjoyed. After waiting for so long, the reinforcements finally arrived.

A distance of twenty kilometers is not too far. If they continue to attack and advance, it should not be too difficult to break through the Japanese blockade and enter Hengyang.

Commander Fang said excitedly: "No wonder the Japanese gave up the attack. It seems to be related to our reinforcements."

Sun Mingyu said: "But the Japanese will not give up so easily. They will definitely find a way to block our reinforcements and prevent them from entering Hengyang and joining us."

Commander Fang sneered and said, "That's not up to them. The distance is so short that even if they crawl, they can reach Hengyang in two or three days at most."

"Of course, we also have to find a way to get them in, even if it's just one troop."

Sun Mingyu frowned and said, "But we are short of troops now. I am afraid it will be difficult to mobilize enough troops to meet the reinforcements."

Commander Fang said: "Now that the Japanese have stopped attacking, our pressure will be much less. If we can put together a small elite force, there will be no problem at all."

"They can scout the way for the reinforcements, break out from the inside, and meet the reinforcements. Even if they are just leading the way for them, it is also possible."

"No matter what, we must try to get a troop into the city first to strengthen our defense and boost morale."

Sun Mingyu said thoughtfully: "Then we have to plan carefully."

Commander Fang said impatiently: "Start making plans now and dispatch a small elite force to prepare to meet the reinforcements."

"Also, try to establish direct contact with the reinforcements from the 62nd Army and other units. After discussing it, we can act together."

"Yes!"

……

There was also a busy scene inside Yokoyama Isamu's command center.

A Japanese major general pointed to the sand table in front of him and said, "The enemy's advance speed is still very fast. At present, they are only about 20 kilometers away from Hengyang."

"They had some concerns before, but suddenly they sped up and advanced towards Hengyang. I guess they must have received a death order to reinforce Hengyang at all costs."

Yokoyama Yong asked: "How is the blocking force preparing?"

The Japanese major general said: "According to your instructions, all roads leading to Hengyang have been blocked. It is impossible for the enemy to enter Hengyang."

Yokoyama Isamu said with a serious face: "Order the blocking troops to stop the enemy's reinforcements at all costs."

"Ha!" (End of this chapter)