Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Chapter 87 Night attack on Watergate Bridge!
While the fierce fighting in Hagaru-ri was in full swing, Tan Ziwei led the soldiers of the 9th Company after a day of forced march and arrived near the Sumun Bridge that night.

In order to order the soldiers to rest in hiding and recover their strength, Tan Zi ignored his fatigue and personally lurked near the Watergate Bridge to observe the surrounding terrain.

Although the Watergate Bridge has a span of only 8 meters and can accommodate only one car, it is the only lane bridge leading to areas outside Changjin Lake.

If the enemy's heavy equipment wanted to evacuate the Changjin Lake area, the Watergate Bridge was the only way they had to pass.

In fact, the so-called Watergate Bridge is not really a bridge.

This is a dam-like building. It was a hydroelectric power station built by the Japanese. In order to draw water from the Changjin Lake Reservoir, four thick water pipelines were built side by side on the nearby mountains. In order to connect the mountain roads on both sides of the water pipelines, a road was dug out on the top of the dam for vehicles to pass. This is the Watergate Bridge.

Tan Ziwei observed carefully and found that there were not too many defenders on the Watergate Bridge.

Moreover, the enemy's camp was built on an open space at the foot of the mountain south of the bridge. Most of the enemies gathered south of the bridge, and there were even fewer troops north of the bridge.

Tan Ziwei observed the situation carefully and formulated a rough battle plan.

After Tan Ziwei returned, he immediately gathered all the main cadres of the 9th Company.

Tan Ziwei took a branch and drew a simple diagram of the Watergate Bridge in the snow.

Tan Ziwei said seriously, "My plan is to send a team of people, disguised as defeated soldiers of the puppet army's 3rd Division, approach the Watergate Bridge from the north, and then launch a sudden attack. Once we reach the Watergate Bridge, we will immediately place explosives and blow up the Watergate Bridge."

"Since most of the enemy's main forces are deployed on the south side of the bridge, we can send a platoon to go around and lurk at the foot of the mountain. Once the battle starts, we can immediately launch an attack on the enemy positions on the south side of the bridge."

"But this unit is only to contain the main force of the enemy and buy time for the demolition team to blow up the bridge. There is no need to really attack. The enemy has a solid position and strong firepower. Our mission is just to blow up the bridge. There is no need to fight them head-on. Try to reduce unnecessary casualties."

At this time, Captain Guo of the Ninth Company said, "It's no problem to disguise as puppet soldiers. We have captured military uniforms before."

"But we don't speak Korean, so won't we be exposed as soon as we meet?"

Tan Ziwei said: "We don't speak Korean, and the US military doesn't even know it."

"No matter what, let's get close to them first. If they are exposed, we will just fight them directly."

"There are not many enemies on the north side of the bridge. If we launch a sudden attack, even if we can't completely wipe them out, at least we can cover the demolition team and rush to the bridge."

"Remember, there are three enemy firing points on the hillside north of the bridge. Once the battle begins, find a way to destroy them first. Once they open fire, our soldiers on the road will become sitting ducks."

"understand!"

Captain Guo nodded.

Tan Ziwei then said: "Let's get ready right away!"

"This bridge bombing mission is of great importance and must not fail."

"Yes!"

Captain Guo vowed: "I will ensure that the mission is completed."

Following Tan Ziwei's instructions, the soldiers of the 9th Company immediately began to prepare.

In fact, in order to carry out this bridge bombing mission, the troops also made some preparations in advance.

For example, they specifically carried some puppet army uniforms. The reason why they carried puppet army uniforms instead of US military uniforms was very simple.

First of all, if they are disguised as American soldiers, their appearance will be very different, and they will be exposed as soon as they get close.

What's more, the volunteer soldiers couldn't speak English.

Of course, among the soldiers of the Ninth Corps, there are very few who can speak Korean, at least there is no such talent in the Ninth Company.

But at least we looked similar, so the Americans certainly couldn't tell the difference. Besides, we didn't speak Korean, and the Americans couldn't speak it either. The soldiers rested for a while, regained their strength, and started the action in the second half of the night.

Dozens of soldiers disguised themselves as puppet soldiers, and a group of them disguised themselves as wounded soldiers, lying on stretchers with explosives hidden on them.

The Third Division of the puppet army was basically completely defeated. Although these guys are not good at fighting, they are very fast at running. I guess they have already run back to South Korea.

However, there were still some defeated soldiers on the road, retreating southward.

Generally speaking, the US military would also gather these fleeing soldiers and prevent them from continuing to escape.

However, the US military will not stop the puppet troops from transporting the wounded.

The Volunteer Army had already discovered this, so they disguised themselves as a team transporting the wounded.

In order to make the scene more realistic, many soldiers were wrapped in bandages. Some were lying on stretchers, some had bandages on their hands and followed the team forward, and some had bandages on their legs and limped forward.

At the same time, about a platoon of soldiers had sneaked into the foot of the mountain south of the bridge, ready to provide support.

Tan Ziwei also brought several soldiers and hid at the foot of the mountain north of the bridge, near the Watergate Bridge, ready to launch a sneak attack at any time.

That night, it was pitch black all around, which provided them with sufficient cover.

The group of wounded soldiers soon arrived in front of the Watergate Bridge, and the enemy sentry on the north side of the bridge immediately stopped them.

An enemy sergeant loudly demanded, "Which unit are you from?"

They spoke English, which the volunteer soldiers could not understand at all.

Captain Guo gestured with his hands and mumbled a few words that he didn't even understand.

They are betting now that the Americans on the other side don't understand Korean and can't tell the truth from the false.

However, the soldiers are always ready for battle and will launch a surprise attack immediately if the situation is not right.

As expected, the American sergeant did not understand, and could not even tell that Captain Guo was speaking fake Korean.

"Where is the translator in your team? Where is the instructor?"

In order to improve the combat effectiveness of the puppet army, the US military also sent some instructors and consultants into the puppet army to help them train.

Captain Guo didn't understand at all and continued to gesture to himself, mumbling a few words.

"Fake~!"

The American sergeant couldn't help but curse, saying that it was completely talking at cross purposes.

But this guy frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked: "What is your unit number?"

This time, the language spoken was not English, but Japanese.

Many of the American military troops at that time were drawn from the Japanese garrisons, and some veterans stationed in Japan could speak Japanese.

Unfortunately, this American sergeant spoke Japanese very well.

The Korean Peninsula was colonized by the Wa Kingdom for nearly fifty years. Whether in South Korea or North Korea, most people could speak Wa.

When Captain Guo heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

When the enemy sergeant saw this, he couldn't help but change his expression slightly.

(End of this chapter)