Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 468 Reinforcements have arrived, charge with me!
Faced with Chang Ruiyuan's stern telegram and the urging of Chen and Bai, the Guo army's reinforcements launched another fierce attack.

Faced with the relentless attacks of the Kuomintang army, the East China Field Army's blocking forces fought a very tough battle and suffered heavy casualties.

As the situation became increasingly tense, the commander began calling each unit every five minutes to inquire about the latest developments.

The field headquarters was eager to annihilate the 74th Division.

"The fate of the 74th Division hinges on this one move; the blocking forces have little time left to buy."

"Chen Chengxing, how are you doing?"

"Can we capture Diecui Mountain?" the commander asked.

Chen Chengxing affirmed, "Don't worry, Commander. Now that the fighting has escalated to this point, how could we let Zhang Zhonglin escape?"

“I still have a detachment that I haven’t used yet. No one from the 74th Division will escape from my control.”

"Good! Now we must take over Diecui Mountain at all costs."

"If you lose a thousand, I'll give you a thousand more; if you lose two thousand, I'll give you two thousand more."

"Whoever can conquer Diecui Mountain will be a hero!"

The battle has reached its final moments, and the two sides are no longer competing on weapons and equipment.

At this moment, whoever has the strongest fighting spirit will be victorious.

In this regard, the G army has stated that it has never been afraid of anyone.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Chengxing didn't waste any words and immediately had someone call Qin Sheng over.

"How about it, getting impatient, aren't you?"

"No rush, no rush. The captain must have his own plans. I'll just follow orders."

"In that case, shall we give the remaining 24 teams a break?"

"No, no, no, please, Captain! The comrades are staring at me like this. If I go back now, I'm afraid I won't be able to convince them in the future."

Now, the 22nd and 23rd units are fighting fiercely at the front, and even the air defense battalion and engineer regiment under the brigade have stepped forward, while the 24th unit is sitting on the sidelines at the back.

If he goes back empty-handed this time, won't his comrades rebel against him?

"Heh. Where did you learn to be so tactful, kid?"

"I can give you the mission, but let me make this clear: if Squad 24 isn't the first to storm Diecui Mountain, you'll see what I do to you!"

"Don't worry, Captain! If we can't take Diecui Mountain, I won't come back!" Qin Sheng said confidently.

"Go! Tell the comrades to storm Diecui Mountain and capture Zhang Zhonglin alive!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers of the 24th squad were so excited when they learned that it was finally their turn that they almost jumped for joy.

Everyone was eager to show off their skills.

Inside the brigade headquarters, Qin Sheng looked at the battalion commanders and said:

"Comrades, I have made a pledge: no one is allowed to retreat until we take Diecui Mountain!"

"When you charge in a little while, don't worry about the unit's organization. Deputy Captain Luo and Deputy Captain Lin will lead the charge with the team."

"Your battalion commander will be the company commander, and your company commander will be the platoon leader. Lead the charge towards Diecui Mountain!"

"yes!".
Once the 24 units entered the front-line battlefield, they did not wait for further orders and immediately launched a fierce attack in battalion and company units.

They charged towards wherever the enemy was.

Looking at the location of Army G on the map, Zhang Zhonglin's face was extremely stiff.

The encirclement by the G army is getting smaller and smaller, and all signs indicate that the general offensive has begun.

Without reinforcements, the 74th Division would definitely not have been able to hold out for two hours.

However, according to various telegrams, they have all been met with fierce resistance from the G army and have not made any progress since the start of the fighting.

"The G army's strategies were all used on the battlefield, but what about our cunning? We used it all outside the battlefield!"

“A series of operational guidelines were formulated for each campaign, but once the fighting started, they were rarely strictly implemented.”

"Everyone acts independently! Everyone looks out for their own lives! They refuse to help those in need!"

Zhang Zhonglin became increasingly angry as he spoke, and at this point he had forgotten how he had treated the 83rd Division in the first place.

However, now that the G army is about to reach the summit of Diecui Mountain, in order to survive, Zhang Zhonglin has no choice but to swallow his pride and frantically call for reinforcements.

The 25th Division was already severely weakened, and the only one that could save it was Li Yaozong's 83rd Division.

Zhang Zhonglin had previously learned from Gu Mosan that Li Yaozong had sent a brigade to reinforce Diecui Mountain.

But no one knows where this journey took them.

Despite his reluctance, he had no choice but to pick up the headset and microphone himself and call the 83rd Division.

Meanwhile, Li Yaozong was sitting in the command post, leisurely eating peanuts and drinking wine.

Chief of Staff Ji Lihui walked over: "Commander, Zhang Zhonglin of the 74th Division has personally called to request assistance."

"Who? Zhang Zhonglin, that arrogant and self-important fellow, has finally humbled himself and asked me, Li Yaozong, for help?"

Although it was night, Li Yaozong felt that the sky was so clear.

"But by then, it's probably too late."

“The G Army has a heavy artillery brigade. The 25th Division suffered more than 2,000 casualties in one attack.”

"This division commander loves his soldiers like his own children. How can he let his brothers die for Zhang Zhonglin?"

"Commander, should we answer the phone? Zhang Zhonglin is still waiting on the other end," Ji Lihui asked.

"Answer it! Why aren't you answering?"

Li Yaozong had been waiting for this moment for over a year. Although he didn't plan to send reinforcements, he had to listen to Zhang Zhonglin's plea for help.

"Commander Zhang, this is Li Yaozong." "Commander Li! Commander Li, for the sake of the Party and the country, lend a hand to your brother! Lend a hand to your brother!"

The final battle was about to begin, and the 74th Division was on the verge of collapse on Diecui Mountain, forcing Zhang Zhonglin to lower his proud head.

Li Yaozong readily agreed to Zhang Zhonglin's request:
"Commander Zhang, rest assured, I have already dispatched a brigade to infiltrate Diecui Mountain."

"I, Li Yaozong, guarantee it with my personal integrity—no, no, with my loyalty to the Party and the country!"

"When you need your brothers the most, Commander Zhang, your brothers will definitely go through fire and water for you without hesitation!"

"Thank you! Thank you! Commander Li is truly a pillar of the Party and the country! He is so righteous!" Zhang Zhonglin thanked him repeatedly.

The two had a good conversation, but after hanging up the phone, Zhang Zhonglin looked very serious.

Li Yaozong's confident assurances, on the contrary, made him feel very uncertain:
"Has Li Yaozong changed? Or has he just given me another IOU?"

"However, the Battle of Diecui Mountain was a crucial battle on the Shandong battlefield, and Chiang Kai-shek gave strict orders to urge its implementation."

"Faced with the bigger picture, Li Yaozong certainly wouldn't dare to stand by and watch someone die," Zhang Zhonglin kept encouraging himself.

Just as Zhang Zhonglin was feeling uneasy, the radio at the 74th Division headquarters suddenly received a call from the 83rd Division.

"74th Division! 74th Division! This is the 19th Brigade of the 83rd Division!"

Zhang Zhonglin grabbed the walkie-talkie as if it were a lifeline: "This is Zhang Zhonglin! This is Zhang Zhonglin!"

"Where are you located now? How many of you are here?!"

Zhang Zhonglin was completely unaware of the news that the 19th Brigade had suffered heavy losses in Luozhen.

He thought that when the 19th Brigade was defeated in Luozhen, it ran directly from the outer positions.

After all, Luozhen fell too quickly, and Zhang Zhonglin didn't think the 19th Brigade was that incompetent.

"Reporting to Commander Zhang, a brigade has arrived and has already outflanked Hill 385! Hill 385!"

"I heard it! I heard it!" Zhang Zhonglin excitedly handed the headset back to the radio operator so he could continue communicating.

He quickly walked to the map, where he saw a glimmer of hope.

Now, if his troops meet up with Li Yaozong's 19th Brigade at Hill 385, the situation will be completely reversed.

However, Zhang Zhonglin did not act rashly; he planned to use a feint.

Standing in front of the map, Zhang Zhonglin pointed and said:

"We will launch a feint attack on Hill 540 to lure the main force of the G Army to Hill 540."

Hill 540 is right next to Tianma Mountain. Although Huang Huanran dared not launch another group charge, the fighting here never stopped.

"After the G army was tricked, we concentrated our firepower, took Hill 385 to join forces with the 19th Brigade, and then rushed towards Wanquan Mountain to join forces with the 83rd Division."

"As long as we join forces with Li Yaozong, we can turn our troops around and, together with Huang Huanran, surround the main force of the G Army at Hill 540."

"Haha. In this way, we can not only escape danger successfully, but also realize our goal of annihilating the main force of the G army!"

Upon hearing Zhang Zhonglin's analysis, everyone in the division headquarters became excited.

Upon hearing that reinforcements from the 83rd Division had arrived, the soldiers below were filled with renewed hope for survival.

At Zhang Zhonglin's command, the soldiers of the 74th Division charged toward Hill 540, braving the bullets.

The few remaining mortars also fired all their shells at Hill 540.

"Has Zhang Zhonglin gone mad? Could it be that he's planning to break out from Hill 540?" Chu Yunfei wondered, observing the movements of the 74th Division.

However, Chu Yunfei immediately overturned his conjecture: "No, even if the 74th Division takes Hill 540, it will not be able to break through the encirclement."

"Moreover, they will be in dire straits because they have lost their core positions."

"But knowing that a breakout was impossible, why did Zhang Zhonglin seize Hill 540?"

“Old Chu, we’re not mind readers, we can’t just ignore what we can’t figure out,” Chen Chengxing said.

"Send 22 units to cooperate with the A column in a pincer attack, and the rest of you continue to attack Diecui Mountain."

“Okay, I’ll call branch 22.” Chu Yunfei nodded.

Regardless of Zhang Zhonglin's thoughts, attacking Diecui Mountain was never wrong.

If the 74th Division really wants to break out from Hill 540 and Tianma Mountain, the other troops can also encircle them again.

If the 74th Division is trapped on Hill 540, it will be easier to eliminate them.

Hill 540 wasn't particularly important, so only one company from the A Column was defending it.

Faced with the relentless and desperate attack of the 74th Division, the soldiers were outnumbered and forced to withdraw from their positions.

Inside the 74th Division headquarters, Zhang Zhonglin was overjoyed to learn that his troops had captured Hill 540 and that the main force of the G Army had surrounded them.

"The G army has fallen for the feint attack; now is the perfect time to attack Hill 385!"

"Zhenwen, it's up to you now. You take the guard battalion and quickly join up with Li Yaozong's reinforcements."

"We must take Hill 385 with lightning speed!"

The division's guard battalion was Zhang Zhonglin's last remaining force; sending it out was tantamount to him gambling everything on this.

"The division commander has turned the tide, and I am willing to lead the charge and fight my way out!"

After saying that, Wei Zhenwen grabbed the submachine gun next to him and rushed out.

The 74th Division's guard battalion was the most elite and best equipped, with submachine guns, carbines, or Browning light machine guns.

Furthermore, Hill 385 was undefended, as no one expected the 74th Division to charge towards it.

Therefore, Wei Zhenwen quickly reached Hill 385.

However, what he saw left him speechless.

(End of this chapter)