After the large forces crossed the river, at 3 a.m. on May 25, Commander Zheng commanded the 538th Regiment to move to the west of Xishanli. The 539th Regiment and the division-affiliated troops withdrew to Mingyueli and Jiuchi Daishan. The 540th Regiment
Withdraw to the line between Jiguan Mountain and Beipei Mountain.
Not long after crossing the river, a fatal message came back from the 540th Regiment.
The City God's Hall was lost.
It was lost relatively late, probably around ten o'clock in the evening.
Teacher Zheng is smoking.
He knew it in his heart.
Xia Yuan's plan succeeded, but failed. The enemy still occupied Jiguan Mountain, but it was later than expected.
The 540th Regiment also received news that after the loss of Chenghuang Hall, the enemy organized two divisions to attack Jiguan Mountain crazily. The Jiguanshan position was once captured and lost. The 540th Regiment and the two divisions of the Tenth Army fought repeatedly and fell into a trap.
Fight hard.
Commander Zheng immediately sent a staff officer to the 539th Regiment and ordered Commander Wang of the 539th Regiment to send a battalion to assist the 540th Regiment in controlling Jiguan Mountain.
But it was too late.
The US military has completed its deployment in the rear.
The 1st Marine Division, the 7th U.S. Division, the 24th U.S. Division, the 6th Puppet Division, and a large number of U.S. and puppet troops were mixed in Jiguan Mountain. Almond had obviously figured out the strategic intentions of the 180th Division, and the 2nd U.S.
The 14th Division was blocked by the enemy on the way to Chenghuangtang. After fighting for several hours, it broke through the blockade of the volunteer army and successfully occupied Chenghuangtang.
They gave up the idea of continuing to rest in the past, and were commanded by Almond. One group took advantage of the heavy rain to move to Zhiyanli with mechanized troops and control the highlands along the way. The other group coordinated with the Sixth Korean Division to attack Jiguan Mountain.
In fact, the battle at Jiguan Mountain had lasted for several days. The opponent of the 540th Regiment was the Korean 6th Division. The addition of the US 24th Division reversed the stalemate, and the 540th Regiment's position sharply shrank to the rear.
It's too late for Commander Zheng to send reinforcements now.
As soon as the division headquarters arrived at Xieke Cave, Commander Zheng took the telescope and said to his two comrades: "Old Duan, Old Wu, you all follow me up the mountain."
It was a rare opportunity to observe the enemy's situation. Commander Zheng obviously would not miss it. He adjusted the magnification of the telescope to the maximum value for observation. Through the lens, Commander Zheng could clearly see that the large U.S. military vehicle in Chenghuang Hall was moving north.
He counted in detail how many vehicles there were. With many years of battlefield experience, he was able to judge the enemy's strength and their combat intentions.
The Chenghuang Hall was lost, and everyone in the division had guessed Xia Yuan's current situation. The 540th Regiment had already sent a telegram, reporting the battle situation of the Seventh Company's attack on the US 24th Division. According to the scout's description, the position
The soil on the ground had been turned over, and there were enemy corpses and the corpses of our own people everywhere. Blood flowed down the high slope to the lower areas. The remains of tanks and armored vehicles were everywhere.
The Seventh Company, the First Company and the position coexisted and perished.
When seeing this news, everyone's hearts were heavy.
Mr. Zheng was smoking a cigarette.
At this moment, gunshots were heard from the southwest corner of Jiguan Mountain. Director Wu observed the area with a telescope. He put down the telescope and said, "Commander, something happened over there with the 540th Regiment."
The three of them quickly went down the mountain.
It turned out that the 540th Regiment had just occupied Jiguan Mountain and had not yet established a stable foothold when it encountered a fierce attack by the US military. The battle was very fierce. All the cadres of the third company stationed in the position west of Jiguan Mountain were sacrificed, and only a dozen soldiers were left.
Organize consciously and still hold on to your position tenaciously.
Commander Zheng immediately sent a chief of staff to ask Commander Wang of the 539th Regiment to mobilize a battalion to assist the 540th Regiment. Less than two minutes after the sent staff officer left, the sound of gunfire from the direction of Jiguan Mountain suddenly changed.
It was extremely intense. From this level of firepower, everyone's first instinct was that Jiguan Mountain was in danger.
Deputy Commander Duan said: "Commander, I think it is no longer necessary for the 539th Regiment to reinforce Jiguan Mountain. What do you think?"
They were all very experienced commanders and knew that it would definitely be too late to send reinforcements at this time.
Master Zheng knows that Jiguan Mountain must not be lost. According to Xia Yuan, Jiguan Mountain is the only way for them to pass through and reach Yingfeng. City God Hall is a road and Jiguan Mountain is also a road. However, City God Hall is close to Jiguan Mountain.
The mountain is a bit far away, but it's still a road.
If Jiguan Mountain is lost, they will really have no way out.
Master Zheng said eagerly: "Let's go to the 540th Regiment!"
After arriving at the headquarters of the 540th Regiment, I learned from the leader of the 540th Regiment, Captain Liu, that they had just sent out a company to seize the mountain. Commander Zheng thought about it for a moment and immediately gave up his idea:
"Don't attack the top of the mountain for this line. Fight along the mountain ridge to the west. Otherwise, if the enemy comes down from the mountain, the wounded in Xieke Cave, the large luggage of the division, including the command post will be easily knocked down by the enemy."
Commander Liu immediately changed the attack plan according to the division commander's order, and the reconnaissance company began to intercept the American troops in the west.
At the same time, the 539th Regiment was blocking the gap in the north, relying on the favorable terrain to resist.
Deputy Commander Duan murmured: "Jiguan Mountain must not be attacked. One division of the US Army and one division of the Korean Army are concentrated in the direction of Chenghuangtang. It is too difficult to attack."
After all, there was a flaw in Xia Yuan's plan. He miscalculated. According to Xia Yuan's plan, even if all the Seventh Company was sacrificed, as long as the 24th US Division was held back, even if the 24th US Division entered the Chenghuang Hall at night, it would be
Because it was inconvenient for them to move at night, they gave up the northward march.
The entire night was reserved for the 180th Division to set up defenses and rest.
However, instead of resting and recuperating, the enemy took advantage of the darkness to attack Zhiyanli and Jiguanshan. The Jiguanshan position was in danger.
...
The sound of gunfire coming from the northwest and two directions gradually became less and less, and no sound of shelling was heard. It may be that the US heavy artillery has not yet crossed the river. As a result, the US military relied solely on infantry attacks, and the effect was very unsatisfactory.
Attacking the gap in the north was the 8th Infantry Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment of the 10th Army. The battalion commander was Captain Carlos.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! In the early days of the Pacific War, during the battle for Wake Island, Carlos was still a private. He grew up under artillery fire and blood. He has reached the rank of captain today because of his bravery and skill in fighting.
As a result, Carlos did not go to a military school to learn any command skills, but his actual combat experience was not much inferior to that of officers of the same level in the U.S. Tenth Army. He was a typical professional soldier, not an ordinary soldier.
Captain Carlos is very popular among the soldiers in the 8th Infantry Battalion. This is inseparable from his fighting style. From a private on the battlefield to a captain, Carlos paid a heavy price. At the same time, he also knew that ordinary people in war
What the soldiers faced, so he tried not to take the lives of the soldiers as a joke, and let a large number of soldiers die in order to complete the mission.
In the battles of the past few days, the Rolle Infantry Battalion, which was facing off against the 1st Battalion of the 538th Regiment, was attacked by our army at night. Major Rolle was punished for neglecting vigilance. From then on, the daytime attack was led by Carlos's 3rd Infantry Battalion.
The Eighth Infantry Battalion was in charge.
Facing the desperate resistance of the 1st Battalion of the 538th Regiment, Carlos's 8th Infantry Battalion suffered heavy casualties. Without the help of aviation and artillery, the 8th Infantry Battalion would have been disabled long ago.
Carlos was very depressed now. The 8th Infantry Battalion was unable to advance or retreat. At this time, three mortar crews reported to Captain Carlos the ammunition consumption situation. It was not optimistic. The shells had been fired.
During the attack just now, the mortar shells were not carried at all, and the gunners shot them all in one go during the first round of infantry charges.
"Where are the reinforcements?"
"Still on the way."
"What about the aviation and artillery? Where are they now?"
"The 155 howitzer is too heavy. I think I have been left behind a long time ago. Who knows when they will arrive."
The speaker was the commander of B Company.
After the communication infantryman on the side finished talking to the main station via walkie-talkie, he said to Carlos: "Captain, the plane is still refueling at the airport. The aviation brigade said it will take another two hours to arrive. Even if it can be arrived, such a bad situation
weather......"
Carlos waved his hand, and all the soldiers of the 538th Regiment were ambushing up and down the circular mountain road in the north. To be honest, Captain Carlos was very timid against such a tough opponent as the Volunteer Army, because during this period,
He was frightened by the 538th Regiment. Without air support, any further advance would be a waste of life, and he would not be able to achieve a meaningful victory.
Carlos had no choice but to give the order to stop the attack and stay put.
Stand by, this is the best explanation to Shangfeng. Before setting off, he already knew that the Chinese army, the 180th Division, had been surrounded by the Tenth Army. It was impossible to escape no matter what, so he stayed put and stood by.
It will not delay the fighter plane.
At the headquarters of the 180th Division, a scout approached and reported: "The gaps to the west and north have been blocked, and the enemy cannot enter. There is no threat now."
The news was good news, but it did not dispel the haze hanging over the 180th Division Headquarters. They all knew that all this was only short-lived. Judging from the experience accumulated in decades of fighting in the country, the opponent's current situation was fully understood.
, the 180th Division couldn't escape, so it simply postponed its attack and never entered through the gap. It was only a matter of time before it completely tore the 180th Division apart.
The temporary small victory does not make everyone optimistic.
The rain stopped and there was a scent of earth in the air.
Master Zheng used the telescope to observe the surroundings again. The sky was gray and deathly silent. There were no signs of life such as birds. The northwest wind was blowing. In the past few days, he had been fighting positional warfare on the south bank. The sulfur left in the sky there was
The smell and smoke also drifted along the wind.
The sky on the north bank of the Han River is getting yellower and yellower. If the sound of cannons is planted in this environment, it will make people feel extremely scary. Behind the deathly silence, death may be hidden.
Mr. Zheng put down the telescope and said to everyone: "The situation is urgent. Now is a rare free time. Now we will convene an impromptu party meeting. Everyone should speak enthusiastically..."
In addition to Commander Zheng, Deputy Commander Duan, Chief of Staff Wang and Director Wu, there are also Commander Pang of the 538th Regiment, Commander Wang of the 539th Regiment, Commander Liu, Acting Commander of the 540th Regiment, and Division Headquarters.
Section Chief Yan of the Security Section and others.
The conditions of the current division headquarters are completely different from those at the beginning of the war. There is no longer even a decent table. Everyone is sitting next to each other on the ammunition. Wen Qingyun, the chief of the minutes section, stands to record, so that the high-power radio station cannot be set up.
On several large rocks, antennas were held high by a soldier to maintain communication with superiors.
In order to ensure the safety of the meeting, the Security Section Chief Yan also transferred 30 people from the 538th Regiment to be responsible for the security within 20 meters.
It may also be that the current situation is not ideal for the 180th Division. The mood of everyone is a bit pessimistic and no one speaks out.
Under such circumstances, Commander Zheng spoke first: "I asked, why don't you speak? The enemy doesn't have much time left for us now. As soon as the sound of shelling appears, you will immediately return to the team to fight.
In the future, I’m afraid there won’t be any opportunities for meetings like today.”
Deputy Commander Duan was smoking a cigarette on the side but kept silent. He and Commander Zheng disagreed on some decisions, so he was probably a little emotional.
In order to liven up the atmosphere, Teacher Zheng made a joke to Deputy Teacher Duan: "Old Duan, you have been smoking my cigarettes. You used to be stingy, but this time you found an opportunity and got it right. Taking advantage of the chaos of the war, you kept smoking.
Gone."
Deputy Commander Duan said in a rough voice: "Sir, Commander, I bought two packs of cigarettes in Anton before entering the court, and I smoked them all long ago. Now that I am worried, I borrowed your good cigarettes to smoke. I thank you, and I promise you that I will smoke them all in the future."
Give it back to you."
The people at the scene laughed softly after hearing this. This did not sound like a conversation between a division commander and a deputy division commander.
Mr. Zheng was not annoyed and said with a smile: "If you have feelings, you might as well talk about it now."
After hearing this, Deputy Commander Duan took a long puff of cigarette, which burned the corner of his mouth. He sniffed and threw the cigarette butt on the ground: "Commander, we have fought for these days and gained valuable time. I think the friendly forces on the Eastern Front have been able to withdraw very far."
It's far, far away, and our mission of preventing the enemy from moving north has basically been completed, so I suggest breaking out of the encirclement immediately."
After all, Director Wu of the Political Department was engaged in political work. He was afraid that Deputy Commander Duan would be too extreme, so he immediately advised: "Old Duan, you can't be so impulsive. Your superiors will naturally have their considerations. As a party member, we are also soldiers.
, we must have a spirit of sacrifice at all times, even if all our divisions are wiped out, in order to cover the transfer of large forces, from an overall perspective, it is still worth it."
Deputy Commander Duan glared at Director Wu: "What? Go all out? Don't you feel bad for selling my land?"
Director Wu said: "Do you think you are the only one who feels bad? Why did the teachers hold a meeting? Isn't this for everyone to exchange opinions and find solutions? You are also an old party member, why are you so uncool at the critical moment?"
Deputy Commander Duan said angrily: "Old Wu, if you have a problem with me, after the war you go to the military party committee to report it to me. Now I don't have time to discuss party spirit with you."
Director Wu was helpless: "You! I..."
Mr. Zheng promptly interrupted Director Wu and said, "Okay, okay, you two, stop arguing."
In fact, the two of them were quarreling because they were looking for solutions for the next step for the army, and they were both anxious.
During a war, it is normal for commanders to quarrel among themselves due to disagreements. After a while, the quarrel will naturally get better.