While Popov was about to go and persuade Apanashchenko, Ozaka Kamizo had already begun to sharpen his sword. According to his intentions, the staff officers of the 19th Division drew up a plan for the offensive to be carried out in two stages. That is, first use one infantry brigade to drive away the Soviet troops at Zhanggufeng at night, and then use another infantry brigade at dawn to attack Shacao Peak. The division's heavy artillery was deployed in Hongyi-ri (belonging to North Korea), southwest of Jang Gufeng, to provide support fire for the infantry.

However, this plan was first opposed by the chief of staff of the division, Miaki Nakamura, who held that the plan amounted to arbitrarily expanding the conflict and ran counter to the original intention of the DPRK military command to "not escalate the situation." However, Otaka Kamizo had already made up his mind, and some middle- and lower-ranking officers in the division secretly instigated it, and every objection was taken as a deaf ear.

That night, Otaka Kamizo directly issued an order to the 75th Wing assembled on the front line, asking Sato Kotoku Daisa to command the 75th Wing, and the 76th Wing First Brigade, the 76th Border Garrison, and other troops that had been reinforced to him immediately launch an attack on Zhang Gufeng.

After receiving the order, Sato Kotoku immediately ordered the troops to smuggle to the east bank of the river one after another and assemble at Fangchuantun south of Zhanggufeng. And forcibly conscripted all the male strong men between the ages of 18 and 45 in Fangchuantun overnight to carry the baggage for them.

Sato's deployment was as follows: The 1st Brigade of the 75th Wing and a squad of the 2nd Squadron reinforced rapid-fire guns, infantry guns, mountain artillery and heavy machine guns, and deployed them on the 52nd Heights southeast of Zhanggu Peak to ensure the stability of the area. The main force of the brigade attacked from the 52nd Heights to Zhanggufeng at night; The 10th Squadron of the 75th Wing, accompanied by a heavy machine gun squad, carried out a night attack on the northern foot of the highest point in the northwest of Zhanggu Peak (south of Shacao Peak) in order to cut off the retreat of the Soviet troops at Zhanggu Peak.

After the above-mentioned troops took Zhang Gufeng. The 1st Brigade of the 76th Wing is attached to the 1st Squadron of the Border Guard. Attack Sandgrass Peak at dawn. 75th Brigade of the 3rd Wing (owed to the 10th Squadron.) Attached to the 6th Squadron) as a reserve for night raids. The 15th 15-mm howitzers of the 2nd Squadron of the 150th Field Heavy Artillery Wing concentrated their fire on the heights southwest of Shacaopao Peak and prepared to barrigate fire at Soviet reinforcements.

That is, on the night of July 4, the 19th Division was ready for battle. It was only at this time that the Japanese Korean Army Command remembered to report the situation to the General Staff Headquarters in Tokyo. Interestingly, the telegram sent by the Chief of Staff of the Korean Army, Major General Kitano Kenzo, to the General Staff Headquarters only gave a rough account of the skirmish that took place that day at Shachobong, and deliberately rewrote the strength of the Japanese troops attacking from two infantry squads of the 19th Division to 20 soldiers of the Guyi garrison. As for the new offensive of the 19th Division, Kitano did not mention anything. Although at this time he was in the command of the 19th Division.

After receiving Kenzo Kitano's telegram, Lieutenant General Tada, Japan's deputy chief of staff, sent telegrams back to the chiefs of staff of the Korean Army and the Kwantung Army respectively: "The Shacaopao incident can now be handled by the existing forces that are persistently implementing the 'non-expansion policy,' and I hope that they will be ordered to report on the situation on the ground in a timely manner." ”

Tada Jun could never have imagined that he was still emphasizing the "policy of not expanding" at this end, and that Tada Jun had already started fighting, and not long after Tada Jun's reply was sent, he received the news that the 19th Division was attacking Zhanggufeng and Shacaofeng. This stunned Tada Jun and couldn't say a word for a while.

Beginning at midnight on July 4, the Japanese army began to fire artillery from Hongyili to the summits of Zhanggufeng and Shacaofeng. Tried to blow up trenches and barbed wire at the top of the hill. In the early hours of the morning, a squad of devil vanguards undermined obstacles at the front of the Soviet position. Immediately following the 75th Wing, the commander of the 1st Brigade of the 75th Wing, Nakano Fuji Shichi, led his troops to crawl forward from the gentle slopes on the west and south sides to the Soviet positions on the summit.

However, after the battle of Shacaofeng during the day, the Soviet army has increased its vigilance, and specially sent a strengthened patrol team at night, and the patrol soldiers heard the rustle of the Japanese advance, and then found the devil soldiers crawling on the ground, and suddenly the fierce gunfire pierced the night sky. The Soviet troops on the position immediately reacted, and in an instant, flares rose one after another, and all kinds of light and heavy fire opened fire fiercely.

This time the devil was miserable, the night attack failed, and he crashed headlong into the carefully laid position of the Soviet army, and was so pressed that he couldn't raise his head under the strafing of crossfire. In desperation, Nakano Fujichi could only lead the remnants of the army to carry out a Banzai charge, but as soon as he got up, he was beaten into a sieve by Soviet machine-gun fire.

Sneak attack failed!

Seeing that the 1st Brigade was in a bitter battle at the front-line command post, Sato Kotoku immediately sent the 6th Squadron of the Reserve Force to flank the Soviet troops from the west side of Zhanggufeng, preparing to take advantage of the Soviet Army's attention to attract the 1st Brigade to attack again.

At this time, the situation of the Soviet border troops on the summit was not particularly ideal, although the 1st Brigade of the Japanese Army was temporarily suppressed, but after all, the opponent had the strength of a brigade and strengthened a lot of firepower. As the battle progressed, the Japanese army gradually began to get rid of the unfavorable situation, and even relied on the advantage of firepower to approach the front line of the Soviet army for a time. Especially when the 6th Squadron launched an attack from the other side, the Soviet troops at the summit were a little stretched, and could only exchange space for time to gradually retreat.

To add insult to injury, due to a rain during the night, at dawn, the entire summit of Zhanggu Peak was covered in rain and fog, which made it even more difficult for the Soviet army, which was at a disadvantage.

By 5 a.m., the Soviets were left with only the last two positions left at the summit of Zhanggu Peak, and the rest of the positions were occupied by the swarming Japanese troops. At about six o'clock, the devil soldiers who had fought fiercely all night raised the Rising Sun Flag on the summit of Zhanggu Peak.

Sato Kotoku, who was observing the battle at the front-line command post, witnessed the moment when the Rising Sun Flag was raised for the first time, and he was so excited that he personally called Otaka Kamizo in the rear: "Your Excellency the division commander, fortunately, my unit has taken Zhang Gufeng at 5 o'clock!" ”

Ogaka Kamezo was also a little excited, and after a few words of encouragement, he impatiently ordered: "Do your best to take Shacao Peak and prepare to deal with the counterattack of the Soviet army!" ”

At the same time as these two people talked, the battle on Shacao Peak also began, because the Soviet army was weaker on Shacao Peak, the mountain was not as steep as Zhanggu Peak, and there were no good fortifications. It only took two hours. The Japanese army occupied Shacao Peak.

At seven o'clock in the morning. The Japanese 19th Division reported to the Korean Army Headquarters by telephone, falsely stating: "The Soviet troops on the Shachobong side launched an attack on the 75th Wing, and the Wing immediately counterattacked." It also claimed that 400 to 600 Soviet troops were killed and wounded, and the price paid by the 19th Division was 45 dead and 135 wounded.

However, according to the war report of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the Soviet Union after the war, in this battle, the Soviet army killed 257 Japanese soldiers in Zhanggufeng alone, and only 13 Soviet border guards stationed in Zhanggufeng and Shacaofeng were killed. 70 people were injured. However, the Soviets also admitted that Zhang Gufeng and Shacaofeng were not well prepared for the battle, and that the command of the Red Front in the Far East in particular did not react in the hours following the outbreak of the fighting.

On the morning of 5 July, the "good news" of the 19th Division of the Japanese Army was transmitted to the Army General Staff Headquarters in Tokyo through the Korean Army Headquarters, which made the Japanese military hardliners overjoyed. Tada, who had previously stressed the need to abide by the "non-expansion policy," immediately changed his face and personally brought the "good news" to Hirohito.

At this time, Hirohito, who was on vacation in the suburbs, immediately rushed back to the palace and listened to Tada's report, which was to the effect that "in response to this new illegal border crossing by the Soviet troops, our side will defend ourselves and return fire." They will be expelled from the national border, and will be stopped as soon as our troops reach the national border. It is being monitored. ”

The focus here is on this Emperor Hirohito, it seems that from the beginning Hirohito was very dissatisfied with the small actions of the Kwantung Army and the Korean Army, and similar dissatisfaction seemed to be there after the previous 918 and Lugou Bridge Incident. Even after the war, a group of militarists claimed that they had deceived Hirohito and actively exonerated the emperor. At one point, it was even reported that Emperor Hirohito had been opposed to the ruling faction's nonsense and was forced to get on a thief ship.

So what is the truth of the matter? Is this emperor really innocent?

Let's put it this way, you are a fool to believe these nonsense! Hirohito may be dissatisfied with the small actions of the ruling faction, but this dissatisfaction is not dissatisfied with waging a war of aggression, but with the small actions of these people behind his back. We must first recognize this! Otherwise, it will be fooled and lame.

In Li Xiaofeng's words, Hirohito is a typical hypocrite and a villain, and this guy is also a militarist in essence and agrees with aggression and expansion. It's just that he has reservations about the means and methods of aggression and expansion, or at least he is not satisfied with the way the ruling faction does it. He has aggressive ambitions, but is afraid to suffer the consequences of defeat, so what to do?

There is only one way, pretend to be confused! If the ruling faction succeeds, then he actively follows up with praise and shares the credit and prestige; On the contrary, if the ruling faction messes things up, then he will ask three questions and immediately clear himself. To put it bluntly, this is an old fritter and an old fox, don't be fooled by him!

This time too, when Hirohito learned the news of the victory, he was overjoyed and praised the Korean army fiercely. However, while being happy, Hirohito was also a little puzzled: "Is the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army really so unbearable?" ”

At that time, Hirohito didn't dare to be completely reassured, and pretended to be helpless and said: "The matter has come to this point, there is nothing to do." I hope that the front-line soldiers will stick to the border and avoid deviant actions! ”

That is, from this moment on, Hirohito's attitude took a turn, from opposition to acquiescence, indirectly approving the actions of the North Korean army.

This is Hirohito's consistent attitude since 918, and as long as the development of affairs is favorable to Japan, Hirohito will acquiesce in and encourage middle and lower-ranking officers in the army to disobey orders and make their own decisions. This time was the same, judging from the circumstances at the time, it seemed to be a qiēshun lì, and Hirohito was naturally happy to admit the correctness of Ogaka's unauthorized actions.

Under the guidance of this ideology, the Japanese army headquarters immediately issued Continental Order No. 163 on July 5: "1. The commander of the Korean army should temporarily occupy the area of Janggu Peak and Shacao Peak, and strictly guard the 'Manchurian' Soviet border in front of our army other than the above-mentioned ones, and 2. The chief of staff shall instruct the chief of staff on detailed matters. ”

At this time, Prince Kanin Miyazaihito, the chief of the general staff who has always supported the ruling faction, can show his skills, and with his connivance, Ogaka Kamizo is no longer restrained, and he can do it unscrupulously.

It stands to reason that Otaka Kamezo, who got the authorization, should be happy, but in fact, he can't be happy.

Why? Ogaka Kamezo was in big trouble, and before Sato Kotoku reported to him that he had taken Zhanggu Peak, but in fact this task was not completed, and the remaining Soviet border guards on Zhanggu Peak stubbornly held their positions. Constantly engaged in a grapple with the Japanese army. It lasted until dawn.

During this period, Kotoku Sato organized several attacks. All were stubbornly repulsed by the Soviets, and after dawn, especially as the sun rose, the Japanese troops at the summit were unlucky. The Red Army's 2nd Air Army, in accordance with Li Xiaofeng's order, threw in twelve SB-2s, ten I-15s, and four Su-1s to bomb and strafe continuously, firmly pinning the Japanese in the trenches, so that they could not concentrate all their efforts to drive the Soviet border guards off Zhang Gufeng.

In other words, Odaka Kamizo lied about his exploits, and the situation of the Japanese army was not particularly ideal. For this. He lost his temper and demanded that Sato make sure that he completely occupied Zhang Gu Peak before dark.

To be honest, it was a difficult task, especially when the Red Army constantly sent planes to harass it. And at the same time, the Red Banner Front in the Far East finally reacted as it should.

On the morning of 5 July, Apanashchenko, who had been out to inspect the work, finally "rushed back" to the headquarters and immediately convened a meeting of the Military Committee of the Far Eastern Red Banner Front to discuss ways to solve the Zhang Gufeng problem.

Please note that at this time. Apanashchenko remained somewhat vacillating, on the one hand, reflecting intelligence to Moscow. On the other hand, they were unwilling to mobilize troops on a large scale to recapture Zhanggu Peak and Shacao Peak. In his words: "It is not advisable to blindly intensify the contradictions!" ”

Li Xiaofeng was not invited to this military meeting, and even if he did, Li Xiaofeng would not attend, because by this time he had already arrived in the area of Lake Hassan and was on the front line to direct the battle.

"The main forces of our army that have arrived in the area of Lake Hassan are: the first battalion of the 31st Regiment of the 3rd Marine Division, the first battalion of the 1st GRU Special Operations Brigade, and the 5th and 7th squadrons of the 59th Frontier Corps, with a total strength of about one regiment."

On paper, the strength of a regiment was not small, because the Japanese army on the opposite side also had only one reinforced wing. But if you break it down carefully, the gap is still relatively large. For example, the border guards and GRU special operations units lack heavy weapons, especially artillery. The battalion of the Marine Corps did not have heavy artillery because it came in a hurry. On the Japanese side, heavy howitzers, mountain artillery, and infantry guns were fully equipped, and they had a great advantage in firepower. If it were not for the support of the Air Force during the day, the gap would have been even greater.

"When will the artillery units arrive?" Li Xiaofeng asked Lieutenant Colonel Vikingnev, commander of the 31st Marine Regiment.

The latter smiled bitterly and replied, "The follow-up troops will arrive tonight at the earliest." ”

Li Xiaofeng fell into deep thought, Zhang Gufeng must not be lost, once lost, it will cost too much to take it back. Originally, he also hoped to launch a counterattack immediately to drive away the devils on the peak, but now that there is no artillery cover, it will be a great loss to rush up like this.

Li Xiaofeng asked, "What are your opinions?" ”

Glebinnik immediately replied: "We must reinforce Zhanggufeng, and we cannot allow the Japanese army to completely occupy Zhanggufeng!" ”

Lieutenant Colonel Vigenev replied: "Our troops lack artillery cover, and we are afraid that the losses will be great in hasty attack." ”

Obviously, the positions of these two people are completely different, Zhang Gufeng is Grebinnik's defense area, if it is lost from him, the responsibility will be great, and the troops at the top of the peak are all his people, he can't watch his young man die, so he tends to attack.

Vikingnev is different, he does not need to be responsible for Zhang Gufeng, and if he launches an attack without artillery support, the casualties will indeed be relatively large. Glebinnik cherished the life of his young man, and Vikingnev was not willing to let his young man die innocently.

Looking at these two people, Li Xiaofeng said very sternly: "Zhang Gufeng must be defended, there is no condition to talk about, even if our troops are finished, Zhang Gufeng must be recaptured." My order is that the lads at the summit must be supported. Comrade Vikingnev, please prepare at least one company of troops, and in the afternoon we will counterattack! ”

Vikingnev wanted to say something, but Li Xiaofeng had already picked up the field phone on his own: "Comrade Rychagov, I'm Andrey. Petrovich ...... I hope that your air force will invest more in bombarding not only the Japanese troops on the top of the hill, but also the Japanese artillery positions and suppress them...... Yes, the Marines will recapture Zhanggu Peak and Shacao Peak in the afternoon...... What the? Can't bomb across the border? I don't care whose order it is, throw Apanashchenko's order in the trash, I now order you, in my capacity as a member of the Military Commission and head of the General Political Department, to bomb immediately, and if anyone opposes it, you let him come to me! ”

With a snap, Li Xiaofeng hung up the phone, and when he turned his head to look at Vikingnev, the lieutenant colonel no longer had any hesitation, because he knew that someone was playing for real.

At the same time, at the command of the Red Front of the Red Banner in the Far East in Vladivostok, Apanashchenko was nervously awaiting orders from Moscow, who had already successively denied the immediate mobilization of troops by Popov and several other subordinates to build a counterattack. He thinks that the more times like this happen, the more he has to hold his breath until a phone call wakes him up from his "calm down" state.

"The Air Force is dispatched, whose order is it? Didn't I say that? No permission to cross the border, what, Andrey. Petrovich's order, on what basis did he give this order! I am the commander of the Red Banner Front in the Far East...... Holy! ”

Apanashchenko hung up the phone viciously, and was just about to ask the operator to pick up Li Xiaofeng for him, he wanted to reprimand the other party's blind command, but before he could pick up the receiver, the phone rang...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to Mashen Bobo, old students, cats in trouble, hzwangdd, spike potatoes, agz00025 and Comrade Juventus!