Deputy Division Commander Duan took out the half-smoked cigarette and said: "Division Commander, the comrades are fighting very tenaciously today, and no one complains about the lack of food and ammunition, but there are more and more wounded soldiers, and the two truckloads of medicine seized by the first battalion will not last long. ”

Division Commander Zheng also had a premonition about this matter, the ammunition could be replenished in time on the battlefield, and the wild vegetables could be eaten, but it was absolutely impossible to do without medicine, the soldiers were injured, and they all survived by medicine, and when the medicine ran out, the soldiers had to hold on, but how long could they hold on, and they couldn't last long at all.

Today, a lot of the backbone that can fight has been consumed, and the battle can no longer be fought like this.

He looked at the map, had a plan, and said, "Lao Duan, Lao Wu, Lao Wang, you all come and take a look." ”

Several people stepped forward and looked at the place where Master Zheng pointed his finger.

Cockscomb Cave!

The geographical location of the Cockscomb Cave is very good, equivalent to the root of the 180th Division, if the Cockscomb Cave is occupied, it will be able to radiate all positions and become a barrier on their retreat road, so that the 540th Regiment can deploy the Cockscomb Cave, and it is also to prepare for the future retreat.

At this time, Zhao Guobang, a translator, stepped forward with a telegram from the 180th Division from the military headquarters: "Division commander, telegram from the military headquarters. ”

Division Commander Zheng took it and looked at every line of words seriously: ordered to transfer the second battalion of the 540th Regiment to return to the logistics command of the army, cover the military hospital, and transfer the warehouse.

Master Zheng didn't speak, and looked at the telegram quietly. The US 7th Division, with the support of a large number of planes and artillery, focused its attack on Jiuluan Mountain and Tongguli. The 538th Regiment and the 539th Regiment fought side by side, bravely resisted the enemy, and paid heavy casualties, while the 179th Division, which served as a mobile defensive force, was still far from dispersed, and it took at least two days of lateral movement to enter the predetermined defensive area.

Although some fraternal troops entered the defensive area, they failed to control the key points and roads and organize effective cover, and as a result, there were many air raids on the entire line where the volunteers retreated, allowing the enemy contingent to take advantage of the gap and creating a very passive situation in which the Chinese and North Korean troops were very passive during the transfer period.

There is also a crucial point, that is, many defensive troops have not yet entered the defensive area, but they have been blocked by the enemy, and the enemy has already entered the defensive position one step ahead of them, and this situation is very passive.

Seeing that Division Commander Zheng didn't speak, Deputy Division Commander Duan dragged the telegram in his hand, looked at it carefully, and handed it to Chief of Staff Wang a little puzzled, and then said, "Division Commander! How can we still have so many troops, tomorrow I will tell the army commander directly that the 540th Regiment is engaged in an encounter with the enemy, and where can we withdraw in a while. ”

Division Commander Zheng frowned, and it took a while to calm himself down, he patted the shoulder of the deputy division commander twice, and said: "Old Duan, you give me calm and calm, the orders of the military department, we should implement them unconditionally, the superiors must know our situation, and the next step will definitely let us evacuate the battlefield in advance, our 180th Division executes orders, and it is never discounted, orders are orders, and orders are everything." ”

After a pause, he said again: "Now is the difficult time, no matter how difficult it is, which regiment in the whole division has called and complained, and they are all working hard to overcome the current difficulties, resolutely carry out, and complete the tasks assigned by the military department, so."

Deputy Division Commander Duan snatched the words that Division Commander Zheng had not finished speaking, and said: "Division Commander, I didn't mean that, look at the current situation, our casualties have been so many that the formation of many companies cannot be saved, once the dumplings are made by the US army, when it comes to breaking through, one person will be called by ten people." ”

Deputy Division Commander Duan wanted to convince Division Commander Zheng that the current contingent was in a difficult situation, and the gap between the volunteers and the US army was very obvious, and with the enemy's large-scale long-range artillery support and air power support, the troops suffered huge casualties and a serious reduction in combat effectiveness.

Of course, Division Commander Zheng understood what Lao Duan meant, but in order to proceed from the overall situation, he still resolutely carried out the orders of the military headquarters.

"Call back to the military department! The 2nd Battalion of the 540th Regiment assembled at the military headquarters in the early morning of 23 July. ”

The 2nd Battalion of the 540th Regiment, totaling more than 1,200 people, will be evacuated from their positions, and the enemy will inevitably be alert, and the next situation will only become more difficult, and everyone in the division headquarters understands.

Just as the 2nd Battalion began to move to the army headquarters, on the night of 22 July, on the right flank of the 180th Division, the 63rd Army had already begun to move to the rear, and the 15th Army on the left flank also received the order of the 3rd Corps, and the whole army began to move, and after the 63rd Army and the 15th Army on the left and right flanks retreated, the left and right flanks of the 180th Division would be completely exposed.

On such a large defensive front of 150 kilometers, only one 180th Division is still holding out, and the 180th Division, so far, has not received any retreat order from any of the higher-ups, and there is no retreat order, and they are still resolutely carrying out the order issued by the military headquarters: defend on the spot and prevent the enemy from attacking north.

This balance will eventually be upset on the second day.

393.1 Highland, Xia Yuan looked at his watch, raised his head and looked at the sky, the world shrouded in darkness, the humidity was very high, and a cold wind blew miserably mixed with the slightest cold raindrops.

"How are Comrade Wu Ping and Comrade Zhou Xingyong?" Xia Yuan saw that someone was coming, so he asked.

"The arrangements have been made, and the commander of the second company has sent someone to send Comrade Wu Ping and Comrade Zhou Xingyong to the rear."

Instructor Shao smoked a cigarette and asked, "Are you ready to get started?" ”

"Well, let the warriors change into the enemy's clothes, put on the ponchos, and we are ready to go."

Xia Yuan calmly looked at the wilderness around him and nodded seriously.

"Good!"

The soldiers of the company were quickly assembled, and the only remaining fighters were old acquaintances.

Ma Da Man, Chen Lie, Lao Yang, Tan Zhanbiao, Liu Tiezhu, Sun Changgui, Wang Xiaoliang, Lu Guangnan, the leader of the cooking squad, Zhao Songming, a soldier of the cooking squad, Sun Xianda, Fu Weiquan, and Si Jize, soldiers of the machine gun company.

"Company commander."

Sun Xianda, a soldier of the machine gun company, saluted.

"Are you going too?" Xia Yuan asked.

The three of them nodded, and Fu Weiquan said: "Company commander, we still have artillery, and there are still four shells that have not been fired, so we may be able to help at the critical moment." ”

Xia Yuan thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, leave one mortar and bring two shells, and the remaining two shells will be left for the second company." ”

As he spoke, Company Commander Cui came with people, several soldiers with weapons and equipment, and grenades in the boxes they carried.

"Company Commander Xia, this is the grenade we brought from the rear, you must be useful. These guns and ammunition are submachine guns from captured US troops, and there are also a large number of bullets, so you should bring them with you. ”

Two boxes of grenades fell to the ground, filled with grenades when opened, and two boxes of bullets, the yellow-orange-orange bullets emitted a dull glow in the dark night.

"Company Commander Cui, you don't need grenades, you have to keep these and hold your position, we just need to replenish some bullets."

Now is the time when there is a shortage of food and ammunition, and these two boxes of grenades are most likely left by the second company to save money, I really don't know if these grenades are taken away, and it will be more difficult for the second company to defend the position.

Company Commander Cui said: "Company Commander Xia, we have also captured a lot of grenades from the US army, and the grenades must be enough, you must take these with you, and when you cross the enemy's blockade line, you may be able to use them." ”

Xia Yuan shook his head and said: "Company Commander Cui, we don't have the idea of trying to fight the enemy, if the rear of the US army is tightly armed, we will choose to take a detour, this point people can't penetrate the enemy's defense line, we can't attack hard, we have to outwit." ”

After a pause, he said, "So, you can't carry too much ammunition on you, just a moderate amount of ammunition." Maybe after we went, we saw that the enemy was heavily armed, and we would come back after a while. ”

Company Commander Cui pondered: "Okay, you decide how much you bring, and we will provide you with weapons and ammunition." ”

"Then thank you in advance."

Xia Yuan squatted down, grabbed a handful of yellow-orange-orange bullets, and said: "The submachine gun has five magazines, and the rifle has six magazines, just enough, don't be greedy, and don't affect the marching speed because of the ammunition you carry." ”

"Yes!"

"Grab two grenades per person, and use them at critical moments."

"Yes!"

The fighters began to pack their weapons and ammunition, and in a short time they were ready to go.

Xia Yuan walked up to Company Commander Cui and said: "Company Commander Cui, then we will set off first, if it goes well, we will be able to pass through the US defense line tonight and touch the rear of the US army, on the one hand, to investigate the enemy's situation, on the other hand, to intercept the enemy's transportation route, if not, we will retreat, I hope that we will not be beaten as the enemy at that time." ”

"Don't worry, the position will be handed over to us, you must be careful when you go."

"Hmm!" Xia Yuan nodded heavily, turned around and shouted, "Comrades, let's go!" ”

The night was hazy and drizzling.

A dozen soldiers of a company carried weapons and equipment, changed into ponchos and uniforms of the US military, burrowed into the dense forest, and disappeared into the night until they disappeared.

Instructor Lin said: "They went this time, I am afraid that it will be more than lucky. ”

Company Commander Cui sighed and said: "Company Commander Xia is a person who can do great things, his ideas are very good, Instructor Shao told me that if we didn't arrive, in fact, the position has been lost, he was halfway up the mountain, when he blocked the enemy, he was ready to withdraw down the mountain and intersperse with the enemy's rear, our arrival made him see the hope of holding the position, so he gave up the previous plan, took people to fight again, and with his own strength, took two soldiers into the position where a company of the enemy was stationed, If we blow up five enemy tanks, it is estimated that we will have to fight a platoon, and we may not be able to blow up all five enemy tanks. ”

After a pause, he said: "In his situation, no one has done better and more decisively than him." ”

What he said was right, more than a dozen fighters, resisting the fierce counterattack of a battalion of the enemy, withstanding the enemy's fierce artillery fire, calmly responding, in other words, it is estimated that they would have coexisted with the enemy a long time ago.

The deputy company commander's surname is Sun, and when he walked up, he just saw the first company disappear, and when he heard the conversation between the two, he stepped forward and said: "The first company commander has won several battles, and it is very clear in the newspaper that the first company commander is the best at interspersing and attacking fortifications, and he is a very good soldier, do you remember the ammunition sent by the division to the regiment headquarters?" I heard that Xia Yuan, the commander of the first company, took people to fight, he took three people, touched the station of the foreign devil, and drove away four cars. ”

Only then did everyone remember that the ammunition reinforced by the division headquarters was captured by Company Commander Xia alone.

After thinking about it carefully, several people glanced at each other, and Instructor Lin said: "If you say so, the chance of Company Commander Xia passing through the enemy's defense area is still very large, and even touching the enemy's transportation route, just like the previous times, it is not easy to hit a few more trucks of supplies." ”

Company Commander Cui nodded and said, "This matter is not something we can manage, I just hope that Xia Yuan and them can have a smooth journey." ”

A few people stood there, looking at the trees that were shrouded in darkness.

In this forest, more than a dozen figures were shuttling, each of them handsome and black, their cheeks blackened by gunsmoke, their flesh and skin curled and somewhat cracked, and the guns under the ponchos exuded a luster.

"Xia Yuan, if we go over like this, we will collide with the enemy head-on, and the direction of their attack is directly in front of us, do we need to go around."

Stopping to rest, Instructor Shao squatted beside Xia Yuan, staring at the mountains and fields that emitted a faint light in the distance, and the roar of the car could be faintly heard.

"Let's first take a look at the U.S. military station, check the strength of the U.S. military, and then make a plan."

Xia Yuan pursed his lips, turned on his eagle eye, and said while observing: "If you can, there is no need to take a detour, let's go directly through the enemy's position." ”

"Wouldn't it be too risky to do that?" Instructor Shao furrowed his brows.

"Instructor, in my opinion, listen to Lao Xia, when we entered the foreign devil's station before, we directly stopped the foreign devil's truck and asked them to take us in, since Lao Xia wants to do this, there must be a way."

Ma Da grinned and said patiently.

Instructor Shao's furrowed brows stretched slightly, thought for a while, and said, "Since this is the case, then listen to you." ”

"Well, the main thing is to see the strength of the foreign devils." Xia Yuan nodded, stood up and turned around, seeing that everyone was almost resting, he said, "Keep going!" ”

Everyone immediately stood up, simply dressed up, and continued to set off south along the complicated mountain road. The mountain road is so rugged that there is no road on the ground, which is compounded by rocks and muddy mountain roads.

"Be careful!"

Wang Xiaoliang stepped on a muddy ground, slipped under his feet suddenly, fell to the ground backwards, and slid down the mountain uncontrollably, the panicked Wang Xiaoliang grabbed what he could grasp around him, and after a while, he grabbed a handful of grass in his hand, and his body still did not stop.

Liu Tiezhu quickly pulled it, but he didn't think that he didn't catch Wang Xiaoliang, he also fell to the ground, and his body rolled down the mountain.

(End of chapter)