Devil's Army

As soon as the Sichuan Army's 364th Brigade landed, without taking a break, it immediately split into three groups: the first and fourth regiments headed towards Tonghua County, the second regiment towards Baishan City, and the third regiment towards Huanren Manchu Autonomous County for emergency reinforcement.

At this time, the 1st Battalion of the Japanese 19th Division and the 1st Battalion of the Korean 6th Division were advancing towards Tonghua County and into the Laoling Mountains when they were blocked by the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Border Defense Brigade, which had retreated to this area.

The Laoling Mountains run through Ji'an County and Tonghua County, and are the watershed between the Yalu River, the Hun River, and the Toudao Songhua River.

The mountain ridge is sharp and steep, with a clear main ridge and narrow valleys on both sides, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The Japanese mechanized forces found it difficult to deploy here, while the soldiers of the First Regiment used the terrain to their advantage to ambush and harass the Japanese troops.

Japanese Army Division Commander Ozaki ordered the 1st Battalion of the 6th Division of Korea to launch a fierce attack from the 1st Regiment's position at Sipangang Road.

There are many winding roads in the Laoling Mountains. Among them, the Sipangang Road extends from the top of Changgang Mountain in all directions for tens of kilometers. It leads to Linjiang in the east, Huanren in the west, Ji'an in the south, and Tonghua in the north.

The regiment, taking advantage of the terrain, held the Sipangang Pass fortress and blocked the Japanese army's advance into Tonghua County, Huanren County, and Linjiang County.

These Japanese henchmen of the 6th Division in Korea, brainwashed by Japanese military ideology, considered themselves warriors of the Great Japanese Empire and launched a fierce attack on the 1st Regiment's position.

Meanwhile, a Japanese tank company, amidst a fierce battle between the devilish air force and their own air force, crossed the Yalu River and advanced into the Laoling Mountains area.

The road was narrow, and six Japanese tanks lined up in three rows to cover the attack of the Korean 6th Division soldiers on the 1st Regiment's position.

Japanese tank shells landed precisely in the trenches and positions of a regiment, destroying the regiment's machine gun positions.

The First Battalion of the First Regiment suffered heavy casualties in the continuous battles of the past few days, and the Second Battalion also lost more than half of its men. However, the soldiers of the Second Battalion and the Third Battalion, which came to reinforce them, fought to the death and refused to retreat. They did not want Tonghua County to become a second Ji'an County.

The tragedy in Ji'an County must never be repeated in Tonghua County.

The ancient trees of Laoling Mountain were towering, and the paths were completely hidden under the trees, so the First Army Air Force, which defeated the Japanese air force, could not detect the Japanese tanks from the air at all.

The only way to deal with the Japanese tanks was through rocket troops, but the cunning Japanese tanks did not approach the First Army's positions.

Japanese tanks bombarded the regiment's positions from a distance, but the rocket troops were unable to destroy the Japanese tanks.

A group of machine gunners provided cover for several rocket soldiers attempting to approach Japanese tanks, but they were all spotted by the Japanese tanks.

A machine gun emplacement was quickly destroyed by Japanese tanks, and the rocket troops were also killed by Japanese soldiers.

The artillery of the regiment attempted to destroy the Japanese tanks, but was met with a combined counterattack from the Japanese tanks and artillery.

The Japanese tanks were like fire-breathing monsters, constantly devouring the lives of soldiers.

If the battle continues like this, even if all the officers and soldiers of the regiment are sacrificed, they will not be able to hold the Laoling Mountain position.

If the Laolingshan position is lost, the safety of Tonghua County will be in grave danger.

After discussing the matter, the regimental commander, deputy regimental commander, and the surviving battalion commanders of the third and fourth battalions reluctantly decided to abandon the Laolingshan position.

Because of the strategic importance of the Laoling Mountain position, if the Japanese army were to occupy it, the subsequent counterattack by the regiment would certainly result in considerable casualties.

The regimental commander and his soldiers believed that they would soon fight back.

After discussion, the regimental commander decided to leave the relatively well-organized Fourth Battalion behind, with enough food and ammunition, and disperse them in the dense forests around Laoling Mountain to support the troops in their return at any time.