Devil's Army

The Daluoquangou River Valley is located on the southern slope of Changbai Mountain. It is a mountain river with crisscrossing gullies and dense trees.

The valley has high elevations or mountain ridges on both sides. For example, the nearby Tiechang Town is located in the old ridge of the Changbai Mountain range, with an elevation of 500 meters. The highest point in the area is the main peak of Laotudingzi Mountain, which has an elevation of 1212.2 meters.

The troops that withdrew from the Second Regiment used the advantageous terrain to build defensive fortifications, preparing to attack the Japanese army from a high vantage point. This forced the Japanese army to attack uphill, increasing the difficulty of their offensive.

A section of mountain road in the valley was narrow, allowing Japanese tanks to pass one at a time. This prevented them from fully utilizing their numerical and equipment advantages.

When the Japanese tank units arrived here, they were quite vigilant and sent reconnaissance units to search.

The second regimental commander ordered his soldiers to keep their bodies low and lie prone in the ditch. After they had evaded the Japanese scouts, they were to attack the tanks behind them. The wreckage of the tanks could then block the path.

Unexpectedly, the Japanese scouts were very persistent and kept searching towards their hiding place.

Seeing that they were about to be exposed, the second regimental commander had no choice but to order his men to open fire.

Intense gunfire and grenade explosions echoed throughout the Da Luoquangou Valley.

The dozen or so Japanese scouts were quickly wiped out, but the ambush position of the Second Regiment was also exposed.

The Japanese tanks quickly launched a fierce bombardment of the 2nd Regiment's ambush positions. Machine guns also continuously swept across the area, suppressing the 2nd Regiment's firepower.

The 2nd Regiment's positions were repeatedly bombarded by Japanese tanks, artillery, and gunners, leaving almost no part of the defense intact. The soldiers also suffered heavy casualties.

However, the second regimental commander did not order the soldiers to retreat.

This is the last line of defense for Tonghua County. If the Japanese army in the central route breaks through this line, Tonghua County will be exposed to Japanese artillery fire.

At that moment, the communications soldier ran towards the Second Regiment Commander.

The brigade commander called the second regimental commander to inquire about the battle situation.

The second regimental commander truthfully reported that the Japanese offensive was quite fierce, and their regiment's resistance was extremely difficult.

When the brigade commander asked him if he could hold the position, the second regimental commander thought for a moment and said that it would be very difficult to report the truth.

By this time, their regiment had suffered over half its casualties, leaving less than 1000 men. Meanwhile, the Japanese army still had nearly 1 men, who launched repeated and fierce attacks against them.

The brigade commander told him that their left and right flanks had been breached by the Japanese army, which was attacking Tonghua County.

He was instructed to lead the remaining troops to retreat into the mountains and forests to look for opportunities to attack Japanese transport convoys, artillery positions, and even command posts.

The second regimental commander then left a company behind to hold off the Japanese pursuit, while the main force retreated into the dense forest.

It's called a company, but in reality, it only has slightly more soldiers than a platoon.

The soldiers in this platoon suffered heavy casualties from the fierce bombing and firing by the Japanese army, but they held their ground and refused to retreat, buying time for the main force to withdraw.

The deputy company commander took a light machine gun, set it up on the recently destroyed heavy machine gun emplacement, and began firing fiercely at the Japanese troops. He kept shouting:

"Little devils, if you're not afraid of death, then come at me. Grandpa will take you back to your hometown."

The deputy company commander's fierce firepower quickly attracted the attention of the Japanese army.

Immediately afterwards, two shells from the Japanese tank exploded near the deputy company commander.

The shockwave from the exploding shell blasted the deputy company commander and the machine gun into the air.

Due to the overwhelming disparity in troop strength and firepower, the company left behind by the Second Regiment held out for more than half an hour before the entire company was wiped out.