Devil's Army

The crisp sound of clashing bayonets and the dull thud of bayonets piercing flesh echoed from the warship mountain.

The battalion commander failed to wait for reinforcements and led the soldiers of the third and fourth companies in a fierce battle against the Japanese army, shedding their last drop of blood.

The Japanese troops broke through the third battalion commander's blockade and continued their pursuit towards Helong County.

More than 120 wounded soldiers, including those from the first and second companies, successfully retreated into Helong County under the full resistance of the third battalion commander and his men.

Another Japanese army unit encountered fierce resistance from the 4th Battalion of the 1st Regiment when it advanced to the Changsenling-Bailiping (Guangping/Baili) mountain valley in Helong County (eastern foothills of Changbai Mountain, upper reaches of the Tumen River).

Changsenling is a high and narrow valley with a ribbon-like pass.

Changsenling is a branch of the Nangang Mountains, characterized by steep mountains and numerous basalt cliffs.

The fourth battalion commander assigned the first and second companies to block the Japanese attack here.

The Japanese advance was blocked by the Fourth Battalion, and they quickly arranged for artillery to bombard the Fourth Battalion's fortifications.

The rocks on both sides of Changsen Ridge were blasted into flying fragments by the fierce artillery fire of the Japanese army.

Soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Companies of the 4th Battalion used various natural ditches and fortifications to block the Japanese army's attack from a high vantage point.

The Japanese battalion commander launched three attacks in succession, all of which were repelled by the Fourth Battalion.

The Japanese battalion commander was desperate and eager to break through the Changsen Ridge defense line, but he was helpless against the tenacious resistance of the fourth battalion soldiers.

The Japanese army had the advantage of superior numbers. At six o'clock the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, he ordered the Korean 7th Division and his 18th Division to launch successive attacks on the Changsen Ridge position.

Although the Fourth Battalion held a strategic advantage in terrain, its casualties continued to rise under the repeated attacks of the Japanese army.

The soldiers of the Fourth Battalion held off the Japanese army's attack for two consecutive days. Due to the heavy casualties of the First and Second Companies, the Fourth Battalion Commander ordered them to retreat.

The Changsen Ridge Valley contains multiple basalt plateaus. The retreating soldiers of the Second Company set up three to four lines of defense in depth to continuously hinder the Japanese advance and slow down their progress.

Moreover, the Changsenling Valley has dense horizontal gullies, which can be used to deploy flanking firing positions, forming a bag-shaped ambush zone that can "block from the front and attack from the side".

The soldiers of the Fourth Battalion were still laying landmines in the boulders and along the paths in the gullies, delaying the Japanese advance towards Helong County.

The highway connecting Changsenling to Guchengli Port and Nanping Town extends along the river valley, with many sections clinging to the cliff face.

The engineers of the Fourth Battalion frequently blasted the cliff face, causing landslides and severely hindering the Japanese advance.

However, this was the only passage for the Japanese army to advance into Helong County, with no detours (the mountains on both sides were high and steep, with no roads to take).

What gave the Japanese army a headache was the air force of the "Devil Unit," which, with its absolute speed advantage, would frequently launch surprise attacks on their transport convoys coming from Korea.

When their air force caught up, the Devil Force's air force quickly retreated unscathed.

This greatly increased the logistical pressure on the Japanese army.

Due to the vast disparity in troop strength between the Fourth Battalion and the Japanese army, after three days of fierce fighting, the soldiers of the First and Second Companies of the Fourth Battalion were forced to withdraw from Changsen Ridge.

After the vanguard of the Japanese army occupied Nagamori Ridge, they continued to advance towards the rear of Nagamori Ridge.

Behind Changsen Ridge lies a gentle plateau. When the Japanese vanguard arrived here, they were met with fierce bombardment from the artillery of the Fourth Battalion.

At noon, when the Japanese artillery arrived, they bombarded the artillery positions of the Fourth Battalion. Only then were the Japanese infantry able to continue their advance.

The 1st and 2nd Companies of the 4th Battalion, having lost artillery support, continued their retreat.

There are several hidden forest trails in Changsenling, which can be used to move to Malugou and Shirengou forest farms in the north to avoid being surrounded and annihilated.