Spy Wars: I have space, but I choose to work alone

In the dense forests of Wanjialing and Zhanggushan areas, Colonel Li Longting and the reorganized 544th Regiment of the National Army were secretly gathering and waiting for orders.

544Two soldiers were grumbling quietly under the shade of a tree:

"I've been sitting here doing nothing for six days. I can't make a fire, and I've been eating cold, hard food. I haven't had a shit in two days."

"Who isn't? Hiding in the woods every day, feeding mosquitoes, what kind of war are you fighting? I joined the army to fight the Japs, not to fight mosquitoes."

"Snapped!"

After saying that, he reached out and killed a blood-sucking mosquito.

The sound attracted the attention of a lieutenant officer, who glared fiercely in that direction with his tiger eyes. The soldiers who were originally complaining immediately quieted down.

Because the officers were just like them, they had been eating dry rations and feeding mosquitoes for six days in a row, and their faces had turned yellow.

Inside the headquarters of the 544th Regiment, Li Longting gritted his teeth as he gnawed on the stale dry rations, his face looking somewhat unhealthy.

"Commander, what are we waiting for here? The dry food can only last for one more day at most. As the officers can supply drinking water late at night, there is still enough." The chief of staff reported the situation while biting the sour dry food.

"Wait for orders!"

Li Longting did not explain, because he did not know why his superiors transferred one of his elite regiments to the mountains.

"Continue to strengthen covert work!"

Thinking of the repeated emphasis of the Military Control Commission colonel who came with the secret order late at night six days ago, Li Longting once again ordered to strengthen the covert work.

“Ding ding ding…”

The radio suddenly sounded, and the radio operator whispered:

"Urgent call from the Corps!"

The radio operator quickly transcribed the message, and the translator translated the message nervously under the watchful eyes of all the regimental officers.

The message was translated very quickly. It was very short, with only two lines:

"Capture Zhanggu Mountain immediately at all costs!"

"Gather the entire regiment and seize Zhanggushan immediately!" Li Longting shouted loudly.

The entire regiment immediately got into action and began to march quickly towards Zhanggushan not far away.

At the same time, after discovering from aerial reconnaissance that the 106th Division was surrounded, Matsuura Rokuro immediately sent out the 113th Regiment to seize Zhanggushan.

Zhanggu Mountain is the commanding height of the Wanjialing battlefield. Although the altitude is not high, the mountain is steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack.

If the Japanese army could capture Zhanggushan, they would have more confidence to hold on and wait for reinforcements.

On the contrary, if the Chinese army captured Zhanggushan, it would not only completely block the 106th Division's escape route, but also allow it to directly attack the enemy's core position from a high position.

Therefore, the gain or loss of Zhanggushan was related to the success or failure of the encirclement and annihilation of the Pusong Division, and the commanders of both sides issued death orders.

On both sides of Zhanggu Mountain, soldiers from the 544th Regiment and the 113th Regiment of the Japanese Army began to climb towards the commanding heights of the mountain top from both sides of the mountain.

Both sides received the death order, but neither noticed the other and they were both busy climbing the mountain.

A mountain climbing race that decides the outcome of the battle is taking place miraculously.

However, the Japanese soldiers wearing big-toed military boots could not climb the mountains as fast as the National Army soldiers wearing cloth shoes and straw sandals.

The Kuomintang soldiers climbed to the commanding heights on the top of the mountain three minutes ahead of the Japanese soldiers.

"Devil?"

"Nani?"

The soldiers of both sides were within the visible distance of each other, and before they could recover from their surprise.

"shooting!"

"Give me the chicken!"

The officers on both sides reacted and immediately issued orders frantically.

A brutal encounter broke out. Both sides received death orders and had no way of retreat.

The battle reached a climax almost instantly.

In a blink of an eye, both sides entered into hand-to-hand combat.

Fortunately, the 544th Regiment occupied the Zhanggushan position three minutes in advance. The 544th Regiment was the elite and well-equipped troops.

The heavy machine guns, mortars and other heavy firepower that arrived later formed a dense firepower network from high above and blocked the subsequent support forces of the Japanese army.

After destroying the vanguard of the 113th Regiment, they were firmly stuck in the Zhanggushan position.

"Quick, build field fortifications and dig more anti-artillery holes!"

"Report to the Corps Headquarters immediately. Our 544th Regiment has taken over Zhanggushan Heights three minutes ahead of the Japanese!"

While Li Longting deployed soldiers to build fortifications, he also ordered the news of the occupation of Zhanggushan to be reported.

Soon, the news that the 544th Regiment unexpectedly captured Zhanggushan, a key commanding height in the Wanjialing area, reached the First Corps Headquarters and was transferred to the Military Committee in Ezhou.

This time, the Military Committee did not waver as it did in the past, worrying about whether it had the ability to take down a Japanese division. Instead, it decisively picked up the phone:

"Connect me to the First Corps Headquarters."

"Bolin? The Military Commission fully agrees with your operational plan and deployment to encircle and annihilate the enemy's 106th Division. The Military Commission fully supports your manpower, ammunition, and supplies."

"Thank you for the support of the Military Commission. The First Corps vows to destroy the 106th Division in the Wanjialing area!" Zhan Shen Xue immediately issued a military order.

The Celestial Empire had gathered more than one million troops in the Ezhou area and had no shortage of strategic reserves.

While stabilizing the front line, the 106-strong army of the First Corps launched a full-scale attack on the th Division in the Wanjialing area from three directions.

The Japanese army was also unwilling to see its 106th Division being swallowed up by the Celestial Empire. At Gangcun's constant request, the 27th Division, the 17th Division, the 102nd Brigade and others continued to advance towards the Wanjialing area with the cooperation of the tank battalion and artillery regiment.

If the 106th Division cannot be taken down in time, the First Corps will be in danger.

Xue Zhanshen became ruthless and ordered each unit to select 200 to 500 strong soldiers to form a brave team. He also required the commanders of each unit to command on the spot, and he himself went to the front line.

There was a popular saying in the army at that time: "As long as there are officers who are good at leading troops and commanding battles, there will be no soldiers who are afraid of death and cannot fight."

Fierce fighting occurred throughout the night of the 9th, with the First Corps attacking on all fronts.

In order to capture Bantan Mountain, the 90th Division mobilized a brave team consisting of three battalions.

All team members took off their shirts, exposing their backs, and fought in the darkness, making it difficult to distinguish between friend and foe.

So they would just touch the upper body of the person wearing clothes and silently go up and chop them. The next morning, there were more than 500 Japanese soldiers' bodies left on the battlefield.

"Most of the comrades were injured, and some collapsed from hunger and exhaustion. The faces of the comrades who died in the ditch had turned brown and swollen, and white maggots fell from their nostrils and mouths. We didn't eat for several days in a row. We were so hungry that we could only scoop dirty water from the ditch where the bodies of our comrades were floating. Those who were still alive were almost turning into ghosts. I also felt that my death was approaching. I cried loudly facing the October moon."

This is a recollection of Nasu Ryofu, a survivor of the 106th Division who personally experienced the battle.

Because the Japanese 106th Division failed to seize Zhanggushan first, it was attacked by the Qing army from all directions with firepower from the high ground and at all times of day and night, regardless of losses.

Pessimism and despair spread like a plague through the enemy lines.