At the same time, Li Qiufan's three heavy artillery brigades also opened fire, once again covering the 1st Marine Division's position with firepower, directly dispelling the enemy's idea of pursuing.
Next, Li Qiufan began a full retreat and rushed towards the Uijeongbu.
But the commander of the beautiful country did not give up. After the mobile unit crossed the river, he immediately ordered the pursuit to continue.
Because the air support called by the First Marine Division arrived and bit Li Qiufan's tail, while conducting harassment, they reported their position to the ground troops behind them.
"This damn fly is so fucking annoying!"
Looking at an enemy plane flying overhead again, Li Qiufan immediately cursed.
Since the enemy planes arrived, they have been bombing and harassing them continuously. Although Li Qiufan has an air defense regiment, it is of no avail.
Because they were marching in the direction of Uijeongbu, the huge marching air defense regiment couldn't handle it at all, and they could only be bombed continuously.
Having previously supported the breakout of the Third and Tenth Divisions, and now being constantly bombarded by the enemy, the troops led by Li Qiufan have suffered heavy casualties.
Fortunately, Li Qiufan of the heavy artillery brigade allowed it to evacuate in advance, so there was no further loss.
In addition to the constant harassment of aircraft in the sky, Li Qiufan and the others were also followed by a large number of enemy troops, including the 1st Marine Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, the 24th Infantry Division, the 1st Southern Division, and the 6th Southern Division.
The commander of the beautiful country seemed determined to eliminate Li Qiufan. He didn't care about anything on the Western Front. The three main troops and their scoundrels chased Li Qiufan.
"Report to the Commander, the Twelfth Division reports that the enemy's vanguard is not far away from us. The Twelfth Division applies to block it and cover the retreat of the large forces!"
Shortly after the plane overhead flew over, the correspondent suddenly came to Li Qiufan and reported to him.
"Damn it, these idiots are really determined to give up!"
After hearing the correspondent's report, Li Qiufan cursed with an ugly expression.
"Order the 12th Division to use battalions and companies as units to block the pursuing enemy troops. Do not engage in head-on firefights with the enemy troops. Just delay the enemy troops' pursuit speed!"
"In addition, let the engineering battalion of the armored division stay and lay mines along the way to help the 12th Division block the pursuing enemy troops!"
After pondering for a moment, Li Qiufan immediately issued a blocking order to the 12th Division and sent the engineering battalion of the Armored Division to assist it.
Because if they continue like this, they will be overtaken before they reach the Uijeongbu area, and now only one unit can be left to cover the evacuation of the large force.
After receiving Li Qiufan's order, the 12th Division immediately separated from the main force and stayed with the engineering battalion belonging to the Armored Division.
With the Twelfth Division's blockade and the large number of mines planted by the engineer battalion, the enemy's pursuit slowed down.
Although the enemy tanks leading the way were not afraid of landmines, the infantry following behind did not dare to take risks.
Because the engineer battalion did not bury all the mines centrally, but planted them at intervals along the way.
Although this will not cause much casualties to the enemy, it can increase the opponent's psychological pressure and make them feel that the next road is full of mines.
In addition, coupled with the harassment of the Twelfth Division, the pursuing enemy troops were even more afraid to advance rashly and could only march cautiously.
Because the commander of the 12th Division obeyed Li Qiufan's order and fought directly as a battalion and company unit, he would go into the woods when encountering enemy aircraft for reconnaissance, which made it impossible for the enemy to grasp his whereabouts.
Under the cover of the 12th Division and the Engineer Battalion, the large force finally successfully arrived in the Uijeongbu area and joined the First Army.
Then Li Qiufan asked the correspondent to issue an order to the 12th Division to withdraw with the engineer battalion.
In this support battle, the surrounded 3rd and 10th Divisions suffered heavy casualties, and the troops were reduced by about half.
The situation of the 11th Division was not very good. It continuously attacked the positions of the 1st Marine Division, and also covered the retreat of the 3rd and 10th Divisions. In the end, it suffered nearly half of the casualties.
The 12th Division was much better than other troops. Only the 693rd Regiment, which was just sent back to block the attack, suffered more serious casualties. The other troops had almost no losses.
Now, of Li Qiufan's two armies in the peninsula, the First Army has more than 13,000 people left. He originally planned to let the Fourth Army take the lead before the garrison division arrived, but he didn't expect that the Fourth Army was also disabled now.
Originally, the Fourth Army had more than 26,000 troops, but after this battle, only about 20,000 were left.
And the First Army, which had more than 13,000 people left, had only about 10,000 troops left after its three divisions suffered heavy losses.
Since entering the peninsula, Li Qiufan had already lost an entire army, which made him feel as if his heart was bleeding.
"Old Zhao, go and learn about the battle situation with Li Xiping, and then report to the Volunteer Army Headquarters the battle and the current situation of our troops."
After learning about the casualties of each unit, Li Qiufan was really in no mood to tell Zhao Gang that the battle was over. He just wanted to be alone and relax.
"Alas~"
After hearing Li Qiufan's words, Zhao Gang nodded, and then sighed helplessly. He was also very distressed about the casualties of the troops.
After Zhao Gang reported to the Volunteer Army Headquarters, the Volunteer Army Headquarters reclassified the 38th Army to the First Corps.
Because before the reinforcements arrived, it was difficult to stop the enemy's three entire divisions and two doglegs with the remaining 30,000 combat troops of the First Corps.
At this time, the Volunteer Army Command also noticed the enemy's purpose, and the enemy seemed to be eyeing Li Qiufan's first regiment.
The Volunteer Army Headquarters then contacted the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Commission Monk in China and prepared to launch an operation against the enemy around Li Qiufan's first corps.
Li Qiufan didn't know this at this time. After calming down, he began to deploy various troops to resist the incoming enemy forces.
At this time, various units of the Volunteer Army have established a second line of defense. The original task of the first line of defense has not been completed, which has added great pressure to the second line of defense.
Because they have to resist the enemy here for more than a month, and they can no longer retreat.
At this time, the Volunteer Army's second line of defense was on the Kansas Line, starting from the Imjin River port in the west, passing through Jicheng, and going east, then passing through Hwacheon and finally reaching the east coast.
And then there is the iron triangle area of Tieyuan, Jinhua and Pingkang, which is the logistics supply transfer station for the entire volunteer army.
Once they retreat backwards again, this logistics transfer station will no longer exist. By then, materials cannot be managed and mobilized in a unified manner, and supplies will be even more difficult.
