After the enemy army captured the first-line defensive position of the Second Army, they thought of taking this opportunity to expand their advantage, but they were blocked by the Second Army.
"Report to the commander-in-chief, the air defense regiment has reported that it has rendezvoused with the tank regiment!"
While Li Qiufan was fighting in darkness, the tank regiment had arrived at the outskirts of Zhuyi Mountain and joined the tank regiment.
"Reply to the air defense regiment, and also inform the tank regiment, so that they can prepare to cover the retreat of the large forces!"
After hearing the correspondent's report, Li Qiufan immediately asked him to respond.
The mission of the tank regiment and the air defense regiment is to cover the withdrawal of the three armies in Zhuyi Mountain from the battlefield, and use their mobility to delay the enemy's pursuit.
At this time, the commander of the beautiful country also received the news that all large units of the volunteer army were about to cross the river.
As a result, he once again issued an order to the troops in Yishan, asking them to speed up their advance and catch the large volunteers before they could all cross the river.
It can be noted that the conditions in the Yishan area are limited, and at most three infantry divisions can be deployed to fight.
Although they still had three infantry divisions and one cavalry division that were not used, they could not intervene at all.
Li Qiufan also chose this blocking location for this reason. It could restrict the enemy's forces so that they could not devote all their troops to the battle.
In the ensuing battle, despite the fierce firepower of the enemy, they never made any further progress and were pinned to the spot by the three troops of the First Corps.
As time went by, the four regiments of the old brigade commander all crossed the Han River and reached the north bank, causing the enemy's plan to completely fail.
"Report to the Commander-in-Chief. The Deputy Commander-in-Chief called. The Third Corps, the Ninth Corps, the Thirteenth Corps, and the Nineteenth Corps have all successfully crossed the river. Our troops can retreat!"
After all the troops arrived on the north bank, the old brigade commander immediately sent a telegram to Li Qiufan, telling him that he could withdraw from the battle.
"It's finally over! Inform the First Army, Second Army, and Fourth Army to prepare for retreat!"
After hearing the correspondent's report, Li Qiufan finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked the correspondent to inform the various armies of their preparations to retreat.
At this point in the fight, all armies suffered varying degrees of casualties, especially the First Army which suffered the highest casualties.
Because the First Army was resisting pressure from the front and its position was on the only main road, nearly 60% of the enemy's artillery shells hit the First Army's position.
After this battle, the First Army suffered nearly 5,000 casualties, most of which were sacrificed by enemy shelling and aircraft bombing.
The casualties of the Second Army and the Fourth Army were not much different, both were around 3,000 people, and they were not injured.
The first stage of this blocking battle was successfully passed, and then came the second problem, how to withdraw from the Zhuyi Mountain battlefield.
At this time, the commander of the beautiful country had already received the news and knew that the large volunteers had arrived on the north bank of the Han River, and they had no chance to encircle and suppress them.
Therefore, the angry commander of the beautiful country took his anger out on the First Corps and immediately issued an order for the six infantry divisions and one cavalry division in Zhuyi Mountain to annihilate all the volunteer troops opposite them.
"Commander-in-Chief, how are we going to evacuate next? Judging from the enemy's momentum, they may kill us!"
Seeing that the enemy was attacking even more crazily than before, Erhu immediately guessed that they were venting their anger on them, and then asked Li Qiufan.
"These dogs will definitely bite us. After all, the large army has crossed the river. There are no other volunteer troops on the south bank except us."
"There is no shortcut in our current retreat method. We can only retreat with alternate cover."
"But as long as we can successfully evacuate to the outer area of Zhuyi Mountain and have the support of the tank regiment and the air defense regiment, then the road ahead will be easy for us!"
Li Qiufan smiled after hearing Er Hu's words. Of course he could see that the enemy was already furious, and then told Er Hu about his plan.
"Then what are you waiting for? Quickly notify the troops to withdraw, so as not to continue to be bombed here!"
Hearing that Li Qiufan had an idea, Erhu immediately informed the armies to start retreating.
"Why are you so anxious, you stupid tiger? If you just retreat like this, you won't be a target for the enemy's planes!"
Seeing Er Hu's eager look, Li Qiufan immediately raised his leg and gave him a kick, and then said to him angrily.
"Correspondent, notify the air defense regiment and ask them to immediately go to Waidu Ridge on the south side of Zhuyi Mountain to prepare to intercept enemy aircraft!"
"In addition, notify the tank regiment and ask them to rush to the Zhuyi Mountain Pass immediately to prepare to meet us!"
After teaching the two tigers a lesson, Li Qiufan turned back and asked the correspondent to give orders to the tank regiment and air defense regiment.
Now that they want to withdraw from Zhuyi Mountain, the enemy on the opposite side is not the biggest threat. The problem is the enemy's aircraft.
If the enemy aircraft cannot be restrained, then they will become moving targets and can only be used as training for others.
This is also the reason why Li Qiufan wanted to keep the air defense regiment on the south bank and did not let the air defense regiment enter the battlefield in the early stage.
As long as the air defense regiment can intercept the enemy's aircraft at Waidu Ridge, their retreat will be half successful.
"Report to the commander-in-chief that the air defense regiment has successfully arrived at Waidu Ridge and has deployed an interception defense line!"
"Report to the commander-in-chief that the tank regiment has arrived at the pass of Zhuyi Mountain and is ready to assist the retreat of the large forces at any time!"
After waiting for more than ten minutes, the air defense regiment and the tank regiment arrived at their respective target locations and were ready to intercept and respond.
As for why the tank regiment and air defense regiment were not sent to Waidu Ridge and Zhuyi Mountain Pass for early deployment from the beginning, Li Qiufan was afraid of being exposed in advance and allowing the enemy to be prepared.
"Notify the Second Army to withdraw from the position immediately and move closer to the First Army's position!"
"Erhu, go and make arrangements to open a gap on the left side of the First Army's position and prepare to receive the Second Army into the position."
"In addition, notify the Fourth Army to immediately move to the rear of the First Army's position and prepare to cover the withdrawal of the First Army and the Second Army from the forward positions!"
After receiving the news that the air defense regiment and the tank regiment had arrived, Li Qiufan immediately asked the correspondent to issue orders to the armies and began to withdraw from the Zhuyi Mountain battlefield.
After receiving the news, Lu Ming did not hesitate at all and immediately ordered the troops to move closer to the First Army's position.
Erhu had notified the garrison on the left side of the First Army's position and opened an opening to allow the Second Army to enter the position.
Finally, there was the Fourth Army. After handing over the defensive positions with the First Army, it began to withdraw towards the rear of the First Army's position.
