Age of Rebirth

The first thousand and 120 chapters and seven cannons of the Gangao Mountains

Lieutenant General Nanyuntaro, the commander of the Japanese army's central army, stayed in Tokuo very reluctantly. How should he put it, in his heart, he somewhat disapproved of the order of the commander-in-chief, General Ito. If it weren't for Ito's command, The dispatched army won two unprecedented victories in Libao Grand Canyon and Yindun River in succession, and Ito also established absolute authority.

With Nauntaro's character, he would definitely ignore this inexplicable order, and continue to follow the original plan to arrive at Inywa at around [-]:[-] this morning. Along the way, he did not encounter a single Chinese army. The speed and smoothness made Nanyun quite proud. Commanding tens of thousands of imperial soldiers and hundreds of chariots, with a murderous aura, he would feel that he was facing the enemy.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Nagumo Taro, who feels very good about himself, felt very upset when he suddenly received an order to brake suddenly, as if he was in the midst of a racing car. He ordered the troops to camp on the spot and sent some troops to dig some Fortifications, according to the regulations of the Japanese army, these fortifications are not even a small shallow ditch.

Sitting on the marching saddle full of discomfort, he listened to the chief of staff's report on the deployment of the troops' defensive positions. In one sentence, it can explain Nagumo's attitude towards Ito's order, "It's unnecessary!" [

After the chief of staff finally finished his report, Nagumo said absently: "Send a small number of security troops, and the rest of the troops should take time to rest. Tomorrow, there will be another urgent march." It’s alarmist, he told the Chinese Tang Qiuli at the military conference how powerful he was, but the imperial army has penetrated hundreds of kilometers into northern Burma, and he hasn’t seen a single Chinese army coming out to stop it.”

The night was darker, and the night wind blowing from the Gangao Mountains not only did not alleviate the sweltering heat, but brought a more disturbing feeling. At the end of June, it was the rainy season in northern Myanmar. By two o'clock in the morning, there was no As a sign, a burst of bean-sized raindrops suddenly fell, beating the leaves and making a fine and intensive noise.

In an instant, Degang was shrouded in rain and fog. Degang is a small town with hundreds of local residents. After the Nanyun troops entered, except for the young women who were conscripted by the imperial army, the rest of the men Most of the old and weak women and children were killed, and the rest were locked in a large cave nearby.

Although all the civilian houses were occupied, it was a drop in the bucket for tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers. Except for those officers and veterans, most of the Japanese soldiers had to sleep in the wild. The Japanese soldiers were all overwhelmed. The Japanese soldiers cursed, curled up their wet bodies, and moved closer to each other to reduce the invasion of rain.

Quite a few soldiers stared enviously and jealously at the room with lights, the screams of women and the laughter of men that could not be covered by the rain, but none of them dared to raise any objections or thoughts. To get a share of the pie, this is the rule of the Japanese Imperial Army. Good things, including women, must be enjoyed by the officers first.

Koji Yano, a junior soldier of the No. 19 Regiment of the 4000th Division, is even more unlucky than other compatriots. He was assigned by the team leader to a small mountain more than [-] meters away from Degang as an ambush sentry. Through the military uniform, it is tightly attached to the body. The rain in the subtropical region is not cool at all. On the contrary, it makes people feel an inseparable wetness from the inside.

The rainy night cut off the line of sight, and he could only see a few meters away. The rest were dense shrubs and continuous rain. Although Koji Yano knew that his partner Xiaocun was less than 500 meters away from him, he still I can't help being lonely. Compared with my hometown, Hokkaido, the ghostly place of Cochin China is far away.

After lurking for more than two hours, the drowsiness gradually hit. The monotonous sound of rain hitting the leaves became a lullaby for Yano Koji, who was extremely chatty. past.

On a rainy night, the remaining slopes of Gangao Mountain and the muddy mountain road are not quiet. The troops of the seven infantry brigades directly under the Corps of the Independent Division braved the night rain and rushed towards the direction of Degang. Because of the rain, the mountain road is even more difficult. , Tank units and heavy artillery units were forced to lag behind. If the Japanese army attacked Degang according to the original plan, this part of heavy weapons and tank units would definitely not be able to catch up with the battle.

Tang Qiuli wiped his face, the rain dripped down his hair, quietly listened to Chief of Staff Yang Ketian, about the situation of the heavy artillery and tank units, and then said: "The original attack time remains unchanged, and all units With mortars and light artillery, you must arrive at the designated location within one and a half hours. After the battle starts, a regiment of tank troops must rush to the battlefield, and one or two battalions of rocket artillery must rush to the battlefield , and attack simultaneously with the infantry!"

Yang Ketian seemed to be troubled. Did he know that the damn mountain road in northern Myanmar, after it rains, is difficult to walk, even on foot, if you don't do it well, you will stumble at three steps, and stagger at two steps, not to mention those more than a dozen Tang Qiuli could see Yang Ketian's embarrassment when he saw tons or tens of tons of heavy artillery and tanks.

He said in an unquestionable tone: "Ketian, we must make it clear to the troops that we are competing with the Japanese army for time. This is already the minimum fire support for the battle. Go ahead, tanks, heavy artillery, and rocket artillery units will understand this. order," after Yang Ketian disappeared under the rain, Tang Qiuli called out to Chen Feng, the director of communications who was behind.

Chen Feng slid step by step, took a few staff officers from the communication department, and ran over splashing muddy water, Tang Qiuli said; "Call the No. , One hour later, that is, before 18:[-] a.m., the guard posts and latent posts on the periphery of the Japanese army in Degang must be cleared to create conditions for the troops to start the campaign, on the premise that the main force of the Japanese army must not be disturbed.”

The troops marching on the mountain road are relatively good. The four brigades interspersed with the left and right flanks encountered extraordinary difficulties. The road they walked was not a road at all, but the commander's order cannot be changed. Yes, Liu Hongzhang, the brigade commander of the first brigade, accidentally slammed his mouth into the mud, and the guards on both sides hurriedly pulled the brigade commander up.

Liu Hongzhang spat out the muddy water in his mouth, and cursed viciously: "This is a terrible weather, and so is the little devil, so just put it in your pocket obediently, and I will eat a mouthful of muddy water." Then, he turned to Chief of Staff Ren Zhaoquan and said: " Zhaoquan, the order goes on, the soldiers who fall behind will be taken in by the field hospital and the supply regiment, we have to speed up, if things are delayed, the commander will have to skin me!"

Not only the first brigade, but all the participating troops directly under the Corps were all in the misty rain, trekking hard on the muddy mountain road, and there was no brigade commander who complained about his mission. This is why Tang Qiuli dared to rush to the middle road overnight The biggest reliance of the Japanese army, he believed in the commanders at all levels, believed in his soldiers, believed in his own troops, that kind of determination and courage to overcome all difficulties.

At around 25:[-] a.m. on June [-], the two brigades responsible for the assault on the central route had arrived at a place less than ten kilometers away from Degang. This time was a whole year earlier than the time stipulated by the division commander Tang Qiuli. In [-] minutes, this is an unimaginable speed. On the rainy and dark mountain roads in northern Myanmar, we walked dozens of kilometers to the scheduled location.

Yano Koji had a sweet sleep, looked at the rain that was still falling, his ears were filled with the monotonous sound of "crackling" rain hitting the leaves, Bai Liao stretched his waist, suddenly, there seemed to be an abnormal sound in his ear , As soon as he turned his head, his head was hugged by a pair of thick big hands, his cervical spine felt a sharp pain, and then he fell into the darkness around him.

Putting down the limp corpse of the Japanese soldier, Major Xiao Xinhe, the leader of the No. 18 Combat Team of the Special Operations Detachment of the Independent Division, wiped the rain from his face and gestured behind him. A few meters behind him, a raccoon cat appeared, and the two of them lay beside Yano Koji's body, communicating with each other with hand gestures. [

Liu Xingchen asked: "Xinhe, which number is this?" Xiao Xinhe replied: "No. 40 eight, according to the little devil's habit of setting up whistle, there should be one more about 500 meters ahead. After solving, this The direction, the little devil's sentry post and secret post, will be cleared." Liu Xingchen patted him on the shoulder, then turned and walked in another direction.

At [-]:[-] a.m. on June [-]th, Tang Qiuli could already see the dim lights of Degang town in the rain and fog through the dim morning light through Tang Qiuli's telescopic lens. In the dark night, Uncertain, like ghost eyes, marching in the rain for more than an hour, all the troops have arrived at the designated positions, and they are all ahead of the stipulated time.

Tang Qiuli looked at the luminous watch. He was waiting for a message. This heavy rain brought great difficulties to the marching regiment directly under it, but it also caused the Japanese troops camped in Degang to relax their defenses. The storm can be solved by a surprise attack. However, this is a pure infantry raid, with heavy artillery behind. It won't be all up for a while.

At 10:[-], there was a slight sound of footsteps behind Tang Qiuli. Major General Zheng Yong, the artillery commander of the Independent Division, climbed up the hillside covered in mud and water, "Report to the division commander, the first, third, fourth, The Sixth Battalion, arrive at the front line on time, and can go into battle in [-] minutes," Zheng Yong reported in a low voice, his face full of exhaustion.

Tang Qiuli was very surprised. He didn't hear the sound of the car. How did the four rocket artillery battalions reach the designated location?Before he had time to ask Zheng Yong, Chen Feng, the director of communications, also came to report, "Master, Lieutenant Colonel Liu Xingchen, the leader of the No. 18 detachment of the Special Operations Detachment, reported that all the Japanese sentry posts and latent posts around Degang have been cleared."

Tang Qiuli whispered "Okay!", and then said: "Order, launch the attack on time at 10 o'clock in the morning. The rocket artillery battalion will make a rapid fire attack in [-] minutes. The infantry will start the assault, and the troops will start preparing!"

(to be continued)#