kingnovel Chapter 167 Stevenson's Plan to Open up the Continental Transportation Line
Chapter 167 Stevenson's Plan to Open up the Continental Transportation Line
Without even a moment's mourning for the 56th Division's destruction, the 55th Division, which had come north to provide support, immediately rushed to the battlefield.
Under the strict order of the division commander, Lieutenant General Takeuchi Hiroshi, the 112th Infantry Regiment, which had fought fiercely with the Expeditionary Force in Tonggu, led by its commander, Colonel Kogenzawa Yukizo, braved the rain and occupied Bhamo before the vanguard of the 2nd Column heading south, thus protecting the retreat of the 3000 Japanese defenders in Songshan.
8月4日，2 纵 1 团 3 营 2 连沿公路推进到八莫镇北约2公里处便遭到了鬼子的炮击。
"Fuck him, the Japanese artillery is so accurate. If you hadn't helped me, I would be lying on the bed today."
The platoon leader of the vanguard platoon took off his helmet, and the sweat accumulated inside gathered into a stream as the helmet tilted, dripping into the ditch where the squad leader was hiding.
"That means the enemy's artillery observation post is watching the road. I think it's probably in the temple on the hill in front of you on the left, or in the pagoda on the hill at 3 o'clock."
Deputy Platoon Leader Lao Yue poked his head out of the bunker and observed carefully with a telescope. He quickly locked onto several commanding heights with good visibility, which could fully monitor the entire highway.
At this time, the entire vanguard platoon of more than 30 people had found cover.
The stingy Japanese artillery could only occasionally fire a shot aimlessly at the road to show their presence.
Instead, several Japanese machine guns blocked the road with a barrage of bullets, preventing the vanguard platoon from retreating directly from the road.
Realizing that the entire platoon was trapped by the Japanese artillery, the platoon leader could only use the walkie-talkie to request support from his superiors.
The company commander in the rear had already noticed his men's predicament and reported it to his superiors via radio:
"That's right. The targets are the Second Guandi Temple on Hill 2237 and the pagoda on Hill 2599. What? The column's artillery didn't catch up? The regiment's 82mm can't reach it?"
"If we want to cover the high ground with firepower, we have to ask the Air Force for help? Wouldn't that just lead to another round of back-and-forth? By the time the Air Force planes arrive, it'll be too late!"
The angry company commander quickly signaled the signalman to switch the radio channel and contact the company's three 60mm mortars to cover the road with smoke bombs:
"Yes, full coverage! The brothers in the company are still trapped in the trenches beside the road by the Japanese artillery fire. Open fire immediately and fire all the smoke bombs!"
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"Boom, boom, boom"
Hearing the distinctive sound of mortar shells cutting through the air, the platoon leader of the vanguard platoon immediately determined that the shelling was coming from the rear and that they were the target.
"Everyone, the company's fire platoon's smoke bombs are coming. Once the smoke covers the road, immediately get out of cover and retreat."
One after another, 60mm caliber smoke mortar shells landed on the ground. Under the reaction of chemical agents, white smoke soon filled the road.
The platoon leader blew the whistle hard, and the sharp sound pierced the smoke.
More than 30 people in the platoon immediately left the bunker and moved quickly to the rear.
Not long after, the platoon leader of the vanguard platoon met his company commander in a depression.
"How is the situation? Are you not injured?" the company commander asked first.
"The Japanese bombardment came very suddenly. I was fine. Two of my platoon members were injured and one was killed. The rest managed to escape unscathed."
The company commander blamed himself: "I underestimated the enemy. I didn't expect the Japs to move their artillery to the hills east of the town so quickly."
"This place is difficult to fight in; the terrain is too steep." The platoon leader, a veteran of years of combat, saw through the many obstacles at a glance. "There are high mountains to the east of the road, providing a natural backfire zone. If the Japanese set up a few machine guns, they could flank and rear-end our advancing troops."
"Not to mention several highlands over 2000 meters above sea level, plus the town of Bamao at over 1000 meters above sea level. These are all natural commanding heights. The Japanese could set up artillery and arrange artillery observation posts to control a large area around them."
"Okay, your 15-day non-commissioned officer training was not in vain. You spoke very clearly. Why, are you working so hard because you want my position as company commander?" The company commander realized that the other party was a little depressed, and quickly used a joke to calm him down.
The platoon leader waved his hand and said to himself, "Advancing on the highway requires armored cover, and artillery and aircraft are needed to suppress the Japanese artillery. It's not easy to rely on elite infantry to fight the Japanese hilltop by hilltop."
The company commander looked up at the sky and found that the sun had been obscured by the sudden arrival of dark clouds. He also echoed: "This damn place has been raining non-stop since the beginning. When the rainy season is over and we capture Bhamo, I wonder how many of our company will be left standing..."
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In fact, not only the grassroots officers and soldiers on the front line were worried, but also Zhang Chi who was in Myitkyina to supervise the construction and even Stevenson who was far away in Sindhu noticed the Japanese's geographical advantage.
"It is expected that after the three-month rainy season, the New 1st Army will launch another offensive against Xinpingyang. At the same time, General Zhang's troops and the expeditionary force from Yunnan Province will squeeze the Fusang defenders on the border from two directions."
In the war situation room, a White Eagle staff officer pointed at a huge terrain sand table with a pointer and explained it in detail.
"It is expected that the Fuso defenders will use Songshan Fortress and Bhamo Town as defensive fulcrums on the east and west sides to resist our attack."
"Unlike Myitkyina, where the surrounding terrain is flat and can easily take advantage of aircraft, artillery, tanks and other firepower, Bhamo is surrounded by the Irrawaddy River to the west and mountains over 2000 meters above sea level to the east. Apart from a north-south highway running through the town, there is almost no flat terrain."
"According to intelligence, the Fuso 55th Division has completely occupied the surrounding mountains and has deployed mountain artillery with a range of over 10km. The attack on Bhamo is bound to be a bloody battle."
"The defense system of Songshan Fortress has already been discussed in the last meeting, so I won't repeat it here."
After saying all this in one breath, Chief of Staff White Eagle paused and looked at Stevenson who was sitting in the main seat.
Stevenson frowned and stared at Bhamo and Xinpingyang on the sand table.
According to his plan to open up the transportation lines of Qian Country, if he wants to restore the land route for Eagle aid materials to enter Qian Country, Myitkyina, Bhamo and Xinpingyang are three nodes that cannot be avoided.
Only by capturing these three nodes can the newly built roads pass through the existing roads between these three nodes in Shentu, and finally connect to Longling in Yunnan Province, so as to continuously transport resources into Qian State.
The problem now is that even though Zhang Chi's troops and the New Expeditionary Force have absolute numerical and firepower advantages, due to terrain limitations, the troops that can be deployed in each attack are only regimental-level troops.
This means that the attacking side can only refuel one regiment at a time, and the existence of the mountains minimizes the pressure of the air force on the Japanese artillery.
Stevenson looked at the solemn faces of Kong Zhongneng, Bai Jianchu, Zheng Guiting and other Qian generals, and then looked at the John generals who were gloating and obviously waiting to see him make a fool of himself, and thought to himself:
"Zhang, Zhang, can I rely on you this time? Can you still create miracles?"