Lieutenant Colonel Gross also has rich combat experience. He understands his situation and of course is unwilling to leave the existing defensive position easily.
But he also knew that since he had no foreign aid, if this consumption continued, the British army would eventually run out of food sooner or later, and that would be the only way to die.
After repelling a Japanese attack, Lieutenant Colonel Gross summoned two company commanders to seek their advice.
The first company commander said: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, this is not the way to go. We have to find a way to break out of the encirclement as soon as possible."
The second company commander said: "It is definitely not possible to break through now. Look at the terrain behind us. It is so flat and empty. Our soldiers are exhausted and cannot outrun those damn Japanese troops. As long as they leave the position, they will be massacred." share.
If you want to break out, you must wait until dark. "
The first company commander said: "It's only 10 o'clock in the morning. Do you think we can delay it until dark?"
The second company commander said: "No matter how difficult it is, we must persevere. Only by taking advantage of darkness can we successfully break through."
Lieutenant Colonel Gross said: "Both of your opinions are correct. What we can do now is to hold on as long as possible and try to survive until dark."
The first company commander said worriedly: "There are only these Japanese troops in front of us. If the Japanese army sends more reinforcements and cuts off our retreat, is it possible for us to break through?"
Lieutenant Colonel Gross was silent for a long time and said: "This is what I am discussing with you. My opinion is to save the lives of the soldiers. If you have to, you can choose to surrender to the Japanese army."
The two company commanders knew how difficult it was for Lieutenant Colonel Gross to say such words. Lieutenant Colonel Gross was a very proud man and very brave in battle. But faced with the predicament at hand, he really had no other choice.
The two company commanders were silent for a moment, and finally agreed with the battalion commander's decision.
With a "boom", an artillery shell exploded, and the Japanese army began to fire artillery shells again, and a new round of attack was about to begin again.
Although Gross was ready to surrender, he was still unwilling to give in and hoped to repel the Japanese attack. If he could really hold out until dark and the Japanese army did not send reinforcements to surround them, he would still choose to break out at night.
He shouted: "Get ready to fight." He personally picked up a rifle, loaded the bullets, and prepared to repel the Japanese attack.
The Japanese troops who attacked them carried two mortars. They fired more than a dozen shells at once, causing considerable casualties to the British officers and soldiers. Then the Japanese troops distanced themselves to form a skirmish line and began to attack.
As the Japanese troops continued to approach, the British soldiers took aim attentively and prepared to fire.
Lieutenant Colonel Gross shouted: "Brave soldiers, don't be anxious and save your bullets. Listen to my command and wait until they get close before fighting."
The machine gunner said: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, there are less than 200 rounds of machine gun bullets left."
Gross' eyes were still fixed on the Japanese army and said: "Don't fire bursts, only shoot bursts, and save ammunition as much as possible. Do you understand?"
The machine gunner said: "Understood, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel."
The Japanese soldiers approached slowly and cautiously. They were very experienced in combat and used terrain and features for cover as they advanced. Their purpose was to get within 50 meters of the enemy's position, then use a crawling method to get within 30 meters of the British position, then throw grenades and launch a charge.
The distance between the Japanese skirmishers was very large, which could effectively reduce casualties. They moved closer to the front, and soon reached a range of 80 meters.
"Fire!" Lieutenant Colonel Gross ordered, and then fired a shot first.
The British officers and soldiers also opened fire.
At this moment, the surveillance post on the flank of the position shouted: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, the flank attack is coming."
Lieutenant Colonel Gross turned his head and looked around, and sure enough he saw Japanese soldiers approaching slowly on the left and right wings of the position, already within a hundred meters.
Thirty or forty Japanese soldiers gathered behind the Japanese skirmishers. This was the largest deployment of troops today. It seemed that they were going to break through the British position and annihilate this group of British soldiers.
As the Japanese troops on both wings also attacked, the British army had to allocate their forces to block the attack, and the frontal firepower suddenly weakened a lot.
The Japanese officers and soldiers took the opportunity to speed up and move forward, getting closer and closer, and soon entered within a range of 50 meters. They crawled forward, getting closer and closer to the British position.
At this time, the British army did not have many grenades. In order to prevent the Japanese army from approaching, the soldiers had to throw out the remaining grenades.
The Japanese army's skirmisher line was wide open and people were lying on the ground. Therefore, the casualties caused by the grenades were very small. Seeing the Japanese army approaching step by step, they were about to enter the bombing distance.
The officers and soldiers of the British army had fought so many battles with the Japanese army, and they also understood the characteristics of the Japanese attack. They were also waiting, waiting until the Japanese soldiers dropped bombs, their bodies would be raised, and the British army would seize this favorable opportunity to attack them.
Also, waiting for the Japanese troops to jump up and charge is the best time to eliminate them.
The British officers and soldiers held their breath and stared at the Japanese soldiers, waiting for the moment of decisive battle.
The Japanese soldiers finally climbed within 30 meters, and they began to drop bombs on the British position. The Japanese soldiers originally crawled on the ground. Their targets were small and it was difficult to hit them.
When they dropped bombs, their upper bodies must be raised. The British officers and soldiers took advantage of this fleeting opportunity to shoot at the Japanese officers and soldiers. After all, the distance is less than 30 meters, so the hit rate is greatly improved.
Many Japanese officers and soldiers were hit before the grenades were thrown. The grenades that had not been thrown yet landed around them and exploded, blowing them to pieces.
However, some grenades thrown by the Japanese army exploded on the British position, causing considerable casualties to the British officers and soldiers.
The Japanese officers and soldiers took advantage of the smoke generated by the grenade explosion to jump up from the ground, holding sharp bayonets and charging forward with strange screams.
The officers and soldiers of the British army seized this rare opportunity and opened fire fiercely at the Japanese army. The machine gunner couldn't care less about shooting at this time. He held on to the trigger and fired bullets like a rainstorm.
The location where the Japanese army launched the charge was too close to the British position. Although most of the Japanese soldiers were killed on the spot, some Japanese soldiers still rushed into the British position, and the two sides engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat.
Just when the Japanese army jumped up and launched a charge, the Japanese army following behind also rushed forward crazily and were about to enter the British army's position.
Lieutenant Colonel Gross wanted to quickly resolve the crisis at hand. He ordered the British soldiers to jump up and fight the Japanese with bayonets. In a short period of time, he formed a superior force. He quickly killed the seven or eight Japanese soldiers who rushed into the position, and then concentrated The firepower pushed back the Japanese soldiers who followed.
The British officers and soldiers concentrated their forces and repelled the Japanese troops in the front. However, the Japanese troops on the left and right wings took the opportunity to rush over. They saw that the Japanese soldiers in front were about to enter the bombing range.
Lieutenant Colonel Gross was beginning to feel powerless now. He knew that when these two groups of Japanese troops launched a sudden attack, they could not stop them with their existing strength. What awaited them would be the complete destruction of the entire army.
Seeing that he could no longer hold on, Lieutenant Colonel Gross made a decisive decision and was ready to surrender to the Japanese army.
At this moment, fierce gunfire suddenly rang out from behind the Japanese troops on the left and right wings. The Japanese troops behind were first beaten to their knees and suffered heavy casualties.
Lieutenant Colonel Gross saw a group of people in gray military uniforms appearing behind the Japanese troops on the left and right wings. Although he couldn't tell who they were, he knew they were his reinforcements.
He cheered up and shouted loudly: "Our reinforcements have arrived, there is no need to save bullets and we will resolutely defeat the Japanese army."
The British army's firepower suddenly increased, and the Japanese casualties increased significantly. They encountered a surprise attack from behind, and the Japanese troops rushing in front had no intention of continuing to charge towards the British troops. They were now eager to repel the enemy reinforcements coming up from behind, so they stopped attacking and turned to deal with the enemy forces coming up from behind.
Lieutenant Colonel Gross immediately ordered an attack on the Japanese army. The British officers and soldiers also held sharp bayonets and rushed down towards the Japanese army.
Under the attack of British officers and soldiers and reinforcements, the Japanese troops on the left and right wings were defeated first. The reinforcements' firepower was extremely strong, and the Japanese troops suffered heavy casualties. They were unable to resist and fled in all directions.
The reinforcements that suddenly appeared were of course the special operations team members led by Wei Monk. They cooperated with the British officers and soldiers to drive away the Japanese troops on the left and right wings, and launched an attack on the Japanese troops in the front.
At the same time, a squad of special forces members took a detour to outflank the Japanese troops from behind.
Seeing this situation, the Japanese squadron leader was not interested in fighting, and immediately led his officers and soldiers to turn around and run away.
The special operations team and the British officers and soldiers pursued and killed many Japanese troops.
Due to the complex terrain, the special operations team members and British officers and soldiers were not able to annihilate all the Japanese troops, and about 40 Japanese troops escaped.
The original purpose of the special force's battle was just to rescue the British troops. They were too lazy to chase the Japanese troops, and then joined up with the British officers and soldiers.
The British officers and soldiers who narrowly escaped death were very grateful to the team that came to rescue them. Lieutenant Colonel Gross stepped forward to welcome Xu Dalong, solemnly gave him a military salute, reported his home address and said: "British Huang Family Army 139 Regiment Lieutenant Colonel and Battalion Commander, Gross.”
Xu Dalong stood at attention and returned the salute, saying: "Xu Dalong, captain of the Mawushan Guerrilla Brigade of the Eighth Route Army of the Guo People's Revolutionary Army."
Lieutenant Colonel Gross was originally worried that Xu Dalong would not understand what he said, but he was very relieved to see that Xu Dalong could speak fluent English.
He held Xu Dalong's hand and said gratefully: "Thank you so much. If you hadn't arrived in time, the consequences would have been disastrous."
After all, Gross is a British man and can't understand the factions of the domestic army. After Xu Dalong's explanation, he figured out that Xu Dalong and the others were troops of the underground party and belonged to different factions from the troops of the Yuanzheng Army who were fighting in Myanmar. However, for Gross, as long as they were friendly forces, he was not too worried. Want to find out what the difference is between those friendly forces.
The military is a world of strong men, and soldiers respect those strong men who can win battles. The powerful combat effectiveness of the special operations team left a deep impression on the British officers and soldiers and won their respect.
The military doctors accompanying the special operations team examined the bodies of the British officers and soldiers. They gave penicillin to the wounded, treated the wounds, and gave the dry food they brought with them to the British officers and soldiers, which won them even more recognition. The goodwill of the officers and soldiers.
Because Xu Dalong didn't understand the local situation and was worried that a large group of Japanese troops would come soon to retaliate, he suggested leaving here first.
Gross was very familiar with the situation in this area, so he acted as a guide and led the troops to quickly move into a dense forest.
By this time, Xu Dalong and Gross could finally communicate with peace of mind.
After Gross's introduction, Xu Dalong basically understood the situation they were facing.
As a barrier to the north of Yangon City, the 139th Regiment of the British Huang Family Army and the 338th Division of the Yuanzheng Army were originally stationed in this area. Two days ago, they encountered a fierce attack by the 16th Division of the 15th Army of the Japanese Army. Mi Zhi Na has been lost, and the 139th Army Regiment has been dispersed. Lieutenant Colonel Gross is not very clear about the situation of the Yuanzheng Army. .
Xu Dalong asked: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, what are your plans now?"
"We hope to find our regiment headquarters and contact the main force in the regiment," Gross said.
Xu Dalong understood their mood, and he also hoped that the British troops in this area could gather together. Otherwise, they would fight independently and be scattered, without much combat effectiveness. And he also hoped that by helping the British army find their other troops, he would be able to find the whereabouts of the Yuanzheng Army troops in the process.
He said: "Okay, let's go look for your other British troops together. We are not familiar with the terrain, people's sentiments, and various aspects of the situation in this area. Please introduce it in detail."
Lieutenant Colonel Gross took out a military map and explained it skillfully based on the map.
The supplies carried by Xu Dalong and others were also very limited, so he requested that a village or town be found first to solve the food supply problem.
After the special operations team members and the British officers and soldiers rested in the dense forest for a few hours, the British army served as their guide and searched in the direction of Mizui.
Since entering Myanmar, Lieutenant Colonel Gross has been stationed in Myitna most of the time, so he is very familiar with the terrain in this area.
Soon after, he led his troops to a town. It was already evening and the situation in the town could not be seen clearly from a distance, so they sent a British soldier and a special operations team member to the town to carry out the investigation. reconnaissance.
An hour later, the scouts came back, and they brought with them a second lieutenant platoon leader from the Yuanzheng Army.
