Although it was midnight, Zhou Changfeng, who was in the temporary headquarters, still did not sleep. Instead, he was working hard to write the battle plan and the commander's determination.
Of course, the Ming army had a different name, calling the latter a "tactical strategy plan."
Xie Wancheng strode in and found several communications soldiers arranging telephone lines and switches, while Zhou Changfeng slapped himself? The two snaps were quite loud.
"Battal Commander, why don't you take a nap first? I can draw this strategic plan." He suggested with concern.
"No, it will be done soon. Bring me two cans, one with meat and one with fruit." Zhou continued to write and draw without raising his head.
Later, Xie Wancheng took the outline map he had drawn. It was neat and refreshing, and he felt that he was indeed a top student.
After Zhou Changfeng opened the canned fruit and ate it, the instinctive sleepiness suddenly came over him. He fell asleep in an instant, and suddenly his face hit the canned orange and was stained with it. A face full of sugar water.
Feeling slightly embarrassed, he picked up an old newspaper on the ground and wiped his face, then simply stood and ate.
At three o'clock in the morning, the soldiers in the city and the southwest highlands were woken up on time after three and a half hours of light sleep. Their tiredness seemed to have faded slightly, and they began to wave the weapons issued to individual soldiers. A small shovel, desperately digging bunkers and fortifications.
The riflemen dug foxholes, the machine gunners dug machine gun bunkers, and the artillerymen dug mortar bunkers. Everyone was repeating the digging action almost frantically.
The excavated soil was thrown forward and piled up, compacted to form a parapet; after the individual bunkers were excavated, traffic trenches were dug to connect each foxhole together; the bunkers were then further reinforced and anti-gun holes were dug. .
Due to the rush of time, it was too late to dig the shelters and trenches with larger earthwork. Liu Qidong, the captain of the first team, immediately ordered the serpentine trenches to extend forty meters to the left and right wings, and built machine gun bunkers as side fire points.
Fortunately, summer rainfall in Assam is very abundant, and it has been raining for the past few days, so the soil is moist and soft, making it easy to dig.
Liu Qidong, with a solemn expression on his face, walked through the trenches, giving orders as he walked: "If you have free time, help dig machine gun bunkers! Arrange at least three firing positions for the heavy machine guns! Confirm the field of view and clear the firing range."
As students of the French army, the Ming army had many of their own ideas, and there were also many differences in the codes and doctrines. But at least in terms of defense, everyone believed that firepower was the key to efficient defense.
The infantry units of the Ming Army, which relied on heavy machine guns and mortars as the core of their tactics, obviously understood this principle well and were also good at camouflaging the battlefield. At least even Zhou Changfeng, who came to inspect it in person, was very satisfied.
"Have all the firepower elements been calibrated? It must be clarified."
"You must be absolutely sure that there will be no omissions." The vice-captain of the cannon team assured, patting his chest.
Zhou Changfeng took a deep breath, then picked up the telescope and observed. There was a large area of dense woods to the northwest and due north of Demaji, which was lush and lush in midsummer.
The enemy will definitely take a detour through the woods, the probability is 100%.
Wouldn't it be beautiful if we arranged a forward position there and an oblique position behind it?
Unfortunately, there was not enough time, so he could only ask people to set up a few guard posts there and lay some mines.
He turned to look at Liu Qidong and asked seriously: "After the battle starts, you are the most dangerous. You may be attacked on three sides. Are you confident?"
The latter nodded without hesitation and replied confidently: "At least it will be fine for the whole day today."
Zhou Changfeng smiled and left without saying anything more.
The sun has jumped above the horizon, spreading warm rays to the earth. There are a few floating clouds in the blue sky. No matter how you look at it, it will be a sunny day.
However, such weather is also excellent for the British and Indian Air Force.
Wilson's task force, which had finished camping and started marching in the early morning, once again encountered a mine that annoyed them.
Is the remnant army that harassed them still trying to stop them? What a miserable bunch of unlucky guys, Lieutenant Arik, who was at the rear of the team, cursed.
But soon, another loud boom made the British and Indian soldiers tremble, and the smoke from the explosion took the shape of a mushroom cloud.
The Ming army discovered some NH₄NO₃ fertilizers in several warehouses in the city. The engineers paired it with explosives and placed them on the side of the road, connected with detonating cords and mines. Once the latter was triggered, more than a dozen bags of fertilizer were detonated.
A Bantam off-road vehicle was restored to its parts state, and the four British and Indian troops on board also flew directly to the indigenous aircraft.
Major General Wilson looked at the distant city of Demaghi with his telescope. It was certain that the Chinese army was among them and was ready to use the terrain to block them.
The adjutant came over and reported: "Your Excellency, according to aerial reconnaissance, there are traces of Chinese in Demaghi."
"What about the outer positions? For example, on that mound."
"It was not mentioned in the report."
It took the huge team two full hours to complete the ten-mile journey. The British and Indian soldiers were now frightened by the mines and booby traps, and they took every step carefully.
Wilson ordered the troops to stop four miles away from Dema, because the leading units and reconnaissance units had discovered the Chinese troops moving on the highlands.
After these two days of fighting, the cooperation between the various parts of the task force has been perfected - a battalion of the 16th British-Indian Infantry Brigade immediately dispersed the formation, the 4th Artillery Regiment (battalion) immediately deployed, and the 5th Royal Tank The regiment (battalion) slowly moved forward to prepare to guide the infantry to launch an attack.
Everything was in order, and the British officers who felt good about themselves even thought it was worth taking a photo, which could later be used as a typical example of infantry-tank coordinated combat.
The situation in which the First Battalion of the Third Mixed Brigade marched through the mountains to come for reinforcements was obviously something the British and Indian forces had not expected. Aerial reconnaissance even ignored the mountainous area by default, because the air force staff believed that "no one would choose to march from there."
From this, they still thought that the Ming army trying to delay them was the 3rd Battalion of the 38th Regiment, which had suffered heavy losses in the past two days.
If our own side has the advantage and is dealing with some defeated generals who lack ammunition and firepower, do they still need to follow the flanking attack recommended in the combat regulations? What a waste of time.
So the nonchalant British and Indian troops chose to launch a direct frontal attack, thinking that they could end the battle in one go.
The Fourth Artillery Battalion did not even think that there was a need to waste artillery shells, so it only fired a four-round salvo at will; the Nagpur Battalion's 76.2mm mortar also fired only six rounds.
"Beep beep beep -" Captain Albert of C Company blew his whistle, and then said easily: "Drive these guys away, and then go to the city for afternoon tea."
