Mangshi... This small town is located on the border of western Yunnan. It borders Longling in the east and Wanding in the west. The Yunnan-Myanmar Highway passes along the border and borders Myanmar in the south. Before the war, it served as Myanmar's transportation hub and commercial material distribution center. It was a border city in the true sense.
Unlike most areas in western Yunnan, which are mountainous and forested, Mangshi has a rare flat terrain. The mountainous terrain is gone, replaced by gentle land with an elevation of less than two meters.
The so-called Pingba can also be called a platform. It is between the plateau and the plain. The entire platform is complete, the terrain is gentle and the slope is not high. It is completely different from the mountains in western Yunnan.
…
A huge motorcade slowly advanced with a roaring sound, starting from Longling and heading west along the Burma Highway, and the terrain gradually became clearer.
Sitting on the armored vehicle, Chen Jize smoothed back his wind-blown hair and looked curiously at the plain-like terrain in front of him as if he had discovered a new continent.
I am used to seeing the endless mountains and ridges in western Yunnan, but unexpectedly encountering this flat land is really amazing.
This piece of flat land is mainly concentrated around Mangshi, covering an area of about 178 square kilometers. No wonder Shenzuo has to rush to win this place. It is very suitable for mechanized troops to deploy, and it is completely an ideal place for a tank battalion.
If this place can be completely controlled, the heavy weapons of the entire third division can be fully deployed, and the mechanized armored troops and powerful infantry firepower can also be brought into full play. With the mutual reliance between the plains and the mountains on both sides, the 18th Division wants to break through the east entrance. nothing.
"Zizi... please pay attention to the command vehicle. The forwards have discovered the enemy's defense line. Contact is expected in 5 minutes. Please be sure to let the follow-up troops follow!" At this moment, Yuan Li's voice came from the intercom.
"Received." The communications soldier responded immediately, and then looked at Chen Jize.
"Immediately notify the troops to speed up and tell Hong Mu to follow Yuan Li and the others without stopping, and advance deeper into the enemy!" Chen Jize ordered decisively, and casually put the helmet on his head.
In this attack on Mangshi, the tank battalion and the third main regiment were the main attackers. After the discussion between Chen Jize and Yuan Li, the troops were divided into three parts.
Ten SDKFZ251 tank destroyers equipped with 37 anti-tank guns served as the vanguard and lined up at the front of the team. Hong Mu led the remaining 20 armored vehicles and a battalion of infantry to form the second echelon.
The last five armored vehicles were left to Chen Jize as the regiment's command vehicle and rescue vehicle, and more than 70 heavy-duty trucks carrying the remaining two infantry battalions of the third regiment followed closely behind.
…
On the ridgeline of a small highland, a dozen Japanese soldiers set up a temporary sentry post here to monitor the situation on the road ahead.
"Heisuke, is there any news from your brother?" A sergeant came to the front and asked the middle-aged soldier who was sitting on the sandbag in a daze.
"Ah? Shou Yijun, is this my younger brother? I haven't received any letters from him since the transportation line to Tengchong was cut off." The middle-aged Japanese soldier replied dejectedly.
"Cheer up and don't think so much. Once the reinforcements from the 18th Division arrive, we will be able to retake Longling, and then you will be reunited with him." The sergeant patted the soldier on the shoulder and said solemnly for him Cheer up.
"Hey, Waka is going to go to West University immediately!"
The sergeant nodded, took out two cans of beef from his body, handed them to the middle-aged soldiers, and opened the seals himself to eat.
But as he chewed, he frowned and muttered with disgust: "How can it be repaired! Even the canned meat in the base camp must be adulterated? This is not food for people to eat!"
Today's canned beef is no longer what it was originally. It is basically filled with beef offal and blood, not even the most basic meat. The slightly disgusting taste makes it difficult for him to swallow.
It is no longer the beginning of the war. With the defeat of the Japanese army in the Pacific battlefield, especially the defeat of the Japanese Navy's combined fleet, the overall logistics of the Japanese army has been unable to support it.
At this time, beef was very nervous. Naturally, the quality of the canned beef supplied to the Japanese troops on the front line plummeted. The so-called canned beef did not even have beef, but was replaced with beef offal or even beef blood plus vegetables.
In fact, as soldiers on the battlefield in Southeast Asia, their situation is pretty good. As long as it is not wartime, they can still guarantee the supply of three meals a day. However, the Japanese stationed on the small islands in the Pacific are quite miserable.
Due to the jumping frog tactics used by the US military, most of the Japanese army's supply lines were cut off. The Japanese troops on many islands could only rely on themselves to survive. In many battles, the number of Japanese soldiers who died of starvation and illness far exceeded the number of people who were killed.
Under the blockade of the Yankees, let alone canned food, it would be nice to have something to eat. The hungry Japanese would even cook and eat the corpses of their companions.
"Shou Yijun, I still have a few rice balls here, how about..."
"Forget it, keep it for yourself."
The sergeant did not accept his kindness and continued to compete with the canned beef.
"It's so hot. The weather in this damn place is really giving me a headache." A soldier complained, tugging on his collar, sweat dripping down his face.
The sky was overcast, but not a drop of rain fell. There was no wind, and the hot and humid air made people feel upset.
"I heard that it's been raining heavily in Wanding for several days. Why isn't it raining here?"
"Don't mention it. Just because of the rain, the 18th Division is still in Wanding. If they could have arrived earlier, we wouldn't have to stay here in fear every day."
The sergeant chewed the unpalatable can while listening to the soldiers' complaints. He felt extremely irritable. Looking at the calm road ahead, he didn't know why he felt a little uneasy at this moment.
"Heisuke, after dinner, you can take the two of us to the front to have a look. I always feel like something is wrong."
"Hi eh"
The Burma Road was winding and winding. From the hillside they were on, they could only see more than 300 meters in front of them, while the areas farther away were blocked by woods and earth bags.
"Buzz buzz..."
"What is this sound?!"
At this moment, there was a sudden roar from the end of the road directly in front of them.
The sergeant quickly picked up the telescope and observed. The road in the distance was still blocked by woods and he could not see clearly the specific situation. However, the sound became louder and louder from far to near. It was certain that there was definitely a large number of convoys moving ahead.
"car?"
"No, it's Chinese! Send a flare quickly!"
The sergeant realized something was wrong, put down his telescope and shouted urgently, there was no way his own convoy was coming from the northeast, the only explanation was that there was enemy situation!
The roar of vehicles was getting closer and closer, and through the gaps between the branches, armored vehicles with gun barrels could be vaguely seen slowly driving towards them.
"Tank...tank?"
The sergeant fell into a daze for a moment. He had never seen the world and thought it was a Chinese tank.
"call out……"
As the screams sounded, a red-light flare shot straight into the sky. Although it alerted the companions behind, it also exposed their position.
Looking at the slowly rising fire, Yuan Li, who was sitting on one of the armored vehicles, quickly picked up the machine and shouted: "All vehicles, increase the accelerator and pass quickly. Car No. 1 and No. 2, knock out this little devil's sentry. !”
"receive!"
…
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