Helpless, Chen Xinmin had no choice but to squat down and pat him on the shoulder.
"Ah? What's wrong? What did you say..." The third platoon leader turned his head and looked at the company commander.
Maybe even he didn't hear what he said clearly, and he raised his hand and patted his ears hard with a painful look that made people feel sad to see him.
"I said are you okay? Who fired the flare just now, and where are Li Shuanggui and the others?"
Afraid that he wouldn't hear, Chen Xinmin asked loudly at the top of his voice.
There were originally more than thirty soldiers in the third platoon plus the original platoon, but after careful counting, only twelve or thirteen people were still alive.
Moreover, after searching around and not finding Li Shuanggui, Chen Xinmin suddenly had a bad feeling.
After hearing what the other party said clearly, the third platoon leader remained silent. He just glanced at the debris of the bombing not far away, gritted his teeth and shook his head with difficulty.
There is no need to say more at this time. The location where the signal flare was launched is at the impact point of the bomb, and there is almost no possibility of survival there...
Chen Xinmin frowned. He couldn't believe that this reckless guy with great fortune actually stayed in the center of the bombing zone.
The miserable plight of the Japanese can be seen, and the outcome can be imagined...
"Correspondent, send a report to the headquarters immediately. The Japanese artillery unit has been destroyed and the reconnaissance company's mission has been completed!"
"yes!"
After saying this, Chen Xinmin, who was depressed, took the gun and walked towards the river bed. He wanted to go and see for himself. No matter what, he wanted to see people alive and dead or corpses.
At this moment, an injured young soldier next to him caught Chen Xinmin's attention. If he remembered correctly, he seemed to be the little guy who had been following Li Shuanggui.
Covered in black and gray, Qiu Lin stood up with the help of his comrades. The blood on his forehead dyed half of his face red, but he didn't care at all.
"Hey! Wait a minute..."
The medical soldier wanted to bandage his wound, but the other party ignored him at all. He just glanced in the direction of the smoke-filled riverbed and strode forward.
"Xiao Linzi, why are you going?" The third platoon leader saw some clues and quickly got up and grabbed him for fear that something might happen to the other party.
"I have to find Brother Li, he is still there..." Qiu Lin struggled to squeeze out a sentence.
Perhaps due to excessive blood loss from the wound, or perhaps due to the shock to his head, his face looked pale and bloodless, and his voice was weak, as if he could fall down at any time.
"Don't... ugh..." The third platoon leader wanted to persuade him, but he couldn't get the words out of his mouth.
He could completely understand the other party's mood, but he didn't know how to explain the cruel reality for a while.
Qiu Lin did not stop, holding a glimmer of hope in his heart and still dragging his steps forward.
The third platoon leader wanted to follow, but was stopped by a pair of hands: "Old Jiao... just rest, I will accompany him to take a look."
Chen Xinmin sighed, finished his sentence and quickly followed Qiu Lin.
Li Shuanggui was an old comrade he had been with since the recruit camp. He had not taken away the boy's life in so many critical moments before. Unexpectedly, this time...
Or maybe he, like Qiu Lin, still has a glimmer of hope.
In fact, everyone probably knows in their hearts that it is almost impossible to find Li Shuanggui. They just hope that his body can be found and brought back. This is the honor he paid for with his life.
…
The news that the Japanese artillery had been destroyed quickly spread back to the New Army Headquarters. The division commanders on the front line were very excited and could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
After spending more than half a month and so much effort, we finally succeeded in killing this troublesome Japanese artillery. This undoubtedly saved the lives of countless soldiers on the front line.
After learning the news, Fang Jingyao immediately issued an order. The 201st Division changed its posture and gathered its troops to prepare for the advance. The 202nd and 203rd Divisions actively cooperated, changing from a flank feint attack to a frontal force attack, and launched an offensive across the board towards various strongholds garrisoned by the Japanese army.
The flames of war were ignited again, and the Japanese garrison, which had lost artillery support, quickly fell into a disadvantage, and the defense line became precarious.
After this period of training and actual combat, the New Army soldiers have gradually mastered some combat experience. They are no longer as clumsy and jerky as when they first entered the battlefield, and the cooperation between the troops is getting better and better.
Facing the wave of attacks, the Japanese army was unable to withstand it. Under the cooperation of air support and ground troops, they suffered heavy losses. Within two or three days, several frontline positions were lost one after another.
Under the command and dispatch of Fang Jingyao, the 202nd Division and the 203rd Division successfully captured Waxi City and the lower reaches of the Irrawaddy River, taking the lead in achieving the strategic goal of completely isolating the Japanese army in Gankidang from the southern city and completely cutting off their logistics. supply.
Seeing that an encirclement was about to form, and no new supplies had been delivered for several days, the little Japanese realized that they were in a desperate situation and could not sit still for a moment, and immediately started preparing for a breakout operation.
Originally, they wanted to join up with the main garrison heading towards Yangon, but the west side of the Irrawaddy River had been occupied, and the road was so blocked that they could not move forward at all.
To the west is the endless sea of the Bay of Bengal and there is no way out. Now we can only risk breaking out to the south and return to the southern states of Ayeyarwaddy Province, known as the granary of Myanmar, to look for fighters.
Now faced with the risk of water and food shortages, several Japanese regiments stationed in Gankidang showed an astonishing desire to survive, and the breakout battle was extremely fierce, regardless of the cost.
After all, the two divisions 202 and 203 have not yet sealed the opening, and the encirclement has not yet been completely formed. The 201 Division, which is blocking the opponent's southward retreat, bears the brunt, but it is obvious that they cannot stop the little Japanese who are determined to go.
However, Fang Jingyao did not demand that the Japanese troops must be left in Ganji and be completely annihilated. He knew that this was unlikely to be achieved. Instead of letting them fight in a desperate battle, it was better to let them escape.
On the surface, Fang Jingyao seemed to have given the little devils a way out, but in fact he dug a new hole for the Japanese army, allowing them to jump in obediently without knowing the truth.
On April 26, the nearly two-month battle in Ayeyarwady Province ended with the complete defeat of the Japanese army.
After losing the defense lines such as Gankidang and Pathein River, only a large and undefendable alluvial plain was left in southern Ayeyarwady Province. The three main infantry divisions of the New Army were like an unstoppable flood, which lasted for several days. It occupied and controlled two-thirds of the land in Ayeyarwaddy Province.
The remnants of the Japanese army had no choice but to retreat further south to Myomia, Lapota and other places. However, there were great plains along the way. From time to time, bombers would drop a round of steel baptism, which made the little Japanese on tenterhooks all day long.
Knowing that the Ayeyarwaddy Province was about to be undefended, the Japanese army originally wanted to go to the port of Bogorei in the southwest and transfer to Yangon via land and sea transport ships, but obviously their opponents would not give them this opportunity.
In order to cut off the Japanese army's last retreat, the 202nd and 203rd Divisions marched towards Bogelei first, using the Irrawaddy River to flow down the river, and quickly blocked the entire main river basin until the outlet to the sea.
The 201st Division on the front and the support reserve team coming from the Heihe Base calmly advanced towards the Japanese army, slowly driving them towards the delta at the southwest end like a duck.
Because that was the best grave that Fang Jingyao had chosen for the Japanese. He had carefully planned for a long time to make the little devil feel what true despair was...
(End of chapter)
