Chapter 146: Smoke and Bombs Spread to Myanmar (5)
Manipur, located in the northeastern part of the South Asian subcontinent, borders Myanmar to the east and is therefore the main gateway between India and Myanmar. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoManipur is an independent city-state with a rich history, developed arts, and thriving culture. But when the great British Empire colonized India, neighboring Manipur was not spared, and naturally became part of British India after being defeated by the British.
But what is surprising is that the Manipuri people have a great blood and cultural connection with China, and their royal family claims to be the remnants of the Tang Dynasty in China, who not only worship dragons, but also practice martial arts, and have the custom of eating zongzi and racing dragon boats during the Dragon Boat Festival every year. The Manipur royal family claims to be from the Tang Dynasty in China, and there is a basis for that. During the Tang Dynasty, the southern Shao state in Yunnan and another Han separatist regime rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, cutting off the border soldiers and their families stationed here from the mainland, and was forced by the rebels, so they moved all the way west to the Manipur area to establish a state.
Therefore, the appearance of the Manipur people is far from the surrounding Indians and Burmese, but they are no different from the average Chinese. Because of this, they have a strong sense of yellow race and identification with Chinese culture.
And Zheng Changqing and a few people brought back to Homarin, and the two young people who were standing outside the Dao Anren regiment at this moment were Manipur, also known as Meitai. Although Manipur was occupied by the British and annexed to India, this did not mean that the Manipuri would willingly accept British rule. You must know that the series of actions of the British after the occupation of Manipur, especially the hanging of the prince of the royal family in front of the people in the royal capital, caused the hatred of the Manipur people is not ordinary. Although there was no big resistance, the small resistance never disappeared.
After the translator and a few local residents muttered to the two young men for a while, Dao Anren finally understood the origin of the entire Manipur. Understand and understand, but Dao Anren can only sigh a few words in his heart at this time. After identifying them, Dao Anren ordered the two young men to be sent home. However, at this time, the two young men from Manipur, who had already learned the cause and effect, were not happy to go back.
The two of them muttered excitedly for a while, and then through the translation of the locals, I saw that the translator stared at the two people with a strange look for a while, and then ran to Dao Anren's side and said: "Commander, one of these two people is called Dakang, and the other is called Taba, they are cousins, they say, they say..."
"Say what?" Seeing the translator's strange eyes and the way he spoke, Dao Anren was puzzled.
"They said they want to join our army, and they want your approval."
The two brothers, Dakang and Taba, want to join the Chinese army in front of them, and there is a reason. Although they had told the interpreter a lot, the most important thing they had hidden was their identity.
Speaking of which, the two are still the sons of the Manipur royal family, but they are just side members. Twenty years ago, after the British intervened in the royal dispute, the country of Manipur was occupied by the British and annexed to India, and its royal family, with the exception of some collateral children who escaped, the direct descendants were either placed under house arrest or killed. It was the two young men, carried by their fathers, who fled to the mountain area to live in seclusion.
As children of the royal family, although the two were down-and-out at this time, they were still very clear about their origins. At this time, when I heard that these fierce soldiers in front of me were from that legendary homeland, I was so excited that I immediately moved my mind.
Knowing the intentions of the two, Anren was dumbfounded, he really didn't know how to deal with it, so he could only turn his head towards the political commissar Lin Zhixiang Nunu, the meaning was very clear: You are the political commissar, this should be your business.
Dao Anren himself withdrew, but this left a big problem for political commissar Lin Zhixiang. Lin Zhixiang, who couldn't make up his mind and didn't know what to do, after a short discussion with the director of the political department, appeased the two and reported the matter to the division headquarters.
・・・・・・
Tibet, Gyantse.
Outside the city, on the British defensive position of more than 1,800 meters in front, there are simple fortifications made of stones and logs. The soldiers of the two Sikh regiments and one Gurkha regiment of the British army, who were placed here, were now hiding in the improvised fortifications and trembling under the thick sound of artillery. Before they could see the shadow of the officers and men of the 7th Division, they were shelled head-on.
The Gurkha troops, who had never received much training in positional warfare and had been bombarded, were killed and wounded by the 82mm and 60mm mortar groups of the 7th Division after the few mountain guns were also blown up. The transportation in Tibet is inconvenient, and the bulky mountain artillery and field artillery are still far away from the battlefield at this time. The troops on the front line could only use mortars as heavy firepower when they could not do without artillery support.
Between 200 and 400 meters, this is the closest contact distance between the Chinese and British troops after the shelling. After the British Gurkha troops stopped shelling by the Chinese army, they were greeted by officers with revolvers and whistles, and entered their respective positions one after another. Perhaps, the offensive of the Chinese is about to begin!
Gu Pinzhen took off the binoculars, and after smiling proudly, a piece popped out of her mouth: "Put!" ”
The British troops, who had just entered the position, were accurately killed by mortars, and swarms of shells fell in the crowd of British troops with their distinctive sound of breaking through the air and exploded. Puffs of black smoke rose from the British positions! The Chinese would have such a short interval between shelling, which the British never expected.
Due to the limited number of shells, Gu Pinzhen did not escort the infantry with artillery fire during this attack.
On the front-line positions of the 7th Division, a rapid whistle sounded. And the British army was still raging with shrapnel flying around. Rows of officers and men of the 7th Division, wearing backpacks and steel helmets, bent their waists, and after forming an echelon of skirmisher attack lines, they began to attack forward rapidly.
"Tom tom!!" Above the British defensive position, more than a dozen heavy machine guns began to roar under the orders of the officers, trying to stop the Chinese army from approaching.
The officers and men of the Seventh Division in the charge moved extremely quickly and agilely, and they suddenly threw themselves forward and fell to the ground. Taking advantage of some nearby terrain that could be relied on, machine guns and their respective rifles were set up. With the sound of "da-da-da", a light machine gun constantly spat out a long tongue of fire, sprinkling dense bullets on the British army's Maxim heavy machine gun position, which had been observed for a long time.
The ferocious fire quickly suppressed the British fire, and the charging officers and men quickly crawled forward, and when they had reached forty meters, they threw the grenades that had been prepared long ago. The black-pressed grenade landed on the positions of the British troops, and soon there was a continuous explosion! In the midst of this contest of steel and intelligence, it was clear that the British army was clearly at an extreme disadvantage.
"Rush!!"
The officers and men of the Seventh Division's attack let out an earth-shattering shout, jumped up, held their rifles with their bayonets dangling, and began to storm forward in great strides under the guidance of the military flag waving in the wind and the sound of hunting.
The Gurkha troops, who had witnessed the collapse of their own side under the strange tactics of the Chinese army, did not retreat, but instead dropped the rifle in their hands, drew the half-moon knife in their waist, and shouted to meet the attacking Chinese army. The white-knuckle fight without distance is about to begin. It's just a pity that the sharp weapons in the hands of the Gurkha soldiers did not exert their due power, and under the continuous fire of the Chinese army's semi-automatic guns, with the sound of "popping" in a row, pieces of Gurkha soldiers began to fall on this snowy plateau.
After the attacking troops succeeded, taking advantage of the chaos of the British army at this moment, they quickly launched, using the squad machine gun as the core of firepower, like countless sharp knives interspersed into the crude defense system of the British army!
In this way, the disorganized British army was completely chaotic, and the commander of the Anglo-Indian brigade, Colonel Jones, could no longer restrain his troops, and could only watch his soldiers retreat in a swarm; I could only watch as the red battle flag of the Chinese army grew bigger and bigger in my eyes.
It's overwhelming!
With the capture of the British headquarters, Colonel Jones, who was still in a half-conscious and half-muddy state, became a prisoner of the 7th Division. Two Sikh regiments and one Gurkha regiment were routed on all fronts in less than an hour! Once upon a time, a brigade of British colonial troops was able to sweep anywhere in China, forcing that ancient dynasty to agree to any conditions of the British Empire.
Sure enough, thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi.