"Squad leader, they are all saying that there is going to be a war, but where this bird doesn't, I haven't even seen a rabbit?"

Yunnan Ruili, Nongdao Town, Dumb Pass. A few soldiers wearing tree branches and green camouflage uniforms were lying behind the thorn bushes, and when they looked down, they could see at a glance the border guard post on the Sino-Burmese border island, which had just been set up for half a year.

The topography of the China-Myanmar border is much more complex than that of the southwest. The continuous mountains, large and small mountain ranges that continue from the Savage Mountains, surrounded the border between the two countries, and several main roads became the garrison of the Southwest Army.

After receiving the first-class alert order, all the border defense units, including the border garrison on Nong Island, strengthened their vigilance, strictly guarded each outpost, and sent at least one additional platoon of defenders to assist in the defense. After it was already known with certainty that the British would launch an attack on the southwest from Burma, no one dared to put the hope of the border guards on the checkpoints, and only the advance of the army could make a difference.

Behind the hill of the Langdao outpost is the station of the second company led by Dai Anlan.

Yu Cheng, the squad leader of the second company, the first platoon, and the third squad is a veteran of the reserve force, and the private of the reserve force back then is now the sergeant squad leader of the garrison division. The non-commissioned officer system of the Southwest Army is private, corporal, sergeant, sergeant, and six-level non-commissioned officer, which is simple and clear.

Yu Cheng unconsciously reached out and scooped up a handful of mud, smeared two more handfuls on his face, and said in a low voice: "A few of you are all settled, forget it if you don't come, if you come, you will fight." ”

"Hehe, squad leader, I just want to beat a few foreign devils, and my hands are itchy." The private who spoke was from the reserve force, and like several reserve soldiers in the squad, they were all very warlike, while the other soldiers of the former Dian Army and the Gui Army were silent and chattering.

"Zhu Laoqi, what are you babbling about?" Yu Cheng saw that Zhu Laoqi, who was separated from the two of them, was muttering something to himself, and asked in a low voice.

"Class, squad leader, I, I'm used to it. It used to be like this when I was in the Dian army. When I joined the army, my mother taught me. said that after reading it, the bull head and horse face took a detour. "Zhu Laoqi is an old man in the Yunnan army, although he is only 20 years old, he is already a soldier with four or five years of old military experience, but he is very honest.

"Be careful for me, if Company Commander Dai comes to check the post and finds out, you can give Lao Tzu a board." Yu Cheng frightened a dozen subordinates, then chewed a refreshing grass root, took out the telescope issued by the company, and stared at the sentry post below and the Burmese village in the distance.

Yu Cheng's class is on the night shift, and it's just evening, and it's still a long time. The checkpoint and the Burmese village on the opposite side did not happen anything unusual until dark.

Lying on the haystack and lying behind the thorn bushes, the people who were on the third shift had already fallen asleep. And the people on duty happened to be Zhu Laoqi and another private.

"Huh?"

Zhu Laoqi was bored and silently chanting his life-saving mantra, but suddenly stopped, shushed at the recruits who were looking at him, and looked up to listen to the night sky overhead.

"One, two, three...... A squad leader, a squad leader, there is a case! Zhu Laoqi crawled over and gently shook Yu Cheng awake, and Yu Cheng, who was very vigilant, woke up as soon as his body rolled over, "What happened?" ”

"Squad leader, six or seven birds flew overhead just now, and I suspect that someone disturbed them in the woods opposite."

"It can't be a Burmese villager, right?" Yu Cheng suddenly came to his senses and carefully screened it. As far as the eye can see, the black night sky even hides the moon in the dark clouds, and the woods and villages opposite cannot be seen clearly.

"No, in this barren mountain range, the villagers of Myanmar will not easily travel at night, so many night birds are frightened, someone must have entered the woods opposite." Zhu Laoqi analyzed according to his own experience, when he was in the Yunnan army in the past, the conditions were called a bitter, and Zhu Laoqi, who was born in Orion, was able to survive in such a army, and his survival experience was very rich.

"Is it smuggling? During the day, no troops were seen entering the opposite village, so it should not have been an overnight attack by the enemy. Could it be the enemy's scouts? But it's dark, and I can't see anything clearly......" Yu Cheng inadvertently saw the light of the sentry post, and immediately understood, "Could it be that the enemy is reconnoitring the outpost?" ”

In the past, the higher-level leaders had issued the most severe orders, reminding the troops at all levels that the enemy might cross the Sino-Burmese border at any time, and asking the troops at all levels, especially the troops guarding the border, to be more vigilant.

"Zhu Laoqi, let's go, go and have a look with me." Yu Cheng finally decided to take an adventure, with this mountain pass to lead the way, he should be able to touch the woods opposite.

...... "Major Carmen, the checkpoint opposite is heavily guarded. ”

On the Sino-Burmese border, opposite the Langdao checkpoint, in the Burmese jungle, five or six British officers were observing the eye-catching checkpoint opposite in the dark night.

At nightfall, a British Indian battalion arrived at this small Burmese village on the Sino-Burmese border, and because of the mountainous terrain, the troops were not stationed in the north of the village at night, but in the low-lying south of the village, just in time to avoid the last reconnaissance of the Chinese defenders at dusk.

As the commander of this Indian battalion, Major Carmen has always felt aggrieved, he is an outstanding graduate of the authentic British Imperial Army Military Academy, but let himself command such a mixed Indian battalion, which makes him full of dissatisfaction, and he wants to make some achievements so that he can be promoted and leave early. As an excellent military cadet, he was extremely conceited, and after studying many examples of World War I, he was pleasantly surprised to find that there were too many examples of actual combat in his first actual battle to refer to. Any example of a combat battle can be used as an action plan for this time.

The goal is to break through the border defenses of a backward country, and after mastering accurate intelligence, you can break through the opponent at lightning speed, and then capture the opponent's border points and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

In this way, he will be able to complete this vanguard combat mission with great brilliance.

Therefore, when he arrived at this small village that must be passed through on the way to China in the evening, he did not camp hastily, but chose a hidden position, and after stationing, he took advantage of the night to reconnoiter with his subordinates. Because of the success of the intelligence gathering work, he learned from the mouths of the locals that there was a five-man border guard post here.

"No matter how heavily guarded, it's just a five-a-side sentry post, and tomorrow morning, we'll easily break through it. This war to punish the executioners will be the first shot we will fire. ”

Major Carmen, who was dreaming of the future, did not notice that there were two men lying on the ground cautiously behind the large fir tree not far away.

Half a ring, and when Carmen and the others walked away, Yu Chengcai and Zhu Laoqi got up cautiously and touched all the way, and their whole faces were scratched and bloodied by thorn vines.

"Squad leader, what are they talking about?"

"I don't understand ......" Yu Cheng was also very depressed, he just studied in the army and learned to read, how did he know what was said on the other side, "Do you dare to touch it and take a look?" ”

"I'm fine, it's just the squad leader, you'......"

"You can do it, I'll do it, be careful, don't be discovered by foreign devils!"

When the two of them finally touched the edge of the village, they finally saw the British camp under the depression. Although the lights were controlled, when I got closer, I could still hear the sound of machines and the lights peeking out of several tents.

"Good boy, it looks like there are at least two companies!" Yu Cheng smacked his lips and said in Zhu Laoqi's ear, "Let's go, hurry back, ―――――――― Dai Anlan, who got the news overnight the next morning, urgently reported to the regimental headquarters of the Third Regiment of the Second Division of the Garrison Division, and gathered the whole company overnight, and went up the mountain to dig a trench at twelve o'clock at midnight."

The complex terrain here has always made Dai Anlan very worried, afraid that if a battle occurs, he will be attacked by the other party, so that even if he can block the enemy, he will lose a lot.

Fortunately, thanks to the fine traditions of the Southwest Army, the military style has always been very strict, and any orders will be strictly carried out. The fact that Yu Cheng's third class, who was on duty at night, was able to discover the enemy was the result of this kind of practice of waiting for the enemy at all times.

"Dig a little deeper here, and then have breakfast after digging!!"

"Sandbags here, relocate them."

"The bunkers of the machine gun squad should be hardened with hard stone, and the three bunkers should be arranged crosswise."

"The sharpshooters scattered to the left and right hills to hide, waiting for orders."

"The mortar team first moved to the next hill and waited for orders to act."

When Dai Anlan looked at his watch and walked to six o'clock, he could already see the faint cooking smoke in the distance through the telescope, if it was usual, he might be treated as smoke in the mountains, but at this time, it was very likely that the enemy was having breakfast. Next, there will be a fierce battle.

A battalion of enemy troops, if it is the Burmese army, it is fine, if it is the Indian army or even the British [***] regiment, then it will be a big trouble. He did not lead the main company, and he did not have so much time to build a position, and it was quite difficult for a company to face an attack by a battalion.

"Company commander, the enemy is coming!"

An observer who climbed to the tree was the first to discover the enemy's tracks, and the two armies were too close to each other for Dai Anlan to even send a reconnaissance team, but it was the battlefield observer who climbed to the tree to discover the British army first.

"Can you tell what kind of army it is?" Dai Anlan stood under the tree and asked in a low voice.

"I can't see clearly, I can only see the rice flag. Ten minutes are expected to be within visual range. The observer slid down the tree and briefly stated his observations: "Company commander, the other side has artillery!" ”

"Cannons? What kind? Heavy caliber? Dai Anlan dug deeply.

"It's more like a 24-year-old infantry gun equipped by the main forces. The number is about five. The observer said.

Dai Anlan nodded, it should be the other party's battalion-level support firepower, although the garrison has not yet been equipped with the 24-year-old infantry gun of the main force, but he has seen that thing. The power is not very great, but the ballistics are special, the shot is accurate, and the angle of fire is also more advantageous than mortars. Since the infantry battalion on the opposite side has five mountain guns, its own troop deployment is correct.

Only one platoon of troops was placed on the hill at the forefront, and the main force was placed in the back, which could be supported at any time, and it avoided being bombarded by British artillery fire.

Without the superiority in personnel and firepower, Dai Anlan did not even dare to pin his hopes on the old Dian army and the old Gui army who had only received six months of reorganization training, this battle was too mysterious.

Just after eight o'clock, the soldiers who were napping in the trenches were woken up, and one was caught up in the line of fire after eating a few steamed buns, pickle sticks and warm boiled water to replenish his strength.

Because, within a visual distance of a few hundred meters, you can already see the British troops fighting in the front.

"Damn, the devil is really here!!"

The soldiers on the position were scratching for a while, and they couldn't see clearly what the British troops on the opposite side looked like when they lay in this improvised trench dug overnight. However, these soldiers are no strangers to war, not to mention the veterans of the Gui Army of the Dian Army, who are reserve troops and have also experienced battles. One by one, without the commander's orders, they hurriedly checked the Huaxia-style rifles, bayonets, and grenades around them, which were all life-saving weapons to kill the enemy in the next battle.

"Brothers, the British devils are coming soon. They are not here to be guests, they are here to burn and plunder. Think of Nanjing Road in Shanghai, think of the Old Summer Palace. Think of the guns they fired at unarmed students, and the repeated invasions of British devils over the past hundred years, the horrific crimes they have committed are simply too numerous to mention.

As soldiers, we have a responsibility to stop them. Not for anything else, just for the sake of the villagers who are still moving behind, just for the sake of being worthy of their own military conscience, and for being worthy of their own military salary.

The ugly words are in the front, dragging the enemy, completing the task, Lao Tzu will take you to drink wine and eat meat, and even the spoils of war, and you can also be the master of the matter when the time comes. However, if anyone escapes from the battle and violates the military order, Lao Tzu will be the first to kill him. ”

No one doubted Dai Anlan's order, and on the first day he came to the company, he sent two old Dian troops who were plagued by his neighbors to the western sky. Although these words of grace and power were extremely simple, they were extremely useful to the two kinds of people in the army at this time, the old reservists and the veteran soldiers of Yunnan and Guizhou, and each found his own reason to fight.

Of course, the Southwest Army's generous treatment, full military salaries, and excellent pension policy have all made these recruits and veterans have less worries to a certain extent. The disability pension of the Southwest Army is not just talk, every unit, every number, there is a special ceremony every year: the pension is issued for the disabled and sick veterans.

It was this garrison company, and everyone wrote down their beneficiaries clearly. According to their information, no matter who they give their future pensions, the Southwest Army will pay them in full and on time.

"How's the mine going?" Dai Anlan asked the engineer squad next to him.

"Don't worry, company commander, more than a hundred serial anti-infantry broadsword mines have already been buried, as long as you step on it, keep a large explode."

Anti-infantry mines are relatively cheap, and they are also one of the better equipment that Dai Anlan's troops can obtain. Infantry mines, placed near the line of fire more than 300 meters, will give the first roar to the aggressor.

Dai Anlan nodded, and then ordered: "Order the first platoon, immediately prepare for battle, and as soon as the mines go off, immediately open fire." ”

The British moved quickly, and after passing through the woods, they made a beeline for the post.

When it was found that the checkpoint was empty, there was not even a single sentry except for a sign that read "China Frontier" in Chinese, English and Burmese. This situation made Major Carmen a little wary.

"Major Carmen, the fortifications of the squadron [***] have been found on the opposite hill!!"

Several Burmese soldiers were brought to Carmen to report the discovery of the fortifications of the [***] team on the hill ahead. Although these Burmese people are not good at fighting, they are the masters of the mountains and forests, and they are very familiar with the terrain and reconnaissance.

"Order the first company to launch a tentative attack on the opposite hill!" Carmen frowned, this was not what she thought, the original plan was to rush into Yunnan, China in one go, but she didn't expect to fight.

It must be some kind of Chinese border guards who are temporarily deployed on it. Because when I arrived yesterday, the villagers said that there was no abnormality on the other side.

This Indian battalion, made up of Indians and British descent, was a low-fighting force, but it was not slow to move. As soon as the first company received the order, the British commander rushed his troops to the top of the hill.

According to the Burmese soldiers' report, there should be a platoon to a company-sized Chinese unit on the opposite side, and the British commander did not think much about it, in his opinion, with the strength of the Chinese people, it was absolutely impossible to defeat the Indian army with advanced weapons under the command of the British.

"Boom!!"

It was only after the first loud explosion sounded that the British company commander realized that the troops had stepped on a mine.

However, to his great surprise, after the first explosion, there was an equally violent explosion on the hillside where the army had passed or was passing.

"Damn, why are there so many mines!!" Carmen angrily put down the binoculars, and nearly a thousand meters away, a company of Indian troops retreated from the brave charge at the beginning to the embarrassment, leaving behind more than ten people killed by mines, and bringing back seven or eight wounded soldiers.

The furious Carmen couldn't believe that an ordinary charge had not fired a single shot, and it was a great shame that a company had killed and wounded more than 20 people.

"Order the artillery to fire at the piedmont and detonate the mines!!"

Carmen secretly said that fortunately he was an honor student in the military academy, but in the blink of an eye, he came up with a way, and it would be very easy to open up a safe passage several hundred meters long with the firepower of an artillery company with eight guns.

Of course, he will not take into account the accidental incident of stepping on a mine again after shelling, war, there is always a need for dead people, just like landmines, there will always be stepping on them.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

…… After the dense sound of artillery in the artillery company, the area of several hundred meters in front of the mountain was hastily swept by shells, although this Indian battalion was not good, but the artillery company temporarily reinforced by the British was not vegetarian, the firepower was strong, the shelling was also very accurate, and many mines were really detonated by them.

"Hit!!"

When Dai Anlan saw that the Indian company had organized an attack again, he finally ordered the platoon on the first hill to shoot back.

"Bang! Bang! Bang ......" dense Huaxia Type 1 rifle, modified from the Mauser rifle, inherited the excellent medium-range shooting surname Neng, and at a distance of several hundred meters, compared with the Lee Enfield rifle held in the hands of Indians and British descendants, it also had a slight advantage.

Although the Indians also had formal training from the British [***] team, the effect was very disappointing, and as soon as the gunshots rang out on the hill, the Indians fell together. However, because the training of the Southwest Army has always been known for its strictness, and the training of live ammunition shooting is even stricter, even the garrison division has smashed countless bullets into it in six months, which has greatly improved the soldiers' shooting skills. There were not a few Indian soldiers who were hit at the moment, most of them were shot in the chest, and the huge muzzle of the gun was gushing and bleeding, and they fell down immediately after being shot.

The unlucky Indian soldier was even hit in the head, and a watermelon blossomed as a result.

"Bang bang bang!! ...... "The Indians who were lying down, this time did not flee in a hurry, but in the roar of the British company commander, they lay on the ground, raised their heads and shot from the hills, but unfortunately, the problem of the angle of fire and the problem of many plants and trees caused most of the bullets to fly away, or fly into the weeds.

"Bastard!!"

Carmen threw away the telescope again, didn't even feel the telescope hit her chest, and waved her big hand, "Order the artillery company to fire!" Target hilltop position, three minutes of rapid fire!! ”

A small hill actually made the Indian company deflated continuously, Carmen couldn't sit still, and didn't even bother to organize the company to charge again, and directly called for artillery support.

"No, if this continues, the casualties will get heavier and heavier." Dai Anlan saw through the telescope that the top of the Dumb Mountain was bombed by artillery, and he was really afraid that the first row would explain it there.

Fortunately, there was a single anti-artillery hole dug overnight, although it was simply a small hole in the trench that could be hidden, but at this time it had a very good effect. Otherwise, bombarding a hill with eight mountain guns would probably allow a platoon to withdraw from the battle when the artillery stopped firing.

"The mortar squad will try to find the artillery on the opposite side, and if it is sure to destroy part of the opponent's artillery, immediately concentrate on the counterattack."

After three minutes of artillery bombardment, the Indian company got up from the ground again and crawled towards the hill.

"Quick, quick, the British devils are coming!!"

The platoon commander of the platoon also suffered a loss in the improvised anti-artillery hole just now, and a mountain artillery shell that exploded close to the explosion shocked him directly and vomited blood, and he crawled out of the anti-artillery hole with internal organs injured to take a look, and the people who had not had time to hide in the anti-artillery hole just now had already been blown away, and although the casualties did not shake the foundation of the first platoon, they also reached the level of eight or nine people.

"Bang ......"

The sound of intensive firefighting finally sounded again, and the first platoon was able to block the attack of a company of the opponent by virtue of the favorable location. In fact, it was also because India was too timid, no matter how the British company commander urged, it just didn't retreat, lying on the ground, shooting up, just refusing to climb up.

"A group of fools, the strength of a company, can't take down a hill defended by a platoon! Lieutenant Ron was ordered to take a gun and force these idiots to attack. The artillery battery continued to fire. ”

Carmen was a little frustrated, and the expected smooth "passing" mission turned into a tough battle, and a platoon of the opposing side was able to rely on the terrain and more accurate marksmanship than the Indian army, and was prepared in advance, relying on the terrain to block the attack of a company.

Under the double cover of machine guns and artillery, the Indian platoon commanders, who were pointed at their pistols, finally launched a desperate attack with their guns pointed at the squad leaders. It's just a hill in front of them, and they need to take it as soon as possible.

"Order two heavy machine guns to fire cross-fire!" Seeing that the enemy had almost climbed to a distance of less than 100 meters from the top of the mountain, Dai Anlan decisively ordered the two hidden heavy machine guns to open fire.

The Makqin machine guns eliminated by the main force of the "Tutu Tu ......" once again exerted their residual heat in the garrison. The two cross-configured Makqin machine guns immediately stunned the attack momentum of the Indian company, and many Indian soldiers who hid behind the grass and rocks were also killed by a heavy machine gun bullet.

"The second company joined the attack sequence of the first company, and the third company bypassed the hill and attacked from the flank! The artillery battery continued to fire. ”

Carmen, who was not reconciled, changed the battle plan again, and sent all three companies in his hand, ready to take this small dumb mountain pass in one go. In his opinion, when will the army of the barbarians be able to stop the army of the Immortal Empire? Even if these Indians are just a dog of the empire, they should not be stopped by the Chinese.

Seeing that the other party had changed his battle plan again, Dai Anlan reached out and picked up a rifle from the trench, and said to the instructor beside him: "Prepare for battle, it will be your turn and me soon." Today you will either hold on until the order to retreat, or you will die here!! ”

Although the battle between small units is not as eye-catching as the big battle, you come and go with each other, and every position will be the focus of defense and attack.

…… Throughout noon, the Dumb Pass was immersed in the sound of gunfire, the two sides went back and forth, outflanked the flanks, and counter-charged, and a company and a battalion actually fought until noon and still did not distinguish the winner.

Of course, the defending side was badly bombed by artillery, but the attacking side suffered from the terrain and poor training, and finally fought the most dangerous attack after Dai Anlan threw in the last reserve.

I really tried my best, and I fought to the end, and in addition to the exhaustion of bullets and grenades, my physical strength was also extremely depleted. And the other party is still rushing up all over the mountains. Compared to a company, a battalion of Indian troops, it is too much. Moreover, the other side also has mountain artillery, a sharp weapon for close-range mountain warfare.

In the end, Dai Anlan and even the instructors all went into battle, and those with guns took guns and threw grenades with grenades, barely repelling the attack of the Indian battalion.

"Company commander, orders from above."

Dai Anlan threw the last grenade in his hand down the mountain to blow up a puff of smoke, and then wiped the gunpowder smoke and mud on his face with his sleeve, and felt a burning pain in his left cheek. Glad that he did not die, but also glad that he had completed the task and successfully delayed the attack of the Indian battalion, he took over the order with some trepidation.

Unexpectedly, his unit became the first unit to fight a bloody battle with the British. Although it was only a battle between a company and a battalion, it was not a big battle, and the Indians were forced by the British [***] officers to even rush up the hill repeatedly, but fortunately they were driven down by the pistols deployed by the squad and platoon leaders and the two submachine guns of the company.

If he could not receive the order to retreat, his company would become the first unit of the Southwest Army to be eliminated in formation.

"The masses have been transferred, and your troops are allowed to immediately retreat to the regimental defense line and participate in the next stage of the operation."

When Carmen finally climbed the Dumb Mountain, she almost jumped in anger when she saw the empty mountain. After fighting for a long time, not to mention the delay in the operation, the loss of the entire battalion reached an astonishing forty percent, and it had lost the strength to pursue this mysterious [***] team.

He couldn't understand why the opposing force, which was obviously only a company in size, could hold back the attack of a battalion of Indian troops.

He would never have imagined that soon, he would witness an "unequal battle between civilized people and barbarian nations" with the British [***] team that followed up!!

(To be continued)