Wen Rongcai led his troops to Xido, and when he faced more than 200,000 well-equipped British and Indian troops, he already knew very well what kind of result his troops would be, of course, he could adopt the tactics of fighting and withdrawing at the same time, and deal with the British and Indian troops, which were overwhelmingly superior in both strength and equipment, and persist until the arrival of the main force.

However, Wen Rongcai did not do that, in his own defense area, when he encountered an invasion from other places, and before receiving the order of Ma Chaoyang, the commander of the region, he fought and retreated, not to mention the suspicion of fearing the enemy and avoiding the war, just allowing the enemy to occupy the territory was enough to make himself unable to raise his head in front of his colleagues, not to mention, the soldier has the dignity and pride of a soldier.

Therefore, Wen Rongcai and more than 9,000 subordinates, only one battle, knowing that he is invincible, he has to fight to the death, looking around at the fires that explode from time to time, Wen Rongcai secretly gritted his teeth, "Even if the troops are exhausted, tomorrow, in front of the position, if the corpses of thousands of British and Indian soldiers are not laid, this battle of disparity in strength will not be over!" ”

The military doctor came over and changed the gauze on Wen Rongcai's arm, the coagulated blood stains stuck to the skin, the military doctor took a lot of effort to cut the bandage with scissors, and the severe pain of the wound stimulated by the alcohol did not affect him at all, his thinking was completely immersed in the cruel battle he was about to face tomorrow, how to use the only strength in his hand in an unfavorable situation to give the enemy the greatest damage.

A large-caliber artillery shell landed near the shelter, and the splashed dirt fell on his body "in a hurry", Wen Rongcai cursed in his heart, raised his head, and by the fire of the shell explosion, he saw the chief of the communications section. With two guards, he stumbled over, and Wen Rongcai hurriedly stood up without waiting for the military doctor to re-attach the bandage to him.

Waiting for the chief of the communications section to take a body of muddy water, he entered the shelter that collapsed half of it. Wen Rongcai asked eagerly: "Xiaorong, what's the matter?" ”

Qi Xiaorong, chief of the communications section of the garrison command, replied breathlessly: "Commander, the division headquarters is in an emergency!" The British's artillery fire is so fierce, I have to hang on the road. "The well-mannered chief of the communications section. said with palpitations.

After reading the telegram, Wen Rongcai sighed and said to himself: "It was the order personally issued by the division commander to let our troops retreat overnight and assemble on the front line of Magao. Just like that, the British and Indian soldiers on the opposite side were cheaper? ”

He raised his head suddenly, his eyes flashed with unwilling flames, and said: "Xiaorong, immediately order the two garrison officers above the battalion level to immediately go to the headquarters for a meeting." Be quick! ”

Soon, the officers rushed to the headquarters, and everyone was very strange, it was less than half an hour after the meeting was adjourned, why did the commander hold a meeting again, could it be that the enemy situation had changed heavily?

Looking at the officers with puzzled faces. Wen Rongcai raised the telegram in his hand and said: "Just now, after receiving a personal order from the division commander, the troops in our border garrison area withdrew overnight to the Magao front line to stand by. Our blocking mission was completed by the 9th and 10th Brigades of the Corps, that is to say, our mission is over, and we don't have to fight to die all! ”

The officers did not have the slightest joy to escape the fate of death. Everyone's mood is the same, so many good brothers. Falling under the guns of the British and Indian soldiers, he withdrew like this, unable to swallow this breath, Wen Rongcai was very satisfied with the expressions of his subordinates, and then said: "The division commander's order, we must carry it out, this is the division commander's love and understanding for us." ”

"The main force has come up, and in the future, the fierce battles and arduous tasks will not have the share of our second-line troops, but what about the more than 2,000 brothers lying here?"

The officers shouted one after another: "Commander, you go to the telegram and ask the division commander for battle, the troops in our garrison area, even if they die, will die on the front line, we are no worse than the main force!" ”…,

Wen Rongcai smiled with relief, he didn't mistake his subordinates, and then shook his head and said, "Brothers, we must carry out the orders of the division commander, but before we leave, can we cheapen the bastards on the other side?" ”

"No, Commander, what can you do, you can give the order!" The officers shouted in unison, and Wen Rongcai shouted: "Okay, there is a kind, worthy of my Wen Rongcai's soldiers, then good, I'll arrange it, the second garrison, draw out two battalions of troops, feed the light and heavy wounded with ammunition, and escort them to the rear overnight, and the other troops are all lightly armed, and the troops are evenly distributed on both sides of the Hukang River Valley. ”

"All departments concentrate ammunition, the remaining mortars, use them evenly on both sides, the troops are concealed to meet the enemy, leave after the fight, retreat by separate routes, assemble in Magao, remember, leave the shells and bullets in your hands to these bastards, go back and prepare, an hour, start the action! Remember, don't get into a fight, engage the enemy quickly, attack suddenly, and get out quickly, this is my order! ”

Looking at the officers who were eager to try, Wen Rongcai's voice turned cold, and said: "I also want to emphasize one point, during the night attack, no matter which unit is entangled by the British and Indian soldiers, the other troops are not allowed to go to the rescue, retreat according to the plan, even if I am entangled, you don't want to rescue, if anyone disobeys the order, I will shoot him on the spot!" ”

The officers were stunned for a while and looked at each other, what? The commander does not go with the troops escorting the wounded and supplied? How can you stay and take part in the night raids on the British and Indian soldiers?

Seeing what the officers meant, Wen Rongcai waved his hand and said: "Leave the brothers to kill the enemy, I will retreat first, this is not my old Wen's temper, don't persuade me anymore, I haven't tasted the feeling of charging into battle for a long time, back then, when I was under the commander of the Fourth Brigade of the Corps Chu, Brigade Commander Chu once scolded me, you Wen madman, tonight, let the brothers see, Wen Maniac's demeanor back then!" ”

It was night, the unique rain of the Indochina Peninsula, continuously shrouded in the heaven and earth, the wide leaves, could not help the rain, "boom", smashed the rain on the tent of the British army, made a hollow sound, the Indian soldiers who were drenched sentry, all over their faces, could not help but have a cold war, the Indian soldiers cursed the ghost weather in their mouths.

Of course, I was still greeting those British female relatives in my heart, why did the British lie comfortably in a dry and warm tent on a rainy day, drinking whiskey and eating canned beef, and deserve to come out to guard by themselves? Can't even give a raincoat?

I cursed in my heart, but I didn't dare to have any resentment in my mouth, in the mixed army of the British and Indian troops, it is this tradition and habit, when fighting, the one who rushes to the front must be the Indian soldiers, and when camping, standing guard and sentry is still Indian soldiers, rough work, tiring work, dirty work. That's the patent of the Indian soldiers, as for the trophies and merits, it has nothing to do with the Indians, and you have to endure it if you are not convinced, who makes the family from a good background and a child of the British Empire!

However, there was another person, although in a dry and spacious tent, the wind could not blow or rain, but his body and mind were more tired than the Indian soldier, and this person was the commander of more than 400,000 British and Indian troops, General Alexander, who was holding a military meeting at this time.

For a whole day, the main force of the Central Route Army, more than 200,000 people, advancing along the Hukang River valley, was blocked in front of Xido, a small hill with an altitude of only more than 100 meters, and it was difficult to move an inch, heavy artillery bombardment, tanks took the lead, and the entire regiment of infantry launched a non-stop charge, leaving behind thousands of corpses, but still failed to step through the Chinese blocking line.

In Alexander's experience, the squadron on the opposite side that blocked him definitely did not exceed 10,000 troops, and besides, there were few heavy weapons and poor fortifications, so why couldn't they be breached? Alexander was puzzled. …,

Alexander has no experience in fighting with the squadron, and for the Asians, the only thing that His Excellency the General fears from the bottom of his heart is the Japanese who beat him into a poor egg, and in addition, Alexander really doesn't have the one in his eyes, including Tang Qiuli, who gritted his teeth with hatred.

Therefore, Alexander attributed the only reason for the failure of the daytime attack to the problem of tactical command, and he also knew that the reason for the speed of the soldiers, more than 200,000 troops, crowded on the narrow arc channel of the Hukang River Valley, was not a good thing, as long as Tang Qiuli blocked the exit of the Hukang River Valley facing northern Burma, it would be a protracted battle, which did not conform to his original plan to quickly occupy northern Burma.

In Alexander's view, the so-called problem of tactical command is nothing more than a problem of the coordination of the three arms of infantry, artillery, and tan, the artillery fire is not fierce and concentrated enough, and the tank assault is not fast enough, because of the limited terrain conditions, and the number of troops invested at one time is not enough.

As for the casualties of the troops, Alexander didn't pay much attention to it, anyway, the vast majority of the dead and wounded were Indians, and the dignified British Imperial Army, incorporated into the Indians, was used as cannon fodder! Watching the officers' listless, absent-minded looks, coupled with the strong curry smell emanating from the Indian officers, made Alexander sick and annoyed.

His own words did not attract enough attention, Alexander was ready to be furious, raised his voice and said angrily: "Gentlemen, I am ashamed of your current state! As soon as he said this, suddenly, "Boom, boom! "Da Da Da!" A violent explosion and a fierce gunfire interrupted the long speech prepared by His Excellency the Commander with anger.

At this time, the reaction speed of the officers was amazing, showing superb military quality, without that order, dozens of people, lying on the spot, there was a British officer, his movements were even more agile, and he broke the gas lamp at once, and in the tent, it suddenly became dark, and under the flashing firelight, only General Alexander was left in a daze, and he had not yet reacted, what happened?

(To be continued)