Chapter 1127: The Sound of Cannons in the Gangao Mountains (Part II)

Lieutenant General Nagumo Taro, commander of the Japanese army's middle route troops, was very reluctant to stay in Tokuka, and what did he say about the orders of the commander-in-chief, General Ito, in his heart, somewhat dismissively, if it were not for the fact that under Ito's command, the dispatched army successively won two unprecedented victories in the Libao Grand Canyon and the Yudun River, and Ito also established absolute authority.

With Nagumo Taro's character, he will definitely ignore this inexplicable order, and continue to follow the original plan, at about six o'clock in the morning today, to arrive at Inyuwa, along the way, did not encounter a single army of Zhina, the imperial army advanced so fast, so that Nagumo was quite proud in his heart, commanding tens of thousands of imperial soldiers, hundreds of chariots, with a murderous aura, his heart will spontaneously give birth to a feeling of invincibility.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Nagumo Taro, who felt very good about himself, was like a drag racing car on the rise, and suddenly received an order to brake urgently, and his heart was unhappy, while ordering the troops, camping on the spot, sending a part of the troops, and digging some fortifications as if coping, if according to the regulations of the Japanese army, these fortifications are not even a small shallow ditch.

Sitting on the marching horse full of discomfort, listening to the chief of staff report on the setting of the army's defensive position, Nangumo's heart, not to mention how annoying, I can't wait to kick the chief of staff's chattering mouth shut up, in a word, it can explain Nagumo's attitude towards Ito's order, "This is one more move!" ”

Finally, after the chief of staff finished reporting, Nanyun said absentmindedly: "Send a small number of alert troops, the rest of the troops, seize the time to rest, tomorrow, it will be another rapid march," Nanyun couldn't help but think, "Your Excellency the commander-in-chief, is it alarmist, he said to that person Tang Qiuli at the military meeting, how powerful he said, but the imperial army has penetrated hundreds of kilometers into northern Burma, and he has not seen a single army of Zhina, coming out to block it." ”

At the end of June, it is the rainy season in northern Myanmar, and at about two o'clock in the morning, without warning, a burst of bean-sized raindrops suddenly fall, knocking on the leaves, making a small and dense noise.

In an instant, Degang was shrouded in rain and fog, Degang is a small town, hundreds of local residents, after the entry of the Nanyun troops, except for the young woman who was requisitioned by the imperial army, the rest of the men, old and weak women and children, most of them were killed, and the rest were imprisoned in a large cave nearby.

Although it occupied all the civilian houses, but for tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers, it was tantamount to a drop in the bucket, except for those officers and veterans, most of the Japanese soldiers had to sleep in the wilderness, this rain, the Japanese soldiers who were sleeping in the wilderness without shelter, all suffered, the Japanese soldiers cursed, curled up with wet bodies, and leaned close to each other to reduce the invasion of rain.

Many soldiers, staring at the eyes of envy and jealousy, looked at the lighted room, faintly heard the screams of women and the laughter of men that could not be covered by the sound of rain, but none of them dared to raise objections and wanted to get a piece of the pie, this is the rule of the Imperial Japanese Army, good things, including women, must be enjoyed by the commanders first.

Koji Yano, a junior soldier of the 138th Wing of the 19th Division, is a more unlucky guy than other compatriots, he was arranged by the squad leader to a small mountain peak more than 4,000 meters away from Degang, serving as an intent-out sentry, soaked in military uniform, clinging to his body, the rain in the subtropical region, not the slightest coolness, but from the heart, there is a wet feeling that cannot be pulled.

The rainy night cut off the line of sight, and he could only see a few meters away, and the rest was dense shrubs and constant rain, although Yano Koji knew that less than five hundred meters away from him was his partner village, but he still couldn't help but be lonely, and the ghost place of Cochinshi, compared to his hometown of Hokkaido, was far behind.

After lurking for more than two hours, sleepiness gradually hit, and the monotonous sound of rain hitting the leaves converged into a lullaby of extreme boredom for Yano Koji, with memories of his hometown Hokkaido, his eyelids fought, and it seemed to be hazy.

The remnants of the Gangao Mountains on a rainy night, on the muddy mountain roads, were not quiet, and the troops of the seven infantry brigades of the Corps directly under the Independent Division, braving the night rain, quickly plunged in the direction of Degang, because of the rain, the mountain roads were even more difficult, and the tank troops and heavy artillery units were forced to lag behind, and if the Japanese army attacked Degang according to the original plan, this part of the heavy weapons and tank troops would definitely not be able to catch up with the battle.

Tang Qiuli wiped his face, the rain flowing down his hair, and quietly listened to the chief of staff Yang Ketian, about the situation of heavy artillery and tank troops, and then said: "The original attack time remains the same, each unit carries mortars and light artillery, and must arrive at the designated position within an hour and a half, after the battle starts, the tank unit must have a regiment to rush to the battlefield, and also, the rocket artillery must have one or two battalions to rush to the battlefield and attack synchronously with the infantry!" ”

Yang Ketian seemed to have a difficult face, he knew that this damn mountain road in northern Myanmar, after the rain, that kind of difficult situation, even on foot, if you don't get it right, you will stumble in three steps, two steps and one stumbling, not to mention those heavy artillery and tanks of more than ten tons, dozens of tons, Tang Qiuli saw Yang Ketian's embarrassment.

In an unquestionable tone, he said: "Ketian, we must make it clear to the troops, we are fighting against the Japanese army, this is already the minimum to provide fire support for the battle, go, tanks, heavy artillery, and rocket artillery units, will understand this order," After Yang Ketian disappeared in the rain curtain, Tang Qiuli called out to Chen Feng, the communications chief who was behind him.

Chen Feng slid step by step, and with a few staff officers from the communications office, splashed up the muddy water all over his body and ran over, Tang Qiuli said; "Immediately send a telegram to the 18th detachment of the special operations detachment operating in Degang, and order the detachment to clear the sentry posts and lurking posts on the periphery of the Japanese army in Degang an hour later, that is, before 3 o'clock in the morning, so as to create conditions for the troops' campaign to begin, provided that the main force of the Japanese army is not alarmed."

The troops marching on the mountain road are relatively good, and the difficulties encountered by the four brigades interspersed on the left and right flanks are not ordinarily large, and the roads they are taking are not roads at all, but the orders of the division commander cannot be changed, and Liu Hongzhang, the commander of the first brigade, accidentally fell into the mud and gnawed on the mud, and the guards on both sides quickly pulled up the brigade commander.

Liu Hongzhang spit out the muddy water in his mouth, and scolded viciously: "This ghost weather, the little devil is too, so he obediently went into his pocket, and the old man ate a mouthful of mud," Then, he turned back to the chief of staff Ren Zhaoquan and said: "Zhaoquan, order to go down, the soldiers who have fallen behind will be taken care of by the field hospital and the baggage regiment, we have to speed up, if we delay things, the division commander will have to pick my skin!" ”

Not only the First Brigade, but all the participating troops of the Corps were in the rain, on the muddy mountain roads, difficult treks, and no brigade commander complained bitterly about his task, which was also Tang Qiuli's greatest reliance on daring to attack the Japanese army in the middle of the road overnight, he believed in the commanders at all levels, believed in his own soldiers, believed in his own troops, and the determination and courage to overcome difficulties.

At about 3:15 a.m. on 30 June, the troops of the two brigades serving as the middle assault had already arrived less than 10 kilometers away from Degang, a full 25 minutes ahead of the time set by division commander Tang Qiuli, which was an unimaginable speed.

Yano Koji slept sweetly, looking at the rain that was still falling, his ears were full of the monotonous sound of "crackling" rain hitting the leaves, and he was bored and stretched out, suddenly, there seemed to be an abnormal sound in his ears, as soon as he turned around, his head was held by a pair of thick big hands, and his neck spine was in sharp pain, and then, he fell into boundless darkness.

Putting down the soft corpse of this Japanese soldier, Major Xiao Xinhe, leader of the first combat group of the 18th detachment of the special operations detachment of the independent division, wiped the rain from his face and made a gesture behind him, Lieutenant Colonel Liu Xingchen, the leader of the detachment, from a few meters behind him, the tanuki appeared lightly, and the two of them were lying next to the corpse of Yano Koji, communicating with each other with gestures.

Liu Xingchen asked, "Xinhe, how many are these?" Xiao Xinhe replied: "Forty-eighth, according to the little devil's whistle custom, about five hundred meters ahead, there should be another one, after it is solved, in this direction, the little devil's guard and dark whistle will be cleared." Liu Xingchen patted him on the shoulder, and then turned around and went in other directions.

At 3:20 a.m. on 30 June, Tang Qiuli's telescopic lens could already see the small town of Degang in the rain and fog through the faint morning light.

Tang Qiuli looked at the luminous watch, he was waiting for a message, this heavy rain brought great difficulties to the march of the directly subordinate corps, but it also caused the result of lax defense to the Japanese army camped in Degang.

At 3:40, a slight sound of footsteps sounded behind Tang Qiuli, and Major General Zheng Yong, the artillery commander of the Independent Division, climbed the hillside covered in mud and water, "Report to the division commander, the first, third, fourth, and sixth battalions of the Thunder Rocket Artillery, arrive at the front line on time, and in ten minutes, you can enter the battle," Zheng Yong reported in a low voice, his face full of exhaustion.

Tang Qiuli was very strange, he didn't hear the sound of cars, how did the four rocket artillery battalions get to the designated position? Before he had time to ask Zheng Yong, Chen Feng, the director of the communications department, also came over to report, "Division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Liu Xingchen, commander of the 18th detachment of the special operations detachment, reports that the Japanese military posts and latent posts around Degang have all been cleared. ”

Tang Qiuli let out a low voice, "Okay!" He continued: "Order, at four o'clock in the morning, launch an attack on time, the rocket artillery battalion will fire sharply for twenty minutes, the infantry will begin to assault, and the units will begin to prepare!" ”

(To be continued) #