At the exit of Mount Patkai, thousands of officers and soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army were already waiting here. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Trenches and barbed wire blocked the exit from the road. In the dense forests on both sides of the road, machine gun positions were deployed. The six Type 92 infantry guns of the British infantry artillery company were already pointing at the dense forest.

"How far are the British from us?" Qi Meng asked.

"Battalion commander, the British are only more than twenty kilometers away from us. It is expected that we will encounter each other this afternoon. The reconnaissance platoon commander reported.

"What about our reinforcements? How long will it take to arrive? ”

"Reinforcements will also arrive this afternoon. The British who attacked were only more than 3,000 people. After the regimental commander arrived with reinforcements, there was no need to be afraid of these Brits. ”

"Very well, order the companies. In this battle, you have to beat me hard! The British who attacked must pay a heavy price. Qi Meng ordered. The British attacked, and for them, it was a threat. But at the same time, it is also an opportunity. If they were able to defeat the British and inflict heavy losses on them, it would be a great achievement!

"Yes, Battalion Commander." The platoon commander of the reconnaissance platoon nodded excitedly.

Indeed, the officers at all levels of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army were not afraid of war at all. For them, as long as they can obtain combat merits, then they will be able to get promoted one step ahead in the casual large-scale expansion of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army. Therefore, in their opinion, these British people are clearly here to send them war exploits.

The 2nd Brigade of the 7th Indian Division of the British Army was marching along the road through the dense forest. As they got closer and closer to the Hugang Valley, the mood of the officers and men became more and more excited. Finally, they don't have to shuttle through this dense forest, and they don't have to worry about being bitten by those poisonous insects, snakes and ants at any time, and then killing them.

"Order the ministries, speed up. We'll soon be crossing Patkai Mountain. Brigadier General Lebert ordered.

"Yes, General." Colonel Charles nodded. He was very happy to finally be able to leave this damn jungle.

"By the way, have the troops we sent to explore the path back?" Brigadier General Lebert asked. Although, he did not consider the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army to be their opponent. However, he also had to prepare for the best and the worst. What if the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army is obsessed and wants to confront them? At that time, they still have to rely on their strong military strength to defeat the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army, seize the Hugang Valley, and create conditions for the entry of follow-up troops.

"General, they haven't come back yet. Still, it should be soon. Colonel Charles said.

Ten minutes later, a British officer came to report to Brigadier General Lebert.

"General, we found the Chinese! At the exit of the road, they laid out their positions. The officer reported.

"What? Those damn yellow-skinned monkeys actually found us. They also dare to deploy positions, ready to thwart us! This is unforgivable. General, please give the order at once, we will crush them. Colonel Charles immediately shouted. In his opinion, the Chinese who were enslaved by them dared to use force against them, which was absolutely unacceptable to them.

Brigadier General Lebert, despite the slightest bad feeling in his heart, gave the order to attack. In his opinion, the glory of the British Empire is absolutely unprovoked. Especially provoked by the backward Chinese.

"Order the troops, they must rush to the exit of the road this afternoon. Then launch an attack and defeat the Chinese. Let them know that if they don't defeat the day himself, they will be able to resist us! We can easily crush them to smithereens! ”

"Yes, General!" All the British officers replied.

They were like a rainbow, and they really didn't take the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army into account at all. Although, when they fought side by side with the expeditionary force in Burma, the strong combat effectiveness of the expeditionary force gave them a great shock. However, then they betrayed the expeditionary force, which paid heavy losses. And the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army is just a rout of the expeditionary force and a force composed of those oppressed Chinese, and it is not a big deal at all. They believed that they would defeat the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army in the same way that the British* army easily defeated the Chinese* army a few decades ago.

More than 3,000 Japanese troops, along the road, marched towards Simbeyen. A few hours later, they appeared in front of the defensive line of the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army.

"Damn yellow-skinned monkey, do you think this will be able to withstand us? It's just wishful thinking. Order the artillery to prepare, let them taste our awesomeness! Brigadier General Lebert ordered.

The artillery strength of the British Army is undoubtedly very strong. Each infantry division was armed with 36 18-pounder guns and 36 4.5-inch guns, in addition to 48 two-pounder anti-tank guns and brigade-attached anti-tank batteries. Some infantry divisions even have medium artillery regiments armed with 16 6-inch howitzers, or heavy artillery regiments armed with 4 6-inch howitzers and 12 8-inch or 9.2-inch heavy howitzers.

If you talk about the number of artillery, it is not much better than the artillery of an infantry division of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army.

It's just that this time the 7th Brigade of the British 2nd Indian Division is going to cross Mount Patkai, and the overly heavy artillery will become a burden to them. So, this time they carried only some light artillery. The entire infantry brigade was armed with 12 18-pounder guns and six 4.5-inch guns, plus six two-pounder anti-tank guns.

At 3:20 p.m., the artillery of the British army completed its deployment and began shelling. 12 18-pounder guns and 6 4.5-inch guns, the shelling began.

The 18-pounder gun of the British army mainly refers to the shell weight of 18 pounds. When converted to the caliber of the cannon, it is about 78 mm. In terms of power and performance, it is even inferior to the 75-mm field guns equipped by the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army. The 4.5-inch gun is a 114-mm gun. Its performance is similar to that of the 105 mm howitzer equipped by the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

The artillery of the British troops, heavy shelling began. One after another, the shells whistled towards the positions of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army. The shell smashed down and exploded. The flames were shining in the sky, and the smoke was filled.

The positions hastily constructed by the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army were not very strong. So, under the heavy shelling of the British troops, damage began to appear.

The shells fell into the positions of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army, blowing up the trenches and tearing some soldiers to pieces on the spot. The machine-gun fire point was also blown away. (To be continued.) )