The War of Resistance: My Expedition, My Country

Chapter 159: Bridge Defense (1)

To avoid damaging the bridge, the guerrillas dared not use heavy weapons and could only use machine guns to cover their advance. Fortunately, the enemy was only a patrol without heavy weapons, so the guerrillas quickly closed in on them and eventually eliminated them.

The enemy at the west bank bridgehead relied on its strong fortifications and continuously strafed the soldiers who tried to approach. A bazooka team fired a shell and hit the bridgehead. After the explosion, the bridgehead was undamaged and continued to fire fiercely at the soldiers who tried to approach. Several more soldiers were hit and fell.

Du Yiping, currently serving as the 3nd Platoon Leader of the 1st Company, 2rd Battalion, st Detachment, held the rank of Second Lieutenant. In just over a year, he had risen from an ordinary soldier to a junior officer. His mission now was to quickly capture this despicable bunker and clear the way for the entire bridge.

Du Yiping saw that two more soldiers from the 1st squad had been killed, but he still didn't rush forward. He was about to go in person, but was pulled back by the 2nd squad leader behind him. The 2nd squad leader said, "Little platoon leader, why are you going? Watch me."

The squad leader of the second squad rolled on the ground, then rolled sideways, hiding beside the bodies of the dead soldiers in front of him, ready to charge forward. Seeing this, Du Yiping grabbed the machine gunner next to him, operated it himself, and fired a burst of bullets at the firing port of the enemy bunker.

"Da da da——", the bullets splashed sparks at the enemy's firing port, temporarily suppressing the enemy's firepower. Seeing the situation, the squad leader of 2 rolled forward, then jumped up and rushed forward a few steps, and with a somersault, he fell to the ground more than ten meters away from the enemy bunker.

"Da da da—" the enemy's firepower kept hitting the 2nd squad leader, sending up sparks, sand and gravel. For a moment, the 2nd squad leader was trapped and unable to move.

"Da da da——", Du Yiping fired continuously at the enemy's firing port. The other soldiers also understood and kept firing various weapons at the enemy's firing port. For a moment, the enemy's firepower was suppressed again.

Squad leader No. 2 got up, took a few big steps, and then flew to the blind spot of the bunker. The Japanese army obviously realized it and threw grenades out of the firing port. "Boom-boom-", two explosions were heard. Squad leader No. 2 dodged cleverly, got close to the bunker, tied several grenades around his waist together, pulled out the fuse, and threw them in through the enemy's firing port.

Just as the squad leader of the second squad was about to jump to avoid the explosion, the Japanese soldier accidentally threw out a grenade. Fortunately, the squad leader of the second squad was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He caught the grenade before it hit the ground and threw it into the bunker again.

"Boom!" A violent explosion occurred in the bunker. A huge shock wave burst out from the firing port, knocking the 2nd Platoon Leader to the ground. Du Yiping and others quickly rushed forward. The bunker was surprisingly not blown apart. Du Yiping rushed to the back of the bunker and threw a few more grenades into the bunker entrance. After a dull explosion, several soldiers rushed into the bunker. Five or six Japanese soldiers inside had been killed. The 5nd Platoon finally took the bunker.

At this time, the squad leader of the second squad had stood up and walked to Du Yiping. He looked at the bunker and said, "Wow, it's quite strong. It didn't even get blown up like this."

Du Yiping carefully examined the second squad leader with concern. Seeing that he was indeed uninjured, he breathed a sigh of relief and said to him, "We must make good use of this bunker. It will be needed for the defense later."

At daybreak, there was no more fighting around the Bamao Bridge except for the faint smoke. The First Detachment launched a surprise attack and, after more than three hours of fighting, killed more than 3 Japanese soldiers, wounded and captured more than 600, and suffered nearly 100 casualties of their own, and finally captured the bridge.

The deputy detachment commander came to Tang Xuesi and asked what to do with the captives. Tang Xuesi's most urgent task was to establish a defensive position, so he didn't have time to worry about other matters. He told him to deal with them on his own. The deputy detachment commander misunderstood Tang Xuesi's intention. This tough Kachin hunter immediately ordered the captives to be taken away and executed in a secluded place.

Suddenly, dense gunfire rang out in the woods. Could the enemy have arrived so quickly? Just as Tang Xuesi was puzzled, the commander of the 1st Battalion came over and whispered to him that the deputy commander was dealing with prisoners. Tang Xuesi smiled bitterly. Now he couldn't explain it. Forget it, the most important thing now is to defend the bridge!

Du Yiping's 2nd Platoon was deployed to the west bank, the main focus of the Japanese offensive to seize the bridge. Du Yiping utilized several previously constructed Japanese bunkers to dig trenches and shelters along the route. Other troops from the 3rd Battalion also established positions nearby. Some had already advanced to the highway west of the bridge, laying mines, traps, and establishing defensive positions to maximize their defenses. Everyone knew that the most difficult battle lay ahead.

Tang Xuesi personally rushed over to inspect the 3rd Battalion's position while considering how to maximize the use of existing weapons for defense. According to the instructions sent by the Indian Army Headquarters, Tang Xuesi and his men had to hold the bridge for at least a week, and this was assuming that the Japanese army on the Myitkyina front was defeated as planned.

Qin Shi had already dispatched some troops from the Third Detachment to rush over, and the Second Column was also deployed behind them along the highway west of Lashio to block the Japanese 53rd Division and other security forces from approaching. This way, Tang Xuesi could use the 2nd Battalion as a reserve, ready to support the 3rd Battalion's defense to the west.

"Has the mortar position been determined?" Tang Xuesi asked the adjutant beside him.

The adjutant replied, "Captain Gao has already found an excellent position in the dense forest on the hillside. The artillery is already deployed and will not affect the deployment of the defensive operations."

Tang Xuesi nodded and continued to tell his adjutant, "Have Captain Gao deploy the rocket artillery companies separately. Also, assign the bazookas to the front-line troops as much as possible, especially those defending the highway on both sides. The more mechanized vehicles they can knock out, the longer we can hold off the enemy."

"We still don't have enough machine guns. We need to use the captured Japanese Type 92 and Type 95 machine guns. Have the 3rd Battalion Commander place these machine guns on the main line. The enemy may not directly seize the iron bridge. They may try to blow it up."

As Tang Xuesi continued to issue orders, the various units began to deploy forward. Indeed, if the enemy failed on the Myitkyina line, they would most likely take action to destroy the iron bridge.

Upon receiving word that the guerrillas had captured the iron bridge, Liao Yaoxiang exclaimed, "Great, great!" He immediately ordered all units to launch a full-scale assault on Myitkyina at all costs. They were to capture Myitkyina as quickly as possible, opening up a crucial link on the Sino-Indian Highway. He also instructed his chief of staff to immediately inform the US Air Force of the situation, instructing them to immediately launch a comprehensive bombing campaign against enemy forces operating along the Bhamo Highway. Bai Lang's airborne assault team was to depart immediately.

Liao Yaoxiang's request was very straightforward: Quick, quick. Quick!