The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 249: Divine Soldiers Descend from Heaven to Yenangqiang (Part 2)

While Old A was waiting, the gunship in the sky began to fly low and slow down, slowly entering the circling phase.

It flew around the Japanese bunker, maintaining a certain altitude, preparing for the upcoming attack.

The hatch on the side of the fuselage was opened, revealing the gunners wearing oxygen masks.

The gunner held the 105mm recoilless gun tightly, constantly adjusted the muzzle with the help of the optical magnifying sight, aimed at the top cover of the bunker, and quickly opened fire.

The sound of the gunship's firing and the roar of the engine intertwined into one, which was heart-pounding.

The shells kept falling, and as the gunners kept adjusting the muzzles and firing, soon a high-explosive armor-piercing shell accurately hit the top of the bunker.

The hot metal jet was like a hot knife cutting through butter. After penetrating a thin layer of concrete, it penetrated into the bunker and happened to ignite the ammunition boxes piled up inside.

Soon the bullets in the ammunition boxes exploded due to the high temperature. The bunker seemed to have entered the New Year period, with crackling sounds similar to those of firecrackers ringing continuously. The Japanese machine guns that had been firing non-stop before suddenly went silent.

Old A immediately took the opportunity to set up the recoilless rifle and continuously fired at the firing holes of the bunker, completely cutting off the Japanese's ability to counterattack.

"Brothers, follow me!" Putting down the still steaming recoilless rifle, Old A picked up the carbine and rushed out first.

Behind him, the paratroopers followed closely, with murderous gleams in their eyes, and quickly launched an attack.

Without the fire cover of the bunkers, the remaining Japanese soldiers were no match for the paratroopers who had the numerical advantage and were quickly wiped out.

"The 501st Battalion has completely controlled the airport and the glider can land." After Zhu Rihe reported using the radio, the sound of a glider breaking through the air was soon heard in the sky.

The huge glider freed itself from the ropes connecting it to the towing aircraft at the front, and glided down through the clouds under the action of gravity, finally landing steadily on the cleared runway.

The rear hatch opened, and two small and exquisite M22 tanks drove off the plane one after another (the picture is at the end of the chapter, the author said).

Then the paratroopers beside the runway rushed forward and quickly pushed the glider away with manpower, clearing the runway to prepare for the next glider.

The two captured Japanese ground crew members were tied up tightly and squatted in the corner of the airport, staring in amazement at the tanks that emerged from the gliders.

Their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.

"Damn it, how is this possible? A tank that can be airdropped?" One of the Japanese ground crew members could not suppress his inner fear, muttering to himself, his eyes full of incomprehensible shock.

Not far away, an entire tank company had been airdropped, and C-47 transport planes carrying 75mm mountain guns at high altitude also began to land on the runway one after another, bringing the heavy firepower that the paratroopers needed most.

Colonel Lou Guangzhi, who arrived randomly, had no time to greet the paratrooper officers on the ground, and quickly led their entire team to the nearby Yenangyaung for support.

There, the 502nd Paratrooper Battalion, which had landed earlier, was fighting fiercely with the Japanese troops defending the oil fields and urgently needed assistance from their tanks and mountain artillery.

There was only one half-crippled battalion in the entire Yenangyaung, with less than 1000 devils. Their heavy weapons consisted of only two Type 2 infantry guns and several anti-aircraft machine guns, plus several captured John 2-pound guns (40mm anti-tank guns).

Faced with the attacks of P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and gunships in the air, two paratrooper battalions and an M22 tank company on the ground, they were quickly defeated.

When everything was settled, the city where the expeditionary force had first entered Pegu and won the great victory of Yenangyaung was once again liberated from the hands of the Japanese, and together with the local oil fields, it became the property of the Anmin Army and the Nanyang Qian people.

-----

Zhang Chi was not overly happy about the successful capture of Yenangyaung. Victory was a matter of course as they had outnumbered the enemy and had an overall advantage in technology and military strategy.

Of course, we still need to reward meritorious soldiers, but that is not the top priority.

The important thing is how to swallow up the remaining devils in Pegu in one bite.

At this time, in the command center, he was studying the intelligence he had just obtained.

"According to insider information, the commander of the Japanese reinforcements heading north is Lieutenant General Seizaburo Okazaki?" Looking at the somewhat familiar name on the telegram, Zhang Chi frowned.

According to history, the opponent at that time should have been the commander of the 2nd Division. Did the old devil Kimura Heitaro send out the 2nd Division?

He continued to look through the intelligence, and sure enough, it said that the reinforcement detachment was formed with the 2nd Division as the backbone, and the 105th Independent Mixed Brigade as an auxiliary.

"The estimated number of enemies is 4 to 6. Haha, they are indeed the Japanese." Zhang Chi smiled and shook his head.

He knew that the Japanese naturally had no tradition of "standing firm when friendly forces are in trouble", but he was still a little surprised that Kimura Heitaro was willing to spend such a huge amount of money.

The Japanese fought so hard that he couldn't help but have new thoughts about the next battle.

"The Japanese have even sent out the 2nd Division. Are you afraid, Zhijie?" Zhang Chi said jokingly. Although his tone was relaxed, his eyes revealed calmness and deep thought.

Then he handed the information to Chief of Staff Tan Zhijie.

When Tan Zhijie heard the word "2nd", his brows furrowed. As an old soldier, Tan Zhijie knew that none of the 17 standing divisions of the devil were easy to deal with, especially the first 6 divisions, which were even more powerful. He quickly took over the intelligence and examined it carefully.

The 2nd Division, as one of the Six Meiji Garrisons (the Six Beiyang Garrisons: don't cue), can be regarded as the origin of the Japanese modern army. It is the elite among the elite, and it sounds quite intimidating at first glance.

However, Zhang Chi searched his memory and soon discovered that the 2nd Division had become a weak unit.

This division participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal at the end of 42. Not long after landing on Guadalcanal on the first day of the lunar calendar, the commanders of its three regiments, the 4th, 16th, and 29th, were killed in battle one after another.

In addition, the White Eagle Navy controlled the sea power, and the supply of food and ammunition had been completely cut off. The Japanese soldiers could only eat grass and "Taijun Sashimi", and the entire 2nd Division was almost crippled.

The current 2nd Division was rebuilt after withdrawing to Luzon Island in early 43. It had previously been responsible for security work in the Malay Peninsula and Star City. It can be said that it has become a third-line security force.

As Zhang Chi and the Anmin Army captured Pegu, the Japanese Southern Army transferred the 2nd Division to Pegu for reinforcement.

When Zhang Chi told Tan Zhijie about the past of the 2nd Division, he immediately felt relieved and his original nervousness disappeared.

However, Tan Zhijie was still a little confused as to why Zhang Chi knew so much about the 2nd Division's experience in the Pacific and its subsequent reconstruction in Southeast Asia. After all, although these things were not confidential, they would not be spread all over the streets.

Since the independent regiment era, Zhang Chi has demonstrated strong intelligence capabilities. A lot of information on Allied and Japanese generals, interpersonal relationships, and troop organization seem to be stored in Zhang Chi's head, and he can talk about them casually, which surprised his subordinates such as Tan Zhijie and Hao Yi.

Tan Zhijie thought about it and could only attribute it to the fact that Zhang Chi had a super intelligence network spanning three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, and Zhang Chi himself had a complicated background.

Swallowing his saliva and putting aside all these random thoughts, Tan Zhijie concentrated on analyzing the intelligence.

"The intelligence said that the Japanese sent out two tank regiments at once. They are going to have a tank battle with us." After reading the intelligence carefully, Tan Zhijie sighed.