inspire-indiana Chapter 233 Approaching Mandalay
Chapter 233 Approaching Mandalay
The furious Tanaka Shinichi swept the entire room with a murderous gaze. All the staff officers and communications soldiers lowered their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.
As a general, Tanaka Shinichi knew that anger would not help, so he quickly calmed down.
He stroked his chin and thought carefully.
If the staff's guess was correct and the intercepted communications were about a battle with the 114th Wing, then the 114th Wing was in great danger.
But would the enemy really be so bold as to bypass the 2nd Guards Division and the 72nd Independent Mixed Brigade on the front line and head straight for Mandalay?
What if I still have a large number of reserve troops and go directly north, wouldn’t this infiltrating force be in danger?
Does the enemy know that I have no soldiers left?
Thinking of this, a few drops of cold sweat flowed down Tanaka Shinichi's forehead.
He didn't dare to think in this direction anymore.
So where is the next 'canteen' mentioned in the communication?
The communications were filled with code words, leaving everything to guesswork.
Tanaka could only roughly guess that the enemy's superiors had ordered this unit to quickly move to the next destination, and he knew nothing else.
With a frustrated sigh, he looked at the communications officer and ordered, "Write down this frequency and monitor it at all times."
"Hi!" The communications staff officer stood at attention and saluted.
Tanaka Shinichi nodded. He knew that according to the principle of making calls at different time periods and frequencies, the enemy would most likely not use this channel again next time. Even if he could manage to monitor it again, it would be difficult to figure out what the enemy was saying based on the communication content which was full of code words.
Even if we take the time to figure it out, the information will already be out of date.
But what if?
With a lucky hope, he still gave the order.
A few hours later, the communications room received a call from the Ripple Town garrison.
The local squadron leader reported on the phone that Ruibo Town had come under fierce attack, and that the tanks and armored vehicles of the Security Army had entered the town.
After receiving this news, Tanaka Shinichi came to the telecommunications room again and immediately knew where the "next canteen" mentioned in the previous communication was.
He turned to look at the map, made a slight movement with his finger, and compared the measured distance with the scale on the map.
The 'next canteen' is exactly the town of Ruibo, which is less than 40km away from Mandalay City.
"40 kilometers, 40 kilometers..." Tanaka Shinichi muttered to himself while staring at the map.
"Immediately send a telegram to Mr. Kimura Heitaro, requesting that the reserve troops be dispatched to Mandalay as soon as possible. This is the enemy's target!"
Just as the order was being urgently transmitted via the telegraph, a huge explosion was heard in the distance.
The sound was like muffled thunder or the whisper of death, shocking everyone in the command center to pale.
A guard rushed in, his face full of fear:
"General, enemy planes attacked our underground fuel depot with incendiary bombs. The fire is spreading... I'm afraid..."
His words stopped abruptly, but Tanaka Shinichi already understood what he meant.
His body swayed slightly, and he used both hands to support himself on the table, trying to steady himself.
Before his eyes, there seemed to be scurrying fire snakes and a blazing underground oil depot, which was the most deadly alarm bell on the battlefield.
"Damn Qianren, damn spy." Tanaka Shinichi cursed with gritted teeth. The location of the underground oil depot was very hidden, and he concluded that a spy must have leaked the location.
He then turned to the operations officer and said, "Immediately send troops to put out the fire. Also, have all the Saka troops leave the city and defend the outer areas of Mandalay. Delay the enemy at all costs."
The operations staff hesitated for a moment, but finally bowed his head and accepted the order and left.
-----
On the other side, Zhang Chi also received the battle results report from the 13th Motorized Brigade.
After learning that the high-speed motorized reconnaissance battalion had almost wiped out the 114th Regiment and occupied Ruibo Town, a long-lost smile appeared on his face, which had been tense since the war began.
"Call the 13th Motorized Brigade Headquarters. I want to speak to Brigade Commander Peng Xiangwen."
Soon, the call was connected.
Thanks to the system's 60s silicon transistor production line, the new radio station manufactured by the Sixth Radio Research Institute using small silicon transistors that have been leading the world for nearly 15 years not only has lower power consumption but also better communication quality.
Therefore, the voice of Brigade Commander Peng that Zhang Chi heard from the headphones was very clear.
"Report, Peng Xiangwen is online, please give instructions, Commander!" Peng Xiangwen's voice was sonorous and powerful, revealing the calmness and confidence of a general on the battlefield.
Zhang Chi couldn't help but nod slightly at the radio: "Brigade Commander Peng, well done. How is the situation on the front line now? Is the troops in good condition?"
On the other end of the radio, Peng Xiangwen immediately reported:
"Reporting to the commander, we have completely cleared Ruibo Town of the Japanese and transformed it into a forward base. However, the Japanese have already responded and started laying mines on the road. Just now, two light tanks stepped on anti-tank mines. One was scrapped, but the other can be barely repaired."
Upon hearing this, the smile on Zhang Chi's face instantly disappeared, and his tone became stern:
"What's going on? Didn't your engineer battalion have mine-clearing Shermans (pictured above)? How did they get blown up by mines?"
Soon, a slightly awkward cough was heard through the headset, followed by Peng Xiangwen's aggrieved voice. Zhang Chi could even imagine the expression on his face at the moment:
"Commander, the Sherman was slow to begin with, and adding a flail minesweeper made it even slower. Initially, to increase speed, I sent the reconnaissance battalion's light tanks and Lynx vehicles out front. Who could have imagined that the first 100 kilometers or so were fine, but in the last few dozen kilometers past Ruibo Town, the Japanese started laying mines."
Zhang Chi frowned, his voice low and filled with dissatisfaction:
"Speed is certainly important, but troop safety is even more important. I was a little hasty earlier, but remember this: the engineering battalion must lead the way, using minesweepers to violently clear mines and obstacles on the road. Remember, even if it's a little slow, we must ensure unimpeded passage for the troops."
摩托化第 13 旅的高速穿插至少保证最开始的200多公里道路无碍，目前步兵第 1 师和第 3 师外加部分炮兵部队已经在张弛的命令下沿公路南下，只留下第 5、6 两个师继续围困残敌。
Zhang Chi, microphone in hand, looked back at the road winding towards Mandalay on the map and asked, "Once the Japanese react, they should start destroying bridges and digging up the road, right?"
In Qianguo, when the Eighth Route Army faced the Japanese with higher firepower and mechanization, they would use methods such as digging pits on the roads and destroying bridges and railways to delay the Japanese attack.
In Pegu, because the An Min Army had greater firepower and mechanization, the roles of both sides were naturally reversed, and the Japanese became the ones who needed to dig up roads and destroy bridges.
"That's right. After the Japanese discovered that we were infiltrating Mandalay, they sent puppet troops to drive out the local Saka people and destroy roads and bridges. I have ordered the engineering battalion to start filling the roads and building pontoon bridges." Peng told Wen about his deployment on the radio.
Thanks to his high-speed penetration, at least the Japanese had no chance to destroy the first 200 kilometers of the road. However, it is conceivable that the remaining 40 kilometers of the road will be quite difficult to travel.
Zhang Chi sneered after hearing this, the anger between his brows difficult to conceal: "How dare the Saka people work for the devils? They are simply courting death."