A Journey Through the Worlds of Film and Television.

Chapter 299: Crossing the River

In August 1943, the five armies stationed in western Yunnan were basically reorganized. The new 8nd Division, the new 5th Division and the new 22th Division stationed in India were unified into the new First Army, with General Zheng as the commander of the First Army.

Afterwards, the leaders of Britain and the United States met in Quebec, Canada, and decided to establish a new Southeast Asia Allied Command, with British General Mountbatten as commander-in-chief and General Stilwell as deputy commander-in-chief, and formulated the "Anakim" plan to counterattack Burma.

In order to cooperate with the Indian Army's operations, Lu Cheng also returned to Zenda, preparing to participate in the Sixth Army's river crossing operation plan.

At the Sixth Army Headquarters, the Sixth Army Commander pointed to the Nantianmen on the map and asked Lu Cheng, "Brigade Commander Lu, I heard that you often send people across the river to conduct reconnaissance, and you know the situation of Nantianmen very well. Could you tell us more about it?"

"Of course there is no problem. Now, the entire Nantianmen has been completely hollowed out by the Japanese. Starting from the first line of defense near the Nujiang River, a total of four lines of defense have been built upwards..."

After Lu Cheng finished explaining the whole situation, everyone in the combat meeting room fell silent. Although Lu Cheng had already reported on the situation at Nantianmen before, everyone took a deep breath after hearing the detailed content.

If we really want to send troops to attack Nantianmen, we will definitely pay a huge price if we want to chew this tough bone.

Seeing that no one spoke, Yu Xiaoqing, who came to attend the meeting, took the initiative to stand up and said, "Commander Lu, in your opinion, we can't fight the Nan Tianmen. We are soldiers, ready to fight day and night, to overcome difficulties and not be afraid of hardships. Even if the Nan Tianmen is so dangerous, we have an army with an absolute advantage in manpower and artillery. Why should we be afraid of the Nan Tianmen?"

Lu Cheng glanced at Yu Xiaoqing and said, "Captain Yu, it's easy for you to say that. The soldiers under your command are also living lives, not numbers that can be sacrificed at any time. Moreover, it is not your turn as a captain to make decisions on how to fight this battle."

"you!"

The army commander quickly stepped forward and said, "Alright, alright, we are all colleagues. In the face of a great war, we should unite as one. Brigade Commander Lu, since you know the situation at Nantianmen so well, you must have a plan to attack Nantianmen. Why don't you tell us about it?"

"General, my solution may not work once I tell you, so please allow me to keep you in suspense. General, please rest assured that I will give you a satisfactory explanation within a month."

"In that case, I will trust you this time. Please don't let us down, Brigadier General Lu. Right now, the Indian Army is ready, and the battle in northwest Burma is about to begin. We can't fall behind."

"I understand, and I have been preparing for this battle for a long time."

After the discussion in the military, Lu Cheng immediately returned to Zenda and began to deploy combat missions.

In fact, Lu Cheng started preparing to recapture Nantianmen more than a year ago.

In preparation for this battle, the special operations platoon, the spearhead company, and the guard company stayed on the other side of the river to fight guerrilla warfare all year round, and gradually transferred the people on the other side to the east bank of the Nujiang River, basically achieving a solid defense and clearing of the area near Nantianmen.

Now, it is time to test the results of previous operations.

In the brigade's combat conference room, Lu Cheng stood in front of the map. The three regiment commanders Meng Fanle, Xia Shouzhong, and Long Wenjian, as well as the chief officers of the spearhead company, special operations platoon, artillery battalion and other units, were all standing in the conference room.

"Long Wenjian, I order you to lead two battalions of soldiers and horses, under the cover of the special operations platoon, to cross the river in batches within three days and move to the Heshun Town area. Completely recapture Heshun Town and Lianhua Township, cut off the connection between the Japanese troops at Nantianmen and the Japanese troops downstream, and stop the enemy coming from the south."

"Yes, Brigade Commander!"

"Xia Shouzhong, you will also lead a battalion of troops to cooperate with the spearhead company to cross the river from the north and move to the area upstream of Nantianmen to cut off the Japanese army's retreat route to the north."

"Yes, Captain."

"Abao, lead the guard company, carry the things prepared in advance, cross the river, and lie in ambush near Nantianmen."

"Yes!"

"The artillery battalion must pull out all the guns and divide them into three artillery positions. Every hour, they will take turns to launch an artillery attack on the Japanese troops on Nantianmen to cover the troops crossing the river."

"Yes!"

"After the three battalions crossed the river, the engineering company was responsible for connecting all the cableways near Lianhua Township and building a floating bridge in the shortest possible time to facilitate the subsequent troops to cross the river."

"Yes!"

"Alright, everyone, go down and get ready. We'll start crossing the river at 8 o'clock tomorrow night!"

Following Lu Cheng's order, the entire brigade began to move.

At the same time, Yu Xiaoqing downstream was not willing to be left out and actively mobilized troops to prepare for the river crossing battle.

However, Tang Ji was slowing down the pace behind the scenes, not wanting the Yu Family Army to be the first to cross the river, fearing that it would cause too much loss and lead to a decline in the status of the Yu Family Army.

In the eyes of General Yu, the army was just a political bargaining chip, and war and victory came second.

At eight o'clock the next night, Lu Cheng's troops began to cross the river simultaneously from both upstream and downstream.

Due to the significant combat effectiveness of the guerrilla forces led by the special operations platoon, the Japanese on the west bank of the Nujiang River did not dare to send out patrols easily, and a vacuum zone was formed upstream and downstream of Nantianmen, allowing the two sides to cross the river smoothly.

Moreover, over the past year or so, the 42nd Brigade has used small, scattered units to cross the river for guerrilla warfare and has also hidden a number of troops in various locations on the west bank.

At the same time as crossing the river, artillery fire from the east bank began to target Nantianmen. The guerrillas hidden in various places also blocked the entrance of Nantianmen leading to the outside world, and launched sneak attacks when they encountered the Japanese soldiers going out.

While the troops were crossing the river, Lu Cheng also brought part of the guard company and special operations platoon, and came to the foot of Nantianmen with the secret weapons that Lu Cheng had prepared in advance.

"Everyone, put on your gas masks. Get your secret weapons ready. The guard company will be responsible for the cover, and the special operations platoon will follow me to attack..."

In order to ensure the smooth progress of this battle, Lu Cheng personally led the special operations platoon to the first line of defense on the reverse slope of Nantianmen.

The Japanese dug a large number of tunnels throughout the Nantianmen area. Many narrow places were secured with gasoline barrels, and the Japanese also had to crawl continuously in the gasoline barrels when they moved.

Such a complex tunnel naturally requires a lot of ventilation holes and drainage outlets.

Now, the place where Lu Cheng and the special operations platoon raided is the first line of defense on the reverse slope, the place with the most ventilation holes.

At this time, due to the continuous artillery fire on the east coast, the Japanese on Nantianmen also became extremely alert, always on guard against enemy raids.

The Japanese soldiers on the reverse slope were also equally cautious and kept their eyes on the outside.

After Lu Cheng and a dozen special forces members got to a certain distance, they took out tightly sealed glass bottles from the packages they carried with them, opened the bottles, and poured some liquid in front of the Japanese position.

This location happened to be upwind, and after the liquid fell to the ground, a wisp of smell drifted over the position. When several Japanese soldiers on the position smelled the odor, they couldn't help but complain: "What is this smell? Why is it so bad?"

"Did someone vomit or poop?"

"Who knows? I really don't want to stay on the battlefield anymore."

"Just bear with it a little longer, it will be fine by dawn."

Soon, Lu Cheng led the special operations platoon to retreat quietly. After leaving Nantianmen, they found a hidden place, put the glass bottles together, poured some gasoline on them, set them on fire, smashed them, and buried them.

Next, we will completely trap Nantianmen...