Devil's Army

The company captain carefully crossed the hill and saw a small forest in front of him.

The company commander had the first and second platoons in combat stance, guarding both sides of the grove. However, the entire company passed through the grove without being ambushed by the Japanese.

"Battalion Commander, it seems the Japs retreated in such a hurry that they didn't have time to set up an ambush."

"As for the few Japanese soldiers who retreated from Bin County, I don't take them seriously. I am worried that the Japanese soldiers in Harbin will lay ambushes in these places."

The first company came to the Ash River and stopped advancing because they could see the Japanese army's barbed wire and bunker defenses on the east bank of the Ash River.

All boats on the river were seized by the Japanese, and the soldiers of the Seventh Brigade could not find a ferry to cross the river.

The river in this section is nearly 10 meters deep, and the troops have no way to wade across the river.

A regimental commander then arrived at the west bank of the Ash River.

At present, the battle of the 4th Brigade has approached Harbin, but they are blocked by a river.

The river is not very wide. Should we select some soldiers who are good at swimming and have them swim across the river at night, and then suddenly attack the Japanese positions?

The regiment commander quickly rejected this plan.

On the other side of the river, Japanese bunkers, trenches, and barbed wire were connected. Soldiers lacking heavy weapons had no way to break through the Japanese defense line by swimming to the other side.

What's more, the soldiers were sitting ducks while swimming across the river, and they would suffer heavy casualties from the Japanese army's light and heavy weapons fire.

The regimental commander decided that tomorrow morning, after the air force destroyed the Japanese positions on the east bank of the Ash River, the troops would find a way to cross the river.

At this time, the battalion commander brought good news to the regimental commander: they found two small fishing boats hidden by villagers in a nearby village. They could carry a platoon of soldiers across the river at a time.

A regimental commander lit a cigarette and thought: The carrying capacity of a small fishing boat is too small, and it is difficult for a platoon of soldiers to play any role.

"Captain, crossing the river during the day is easy for the Japanese to discover us. If the fishing boat is sunk by the Japanese, it will be disastrous. Why not secretly transport the soldiers across tonight?"

"One platoon of soldiers can hardly make a big difference. If we send more than one, we'll be discovered by the Japanese. Our aviation force can't support us at night, and the artillery hasn't arrived yet. We have no way to suppress the Japanese firepower, and the fishing boat is likely to be blown up by the Japanese."

What the regimental commander said was the truth. If the fishing boat was blown up by the Japanese, the battalion commander would not be sure to find two more fishing boats.

The battalion commander decided to scout the situation of the Japanese troops on the east bank of the river tonight before making any plans.

In the evening, a battalion commander and two soldiers came to the west bank of the Ash River.

At this time, the battalion commander was glad that they did not use small fishing boats to smuggle soldiers across the river at night, because there was no way that could be done.

Two Japanese searchlights on the east bank illuminated the river surface every 10 to 15 minutes. If they used fishing boats to smuggle soldiers across the river, they would be discovered by the Japanese and blown to pieces before they reached the middle of the river.

It is unrealistic for soldiers who are good at swimming to swim to the other side at night.

The temperature at night is only a few degrees now, and the soldiers are lurking on the other side of the river all night, soaking wet. This is irresponsible to the lives of the soldiers.

The battalion commander returned to the headquarters and told the regimental commander about the reconnaissance situation.

Everyone agreed that tomorrow morning, their air force would destroy the Japanese riverbank positions and then the fishing boats would force their way across the Ash River.

At the same time, the regimental commander urged the artillery of their regiment to rush to the designated location overnight to support the river crossing battle tomorrow morning.