The War of Resistance: My Expedition, My Country

"Boom!" A massive explosion sent a shower of mud and mud flying not far away. A soldier was thrown high into the air, his torn body scattered everywhere. Huang Wei was awakened by the explosion, interrupting his thoughts. Huang Wei picked up the binoculars and looked in the direction of the enemy in the distance.

On March 3, 22, at Toungoo, Burma, Dai Anlan's 200th Division of the Chinese Expeditionary Force was engaged in the third day of their battle against the Japanese 55th Division. On the 3th, Dai Anlan dispatched a unit of the 19th Regiment to ambush a bridge used by the Japanese to attack Toungoo, planting explosives on the bridge. As the Japanese crossed the river, the 598th Regiment immediately blew up the bridge, killing and wounding those who had crossed it, with some falling into the river. Unwilling to resign themselves to this utter surprise, the Japanese launched a counterattack, repeatedly attacking the positions held by the 598th Regiment. However, facing the overwhelming firepower of the 598th Division, they made no progress and were forced to withdraw. This battle resulted in the deaths of several junior Japanese officers and caused disarray among the Japanese troops. This was the first defeat of the Japanese army since entering Burma.

Clearly facing a tough opponent, the Japanese 55th Division began to take it seriously. On the 20th, the 112th and 143rd Regiments launched a fierce attack on Tonggu. The 200th Division, leveraging its consolidated positions and superior firepower to other Chinese forces, inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese. The Japanese offensive was repeatedly frustrated, forcing them to deploy large numbers of aircraft and tanks.

Although the 200th Division was a mechanized unit, it lacked air superiority. The British Army was truly incompetent. The British Air Force in Southeast Asia had completely abandoned air superiority, allowing Japanese aircraft to operate freely. The explosion just now was caused by Japanese aerial bombing. Although the 200th Division had arrived in succession since March 3th to take over the British defense line and continuously reinforced its positions, for the 7th Division without air cover, the threat posed by Japanese bombers far outweighed the damage caused by ground attacks.

Huang Wei, formerly the Lieutenant Colonel and Deputy Chief of Staff of the 200th Division, now assumed command of the 600th Regiment. The 600th Regiment's former commander, Shao Yizhi, had been killed in an enemy aircraft attack while on a frontline patrol. The 600th Regiment still had approximately 1500 men, and its three battalions remained intact, though each battalion suffered significant losses. For example, the former commander of the nd Battalion had also been killed, and the new commander was none other than Huang Wei's sworn brother, Qin Shi. At this moment, Qin Shi quietly approached him.

"Boss, what the hell are those damn Japanese doing? They just bomb and don't attack. We brothers can't do anything except eat dust." Qin Shi said angrily.

Huang Wei said to Qin Hao in a bad mood, "You're always impatient. You just can't change your old habits. Don't leave your post without permission. You're the battalion commander now, don't you?"

"I'm not a worm in the stomach of the Japs, so how would I know what kind of ointment those bastards are selling?" Huang Wei continued angrily while driving Qin Shi back.

Lieutenant Colonel Kuang Zhengqi, the deputy regimental commander, also quietly came over and said to Huang Wei, "Boss, I don't think we can just sit there and take the bombing like this. Why don't we send a small detachment out and launch a surprise attack? Otherwise, the Japs' potatoes (tanks) will come up again, and the conscienceless cannons haven't been completed yet."

"What's going on with Wang Congwu and Liu Wu? It's been so long, and they still haven't figured it out?" Huang Wei complained.

"It's mainly about calculating the fuse and the dosage of the parabolic charge. Don't blame them too much, after all, none of us have done this before and are just groping in the dark." Kuang Zhengqi explained quickly, adding, "Even if we make it, we don't need to use it in a frontal battle. Look at these devils, they're not charging like in movies and TV shows. Unscrupulous artillery won't kill many devils and will soon lose its effectiveness."

"So what do you mean by this?" Huang Wei asked. Kuang Zhengqi whispered in Huang Wei's ear, "Use the night to sneak into the camp and cause a mess. Who knows, we might find more surprises."

Huang Wei quickly understood that this was a good idea. Huang Wei nodded, then remembered something and asked, "Second Brother, do you think it would be okay to have Yang Hong, Cai Yong, and Luo Bing go behind the British army?"

Kuang Zhengqi smiled, "Brothers, these three are the most creative. If you are smart, it will definitely work!"

"Have you told them to return to unity? It doesn't matter if we can't get the cannons. The main thing is to get more Sten submachine guns, Bren light machine guns, bullets, grenades, explosives and shells, as well as canned food."

"They all know without further explanation that these are the things that will keep us alive in the jungle."

"It's a pity that none of us brothers studied hard and have limited knowledge. Otherwise, I would have let those damn Japanese taste something more powerful." Huang Wei said helplessly after Kuang Zhengqi rushed to the repair shop at the back.

Huang Wei has eight sworn brothers, of whom he is the eldest. The others are Kuang Zhengqi, Qin Shi, Pu Zhengsong, Yang Hong, Wang Congwu, Cai Yong, Liu Wu, and Luo Bing. They were all people who accidentally traveled from the future and arrived in 200. They joined the Chinese Expeditionary Force and served in the same division, the th Division, as different officers.

The enemy planes finally departed, but the 55mm howitzers of the Japanese 105th Division roared back, sending mushroom clouds and showers of mud raining down on the 600th Regiment's positions. Mountain artillery and heavy mortars followed, and the barrage continued for over an hour.

Huang Wei and the others crawled out of the mud. The officers of the battalions, companies, and platoons kept shouting at the soldiers to get into position. Sure enough, the Japanese army's second attack came out. Eight Type 200 and Type tanks slowly drove over, followed by about a reinforced squadron of more than Japanese soldiers.

"Order the 1rd Company of the 3st Battalion to withdraw from the front-line positions!" Huang Wei, seeing the enemy's situation, gave the order to withdraw from the front-line positions without hesitation. He was not one of those stubborn commanders who didn't understand tactics and risked human lives. Although there were no effective weapons to deal with these stupid tanks, underground explosive devices made of explosive packs and cluster grenades were much more effective than human lives. The previous charges had already destroyed three or four Japanese tanks. This time, the Japanese army concentrated so many tanks, and the front-line positions would definitely not be able to withstand it. Huang Wei had already buried a lot of explosives in the front-line positions, waiting for the enemy to come and die!

"Huang Wei, what are you doing? Why are you ordering the front-line positions to retreat?" The 600th Regiment had just replaced its commander. Dai Anlan, the major general and commander of the 200th Division, was worried and rushed over to take a look. He happened to see Huang Wei ordering the 1rd Company of the 3st Battalion to retreat without firing a shot, so he asked angrily.

Huang Wei turned around and saw that it was the division commander. On the battlefield, there was no need for subordinates to salute their superiors. He immediately pulled the division commander into the observation post and whispered, "Commander, be careful of the enemy snipers!"

Dai Anlan didn't bother to pay attention to Huang Wei's hypocritical actions and continued angrily: "I asked you why you evacuated the front line! Answer me!"

Huang Wei said calmly: "Commander, I buried something in the front line. You will know when you take a look."

Dai, a veteran of the battlefield, immediately understood Captain Huang's intentions. The two of them remained silent, not using binoculars, but simply observed the Japanese army's movements with their own eyes.