The War of Resistance: My Expedition, My Country

Marados Lu Lian hurriedly grabbed Andrews, pondered for a moment, and then said fiercely, "The general requires us to hold out for at least two weeks. I think you should immediately mobilize the security forces. These monkeys have been depriving the civilians too much, and it's time for them to bleed. Andrews, don't hesitate. If you disobey orders and fight poorly, you will be severely punished according to military law!"

Andrews received the order and rushed to make arrangements. Maradorus was also not idle. He called in the adjutant of the garrison commander and whispered to him, "Immediately organize the French soldiers and arm all the police. If necessary, send them to the front lines! Also, all Chinese businesses in the city must increase taxes and fees."

The aide understood his intention: this was preparation for abandoning Banchai, making a killing, and preparing for his escape. After the aide left, Maladoslu quickly opened his safe, gathered the US dollars and stocks inside, and put them into a briefcase. He then hurried out of the office and headed home. He couldn't bear to leave his petite Asian wife behind, so he planned to arrange for her to take his valuables and leave on a military plane to take refuge in Phnom Penh.

The same action was secretly carried out among some French businessmen and politicians. A French Air Force transport plane arrived at Ban Chai Field Airfield and unloaded personnel and supplies. Immediately, a large number of the families of French businessmen and politicians rushed in. The military police saw that each of them had a special pass issued by the Security Command and helplessly allowed them to board the plane. They watched helplessly as these people who had profited from the colonial people's wealth disappeared with the plane taking off...

Outside, Nguyen Yuan Giang hadn't anticipated the French army's sudden abandonment of their eastern outposts. In reality, Nguyen Yuan Giang's total force attacking Ban Chai was only about 1 men. It's unknown how French reconnaissance aircraft and the Ban Chai defenders managed to bolster Nguyen Yuan Giang's force to over 2, perhaps even close to 3—the total number of troops Ng Yuan Gia Kham Dong could mobilize.

Nguyen Ching Quoc's special forces unit now numbered approximately 1000 men, having absorbed resistance elements held captive by Gong Zhai Mi. These individuals possessed a deep familiarity with the terrain and a strong desire for revenge, making them ideal cannon fodder when provided with simple weapons. Nguyen Ching Quoc led his unit, the first to advance after the French evacuated their outer positions. Approaching the suburbs of Ban Chai, they encountered the fiercest enemy resistance in suburban houses and positions.

Nguyen Ching-kuo, a veteran of the Second Sino-Japanese War, calmly observed the enemy's firepower and deployment through binoculars. Clearly, the enemy's resistance was fierce, but most of it employed light weapons: submachine guns, machine guns, and grenades. There were only a few mortars, clearly not standard French weaponry. From an unassuming firing port, he discerned a dark face wearing a French helmet.

"Damn it! They're mercenaries!"

Despite their poor equipment, the mercenaries were the most effective force in the French army. This was the greatest lesson learned by the People's Army during its two years of fighting the French. Although the Foreign Legion consisted of only a little over 2 men, they inflicted the greatest damage on the People's Army in each engagement. It can be said that the Foreign Legion played a crucial role in driving the People's Army from Saigon and other regions into the Cambodian mountains.

Nguyen Ching Kuo immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and ordered his troops to suspend the attack. He immediately returned to report to Nguyen Yuan Giang. Upon receiving Nguyen Ching Kuo's report, Nguyen Yuan Giang was also extremely surprised. When did the enemy deploy the foreign legion? This was clearly beyond his expectations.

Wu Yuanjia and Chief of Staff Li at the temporary headquarters also received the report. Seeing Wu Yuanjia's serious expression, Chief of Staff Li smiled, walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a relaxed expression, "Commander Wu, there is nothing to worry about. The enemy is just transporting some foreign legion troops by air. According to the throughput of French transport aircraft and Banchai Field Airport, there are only one or two thousand people at most. It will not affect the overall situation."

He continued, "We can have Zhenxiang and his men dispatch some of their forces to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's airport and disrupt their reinforcement deployment. I think Banchai's enemies will fall into chaos because of the loss of the airport!"

Soon, the commando team sent by Zhenxiang, pulling an anti-aircraft machine gun and two mortars, quietly appeared on the unnamed high ground west of the Banchai temporary airport. After setting up their positions, a French transport plane just arrived. As soon as the plane stopped, before it had time to unload personnel and supplies, it was immediately bombarded by the commandos. The shells exploded around the runway, startling the pilot to turn around and take off. The plane finally took off under the bombardment and was climbing when it was ruthlessly attacked by anti-aircraft machine guns. The dense firepower immediately tore the plane apart in the air. A platoon of mercenaries and supplies, along with the transport plane, fell from the sky with blazing flames, setting the field airport on fire...

The downed transport planes and the scattered supplies, especially ammunition and fuel, caused great damage to the runway, and the Ban Chai Field Airport would be unusable for a short period of time. This was a huge blow to the Ban Chai defenders.

The attack on the temporary airport in Ban Chai disrupted the city's transportation lines and dealt a severe blow to the morale of the defenders. That afternoon, chaos reigned in Ban Chai, with looting and vandalism rampant.

As night fell, a commando team from the 107th Division attacked Banchai City. A battalion from the 15th Brigade, which was responsible for defending the north of the city, suffered heavy losses from concentrated artillery fire from the 112th Detachment and had to retreat into the city.

The next day, after a night of bloody fighting, the Foreign Legion suffered heavy losses and had to retreat to the city. The People's Army occupied one-third of the city from the north and west, and the French army was on the verge of collapse.

At this time, a guerrilla transport team accidentally discovered the French 150st Brigade, which had secretly made a detour, 21 kilometers north of Banchai. They quickly reported to the headquarters.

Wu Yuanjia was shocked when he received the intelligence and quickly asked Chief of Staff Li for instructions. After analyzing the situation, Chief of Staff Li believed that the enemy was obviously planning to launch a pincer attack on the Cambodian People's Army from the north and south, and defeat the main force of the People's Army in one fell swoop.

Li immediately sent an inquiry to the 101st Division of Banan on the southern front, and learned that the main force of the French 7th Division had secretly arrived around Banan, but strangely, they did not launch an attack immediately.

Chief of Staff Li walked to the map and analyzed the surrounding enemy situation.

To the north, the enemy's 21st Brigade was approximately 150 kilometers from Ban Chai. To the south, the main force of the enemy's 7th Division was approaching Banan. To the east, the 35th Division had just crossed the Mekong River, clearly a decoy. Calculations indicated that the enemy's 24th Division would take at least two days to reach the outskirts of Ban Chai. However, the enemy's southern flank, advancing north along the highway, could reach Ban Chai in just one day. The enemy's objective was clear: once the 2st Brigade launched its attack from the north, the main force on the southern flank would rapidly advance, effectively encircling the People's Army besieging Ban Chai.