The War of Resistance: My Expedition, My Country

As Charles de Gaulle had anticipated, the French attack on the Baban highway encountered fierce enemy resistance. From the outset, the battle resembled the attack and defense of Banan. Without hesitation, Charles de Gaulle committed the newly airborne Foreign Legion regiment to the battle. With this fresh force, supplemented by airdropped artillery shells, the 7th Brigade's 152mm howitzers once again unleashed their might. Thick smoke quickly rose like a mushroom cloud from the 18th Regiment's defensive positions.

The remaining part of the 7th Division Artillery Regiment, a heavy artillery battalion, which came from the direction of Kunborecho, also arrived. They quickly deployed their 155 American howitzers and unleashed a furious fire!

"Boom!" A grenade hit a blocking position at the edge of the kilometer. About a squad of soldiers were wiped out in the violent explosion. Not far away, Chief of Staff Luo Yuanxiao felt a pang of pain. This squad was one of the guard squads of the 101st Division's staff. They had not yet achieved any results, but were annihilated by the enemy's heavy artillery.

You might not be fully aware of the power of howitzers. While the difference between the 152mm and 155mm howitzers might seem 3mm, the actual difference in destructive power is more than double. This is because the French 152mm howitzer was developed by the French Army before World War II and at the end of World War I. Later, the French Army focused heavily on defending against the Germans on the Maginot Line, and artillery development was primarily focused on heavy artillery for the battlefields. Consequently, the French Army did not acquire newer artillery. The old French 152mm howitzers differed from the American 155mm howitzers in terms of technology and ammunition. The 7mm howitzers prepared by the 155th Division Artillery Regiment were also donated by the US Army during Charles de Gaulle's counterattack against the Germans in World War II. There was only one battalion.

Chief of Staff Luo did not dare to expose himself. He circled back to the position of the 18th Regiment Commander and whispered to him, "The 18th Regiment will have to hold out on the front for at least three hours. Commander Li and his men will need time to repair their fortifications on the flanks and in the rear."

The regimental commander nodded. Although the 18th Regiment was a later-formed unit and couldn't compare to the other regiments of the 101st Division, it had grown considerably after more than two years of bloody fighting. Defensive warfare was especially profound, and everyone was well aware of the core of fighting the enemy. Without orders from above, even if all were sacrificed, they had to hold their ground.

The French artillery bombardment continued, and French planes flew over again, bombarding the 18th Regiment and even the various units of the 101st Division that were digging fortifications in the back.

Colonel Dojas, who succeeded Fernando, was formerly the deputy commander and chief of staff of the 7th Brigade. He had participated in the later battles against the Germans and was clearly much more skilled in tactics than Fernando. While the division's heavy artillery bombarded the area, he ordered a consolidated battalion to advance gradually, under mortar cover, towards the 18th Regiment's positions.

The French army adopted a group assault mode, with one group going up, another group providing cover, and then another group taking over, advancing alternately. In addition to mortars, the advancing group would immediately throw a large number of grenades every time they advanced a certain distance, leaving the enemy no room to react.

The 18th Regiment detected the enemy's new movements and quickly responded. Some soldiers bravely buried themselves underground, waiting for the enemy to appear before them. They wanted to take advantage of the enemy's misjudgment and suddenly burst into the enemy's midst, engaging in a melee with the enemy. These soldiers knew that fighting like this would be a life-or-death struggle, but for the ideals in their hearts, to defeat the French colonizers and win national independence and liberation, they had fought for more than two years and had long forgotten life and death!

The battle erupted instantly, the French apparently unaware that, despite such a blow, the enemy would resort to such desperate measures. The French combat group, caught off guard, was thrown into disarray. With the two sides already entangled, the French artillery fire was completely blocked. Another round of hand-to-hand combat erupted.

Soon, the ambushed People's Army soldiers died heroically, but they inflicted several times more casualties on the enemy than themselves. At one point, the French combat group was completely wiped out and had to suspend the next attack.

Seeing that it was impossible to break through the enemy's position, Colonel Dohas decisively ordered a change in combat mode. At this time, the remaining helicopters of the Army Aviation Wing also received orders from General de Gaulle and flew over from their base to join the attack on the 101st Division and the 18th Regiment.

The 18th Regiment completed the first phase of the blocking mission at the cost of nearly half of its casualties. After receiving orders from Division Commander Li Zhen, it retreated behind the 101st Division and began to build a new position. At the same time, several nearby guerrillas also received orders to rush over. They were ordered to accept the command of the 18th Regiment and establish a new blocking position together with the 18th Regiment.

Charles de Gaulle received a report that Dohas had broken through the enemy lines and encountered new resistance. His face darkened. It seemed the enemy was determined to fight him to the death. This confirmed his judgment. The enemy intended to stop him here and wait for the troops that had marched north to encircle and annihilate the 21st Brigade to quickly return and launch a full-scale attack on Ban Chai. He decisively issued orders to Ban Chai's 15th Brigade and the Security Command, ordering them to hold their ground and wait for his arrival. At the same time, he ordered the Phnom Penh Air Force to turn its support towards Ban Chai.

With night approaching and the troops already engaged in fierce fighting for more than ten to twenty hours, Charles de Gaulle ordered Dohas to suspend the offensive. He knew the troops needed time to rest and recuperate, and judging by the enemy's resistance, there was no way they could break through the kilometer line today.

The enemy suddenly halted their attack, and the defenders of Ban Chai also began to retreat and strengthen their defenses. This relieved Chief of Staff Li. This was exactly what he needed. Without contacting Wu Yuanjia, he decisively ordered the other guerrillas to gather and advance towards Ban Chai. He ordered the commander of the 107th Division to continue as the overall commander of the Ban Chai direction and ordered him to organize the guerrillas overnight. Early the next morning, impersonating the 102nd and 103rd Divisions, he launched a more fierce feint attack on Ban Chai!

Night is the source of all changes. The advance teams of the 102nd and 103rd Divisions and the 111th Division have arrived and, according to the order of Chief of Staff Li (Liu Molong), secretly established positions outside the French army. In order to avoid being exposed too early, they did not even attack the enemy's transportation along the highway to the Banan front.

Elsewhere, Wu Yuanjia, leading the bulk of the 102nd and 103rd Divisions, was rushing towards them at full speed. Reports from headquarters revealed the rapidly changing battlefield situation, and he decisively ordered his troops to once again demonstrate their selfless dedication and advance at full speed. They had to arrive before daybreak and, as planned, completely encircle the main force of the French 7th Division on the Banan line!