The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

January 6st

The Hitsuka pursuit team, with the 3rd Battalion of the 144th Infantry Regiment as its main force, was advancing on a road 35 kilometers north of Myitkyina.

After days of heavy rain, dark clouds still covered the sky, and the road had turned into a "swamp" full of mud and potholes.

The four Type 95 light tanks commanded by Lieutenant Kubota, who served as the vanguard of the team, fell into mud pits many times, seriously slowing down the march.

One kilometer behind them was the main force of the Hitsuka pursuit team, with two Type 2 medium tanks leading the way, and the tanks were full of Japanese commandos.

Next came the gun carriage towing the 75mm Type 38 field gun, as well as a large number of mules, horses and pack oxen.

This field gun weighing one ton requires at least six horses to pull it, and was specially reinforced by the division for the Hizuka pursuit team.

Behind the artillery, a Japanese captain rode on the back of a cow, waving his sword proudly. He didn't look like he was going to fight, but rather to graze.

Behind him were Japanese infantrymen lined up in dense formations. They were carrying rifles and light machine guns, wearing leather boots, and constantly landing on the muddy road, splashing countless mud spots.

noon.

Kubota's team saw a small village with a pagoda appearing ahead.

The road along the Mailikai River makes an S-shaped turn here. It first turns right along the river, then turns left, and finally turns right again.

After Kubota's team passed this bend, they immediately reported by radio: "The village of Trativa is just ahead of us. The road is clear and unobstructed!"

Captain Kimura of the 1st Tank Regiment in the middle of the team received this report from his Type 97 medium tank and immediately leaned out to report to Major Hizuka who was riding on a horse.

In this way, the main force in the middle of the team drove into the S-shaped turn without any vigilance.

Kimura stuck half of his body out of the turret and looked around casually.

In his mind, the elite 7th Armored Brigade of the John people had been defeated by him. Even if the remnants of the National Expeditionary Force, which were just struggling to survive in the mountains, had a few John tanks, they were no match for the 12 tanks of his Kimura Squadron.

The 97-meter-high combat vehicle under him had just turned the third corner when he heard a noise coming from behind him.

He immediately turned his head and looked back, but found that due to the bend, a large area of ​​rainforest trees blocked his view. He could only hear the sounds of the rear team but could not see anything.

Time goes back to ten seconds ago.

The warhorse pulling the artillery in the team suddenly slipped and fell heavily to the ground. Then the barrel of the Type 1 field gun behind it shook violently, and then the one-ton artillery sank into a deep muddy pit.

"Bakaro!" A Japanese soldier cursed loudly, waving his hands, trying to control the overturned horse.

The neighing of horses echoed on the road, disrupting the order of the team. The soldiers in the front row quickly surrounded the horse, some of them pulled the reins with their bare hands, while others kicked and hit the horse's belly, trying to make it stand up again.

Chaotic shouts rang out one after another.

"Quick! Pull up!" a sergeant roared, commanding the soldiers to act.

But no matter how hard they pulled, the artillery just sank deeper and deeper into the mud.

"Harder! Harder!" another soldier roared, sweat mixed with mud and water flowing down his forehead.

They struggled and pushed, but the artillery stuck in the mud pit did not move at all, but instead got deeper and deeper as they struggled.

Every Japanese soldier was covered in mud and their clothes were soaked.

"Get out of the way and let the tank in front come back to tow!" The captain riding on the cow's roar drowned out everything else. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were blazing. It was obvious that he was burning with anger.

The next second, before the soldiers could run to the front to notify the tanks, a bullet flew out from the shadows of the trees on the east side of the road, as fast as lightning, and hit the captain's forehead.

The captain, who had lost half of his head, fell stiffly without a word and fell off the buffalo into the mud.

The flowing blood instantly mixed with the mud on the ground into a pool.

"Commander!" a Japanese soldier screamed, and his hands stopped moving.

But then, the ground shook from all directions, followed by thunderous explosions.

"Boom-boom-boom!" The mines and explosives that had been buried long ago were detonated on both sides of the road. The deafening explosions continued, and flames and black smoke rose into the sky at the same time.

The Japanese troops stuck in the entire S-curve fell into extreme chaos in an instant.

"bomb!"

A second lieutenant was shouting, his eyes filled with fear and despair.

Their originally well-organized team was now blown to pieces. The artillery carts, horses, buffaloes, and infantry in the rear were all torn to pieces by the powerful shock wave of the explosion.

Broken horse legs and scattered corpses flew in the air, and blood splattered all over the ground.

"Turn around quickly!" The remaining Japanese soldiers screamed, trying to leave this hell.

However, before they could react, a burst of fierce gunfire suddenly broke out in the rainforest on the east side, followed by bullets pouring down like raindrops.

"Get down, get down quickly!" a soldier roared, his face covered with mud and blood.

He desperately grabbed the body that fell beside him and put it in front of himself, trying to use the body of his dead companion as a cover.

"Counterattack, counterattack!" A sergeant waved his arms and struggled to crawl to another corpse.

He placed the rifle on the corpse, carefully stuck out half of his head, pointed the muzzle into the jungle, and tried to attack the invisible enemy in the forest.

However, the enemy's firepower was extremely strong, and bullets were fired densely from deep in the jungle, forcing the Japanese soldiers to unable to raise their heads.

"We are surrounded!" A recruit lying on the ground shouted in fear.

In the narrow S-curve area, he could neither see the tanks that had already left in front of him, nor the infantry troops that had not yet entered the S-curve in the back. He didn't know when the reinforcements would arrive.

His trembling voice was almost drowned out by the gunshots, and his hands trembled as he tried to hold the rifle tightly in his arms to give himself a sense of security.

Before his eyes, the invisible god of death was approaching step by step.

----

"The regimental commander is amazing. The Japs really walked into this S-curve on their own." In the rainforest, Lu Daniu shouted excitedly while firing wildly with a Bren light machine gun, his tone full of excitement that could not be concealed.

Bullets from the Bren machine gun hit the Japanese troops on the road like a rainstorm, splashing up clouds of blood mist.

"They're so slow! We waited a whole day and night after getting off the boat before the Japanese finally arrived. Now I'm stuck in this rain forest, feeding mosquitoes."

A soldier from another guard platoon complained, jumped up, and rushed out a few steps from the hidden bushes. The Mills grenade in his hand drew an arc and flew accurately towards the area where the Japanese were concentrated.

"Everyone, throw your grenades! Throw them quickly and retreat, the Japanese behind are coming up soon!" Platoon leader Ma Qiu's voice was like a bell, and the grenades were thrown as he spoke, rolling into the enemy's position.

An explosion sounded, and huge flames mixed with metal fragments and dirt flew up. The screams were instantly drowned out by the roar of the explosion.

The Japanese troops that had finally assembled were torn to pieces by grenades and scattered on the muddy road.

Lu Daniu was panting heavily, his eyes still full of excitement, and there was a hint of arrogance on the corner of his mouth: "A few more, and they won't be able to return alive!"

But Ma Qiu waved his hand, his face serious: "Don't fight too long, retreat immediately after throwing away the weapons! There are still a large group of Japanese soldiers behind us."

Unlike the Eighth Route Army, they did not need to seize the Japanese's weapons, so they had no intention of rushing up to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese.

"Go!" Ma Qiu growled. After causing enough casualties to the Japanese, he led his soldiers to retreat deep into the jungle, hiding under the cover of the trees.