Chapter 105: One Man Holds the Pass

Gathering routed troops is also the Four Regiments' task; routed troops keep coming, scattered or in groups.

This was beyond Jiang Anguo's expectation.

Fortunately the front‑line troops are Jiang Anguo's, otherwise so many routed troops would severely affect morale for the Lashu Defense Force.

The routed troops were all pulled to Lava, the position of the second Defensive Line, to dig Trench.

All the officers among the routed troops went to Nammbang, the mountain position south of Lashu, where the terrain is even more treacherous.

Even without a single man holding the pass, a regiment can exert the combat power of a division.

Lashu is already situated on the Shanbang Plateau, at an altitude of one to two thousand meters, with many mountains.

The Shanbang Plateau covers 170,000 square kilometers; if Jiang Anguo had 100,000 people, the Japanese would have to suffer 400,000 casualties to attack Yunnan, making it impossible to reach the Yunnan border.

Jiang Anguo launched a direct counterattack, pushing them into the sea.

In mountain defense, the advantageous side is always the defender.

"Even so, they can be hit at the doorstep," Jiang Anguo thought it was miraculous.

According to the Fifth Army's main forces, even if the Japanese Army had already occupied Myitkyina, an attack could still be launched, yet at that time Du Lvming surprisingly chose to go through Wild Man Mountain, that unknown death‑mountain.

Is it that the Fifth Army without the th Division has such poor combat power?

That said, Jiang Anguo placed the soldiers and officers among the routed troops in two separate positions for safety; at this moment those routed troops only think of returning home.

Ordinary soldiers are easy to satisfy, but officers are different; officers can incite soldiers, and precisely because of that Jiang Anguo made such arrangements.

The regret is that these soldiers cannot be counted toward his own numbers; otherwise he could gain points daily.

Of course, any troops under his command can add points, but it is a one‑time addition, like receiving 384 routed troops.

Jiang Anguo earned 384 points, and there were none thereafter.

The system's quota is ten thousand people, a daily cap; currently Jiang Anguo can obtain only twenty thousand points.

"Is there any way the system can increase points?" Jiang Anguo asked.

If he relies solely on those ten thousand people, Jiang Anguo feels the points are insufficient; even though he now has over 39 points, he still feels uneasy.

That's cowardice.

"The Host can occupy a Territory, and its population can provide the Host with daily points," the system said.

The Territory sparked a small flame in Jiang Anguo's heart.

"Fine, for now tell me where I can occupy a Territory; if I'm lucky enough to hold Lashu, does Lashu count as my Territory?" Jiang Anguo asked.

"It does."

So then he must hold Lashu; Jiang Anguo is confident he can hold Lashu, but he cannot determine how long, which depends on whether the Japanese Army's main forces will confront him or continue westward to attack the British.

Jiang Anguo now only wants to give the Japanese a good lesson at Lashu and smoothly cover the Expeditionary Force's main retreat.

Occupying a Territory is not something Jiang Anguo should be thinking about now.

Jiang Anguo fears death, and naturally also fears several Japanese divisions attacking together; if it were only ground warfare, even three Japanese divisions would not frighten Jiang Anguo.

The roads in Lashu are so limited that no amount of troops can be deployed.

If you want to infiltrate from the primeval forest, unless you can bear the losses, infiltrating units will certainly not carry heavy weapons, whereas Jiang Anguo's troops, though not many, do have heavy weapons—artillery and Tank.

The heavy weapons refer to mm Howitzer, which are not well suited for mountain combat.

This is MianDianBeibu; daring infantry infiltration is courting death.

Perhaps the jungle is full of wildlife, but humans are the apex predators; you are not a lone soldier entering the jungle, which might give a chance to get out.

When a unit enters the jungle, the more people there are, the harder it is to even hit a flying bird.

This is why Du Lvming's unit suffered heavy casualties on Wild Man Mountain.

Of course, when Jiang Anguo set up the positions, he also ordered all officers to keep a reserve, regardless of whether the enemy emerges from the jungle, a contingency must be kept.

Whether Japanese or Burmese People, both are dangerous; now, if Burmese are spotted nearby, men, women, and children all disappear secretly.

On the Four Regiments of Zai An, along this nearly two‑kilometer Defensive Line, Song Mengqin deployed only a company's worth of troops, after Jiang Anguo, the Staff Department, and Song Mengqin discussed.

Hu Xianqun's Tank units were placed slightly behind the first position to avoid immediate exposure.

Moreover, shelters were built for the Tanks to prevent Little Devil (Japanese soldier) aircraft from spotting them.

A company of Jiang Anguo's troops numbers 160 men.

One man must defend a distance of over ten meters, and a considerable portion is Reed Swamp, making enemy assaults difficult.

The individual defensive positions are relatively wide, and firepower is evidently lacking.

Nevertheless, do not forget the natural Defensive Line: the Zai An River, an average thirty‑meter‑wide river serving as a natural barrier; the Japanese Army must consider how many troops to lose to cross it.

The terrain of Burma itself is a natural Defensive Line.

"Company Commander Song, are you preparing to cut down all the trees along the riverbank?" Jiang Anguo asked curiously.

He was about to inspect the Nammbang position when he saw Song Mengqin leading men to cut trees.

Song Mengqin nodded and said, "Yes, Commander, the trees on the riverbank obstruct sight, so I will cut them all and place Barbed Wire on both sides."

Jiang Anguo looked up and indeed, if the riverbank were full of trees, it would impede shooting sightlines.

Professional matters truly belong to professionals.

Half of Chen Xiao's Reconnaissance Company soldiers have already been moved to the Zai An front, and Jiang Anguo assigned two Military Dogs to Chen Xiao's unit.

Their mission is to cross the Zai An River to the opposite bank to scout Japanese Army movements.

If Japanese forces are spotted, small detachments are to be eliminated; if they cannot be, call Song Mengqin.

If the numbers are comparable, cross the river and annihilate; if the disparity is large, harass to delay the Japanese's march.

Sometimes sacrifice must be learned, especially in a life‑or‑death war.

Jiang Anguo's task is simply to hold back the Japanese Army.

Moreover, Song Mengqin also laid countless Landmines along the riverbank opposite side; to prevent future returns, these Landmine placements were marked on the map, so that if there is a chance to return to Zai An later, the mines can be cleared.