Chapter 108: th Division Moves Toward Xibu

After the Japanese Army hurriedly dropped aerial bombs, many shell craters appeared on the opposite bank of the Zai An River.

Song Mengqin immediately dispatched a unit to fill these craters.

Because he knows that even though these shells cannot hide many enemies, once the enemy attacks the riverbank they become excellent cover.

Therefore the shell craters must be filled before the Japanese Army arrives.

Several Japanese aerial bombs, however, triggered some Landmines laid on the west bank of the river.

It is precisely the dense fire that kept the Japanese Army's fighters and bombers from flying low.

The Expeditionary Force does have fighters; since Jiang Anguo led troops into Myanmar Lashu, he has seen more than ten fighters parked at Lashu, though they later disappeared.

In between, they also saw many takeoffs.

Later, whether they flew back home or headed to Mandalay is unknown.

Jiang Anguo received points: two bombers 8000 points, two fighters 4000 points.

Jiang Anguo is leading Guard Company soldiers toward the Zai An position.

"System, why does this bomber give 8000 points?" Jiang Anguo recalled the system gave fighters and bombers 2000 points each.

The 2000 points for shooting down an enemy aircraft is the price for a fighter plus a Pilot.

If he wants to purchase a fighter, it costs 1000 points per aircraft, then an additional 50 points for a Pilot.

"Because the Japanese ki-30 bomber carries two Pilots," the system said.

Whether Pilot or bombardier doesn't matter; the system gave Jiang Anguo the points anyway.

This is good news: if he can use Lashu Airport and obtain aircraft, he can match the Japanese, even at Lashu he could hold back a hundred thousand Japanese.

But now he faces a problem: his troops are at full strength, the personnel slots are filled.

He cannot recruit more soldiers, which leaves Jiang Anguo somewhat helpless.

Fortunately, he has seen the Four Regiments' numbers unchanged, indicating the Japanese Army's fighters and bombers have not harmed the Four Regiments.

But when he checked again, the numbers changed; his combat unit, already at full ten‑thousand personnel, now shows a decrease.

Impossible; the recent Japanese bombing was effectively countered by the Anti‑Aircraft Company at Zhao Da, so the ground suffered no heavy casualties.

The Japanese pilots were also careless.

"System, which unit suffered casualties?" Jiang Anguo hurriedly asked.

Numbers are dropping while points rise, indicating a unit is engaged with the enemy.

"Host, it is the Eighth Company, the whole clan's unit," the system's stiff voice reported.

Jiang Anguo immediately had the system pull up the whole clan's unit interface; originally 129 personnel, the full‑strength Eighth Company should be 160.

The number has reached 98, casualties starting from 8 a. m.

And the current time is 9:51 a. m.

So the battle has lasted almost two hours.

During these two hours Jiang Anguo did not know what happened, but the rapid loss shows the clan's fight is extremely fierce.

97.

Eighth Company soldiers are still taking casualties, painful, truly painful, reducing the force by a quarter.

"Meng Fanle, do we have the Eighth Company's Telegram?" Jiang Anguo shouted.

Meng Fanle hurriedly jogged to Jiang Anguo, stood still, and said, "Company Commander, we just received the Eighth Company's Telegram."

Meng Fanle still did not know the Telegram's content, but seeing the Eighth Company label, he rushed it over.

Jiang Anguo snatched the Telegram from Meng Fanle, read three lines at a glance: the Eighth Company and the th Division's soldiers have already engaged the Japanese Army; the th Division's march route is toward Corner Mei in the direction of Xibu.

The exact location is unknown, because the Eighth Company also does not know where they are, but the losses are real.

And they met fierce Japanese resistance, making it very hard to break the enemy Defensive Line.

"Xiao Si, give me the map," Jiang Anguo shouted.

Jiang Anguo never spoke loudly before, but after staying in the troops for two months, he has become accustomed to speaking loudly.

"Company Commander, which map do you need?" Xiao Si had many maps in his backpack and truly did not know which one to give Jiang Anguo.

"The map of the whole Myanmar, the one we obtained from Lashu Staff Department," Jiang Anguo said.

"Alright."

Soon, Xiao Si handed the map to Jiang Anguo.

Jiang Anguo unfolded the map: Corner Mei is over a hundred kilometers from Lashu, while Xibu is over sixty kilometers from Lashu.

The distance from Corner Mei to Xibu is only thirty kilometers.

Jiang Anguo has never been to Xibu, so he does not know the local geography.

Yet under this stalemate, points are rising quickly; Jiang Anguo knows the Eighth Company's losses are severe, and the Japanese Army's losses are equally severe.

The Japanese face the Expeditionary Force equipped with German gear, but unfortunately this force is small and its firepower is somewhat lacking.

Even the Japanese 56th Division lacks heavy weapons; aside from a few 75 mm field guns and Type‑92 infantry guns, the remaining 105 mm field guns stay in the rear, making the two intersecting routes extremely difficult.

They also met significant resistance, causing those heavy weapons to remain behind.

Even calling for air support is limited; the nearest airport is at Tonggu, and Tonggu to Xibu is over three hundred kilometers, requiring at least an hour of flight.

Maximum flight speed differs from actual flight speed.

If you use maximum speed, it is only in emergencies, such as encountering enemy aircraft.

Maximum speed causes huge engine wear.

The Japanese are accustomed to a comfortable life; they would never let Pilots fly at maximum speed.

However, a fighter takes only eight or nine minutes to fly from Lashu Airport to Xibu.

Jiang Anguo previously struggled with full staffing; now the Eighth Company's combat losses suddenly give Jiang Anguo enough points to Exchange for fighters.

The Eighth Company also supplied Jiang Anguo with 2160 points; the enemy kill count is considerable, nearing a hundred Little Devils.

The casualty ratio reached one to three, a ratio that scarcely occurred in Japan's invasion of China.

The Eighth Company used its firepower advantage to give Little Japan's Grenade Launcher a setback; once a Grenade Launcher appears, the mg42 will lock onto it, and not only that, snipers will also focus on Little Japan's fire points—any exposed head means a shot.

Dai Anlan's th Division, after the battle at Taunggyi, has suffered severe losses; the whole division now has just over 6,500 men, only about 5,000 of whom are combat‑fit, the rest are all wounded and cannot continue fighting.

And ammunition is also a problem.

Not only does the th Division face ammunition supply problems, the Eighth Company also has ammunition issues.

"Company Commander, we have no shells," Platoon Leader Shen Qi of the first Platoon said.

The Platoon Leader was actually Zhang Shen, who was killed while attacking Taunggyi.

Quan Zong frowned; how could he not know the ammunition issue? "Destroy all the mortars; they must not be left for Little Japan. Distribute the Grenade Launchers brought from Taunggyi to the mortar crews, letting them use the Grenade Launchers."

The mortars that Quan Zong brought have no shells left; keeping the mortars now would only hamper his own unit's combat capability.

Fortunately, during the attack on Taunggyi, Quan Zong had a contingency: he collected as many weapons and ammunition left by the Japanese Army as possible; even a small amount can be a lifesaver.