Chapter 112: The Sky Belongs to the Expeditionary Force

Nine tons of supplies.

In reality, the PBY seaplane does not have strong transport capacity; a single seaplane cannot even carry two tons.

Not too much nor too little, but if speed is sufficient, Jiang Anguo's five transport aircraft can, before nightfall, deliver supplies twice.

If the first transport mission succeeds, the th Division will be reinforced; the th Division's combat power is indisputable, and achieving a one‑for‑one exchange with the Little Devil (Japanese soldier) is certainly no exaggeration.

Airdrops are naturally more convenient, but Myanmar's terrain is overly complex, especially on the Shanbang Plateau.

Airdrops can easily damage supplies, and the Expeditionary Force now craves material desperately.

"Looks like food!"

"Not only that, there are also bullets."

The th Division's soldiers, upon seeing the arrival of supplies, instantly had their morale surge!

Dai Anlan quickly distributed all the supplies; the 600th Regiment received the most. Regarding this, Regiment Commander Zheng Tingji of the Regiment and Regiment Commander Liu Shuren of the 599th Regiment had no objections, because the priority now is to concentrate firepower to break through "Xibu" and then link up with Lashu's forces.

Everyone understands that the 600th Regiment is the th Division's final main force; the 598th and 599th Regiments have already been wounded and crippled. Facing a full Japanese Army regiment, even with combat capability, a single push to break through Xibu remains too difficult.

If the first attempt fails to break the Japanese defensive line, the impact on morale for the ensuing battles will be huge.

"Liu Shaofeng, if you cannot break the Xibu defensive line, I will shoot you dead," Dai Anlan said gravely.

Liu Shaofeng immediately stood upright, without saluting, "Division Commander, rest assured; if I fail to take Xibu, I will bring my head to you."

"Allow the soldiers a brief rest and launch an attack on Xibu," Dai Anlan ordered.

"Yes," Liu Shaofeng hurried away to organize the troops.

At the same time, all medical supplies were promptly applied to the wounded.

The doctor Wu Bojian brought by the regiment also let out a huge sigh of relief; doctors hate seeing soldiers die from a lack of medicine.

"Company Commander, we finally have medicine," Wu Bojian, whose eyes were about to spill tears from the shortage, said.

The regiment patted Wu Bojian's shoulder and said, "You've worked hard these past days."

Wu Bojian wiped away his tears; he cannot bear to see soldiers die before him because of no medicine, when they clearly have a chance to live.

Yet dying from the lack of medicine torments Wu Bojian deeply!

The Eighth Company's medic has already been assigned to the th Division; there was no choice, as Wu Bojian's medical skill far exceeds that of the th Division's medics. Most importantly, the th Division has far too many wounded, and Dai Anlan, being merciful, cannot bear to abandon them.

Consequently, throughout the march, the wounded kept up, being loaded onto the few transport vehicles available.

And precisely because of the large number of wounded, the th Division's marching speed dropped sharply.

The Eighth Company's soldiers were also allocated ammunition—eighty rounds each—enough for a major battle.

And canned food: one can for every two people.

"Everyone, grab something to eat and restore your strength; we have beef canned food and chocolate," the regiment shouted.

These past days of high‑intensity marching have indeed outpaced the unit's supplies; the regiment knows a major battle is imminent, perhaps in the next moment.

Thus, once the Eighth Company's soldiers receive the supplies, they should eat their fill immediately.

Because the first wave of supplies is limited, Dai Anlan imposed control over the food, mainly fearing that if this is the only wave, it would be disastrous.

Fortunately, the th Division's discipline is strong, and the cans' energy is sufficient, since Jiang Anguo sent beef canned food to the th Division; even one can per two people provides enough energy.

The Eighth Company's combat record is evident, so there is no objection to them receiving priority supplies.

The 600th Regiment, on the frontmost position, saw the Eighth Company's soldiers eating beef cans and chocolate and couldn't resist joining in; everyone was indeed hungry.

Yet even so, everyone remained highly tense, one hand holding food, eyes fixed rigidly on the Japanese positions.

With the supplies received, the th Division's morale surged.

Moreover, Dai Anlan wrote down a list of urgently needed supplies; their transport vehicles have run out of fuel, and without resupply they would have to abandon the vehicles, a huge blow to the th Division with its many wounded.

Therefore, Dai Anlan's telegram reached Lashu; after Jiang Anguo reviewed it, he took a portion from the second batch of supplies and added fuel to it.

At the same time, Dai Anlan placed some of the wounded onto transport aircraft to send them back to Lashu.

After the first batch of transport aircraft took off, Jiang Anguo had already prepared the second batch of supplies, aiming to deliver both batches to the th Division as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, the Japanese 148th Regiment also spotted an aircraft coming from the northeast; at first the Japanese thought it was one of their own.

But noticing the flight direction and landing site were not theirs, they realized it might be a Chinese aircraft.

"Baka! Damn American," regimental commander Aihara Bufu cursed.

If not for American assistance, he believes that China would already be theirs, the Japanese.

It truly is infuriating.

"Immediately inform the Division Commander that an American transport aircraft has appeared, and warn the Division Commander to be cautious of the American plane," Aihara Bufu thought of nothing else and first notified Watanabe Masao.

Not only does the Chinese army dread Japanese aircraft, the Japanese also dread American aircraft.

Because earlier, American aircraft had inflicted some damage on the Japanese, yet the Japanese advance proceeded smoothly, gradually capturing several key cities in southern Myanmar and, early in the Burma campaign, destroying the British airport.

Otherwise, Japanese losses would have been enormous.

Beyond losses, there is also a psychological pressure of constantly facing aerial threats with no means to counter them.

That feeling is hopeless.

Most importantly, Tokyo was bombed by Doolittle's B25 bombers, which dropped bombs over Japan.

This news was known only at the officer level; the Japanese soldiers below were unaware.

A nation's capital being air‑raided, one can imagine how great the impact is on the entire army!

"What was that sound?" Aihara Bufu said as he stepped out of a camp building in Xibu.

In his makeshift command post at Xibu, he heard a shrill, terrifying sound!

Dada da.

At the same time, Japanese anti‑aircraft units opened fire, but the 56th Division, per Watanabe Masao's order, carried no anti‑aircraft weapons; only Type 38 rifles and Taisho 11th Model machine guns were used against the sky, clearly insufficient.

In the sky, four Stuka bombers, like hunting hawks, dove vertically from the clouds, their wings and fuselage nearly forming a ninety‑degree angle with the ground!

They plunged straight toward the Japanese camp at Xibu.

The pilot, at a distance of two hundred meters above the ground, decisively pressed the bomb‑release button, and four aerial bombs each weighing 250 kg slammed down onto the Japanese Army on the ground.

The Japanese Army inside Xibu was extremely desperate, because they had already prepared to fight the Chinese Army for control of the city in Xibu, and precisely because of that, the order issued by Xiangyuan Wuwei Zhi Fu was to construct defensive works in Xibu.

All the Japanese troops were concentrated in Xibu; the crucial point was that the civilians of Xibu did not flee after the Japanese arrived, but instead welcomed them. The Burmese People had miscalculated; they thought the Japanese would behave as before, following the rules.

Obviously, this was a grave mistake.

Because Watanabe Masao understood that his 56th Division, marching northward, lacked logistical supplies, the pressure on officers and soldiers was enormous.

For that very reason, Watanabe Masao had long abandoned military discipline from his mind.

He believed that it was natural for the soldiers, marching north, to have appropriate relaxation.

At the same time, he dispatched a grain‑collecting unit that plundered the local Burmese civilians' supplies on a massive scale.

The Japanese Army carried out burning, killing, and looting against the Burmese in Xibu.

Boom.

A violent explosion roared; bricks, wooden beams, and severed human limbs rained down. The entire main street instantly turned into a furnace of hell.

"Ah!"

"My hand!"

"Someone, help me!"

In a single instant, the whole of Xibu became like hell, with Japanese soldiers everywhere scrambling for cover.

Even the distant Expeditionary Force camp could see the firelight produced by the explosion.

Whether Japanese soldiers or Burmese, after the blast the whole of Xibu was littered with severed limbs; the carnage was terrifying, yet Jiang Anguo never felt any pity for Little Japan—dead Japanese were merely good beasts.

As for the Burmese, let them all go; keeping them serves no purpose!

The Stuka completed its bomb drop, pulled up quickly, and swept over Xibu's sky.

Clack clack clack!

Several tongues of fire shot from the two 7.92 mm machine guns mounted on the front of the Stuka, and Xibu was once again filled with wailing cries.

After emptying its ammunition, the pilot began to climb, leaving the battlefield.

The escorting BF109 fighter did not return to Lashu together with the Stuka.

The Stuka needed to return to Lashu to resupply its aerial bombs and ammunition and to prepare for the next mission.