Chapter 425: Deploying the Formation

Jiang Anguo's gaze swept over the Japanese Army outpost and fell on the open sandbank on the southern bank of the Mi River. There lay the only retreat route for the Japanese 18th Division.

"Charge!"

The LCI landing craft's engine roared deafeningly, its bow lifted high, then slammed toward the riverbank. This landing craft is purpose‑built for such terrain; the wide ramp, driven by massive hydraulic arms, clanged onto the southern bank.

"First Regiment, disembark! Establish a beachhead!"

"Second Regiment, spread to both flanks! Block the road!"

The soldiers who had been waiting in the hold surged out of the ramp like a breached dam. They were no longer the lightly‑armed infantry of the past; with them onto the shore came a 75 mm recoilless gun.

A few Japanese sentries on the shore hadn't even had time to see these steel monsters before the 12.7 mm heavy machine gun on the landing craft turned them into a wasp nest—more exaggerated than any wasp nest.

A 12.7 mm hit splits the body in two; you don't even feel pain.

If you were hit by a 7.92 mm MG42 bullet, you might still survive, but 12.7 mm is enough to tear anything apart.

Jiang Anguo only stepped off the ramp after the first shock wave settled and the vanguard had secured a landing point. His leather boots pressed into the moist soil of the southern bank, feeling the ground's tremor.

"Report, Division Commander, First Regiment has secured the left‑wing high ground of the beachhead; the Japanese are thinly defended here, only one company, already smashed by our troops!" Tie Quan ran over, face alight with excitement, "Second Regiment's vanguard has cut the rear road and captured three Japanese trucks!"

In fact the bridge was destroyed, so those Japanese transport vehicles are stuck on the southern side, unable to move.

Jiang Anguo looked around, watching the LCI landing craft lying along the shore and the soldiers swiftly erecting fortifications, a faint satisfied smile finally appearing at the corner of his mouth.

It was a precise, efficient mechanized three‑dimensional landing.

"Send an immediate report to th Division Commander Dai Anlan," Jiang Anguo said calmly, "My st Division has fully landed on the south bank of the Mi River, cutting off the Japanese 18th Division's retreat route. Our pocket is now sealed tight."

"Let him fight properly, no rush!"

Jiang Anguo felt considerably steadier; at least this encirclement was taking shape.

The Little Devil's only current escape route is to head north to attack Bamo. That depends on how much supplies the Japanese 18th Division brought; otherwise, once they reach Bamo, at least half of them will die.

Another option is to cross the Yi Luo Wa Di Jiang and head into western Myanmar, which is exactly what Jiang Anguo had in mind.

The Expeditionary Force's main body, the Fifth Army's 96th Division, Yu Shao's unit, has already received the supplies Zhuge Mingliang sent to Bamo; the resupplied 96th Division has discarded everything unnecessary and is racing south to attack Mandalay.

At this moment, daylight brightened. Sunlight cleared the morning mist, illuminating both banks of the Mi River.

In the distance, the rumbling artillery from the Mei Miu direction kept firing, as Hu Xianqun's tank regiment and Zhang Bing's Sherman battalion pounded the Japanese there.

Here, while the Japanese were trying to repair the Mi River bridge, a force suddenly appeared—Jiang Anguo's st Division—like a sword thrust from the water, precisely striking the Japanese 18th Division's soft spot.

From the bloody crossing at Yichang to today's thunderous landing on the Mi River, Jiang Anguo, with his daring and modern equipment, achieved a tactical transcendence across time and space.

This contingent that descended from the sky in landing craft completely shattered the Japanese's last hope of breaking out.

"Division Commander, what next?" Tie Quan said, watching the billowing smoke on the distant road, where the Japanese retreat's vanguard was approaching.

Jiang Anguo removed his trench coat, revealing the combat uniform underneath, drew the pistol at his waist, his gaze blazing.

"What else can we do?" he said with a cold smile, "Since the guests have arrived, we won't let them leave. Prepare for battle! Tell the brothers, we're closing the gate on a dog; not a single one may escape!"

Forty‑five LCI landing craft lay quietly at the shore, like a pack of crocodiles that had just finished a hunt, while the st Division troops on the bank had already set up guns and artillery, waiting for the prey to walk into the net.

The climax of this battle has only just begun.

As the first wave of soldiers found their footing, subsequent LCI landing craft docked, and even a few light tanks were ferried over by barges.

In fact, Jiang Anguo didn't really need to place tanks inside the landing craft; it was merely for show.

After he landed, he immediately exchanged for twelve Sherman tanks within the WarSystem; the tank soldiers disembarked, started the engines, with the 76 mm barrels pointing south.

He surged quickly to the front of the position to cover the following landing troops.

"Advance! Deep advance!" After Jiang Anguo went ashore, ignoring the mud up to his boots, he immediately ordered, "Ignore the remaining beachhead enemies, infiltrate inward, seize the high ground, build a circular defensive line! We will create a massive gap in the encirclement here!"

The few Little Devils on the beachhead can be left to the later landing forces; the Japanese haven't deployed many troops along the Mi River. Jiang Anguo chose this landing point because there was a forward beach beside the bridge, where a Japanese unit was stationed.

First Regiment and Second Regiment soldiers moved like two daggers, swiftly cutting into the depth of the southern bank. The Japanese main force's gathering point, originally awaiting retreat, instantly turned into a slaughterhouse.

Many Japanese soldiers hadn't even woken from the daytime bombing when the suddenly appearing Chinese troops stunned them.

They thought it was the Chinese Air Force striking again, until they saw the familiar army‑green uniforms and M35 German steel helmets, and realized in terror that the Huaxia Army's main force had crossed the river!

"Baka! What's going on? Where did they come from?"

A battalion commander of the Japanese combat engineer regiment on the north bank of the Mi River waved his command sword, trying to rally the Japanese soldiers for a counterattack, but was soon riddled with a volley of bullets and collapsed.

Jiang Anguo's tactic was crystal clear: not merely to seize the beachhead, but to nail in like a spike, shattering the Japanese defensive system.

He stood on a newly captured height, overlooking the entire battlefield. From there, the road to Mandalay stretched out at his feet. If the Japanese moved south, this would be their inevitable route, and Jiang Anguo's st Division had already opened a gaping maw.

"Division Commander, Second Regiment has deployed on the flank, controlling the road and rail lines; the Little Devils can't get through!" the Chief of Staff ran over, excited, to report.

In fact, war is simple: strike around the enemy's supply lines, because that not only cuts off their logistics but also quickly dismantles the enemy.

Jiang Anguo wiped the sweat from his face, a sharp glint in his eyes: "Very good. Tell Tie Quan and Yang Zhi to set up the artillery positions. When the Japanese 18th Division's main force withdraws, we'll see them off right here!"