Chapter 75: Can Tanks Be Fixed!

Jiang Anguo thought for a while.

He watched the wounded in the distance being carried down one by one for treatment; the wounded are precious, and leaving them in Mandalay would certainly not work.

"Kang Ya, can the transport unit you lead make another trip to Mandalay?" Jiang Anguo said.

"Report, sir, no problem," Kang Ya, also the Platoon Leader of the third platoon of the Transport Company, replied, having thought Kang Ya was a transport regiment, infantry type, and didn't expect to be driving transport vehicles.

Jiang Anguo nodded and said, "Kang Ya, you are leading a squad of soldiers, with one chief driver and one assistant driver; you must move quickly and, within three days, transport another batch of wounded back. I will assign you ten transport vehicles."

Jiang Anguo lifted his watch and glanced, "Then, you rest for one hour, and after that hour you set out directly."

"Yes, battalion commander."

"Thanks for your hard work," Jiang Anguo patted Kang Ya's shoulder.

Kang Ya had never experienced this; previously superiors either beat or scolded, "Commander, it's not hard."

"Alright, take your men and quickly go wash up, change clothes; I'll have She Pigu prepare some food for you." Even marching and fighting for a few days in Myanmar's tropical climate makes everyone feel sour; in this environment, there's nothing that can be done.

Jiang Anguo was already accustomed, so he felt nothing at all.

"Yes, sir."

Kang Ya immediately ordered people to wash, eat something; the food these days had all been dry rations and canned goods.

"Little brother, you can fix these transport vehicles; can you fix tanks?" Hu Xianqun saw a large group of soldiers rush over to inspect the transport vehicles.

He also held various tools in his hand, looking like he was about to repair the transport vehicles.

"I can do that, but that unit isn't here. So, brother, does your tank regiment need repairs?" Jiang Anguo asked.

Hu Xianqun nodded helplessly and said, "Don't be fooled by its size; from Kunming all the way to Myanmar we've been pushing hard. Our tank regiment now has only thirty tanks left, and only two are operational; I estimate we won't hold out much longer."

Hu Xianqun kept lamenting; the tank regiment has no tanks, so all his skills have nowhere to be applied.

Jiang Anguo acknowledged, noting that Hu Xianqun's tanks are mainly Soviet T26B Tanks, with a 45 mm gun barrel, part of the Soviet aid to the Chinese Army.

"Choosing a date is no use; let's act now. I'll call the men over; brother, just take them to have a look. If any parts are missing, tell me and I'll figure something out," Jiang Anguo said.

"Alright, then brother, I thank you," Hu Xianqun said, clasping his fists.

Dai Anlan brought Italian Fiat tanks to the front, but ever since the war began, parts are no longer a consideration; tank units are precious, yet without parts these tanks end up as scrap metal.

Jiang Anguo immediately notified the Tank Company, ordering its maintenance workshop to assemble at the main camp. The Tank Company has been with the Five Company on the hill west of Lashu; speaking of the Tank Company, its tanks have not yet materialized and are still lying in the system.

There's nothing we can do; the tank objective is too large.

Jiang Anguo not only dug trenches; he also transported 1,600 soldiers to Lashu—yes, to Lashu—and these soldiers are nominally overseas Chinese.

One reason Jiang Anguo did this was not to occupy Lashu; he hasn't that intention. What he now thinks about is how, when the Japanese Army attacks Lashu, to pull Lashu's supplies back, because it's far too slow.

Only a few dozen tons can be hauled each day—yes, just a few dozen tons. The vehicles shuttling to and from Lashu number only twenty to thirty per day. Jiang Anguo has realized that at this pace, the nearly ten‑thousand tons of supplies at Lashu will never be fully transported.

A transport vehicle can carry only two or three tons, and often each vehicle is overloaded.

There's no choice; after learning that the Japanese invaded Myanmar, the National Government increased manpower for transport, and all vehicles were deployed onto the Dian-Mian Highway, yet even so it's still insufficient.

It's not only the road issue; another problem is the load capacity of transport vehicles. Current transport vehicles only move two or three tons, but vehicles on the Myanmar road need to haul twice that weight.

Thus vehicle losses are very high.

If these supplies can't be moved to the rear in time, they'll just benefit the Japanese, and Jiang Anguo despises that.

Honestly, he believes supplies can't solve the fundamental problem; the real issue is having a complete domestic industrial system.

Jiang Anguo placed these men at Lashu for an important reason: later they would be needed to help transport supplies. The only obstacle is that between Lashu and Baoshan there are only mountain roads, no railway.

Either you drive vehicles, or else you must rely on manpower; moving tens of thousands of tons by hand would require tens of thousands of people.

This time Kang Ya took forty vehicles forward, first to bring back any wounded from Mandalay that could be retrieved.

Jiang Anguo recalled that when Du Lvming led his troops into Wild Man Mountain, over a thousand wounded ended up immolating themselves; since some could be taken out to Wild Man Mountain, it shows that a portion of the wounded remained behind for later evacuation.

Save any wounded you can.

Additionally, a large amount of food and medical supplies were taken over; nearly half the vehicles carried food—essentially canned goods, biscuits, conveniently stored chocolate—and medical supplies.

Twenty points can be exchanged for one ton of food, and Jiang Anguo currently has more than enough points.

His battalion now numbers 5,328 men, generating over ten thousand points per day, more than he can spend.

Jiang Anguo also exchanged for 800,000 rounds of ammunition and some food, loaded them onto transport vehicles, and sent them with Kang Ya to Dai Anlan.

"Kang Ya, aim to return as soon as possible; if you encounter Japanese aircraft, you may abandon the vehicles—people are more important than the vehicles," Jiang Anguo stood in front of Kang Ya's vehicle and instructed.

"Understood, battalion commander, I'm departing now," Kang Ya said emotionally.

"Set out, and stay safe."

Watching the convoy disappear into the distance, he hoped everything would go smoothly; there was still time.

This should be Kang Ya's convoy's final round‑trip transport; after this, actual combat will begin.

Jiang Anguo also needed to prepare in advance, not only mobilizing his own troops but also mustering Hu Xianqun's forces.

What Jiang Anguo didn't understand was that, given Lashu's terrain, Lashu already has three to five thousand troops; even just defending against a Japanese division would be sufficient, allowing time for the main forces to return.

Lashu not only has ammunition, but also fuel and artillery—materials usable against the enemy—yet none have been employed.

Just the tens of thousands of barrels of fuel at Lashu would be enough for a Japanese Devil to drink a potful.