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Text 88. Bloody Battle in the Jungle (3)

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    Da, da da da da!

    The sound of automatic rifle shooting rang around him, and then there was a flash of fire on the opposite side. Wei Chengdong, who was at a loss, was thrown to the ground by a veteran named Zhang Fusheng. "Damn it, shoot quickly!" the veteran roared at him.

    The grenade exploded into clouds of fire in the jungle, reflecting blurry figures. Wei Chengdong fired at those gray figures without any confusion.  A ball of orange-red light flashed in front of him more than ten meters away, followed by a juli¨¨ne explosion. The grenade thrown by the enemy exploded in front of his eyes, and splashed branches and mud hit his head.  On the helmet, there was a banging sound. "Please search Piaotian Literature. The novels are better and updated faster!"

    An unexpected encounter began. Amidst the rapid sounds of shooting and explosions, both sides were trying to find out the strength of their opponents.

    After the firearms platoon set up the mortar and started firing, the enemy began to retreat. The opponent's strength was about a platoon of vanguard soldiers and artillery.  After about ten minutes, the gunfire stopped, and the 3rd Platoon cautiously entered the dif¨¡ng where the enemy was just now.

    The enemy left behind three corpses. One wounded soldier was still completely dead. He was vomiting blood from his mouth and was still twitching. A Lee-Enfield rifle was thrown in the dif¨¡ng not far in front of him.  After a while, he died. Yang Changsheng knelt down and began to turn over the nameplate on his body, "Soldier Hugh Nylander, Australian 7th Division!" In the dim light, Wei Chengdong read out for the squad leader who did not know English.  text above.

    "Australian 7th Division? Are you sure?!" Yang Changsheng jumped up.

    ¡°That¡¯s what it says here.¡±

    "This is a new situation. The enemy has new reinforcements. I must m¨£sh¨¤ng report to the company commander!" Yang Changsheng said and ran to the back.

    In a small jungle encounter, three enemies were killed, one soldier from the Republican Army was also killed, and three others were injured.  However, new enemy numbers were discovered on the battlefield. It was obvious that MacArthur had invested new troops in the Papua Peninsula, and the enemy's strength was increasing.

    This small jungle encounter was just the beginning of a brutal resistance battle on Stanley Ridge.

    In terms of topography and natural conditions, most of the Papua Peninsula is in a primitive natural state with complex topography, from the coastal plains to the Owen Stanley Ridge with an average altitude of more than 2,000 meters.  There are mountains and cliffs everywhere.  It is criss-crossed by ravines, filled with difficult-to-pass tropical mountain jungles, and many unknown rivers converge in it.

    The Owen Stanley Ridge, which stretches for more than 300 kilometers, stretches across the entire Papua Peninsula and has become the biggest obstacle to north-south travel.

    The earliest shortcut over Owen Stanley Ridge is the Kokoda Trail.  Cross the Kumsi River 30 miles southwest from Buna.  The terrain rises suddenly.  There is an indigenous village called Kokoda on the mesa beside the river.  There is also an airstrip locally.  From Kokoda, follow the Ella Valley southward through Templeton Road to reach the pass over the mountains, which is vividly called the "Big Gap". It is about 2,500 meters above sea level. The narrowest point can only accommodate one person.  Tongguo Pass, all the way to the southwest through Ioribeva, Imeda Ridge and other places.  Direct access to Moresby.  This 150-mile path has become the focus of contention between the two sides, and it is also the current main attack direction of the 5th Marine Division.

    But now the Republican Army is building a railway and road from Lae via Brulo and Wau over the Stanley Ridge. With the extension of the railway to Brulo, the biggest logistical transportation problem that has plagued the Republican Army has been greatly improved.  If Ruguo allows the Republican Army to build this communication line through Stanley Ridge, Port Moresby may fall at any time, and Australia will lose its northern barrier.

    If Ruguo wanted to keep Port Moresby, in addition to preventing the Republican Army from using sea landing operations, MacArthur also had to completely block the Republican Army's southward passage in Wau and Kokoda.

    While the 50th Division of the Republican Army was advancing towards the rear flank of the US-Australia coalition forces in Wau, the 14th Brigade of the 5th Marine Division landed in the Basabu Adeng area northwest of Buna without any hindrance, and immediately occupied Dai.  There are two small commercial ports for transporting timber in the Gulf of Aklan: Buna and Gona.

    After successfully landing at Buna and Gona, the 5th Marine Division began to march towards Kokoda. After a day of fierce fighting, the Kokoda Pass was captured on July 5.

    The landing of the Republican Army at Buna really surprised MacArthur, which meant that the Republican Army had completed preparations for the attack on Port Moresby.  The Southwest Pacific Theater Command immediately gave up its original counterattack plan and urgently dispatched the US 32nd Division, 41st Division and the Australian 7th Division from northern Australia to the Papua Peninsula to ensure the security of Port Moresby.

    The mission of the 50th Division is to cut off the retreat of the US 27th Division and the Australian 12th Division. Now it has to face a pincer attack from these two divisions and the Australian 7th Division, which is reinforcing the Wau area. In the next five days,, the 50th Jungle Division suffered huge casualties under the attack of four divisions of the US-Australia coalition forces.

    The 50th Division's intention to cut off the enemy's retreat was discovered. After some sporadic brief exchanges of fire with the enemy, they quickly occupied several highlands near the pass and began to intensify the construction of defenses. The order given to them by their superiors was to stick to the pass.  The front line completely blocked the retreat of the US 27th Division and the Australian 12th Division.

    Wei Chengdong vigorously wielded his engineer pickaxe. This is an unknown highland, guarding a narrow valley passage from Moresby to Wau. The tropical monsoon forest on the top of the mountain looks dense, but it is mostly shrubs.  But there is kuna grass growing as tall as a person.  Most of the peaks in Stanley Ridge have names. This nameless ridge is covered with about sixty centimeters of volcanic ash. The initial excavation was just to deal with the tangled Kuna grass roots in the land, but further down, there are  Hard volcanic rock.

    The officers patrolled back and forth, admonishing the soldiers to dig the bunker as deep as possible. Although he was exhausted, Wei Chengdong was still pounding the volcanic rocks under his feet.

    It was embarrassing for him to participate in the battle for the first time. If Zhang Fusheng hadn't knocked him down, he might have died at this time.  But facing the enemy for the first time, his mind was indeed at a loss, and he even forgot to take cover.  Even the Vietnamese kept laughing at his stupid image when he saw the enemy, standing there like a piece of wood and shouting, even though he was the first to spot the enemy.

    The battle started earlier than expected. Less than two hours later, the sky was getting dark, and the rain in the sky seemed to be getting heavier. Clear gunshots rang out halfway up the mountain. This was in the main battle.  There was an alarm gunshot from the latent post about 50 meters in front of the position, followed by another burst of sharp gunfire.

    After a brief exchange of fire, a brief calm returned to the mountains. Wei Chengdong pressed his body close to the bunker less than one meter deep, staring ahead with his eyes wide open. He could hear the enemy's chaotic shouts in his ears, but he was shime.  Not visible either.  The kuna grass and dense bushes on the hillside, which are as tall as a person, provide good cover for the enemy.

    On the high ground, several heavy machine guns from the fire support platoon fired bullets aimlessly at the bushes indicated by the sentries. After a burst of random shooting, the gunfire became quieter.  But after a while, mortar shells with their unique whistling sound began to reverberate in the air above and below the nameless highland. From time to time, balls of orange fire bloomed on the highland and at the foot of the mountain.

    By the light of the fire, Wei Chengdong saw some gray figures walking through the trees and grass, rushing towards the Republican Army's position. He began to shoot at those gray figures. The gunshots on the position gradually became denser amidst the explosions of artillery shells.  , the battle became more intense.  Enemy howls were heard from time to time in the forest ahead. Australian soldiers used the cover of grass and trees to keep approaching the Republican fortifications. From time to time, grenades flew out of the bushes and landed near the constructed trenches.

    About one battalion of the infantry of the Australian 7th Division launched a tenacious attack on the high ground defended by the 2nd Battalion. The commander of this division, Major General Erwin Mingb¨¢i, could not open the passage between the valleys and was retreating from Wau.  The US 27th Division and the Australian 12th Division would suffer disaster, so in the first battle, a regiment of troops was invested and launched a strong attack on the frontal position guarded by the 147th Regiment.  (To be continued.)
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