Stanley Ridge on the Papua Peninsula is covered with dense tropical rainforest. The entire mountain is steep and rugged. It is one of the most complex terrains in the world and has always been subject to severe crustal movements. In another time and space, even in the 21st century , there is no road leading to Port Moresby through Stanley Ridge.
The difāng more than thirty kilometers ahead is the battlefield. Although there are many mountains and mountains, you can still hear the rumble of gunfire from the front. The 50th Jungle Division as reinforcement is blocked in the rainforest of this mountain. "It's difficult to move forward" "Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels are better and updated faster!"
Wei Chengdong squinted his eyes and stared at the criss-crossing tree vines in front of him, trying to ignore the heartbreaking pain coming from his palms. Weeds in the rain forest grew more than two meters high, with thorny vines interspersed among them. As 187 The mission of the regiment's vanguard company, the 7th company, is to clear a path for the entire regiment in the jungle. He bit it and waved the machete in his hand vigorously. The blood blisters on his hands had long since burst, and his gloves had long been stained. Bloody.
Even in the high temperature of more than 30 degrees, the soldiers must always be wrapped in tight combat uniforms. In this dense rain forest, there are countless kinds of poisonous insects and even poisonous snakes. The dense jungle seems to never be seen. At the end, Wei Chengdong struggled to swing the machete, and the intertwined vines were like rubber, absorbing his physical strength. The helmet on his head hit the bridge of his nose from time to time, and the towel around his neck seemed to never be able to wipe away the sweat on his head.
He felt dizzy and numb, like a machine, gritting his teeth and trying hard to persevere. Even so, the senior officers in the regiment who had always been "aloof" were still dissatisfied and kept urging the vanguard to speed up. .
In order to reach the designated location as soon as possible, the officers and soldiers of the 50th Division trudged through the dense tropical rainforest and mountains. Each one of them became ragged, their bodies were bruised and purple, and they were tired early. Unbearable, it took them three full days of shijiān to cross this straight path, which was only less than 30 kilometers on the map. After receiving the order to rest in place, the soldiers who had long been exhausted fell under their bodies. After spreading a tarpaulin, I lay down and soon fell asleep.
MacArthur had long realized that the entire New Guinea was the most important barrier in the northern part of Australia's defense line. After the Republican Army compressed the US-Australia coalition forces to the Papua Peninsula, he had been strongly demanding that more reinforcements be sent to Australia. In the spring of 1942, Kruger The U.S. 6th Army (under the command of the U.S. 24th, 32nd, and 41st Divisions) under the command of Lieutenant General arrived in Brisbane and then stationed on the Cape York Peninsula.
After receiving new reinforcements, MacArthur immediately began to formulate a counterattack plan in New Guinea. Contrary to MacArthur's judgment, the Navy had always been skeptical that the US-Australia coalition could hold New Guinea. Nimitz even made it clear that he did not want to take the Pacific The entire fleet is tied up in the South Pacific battlefield.
However, under MacArthur's repeated insistence, Roosevelt finally came forward, and finally the U.S. Army and Navy reached a compromise plan, with MacArthur making a counterattack at Owen Stanley Ridge. The navy would support the breakthrough in the Hornik Tibet. Otherwise, the navy can only provide escort in the Coral Sea.
Xia Guozhang, commander of the 50th Division, received the new combat order from the Laicheng headquarters and rushed to the frontline railway station in Brulo by train. The main force of the 50th Division is currently in the jungle northeast of the station. Brulo Station is currently the frontline
The most important supply depot for the army, the Republican Army has built two field airports here, and is equipped with an anti-aircraft artillery regiment responsible for the air defense of this area to ensure the absolute safety of logistics supplies.
General Luo Bingnan gave the 50th Division an absolutely difficult task: to penetrate from the flank to the flank of the US 27th Division and the Australian 12th Division that were attacking Wau, cut off the retreat of these two divisions, and cut these two divisions off.
Two enemy divisions were trapped in the Wau Mountains, forcing MacArthur to send reinforcements from Cape York.
This is a big strategy, and the success or failure of the 50th Division will directly affect the process and direction of the entire campaign.
In order to ensure smooth communication, Fan Guozhang located the headquarters in Brulo, which has a high-power radio station, instead of locating it behind the troops as usual.
Most of the officers and soldiers of the 17th Group Army are from Guangxi, and a considerable number of them are Zhuang or Jing nationality officers and soldiers, who are more adapted to jungle and mountain combat. Since the 50th Division was reorganized into a jungle infantry division, the 148th Armored Infantry Division, which was originally affiliated with the 50th Division,
The regiment was transferred to the 49th Division, and the 147th Infantry Regiment of the 49th Division was transferred to the 50th Division.
In addition to the divisional artillery unit, the 50th Division lacks tanks, armored vehicles, heavy artillery and other heavy army equipment. The three infantry regiments are only equipped with some light artillery. The firepower is less than one-third of an ordinary army armored division, but this
Some of the light infantry divisions played an extremely important role in the Pacific battlefield.
On tropical islands with high mountains and dense forests, these light infantry divisions are much more mobile and flexible than ordinary armored divisions.
According to the deployment of the headquarters, the Second Army and the Seventeenth Army of the Army will cross Stanley Ridge and launch an attack on Port Moresby, while the 5th Marine Division will land in Dyke Ackland Bay, from Koko
Korda marched towards Port Moresby, while the 13th Marine Division assembled at Avio Bay on the south side of New Britain Island as a strategic reserve for the battle.
After receiving the mission, the 50th Jungle Division began to move from the valley northeast of Stanley Ridge to the rear of the enemy forces in Wau. However, due to the difficulty of aerial reconnaissance, it was difficult to find traces of moving enemy forces in the jungle.
The expected event started in advance.
The 147th regiment trudged along a stream through the jungle with tangled vines. It was raining in the sky, and there was a layer of mist in the hot forest. Swarms of black mosquitoes were buzzing.
Wei Guodong almost wrapped his body tightly, but he still couldn't resist the mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes pounced on every exposed part of his body without scruples, and then crawled greedily to suck his blood. The backs of his hands, neck and face were full of mosquito bites.
The left eyelid was also bitten and swollen, and it was almost impossible to open the eye.
The mosquitoes in the middle of the tropical rain forest are very poisonous, and every difāng bitten on the body will swell.
Vietnamese Huang Chongwu Turán stopped and tilted his head as if to catch Shime's movement, "Damn it, why did you stop?" Squad leader Yang Shengchang came up from behind and shouted.
"I feel something is not right. There should be someone moving nearby!" Huang Chongwu said, "Listen, the sounds of insects in that forest are not as normal as normal, and there are also birds chirping." The Vietnamese squatted down under the roots of the tree.
Body, whispered.
Yang Changsheng stopped and turned his head to listen. Apart from the sound of rain, Shime didn't hear anything. "Don't be suspicious and keep moving forward!" the sergeant said with a dark face.
The troops began to move forward, and the Vietnamese man muttered in his mouth, but when he made such a fuss, everyone became more careful.
"Can you really find someone?" Wei Chengdong looked at the very nervous Vietnamese next to him and asked. They were recruits from the same batch, so naturally they were much closer to each other.
"Absolutely, I have grown up in the woods since I was a child, so of course I can get it." Huang Chongwu showed his white teeth at him, "Listen, isn't it a little too quiet on the other side to hear the chirping of the insects?!"
Wei Chengdong stopped and listened carefully. This was indeed what happened, "So what?"
"This means there are people moving inside, and the insects don't dare to sing anymore!" Huang Chongwu said, "I bet!"
Wei Chengdong was about to turn around and report the situation to the platoon leader. Turán saw a black shadow shaking in the forest path ahead, like a figure wearing a helmet. In an instant, his breathing almost stopped.
.
A figure emerged from the woods about ten meters across, with a human face and wearing a British military uniform.
"The enemy, this is the enemy!" He was a little at a loss and shouted loudly. (To be continued.)