The sound of automatic rifle shooting rang out around him, and then there was a flash of fire on the opposite side. Wei Chengdong, who was at a loss what to do, 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 his gun at the gray figures smoothly. A ball of orange-red light flashed in front of him more than ten meters away, followed by With a loud explosion, the grenade thrown by the enemy exploded in front of his eyes, and the falling branches and mud hit his helmet with a banging sound. ""Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel is better and updated. quick! .
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 force was about a vanguard platoon, méiyou artillery. After about ten minutes, the gunfire stopped, and the third platoon cautiously entered the enemy's position. The difāng where it is located.
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 difāng not far in front of him. After a while, he died. Yang Changsheng squatted down and started to turn over the nameplate on his body, "Soldier Matthew Niland, Australian 7th Division!" With the faint light, Wei Chengdong read out the nameplate for the squad leader who did not speak English. of text.
"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 mǎshàng report to the company commander!" Yang Changsheng said and ran to the back.
In a small jungle encounter, three enemies were killed, one Republican soldier was killed, and three others were injured. But new enemy numbers were found on the battlefield. It was obvious that MacArthur was in Papua. New troops have been invested in the peninsula, and the enemy's strength is increasing.
This small jungle encounter was just the beginning of a brutal blocking campaign on Stanley Ridge.
In terms of terrain 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 peaks, cliffs and crisscrossing ravines everywhere. , there are inaccessible tropical mountain jungles everywhere, and there are many unknown rivers converging 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 to cross the Owen Stanley Ridge is the Kokoda Trail. It crosses the Kumsi River 30 miles southwest from Buna. The terrain rises sharply. There is an indigenous village called Kokoda on the mesa beside the river. There is also an airstrip. From Kokoda, go south along the Ella Valley and pass 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 southwest through Ioribewa, Imida Ridge and other places, you can reach Moresby directly. This path, which is about 150 miles in total, has become the focus of competition between the two sides. It is also the 5th Marine Division The current main direction of attack.
But now the Republican Army is building a railway and road from Lae through Brulo and Wau over the Stanley Ridge. With the extension of the railway to Brulo, the biggest logistics and transportation problem that has plagued the Republican Army has been greatly improved.
Improvement, 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 the sea to land on sea, MacArthur also had to completely block the Republican Army's southward passage at Wau and Kokoda.
While the 50th Division of the Republican Army was advancing towards the rear of the US-Australia coalition forces in Wau, the 14th Brigade of the 5th Marine Division landed in the Basa Buadeng 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 Republican Army's landing 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 mobilized US-32s from northern Australia.
Division, the 41st Division and the Australian 7th Division were transported to the Papua Peninsula to ensure the security of Port Moresby with all their strength.
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 Division
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 fortifications. 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 appears dense, but it is mostly shrubs.
But he has more than one person
Tall Kuna grass. Most of the peaks in Stanley Ridge have names. This nameless ridge is covered with about 60 centimeters of volcanic ash. The initial excavation was just to deal with the tangled Kuna grass roots in the land, but
Further down, there is hard volcanic rock.
The superiors 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 when he faced the enemy for the first time, his mind was really at a loss. He couldn't even hide at that time.
All forgotten. 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 heavier. The clear sound of gunshots rang out halfway up the mountain. This was in the main battle.
An alarm gunshot sounded from the latent post about 50 meters in front of the position, followed by another burst of rapid 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 couldn't.
It can't be seen either. The kuna grass and dense bushes as tall as a person on the hillside 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 pointed by the sentries. After a burst of random shooting, the gunfire became quieter. But after a while, the mortar shells were fired.
With its unique whistling sound, it began to resound in the air above and below the nameless highland. From time to time, masses of orange firelight 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, and the gunshots on the position gradually became denser amidst the explosions of artillery shells.
, the battle becomes more
Jiliè. From time to time, the enemy's howls were heard in the forest ahead. The Australian soldiers continued to approach the Republican fortifications under the cover of grass and trees. 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 Mingbái, could not open the passage between the valleys and was retreating from Wau.
The U.S. 27th Division and the Australian 12th Division would suffer disaster, so in the first battle, a regiment of troops was committed and launched a strong attack on the frontal position guarded by the 147th Regiment. (To be continued.)