Although late February is already the dry season in Ceylon, this island that enjoys summer all year round is located near the equator. Unstable air currents sweeping in from the Indian Ocean may bring unexpected precipitation at any time.
On February 23, a wave of tropical airflow was generated in the central Indian Ocean. As it moved northward, it gradually intensified into a tropical storm. The air mass advanced northward at an extremely fast speed and made landfall in the southern part of Ceylon Island on the night of the 26th.
Level 15 winds carried abundant rain and swept through. The violent storms were mixed with lightning and thunderstorms. They raged for a full day and night before passing through, heading north into the southeastern part of the subcontinent, and gradually weakened.
Fortunately, meteorological satellites accurately monitored the entire process of the storm and issued early warnings. The troops who landed on the island took shelter in buildings before the storm landed, causing no casualties. The only regret was that this sudden storm
The rain disrupted the deployment of the front army. Not only was the speed of the advance on the island severely affected, but even the landing operation on the Andaman Islands had to be postponed.
On the 28th, although the typhoon had passed through, the rain still did not stop, and dense rain fell on the fields and mountains and forests.
In order to seize the time, the troops who rested for a day and night in various places in Ceylon set out on the road again.
Because the Japanese army demolished all the rails of the railways, even the locomotives had to be transported away. The damaged roads became very muddy due to rain. In addition, many large trees were blown down during the passage of the typhoon. The entire
The march to Ceylon suddenly became difficult.
In a mountainous area more than 100 kilometers northeast of Colombo, on a simple road winding through the jungle, groups of soldiers and long convoys passed.
Because the road in the mountains is very narrow, this troop stretched very long from beginning to end.
In order to reduce the pressure on logistical supplies, various vehicles that should have been loaded with soldiers are now loaded with as many vehicles as possible, except for the reconnaissance troops equipped with armored personnel carriers and some officers and soldiers preparing for battle who need to ride in military trucks to maintain their physical strength.
Most of the officers and soldiers could only wear the issued raincoats and march forward on foot to carry all kinds of combat supplies.
It rained continuously, and marching in such weather conditions was not an easy task.
At this time, the simple road was covered with huge mud pits full of water. When the vehicles drove by, the muddy water splashed around and the rain fell from the sky, covering their heads and faces. It made people miserable.
Although all the wheels are tied with anti-skid chains, vehicles still slip and stall in the mud pits from time to time. At this time, the infantry needs to find branches from nearby to place them under the vehicles, and then push the vehicles from behind. As the engine roars, the
As the wheels turned, the muddy water shot backwards. By the time the vehicle drove out of the mud pit and onto the road, the officers and soldiers had turned into mud monkeys.
The road was already muddy. After being crushed by the anti-skid chains tied to the wheels of various vehicles and the tracks of tanks and armored combat vehicles, the road surface became even more damaged, greatly delaying the marching speed of the officers and soldiers.
In the low sky, several armed helicopters roared, with a huge searchlight in front of them, shuttling back and forth in the rain. On the one hand, they guided the direction of the troops, and on the other hand, they served to deter the enemy and cover the march.
In the long queue, four Jewish soldiers trudged with their heads lowered, each of them covered in filth.
"It's hot and humid, and the roads are so bad. Before, I thought training on the islands in Nanhua Bay would be hard enough, but compared with here, life there is simply paradise." A Jewish superior soldier said to the man next to him.
Comrades complained.
As a military exchange program, each of the five Marine Divisions has accepted varying numbers of Jewish recruits. After the establishment of the state of Israel in the future, these Jewish soldiers will be transferred from the army and return to the Middle East to join the Israeli army. Can they learn real skills in a limited time?
It depends on his understanding and endurance.
"Shh, keep your voice down, Mo Ken, the officers will be unhappy if you hear this." The corporal subconsciously raised his head and looked around, carefully warning his companions.
"Don't worry, I'm not disobeying military orders... I'm just complaining about the terrible weather here. I don't know when the rain will stop!"
Mo Ken wiped the rain off his face and pulled down the helmet on his head. The front brim of the hat was brought to a position parallel to his eyelids, so that the raindrops falling from the sky would not fall directly into his eyes.
"Moken, look to the left of the road. Those Chinese veterans of the Marine Corps are looking at us. This is both a march and a test!" Harold, the squad leader, carried a box of bullets and whispered as he walked up to Moken.
After Mo Ken heard the squad leader's words, he subconsciously glanced to the left and saw that the queue passing there was obviously much faster than the team he was in, and every officer and soldier looked at it with slightly surprised eyes as they passed by.
Moken came over. Moken smiled bitterly and shook his head. He stretched out his hand to lower the helmet on his head, shrank his neck into the raincoat, and consciously quickened his pace.
The sergeant's reminder was not without purpose. All the Jewish soldiers assigned to the 2nd Marine Division were aware of it.
The Anjiajun Navy trained a regiment of Marine officers and soldiers for the Jews. Before the war, they were evenly dispersed into five Marine divisions in platoon units. Most of the Jewish soldiers were used to being free and loose, and there was no such thing as the Chinese soldiers.
His hard-working spirit made him a laughing stock among the regiments from the beginning of the battle.
As Moken, who aspires to become an excellent soldier, this feeling is very unpleasant, but when he thinks of the tenacity and initiative shown by Chinese soldiers, he feels helpless because he was born in a wealthy businessman family and has a biased personality.
Soft, at least the Chinese soldiers will immediately go to help when they see the vehicle stuck in the quagmire, while the Jewish soldiers have difficulty even walking, let alone other things. For Moken, the only thing he can do at the moment is probably to try not to fall behind.
Moken looked at the endless team, raised the automatic rifle on his shoulder, gritted his teeth, and followed the troops forward... In this mountainous and jungle terrain, marching for 100 kilometers in twenty-four hours was really quite daunting!
There is no developed road transportation network here!”
Lieutenant Colonel An Baiyuan, commander of the Sixth Regiment of the Second Marine Division, stood under a makeshift canopy and watched the troops dragging their feet. He couldn't help but sigh: "The road conditions are really bad. What's the point of such a speed?"
When can we get to the ancient city of Kandy? Originally, according to the plan, we should spend the night in Kandy tonight. But now it seems that it will be difficult to arrive tomorrow night."
"Who made this tropical storm come so suddenly?"
Political Commissar Lieutenant Colonel Sun Yuhe stretched out his head and looked at the sky: "We were delayed for twenty-four hours in the small town on the plain to the west. The weather forecast said that the rain will not stop for a while. Now the officers and soldiers can maintain their current status.
It’s already amazing. By the way, we received a call from the headquarters, asking us to find out the situation in the surrounding alpine forests as soon as possible after arriving in Kandy, and eliminate all potential threats.”
"The specific tasks will be handed down when Kandy is resting!"
An Baiyuan sighed: "Now we can only grit our teeth and persevere, and rush to the deserted ancient city as soon as possible... Boss Xia just made a promise to Chairman An before that to capture the entire island of Ceylon as soon as possible, and then in the rainy season
The northern part of the Indian Ocean must be completely pacified before it comes, so we have to grit our teeth no matter how difficult it is!"
Sun Yuhe said comfortingly: "Speaking of which, although our conditions are more difficult, it is much better than what we expected... At least the Japanese army did not retreat to the mountains and forests to fight guerrillas. We would have made dumplings early on, otherwise they would appear at this time
Japanese army small stock
It will be even more difficult for us to harass the troops. Also, the current island landing operation is completely a preview of the future conquest of the Lanyin Islands and Luzon Islands. Everyone is watching us, whether the navy can ensure the security of the motherland's waters in the future.
The performance of our Marine Corps is very critical.
"Actually, compared to the engineering troops, we are pretty good. I heard that the three engineering divisions currently following up have begun to repair the railways demolished by the Japanese army. Construction in such weather is much more difficult for them than us.
!”
An Baiyuan nodded slightly. Just as he was about to speak, the communications soldier next to him came to the two of them with a telegram: "The reconnaissance team found suspicious traces and followed the traces to the northeast for more than 20 kilometers. They found a person in a valley.
Refugee settlement. Based on contact with the other party, the people of this refugee settlement
They are ethnic Chinese who were deceived by the British to settle in Ceylon more than fifty years ago. They have settled in the mountainous areas of central Ceylon for a long time and mainly plant rubber and tea. Before the Japanese army launched a massacre, they had a premonition of danger and hid in advance.
When we arrived in this area, we were very excited to hear that we were from China."
Sun Yuhe was very excited when he heard this: "Good news! Why do we have to sort out all parts of the island so closely when the overall situation of Ceylon Island has been determined? In my opinion, the main reason is to thoroughly understand the situation on the island, and to
Be prepared for the next phase of immigration work. Now that Chinese immigrants who are familiar with local conditions are leading the way, many things will be solved easily."
An Baiyuan was also very happy and ordered his staff to drive over a tracked armored command vehicle owned by the regiment, and then said to Sun Yuhe: "Let's go to the front to see the situation... Chang'an, Xiaonanhai.
After four rounds of negotiations, An Yi and the visiting British representative Ismay finally reached an agreement on many issues between China and Britain on the 28th.
Ismay first made a promise on behalf of the British government that they would no longer be entangled in the issue of the British Kingdom's colonial ownership in Asia. Both sides would focus on the future and pursue friendly exchanges and common development based on the principles of equality and mutual benefit. At the same time, the British government guaranteed that
Support the Democratic Republic of China's proposal to establish a new Jewish state in the Sinai Peninsula and Palestine. After the establishment of the state of Israel in the future, the British Kingdom will establish diplomatic relations with it as soon as possible.
An Yi promised that the Democratic Republic of China will support British interests in Africa and America, ensure future British investment, trade, religious and other rights and interests in West Asian countries, and support British ownership of the Suez Canal after the war. At the same time, the Republic will continue to implement
The trade agreement reached with Britain and the United States provided food and ammunition supplies to the Allied forces in East Africa and the Middle East until the Allies drove the Axis forces out of North Africa.
At ten o'clock in the morning, An Yi and Ismay signed the "Sino-British Chang'an Agreement" at the Fuyuan Building of Zhizheng Hall. Later, the two attended a press conference together and accepted questions from reporters from more than 30 countries and regions around the world...
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